* 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. [00:01:33] ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING, AND WELCOME TO THE SEPTEMBER 11TH, UH, UH, CITY COUNCIL, UH, BUDGET HEARING. UM, BEFORE WE BEGIN THE MEETING, LET ME REVIEW THE PROCEDURES FOR THE MEETINGS. IF YOU'D LIKE TO SPEAK, UH, COMPLETE A REQUEST TO SPEAK FORM LOCATED AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE COUNCIL CHAMBER TO SUBMIT THE COMPLETED FORM TO SERGEANT AT ARMS. WHEN YOUR NAME HAS BEEN CALLED, USE THE MICROPHONE AT THE LEC OF THE AUDIENCE'S RIGHT AND EITHER STATE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS, SO YOUR NAME AND CITY. SPEAK TO THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE BODY. DO NOT ADDRESS THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS INDIVIDUALLY. BE MINDFUL THE TIME RELUCTANT AND RACK UP YOUR COMMENT BEFORE YOUR SPEAKING TIME ENDS THE TIME LIMIT POSTED ON THE REQUEST TO SPEAK FORM AN APPLICANT REPRESENTATIVE. A PERSON HAS A LEGAL STANDING TO SUPPORT OR OPPOSE. AQUA JUDGE JUDICIAL MATTER WILL BE PRINTED IN ENOUGH TIME AS REASON, BE DETERMINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL TO CREATE A RECORD FOR THE COUNCIL. ANY PERSON WHO MAKES A PERSONAL IMP PERTINENT OR SLANDEROUS REMARKS, OR BECOMES BOISTEROUS AND DISRESPECTFUL WHILE ADDRESSING THE CITY COUNCIL WILL BE ABLE TO LEAVE THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US THIS EVENING. WE'LL START WITH A PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. MOVING ON ITEM NUMBER TWO, ROLL CALL MR. MCEWEN, COUNCIL MEMBER BASSETT. YES, COUNCIL MEMBER HANLEY HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER KENNEDY. HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER SMITH HERE. COUNCIL MEMBER LARUSSO PRESENT, VICE MAYOR NEWMAN. PRESENT, MAYOR ALFRE. AND I AM HERE. I'M GONNA MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER THREE, WHICH IS THE REVIEW AND DISCUSSION OF THE, UH, FISCAL 2026 PROPOSED BUDGET. UH, GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. UH, THIS WILL BE A REVIEW OF WHAT WE DISCUSSED AT OUR BUDGET WORKSHOP, ALONG WITH SOME OF THE ITEMS THAT WE'VE HAVE, UH, SOME ADJUSTMENTS FOR BETWEEN THAT TIME AND NOW. LET ME JUST WORK ON, TRY AND GET THIS TO POPULATE ON THE SCREEN THAT DOES NOT APPEAR TO WANT TO DO THAT. ONE SECOND. FORGIVE ME. I GUESS WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO GO THIS ROUTE WITH IT. UH, LET'S SEE IF WE CAN AT LEAST GET INTO PRESENTATION MODE. THERE WE GO. OKAY. SO, UH, AGAIN, FROM OUR JULY 29TH SPECIAL MEETING TO, UH, GO THROUGH THE BUDGET WORKSHOP, UH, THERE'S GONNA BE A NUMBER OF CHANGES YOU'RE GONNA NOTICE TODAY FROM OUR, OUR PRIOR MEETING. UH, FIRST BULLET POINT THERE IS OUR, UH, BREAKOUT OF OUR PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM, AS WELL AS THE, UH, MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT PROGRAM. UH, THOSE YOU'LL SEE AS, UH, TWO SEPARATE LINES AS CAPITAL PROJECTS FUNDS. IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE'VE HISTORICALLY DONE BY SHOWING THEM AS TRANSFERS OUT FROM THE GENERAL FUND. UH, YOU'RE GONNA SEE THE INCLUSION OF THE PROMOTION OF THREE, UH, FIRE LIEUTENANTS AND THREE DRIVER ENGINEERS TO ACCOMMODATE THE HEAVY RESCUE ENGINE BEING PUT INTO SERVICE. UH, THERE'S AN ADDITIONAL, UM, AMOUNTS PUT TOWARDS PROVIDENCE CONNECTS AND EGA GRANTS AND AID FOR, UH, WHAT WAS DISCUSSED AT A PRIOR COUNCIL MEETING FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING. [00:05:01] UH, WE HAD SOME ADDITIONAL MAINTENANCE COSTS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED BETWEEN THE TIME OF LAST, UH, BUDGET MEETING IS AND, UM, TO THIS, THIS HEARING TODAY, UH, JUST TO BETTER KIND OF GET A SENSE OF WHAT IT'S GONNA TAKE TO, TO RUN THE NEW JPL, UH, LAW ENFORCEMENT CENTER. UH, WE HAD SOME, UH, LICENSING CHANGES FOR MICROSOFT. UH, THE COUNTY ADOPTS THEIR MILLAGE RATE, SAME AS WE DO. UH, THEIR MILLAGE RATE WAS A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WAS ANTICIPATED FROM, UH, WHAT WE HAD PROPOSED TO YOU IN THE, THE CRASS. SO WE HAVE TO ADJUST THOSE DOWNWARD TO ACCOMMODATE THAT DIFFERENCE. UH, AND THEN BEYOND THAT, WE ALSO HAD THIS TIME INCLUDE OUR MELBOURNE AIRPORT, UH, AIR AIRPORT AUTHORITY, UH, BUDGET AS IS CUSTOMARY AT THIS POINT IN THE PROCESS. UH, JUST A COUPLE OTHER REMINDER NOTES. UH, WE DID ADD TO AUTHORIZED POSITIONS WITHIN THE WATER SEWER FUND USING EXISTING POSITIONS. IT WAS KIND OF AN AUGMENTATION OF THEM. UH, AND THIS IS TO ADDRESS OUR LEAD AND COPPER, UH, PROGRAM THAT WE MUST DO. UH, ACCORDING TO FEDERAL REGULATIONS. UH, OTHER COUNCIL REQUESTED REVISIONS, UH, WHICH, UH, I DON'T HAVE LISTED HERE BECAUSE THEY'RE DONE WITHIN THE FUND, AT LEAST WHAT WAS REQUESTED. UH, THEY ARE ALSO INCORPORATED HERE. WE HAD A COUPLE OF, UH, VERY, UH, GOOD DISCUSSIONS ON BOTH, SOME, UH, REARRANGING OF THE COUNCIL, CITY COUNCIL ITSELF DIVISION BUDGET, AS WELL AS THE, THE ESTIMATED FUNDING BALANCE FROM DOWNTOWN CRA TO BE USED FOR HOLMES PARK PLAZA PUBLIC SPACE PROJECT. SO WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE? UH, THE COLUMN ON YOUR LEFT THERE IS THAT JULY 29TH WORKSHOP AS WE PRESENTED IT, UH, THE SEPTEMBER 11TH PUBLIC PUBLIC HEARING, WHICH IS TONIGHT, THAT YOU CAN SEE THOSE DIFFERENCE NUMBERS THERE, UH, ALONG WITH THE INCREASE IN DECREASE, AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE FAR RIGHT COLUMN. UH, AGAIN, MOST NOTABLY IT'S THAT BREAKOUT OF THOSE TWO CAPITAL PROJECTS FUNDS, THE PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM FUND, AND THE MACHINERY EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT FUND, WHICH WE WERE INTENDING TO DO TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE TRANSPARENT AND A LITTLE BIT MORE, UH, MINDFUL OF WHAT WE ARE DOING WITH THOSE PROGRAMS AND HOW WE'RE FUNDING THEM, UH, BEYOND THIS POINT. UH, THE BUDGET THAT WE'D PRESENTED AND IS, UH, STILL HAVE BEFORE YOU TONIGHT IS A, A ONE THAT ADOPTS A MILAGE RATE OF 6.6703. UH, THIS IS A 6% INCREASE ABOVE THE ROLLBACK RATE, WHICH IS A 1.8900000000000001% INCREASE ABOVE THE CURRENT RATE. UH, AND THIS WAS DUE TO ALL OF THE SAME PRESSURES THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT OVER THE PAST COUPLE YEARS. UM, BUT THIS, THIS WAS WHAT WE HAD PROPOSED TO YOU WITHOUT ANY ADDITIONAL INCREASES OR CONSIDERATIONS THAT COUNCIL MAY HAVE GIVEN DIRECTION TO US IN THE PRIOR MEETING. AT THAT PRIOR MEETING, WE HAD A NUMBER OF DISCUSSION TOPICS REGARDING, UH, COUNCIL'S DESIRE TO SEE THE HIGHEST TENTATIVE MILLAGE, JUST TO GIVE THE MOST FLEXIBILITY IN DISCUSSING WHAT OPTIONS THERE ARE BEFORE YOU TONIGHT. UM, ONE OF THOSE IS THE PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT PLAN FUNDING. UH, HERE'S YOUR HISTORICAL PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT PLAN THAT WAS ESTABLISHED BACK IN 2015. YOU CAN SEE THAT IT WAS ORIGINALLY FUNDED JUST UNDER, UH, 2 MILLION THERE WITH A MIXTURE OF LOCAL OPTION GAS TAXES AND PROPERTY TAX. UH, AND WE'VE STEADILY WORKED TO TRY AND INCREASE THAT TO WHAT WAS THE TARGET AMOUNT OF 5.1 MILLION ANNUALLY AS REQUIRED TO KEEP ROADS IN FAIR CONDITION. UH, YOU CAN SEE WE HAD ARPA IN THOSE TWO YEARS IN 2023 AND 2024, WHICH ASSISTED US, BUT WE STILL HAVE ONLY MANAGED TO GET $4 MILLION IN RECURRING FUNDING TO, UH, ADDRESS OUR ROAD PROGRAM. AND PER THAT REPORT, WE WOULD SEE A SLOW DETERIORATION FROM FAIR, FAIR CONDITION ACROSS, UH, CITY ASSETS IN THAT REGARD. UH, THE HIGHER ORANGE LINE THERE, THAT'S THE INFLATION ADJUSTED TARGET. OBVIOUSLY, THIS PROGRAM'S BEEN IN PLACE NOW FOR 11 YEARS. UH, WHEN WE LOOKED AT THAT BACK IN 2015, IF IT COST $5.1 MILLION, THEN THERE'S A HIGH LIKELIHOOD THAT IT WOULD BE, UM, A LARGER AMOUNT TODAY WHERE WE'D DO THAT SAME STUDY TODAY. THERE IS AN EFFORT TO GO AND DO ANOTHER STUDY TO MODERNIZE THESE FIGURES. UH, SO THAT IS MY BEST GUESS BASED OFF OF WHAT INFLATION HAS DONE OVER THAT SAME TIME PERIOD. SO THIS IS JUST A REMINDER TO SAY WE HAD AN ORIGINAL TARGET OF 5.1. WE KNOW THAT IT'S PROBABLY MOVED NORTH OF THAT SINCE THAT POINT IN TIME, GIVEN ALL THE PRESSURES THAT WE'VE SEEN ECONOMICALLY. UH, AND JUST AS A BEST GUESS, YOU MIGHT BE AT THAT 6.9% USING INFLATION ADJUSTMENTS TO GET THERE. UH, AND AGAIN, WE'RE AT THAT 4 MILLION, UH, WHERE YOU SEE THAT ORANGE BAR KIND OF CONCEDE GOING FROM 2023 TO NOW. OUR LOCAL OPTION GAS TAXES HAVE SLOWLY DECLINED AS A RESULT OF A LOWER FAVORABLE, UM, PROPORTIONALITY FROM POPULATION AS WELL AS TRANSPORTATION EXPENDITURES COMPARED TO OUR NEIGHBORING PEERS THAT ALSO PARTICIPATE IN THE COUNTY. UH, THE OTHER TOPIC THAT WAS AT, AT HANDS OF THAT MEETING WAS OUR, OUR M AND E REPLACEMENT FUND. UH, YOU MIGHT REMEMBER BACK IN, UH, 2016, WE BEGAN, UH, ADDRESSING A SIGNIFICANT SHORTFALL IN FUNDING FOR OUR PUBLIC SAFETY ASSETS, OUR, OUR POLICE VEHICLES, OUR, OUR FIRE APPARATUS. UH, AND AS OF THIS BUDGET, UH, UNDER THAT CURRENT 6.6703 NUMBER, WE'RE AT A CURRENT, UH, AND RECURRING AMOUNT OF WHAT WE'RE HOPING TO GET TO IS THAT 1.967. UH, WE WORKED VERY DILIGENTLY WITH OUR, UH, FLEET SUPERINTENDENT, THAT'S MR. DANNY FRENCH, UH, IN LOOKING OUT AT OUR 10 YEAR, UH, REQUIREMENTS BASED OFF THE AGE OF OUR ASSETS, THE CONDITIONS THEY'RE IN, THEIR MAINTENANCE RECORDS AND THE LIKE. AND WHAT IT CAME UP WITH WAS AN AVERAGE AMOUNT OF 3.6 MILLION OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT 10 YEARS. SO, UH, THIS IS JUST A WAY TO SAY, [00:10:01] UH, OF THE 348 ASSETS THAT COME THROUGH HIS SHOP FOR REPAIR, THIS IS WHAT IT TAKES TO MAINTAIN THEM IN A GOOD AND FAIR CONDITION ACCORDING TO THEIR PROFESSIONAL OPINIONS. SO WHEN WE'RE THINKING ABOUT WHAT'S IN OUR BUDGET TODAY, YOU CAN SEE THAT ORANGE BAR THERE. THAT IS THE AMOUNT THAT WE WERE NOT ABLE TO FUND IN THE CURRENT BUDGET, UH, JUST BY VIRTUE OF FUNDING CONSTRAINTS. AND AS YOU DO NOT REPLACE THESE ASSETS, YOU KNOW, CAN SOME THINGS BE LIMPED ALONG AS BEST WE CAN? THEY CAN, BUT WE HAVE SEEN WITH THINGS LIKE A TRAILER THAT MAY COST $5,000 AND HAS HAD $20,000 IN REPAIRS OVER ITS LIFETIME, IT MAY NOT MAKE FINANCIAL SENSE TO DO THAT THAT WAY. SO, UH, WHAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT FOR THE M AND E, UH, IN CONSULTING WITH MR. FRENCH IS THAT, UH, THE $3,614,000 TARGET OVER AVERAGING IT ACROSS THE NEXT 10 YEARS. THAT WOULD BE THE WAY TO ACHIEVE WHAT YOU'RE SEEING THERE IN THE BLUE LINES. UM, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THESE 348 ASSETS ARE ONLY THE MACHINERY EQUIPMENT OF THE ROLLING FLEET. THESE ARE THE ITEMS THAT GO THROUGH OUR FLEET SHOPS. SO THIS IS NOT OUR M AND E FOR ANYTHING LIKE GENERATORS AT THE FIRE STATIONS OR, UH, OTHER FIXED ASSET EQUIPMENT THAT DOES NOT MOVE. SO, UH, IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT EVEN THIS NUMBER IS LIKELY CONSERVATIVE. HERE IS A LIST OF THE VARIOUS ALTERNATIVE SCENARIOS. UH, COUNCIL I KNOW HAD KIND OF GIVEN A VERY WIDE RANGE, SO WE JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU AS MANY OPTIONS AS POSSIBLE. I UNDERSTAND THIS MAY NOT REFLECT ANY OF OR ALL, OR OF THE OPTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE WANTED TO SEE. SO IF THERE IS SOMETHING THAT YOU DO NOT SEE HERE THAT WE, UH, MAY NEED TO COVER, I CAN ALWAYS, UH, TAKE A BRIEF MOMENT AND TRY AND RECALCULATE SOMETHING TO YOUR LIKING. UH, BUT WHAT I TRIED TO DO HERE WAS COME UP WITH VARIOUS OPTIONS THAT WERE IN ROUGHLY INCREMENTS OF HALF A MILLION, UH, OVER WHAT THE PROPOSED BUDGET AS IS THERE AS REPRESENTED IN THE GREEN LINE. UH, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE TOP, THE MAXIMUM TWO THIRDS VOTE RATE, UH, OPTION 12 THERE, THAT'S A 7.2342 PROPOSED MILLAGE THAT WOULD REPRESENT AN ANNUAL TAX INCREASE OF $116 TO THE AVERAGE HOMESTEADED PROPERTY IN MELBOURNE AS COMPARED TO THE PROPOSED BUDGET AS IS, WHICH RIGHT NOW WE'RE PROPOSING A $46 83 CENTS, UH, INCREASE TO THE AVERAGE, UH, HOMESTEADED HOME IN PRO, UH, IN MELBOURNE. UH, SO ANY OF THOSE TARGETS IN BETWEEN, UH, I I DON'T NECESSARILY WANNA GO THROUGH THEM LINE BY LINE. UM, BUT IF, IF YOU WERE TO, UH, ASK ME HOW WOULD WE ACHIEVE MAYBE THE TARGETS ON THESE PRIOR TWO SLIDES, THE THREE, SIX, AND THE, UH, FIVE ONE, UH, JUST AS AN EXAMPLE, IF YOU WERE TO LOOK AT, UH, OPTION EIGHT THERE, TARGET THE PAYMENT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM TARGET OF 5.1 MILLION AND FUND M AND E THAT ACHIEVES THAT AT THE 7.0112, UH, PROPOSED MILLAGE WITH AN INCREASE OF $89 AND 11 UH, CENTS ANNUALLY, UH, WITH $7 AND 43 CENTS A MONTHLY. SO I DON'T NECESSARILY WANT TO WALK YOU THROUGH EACH OF THOSE INDIVIDUAL. I KNOW WE TRIED TO PROVIDE THIS TO YOU WELL IN ADVANCE SO THAT YOU COULD HAVE TIME TO, UH, DELIBERATE UPON THAT WITH YOURSELF. UH, BUT NOW WOULD BE A FANTASTIC TIME, UH, TO, UH, TALK AMONGST YOURSELVES, UH, DISCUSS WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE OUTTA THIS BUDGET. UH, WHAT OF THESE OPTIONS, IF ANY, ARE, ARE APPEALING TO YOU AND ANY OTHER DIRECTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE OF STAFF AT THIS TIME. OKAY, THANK YOU. ANY QUESTIONS FOR MR. MCGINN? NONE. OKAY. YEAH, WE DO HAVE A SIGN UP SHEET. PERFECT. OKAY. THEN LEMME GET, LEMME GET THAT SIGNED UP. I'M GONNA GO TO, UH, CALL UP DAVID GRAHAM RIGHT UP HERE, SIR. GOOD EVENING. CITY COUNCIL. DAVID GRAHAM LIVE IN THE, UH, SARNO HEIGHTS AREA OF ALI. THERE, THERE'S A LOT INVOLVED IN THIS. I CAN, I CAN TELL RIGHT AWAY. I'M OVER MY DEPTH, BUT, UH, ANYWAY, I, I JUST PARTICULARLY AS FAR AS THE, UH, WATER, THE UTILITY RATES, UM, WE'RE CONCERNED THAT THE UTILITY RATES ARE ALREADY EXCESSIVELY HIGH. AND IF THERE'S ANYTHING YOU CAN DO PARTICULARLY IN THAT AREA, IS TO HOLD THOSE UTILITY RATES AT THE CURRENT RATE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. IS THERE ANYBODY ELSE THAT WANTS TO SPEAK? OKAY, I'LL GO AHEAD AND CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING. ALL RIGHT. AS THIS IS A DISCUSSION ITEM, NO ACTION IS REQUESTED. HOWEVER, REVISIONS REQUESTED DURING THIS ITEM MAY IMPACT REQUESTED ACTION OF SUSPECTED OR SUBSEQUENT ITEMS. SO, UM, I GUESS WE'LL GO AHEAD AND, UH, MOVE ON. WE MOVE ON WITH, WITH YOU GUYS, OR GO AHEAD. I'M SORRY. UM, ITEM THREE IS THE FURTHER REVIEW AND DISCUSSION OF BOTH THE MILLAGE RATE AND THE BUDGET. YEAH. SO I AM, [00:15:01] IT'S UP TO COUNSEL HOW YOU WANT TO PROCEED. HOWEVER, IF YOU WANNA GO THROUGH THE SCENARIOS OR IF YOU GUYS ALREADY JUST WANNA MOVE STRAIGHTFORWARD TO THE MILLAGE SECTION AND, AND WHICH IS ITEM NUMBER FOUR, AND THEN TALK ABOUT THE MILLAGE RATE, THEN OBVIOUSLY THE BUDGET, WELL, THEN YOU HAVE TO CHANGE MM-HMM . REFLECTING WHATEVER MILLAGE RATE YOU HAVE TO WANT TO, SO THAT THE INTENT WAS TO TALK UNDER THIS ONE, BUT WE DON'T HAVE TO, WE CAN TALK UNDER MILLAGE. MS. HANLEY, YOU HAVE SOMETHING, MA'AM. WELL, THE TRADE THAT I WOULD PROPOSE IS OPTION OF YOUR SEVENTH. THAT WOULD GIVE US $1 MILLION TO THE ROADS AND KEEP OUR, UM, MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT UP TO DATE SO THAT IT, IT'S, IT'S NOT JUST FROM RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW. IT'S A LONG TERM. LOOKING AT THE LONG TERM PLAN OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS SO THAT WE CAN KEEP THE ROADS UP COMPARATIVE. LOOK AT PALM BAYS. THEY'VE HAD TO TAKE OUT A BOND. I DON'T WANT TO TAKE OUT A BOND AND, AND, UH, THE ROADS WILL BE REPAVED BEFORE THE BOND WILL BE REPAID, BE PAID, I SHOULD SAY. NOT REPAVED, , BUT, UM, BE PAID. I DON'T THINK THAT'S A GOOD SCENARIO. IT'S NOT A GOOD FISCAL SITUATION IN THAT. AND KEEPING UP OUR EQUIPMENT, IT'S, RIGHT NOW I THINK IT'S A GOOD TIME TO BUY IF WE HAVE TO BUY THE EQUIPMENT. 'CAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN WITHIN THE NEXT TWO OR THREE YEARS. SO THAT IF WE HAVE TO BUY EQUIPMENT WITH, WITH THINGS COMING IN AND TARIFFS AND EVERYTHING ELSE, THIS IS THE TIME TO DO IT SO THAT DOWN THE ROAD WE'RE NOT HAVING TO REALLY PUT A, UM, HARDSHIP ON OUR CITIZENS. YES. AND WE ALL HAVE TO PAY IT. SOME OF US DON'T. SOME OF US HAVE COMMERCIAL PIECES OF PROPERTY, SO WE DON'T GET THE BENEFIT OF, UH, HOMESTEADING. SO I THINK THAT OPTION NUMBER SEVEN FOR, I'M LOOKING AT LONG TERM. I'M NOT JUST SAYING TODAY, THIS IS A SITUATION. I THINK THIS IS A LONG TERM. I, I THINK EVERYBODY UP HERE WANTS TO LEAVE THE CA THE COUNCIL BETTER THAN WHAT WE EVEN GOT IT. AND WE COMPARE IT WHEN WE'VE LOOKED AT OTHER COUNCILS, LOOKED AT OTHER BUDGETS, IT'S SCARY FOR THEM. WE HAVE A SOLID, WE ARE SOLID HERE AT THE CITY OF MELBOURNE. WE ARE VERY SOLID. WHERE I WOULD BE AFRAID IN SOME OF THE OTHER, AFTER, AFTER BEING UP HERE AND LEARNING MORE AND MORE ABOUT THINGS, THERE'S CERTAIN AREAS I WOULD NOT WANNA MOVE. 'CAUSE I WORRY ABOUT HOW SOLID THEIR FINANCE, THE CITIES OR KEEP THE CITIES ARE. SO I THINK THIS WOULD KEEP US IN A, A LONG TERM. WE'RE LOOKING AT TWO, THREE YEARS DOWN THE ROAD. I THINK THAT'S THE BEST SITUATION FOR US. OKAY. ANYBODY ELSE? LET'S GO IN THE NEXT, IF WE HAVE NOTHING, WE'LL GO TO THE NEXT ITEM AND THEN WE'LL DISCUSS IT FROM THERE. SURE. OKAY. UH, ITEM ITEM FOUR. LET'S SEE. GOOD. SO THIS IS ITEM FOUR. AS STAFF HAS PREVIOUSLY PRESENTED IT, UH, THIS IS THE ADOPTION OF THE 2026 MILL RATES. UH, AT THIS POINT, IF IT IS THE, UH, PROPOSED AS IT WAS PRESENTED TO YOU BACK IN JULY, UH, IT WOULD BE THE OPERATING MILIT RATE OF 6.6703, WHICH REPRESENTS A 6% INCREASE OVER THE ROLLBACK RATE OF 6.2927, UH, PER FLORIDA, FLORIDA STATE STATUTE. AND I APOLOGIZE IF THIS BECOMES A BIT ROTE, BUT I HAVE TO SAY THIS PER, PER THE STATUTE, UM, WE ARE, UH, SEEING INCREASES IN EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION AND, UH, ARE DESIRING TO, UH, DEDICATE ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO OUR PAYMENT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM AND M AND E PROGRAM. SO THAT IS THE NEED FOR THE INCREASE. UH, AND THEN AT THIS TIME, WE ARE ALSO ASKING FOR THE POLICE HEADQUARTERS DEBT SERVICE MILLAGE RATE TO BE ESTABLISHED AT 0.2977. ALRIGHT. OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS? I, MY ONLY THING IS, GO AHEAD, MA'AM. GOING BACK TO THE SEVEN, THAT, THAT WOULD BE A RESOLUTION THAT THEY HAD. THOSE MONIES THAT WE WERE PUTTING IN THERE ONLY GOES TO ROADS OR TO, UM, MACHINE AND EQUIPMENT. WELL, I THINK THAT PUT IN, THAT'S WHERE, THAT'S WHERE IT WOULD GO. OKAY. I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S, IT'S, SO FORGIVE ME. A PART OF YOUR AGENDA PACKAGE, AND IT WAS NOTED IN THE ITEM REPORT, WAS THAT THERE ARE TWO RESOLUTIONS. UH, IF I WERE TO GO BACK TO THIS, UH, EARLIER SLIDE HERE, UH, I WANNA MAKE SURE IT'S IN THERE THAT WAY. IF, IF, IF YOU SEE THE $3 MILLION THERE UNDER CAPITAL PROJECT FUNDS PAYMENT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM FUND MM-HMM. IT'S ABOUT A LITTLE UNDER, UH, HALFWAY, UH, FROM THE BOTTOM THERE. UH, AND THE 1.967, UH, JUST BELOW THAT FOR MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT FUND STAFF'S INTENT WAS TO BRING FORWARD A RESOLUTION AS WE'VE PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED WITH COUNCIL SO THAT WE CAN TIE THIS TO A PERCENTAGE OF YOUR PROPERTY TAX SO THAT WE CAN ACHIEVE A LEVEL FUNDING MOVING FORWARD. SO WE DO NOT CONTINUE TO SPEND IN A DEFICIT MANNER, UH, AND WIND UP HAVING TO MAKE THESE LARGE INCREASES EVERY SO OFTEN WHEN WE FALL TOO FAR BEHIND. MAYOR, MAYOR. RIGHT ON. UH, GO AHEAD, MS. KENNEDY. YOU SURE? YEAH, YOU FIRST? YEAH, [00:20:01] GO AHEAD LADIES FIRST. UM, QUESTION FOR YOU. UM, THIS, UH, MILLAGE MONEY, AN EXTRA 1 MILLION IN EACH, I'M JUST USING THAT AS AN EXAMPLE. WE ALREADY HAVE SOME THINGS IN OUR BUDGET FOR MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT AND FOR ROADS. IS THIS MONEY OVER AND ABOVE OR ARE WE GOING TO BE TAKING IT OUT OF HERE FOR OTHER THINGS? AND HAVING THAT AS WELL? IF YOU'RE DISCUSSING THE, UH, VARIOUS ALTERNATIVE SCENARIOS, RIGHT. JUST, JUST SAY, UM, YES. NUMBER SEVEN, LIKE, UM, MS. HANLEY HAD SAID, UM, TO FUND THE M AND E, THAT'S OVER AND ABOVE WHAT WE'RE ALREADY DOING IN THE BUDGET, CORRECT? IT'S, IT'S EXTRA. YES. SO, SO RIGHT NOW, IF WE GO BACK TO THAT SLIDE RIGHT HERE, THAT 1 MILLION 967 200, UH, YOU CAN SEE IT THERE JUST BELOW THAT $2 MILLION MARK IN THAT BLACK, UH, DOTTED LINE. UH, THE AMOUNTS THAT ARE ABOVE THAT WE FUNDED VIA LOGT. SO THAT'S THE REASON WHY THEY SHOW IN BLUE, ANYTHING IN ORANGE WE'RE DEFERRING FROM THIS YEAR, WHICH MEANS WE NEED TO FIND IT IN SAVINGS ELSEWHERE, OR WE NEED TO FIND IT IN A SUBSEQUENT BUDGET. UH, THE INTENT OF AT LEAST TRYING TO IMPROVE THAT LINE IS THAT WHEN WE GO YEAR TO YEAR, IF I WERE PRESENTING YOU THE BUDGET IN 2029, LET'S SAY, AND I ONLY NEEDED THE 900,000 THAT YEAR, UNFORTUNATELY, THE WAY THAT WE'VE TRADITIONALLY LOOKED AT THINGS, BECAUSE WE ONLY LOOK AT IT A YEAR AT A TIME, NOT A LONG RANGE VIEW, WE WOULD PROBABLY CUT INTO THIS PROGRAM IN A WAY THAT TRYING TO ACHIEVE 2030 WOULD BECOME ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE AT THAT POINT. MM-HMM . SO BY ESTABLISHING A LEVEL AMOUNT, WE AT LEAST HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF NOT DEFERRING EQUIPMENT UNTIL THEY'RE AT A POINT OF CRITICAL FAILURE. I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE GOT IT ON RECORD THAT THIS MONEY IS OVER AND ABOVE. WE'RE NOT TAKING OUT FROM THE BUDGET AND PUSHING IT TO OTHER THINGS. IT'S CORRECT. WE'RE NOT SUPPLANTING WHAT WE ARE FUND ADDING. I WAS GONNA SAY PLANTING WORD, BUT I'M NOT SURE. NO. SO IF YOU WERE TO SAY DO, AS YOU SAID, UH, A MILLION TO M AND E, THAT 1.9 BECOMES 2.9, SOME OF THE ORANGE THAT IS WE'RE BEING DEFERRED WOULD BE FUNDED. UH, SAME THING WITH ROADS INSTEAD OF BEING, UH, AT THIS SCENARIO WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE STILL KIND OF BELOW OUR TARGET OF 5.1 AND THAT'S A 2015 TARGET, UH, WE'RE AT LEAST GETTING TO WHERE WE NEED TO BE. UM, WHETHER OR NOT COUNCIL HAS ANY APPETITE FOR ANY OF THESE ALTERNATIVE SCENARIOS. I, I LEAVE IT UP TO YOU. UM, I KNOW AT LEAST FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, MY GOAL IS TO, UH, TO TRY AND GET TO SOMETHING WHERE I FEEL BOTH OF THESE PROGRAMS ARE WELL FUNDED. UM, YOU KNOW, THAT WOULD BE PROBABLY OPTION SEVEN OR SEVEN OR OPTION SEVEN OR OPTION EIGHT, BUT IT'S TO COUNCIL'S PLEASURE, UH, YOU SET THE MILLAGE RATE AND WE, UH, WILL ADJUST THE BUDGET ACCORDINGLY. OKAY. UH, VICE MAYOR CHAIR, DO YOU HAVE, SO ACTUALLY GO BY. UM, GO AHEAD. WHAT DOESN'T MATTER. OH, I KNOW IF IT'S GONNA AFFECT WHAT, I'M SORRY. OH, OKAY. I JUST WANTED TO ADD, AND I, I THINK I ALREADY SAID THAT, BUT THIS WOULD MEAN THAT THIS LEVEL OF FUNDING WOULD BE THERE EVERY YEAR FOR THESE PARTICULAR, FOR THE MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT AND FOR THE PAVING. AND SO WE'RE NOT GONNA GO BACKWARDS ON THAT. AND SO THAT, THAT WAY, LIKE ROSS JUST SPOKE ABOUT THAT WE WON'T, UM, WE WON'T HAVE A, AN EVEN BIGGER SHORTFALL NEXT YEAR AND THAT TYPE OF THING. SO HISTORICALLY WE'VE ALWAYS ROBBED FROM PETER TO PAYPAL. AND UNFORTUNATELY YOUR CAPITAL PLAN HAS BEEN PETER AND PAUL HAS BEEN EVERYTHING ELSE THAT WE DON'T USUALLY TRY TO PASS ON TO THE TAXPAYERS NO MORE. YEAH. , , GO AHEAD. SO NOW I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT M AND E. I WANNA TALK ABOUT ROADS FOR A SECOND. SURE. IF, UM, SO EVEN WITH, SO THE 1 MILLION INCREASE, THAT'S GONNA PUT US ONLY AT FOUR. SO WE WOULD BE APPROVING, ESSENTIALLY BEING UNDER A TARGET TO EVEN MAINTAIN OUR ROADS FOR, FOR THE NEXT YEAR. CORRECT. AND WE WOULD'VE TO IN, IF WE WANTED TO GET TO THE NEXT LEVEL, YOU'D HAVE TO INCREASE THAT THEN NEXT YEAR. CORRECT. SO OUR ROADS ARE NOT DETERIORATING. IT'S WORTH NOTING. AND I, I KNOW THAT MIGHT'VE BEEN CONFUSING. THE ORANGE BAR THERE OF LGT IS STILL COMMITTED TO THIS. UH, SO WE ACTUALLY DO HAVE 4 MILLION IN FUNDING. IT'S PROPERTY TAX THAT WE'RE HAVING TO USE TO AUGMENT THIS PROGRAM BECAUSE OUR LGT TAX REVENUES HAVE BEEN DECLINING IN RECENT YEARS. BUT, SO THE 1 MILLION THOUGH, WOULD THAT GET TO THE 4 MILLION THAT WOULD GET, THAT WOULD GET YOU TO 5 MILLION IN TOTAL BETWEEN 1 MILLION OF LGT 4 MILLION OF PROPERTY TAX. OKAY. SO THEN WE'LL BE BREAKING EVEN FOR THIS YEAR. YES. AND WHAT WOULD THAT LOOK LIKE FOR NEXT YEAR? IS THAT LIKE, DO, CAN YOU CONSISTENTLY IT IT WOULD REMAIN FEEL, IT WOULD REMAIN AT THAT AMOUNT. UH, IF YOU WERE TO SAY, GO WITH A ROLLBACK NEXT YEAR AND WE HAD SOME LEVEL OF TAX INCREASES FROM NEW, NEW CONSTRUCTION, THOSE WILL INCREMENTALLY INCREASE BY, UH, WHATEVER THAT PERCENTAGE INCREASE IS. OKAY. 'CAUSE WHAT I, WHAT I'M WRESTLING IN MY HEAD IS 1 MILLION VERSUS 2 MILLION FOR ROADS. 'CAUSE OPTION SIX IS 2 MILLION. SO WHAT WOULD, WOULD THAT MAKE A MEANINGFUL DIFFERENCE THAT EXTRA MILLION YEAR OVER YEAR? OR DOES IT, SHOULD IT GO TO M AND E? THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT. I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR THOUGHTS ARE ABOUT HOW IT IMPACTS THE ROAD SITUATION. THAT'S WHY I'M PARTICULARLY ASKING ABOUT THAT. I WOULD SAY, BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND WHERE IT IMPACTS M AND E, BUT THE ROADS, I'D LIKE TO KNOW, I WOULD SAY RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE OF THE DATA INFORMATION WE HAVE FROM THE, THE ROAD PAVEMENT PAVEMENT [00:25:01] MANAGEMENT PROGRAM, AND WE DO HAVE A STUDY OUT THERE RIGHT NOW THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE, UH, CONDUCTING THE SAME EFFORT BUT MORE MODERNIZED. WE DON'T KNOW IF THOSE ASSUMPTIONS FROM THE 2015, IF THINGS HAVE PERFORMED BETTER, THEY MAY HAVE PERFORMED WORSE. SO THAT'S, THAT MIGHT MOVE THAT 5.1 MILLION TARGET CLOSER TO WHERE THE 6.9 IS. WE, WE DON'T HAVE MORE ACCURATE MODERN INFORMATION FOR IT. SO IF YOU WERE TO MAKE, UH, A DETERMINATION BETWEEN BOTH, I WOULD SAY TRY TO SHARE THE LOVE BETWEEN BOTH OF THOSE, UH, OPTIONS. UM, YOU KNOW, IF, IF YOU'RE GIVING A MILLION TO, UH, ROAD RESURFACING, THAT'S GONNA EARN INTEREST AS WE KIND LINE UP THE CONTRACTORS, THAT'S GONNA EARN, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE MILLION THAT, OR THE 5 MILLION WE PUT FROM THIRD QUARTER INTO IT, THESE THINGS WILL EARN INTEREST AND HOPEFULLY HELP SUPPLEMENT THIS EFFORT IN A WAY THAT WE CAN HOPEFULLY ACHIEVE WHATEVER THAT HIGHER NUMBER IS. WHEN THAT NEW STUDY COMES OUT, THE M AND E ON THE OTHER HAND, THAT IS ONLY, AGAIN, 348 WITH THE CITY'S CAPITAL ASSETS, BUT THOSE ARE ONLY THE ONES THAT FLEET SERVICES. SO AGAIN, WE HAVE, WE HAVE, UH, IT HARDWARE, WE HAVE, UH, VARIOUS GENERATORS AND OTHER FIXED ASSETS THAT DO NOT MOVE, THAT DON'T NECESSARILY MEET THE DEFINITION OF A BUILDING OR, UH, SOMETHING TO THAT NATURE. SO, YOU KNOW, ACS AND THE LIKE. OKAY. AND THAT, AND SO THAT AMOUNT THOUGH WOULD, IF WE'RE USING THE INFLATION ADJUSTED NUMBER THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, WOULD MEAN THAT WE'RE STILL 2.9, NO, 1.9 MILLION, BASICALLY 2 MILLION, CORRECT. SHORT OF WHAT THE ACTUAL REPLACEMENT IS. STAR ROADS WOULD STILL TECHNICALLY BE DETERIORATING AND WE'D HAVE TO MAYBE DO AN INCREASE NEXT YEAR AND AN INCREASE NEXT YEAR. I'M, I'M NOT SAYING THIS IS GONNA BE A CURE ALL, BUT WHEN WE LOOK BACK AT THE HISTORY OF WHAT INCREASES WE HAVE DONE, UH, FOR RIGHT, WRONG, NO REASON, UH, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF WHAT WE'VE HAD TO DO FOR TAX INCREASES HAVE BEEN DUE, HAS BEEN DUE TO RECRUITMENT AND RETAINMENT EFFORTS FOR ALL CLASSES OF EMPLOYEES, UH, FOR THE HEALTH INSURANCE INCREASES THAT WE'VE SEEN, THE RISK AND PR AND PREMIUM INSURANCE, UH, FOR, UH, CASUALTY AND, AND PROPERTY. YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE GONE THROUGH SOME EXTRAORDINARY TIMES AND TYPICALLY GOVERNMENTS ARE USUALLY THE ONES THAT GET THE SHAFT FROM IT BECAUSE IT'S THE ONE PLACE WE ALL CAN PARTICIPATE IN SAYING WHAT THE PRICE SHOULD BE. UM, WHEN WE LOOK FORWARD FROM THIS POINT FORWARD, WE'RE HOPING THAT THINGS HAVE STABILIZED IN A WAY THAT BY MAKING THESE MEANINGFUL COMMITMENTS, THAT AS WE CONTINUE THROUGH THE NEXT THREE, FOUR OR FIVE YEARS, WE'RE NOT GONNA SEE OURSELVES REVERT BACK TO WHAT WE WERE DOING IN THE 2010S AND UNDERFUNDING THESE TO A POINT WHERE THEY FAIL MM-HMM . RIGHT. AND WELL, AND I, AND I FEEL LIKE YOU, YOU KNOW, I, I RESPECT YOU A LOT. I THINK YOU HAVE A PLAN. I REALLY DO. I BELIEVE YOU HAVE A PLAN, AND I BELIEVE YOU'RE TRYING TO GET US TO THAT BEST POSSIBLE SCENARIO. I REALLY DO. UH, I'M JUST TRYING TO LAY IT OUT SO THAT WE'RE NOT COMING BACK YEAR OVER YEAR AND SAY, OH MY GOSH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO DO ANOTHER INCREASE. OR OH MY GOSH, HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT IN A POSITION WHERE OUR ROADS ARE STILL DETERIORATING BECAUSE OF INFLATION? AGAIN, IT'S NOT, NOT BECAUSE YOU GUYS AREN'T TRYING, IT'S BECAUSE OF INFLATION AND OTHER TYPES OF THINGS IN THE WORLD. PART OF THE WAY THAT I STRUCTURED THE, THE TWO RESOLUTIONS THAT YOU HAVE, UH, ATTACHED, SO FOR EASY SAKE, WE SAID IF WE PUT 4 MILLION FROM PROPERTY TAXES UNDER ROADS THIS YEAR IS IT COULD BE 4 MILLION NEXT YEAR. IT SHOULD PROVIDED THAT PROPERTY TAXES DO, UH, DO NOT DECREASE FROM ASSESSED VALUES. BUT AS THE PROPERTIES NATURALLY APPRECIATE IN VALUE, WHAT WE'RE BASICALLY MAKING US DO IS IF PROPERTY TAXES GO UP BY 3% BECAUSE PROPERTIES APPRECIATED IN VALUE 3%, THERE'S GONNA BE AN ADDITIONAL 3% OF THAT PROPERTY TAX BEING PUT INTO THESE, UH, THESE VARIOUS AREAS. IT'S NOT GONNA CONTINUE TO FALL BEHIND AS IT HAS DONE. SO IT SHOULD NATURALLY ACCRETE AND JUST, MY, MY FINISHING THOUGHT IS NOT REALLY YEAH. A THING ON YOU, BUT I'M, I'M A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE WHERE WE'RE NOT AT LEAST HITTING OUR TARGETS AS THEY ARE TODAY. I'M GLAD WE'D BE HITTING THE NEXT ONE. I'M JUST CONCERNED OVER THE LONG HAUL, BUT I'M TRUSTING YOU ON IT. WELL, AS, AS, AS YOU PROBABLY HEAR THIS A LOT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT BUDGETING, IT'S, IT'S REALLY HARD TO EAT AN ELEPHANT. YEAH. YOU HAVE TO DO IT IN ONE BITE AT A TIME. MM-HMM . IF THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO TRY AND SWALLOW A HOLE AND HAVE THE BIG LUMP, THAT'S FINE. IF THIS IS A WAY THAT WE CAN AT LEAST INCREMENTALLY TRY TO ACHIEVE OUR GOALS WHILE SETTING US UP FOR SUCCESS IN THE FUTURE, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ATTEMPTING TO DO HERE. THANK YOU. YEAH. AND, AND I WOULD ADD TOO, WE HAD THAT ISSUE WITH THE WATER RATES. I MEAN, WE ABSOLUTELY, OVER TIME WE SHOULD HAVE, UH, SLOWLY INCREASED THE WATER RATES. SO, YOU KNOW, WE, WE DIDN'T GET IN A POSITION THAT WE WERE IN. THAT WAS A GOOD, REAL QUICK, MR. SMITH. YEAH. UH, THANKS ROSS. I GUESS MY QUESTION IS SORT OF RELATED TO WHAT THE VICE MAYOR'S SAYING. CAN YOU JUST HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATUS? I MEAN, LIKE, LIKE TODAY SURE. CURRENT FUNDING LEVEL, HOW MUCH SHORTAGE AND ALL THAT. JUST WANTED TO JUST KIND OF HEAR THAT. I KNOW IT'S PROBABLY IN OUR PAPERWORK SOMEWHERE, BUT, AND ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF THESE TWO PROGRAMS? YES. SO IF YOU LOOK AT BOTH THE 6.9 TARGET, ASSUMING THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IT FROM AN INFLATION BASED, UH, PERSPECTIVE, AND THE TARGET OF THE 3.6 MILLION FOR M AND E, UH, THAT ACTUALLY IS WITHIN $2,000 OF THE REVENUES ON OPTION 12. NOW, I'M NOT LOOKING TO RECOMMEND DOING SOMETHING SO, UH, EXTREME, PARTICULARLY WHEN WE'RE HAVING THE ISSUES WE'RE HAVING ON THE UTILITY SIDE OF THINGS. MY FEAR, AND AS THE MAYOR [00:30:01] TOUCHED ON BRIEFLY THERE, WAS WHEN YOU LOOK BACK AT THE UTILITY PRICES OVER THE COURSE OF THE PAST 15 YEARS, WE DID NOT RAISE THEM FOR THE BETTER PART OF A DECADE. AND THAT MADE US PUSH A LOT OF OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS BEYOND THIS TIME PERIOD WHERE WE'VE HAD EXTREME INFLATION. THINGS THAT SHOULD HAVE COST A MILLION LAST YEAR ARE NOW, YOU KNOW, FOUR OR 5 MILLION. IT'S, IT'S, IT'S EXTRAORDINARY WHAT WE'VE SEEN SO THAT THE DELAY THAT WE'VE CONTINUED TO DO ON THE WATER SIDE, IT'S A GREAT, UH, ARBITER OF THINGS TO COME FROM THE GENERAL FUND SIDE WHERE WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY NOW TO LOCK OURSELVES IN, IN A WAY THAT HOPEFULLY WE WILL NOT EXPERIENCE AS DRASTIC A NEED AS WE DO IN THE WATER SEWER FUND. SO, MAY I ASK THE QUESTION A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY? HOW MUCH DID WE FIND FOR THIS, THE BUDGET THAT WE'RE COMING OUT OF? SO FOR, UH, PROPERTY TAXES, YOU HAVE 4 MILLION THERE BETWEEN LOGT AND PROPERTY TAX. UH, THAT FALLS SHORT OF THAT 5.1 MILLION UH, DOLLARS THERE, UH, IN THE BLUE LINE AND SHORT OF THE SIX POINT AND 9 MILLION IN THE INFLATION ADJUSTED LINE, UH, IN TERMS OF WHAT WE HAVE FOR M AND E, UH, WE'RE ABOUT, UH, FORGIVE ME, I THINK THAT'S ONE POINT. SEE IT NOW, 1.4 MILLION, ROUGHLY 1.3 MILLION. UM, AND THAT'S THAT ORANGE DEFERRAL, UH, TARGET. SO, UH, WHEN WE LOOK AT WHAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO PREVIOUSLY WITH USING SAVINGS AS WE SPOKE ABOUT AT THE THIRD QUARTER, BUDGET RESOLUTION AT THE PRIOR MEETING, UM, YOU KNOW, THE ABILITY FOR US TO HAVE BENEFITED FROM HIGH INTEREST RATES, THAT'S GREAT, BUT IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN WE'RE IN A GREAT ECONOMIC CONDITION. UM, THERE'S BEEN PLENTY OF TALK ABOUT WHERE INTEREST WILL GO ONCE THE FED BOARD IS IN AN, UH, DIFFERENT HANDS. UH, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT EXTREME LEVEL OF CHANGE THAT WILL BRING OR IF THERE WILL BRING ANY CHANGE AT ALL. SO, OKAY. UH, WE'VE, WE'VE TRIED TO BE AS, UH, JUDICIOUS AS POSSIBLE IN PUTTING US WHERE WE THINK IS APPROPRIATE. OKAY. NO, TO ANSWER MY QUESTION. THANK YOU. OKAY. GO AHEAD MS. HANLEY, PLEASE. OKAY. NOW I THOUGHT WE WERE, WHEN WE HAD TALKED, YOU WERE LOOKING AT OPTION SEVEN, WE HAD TALKED ABOUT OPTION SEVEN. THEN YOU GET UP HERE AND YOU TALK ABOUT OPTION EIGHT. WHY WOULD YOU WANT OPTION EIGHT? 'CAUSE I KNOW WHY, YOU KNOW, I UNDERSTAND. OPTION SEVEN. MM-HMM . WHY WOULD YOU WANT OPTION EIGHT? COULD YOU EXPLAIN TO ME WHY OPTION EIGHT WHEN WE LOOK AT IT ON THE ALTERNATIVE SCENARIOS? OKAY. OH, FORGIVE ME, I'M, THERE WE GO. THAT'S FUNDING BOTH TARGETS THAT WE HAVE. MM-HMM . AT LEAST FOR THE PAYMENT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM, IT GETS YOU TO THAT $5.1 MILLION FIGURE. IF IT'S, IF IT'S OPTION SEVEN BY COMPARISON, IT'S A MILLION VERSUS A MILLION 0.1. UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S KIND OF SPLICING HAIRS A BIT. I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE WE'RE OFFERING HERE ISN'T BY, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT HYPERBOLICALLY OFFERING YOU, YOU HAVE TO GO TO OPTION 12. THINGS ARE NO DIRE. WE, I, I WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU GUYS ARE PLANNING IN THE LONG RUN THAT WE'RE DOING INCREMENTAL CHANGE, ESPECIALLY AS IT'S COMPARED TO WHAT WE'RE DOING ON THE WATER AND SEWER SIDE, WHERE UNFORTUNATELY WE WAITED TO DO THIS INCREMENTAL CHANGE AND NOW WE'RE SEEING THE FRUITS OF THAT LABOR. BUT I'M JUST LOOKING AT IT GOING, WHY, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND ON SEVEN, I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH, BUT IF OPTION EIGHT WOULD GET US IN A MORE BETTER FINANCIAL FOOTING, THAT'S WHERE I'M, I'M JUST LOOKING AT WHERE'S THE BEST FOOTING THAT WE'RE GOING TO. LIKE I SAID, WE'RE NOT LOOKING JUST FOR TODAY, WE'RE LOOKING FOR PUTTING IT DOWN FOR THE NEXT COUPLE YEARS THAT WE HAVE A GOOD FOOTING. AND WE'VE HAD, BOVARD HAS GONE UP AND DOWN. MELBOURNE HAS GONE UP AND DOWN ECONOMICALLY OVER TIME, PERIOD. SO MY GOAL FOR YOU IS, IS TO GET BETWEEN ME OPTION EIGHT OR OPTION SEVEN IS, IS KIND OF SIX EGGS, HALF A DOZEN FOR THE MOST PART. THEY'RE VERY CLOSE IN, IN COST AND ALL THAT. BUT IF YOU'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE AN M AND E FIGURE THAT WILL ENSURE THAT YOU'RE ABLE TO REPLACE FIRE ENGINES, POLICE VEHICLES, AND, AND ANY OF THE OTHER EQUIPMENT WE USE AS IT RETIRES, UH, OVER THE COURSE OF A 10 YEAR PERIOD, PROVIDED THAT WE HAVE NOT MADE ANY INCORRECT ASSUMPTIONS ON THAT, WHICH WE WILL EVERY YEAR BE REVIEWING TO ENSURE WE'RE NOT DOING TOO MUCH WHERE WE SHOULDN'T. AND IF WE'RE ABLE TO ACTUALLY FUND THE PRO RE PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM IN A WAY THAT IT CAN EARN ITS INTEREST ON ITSELF, HOPEFULLY MAKE UP THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IT, UH, BETWEEN BOTH OF THOSE THINGS, I CAN EVENTUALLY GET YOU TO THE POINT OF HOPEFULLY ROLLING BACK I, THAT, THAT IS MY GOAL. THAT HAS BEEN THE GOAL SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE. BUT THE PROBLEM IS, IS WHEN WE LOOK BACK AT THE HISTORY OF THE WAY THAT WE'VE APPROACHED OUR FINANCES, IT'S ONE YEAR AT A TIME. AND THE PRESSURE THAT LOCAL GOVERNMENT'S BEEN SEEING IS THAT YOU NEED TO BEGIN THINKING ABOUT THE LONG TERM, BECAUSE OTHERWISE NO ONE'S COMING TO HELP YOU. SO WE DON'T WANNA WIND UP DOING WHAT WE DID WITH THE UTILITY RATES ON THE GENERAL FUND SIDE. SO AS I'M LOOKING FORWARD FROM HERE, WILL WE HAVE PRESSURES IN THE FUTURE THAT MAY REQUIRE US TO GO ABOVE THE ROLLBACK RATE? ABSOLUTELY. I CAN'T PREDICT WHETHER OR NOT INFLATION WILL STAY AT 3%. I CANNOT PREDICT WHETHER OR NOT IT'LL GO BACK DOWN TO ZERO. UH, NO ONE KNOWS. BUT IF, IF, IF, IF WE ARE FUNDING THE CAPITAL PROGRAM THE WAY WE HAVE NOT DONE HISTORICALLY, THAT AT LEAST GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AND TRY AND TIGHTEN OUR BUDGET IN WAYS THAT WE HAVEN'T BEFORE SO THAT WE CAN EVENTUALLY GET TO THE POINT OF ROLLING OURSELVES BACK. OKAY. SO GOING BACK TO OPTION EIGHT. OPTION EIGHT WILL TAKE US UP TO, WITH [00:35:01] THE ROADS THAT'LL TAKE YOU TO THE BLUE LINE IN ROADS. AND IF WE DO OPTION SEVEN JUST BRINGS US UNDERNEATH IT. CORRECT? JUST UNDERNEATH IT. MAYBE WE HAVE TO GO OPTION EIGHT THEN. I MEAN, FOR ONE YEAR WE'LL DO OPTION EIGHT BECAUSE, UH, I, I LIVED THROUGH HERE. WE'RE, WE'RE IN A STABLE COMMUTE. WE'RE STABLE RIGHT NOW. I'VE BEEN HERE. I'M, I REMEMBER COMING HERE AS A KID CHILD WHEN THE APOLLO PROGRAM STOPPED AND THE, I MEAN, NOTHING WAS HERE. WE'VE GONE THROUGH THE SPACE SHUTTLE WHEN IT BLEW UP AND EVERYTHING STOPPED AND DIFFERENT THINGS. SO WE'VE GONE UP AND DOWN. I WANT TO KEEP IT SO THAT LONG TERM, YES, IT MIGHT NOT BE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT ROLLING IT BACK, BUT FOR LONG TERM WE CAN BE EVEN OUT. PEOPLE KNOW WHERE THEY'RE AT. WELL, AND, AND MS. HANLEY, WE, THERE'S COUNSEL EVEN PRIOR TO, UH, US BEING UP HERE AND YOU KNOW, YOU AND I HAVE BEEN ON HERE FOR A WHILE. UM, AND YOU MISS, UH, YOU MAY REMEMBER THIS, THERE WAS A POINT WHERE EVEN THE POLICE CARS, WE GOT IN A POSITION WITH THE POLICE CARS WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, THEY WERE ALL IN, IN, IN DISARRAY. SO WE DEFINITELY NEED TO KEEP THAT, KEEP A, KEEP A SOLID SOLID, KEEP SOMETHING SOLID, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S GOING TO, YOU KNOW, MAINTENANCE EQUIPMENT AND ROADS. UH, WAY I LOOK AT IT TOO, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU HEAR ABOUT DOGE AND YOU HEAR ABOUT THE STATE AND YOU HEAR ABOUT WHAT SOME OF THE CITIES ARE PUTTING MONEY TOWARD, WE DON'T DO THAT. WE PUT OUR, WE, WE PUT OUR MONEY TOWARD CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT. AND, AND SO THAT'S WHERE I'M VERY COMFORTABLE WITH, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, IF WE, IF WE DECIDE TO GO UP TO SEVEN OR EIGHT, IT KEEPS OUR, WHERE IT'S GOING, IT KEEPS OUR PROPERTY VALUES BECAUSE PEOPLE WILL MOVE HERE WHEN THEY KNOW THAT. UM, WELL, HOPING NOBODY ELSE MOVES HERE. , I MEAN, HOPE I SAY THAT OUT LOUD. WHEN PEOPLE COME HERE, THEY'RE LOOKING AT THIS GOVERNMENT, YOU KNOW, THE COUNTY, THEIR, THEIR LOCAL GOVERNMENT IS BEING SOLID. IT'S NOT LIKE, OH MY GOD, THEY DON'T HAVE MONEY FOR THIS. RIGHT? THEY DON'T HAVE MONEY, LIKE YOU SAID, THEY DON'T HAVE MONEY FOR THE CARS, THE POLICE OR ANYTHING ELSE LIKE THAT. SO I, I'M, I'M GONNA MOVE, I'M GONNA MOVE THIS FORWARD REAL QUICK. UM, SO YOU'RE SUGGESTING, UH, MS. HANLEY, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? YOU'RE THINKING EIGHT. I AGREE. AND MS. BASSETT, EIGHT. WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? MS. UH, MS. KENNEDY? I'M THINKING EIGHT. I THINK WE SHOULD GET IT UP TO OUR TARGET. YEAH. AT LEAST TO OUR TARGET. UH, MS. MR. SMITH, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? UH, EIGHT. THINK AN EIGHT. UM, WHAT DO YOU THINKING? OUR EIGHT, WE ALREADY HAVE A MAJORITY THERE, SO I DON'T THINK IT REALLY MATTERS FROM THERE. AND, AND YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I'M COMFORTABLE WITH THE FACT WHERE THE MONEY'S GOING, YOU KNOW, TO ROADS AND, AND TO MAINTENANCE AND EQUIPMENT WITH OUR FIRE POLICE, ET CETERA. SO, UH, DO WE WANT TO, DO WE HAVE A, A RECOMMENDED ADOPTION HERE, MA'AM? I PUT FOR ADOPTION OPTION EIGHT SECOND. FORGIVE ME ONE SECOND. WE DO HAVE OPTION EIGHT. WE JUST HAVE TO BRING YOU TO THE, UH, STATE MANDATED, UH, STATUTE READING. I'LL, I'LL GET YOU THERE IN TWO SECONDS. ALL FORGIVE ME. WE KNOW WHAT WE WANT, BUT YEAH, GO AHEAD AND DO THAT. WE NEED TO I KNOW. IRON OUT. OKAY, SO, OKAY. SO THIS IS ADJUSTED FOR OPTION EIGHT. UH, THIS IS THE CITY OF MELBOURNE OPERATING MILL RATE OF 7.0112, WHICH REPRESENTS AN 11.4% INCREASE OVER THE ROLLBACK RATE OF 6.2927 PER FLORIDA STATE STATUTE. UH, THE SPECIFIC PURPOSES FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS INCREASE IS BOTH TO, UH, AFFORD PREVIOUSLY AWARDED CONTRACTS, UH, EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION, UH, AND THE DESIRE TO INCREASE DEDICATED FUNDING TO OUR ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR THE PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM, AS WELL AS OUR M AND E REPLACEMENT PROGRAM. UH, THE CITY OF MELBOURNE POLICE HEADQUARTERS DEBT SERVICE MILLAGE STAFF IS RECOMMENDING A RATE OF 0.2977, WHICH IS ITS ROLLBACK RATE AT THE BACK. RIGHT. UH, CITY ATTORNEY THAT HAS, THAT HAS TO ALSO BE, AND I ASSUME IN THE, UH, UH, THE MOTION, CORRECT? YEAH. EITHER, EITHER ALL TOGETHER OR, OR ONE OR SEPARATELY. WE'LL DO 'EM ALL TOGETHER THEN IF RIGHT. YOU DO ADOPT BOTH. ARE WE OKAY WITH THAT ON THE MOTION THAT WE'RE SETTING THE, UH, ROLLBACK RATE ON THE, UH, POLICE HEADQUARTERS DEBT SERVICE? YEAH. I TRUST ROSS . IS THAT OKAY? HOW LONG IS THIS ONE IS REQUIRED BY BOND COVENANT? WE DON'T, WE, WE DO WHAT WE JUST NEED. SO IT'S, IT DOESN'T CHANGE. YEAH. WELL WE CAN, OKAY. WHO, WHO HAS THAT MOTION? OKAY, WE HAVE A MOTION. GO AHEAD WITH THE MOTION AGAIN. UH, MOTION FOR OPTION EIGHT OF THE MILLAGE OPERATE. WAIT, THE CITY OF I GOT DO. YEAH. OH, THE CITY OF MELBOURNE POLICE HEADQUARTERS DEBT SERVICE MILLAGE RATE OF 0.2977. SECOND. WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND FOR OPTION EIGHT. ALL THOSE, THE MEMBERS SAY THAT. CAN YOU STAND BY? GO AHEAD. YEAH. FORGIVE US. CAN WE, CAN WE DO IT RATHER THAN REFERENCING, CROSS-REFERENCING IT BY OPTION? CAN WE DO AN OPERATING MILLAGE OF 7.0112? OKAY. YOU WANT ME TO READ IT? OKAY. YEAH, WE CAN BRING IT BACK. JUST THE FIRST PART, JUST OPERATING MILLAGE AND THE NUMBER AND THEN THE DEBT SERVICE MILLAGE AND THE NUMBER GO AHEAD MA'AM. [00:40:01] MOTION. OKAY. THE CITY OF THE OPERATING MILLAGE OF PO OF OPERATING MILLAGE RATE OF 7.0112. AND THE, UM, DEBT SERVICE RATE OF 0.2977 SECOND. THAT, THAT, THAT, YEAH. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? HOW VOTE AYE AND NA MOTION PASSES. MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM. SO WITH THOSE CHANGES, UH, THIS IS THAT SAME SLIDE FROM EARLIER. UH, YOU CAN SEE THE ADJUSTED AMOUNTS IN YOUR CAPITAL PROJECTS FUNDS FOR THE PAVEMENT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM AND MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT FUND. UH, WHAT THIS DOES IS IT CHANGES THE RECOMMENDED AMOUNT TO $315,889,605. GIMME THAT NUMBER ONE MORE TIME. I'M SORRY. IT IS, UH, 315,889,000 SIX HUNDRED AND FIVE OH FIVE. ALRIGHT. ANYBODY HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS ON THIS? WE DON'T HAVE ANY SIGN UP SHEETS, RIGHT? STILL HAVE NONE. OKAY. DO WE HAVE A MOTION FOR THIS ADOPTION OF THE, UM, THE PROPOSED BUDGET? MAYOR? GOOD. SIR. I MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE PROPOSED BUDGET WITH REVISIONS OKAY. FOR THAT TOTAL OF 3 15 8 89 6 0 5. YES. YOU MAKE THAT MOTION? I'LL SECOND THAT MOTION. ALL THOSE FAVORS SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? VOTE AYE. AND THAT MOTION PASSES, WE NOW WILL CONVENE AS THE MELBOURNE DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY FOR ITEM NUMBER SIX. OKAY. SO THIS IS THE DOWNTOWN CRA BUDGET AND IT'S ADOPTED AT THE FUND LEVEL. UH, ADDITIONAL DETAIL CAN BE FOUND ON PAGES 49 AND 50 OF THE BUDGET BOOK ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE, UH, STAFF'S RECOMMENDING IN THE ADOPTION OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2026 PROPOSED BUDGET AS REVISED FOR THE MELBOURNE DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT FUND IN THE AMOUNT OF $3,152,855. MAYOR, UH, HOLD ON ONE SECOND. UM, ANY QUESTIONS? THIS IS A PUBLIC HEARING. DO WE HAVE ANY SIGN UP SOON FOR THAT? NO. CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING. GO AHEAD, SIR. I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO, FOR THE ADOPTION OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2026 PROPOSED BUDGET FOR THE DOWNTOWN, UH, COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT FUND IN THE AMOUNT OF $3,152,855. THANK YOU. DID I GET NUMBER? IS THAT NO, THAT, THAT NUMBER SHOULD BE, SAY SAY THE NUMBER AGAIN. 3 MILLION $152,855. CORRECT. THANK NO, IN OUR PACKAGE IT'S DIFFERENT. WE HAVE ON A REQUESTED ACTION 3 0 61 844, FORGIVE ME. THAT'S, THAT'S THE, THE BEFORE YOU WOULD CHANGE THE MILLAGE RATE? CORRECT. OKAY. CLARIFY BECAUSE IT ALTERS WHAT GOES TO YOUR CRA THAT'S WHY WE WERE TRYING TO CREATE THESE SLIDES ON THE FLY THERE FOR YOU. UNDERSTOOD. THANK YOU. APOLOGIES. THANK YOU FOR THAT. THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION. DO WE HAVE A MOTION AND WHO SECOND THAT? I SECOND. OKAY. MR. SMITH, ALTHOUGH THE FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? I VOTE. AYE AND I MOTION PASSES, BUT WE NOW WILL CONVENE AT THE OLD ALI RIVER PRO COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY FOR ITEM NUMBER SEVEN. MR. MEEN, THE OLD ALI CRA BUDGET IS ADOPTED AT THE FUND LEVEL. ADDITIONAL DETAIL OF THIS BUDGET CAN BE FOUND ON PAGES 52 AND 53 OF THE PROPOSED BUDGET BOOK ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE STAFF'S RECOMMENDING THE ADOPTION OF THE 2026 PROPOSED BUDGET AS REVISED FOR THE OLD ALI RIVERFRONT COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT FUND IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,194,783. OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS? NO. OKAY. THIS IS A PUBLIC HEARING. NO SIGN UP SHEET. CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING. BRING BACK TO COUNCIL. WE HAVE A MOTION MAYOR. SO MOTION. I'LL MAKE THAT MOTION. GO AHEAD, MS. GO AHEAD, SIR. YOU'LL MAKE THAT MOTION. SURE. WHO THE SECOND? I'LL SECOND. SECOND. MOVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? I VOTE. AYE. IN THAT MOTION PASSES. OKAY. WE'RE GONNA RECONVENE, UH, FOR ADJOURNMENT. UH, IF NOBODY HAS ANYTHING ELSE, WE'LL TAKE A 10 MINUTE BREAK AND, UH, ACTUALLY MAKE A 15 MINUTE BREAK. COME BACK AT SIX 30 AND START ON TIME. OKAY. THANK YOU EVERYONE. * 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.