Rancho Mirage City Council Special Meeting, May 08, 2025

Transcript text

AI transcript text.

[00:00:09] for Thursday, May 8,
[00:00:12] 2021 25 at approximately 1:30.
[00:00:18] And this is of the Ranch of Mirage City
[00:00:21] Council and Community Services District,
[00:00:24] Energy Authority, Housing Authority,
[00:00:28] Joint Powers Finance Authority, Library
[00:00:31] and Observatory, and Redevelopment
[00:00:34] Successor Agency
[00:00:36] boards. Uh, I will now ask you to please
[00:00:40] join me in a flag salute to our country.
[00:00:44] Place your right hand over your heart
[00:00:46] and say it all. I pledge algiance to the
[00:00:50] flag of the United States of America and
[00:00:53] to the republic for which it stands. One
[00:00:56] nation under God, indivisible, with
[00:00:59] liberty and justice for all.
[00:01:04] Thank you. May we have roll call,
[00:01:06] please.
[00:01:08] Council member DS, I'm here. Council
[00:01:10] member Framberg Edin, I'm here. Council
[00:01:12] member O'Keefe here. Mayor Prom Molatto
[00:01:15] here. Mayor while here.
[00:01:19] We will
[00:01:21] um uh we
[00:01:23] will are moving public comments
[00:01:27] uh that now will follow the discussion
[00:01:30] items. So, we're going to go directly
[00:01:32] into the discussion items, which is the
[00:01:36] preliminary budget for fiscal year
[00:01:40] 2025,
[00:01:42] 2026 and uh and 26, 2026, and
[00:01:48] 2027. And the presentation will be by
[00:01:52] Kofi Atbomb, our director of
[00:01:55] administrative services. Kofi, if you
[00:01:58] would, please.
[00:02:00] All right. Thank you. Good afternoon,
[00:02:01] mayor and council. So, I'll request that
[00:02:04] the um IT folks pull up um the
[00:02:08] presentation for me. But as that is
[00:02:10] happening, we are here this afternoon to
[00:02:13] discuss the um the city's preliminary
[00:02:15] budget for fiscal years 2025, 2026, and
[00:02:21] 2027. This preliminary budget was posted
[00:02:24] on the city's website on April 28,
[00:02:27] 2025. and copies of the budget can also
[00:02:31] be found um at city hall and at the
[00:02:34] library. But before I go into my
[00:02:36] presentation, I just want to
[00:02:39] um acknowledge a few individuals. I want
[00:02:41] to say a big thank you to our city
[00:02:43] manager Isaiah. It it takes a lot to put
[00:02:46] this budget together and um his
[00:02:50] direction, his leadership, his guidance
[00:02:52] in putting this document together was
[00:02:55] very very very great. And so I just want
[00:02:57] to say Isaiah, thank you for the
[00:02:59] guidance in getting this document to
[00:03:01] where we have it today. I also want to
[00:03:03] say a big thank you to the department
[00:03:04] directors and all the staff leans within
[00:03:07] each department. They do a lot of heavy
[00:03:10] lifting in the back behind the scenes.
[00:03:12] There are a lot of things that needs to
[00:03:14] be done. Um schedules that needs to be
[00:03:16] completed, numbers that need to be
[00:03:18] analyzed and verted. And so I want to
[00:03:20] say a big thank you to all those who
[00:03:22] were involved in the various departments
[00:03:24] in getting this document to where it is
[00:03:27] today. Um so today's presentation is
[00:03:31] going to be at a higher level a high
[00:03:34] level overview um of the detailed budget
[00:03:37] that was provided to each one of you
[00:03:39] on April 28th and also posted on the
[00:03:43] city's website.
[00:03:48] So on your screen is just an overview of
[00:03:52] what we're going to be going through
[00:03:53] today. We're going to review um the
[00:03:56] various fund types that we have in our
[00:03:57] budget. We're also going to look at some
[00:04:00] cost um pressures that influence this
[00:04:02] budget that we have before you today.
[00:04:05] We're going to also be presenting an
[00:04:06] overview of the general fund and then
[00:04:09] also within that um we'll highlight a
[00:04:12] few items of significance in the general
[00:04:14] fund within the various divisions as
[00:04:17] well as some other um um special revenue
[00:04:20] funds. We're also going to give a little
[00:04:22] overview of
[00:04:24] um three of our special revenue funds
[00:04:28] which is the library and observatory,
[00:04:30] the housing authority and um Rancho
[00:04:33] Mirage Energy Authority and then at the
[00:04:35] end we're going to discuss our capital
[00:04:39] projects. So to to to begin
[00:04:43] with in governmental accounting there
[00:04:45] are three main categories of funds.
[00:04:50] There's what we call the governmental
[00:04:52] funds, proprietary funds, and fiduciary
[00:04:55] funds. Now, within our city, we don't
[00:04:58] have any um fiduciary funds. And so,
[00:05:00] what I'm focusing on here today is just
[00:05:03] the fund types that we have within the
[00:05:05] city of Rancho Mirage.
[00:05:07] Um most of our funds are general um
[00:05:11] governmental funds. And within the
[00:05:13] governmental funds, there is what we
[00:05:15] call the general fund, special revenue
[00:05:17] funds. Um, we have debt service funds,
[00:05:20] we have capital projects funds. Within
[00:05:22] our city, we don't have debt service
[00:05:24] funds or capital project funds cuz those
[00:05:27] are funds that are restricted or
[00:05:30] designed to specifically account for
[00:05:33] capital projects. Let's say we issue
[00:05:34] bonds that are um specific to a capital
[00:05:38] project that we are doing. And those are
[00:05:39] accounted for in the governmental um
[00:05:41] capital projects funds. And if we issue
[00:05:43] debt for whatever reason um we also have
[00:05:47] debt service funds that basically bring
[00:05:48] in the resources that are repaying for
[00:05:50] those debts. But as a city we don't have
[00:05:52] any bond debt debts. So um we are not
[00:05:54] focusing on those today. So in front of
[00:05:57] you is the first column there is our
[00:06:00] general fund. Basically what the general
[00:06:02] fund does is accounting for all
[00:06:04] financial resources within the city and
[00:06:07] expenditures um for public purposes that
[00:06:10] are not restricted in nature. So if
[00:06:14] there is there are no restrictions on
[00:06:15] the funds that are coming in and they
[00:06:18] are going to be used for general um
[00:06:20] public purposes those are accounted for
[00:06:23] in the general fund. Now for special
[00:06:25] revenue funds those are funds that are
[00:06:28] um has some sort of restrictions on
[00:06:31] them. Basically the funding that comes
[00:06:34] in for those funds are restricted in
[00:06:36] nature. They can only be used for
[00:06:37] specific items or for specific type of
[00:06:40] expenditures. So in our city an example
[00:06:43] would be like the measure A fund um the
[00:06:45] gas tax fund and some other funds that
[00:06:48] we have within our city. those resources
[00:06:51] are restricted for specific uses and
[00:06:53] those are accounted for in the special
[00:06:55] revenue fund. Um another fund type that
[00:06:58] we have is um we have one proprietary
[00:07:02] fund and that fund type is an enterprise
[00:07:04] fund. Basically what the enterprise fund
[00:07:06] does is it's just like your normal um
[00:07:09] private business out there. propri
[00:07:12] enterprise funds account for resources
[00:07:15] that comes in and are used for specific
[00:07:18] um um um expenditures but those funds
[00:07:22] are just run like the normal business
[00:07:24] out there where by money coming in it's
[00:07:28] funding for the expenditures and the
[00:07:29] idea is that the funds that are coming
[00:07:31] in are going to take care of those
[00:07:33] expenses so that the general fund is not
[00:07:36] the fund that is funding those um
[00:07:38] expenses. So those are the three fund
[00:07:40] types that we have within our city and
[00:07:43] those are the funds that are going to be
[00:07:45] discussed um in this
[00:07:47] budget. Now specifically to our general
[00:07:51] fund the budget is broken down into two
[00:07:54] segments. There is the operating side
[00:07:57] and the nonoperating side. And so um the
[00:08:00] way I try to talk about it is the
[00:08:02] operating side is just like your um
[00:08:05] normal checking account that you have in
[00:08:06] your personal life. The operating side
[00:08:09] of the budget is accounting for um
[00:08:12] regular reoccurring revenues that are
[00:08:14] coming in and expenditures that are
[00:08:16] going out. That is what the operating
[00:08:18] side of the budget accounts for. And so
[00:08:21] for our purposes or for our purpose here
[00:08:23] at the city is um revenues or fees that
[00:08:26] we collect at the counter, sales tax
[00:08:28] revenues that comes in, those are all
[00:08:30] considered operating revenues. And then
[00:08:32] on the expenditure side, utility bills,
[00:08:35] contracted services and um salaries and
[00:08:38] benefits are also considered um
[00:08:40] operating expenses. Um and then on the
[00:08:44] nonoperating side, those are just like
[00:08:47] our savings account where you are saving
[00:08:49] money and putting money to the side for
[00:08:51] some infrequent and one-time um revenues
[00:08:55] or expenses. That is what um the
[00:08:57] non-operating side of the budget
[00:08:59] accounts for. So in our case, we usually
[00:09:01] sometimes will apply for grants and we
[00:09:04] get some grants coming in to fund
[00:09:05] specific projects and stuff like that.
[00:09:08] That is what is accounted for in the
[00:09:10] non-operating side of the budget as well
[00:09:12] as capital projects that we um
[00:09:16] um we we fund as the years go by. And so
[00:09:20] primarily when you talk about the
[00:09:22] operating budget, the main purpose of
[00:09:25] the operating budget is to actually show
[00:09:27] if there is any structural um issues or
[00:09:30] problems within our city's finances. And
[00:09:33] so when you look at the operating budget
[00:09:35] and it's um you know you are not running
[00:09:37] deficits on the operating side, it shows
[00:09:39] that you know structurally things are in
[00:09:43] a better shape. And then when you add
[00:09:45] the non-opside, non-op because those are
[00:09:47] infrequent and once-time
[00:09:50] um um projects or expenditures sometimes
[00:09:53] those are the ones that tends the
[00:09:55] operating into a deficit whereby you
[00:09:58] have to dip into your reserves or get
[00:10:00] other funding sources to be able to fund
[00:10:02] those
[00:10:04] expenditures. Um in developing the
[00:10:07] budget that is before you today, we
[00:10:10] realize that you know overall costs have
[00:10:14] risen significantly whether in our
[00:10:16] private lives, our personal lives and as
[00:10:19] this as a city costs in general have
[00:10:22] gone up. But in looking at our budget,
[00:10:24] we try to look at what are some of the
[00:10:26] significant costs that we as a city um
[00:10:30] in care. And so there are only three
[00:10:32] that we felt I I kind of felt were
[00:10:35] significant in developing this budget
[00:10:37] and those are the three that you see on
[00:10:39] this screen that I just want to touch on
[00:10:40] a little bit. So that first section
[00:10:43] there we see
[00:10:45] police we try to compare the last four
[00:10:48] years four years ago versus the year one
[00:10:51] budget that we are presenting before you
[00:10:53] today. Over that fouryear period, you
[00:10:56] can see that um police expenses uh
[00:11:01] public safety police side of the public
[00:11:03] safety budget has actually increased 42%
[00:11:07] over a 4-year period. Now, that is
[00:11:11] because of increases in um contracted
[00:11:14] rates. That's also because we added um a
[00:11:18] dedicated lieutenant um to our
[00:11:20] operations. And overall, it's just
[00:11:22] general increases in the contract for
[00:11:25] public safety. Um, when you look at the
[00:11:29] fire side, it went up over the 4-year
[00:11:32] period, we're looking at
[00:11:35] 74%. And since our lieutenant's in the
[00:11:37] room, I'll just note he was a small part
[00:11:39] of that overall increase. All right.
[00:11:42] Yes, that was just a little part of you,
[00:11:44] sir. It's not you, Lieutenant.
[00:11:47] [Laughter]
[00:11:51] Thank
[00:11:52] you.
[00:11:53] Um so on the fire side again um 74% over
[00:11:58] the 4-year period and um that is mainly
[00:12:00] driven again by an additional um medic
[00:12:04] unit that we added increases in contract
[00:12:06] rates and then you know our city
[00:12:08] switched from um to the municipal um
[00:12:12] staffing module where you know
[00:12:15] um changes in existing um positions or
[00:12:19] existing positions are replaced with a
[00:12:21] higher um um higher staffing level in
[00:12:23] order to grieve us um as a city more
[00:12:27] experienced force. That is what the
[00:12:30] um municipal module actually um um
[00:12:33] does. And then the other component which
[00:12:37] amongst the three that you see on the
[00:12:39] screen increased significantly over the
[00:12:41] four years is our insurance. And I know
[00:12:45] in our own lives again in our private
[00:12:47] lives we can attest to the fact that
[00:12:50] insurance rates have just skyrocketed
[00:12:52] and it's no different for the city. Um
[00:12:56] some of the driving force within the
[00:12:58] insurance market especially on our side
[00:13:00] of um um things is that cyber security
[00:13:04] insurance have actually shot up due to
[00:13:08] um as we hear in the news and most of
[00:13:10] the time we hear about um cyber security
[00:13:12] threats and some governmental agencies
[00:13:15] um being hacked and um they've been
[00:13:17] asked to give up a ransom before they
[00:13:19] can get their files and stuff back. We
[00:13:21] as a city, you know, through our IT
[00:13:24] department and the safeguards that we
[00:13:26] put in place, we we we are safe on that
[00:13:30] side at least as up till this time. But
[00:13:34] those expenses or those claims are
[00:13:37] affecting insurance rates and so our
[00:13:39] cyber security costs have risen. And um
[00:13:42] one other thing that is also influencing
[00:13:44] um the the increase in insurance cost is
[00:13:47] that insurance insurance carriers um
[00:13:50] within California are having it
[00:13:52] difficult. most insurance carriers are
[00:13:54] leaving the state because of some of the
[00:13:55] regulations we have. And so we have um
[00:13:58] the the the the universe or the
[00:14:00] population of insurance careers is
[00:14:03] shrinking and as that shrinks it leaves
[00:14:06] us with a few insurance companies out
[00:14:08] there who are willing to insure um um
[00:14:11] organizations and that is also driving
[00:14:13] up costs and so you see that 106 um%
[00:14:16] increase in insurance cost over the last
[00:14:18] four years and um recently I was in a
[00:14:21] meeting and um there's no
[00:14:26] um this cost is not going to be coming
[00:14:28] down anytime soon. Um it's just one of
[00:14:31] those things that is going on in the
[00:14:33] market as we have it now. Now at the
[00:14:35] bottom of the screen, I just wanted to
[00:14:37] say that just these three expenses or
[00:14:40] cost categories over the four years have
[00:14:43] increased about
[00:14:45] 60%. Or 11 um 11 million. But when you
[00:14:50] compare the increases on the revenue
[00:14:52] side, our revenues have only increased
[00:14:54] about 14%. And so you can see clearly
[00:14:57] that just using these three cost
[00:15:01] categories, our revenues are nowhere
[00:15:03] keeping up with our
[00:15:07] expenses. This screen
[00:15:10] here is basically presenting the budget
[00:15:14] that we have before you today. And so
[00:15:17] that middle column is talking about
[00:15:19] fiscal year um 2024 2025 2026 and then
[00:15:25] the last column is talking about fiscal
[00:15:27] year 2026
[00:15:29] 2027. And so as you can see um we are
[00:15:32] projecting operating revenues um for the
[00:15:36] first budget year to be approximately 37
[00:15:40] million and operating expenditures
[00:15:42] approximately 38 um 35.8 8 million and
[00:15:47] that leads us to an operating surplus of
[00:15:50] 1.3 million approximately 1.3 million
[00:15:54] and um on the non-op side we are
[00:15:57] expecting some grant revenue to come in
[00:15:59] to help fund some projects and so we are
[00:16:02] projecting about 660,000 in nonoperating
[00:16:05] revenues and then non-operating
[00:16:07] expenditures which are mainly capital
[00:16:09] projects which are going to be discussed
[00:16:11] in later slides account for that 4.5 5
[00:16:15] um million but of that 4.5 million I
[00:16:18] just want to state that a significant
[00:16:20] part of that amount about 3 million of
[00:16:23] it it's for the IID substation and that
[00:16:27] is what is driving up um the the the
[00:16:30] non-operating expenditures and so when
[00:16:32] you take the non-operating expenditures
[00:16:35] versus the non operating revenues there
[00:16:38] is a deficit of 3 approximately 3.9
[00:16:41] million and so netting that combining
[00:16:44] the non-operating um deficit of 3.2 3.9
[00:16:49] and the operating surplus of
[00:16:52] 1.3. We net out or we are projecting
[00:16:55] that at the end of the first fiscal year
[00:16:58] um the first budget year we are looking
[00:17:00] at an operating a total deficit of 2.6
[00:17:05] million which um basically are going to
[00:17:08] be drawn out of reserves to fund these
[00:17:12] projects.
[00:17:13] Um the same holds true on the uh the
[00:17:18] second year of the budget. And so that
[00:17:19] second year of the budget as you can see
[00:17:21] we are um projecting total revenues of
[00:17:25] about 38 um.8
[00:17:29] million to um total operating expenses
[00:17:32] of approximately 37.5 million for an
[00:17:36] operating surplus of about 1.3 million.
[00:17:40] And then on that same note on the
[00:17:43] non-opside we are not projecting any
[00:17:45] revenues at this point but we are
[00:17:47] projecting expenditures of about 2.4 4
[00:17:52] million and of that 2 million is also um
[00:17:56] related to the IID substation and so at
[00:17:59] the end of the second year based on what
[00:18:02] we are presenting today we are
[00:18:03] projecting an an a total deficit of
[00:18:08] about 1.1 million that is going to be
[00:18:11] coming out of reserves. Hey Kofi can I
[00:18:13] make a point on that last slide?
[00:18:16] So, you know,
[00:18:18] we've we've heard a lot about affordable
[00:18:20] housing and the need for it and how
[00:18:22] critical it is. And so, you know, I just
[00:18:26] want to correlate what you see in this
[00:18:29] proposed budget with some of those goals
[00:18:32] that the council has established. So if
[00:18:35] the city uh did not get involved with
[00:18:38] that IID
[00:18:39] substation, there would be no capacity
[00:18:43] and affordable housing would not
[00:18:45] develop. It just wouldn't. They can
[00:18:48] barely get their projects to fund now
[00:18:50] without overcoming an extreme scenario
[00:18:54] like go build a substation. So the whole
[00:18:56] driver behind the city getting involved
[00:18:59] with the IID substation and uh putting
[00:19:03] the money in. so that there's capacity
[00:19:05] so that this affordable housing can
[00:19:07] develop is for that exact reason. It
[00:19:10] will not get built if we don't do this.
[00:19:13] So this, you know, although it's tough
[00:19:15] to say, hey, you know, if you pulled out
[00:19:18] that IID substation, right, that bottom
[00:19:21] number, we would actually put money into
[00:19:23] reserves, right? So what this budget is
[00:19:25] telling you, hey, everything that the
[00:19:27] city is doing would have been funded
[00:19:29] within the money that we received uh for
[00:19:31] the year. And actually, we would put a
[00:19:33] little bit away without this IID
[00:19:36] substation project. when you put in the
[00:19:38] iid substation project. So three million
[00:19:41] in budget year one and two million in
[00:19:43] budget year two. That is what is driving
[00:19:46] the use of city reserves. Now obviously
[00:19:50] we have reserves for a purpose and there
[00:19:52] have been years when the council has
[00:19:54] decided, hey this is an appropriate use
[00:19:57] of reserves because we're delivering
[00:19:59] whatever it was to the community. We are
[00:20:01] investing that money back in for these
[00:20:03] purposes and we feel like you know
[00:20:05] that's why it's there. So during COVID,
[00:20:08] right, we did a lot of programs and a
[00:20:10] lot of that was funded out of our
[00:20:12] reserves.
[00:20:14] So this is one of those cases where when
[00:20:17] you look at our budget, you do see the
[00:20:19] priorities of the council when it comes
[00:20:22] to affordable housing uh driving the use
[00:20:25] of some of our city reserves. Uh so
[00:20:28] obviously with the level of um need and
[00:20:33] uh priority that has been given that is
[00:20:36] why you see this use of reserves being
[00:20:39] driven uh by that IID substation project
[00:20:44] because without it you you wouldn't have
[00:20:46] your affordable housing develop.
[00:20:48] Thank you
[00:20:50] Isa. So this next slide is just
[00:20:54] basically showing you um showing you how
[00:20:58] the um
[00:21:00] projected deficit is flowing through our
[00:21:04] reserves. And so we are projecting that
[00:21:06] at the end of the current fiscal year,
[00:21:08] fiscal year 20 245, we are projecting um
[00:21:13] total reserves of approximately 63
[00:21:17] 67.3 million. And so when you run the
[00:21:21] operating uh the total deficit projected
[00:21:25] for budget year one through the
[00:21:27] reserves, it leaves us we are projecting
[00:21:30] that at the end of the first budget year
[00:21:33] we are projecting
[00:21:35] um total reserves of approximately
[00:21:40] 64.7 million. And so the same thing when
[00:21:43] you shift it onto the second year um um
[00:21:47] budget year two um we are projecting at
[00:21:50] the end of budget year 2 to have a total
[00:21:53] reserve of approximately 63 um 5
[00:21:57] million.
[00:22:01] Now this slide here is um this slide and
[00:22:04] the next slide is just basically giving
[00:22:06] us a graphical um picture of how the
[00:22:10] revenue that comes in where they come
[00:22:12] from and then um we'll go on to the
[00:22:14] other one which shows how we spend the
[00:22:16] money and so as you can see on the
[00:22:18] screen
[00:22:20] um sales tax and bed tax which is the
[00:22:24] toot tax those two revenue sources
[00:22:27] account for 50% of the general fund
[00:22:30] revenues.
[00:22:31] which clearly shows that our city is
[00:22:33] very very dependent on tourism because
[00:22:36] um sales tax and um bed tax um um
[00:22:39] revenues account for 50% of of our
[00:22:42] revenue. And then the next um um major
[00:22:46] source of revenue is the revenues we get
[00:22:49] from our CFD1 which is specifically um
[00:22:53] dedicated to fund public safety. And so
[00:22:56] in this budget um it accounts for 16% of
[00:23:00] the total revenue that comes into the
[00:23:03] general fund. And then we have interest
[00:23:05] income, we have other revenues and um a
[00:23:07] few other revenues as you can see on
[00:23:09] there. But I just wanted to point out
[00:23:10] that um between sales tax toot and the
[00:23:15] CFD that is a chunk of the revenues that
[00:23:19] we get in operating our city.
[00:23:23] This chart here shows you where the
[00:23:26] money goes. The money that comes in,
[00:23:28] where this money goes. And um as you can
[00:23:31] see here, 49% of the projected budget
[00:23:35] for um the first budget year goes to
[00:23:38] public safety. I know that is a priority
[00:23:41] for this council and public safety is
[00:23:43] something significant for our community
[00:23:46] and so this clearly shows that you know
[00:23:48] we are putting our money where our
[00:23:49] priorities are. And then um the other um
[00:23:53] sections you see on there are the
[00:23:55] various departments um and how much of
[00:23:58] the budget um is allocated to those
[00:24:03] departments. So the next few slides that
[00:24:05] we're going to be going through um as
[00:24:07] you can see the budget document is a big
[00:24:10] document. It's several pages and so we
[00:24:14] pulled out a few items that we believe
[00:24:16] are significant and that need um that um
[00:24:19] we need to bring to your attention or we
[00:24:22] need to um just let you know that we are
[00:24:24] continuing to do those um those those
[00:24:26] things within the budget. And so the
[00:24:29] next few um items we're going to touch
[00:24:31] on a few um expenses or a few items that
[00:24:35] are in the budget for that purpose. um
[00:24:38] in on page 41 of the budget um book that
[00:24:41] you received specifically account
[00:24:45] um division 4100 account
[00:24:48] 7404 it's basically where we account for
[00:24:51] our for our um police services and so
[00:24:55] just like I said earlier on those costs
[00:24:57] have increased and so in your in the
[00:24:59] first year of the budget we are actually
[00:25:02] projecting an increase um estimated
[00:25:05] increase in rates and public safety cost
[00:25:07] of about 9.5 um%. And then the second
[00:25:11] year um just based on um prior trends
[00:25:14] and everything we are projecting that
[00:25:17] those expenses are going to increase
[00:25:18] about 6%. So so how the um contract
[00:25:22] rates work right that 9 and a half%
[00:25:24] increase that's just on the bodies you
[00:25:27] have right those aren't increased
[00:25:28] services. So, the way that our contract
[00:25:30] rate increases work uh through the
[00:25:32] sheriff's department is uh you know
[00:25:35] there's some recent articles about this
[00:25:37] going through right now. Um so about
[00:25:41] March, April of each year uh they tell
[00:25:44] us what our contract rate increase is
[00:25:46] going to be for the current year and
[00:25:48] then they retro that back to the
[00:25:50] beginning of the fiscal year. And so
[00:25:52] about nine months into your fiscal year,
[00:25:54] they will come and say, "Hey, you're so
[00:25:57] this year it was uh 7%." So this year we
[00:26:00] got a 7% rate increase. And then they
[00:26:02] retro that back to July 1, the start of
[00:26:05] the fiscal year. And then they'll give
[00:26:07] us a projected increase for next year.
[00:26:10] And so that 9 and a half% increase is
[00:26:13] what they told us as what their estimate
[00:26:16] is for the increase after that. Now,
[00:26:18] they don't give a year two projection.
[00:26:21] uh we uh put one in uh just kind of
[00:26:25] based on some of the factors that we can
[00:26:27] look at. So most of the cost a lot of
[00:26:30] the cost is driven uh through um you
[00:26:34] know labor increases, insurance
[00:26:36] increases. Um, one of the things that I
[00:26:39] like to talk about is, you know,
[00:26:42] sometimes they'll report, you know,
[00:26:44] whatever that contract rate is or an
[00:26:46] overtime rate, right? And recognize that
[00:26:50] that rate isn't what the officer is
[00:26:52] getting
[00:26:53] paid. So, just like the city has
[00:26:57] administrative overheads, well, so does
[00:26:59] the sheriff's department. So, our
[00:27:00] contract rates not only cover uh the
[00:27:04] officers that are serving our community
[00:27:06] and what they cost, but it also covers
[00:27:10] uh the administrative costs, the
[00:27:12] insurance costs. So, within these rates,
[00:27:15] there's charges from, you know, the
[00:27:18] county
[00:27:19] and the county provides services to the
[00:27:23] sheriff's department, which then those
[00:27:25] costs get put into our rates. So, county
[00:27:28] IT as an example, that's whatever gets
[00:27:31] charged to the sheriff's department will
[00:27:33] get wrapped into our rates. And so, it's
[00:27:36] not just what the deputies make, it's
[00:27:39] the overhead structure that also
[00:27:42] supports the sheriff's department um and
[00:27:45] charges from the county. And so when you
[00:27:47] when you break it and get into it,
[00:27:49] there's a lot of moving pieces to these
[00:27:51] rates, which is kind of why it works the
[00:27:53] way it does where you see it get retroed
[00:27:56] back, you know, for nine or so months.
[00:27:59] Uh, and you don't find out what the
[00:28:00] actual increase is until about nine
[00:28:02] months into your fiscal year. So, it is
[00:28:05] a a very complicated process that the
[00:28:07] county has to go through in order to
[00:28:09] determine the exact rate increase that
[00:28:12] you're going to get. Question. So um
[00:28:15] this includes the 7% that we've read
[00:28:17] about in the paper the last couple of
[00:28:19] days. Um because that's current year. So
[00:28:22] when when we project forward, you take
[00:28:25] current year plus whatever. But it's
[00:28:27] also I think important to to note and I
[00:28:29] assume this is the case when you put the
[00:28:31] budget together that this assumes our
[00:28:34] current level of staffing for law
[00:28:36] enforcement. This does not include one
[00:28:38] additional hour of law enforcement
[00:28:40] services for the future. So, our costs
[00:28:41] are going to go up this much just to
[00:28:43] stay where we are even though population
[00:28:46] is going to grow in this city. Correct.
[00:28:49] Yes.
[00:28:52] Um can we put All right. Thank you. And
[00:28:56] so going through the public safety um
[00:28:58] budget um for division 4100
[00:29:02] um you see that in account 88 0 on page
[00:29:06] 42 um there is operating transfers out.
[00:29:09] Now this basically accounts for you know
[00:29:12] the revenue that comes in for public
[00:29:14] safety is all accounted for in this
[00:29:16] division division 4100 but the fire fund
[00:29:19] is in a different fun the fire um
[00:29:21] activities in a different fund and so
[00:29:24] there's usually an operating transfer
[00:29:26] that goes out of the general fund into
[00:29:28] the fire fund to ensure that the fire
[00:29:31] expenses or the fire cost is taken care
[00:29:32] of basically bringing it down to a zero
[00:29:35] fund balance at the end of each year.
[00:29:37] And so um that is what that account
[00:29:39] accounts for. Um on the non um in that
[00:29:43] same division account 8801 is accounting
[00:29:46] for nonoperating transfers out and that
[00:29:49] is specifically in year um budget year 1
[00:29:54] 310,000 is to um fund the replacement of
[00:29:58] an existing ambulance and that's what
[00:30:00] that cost in that account is.
[00:30:04] Now in division 2100 21,000 which is our
[00:30:08] planning division we just thought um
[00:30:10] these two items are some items that we
[00:30:12] wanted to highlight. In um budget year
[00:30:16] two there is about 20,000 budgeted to
[00:30:19] update our housing element. And then in
[00:30:22] budget year 1 there is 40,000 allocated
[00:30:25] for um the highway 111 specific plan.
[00:30:31] In division
[00:30:32] 3100, um approximately 205,000
[00:30:36] um is budgeted to ensure that our core
[00:30:39] maintenance um and repair functions are
[00:30:42] continuing and our all on and it also
[00:30:44] accounts for our on call maintenance
[00:30:46] contracts um to ensure that our
[00:30:49] maintenance and um everything that we
[00:30:51] have going on in the city is is still
[00:30:53] going as planned. um for facilities
[00:30:56] maintenance division 3300
[00:30:59] um about 150,000 of that budget it's
[00:31:03] earmarked um for ongoing maintenance of
[00:31:06] mechanical infrastructure within city
[00:31:10] hall and the general government
[00:31:12] specifically this um item relates to uh
[00:31:16] insurance that I've already kind of
[00:31:18] talked about um so in budget year one
[00:31:21] estimated increase of 19% um is
[00:31:24] projected Based on the renewal data that
[00:31:27] the city received from our insurance
[00:31:30] carrier, um it's projected that
[00:31:32] insurance rates or insurance expenses is
[00:31:35] going to go up about 19% in this first
[00:31:38] year. And then um in the second year, we
[00:31:41] are projecting about 15% increase um
[00:31:44] just based on our recent um claim
[00:31:46] history and um expense um pattern.
[00:31:51] division
[00:31:52] 53,000 um is our regional planning um
[00:31:56] expenses and um specifically in there
[00:31:59] every year the city um allocates about
[00:32:03] 150,000 to fund homelessness um
[00:32:07] activities. And so for budget year 1 and
[00:32:09] budget year two, we are continuing to
[00:32:12] allocate 150,000 for homelessness
[00:32:15] funding within the region. In the
[00:32:17] finance division, division 5500,
[00:32:20] um there is about 60,000 budgeted to um
[00:32:24] for the division to conduct a
[00:32:26] development impact fee and nexus a
[00:32:28] development impact fee and nexus study.
[00:32:31] So every 5 years um the city is required
[00:32:35] to conduct um do a development impact
[00:32:38] fee study. And so the last one we did um
[00:32:41] this la this current fiscal year we are
[00:32:43] in is the last year and so we are
[00:32:45] budgeting within that first budget year
[00:32:48] 25 26 fiscal year 60,000 to do um that
[00:32:52] coffee I just want to make a point
[00:32:54] really quick on those uh fee studies is
[00:32:57] you know it's important to keep this uh
[00:32:59] up. So one of the important uh aspects
[00:33:02] that we've talked about is hey we don't
[00:33:05] need a third fire station right now but
[00:33:06] at some point we will. And so we do have
[00:33:09] a development impact fee that does uh
[00:33:11] collect money for future fire facilities
[00:33:14] which would include a third fire
[00:33:15] station. Uh the reason it's important to
[00:33:18] update these studies on a regular basis
[00:33:21] is you know as you look at the postcoid
[00:33:24] world and just how costs have increased
[00:33:28] our our neighbors uh to the east Palm
[00:33:30] Desert just uh built a new fire station
[00:33:34] and it is substantially more than what
[00:33:36] we have estimated in our diff fee study.
[00:33:40] And so when we do these updates, we get
[00:33:42] the opportunity to go back and say,
[00:33:44] okay, yes, you know, the third fire
[00:33:47] station isn't new, but it's also the
[00:33:49] opportunity to reflect what that is
[00:33:51] actually going to cost. And so by doing
[00:33:54] these fee uh impact studies, it allows
[00:33:57] us to uh collect an appropriate amount
[00:34:00] from development for their fair share of
[00:34:02] the impact on the services.
[00:34:05] Thank you.
[00:34:08] So moving on um division 56,000 is our
[00:34:12] information um services division and
[00:34:15] that department um in in the budget um
[00:34:19] there are three segments there that I
[00:34:21] just want to highlight. Um we have some
[00:34:24] funds earmarked for hardware
[00:34:26] replacement. You know the industry
[00:34:29] standard or best practices require that
[00:34:31] you don't wait till your um systems
[00:34:33] become obsolete before you replace them.
[00:34:35] And so this 65,000 each of the two
[00:34:39] fiscal years is being earmarked to help
[00:34:41] replace the hardware for the various
[00:34:43] systems that we have within the city.
[00:34:45] And also within the budget um budget
[00:34:47] year one there are some funds that are
[00:34:51] earmarked to enhance our cyber security
[00:34:55] stuff. And so basically the the these
[00:34:58] funds are going to be used to implement
[00:35:01] advanced threat um detection tools um
[00:35:04] for the city as well as expand endpoint
[00:35:07] protection and system monitoring just so
[00:35:09] we ensure that our systems are not
[00:35:12] vulnerable to some of these um hacking
[00:35:15] and stuff that goes on out there.
[00:35:18] So that the first budget year 140,000 is
[00:35:21] budgeted for that and then the second
[00:35:23] year 150,000 is budgeted for the
[00:35:25] security enhancement um
[00:35:29] activities cloud services and business
[00:35:31] continuity upgrades we are budgeting
[00:35:34] 250,000 in each of the fiscal years um
[00:35:38] for to enhance those items in division
[00:35:43] 72,000 is our community relations um
[00:35:46] that's where we account for all the
[00:35:47] stuff that we do within our community.
[00:35:49] And so for um as you can see the the
[00:35:52] city continues to support our chamber of
[00:35:55] commerce. And so for both fiscal years
[00:35:57] um both budget years we are earmarking
[00:36:00] 145,000 to support activities of um um
[00:36:04] the chamber.
[00:36:07] We are also budgeting um in the first
[00:36:09] fiscal year 2425
[00:36:12] um 135,000 for an economic development
[00:36:15] study.
[00:36:18] I ask a question. All right. So um is
[00:36:22] the economic de development study is
[00:36:24] that in in account 7476
[00:36:27] community economic development
[00:36:30] correct 7476 on page 52. Yes. Yeah.
[00:36:33] Correct. So why is it 225,000 instead of
[00:36:36] 135?
[00:36:38] Because that's also where we're putting
[00:36:39] in the uh the shop local proposal. The
[00:36:42] shop local. Thank you. So that's that's
[00:36:44] all community development. Correct.
[00:36:47] Correct. So then the 135 there and what
[00:36:50] we are budgeting for the shop local um
[00:36:52] the Rancho Mirage gift card which is the
[00:36:54] next item on the um last column those
[00:36:57] are all accounted for in that account.
[00:36:59] Um so the first fiscal year we are
[00:37:01] allocating 80 95,000 and then the second
[00:37:04] year we allocating 105,000 towards our
[00:37:07] um shop local um gift card program and
[00:37:10] then in both fiscal years we are
[00:37:12] allocating 250,000 towards amphitheater
[00:37:17] programming. So those are the items that
[00:37:20] we wanted to highlight in the general
[00:37:21] fund. Now I'm just transitioning to some
[00:37:24] special revenue funds and um we'll just
[00:37:27] talk touch on a few of them. Again the
[00:37:30] first one is fund um 215 which is where
[00:37:34] we actually account for all the activity
[00:37:36] related to our fire services. And so
[00:37:39] like I've explained before the increases
[00:37:42] in that um um fund is mainly due to
[00:37:46] addition of a third medic unit switching
[00:37:49] um our staffing module to the municipal
[00:37:50] module and contract um rate increases in
[00:37:53] general.
[00:37:55] Fund 218 is our parkland fund and um
[00:37:59] what we just wanted to highlight on here
[00:38:00] is that this fund basically um money's
[00:38:05] coming and they are used for parkland
[00:38:08] parkland activity expenses.
[00:38:11] um the rate at which revenues are coming
[00:38:14] in and the expenses that we are
[00:38:15] incurring basically what's been
[00:38:17] happening year over year is that the
[00:38:19] revenues that come in are enough to fund
[00:38:22] the operations or the activity of our
[00:38:24] parklength um um expenses. Um, however,
[00:38:27] I wanted to point out that going forward
[00:38:30] or if there is any major capital project
[00:38:32] that the city needs to embark on
[00:38:34] relating to parkland, we are most likely
[00:38:37] not going to have enough revenue to be
[00:38:39] able to take care of those capital
[00:38:41] projects and that may likely be funded
[00:38:43] out of the general
[00:38:46] fund. The other special revenue fund
[00:38:49] that we wanted to touch on is the gas
[00:38:51] tax fund. Um this fund is strictly the
[00:38:54] resources in this fund are strictly um
[00:38:57] um earmarked for um roadways, street
[00:39:00] maintenance and street projects. And so
[00:39:03] for the first um budget year, we are
[00:39:06] estimating that the revenues that come
[00:39:08] in and the expenses that we are going to
[00:39:10] be incurring is basically going to um
[00:39:13] zero out our fund balance in that fund
[00:39:16] for the first fiscal year. um in the
[00:39:18] second budget year. Currently, no
[00:39:21] capital projects have been budgeted for.
[00:39:23] Um and the idea is that we want to grow
[00:39:25] back our fund balance in those funds so
[00:39:27] that we can use the funding down the
[00:39:30] road for other capital projects or
[00:39:32] street related
[00:39:35] projects. The development impact fee
[00:39:37] funds that those are about nine or 10
[00:39:40] funds that are combined together. Um
[00:39:43] funds 350 to 359. And basically at the
[00:39:47] end of the current fiscal year we are
[00:39:48] projecting about 5.7 million in fund
[00:39:52] balance in all the diff funds combined.
[00:39:55] Um however we just wanted to draw
[00:39:56] attention to the fact that by the end of
[00:39:59] the second year we are looking at a fund
[00:40:01] balance of about 3.4 4 million and this
[00:40:04] is mainly driven by the fact that we are
[00:40:07] using these funds for their intended
[00:40:09] purpose is being used to fund um
[00:40:12] projects and activity um that those
[00:40:15] funds are earmarked to be used for and I
[00:40:18] I believe once we get to the capital um
[00:40:20] projects um we'll hear a little bit more
[00:40:22] about
[00:40:24] that. The next fund that we want to talk
[00:40:27] about is our library and observatory.
[00:40:31] And so this is just a high overview of
[00:40:34] um fund balance and projected activity
[00:40:37] within um the library fund for the next
[00:40:41] um two years. And so in the middle of
[00:40:44] the screen as you can see there are
[00:40:46] three columns. The middle column says
[00:40:48] fund 242 and that is our library and
[00:40:52] observatory fund. In this fund we
[00:40:54] account for everything related to the
[00:40:56] library directly. And so um the first
[00:41:00] column in that section fiscal year 2425
[00:41:04] we are estimating that at the end of
[00:41:06] this fiscal year there will be about 4.3
[00:41:09] million in fund balance for the library
[00:41:12] fund and then rolling that forward we
[00:41:14] are projecting that for 2025 2026 budget
[00:41:18] year we are looking at about 4.8 million
[00:41:22] in revenues and then a spending of 4.9
[00:41:25] million. So at the end of the first
[00:41:27] budget year we are projecting an
[00:41:30] approximately um 4 um7
[00:41:35] um million in fund balance and then
[00:41:39] rolling that forward to the second
[00:41:40] budget year projecting a revenue of
[00:41:43] about 4.8 million and then expenditure
[00:41:46] of about 5.1 million leaving a fund
[00:41:49] balance of approximately
[00:41:52] 39
[00:41:54] million. Now the column to the um the
[00:41:57] last column on the screen like the third
[00:41:59] column that is just showing us similar
[00:42:02] um um um information but for the library
[00:42:06] foundation which is the
[00:42:07] 501c3 that raises um um um funds in
[00:42:12] support of what we do at our library.
[00:42:15] And so currently in the first uh in the
[00:42:17] current fiscal year we are projecting
[00:42:18] that that um fund is going to have about
[00:42:22] 2.6 6 million in um fund balance and
[00:42:25] then at the end of the second year the
[00:42:27] first budget year we are projecting
[00:42:29] about 2.4 million in um fund balance and
[00:42:32] then the third year um or the second
[00:42:35] budget year we are projecting about 2.3
[00:42:38] um million. Now you may ask the question
[00:42:41] you know that that fund balance is going
[00:42:42] down. It's because um certain projects
[00:42:45] and activity supporting the library are
[00:42:48] being budgeted out of there and which
[00:42:50] are going to be talked about on the next
[00:42:52] um um
[00:42:53] slide. This is just you know our library
[00:42:57] continues to be um a hub of learning and
[00:43:00] discovery for our community. And so the
[00:43:02] budget that is presented for the library
[00:43:04] in fund 242 is ensuring that we continue
[00:43:08] to provide astronomy experiences um STEM
[00:43:11] focus tours for our school kids um
[00:43:14] theater programming, youth theater
[00:43:16] programming, the steam reads and summer
[00:43:18] reading club programs that we have. Um
[00:43:20] the budget is presented or prepared in a
[00:43:23] way to continue to support these
[00:43:24] activities. And um as part of the budget
[00:43:27] for the first year um on January 7,
[00:43:31] 2026, that date will be the 30th
[00:43:35] anniversary of our library. And so in
[00:43:38] the budget um and then 20 years of the
[00:43:42] library in its current facility and so
[00:43:45] about 15,000 is budgeted um to um take
[00:43:49] care of um that celebration.
[00:43:53] This other screen um column is talking
[00:43:57] about activities in the foundation fund
[00:44:00] 24 um um um 243 and as I kind of
[00:44:05] indicated earlier fund 243 supports
[00:44:10] raises funds and supports activity of
[00:44:12] the library and so in each of the budget
[00:44:15] years each of those years about
[00:44:18] 225,000 is budgeted um in the foundation
[00:44:23] fund to continue funding um the library
[00:44:26] collection activities which is um uh
[00:44:29] books, ebooks and all those um
[00:44:31] electronic resources that we use at the
[00:44:34] library. As part of the expenses
[00:44:37] presented in the library foundation for
[00:44:39] the the the next two fiscal years is
[00:44:42] capital improvement projects for the
[00:44:44] library. Um so over the years most of
[00:44:48] the capital improvement activity happens
[00:44:50] or are taken care of in fund 242 which
[00:44:53] is the library fund. Um but as we know
[00:44:57] the library foundation raises money to
[00:45:00] help with um funding activities in the
[00:45:02] library fund and um we in the next two
[00:45:06] fiscal years are budgeting for some of
[00:45:09] the capital improvement projects to be
[00:45:11] funded out of the library foundation
[00:45:15] fund.
[00:45:17] Kofi, before we go to the housing
[00:45:18] authority, can you go back to the
[00:45:20] summary of 242 and 243? Yep. So,
[00:45:29] um I think this demonstrates
[00:45:32] uh the importance of our
[00:45:36] foundation. And so, as we all know up
[00:45:39] here, the library is a great place. Uh
[00:45:42] it's programming. Uh you know, we really
[00:45:44] can't go in our community or even
[00:45:46] outside our community without somebody
[00:45:48] commenting to us how great of a facility
[00:45:50] that is. And a huge component of that
[00:45:53] success is the foundation. The
[00:45:56] foundation raising that money to help
[00:45:59] support free programming and the
[00:46:02] activities of the library is critically
[00:46:04] important. And those resident volunteers
[00:46:07] that are on that board that help raise
[00:46:09] money for our library, thank you so
[00:46:12] much. Just know you're making a huge
[00:46:14] difference for that facility. So imagine
[00:46:16] if we didn't have that foundation that
[00:46:19] was raising money. And if you go to 243
[00:46:22] and you look at the expenditures uh that
[00:46:25] 243 does on behalf of our library,
[00:46:28] imagine sliding that amount over into
[00:46:32] 242. Right? So in budget year number
[00:46:35] one, imagine seeing another
[00:46:38] 641,000 on the expenditure line in fund
[00:46:41] 242. in budget year number two. Imagine
[00:46:44] seeing another 641,000 almost
[00:46:48] 642,000 in that expenditure line for
[00:46:50] 242. You would erode the uh reserves in
[00:46:55] that li library fund very quickly. Um,
[00:46:58] since I've been with the city about 13
[00:47:01] uh years
[00:47:03] ago, we've always talked about trying to
[00:47:06] preserve the library fund and, you know,
[00:47:10] keep that facility in a high class
[00:47:13] manner. And one of the reasons that the
[00:47:15] big part of the reason that we've been
[00:47:17] able to do that is this library
[00:47:19] foundation. And so, uh, you know, I
[00:47:22] didn't want this time to pass without
[00:47:25] recognizing the important work that that
[00:47:27] board does on behalf of our library. And
[00:47:30] frankly, it wouldn't be the place it is
[00:47:31] today without that foundation. I think
[00:47:34] another important important item to note
[00:47:36] is that that 641,000 that gets spent in
[00:47:40] those two budget years uh, is covered by
[00:47:43] $500,000 that's raised by the
[00:47:45] foundation. Absent the foundation, that
[00:47:46] $500,000 would not be raised.
[00:47:52] Thank you.
[00:47:56] So this next slide um is just giving an
[00:47:59] a high level overview of our housing um
[00:48:02] authority. And so in the housing
[00:48:05] authority um there are a couple of funds
[00:48:08] in the fund 280 accounts mainly for
[00:48:12] activities of the housing um um
[00:48:15] authority as an entity. And then funds
[00:48:19] 281 through 281, 283, 284, and 285
[00:48:24] accounts for um the four facilities or
[00:48:28] properties that we have. And so what you
[00:48:30] see on this screen, fund 280, which is
[00:48:34] the main fund um for the housing
[00:48:36] authority, um is
[00:48:39] projecting about 5.8
[00:48:42] million in the current fiscal year in
[00:48:44] fund
[00:48:45] balance. The first budget year 2526
[00:48:50] um it's projecting a fund balance of
[00:48:53] about 4.2 2 million and then the second
[00:48:56] budget year we are projecting a fund
[00:48:58] balance of about 2.7 um um
[00:49:02] million. Now on
[00:49:05] the right side of your screen the third
[00:49:07] column up there that is just a
[00:49:10] combination of all the four um funds for
[00:49:13] the four properties combined we are
[00:49:16] projecting a 3.6 6 million at the end of
[00:49:20] this current fiscal year in fund
[00:49:22] balance. And then the first budget year
[00:49:25] in total for all four properties we are
[00:49:28] looking at about
[00:49:30] 3.27 million in fund balance. Basically
[00:49:34] revenue that is coming in BA which is
[00:49:36] mainly made up of rents. Um as you can
[00:49:38] see that first budget year there's
[00:49:40] projection of about 2.8 million coming
[00:49:42] in. Um but expenditures are 2 uh 3.2 2
[00:49:46] million. That clearly shows that the
[00:49:48] revenues that are coming in are not
[00:49:51] enough to take care of the operations of
[00:49:54] um the various um um properties that we
[00:49:57] have. And then the same thing happens um
[00:50:00] when you move it over to the the next
[00:50:02] budget year, the second budget year, we
[00:50:03] are projecting um a fund balance of
[00:50:05] about 3.4 million. At the bottom of the
[00:50:08] screen is just showing a breakdown of
[00:50:11] the fund balance by property. That's
[00:50:14] what it's showing. So as you can see
[00:50:16] it's showing that Park View Villas um is
[00:50:19] projecting about
[00:50:22] um 177,000 in fund balance at the end of
[00:50:26] the current fiscal year and then the sec
[00:50:27] the first B budget year it has about
[00:50:31] 21,750 fund balance and same for the
[00:50:34] second budget year. um Whispering Waters
[00:50:37] um you don't see any fund balance there
[00:50:39] because um specifically for that
[00:50:41] property um there's always subsidy going
[00:50:44] in there to be able to fund the um
[00:50:47] expenses in that um facility.
[00:50:51] Kofi, yes sir. Just go back to that
[00:50:53] screen again if you would just give us a
[00:50:55] quick overview as to what is included in
[00:50:57] fund 280 versus 281 83 84 and 85. What
[00:51:01] revenues what what what happens in those
[00:51:03] diff various funds? Think think of 280
[00:51:06] as the general fund for the housing
[00:51:09] authority. And so uh 280 has our housing
[00:51:13] manager, right? The common expenses. I
[00:51:17] understand. And the other ones are for
[00:51:18] the specific properties. Exactly. So
[00:51:20] rent and expenses for those properties.
[00:51:23] Okay. Thank you. All right. Thank you.
[00:51:29] So again, just wanted to highlight that
[00:51:31] as part of those
[00:51:34] um the expenditures for the specific
[00:51:38] housing um for properties for budget
[00:51:42] year one. We are budgeting about 1 we
[00:51:47] 1,265,000 for some renovations and um
[00:51:51] work in the four um properties. So
[00:51:54] renovation of the um clubhouse, exterior
[00:51:57] painting, lighting and paving are
[00:51:59] projected to be done um in that first
[00:52:01] fiscal year which is why you see that
[00:52:03] fund balance dropping. Um the second
[00:52:06] budget year we are projecting about 5 or
[00:52:09] we are allocating
[00:52:11] 545,000 to continue or to complete these
[00:52:14] capital improvement projects in the
[00:52:16] housing um um authority properties. So
[00:52:19] at this point um the next
[00:52:24] [Music]
[00:52:26] um account or fund that I want to talk
[00:52:28] about is the proprietary fund or the
[00:52:30] enterprise fund which is a rancho mirage
[00:52:33] energy authority. Um again this is just
[00:52:36] giving an overview of the energy
[00:52:38] authority as well. So first um fiscal
[00:52:42] year 2425 we are projecting a fund
[00:52:45] balance or ending fund balance of about
[00:52:48] 21.5 million in the energy authority and
[00:52:51] then rolling that into the first budget
[00:52:53] year. We are projecting revenues of 34
[00:52:57] um about 35 million in revenues and then
[00:53:01] expenditures of about
[00:53:03] 347 million leaving a balance a fund
[00:53:07] balance of 21.8 8 million and then in
[00:53:11] the second budget year um projecting a
[00:53:13] fund balance of 23 um.1 million. Now to
[00:53:19] the extreme right of your screen is just
[00:53:21] we just wanted to highlight a few
[00:53:23] things. Since inception or since um the
[00:53:25] energy authority was established, it's
[00:53:28] saved its customers which are residents
[00:53:32] over 3 million in direct savings. And
[00:53:35] then um from the various programs that
[00:53:40] we are able to provide our residents,
[00:53:42] especially the rebates program, the
[00:53:44] solar rebates and all the other rebates
[00:53:46] programs that the um authority
[00:53:48] established, we've been able to um give
[00:53:52] back or put money back into the
[00:53:54] community of about 1 million. Currently,
[00:53:58] there are um three rebate programs that
[00:54:01] the energy authority offers. And so for
[00:54:04] our solar energy stuff, you can get up
[00:54:07] to um 5,500 in rebates for residential
[00:54:11] um energy efficiency upgrades. You can
[00:54:14] also get up to
[00:54:16] 1,650 for home battery storage and then
[00:54:20] up to
[00:54:21] $550 um if you install a level two EV
[00:54:24] charger station. And um overall for our
[00:54:29] um residents or customers of the energy
[00:54:33] authority, all the customers who are in
[00:54:36] the green choice um program or
[00:54:38] participates in that gets an overall 10%
[00:54:42] bonus by um opting into that um program.
[00:54:46] And so this is a general overview of the
[00:54:48] energy authority and how things are
[00:54:50] progressing in that um function. At this
[00:54:54] point, I'm going to turn over to um uh
[00:54:58] Assistant City Manager Ryan to discuss
[00:55:01] the capital
[00:55:03] projects. All
[00:55:10] right, if I could get that PowerPoint
[00:55:13] back up, that'd
[00:55:18] be There we
[00:55:20] go. All right. Um, a bit of kind of
[00:55:24] background before we get into the meat
[00:55:26] and potatoes of each project. Um, the
[00:55:29] next two-year capital budget has been
[00:55:31] put together with the uh, thought
[00:55:32] process of minimizing the impact of
[00:55:34] general fund by use of our special
[00:55:36] revenue accounts andor developer impact
[00:55:38] fees that are available for specific
[00:55:40] projects that are um, allowable for
[00:55:42] those. Um and the kind of overall
[00:55:46] mission or the overall sentiment we
[00:55:47] wanted to leave you with and as you've
[00:55:49] heard through this entire presentation
[00:55:50] Kofi has left is capital projects will
[00:55:53] continue to be difficult to fund at
[00:55:55] current revenue levels. Um basically as
[00:55:58] you're seeing our revenues coming in are
[00:56:00] covering our basic overall um operations
[00:56:03] but projects will continue to be a
[00:56:04] challenge.
[00:56:06] I wanted to also note that there are uh
[00:56:08] three projects that we have discussed
[00:56:09] with the council that are not included
[00:56:10] in this budget because frankly I I don't
[00:56:12] have funding um um put together for them
[00:56:16] yet but we do have sort of grants andor
[00:56:19] funding uh mechanism we're in process on
[00:56:22] um interconnect phase 2 which is the uh
[00:56:25] signal synchronization for the balance
[00:56:27] of the city as we've talked about the
[00:56:29] cost of uh undergrounding fiber has
[00:56:31] continued to escalate and in talking to
[00:56:33] our peers from other agencies we're
[00:56:35] seeing a staggering increase in that
[00:56:36] project. So, we're seeking some um grant
[00:56:39] sources that could help us with that and
[00:56:42] uh end of next week, we should be
[00:56:44] submitting a grant application that uh
[00:56:46] could be substantial to that project. Um
[00:56:48] the Vista Deloul roadway construction
[00:56:50] again um we have been talking about this
[00:56:52] for some time and as costs have
[00:56:54] escalated, we're going to be seeking uh
[00:56:56] a formation of an assessment district
[00:56:58] and going out and talking to the
[00:56:59] property owners about self assessing for
[00:57:01] those um for those properties. Um and
[00:57:04] then also uh um city manager mentioned a
[00:57:08] lot of the um costs associated with
[00:57:10] helping get the affordable housing off
[00:57:12] the ground. Well, one of the large costs
[00:57:15] of of kind of opening up that land is
[00:57:18] the construction of via veale uh and the
[00:57:21] associated sewer, water, utility work
[00:57:23] that has to go into that. Um we're
[00:57:26] estimating that expenditure at
[00:57:27] approximately $5 million. And we do have
[00:57:29] an application for funding in uh with
[00:57:32] Congressman Calvert's office and are
[00:57:33] awaiting um uh notification of whether
[00:57:36] that award was made or not. So again,
[00:57:38] we're seeking sources that limit the
[00:57:40] impact to the general fund to the extent
[00:57:42] that we can. So in the in the uh next
[00:57:45] year 2526 budget, we have the uh public
[00:57:49] parking lot improvements, which as many
[00:57:51] of you know is over by the Rancher
[00:57:52] Mirage Community Park. Lands have been
[00:57:54] assembled. um plans are at 90% meaning
[00:57:57] we're just about at a bidable set of
[00:57:59] documents. The estimated cost is
[00:58:01] currently $3 million. And I've listed
[00:58:03] the funding sources that are plentiful.
[00:58:05] Uh we've got four different funding
[00:58:06] sources ranging from uh general license
[00:58:09] tax dollars to our parkland fund uh
[00:58:12] which has some disposable uh capital
[00:58:14] dollars and uh transportation and
[00:58:16] general government facilities will help
[00:58:18] fund that project.
[00:58:21] our uh annual pavement rehabilitation
[00:58:24] program. We're looking at um
[00:58:25] approximately $2 million expenditure and
[00:58:28] we're looking at the use of both gas tax
[00:58:30] and measure A
[00:58:33] funds. We're still making good progress
[00:58:35] on the Frank Sinatra lowwater crossing.
[00:58:38] Um even though you see the the number
[00:58:39] 30% there, we're in design uh working
[00:58:42] with CVWD on hydraology and that's
[00:58:45] really what impact would our design have
[00:58:47] on the flow of the Whitewater River
[00:58:49] channel. Uh and I'll be honest with you,
[00:58:51] we've been having some um very good
[00:58:53] discussions with CVWD on that project. I
[00:58:55] think that it's really just a time and
[00:58:57] um a time at issue at this point, but
[00:59:00] we're seeking um some design dollars out
[00:59:03] of the general fund in year one and
[00:59:05] we're looking to fund uh the eventual
[00:59:07] construction out of Measure A and uh
[00:59:09] Diffy uh transportation funding. We're
[00:59:12] also seeking uh grant funding. This is a
[00:59:14] an active transportation project at its
[00:59:16] core. There's a lot of ATP dollars out
[00:59:18] there and Jeff in our office is looking
[00:59:20] for those um constantly.
[00:59:24] We're also just about ready to put out
[00:59:26] to bid the uh a project that's been on
[00:59:29] the books for a very long time, but it's
[00:59:30] a very minor amendment out in the north
[00:59:33] area. It's at Bob Hope and Ramon will be
[00:59:34] installing a free right-hand turn um
[00:59:38] coming southbound into the city and off
[00:59:39] the freeway. And also within that
[00:59:42] project is some sand fencing uh
[00:59:45] relocation and removal up on Dina Shore
[00:59:48] uh east of Bob Hope. So that those two
[00:59:50] projects got combined and we have a
[00:59:52] grant that funds approximately 700,000
[00:59:56] of the $800,000 cost estimate.
[01:00:00] Ryan, are you telling us that uh these
[01:00:02] various costs for these capital
[01:00:03] improvement projects, you've identified
[01:00:05] various sources of funds, so that's
[01:00:07] already plugged into this budget? Yes.
[01:00:14] And then uh we just we keep some general
[01:00:17] sources of funding available to us uh on
[01:00:20] an annual basis. Um as this council has
[01:00:22] seen items come out through come up
[01:00:24] throughout the year and you expect us to
[01:00:26] be able to move uh you know fairly
[01:00:28] rapidly when a project comes up. A good
[01:00:30] example of that is the pickle ball
[01:00:31] renovation over at Ranch Marsh Community
[01:00:33] Park. if we didn't have some annual
[01:00:35] dollars set aside. Not that it's
[01:00:37] impossible, but it it would make the uh
[01:00:39] budget impact at the end of the year a
[01:00:40] little bit harder to swallow. Um so we
[01:00:43] do keep some accounts uh coming from
[01:00:45] general fund and our parkland fund just
[01:00:47] to make sure that there are dollars
[01:00:48] there. Uh these don't always get used um
[01:00:51] but they are there for um the occasional
[01:00:54] project that comes up. Uh we do um know
[01:00:58] that we have some work to do at city
[01:00:59] hall related to mechanical systems.
[01:01:02] Those are already included in the
[01:01:03] budget. Those are not additional costes
[01:01:05] costs they're in
[01:01:08] already. And what I just real quick
[01:01:11] before we leave, as you note, we go
[01:01:13] through each project, we're trying to
[01:01:16] limit the use of uh fund 101, which is
[01:01:18] your general fund. And um that's not
[01:01:21] always, you know, the intent, but we do
[01:01:24] have some of these special revenue funds
[01:01:25] that can help us limit the impact of the
[01:01:27] general fund. And that's the way we've
[01:01:29] set this budget up. Now, that's great
[01:01:31] because we can draw down those special
[01:01:32] revenue accounts, but they are um not
[01:01:35] refilled at as rapidly a pace as we
[01:01:37] might want them to. So, it's a good
[01:01:39] trick. It's a good way to help us uh get
[01:01:42] projects built, but it's not uh a
[01:01:44] forever solution, just to be aware. And
[01:01:48] with that, that concludes uh yeah, that
[01:01:50] concludes our presentation. And um staff
[01:01:53] will be happy to answer any questions
[01:01:54] that you may have. Thank you.
[01:01:57] I do have uh questions about other
[01:02:00] capital projects that we need to face as
[01:02:02] time goes by. So, we've talked about um
[01:02:05] the substation at IIA that's going to be
[01:02:07] about $5 million over the next couple of
[01:02:09] years. Uh what about the cost of the
[01:02:12] fire station? What is that going to cost
[01:02:14] us and where is that funding going to
[01:02:15] come from?
[01:02:17] So,
[01:02:18] um, you know, we can, I guess, uh, take
[01:02:21] Palm Desert as the example
[01:02:25] of estimated cost. Uh, but again, uh,
[01:02:29] that was a pretty sizable state uh, fire
[01:02:31] station for Palm Desert. And so, if ours
[01:02:34] was scaled down because it didn't need
[01:02:36] the that that many bays, then you would
[01:02:38] start to limit the cost. Uh, but
[01:02:41] essentially, you know, that's still very
[01:02:43] early on in the process, right? because
[01:02:46] uh the fire folks uh fire professionals
[01:02:49] Cal Fire says, "Hey, you don't need it
[01:02:51] yet." Which is why we took the medium
[01:02:54] step of adding the third ambulance
[01:02:56] because they said, "What you really need
[01:02:58] is more support in your ambulance
[01:03:00] response times. You know, when we add
[01:03:02] that third fire station, you're adding a
[01:03:05] a third fire engine. You're required to
[01:03:07] add a third fire engine, and they tell
[01:03:09] us you don't need a third fire engine
[01:03:11] yet." And so this middle step of getting
[01:03:14] the third ambulance operating out of the
[01:03:16] current fire station, when we do make
[01:03:18] that step, you know, you would look to
[01:03:22] uh you know, your diff fund uh for the
[01:03:25] construction of that fire station. You
[01:03:27] would look to your general fund for the
[01:03:30] construction of that fire station.
[01:03:33] not likely you're going to receive any
[01:03:35] like state or federal dollars for that,
[01:03:37] but you could potentially
[01:03:40] uh receive maybe some support from other
[01:03:43] governmental entities in the area. Uh
[01:03:45] so, you know, potentially we might
[01:03:48] partner with uh Awa Caliente. Um they
[01:03:51] are a huge supporter of our public
[01:03:53] safety, not just ours, but everywhere uh
[01:03:56] within uh their reservation or the
[01:03:59] cities where they have uh their
[01:04:00] reservation. So that could be a possible
[01:04:02] source, but you would begin to piece it
[01:04:04] together over several years. But again,
[01:04:06] that's still very early on with where
[01:04:08] we're at within the need of that third
[01:04:10] fire station.
[01:04:16] Sure.
[01:04:18] Uh what I'll do now is um I will call
[01:04:22] for public comments. I'll come back to
[01:04:24] council comments.
[01:04:27] Um so uh Christie are there any requests
[01:04:31] for public comments
[01:04:33] uh which is an opportunity to speak on
[01:04:36] items on the agenda on the agenda for a
[01:04:41] maximum of three minutes per speaker.
[01:04:44] Isaiah Harris.
[01:04:53] Good afternoon Mr. Mayor. Mayor Promp uh
[01:04:57] council members and staff uh certainly
[01:04:59] uh was an incredible task that seemed
[01:05:02] that folks have ahead here in terms of
[01:05:04] working out the budget. You've done a
[01:05:06] phenomenal job with it. Um certainly the
[01:05:08] questions I have was about the the
[01:05:11] sheriffs and their costs and the stuff I
[01:05:13] just read a couple of days ago and um
[01:05:16] you know obviously I've done a great
[01:05:18] job. for answering the question. So I
[01:05:20] won't ask that question, but
[01:05:22] I'll I say this. It seems to me that the
[01:05:25] contract that we have with the sheriff's
[01:05:27] department is a cost reimburseable
[01:05:29] contract. Is that fair to
[01:05:32] say? Yeah. Okay. Um because you know I
[01:05:36] would assume that we had signed up for
[01:05:37] some fixed services and and then next
[01:05:40] year they would increase it but you know
[01:05:42] we know what our cost is going in but
[01:05:44] right now we make an estimate based on
[01:05:46] what they think it might be. So my
[01:05:48] question is how close have they been
[01:05:50] with respect to what their estimate is
[01:05:52] versus their actual? I mean that's the
[01:05:54] concern because I know right now we
[01:05:55] estimated 9% for next fiscal year. Are
[01:06:00] you know are they typically close or we
[01:06:01] off by 50%. And that's about Oh, I got
[01:06:04] one other thing I'd like to ask.
[01:06:07] Um I think it is uh the the county of
[01:06:10] Riverside, Linta and India just last
[01:06:14] night I guess it got fermented creating
[01:06:17] this power authority that they're
[01:06:19] looking at and my question is how does
[01:06:21] that affect or impact the funds that we
[01:06:23] paid into ID for what they're trying to
[01:06:25] do for us or any other thing going
[01:06:28] forward? Thank you.
[01:06:32] The next speaker I card I have is Brad
[01:06:34] Anderson. I'm not sure if he's still
[01:06:40] here. I don't think so. Is there anyone
[01:06:42] else who would like to speak on item 3A
[01:06:44] who did not submit a speaker
[01:06:46] card? No additional speakers. Thank you.
[01:06:50] Uh if you don't mind, Mr. Mayor, I'll
[01:06:52] take a stab at answering yes comments.
[01:06:56] Uh so the sheriff's department estimate
[01:07:00] uh they're usually pretty close. And so
[01:07:03] historically uh so let's use this
[01:07:05] current year as an example. When we got
[01:07:07] the estimate last year for what it would
[01:07:09] be right now uh they told us
[01:07:12] 7.5%. Uh and the actual was
[01:07:17] 7.03%. So they're usually pretty close.
[01:07:21] Um in years where you see maybe a bigger
[01:07:24] variance is when they're in their
[01:07:26] negotiations and they don't quite have a
[01:07:29] picture of what that looks like. you
[01:07:31] know, 80% of that rate is probably the
[01:07:33] cost of the officers. So, when they're
[01:07:36] in uh cycles where they have those
[01:07:38] multi-year agreements with the unions in
[01:07:40] place and they know that they're not
[01:07:42] going to be negotiating, they can
[01:07:43] usually estimate to a greater degree,
[01:07:46] but typically they're pretty close uh
[01:07:49] most of in most years. the
[01:07:53] um IID JPA. So that JPA um actually uh
[01:08:01] sits on top of
[01:08:03] IID. And so uh the idea behind the JPA
[01:08:08] is uh you're going to add to the
[01:08:12] electrical rate in the IID service
[01:08:15] territory by the cost of this JPA. And
[01:08:18] so, uh, if a community, uh, like some of
[01:08:22] the communities in the East Valley, um,
[01:08:25] decide to join that JPA, that JPA is
[01:08:28] going to have costs, uh, because you're
[01:08:30] creating an entity. And then they're
[01:08:32] going to want to fund some
[01:08:34] infrastructure improvements. And so,
[01:08:36] they're going to start covering their
[01:08:38] cost of the JPA plus collecting extra
[01:08:41] money uh, for the uh, capacity
[01:08:44] enhancements that they want to do. And
[01:08:47] so, uh, current customers and future
[01:08:50] customers will pay on their electric
[01:08:53] bill the IID rate plus the JPA adder to
[01:08:56] the rates. And so, uh, you know, if
[01:09:00] you're in a community, um, that is
[01:09:03] wholly served by IID, you know, these
[01:09:06] capacity issues are very significant. Um
[01:09:10] the estimates that we are getting right
[01:09:13] now from IID is 40 plus million dollars
[01:09:17] to build one
[01:09:18] substation and some of those communities
[01:09:21] have seven eight substations that they
[01:09:24] need to build and so
[01:09:28] uh for those communities that are wholly
[01:09:30] served by IID that's a very large dollar
[01:09:33] amount you know in Rancher Mirage we
[01:09:35] have a very small area that's serviced
[01:09:37] by IID and so we are taking just a
[01:09:40] little bit of maybe a different approach
[01:09:42] because we can afford to do so. If we
[01:09:44] were wholly served by IID and we needed
[01:09:47] multiple substations, then it would be
[01:09:49] very difficult to find a way to finance
[01:09:52] the needed capacity improvements. Uh so
[01:09:54] kind of, you know, being that we're such
[01:09:57] a small area in Rancher Mirage that is
[01:09:59] IID, um you know, we're taking a look at
[01:10:01] that JPA, but we don't need to be a
[01:10:03] early implementer of it. uh we're going
[01:10:06] to kind of, you know, watch it at a
[01:10:08] staff level and see how it develops and
[01:10:11] uh what they're able to do. Uh so for
[01:10:14] us, you know, getting this next
[01:10:16] substation's
[01:10:17] uh very critical for our affordable
[01:10:19] housing in the large scheme of things,
[01:10:22] you know, would we have gotten involved
[01:10:23] if it wasn't for the affordable housing?
[01:10:25] Probably not. Uh so this was a pretty
[01:10:28] specific purpose on which we said, hey,
[01:10:30] we want to go go fix those issues.
[01:10:32] doesn't mean it's not important you know
[01:10:34] and I think even to you know IID's
[01:10:37] credit is uh they have recognized within
[01:10:40] their rate structure that um they need
[01:10:43] to capture more for infrastructure and
[01:10:46] the investment within their
[01:10:47] infrastructure and so IID has passed a
[01:10:51] board policy that's been a change from
[01:10:53] the past which is kind of how we got
[01:10:54] here um but they have uh started to
[01:10:58] increase IID rates to help with some of
[01:11:01] these infrastructure structure issues.
[01:11:04] So, you know, within those communities
[01:11:06] that are wholly served, right, customers
[01:11:08] will pay the IID rate plus whatever is
[01:11:11] added on to the rate for that JPA. So,
[01:11:14] right now, we're kind of Ranch Mirage is
[01:11:16] taking a wait and see approach because
[01:11:18] we don't face some of the same issues as
[01:11:19] communities that are wholly
[01:11:23] served. I think that was it. Okay, I
[01:11:26] think uh that took care of the public
[01:11:29] comments. Now, let's go to council
[01:11:32] comments. Um, I'll start on my left. Any
[01:11:36] questions at all?
[01:11:39] No, no questions. Okay,
[01:11:42] Michael, I just wanted to say that I'm
[01:11:46] proud of our city for having such a
[01:11:49] strong reserve
[01:11:50] position. And while I would like to see
[01:11:53] us maintain that, the fact that we are
[01:11:57] running surpluses in an operational
[01:12:00] sense, I think is reassuring for us and
[01:12:03] that the reserves are there for a reason
[01:12:07] and that's what these reasons are and
[01:12:09] that's why we need to to spend the money
[01:12:11] as you've described. Uh I want to thank
[01:12:14] Kofi for an excellent um presentation. I
[01:12:18] don't know if and I did have a question
[01:12:20] about the the
[01:12:22] substation. We're looking at $5 million
[01:12:25] over the next couple of years. Do we
[01:12:27] think that that's going to be
[01:12:28] sufficient? Uh and what will be
[01:12:32] long-term ramifications on that?
[01:12:35] Um it's sufficient for uh our affordable
[01:12:38] housing. Uh there are obviously other
[01:12:40] developers out there that uh are getting
[01:12:43] the same letters that our affordable
[01:12:45] housing developers got. Uh the nice
[01:12:48] thing about this initial investment is
[01:12:51] it's um going to put immediate capacity
[01:12:53] in the ground. Uh and then it also is
[01:12:56] providing for future growth. And so this
[01:12:59] substation is being built to a capacity
[01:13:02] that over time you could add even more
[01:13:05] transformers and add even more capacity.
[01:13:08] So if in the future, you know, a group
[01:13:10] of developers wanted to get together and
[01:13:12] go fund the next transformer, all the
[01:13:14] infrastructure is there and it's going
[01:13:16] to be a lot easier for them to do that
[01:13:17] because we made this initial investment
[01:13:20] into the substation. So it by no means
[01:13:22] solves the problems for capacity issues
[01:13:26] within the IID service territory for
[01:13:28] Rancher Mirage, but it does provide a
[01:13:30] pathway for um you know groups of
[01:13:34] developers to get together and now that
[01:13:36] the base infrastructure is put in, take
[01:13:39] the next steps of expanding that uh
[01:13:41] substation in the future. Thank you. I
[01:13:43] did I did have one more question. And I
[01:13:45] don't know if it's appropriate time now
[01:13:46] to discuss uh community involvement and
[01:13:50] charitable giving. Is that something
[01:13:51] that Well, I know in the budget plan we
[01:13:56] making about restructuring how we give
[01:13:58] charitable charitable
[01:14:00] donations and um I'm all for that. I
[01:14:03] think it should be
[01:14:04] restructured. However, I would like to
[01:14:07] make sure that we do protect some of the
[01:14:09] recipients. I'm especially concerned
[01:14:11] about some of the small smaller
[01:14:13] charities. I used to run a small
[01:14:16] 501c3. If I were to get $5,000 from
[01:14:19] Ranch Mirage, I would have thought,
[01:14:21] hallelujah. You know, you get another
[01:14:23] months of operation or maybe two months
[01:14:25] operation. So, um I would like for us to
[01:14:29] think of a way to make sure that we are
[01:14:32] able to sustain that.
[01:14:34] Thank you, Michael. I I concur with
[01:14:36] that. I think that um
[01:14:39] um I think we all pretty much uh feel uh
[01:14:43] that um we have been extremely
[01:14:47] charitable as far as a city is
[01:14:49] concerned. Uh and I don't think that any
[01:14:52] of us uh want to decrease that level of
[01:14:57] giving. It's just a question of how we
[01:15:00] do it in the most practical and
[01:15:03] effective way of doing it. Uh, and that
[01:15:05] that's something that we will discuss.
[01:15:07] Mr. Mayor, on that on that fact, I'd
[01:15:09] like to also concur with with Council
[01:15:11] Member O'Keefe that I'd like to look for
[01:15:13] creative ways to continue to do what we
[01:15:15] can for nonprofits that serve citizenry
[01:15:18] and our residents in ways that we as a
[01:15:20] city cannot or do not, but I'd like to
[01:15:23] look for more creative ways to do it as
[01:15:25] well.
[01:15:26] Concurred. Um, and I too, by the way,
[01:15:30] want to compliment Kofi, everyone that
[01:15:33] worked on the
[01:15:35] budget, Isaiah, our directors. It is a
[01:15:39] herculean task,
[01:15:41] uh, to put all of this together. And,
[01:15:45] um, again, I realize this sounds
[01:15:50] incredibly
[01:15:52] selfserving. Uh however, we are very
[01:15:55] very fortunate to have a city uh that is
[01:15:59] able to have reserved uh that we've been
[01:16:04] able to establish over time and no
[01:16:07] better example of that than the great p
[01:16:10] plates program during co where we were
[01:16:14] able to come to the rescue of a number
[01:16:17] number of our restaurants
[01:16:20] uh that would not be in business today
[01:16:24] um if we hadn't been able to do that. So
[01:16:28] uh again um uh you know a great deal of
[01:16:33] uh applause to uh staff and everyone
[01:16:36] that has contributed. Uh with that uh uh
[01:16:41] council member uh
[01:16:44] DS I do have a couple of uh thoughts.
[01:16:47] Well first again thank you Kofi. Thank
[01:16:48] you Isaiah. Thank you to all the
[01:16:49] directors for all your hard work on this
[01:16:51] budget. be much appreciated. Uh uh can
[01:16:53] can you show me the page or take me to
[01:16:55] the page Kofi where we talk about things
[01:16:58] like the SAF funds uh and also uh
[01:17:01] whatever we have um contributed to the
[01:17:05] Macum in the past. What page is that?
[01:17:07] That will be
[01:17:12] page 51.
[01:17:20] Okay. So, um
[01:17:25] it's the uh special programs division.
[01:17:27] Yeah. So, if I'm Yeah. If I'm looking at
[01:17:29] this correctly, not we're not suggesting
[01:17:31] we're going to do anything different
[01:17:32] with with the Joselyn Center. We'll
[01:17:34] continue with that $100,000
[01:17:35] contribution. I I'm guessing that that
[01:17:37] has to that that's part of an agreement
[01:17:39] with the other Cove cities as to how
[01:17:41] much we contribute to the Joselyn
[01:17:42] Center. Is that correct? Yeah. So it's
[01:17:44] uh it's uh based on a the co- formula.
[01:17:47] Uh so that's driven by population. So
[01:17:50] typically ranch mirage is going to be
[01:17:51] 24% within that. Uh there is a slight
[01:17:54] change uh that's being proposed with
[01:17:56] that this year. Uh so if you look at the
[01:17:59] um previous year amounts, one year we
[01:18:02] actually gave close to 110,000. And so
[01:18:05] what the proposal is uh for the 100,000
[01:18:09] is to treat that as a cap. And so, um,
[01:18:13] currently based on what's being
[01:18:14] discussed, the operational component,
[01:18:18] uh, that is, uh, being presented at a
[01:18:21] future COVID commission meeting would
[01:18:23] put Ranch Mirage Ranch Mirage's
[01:18:26] operational commitment to about $89,000.
[01:18:29] Okay. And by establishing a $100,000
[01:18:32] budget, then $11,000 would be left over
[01:18:35] for any capital needs that they have.
[01:18:38] Okay? Uh and so basically by
[01:18:39] establishing that 100,000 cap um if they
[01:18:44] choose to keep increasing their
[01:18:47] operational uh contribution from the
[01:18:49] city and then that would eventually eat
[01:18:52] into the capital uh side that we're
[01:18:54] eating into uh each year. And so it
[01:18:57] would um kind of protect the city over
[01:19:00] the long run of uh that capital budget
[01:19:03] seems to be getting larger and larger.
[01:19:06] Uh and so there are some uh quite hefty
[01:19:09] capital proposals that are being talked
[01:19:11] about right now and uh it's at the tune
[01:19:13] of about you know estimates are between
[01:19:17] $800,000 and a million dollars. So
[01:19:19] you're talking about potentially
[01:19:21] $240,000 just in capital when you apply
[01:19:24] the formula to Ranch Mirage. So uh a
[01:19:27] little bit different in the fact that
[01:19:28] we're going to say we won't go over a h
[01:19:30] 100,000. Okay. So, account 7497, special
[01:19:34] contributions, $300,000 last year down
[01:19:36] to 28,000 this year. Where did the um
[01:19:40] almost $200,000 go? Where where did it
[01:19:42] where did we
[01:19:44] cut? So, uh we have established annual
[01:19:49] uh long-term commitments for the Living
[01:19:51] Desert and Eisenhower Medical Center of
[01:19:54] 100,000 each. Um and then it was 50,000
[01:19:58] for the McCollum Theater. Okay, those
[01:20:00] were eliminated. What where where did
[01:20:02] the special where did the SAF funds come
[01:20:05] out of? Which account? Uh that account
[01:20:07] was a standalone account and so since
[01:20:10] that program was So it disappeared. It's
[01:20:11] not on this page at all. Correct. Right.
[01:20:13] Because it has zero budget for now I
[01:20:14] understand why it couldn't find it. Yes.
[01:20:16] Exactly.
[01:20:17] Well, I guess um that maybe um uh if I
[01:20:21] hear my colleagues correctly that there
[01:20:24] is some concern about eliminating those
[01:20:26] SAF funds altogether and uh there is
[01:20:29] some concern about taking Mckllum uh
[01:20:32] from $50,000 a year down to zero. Am I
[01:20:35] correct? Don't all speak up at once. No,
[01:20:38] I think uh I think you are correct, but
[01:20:40] I don't think that um that account is
[01:20:44] being taken down to zero.
[01:20:46] Yes, it has. McCollum has been taken
[01:20:49] down to zero. Yes, it has. Yeah, just
[01:20:50] that one entity. Yeah.
[01:20:53] Well, uh that's been taken down to zero
[01:20:56] and also um the living desert and
[01:20:59] um what else do we take down to zero?
[01:21:03] Eisenhower. So, the the the reason those
[01:21:06] uh uh so let let me just clarify. uh
[01:21:11] McCollum has had an established
[01:21:13] $50,000 in our budget and so that is
[01:21:17] being in this cycle proposed to be
[01:21:19] eliminated. The 100,000 for the living
[01:21:22] desert and the hund,000 for Eisenhower,
[01:21:25] those were um long-term pledges of
[01:21:29] 100,000 uh per year. Uh the proposal is
[01:21:33] to uh satisfy those this year, which is
[01:21:36] why you wouldn't see them in the budget
[01:21:38] again. Okay, that's my point. They're
[01:21:39] not being eliminated. They're merely
[01:21:41] being accelerated. All right, I
[01:21:43] appreciate that. Thank you. All right,
[01:21:44] so I guess uh the only concern that I
[01:21:46] have then with respect to um to special
[01:21:51] funding uh for special projects like
[01:21:53] that would be the Macllum and the SAF
[01:21:56] program. And I would be in favor of
[01:21:58] finding a way to uh uh to continue to
[01:22:01] participate in both of those.
[01:22:06] Don't know how we do it, but I think we
[01:22:08] ought to put some money back in this
[01:22:10] budget for those issues
[01:22:13] and we can have those discussions. Yes.
[01:22:16] Yeah. I mean, right now is, you know, as
[01:22:18] good as time as any.
[01:22:22] So, uh that's I guess it is that's
[01:22:24] entirely what this uh meeting is for,
[01:22:26] right? So, within the context of this
[01:22:28] meeting, staff has, you know, prepared a
[01:22:31] preliminary
[01:22:33] budget. And so, I'm not proposing we
[01:22:35] blow it up. I'm just talking about
[01:22:37] around, you know, $150,000 or so. Yeah.
[01:22:41] So, this would be the time for the
[01:22:42] council to say, uh, yeah, we concur with
[01:22:45] that and then staff can take that and
[01:22:48] add those things back into this budget,
[01:22:50] right?
[01:22:52] you know, based upon the uh temperature
[01:22:55] uh that I'm feeling, I would uh I would
[01:22:59] recommend they be added back into the
[01:23:01] budget. I agree.
[01:23:03] I would think that there's creative ways
[01:23:05] to look at the numbers that maybe some
[01:23:08] of it would be added back into the
[01:23:09] budget, but I think we need to review
[01:23:13] who and where and
[01:23:16] why differently than we've done in the
[01:23:19] past with the mindset of are they
[01:23:22] serving residents and to what extent? Is
[01:23:25] it quality services that we're funding?
[01:23:30] Are we funding organizations that are
[01:23:32] viable and sustainable, too, so our
[01:23:34] money is going long-term to something
[01:23:37] that
[01:23:38] is real and not living on fumes? Um, and
[01:23:44] then I would also talk
[01:23:47] about sliding those numbers possibly
[01:23:51] down as we look at big expenditures that
[01:23:53] really go to the residents like the IID
[01:23:56] substation which we know are necessary,
[01:23:59] affordable housing which we know are
[01:24:00] necessary and
[01:24:01] priorities. Doesn't mean that I don't
[01:24:04] support the nonprofits in this community
[01:24:05] because I do and I think everyone knows
[01:24:07] that. But I would also like it where we
[01:24:09] feel like we as a body alto together
[01:24:12] agree on where the money goes and
[01:24:14] possibly we then move some of that money
[01:24:18] for those of us that have particular
[01:24:19] things in our heart that speak to us and
[01:24:21] we have passion about into those
[01:24:23] individual categories where we can
[01:24:25] promote that giving directly ourselves
[01:24:27] individually and maybe move some of that
[01:24:30] money there so we can make those choices
[01:24:32] around the nonprofits that are close to
[01:24:33] our heart without everyone having to
[01:24:35] agree. Sure. You know, I think uh one of
[01:24:37] the things we ought to remember is the
[01:24:38] way that the SAF funds those
[01:24:41] contributions have worked is uh it's
[01:24:44] been roughly about $100,000 a year that
[01:24:47] goes into the uh uh the SAF program. And
[01:24:51] for the last in in the past it had been
[01:24:55] the case uh prior to the last couple of
[01:24:57] years that um the way in which those
[01:25:00] funds were distributed it was a
[01:25:02] subcommittee of the council who got
[01:25:04] together to sort that out. The last
[01:25:06] couple of years it's been a mar decision
[01:25:08] and the last couple of years I've made
[01:25:10] those decisions as to how those funds
[01:25:12] were distributed. So what we might, if I
[01:25:15] hear you correctly, I think you're
[01:25:16] suggesting that maybe there's a
[01:25:17] different way than the mayor just makes
[01:25:19] the decision about how those funds are
[01:25:20] spent. Yeah. I think I think we all have
[01:25:23] passion around and I'm not saying we're
[01:25:25] not aligned in what we think is
[01:25:26] important in our valley. Um, but I also
[01:25:29] think in the ways that the world may be
[01:25:32] heading, we may look as to where we can
[01:25:34] have a more
[01:25:35] substantial impact on certain nonprofits
[01:25:38] where we know there are gaps um,
[01:25:41] seniors, children, etc. that directly
[01:25:43] impact the quality of life of our
[01:25:45] residents. So, we may just need to have
[01:25:47] a broader
[01:25:48] conversation and it mayorally it may
[01:25:51] just work with one mayor because we
[01:25:53] rotate. I don't believe and I'm new
[01:25:55] enough to not know how it all works and
[01:25:57] to admit that openly, but I um
[01:26:02] I and and I've been in Michael's
[01:26:04] position too with the nonprofit where
[01:26:06] $5,000 was the critical difference
[01:26:08] between the 30th of the month and the
[01:26:09] first of the month or a payroll and not
[01:26:11] making a payroll. So, I understand that,
[01:26:13] but I want it to have I want to know
[01:26:15] that what we do has greater impact and
[01:26:17] especially for our constituents because
[01:26:20] that's what I think they're asking us
[01:26:21] for as well. Sounds to me like if we do
[01:26:23] decide that it's a subcommittee that
[01:26:25] determines how we spend SAF funds, you
[01:26:28] might have just talked yourself into be
[01:26:30] being appointed to that subcommittee.
[01:26:31] The person who raises their hand and
[01:26:33] gets to be the chair. I' that's already
[01:26:34] happened to me before. That's how I got
[01:26:36] in this seat. I think Well, I think that
[01:26:38] we should continue uh with a cap of
[01:26:41] $100,000 in SAF funds. Well, could I
[01:26:43] could I just interject right there that
[01:26:45] it's 100,000 generally is what it is,
[01:26:48] but then there's also
[01:26:50] 25,000 that each council member has in
[01:26:55] discretionary income. 5,000 each. 5,000
[01:26:57] I mean times five is
[01:26:59] $25,000
[01:27:00] plus there was the community relations
[01:27:03] budget which is was currently 215 and
[01:27:06] it's gone down to
[01:27:07] $200,000. So I think you have to look at
[01:27:09] the whole pie. So when we come up with
[01:27:12] how how we're going to
[01:27:14] creatively hold on to what's important.
[01:27:19] So, so,
[01:27:23] um, as staff is, uh, taking notes,
[01:27:28] uh, so it it sounds like,
[01:27:31] um, perhaps we, um, could take some of
[01:27:36] this 100,000 and reallocate it into your
[01:27:39] support for nonprofit accounts. So
[01:27:42] thereby, you would go from 5,000 to some
[01:27:45] number that the council council would
[01:27:47] like to see in that account. And that
[01:27:49] would be done per council member as it
[01:27:51] is now. Right? So if you have something
[01:27:54] uh if each council member has a specific
[01:27:57] uh nonprofit that um you know they're
[01:28:01] passionate about that is potentially or
[01:28:03] going to events and things of that
[01:28:05] nature. That is uh what those accounts
[01:28:07] are used for. Now, um I guess the
[01:28:10] question that I would have is on a on a
[01:28:14] broader nonprofit giving program. Um you
[01:28:18] know, kind of with where SAF ended, um
[01:28:22] it it from a staff perspective, we'd
[01:28:25] like to see either a a new uh nonprofit
[01:28:30] giving program, and you don't have to
[01:28:32] have every answer. you can just say plug
[01:28:34] in this amount and then we the council
[01:28:36] can figure out that broader program or
[01:28:40] we stick within an existing program that
[01:28:42] we have and just uh like I said take
[01:28:45] this $100,000 and establish it into an
[01:28:48] existing program because SAF began to
[01:28:52] have challenges uh in uh the later years
[01:28:55] because of kind of the the way that the
[01:28:58] guidelines were written with how that
[01:29:00] program was being implemented. Um, so we
[01:29:03] don't have to have every answer today on
[01:29:04] how that program would work. Uh, we
[01:29:06] would we're just talking about a budget
[01:29:08] number, right? So,
[01:29:11] um, I think that's our point. I think
[01:29:14] the point is that we all feel inclined
[01:29:16] to maintain that that figure to maintain
[01:29:19] that budget. How we allocate the funds,
[01:29:23] we can determine among ourselves.
[01:29:26] uh whether it's a committee of one or
[01:29:28] two or three whatever it might be I
[01:29:31] think we can come up with that the
[01:29:33] structure uh what we're trying to do
[01:29:36] today is to make certain that that
[01:29:39] figure is included in the budget for the
[01:29:42] next two is that correct so so to to
[01:29:46] make it easy for the council what if
[01:29:48] staff did this uh so on on page on page
[01:29:54] 51 Our job isn't to make yours easy, by
[01:29:57] the way. Yeah, true. On page 51 for
[01:30:01] account 7458 titled support for
[01:30:05] nonprofits, we will establish that
[01:30:07] 100,000 there. That would be fine with
[01:30:09] me. Do I get a word in?
[01:30:12] We turned off your mic. So, no, I never
[01:30:14] had it on. I I I um appreciate
[01:30:18] everything um that's been said today and
[01:30:22] it's it's really important as you know
[01:30:24] this this SAF fund was established how
[01:30:28] many years ago a long time ago and
[01:30:32] um you know rules were different ideas
[01:30:35] were different and it was always with u
[01:30:38] great
[01:30:39] intention and uh in this crazy world
[01:30:42] that we're living in right now and and a
[01:30:45] a lot of uncertainties. I really think
[01:30:49] that we all have the opportunity to
[01:30:52] examine this as council member uh
[01:30:54] Franberg Edelstein had stated, you know,
[01:30:57] let's let's review this. Charity begins
[01:30:59] at home and uh as our and I don't look
[01:31:05] at look at this as getting rid of it. I
[01:31:07] look at it as an opportunity to evolve
[01:31:09] because our community is growing. And so
[01:31:12] if we could look at this, see how we
[01:31:14] could and to your point, Eve, make a
[01:31:16] greater
[01:31:18] impact, make our dollar stretch, but
[01:31:22] really let's see how we can make things
[01:31:25] change because as we talked earlier
[01:31:27] about the Jocelyn Senior Center, you
[01:31:29] know, I when I when I sat on that board,
[01:31:32] I kept asking how many Rancher Mirage
[01:31:35] residents have the opportunity. They
[01:31:37] they have phenomenal programs there. But
[01:31:39] how many residents actually know about
[01:31:41] it? Most a lot of residents don't
[01:31:43] realize that we participate. That is our
[01:31:45] senior center. And come to find out only
[01:31:49] 285 residents. So uh I'm working with
[01:31:53] council member O'Keeffe to heighten that
[01:31:54] awareness with the Jocelyn Senior Center
[01:31:56] so that our seniors have the benefit of
[01:31:59] all the programs
[01:32:01] um that are available. And if there's a
[01:32:03] lack of transportation, I already have a
[01:32:05] commitment from Sunline to help with
[01:32:07] that. So, these are the things that
[01:32:08] we're looking at. How do we maximize the
[01:32:12] potential and all for the benefit of our
[01:32:15] residents? That's why we're here, you
[01:32:18] know, uh to to improve the quality of
[01:32:21] life. So, I think we have a good
[01:32:23] baseline. Um and I think it's going to
[01:32:25] take some discussion and uh and we might
[01:32:28] have some additions here. how we get
[01:32:31] there, that's how we'll reformulate it.
[01:32:33] But I think it's imperative that it's
[01:32:35] not one person's decision. I think uh
[01:32:38] with most minds coming together and
[01:32:41] ideas and collaboration, I think we can
[01:32:43] have a great successful opportunity here
[01:32:46] for nonprofits and uh serving nonprofits
[01:32:50] that serve our our residents here in
[01:32:52] Ranchi Mirage. So, let me make sure I
[01:32:54] understand that. So, so I think the
[01:32:56] basic idea we talked about is $100,000
[01:32:58] goes goes into account
[01:33:01] 7458 and what we now need to do is we
[01:33:03] now need to sort out how we're going to
[01:33:05] handle that. We don't need to sort that
[01:33:07] out this afternoon. We're dealing with a
[01:33:10] structure and have some ongoing
[01:33:11] discussions about that. Okay, that's
[01:33:12] fine with me. I think that we should do
[01:33:14] that and let's put that discussion to
[01:33:16] bed. But that does not resolve the issue
[01:33:19] about $50,000 for Macallum. So, let's
[01:33:21] talk about that.
[01:33:23] I'm in favor of continuing the $50,000
[01:33:25] for the Macllum.
[01:33:28] I love the McCllum theater, but what I'd
[01:33:31] like to see is I I have a couple of
[01:33:34] questions. Um the programs that are made
[01:33:38] available to us, can they be more
[01:33:40] substantial?
[01:33:42] [Music]
[01:33:44] Um, the other question is is I was told
[01:33:49] that whatever tickets are not sold are
[01:33:52] made readily available to our seniors in
[01:33:56] our our senior housing department. And I
[01:33:59] think that's phenomenal. However, is
[01:34:02] that when do they get notified? The day
[01:34:04] of. Because every time I go in, I've
[01:34:07] gone to those to those presentations,
[01:34:09] there's no one there. So something's
[01:34:11] missing. There are a lot of empty
[01:34:14] seats. I'm not saying that we should end
[01:34:17] this program. I'm saying how if we're
[01:34:19] going to fund this, how do we make it uh
[01:34:22] again beneficial to our residents? If
[01:34:25] our we have seniors or any members of
[01:34:28] our community that are not able to
[01:34:31] afford to go to those those
[01:34:34] presentations, certainly they know even
[01:34:37] maybe a week ahead of time if the
[01:34:40] tickets are being sold and there's going
[01:34:42] to be a block of tickets that might be
[01:34:44] available to give us the opportunity,
[01:34:46] you know, to to work out that
[01:34:48] communication. How can we get people
[01:34:50] there to benefit from it to have a half
[01:34:53] empty
[01:34:54] theater? I think we can spend our 50,000
[01:34:57] a little bit differently. So, I I don't
[01:34:59] I don't mind having a negotiation with
[01:35:01] them about what we might get in return
[01:35:03] for that uh for that contribution, but I
[01:35:06] and that's fine with me. Uh but I think
[01:35:09] that we should continue to be a
[01:35:10] contributor to a stellar cultural
[01:35:13] institution in this desert. I have a lot
[01:35:16] of it's going to come down to when
[01:35:19] uh they they don't know all the time
[01:35:23] exactly what tickets are sales are going
[01:35:25] to be or how successful they are. And so
[01:35:30] they've gone into a new program whereby
[01:35:33] if sales don't reach a certain level on
[01:35:37] their programs, they now discount the
[01:35:41] price of those tickets to a certain
[01:35:44] level to try to get it out and get, you
[01:35:48] know, more of an audience. Um, and I
[01:35:52] think it will require a a different
[01:35:55] structure and a different uh negotiation
[01:35:59] with Macllum on how we get access to the
[01:36:03] unsold tickets.
[01:36:05] I have two thoughts. Number one is we
[01:36:08] just approved a study for the
[01:36:10] amphitheater on how to improve access,
[01:36:14] attendance, and programming our own
[01:36:15] amphitheater. So, I'd like to see what
[01:36:18] comes out of that. And if there are also
[01:36:20] some opportunities for some partnerships
[01:36:22] with McCullum and some of their programs
[01:36:24] at our amphitheater, easier to get our
[01:36:26] seniors to possibly and our residents to
[01:36:28] get to. I recognize that's a big idea
[01:36:32] and I don't claim to know every part of
[01:36:34] it, but I would like to see what comes
[01:36:36] out of that data collection. The other
[01:36:38] thing that um um I would like to see and
[01:36:42] it's just an idea too from McCullum and
[01:36:45] again this is a conversation to have
[01:36:47] with them in connection with some with
[01:36:49] the donation is for example Acure keeps
[01:36:52] a certain amount of community tickets
[01:36:54] back and they sell those tickets day out
[01:36:56] at the box office at $20 so that hockey
[01:36:59] is accessible for everyone in our
[01:37:01] community at every level. So, I would
[01:37:02] like to know if something like that is
[01:37:05] also possible. We'll call them for the
[01:37:06] top tier shows that our residents would
[01:37:08] like to see some of those traveling show
[01:37:10] musicals that are very hard to get to
[01:37:13] and if they were would be willing to
[01:37:15] work with us on. I'm not asking for half
[01:37:17] their theater obviously and I realize
[01:37:18] they have a bottom line and I understand
[01:37:20] what they do and I and I believe in what
[01:37:22] the McCollum does. They are our regional
[01:37:24] theater here. Uh the same with CVR Rep
[01:37:27] and all of our other theater companies
[01:37:28] and they're bringing top rate shows and
[01:37:30] top rate entertainment that doesn't
[01:37:31] require a two-hour drive away, which is
[01:37:33] great for us, but I would like to make
[01:37:35] sure they're serving again as in the
[01:37:38] same thing we say with Jocelyn, serving
[01:37:39] our populations in the way that we
[01:37:41] anticipate they are when we write them
[01:37:43] in a certain amount of money. And I
[01:37:45] think that necessitates us having a
[01:37:47] longer conversation with them about it.
[01:37:49] I have no issue with putting some amount
[01:37:51] of money back in. I'm open to what this
[01:37:53] again I'm this is where I'm new to that
[01:37:55] donation so I don't profess to
[01:37:57] understand how it's used and why but I'd
[01:37:59] like to understand more.
[01:38:02] Could I just say that I I I love the
[01:38:04] Macllum and I think it's a great thing
[01:38:07] to do. However, maybe we could
[01:38:09] restructure how we participate with them
[01:38:11] and and and how we donate and how we uh
[01:38:15] cooperate with them. my priority will
[01:38:18] still
[01:38:19] be small charities to make sure that
[01:38:21] they get uh they get some of that SAF
[01:38:24] funds. And if I could just shift gears
[01:38:26] for a moment, I would be remiss if I
[01:38:30] didn't say as a future as a former
[01:38:32] cultural commissioner in the city and
[01:38:35] since Mr. Espinosa is here in the
[01:38:37] audience that on account number
[01:38:41] 7875. We fought for many years to get
[01:38:44] that from 25,000 up to
[01:38:47] 37,000. I hate for it to go back. I'd
[01:38:50] like for us to make sure that we
[01:38:52] maintain uh the cultural commission's
[01:38:55] budget as is. They had extraordinary
[01:38:58] programming this year and I'd like to
[01:39:00] see that continue.
[01:39:08] We can stop the conversation. That's
[01:39:10] okay. No, no, that's all right. No, I
[01:39:13] think I I think the McCollum Theater is
[01:39:16] one of the jewels of our desert and uh
[01:39:19] we've been great partners with them and
[01:39:21] they with us. But as with everything, it
[01:39:25] I think sometimes we need to take
[01:39:26] another look to see how we can tweak it.
[01:39:29] Agree. um improve um and hopefully we
[01:39:33] can have a mutual understanding to kind
[01:39:35] of regroup and see how not only can we
[01:39:39] participate but that our our most
[01:39:42] importantly our citizens have the
[01:39:44] opportunity to participate. I I guess I
[01:39:46] didn't catch that. So on the when I took
[01:39:49] a look through the budget book so the
[01:39:51] cultural commission has had 375 in the
[01:39:54] last couple of years and it's down to
[01:39:56] 25. Is that what you're telling me
[01:39:57] Michael?
[01:39:59] according to this proposal. Okay. And
[01:40:00] you you wanted to go back up to how
[01:40:02] about if we do this then? Let's take the
[01:40:04] Macllum from 50 down to 375 and let's
[01:40:07] give the cultural commission 375. I
[01:40:09] would I do that all day long.
[01:40:12] I love that. I still I still think we
[01:40:14] need to talk with them, right? had a
[01:40:16] long time uh partnership with them, but
[01:40:19] I would love to see our cultural
[01:40:22] commission continue to produce what
[01:40:25] they've done so well and uh and it's
[01:40:28] been so wellreceived from the public.
[01:40:32] Yes, the library is a cultural center
[01:40:34] here. We've given a thousand names of
[01:40:36] what happens at our library, cultural
[01:40:38] centers, add that to the list. And that
[01:40:41] commission works hard to get programming
[01:40:43] that everyone enjoys, especially
[01:40:45] children and families here, which is a
[01:40:48] vital part of the population that gets
[01:40:49] forgotten at times. So I I completely
[01:40:53] endorse putting that budget at 375,
[01:40:56] however we plan to do it. But I also
[01:40:57] think to your point earlier, I'm sorry
[01:41:00] to come keep coming back, but I think we
[01:41:02] need to take a look at that study for
[01:41:04] our
[01:41:05] amphitheater. That's a you know the
[01:41:09] library is a is just a wonderful gift to
[01:41:12] the community and so is our amphitheater
[01:41:14] and as I mentioned earlier we are a
[01:41:17] community that is continually putting
[01:41:19] one foot in front of the other evolving
[01:41:22] and uh
[01:41:25] our wonderful community appreciates
[01:41:28] everything we do but they're going to be
[01:41:30] looking for more and our it's our charge
[01:41:33] to make sure that we
[01:41:34] provide continuing to to to put in that
[01:41:38] quality of life and that includes the
[01:41:39] the amphitheater. So I think we have a
[01:41:42] little bit more discussion um to do but
[01:41:45] I think we can get it all accomplished.
[01:41:47] So so can we conclude then that subject
[01:41:49] to additional review of the use of the
[01:41:52] amphitheater based on the results of the
[01:41:54] study that the concept we want to go
[01:41:57] with is
[01:41:58] 375 to the cultural commission and 375
[01:42:01] to the Macllum. Is that the conclusion
[01:42:04] we're kind of coming to? I'd like to
[01:42:06] just interject here that I think out of
[01:42:08] respect for our relationship with the
[01:42:11] Macllum
[01:42:12] uh that we need to have before we make a
[01:42:14] definitive decision, we need to have
[01:42:17] conversations with them. Okay? Um
[01:42:19] because we have a healthy and
[01:42:22] longestablished relationship with them.
[01:42:24] So I don't want to just make a decision
[01:42:27] like that without consultation and and
[01:42:30] listening and having a two-way
[01:42:32] conversation. And they also have a
[01:42:34] budget as well. And y indeed,
[01:42:39] Mr. City Manager. Um, well, so you guys
[01:42:43] are saying two different things. Yeah,
[01:42:45] we are. So, we're allowed to do that.
[01:42:47] Yeah. You guys can do whatever you want.
[01:42:52] So, just keep in mind what what I will
[01:42:53] tell you guys is, you know, the the
[01:42:55] budget is an estimate, right? And so if
[01:42:59] you had established uh hey let's put
[01:43:01] McCollum back in at 375 and then let's
[01:43:04] take the cultural commission back up to
[01:43:07] 375 you know if if the council dug into
[01:43:10] it uh at a later date and found out hey
[01:43:13] what we're getting from the column is
[01:43:15] fantastic and we're going to go back up
[01:43:17] to that 50 that's a simple midyear
[01:43:19] adjustment right and so uh you know I I
[01:43:23] wouldn't get so caught up on the number
[01:43:27] 3750 versus 50, right? Because whenever
[01:43:30] you guys make that decision, you know,
[01:43:32] to have that minor of an adjustment in a
[01:43:34] mid-year budget cycle is going to be
[01:43:35] pretty easy to overcome based on the
[01:43:37] information you have. So, uh, if it's
[01:43:40] okay with the council, uh, what, uh,
[01:43:42] staff will do is add McCollum back in as
[01:43:45] a number three on account 7497 and we
[01:43:48] will reflect 375. the cultural
[01:43:51] commission budget which is 7875 will go
[01:43:54] back up to the 375 and then uh you know
[01:43:58] if it's appropriate at midyear based on
[01:44:00] the council's digging into the details
[01:44:03] and seeing what you're going to get and
[01:44:05] is it what we want if that number's at
[01:44:07] 50 uh then we just come back in a
[01:44:09] mid-year budget adjustment and ask for
[01:44:11] the minor amendment to that budget I
[01:44:13] think couple council agree with that y
[01:44:17] that's perfect okay I think we have
[01:44:20] concurrence with that. Great.
[01:44:23] Any other comments? I I do I do have
[01:44:26] just a general comment. I I want to just
[01:44:28] refer back to one of the screens that
[01:44:31] you don't have to pull it up Kofi but
[01:44:33] one of the screens that Kofi had in ear
[01:44:35] in the early part of his presentation
[01:44:38] and he showed us uh that um three of our
[01:44:42] expense categories for um for law
[01:44:45] enforcement services for fire services
[01:44:47] and for insurance costs went up 60% in
[01:44:51] the last four years whereas the revenues
[01:44:53] to this city only went up 14%. So, the
[01:44:56] cost for those three things went up $11
[01:44:58] million, but the revenues in this city
[01:45:00] only went up $4.7 million. I think we
[01:45:03] need to to to look at that very
[01:45:06] carefully. I think we need to burn that
[01:45:07] into our brains. I think we need to
[01:45:09] understand that if those costs continue,
[01:45:12] something's got to change. I don't know
[01:45:15] what it is, but it's clear to me that
[01:45:17] something has to change at some point in
[01:45:19] the future if those costs continue to
[01:45:21] rise at that kind of a rate. Uh, and
[01:45:25] there are other costs that we're going
[01:45:26] to need to consider in the future that
[01:45:27] we're we need to to plan for. Like I
[01:45:30] understand and appreciate that the um
[01:45:32] fire station is not an expense that we
[01:45:34] need to worry about next year or the
[01:45:37] year after, even three years down the
[01:45:38] line or four years down the line. It's
[01:45:40] going to take some time for it to get
[01:45:41] there, but it's going to get there. So,
[01:45:43] we need to be aware that there are some
[01:45:45] other important and large capital
[01:45:48] expenses that we're going to have to
[01:45:50] face. But, uh, if, um, if these basic
[01:45:53] costs continue to increase at this rate,
[01:45:56] um, we're going to have to revisit that
[01:45:57] somehow or another. I'm not sure what
[01:45:58] the answer is, but I'm pretty sure we'll
[01:45:59] figure it out. I I don't think the goal
[01:46:01] is to kick the can down the road, and I
[01:46:03] don't think that's what we're talking
[01:46:04] about. Um, those numbers are alarming
[01:46:07] and they're essential, right? Public
[01:46:09] safety is foremost what people look for
[01:46:11] from their city and roads, right? So, we
[01:46:13] know that and um but I and I think I'm
[01:46:16] glad we have time to become creative and
[01:46:18] to think outside the box on solutions,
[01:46:21] but I don't I don't see this budget as
[01:46:23] kicking that can down the road. Yeah.
[01:46:25] Well, we're not. Now, keep in mind,
[01:46:26] we're dealing with the you know, a
[01:46:28] two-year budget now. Um you know, we
[01:46:32] can't predict the future. We know costs
[01:46:36] are going to continue to increase. Our
[01:46:39] task today is a review of the two-year
[01:46:43] budget, and that's really what we're
[01:46:46] doing here. Uh we're not going beyond
[01:46:49] that at the present time. Uh yeah, sure,
[01:46:51] we can prognosticate
[01:46:54] knowing costs are going to continue to
[01:46:57] increase. Uh but right now, we're
[01:46:59] dealing with a two-year budget, and
[01:47:01] that's what we want to deal with, and
[01:47:05] approve. Any other comments?
[01:47:10] If there are no other comments. So, uh
[01:47:13] maybe just quickly before you uh end
[01:47:16] this meeting if there's no other uh
[01:47:18] comments or questions from the council
[01:47:19] on the budget.
[01:47:23] Did we have to have public comment? We
[01:47:25] already did. Yeah. So, you know, this is
[01:47:28] just a study session, right? So, there's
[01:47:29] no action today. Uh obviously there was
[01:47:32] some concurrence amongst the council uh
[01:47:36] on uh some uh nonprofit giving and so
[01:47:40] that will be added into uh the
[01:47:42] preliminary budget and then what happens
[01:47:45] next is uh the first uh city council
[01:47:49] regular city council meeting in June uh
[01:47:52] the two-year budget will be presented to
[01:47:54] the council for action. And so what that
[01:47:58] means is uh a resolution's prepared to
[01:48:02] adopt uh year 1 uh budget year 1 and
[01:48:07] then tenatively approve year two subject
[01:48:10] to a review by the council. So think of
[01:48:12] year two almost like a projection and
[01:48:15] then a year from now uh when we have a
[01:48:19] year's worth of experience and better
[01:48:20] better data we come in and we take that
[01:48:23] projection and we update it based on
[01:48:25] that year of experience or something
[01:48:27] that came up that wasn't in the budget
[01:48:29] or something that was in the budget that
[01:48:31] we want to take out. So there's another
[01:48:33] review before we move forward with year
[01:48:35] two. Again that would be the same
[01:48:37] process where the council would get it.
[01:48:39] Here are the adjustments. Okay. they
[01:48:41] adopt these adjustments and then that's
[01:48:42] the budget for year two. Uh so that
[01:48:45] tenative approval of year two subject to
[01:48:48] a review that's the purpose of that
[01:48:50] language is just to make sure that the
[01:48:52] council sees it again before it goes
[01:48:54] into effect. So that will come forward
[01:48:57] uh first meeting in June.
[01:49:00] But it looks like we haven't given you
[01:49:01] any headaches that we can't get that
[01:49:03] done by the first week in June. Just
[01:49:06] just a little SAF and and and Macllum
[01:49:09] issue. That's about it. We we are happy
[01:49:11] with that. Okay, good. Thank you for
[01:49:13] everything. I think that concludes our
[01:49:16] comments. Yep, we're done with that. The
[01:49:19] study session is concluded.