City Council Workshops

0:00 All right. Welcome, everyone. We'll get our workshop started. Today is September 21st, and we have a workshop today on the biennium budget. So let's just, as a reminder, make sure your mic's on when you speak and state your name, and we'll get started with staff introducing themselves. Good afternoon, Mayor Pro Tem, Council, Community, Lisa Brandel, Deputy City Manager. Good afternoon, Katie Shifley, Chief Financial Officer. Good to see you.

0:53 Are you ready to begin? Yes. Okay, we'll go ahead and get started. This is our workshop on the City Manager's Recommended Biennium Budget Preview, and we'll go ahead and get started. And so we have prepared an agenda here. We are going to start with opening remarks from our City Manager, Lon Plakon. We are going to go over the budget presentation history, how we've gotten here to this point, and the status, an overview of the 27-28 biennium budget. It's a preview and an overview and highlights. We're going to go into some specific highlights of the budget. And then we are going to discuss revenue, the strategies that we've talked about a few times with you on the budget and how we prepared it, an update on the budget, and then

1:52 the general fund, fire, and street forecast. We're going to talk a little bit about the timeline, the remaining timeline on the biennium budget, and then have opportunities for discussion. But at any time during this presentation, please feel free to ask us any questions. So with that, I'm going to turn it over to our City Manager, Lon Plakon, to start with opening remarks. All right. Thank you, Lisa. So I'm happy to be able to bring the Council the current state of the budget as we head towards October, which is our publication deadline leading into November, which would be the final approval of the budget. And as the Council may remember, we've approached this budget season a little differently than we have in the past. One of the things that I wanted to commit to early on was really going back and taking a very close look at how the City used the money that we already had and used that to frame how the budget would be shaped going forward.

2:52 And as we really got into some of the items related to the budget, I know you've heard me use the term "reset budget" for some of the items that really need more study than we're going to be able to complete leading in the run-up to this budget. And so some of those decisions led us to being able to pause some ongoing expenses, including things like contributions to the City's Vehicle Fund for equipment repair and replacement for all of the rolling stock that we buy for our non-public safety. I'm going to talk a little bit more about that as we head into the next meeting. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm going to start by saying thank you to all of the speakers for joining us today. I know that we have a lot of questions coming in from the public safety-related departments. And I say that because I know that the numbers definitely look better in the third year than they had in the past, but I just want to be a little bit cautious about that because some of the decisions that we have made now are holding year three on the forecast artificially lower than it would be. We fully anticipate that some of those costs and expenses will have to show up into the next year's budget. But compared to where we started with a looming

3:51 combination of ongoing expense changes and also some one-time use of funds, I'm pretty happy with where we're sitting. And one of the things I just want to acknowledge is that I feel like there might be a little bit of budget whiplash going on with people having looked at the budget numbers the first time and remembering what we went through in 2024, where we ended up having to do staff reductions and did some pretty dramatic staff reductions, to where we're sitting now, where we're not projecting change. We're projecting a deficit going forward, and we're actually able to not only continue to put funding towards some of the Council's ongoing priorities, but also address some of the ones that Council has asked us to look at over the last couple of years. So there are some decision points in there where we still need some input from the City Council during this session that will really help us shape the next iteration of the budget, and that would be the one that would be headed out towards publication on October 1st, and full printing and public

4:50 consumption. So with that, I will turn it back over to Lisa and Katie, unless you have any questions for me ahead of that. Do you have any questions? Okay, no questions. Let's go ahead. Okay, thank you. Okay, we're going to start a little bit about the process and how we got to this point, going over the budget presentations that we've shared with you since the spring. Starting with today, we've had a total of four budget workshops, starting on April 27th, and then we had one in July, and we had a brief one on August 24th. We do have an ongoing structural deficit, and we'll talk about that later, although it has closed a little bit when you saw it in August. The structural deficit comes from deferrals.

5:50 So we have a deferral of a decade through constrained spending and new revenues, and during the April 27th workshop, we forecasted a deficit, and as Lon mentioned in his opening remarks, we decided to analyze past legacy practices, the structure of the budget, make some operational decisions, and return in July. And then when we returned in July, we shared that we had a closure of the deficit for '27-'28, forecasted with use of one-time funds, pausing of program contributions, leveraging other funding sources, new revenue, and some internal operational decisions. And during August, we did some revision to the financial and investment policies, which were

6:43 approved by Council. Thank you for doing that, and we provided an update to the budget on the work done to date. And today, we're going to preview the City Manager's budget with the majority of the status quo, continuation of Council priorities, opportunity for discussion with you and receive your feedback, and preparation for the October 1st budget publication. So with that, we're going to go into the overview of the '27-'28 biennium budget. So with this budget, we've held department spending patterns. In fact, we have scrutinized them more than in the past, which will have a downstream effect in the future years. We've made some operational decisions that lay the foundation for the City to continue its work and meet the

7:41 challenges of the future. We've been strategic on the use of leveraging existing funding that's pivoted away from reliance on the general fund, which also has a future downstream effect. Importantly, this budget continues the priorities of Council that has been outlined in the strategic plan and also addresses other emergent issues, such as public defense. We are preparing for the future needs that are coming, such as debt service for capital projects, of the Public Works Operational Center, PFAS, and other future impacts, such as annexation. We reallocated the budget where necessary to fund needed initiatives. We redefined the ongoing budget from past practices and pivoting to new budget practices that allow for planning for the future. And so we are going to talk about the highlights of the work that's been done in this budget. And so we're going to talk about the highlights of the work that's been done in this budget. And so we're going to talk about the highlights of the work that's been done in this budget. And so we're going to talk about the highlights of the work that's been done in this budget. And so we're going to talk about the highlights of the work that's been done in this budget.

8:35 And so we are going to talk about the highlights of the work that's continuing to be done, such as the comprehensive plan implementation, the continued work in homelessness support and outreach, public defense, and affordable housing. So I'm going to share something that I've heard our city manager say often. We often focus on what we're not able to do, but not on the work that we're doing and what is possible. So despite constrained resources, these next slides show council and the community what the city is continuing to do while also preparing for the future. We are increasing funding for public defense. We are. We are proceeding with construction and or remodel of fire stations 3, 6, and 8 with Proposition 2 bank capacity.

9:32 We're funding for seed work into annexation, including a partnership with Clark County. We are supporting the opening of the bridge shelter, which is opening this fall, and the study for the Performing Arts Center, which is in process right now. There are components in the budget for the high school. development, affordable housing, the rental registration program, and the Chakalov building remodel, and specific items under equity, climate, and community safety. We're also going to talk a little bit about organizational resiliency, which establish resources for the city to meet future needs and prepare for unforeseen circumstances. These next few slides will highlight those specific items under programs of interest, city council priority themes, and organizational

10:27 resiliency. So the first slide we're going to highlight the homeless program. Within the budget, included in the budget is support for the bridge shelter, which is going to open this fall, as well as an emergency shelter assessment that develops a 10-year capital improvement plan for all the city sites. The assessment will include asset management and future projects. And the HEART team is growing in capacity due to the support from the Lynch Foundation, which is making a difference in our community, and the safe stays and safe park will continue their operations. Under climate, a couple of items to highlight include a pilot of EV charging stations for public stations and infrastructure implementation for citywide vehicles. Also, electronic vehicles are the standard for our city fleet,

11:25 and anything different requires an exception request. Parking is requesting electronic vehicles for their enforcement vehicles, and our police department is starting with a pilot for two patrol vehicles. Also included is a one-time funding recommendation for a solar installation on the Furstenberg Community Center. Under equity, there are two options. One is to include a solar installation on the first and burg community center. The equity goals of the comprehensive plan implementation are included, continued training for city employees, procurement will launch their five-year disparity study, and our general services and parks department will work on ADA transition plan work in various facilities and projects.

12:12 And under community safety, training and equipment resources are included for fire, and as previously mentioned, the Proposition 2 bank capacity will be used for fire station projects. Funding for an assessment of a regional fire authority is also included. Under police, in addition to the funding for Proposition 5, the criminal justice grant and public safety sales tax, funding for a headquarters, land acquisition and resources for equipment, are also included. An additional note is that we will be working with both departments to establish an equipment repair and replacement strategy, which does not exist currently, much like we do for IT equipment, so that funding is available when needed and doesn't need to be requested at every biennium. Community safety also includes transportation projects. This is just a highlight of some of the projects.

13:13 Under transportation, it by no means includes all of them. So under the category of transportation, there is a total of 51.2 million in requested total projects, and under transportation and mobility, there is 101.1 million in projects included in the 27-28 budget. And under economic development, extension of a position is included for continued support for small businesses in the downtown area and will also assist small business procurement outreach and tracking for our procurement department. There's a request for a small business incubator focusing on product-to-market and construction and trade programs that support both high-growth startups and culturally aligned small businesses.

14:12 It also focuses on accessing new markets and addressing local small business capital and support gaps. In parking, the parking wayfinding will assist in improved site location, identifiers to the community in downtown for parking, and the circulator assists with support for alternative mobility options. Under organizational resiliency, it refers to those items in the recommended budget. RECOMMENDED BUDGET THAT STRENGTHEN THE CITY EXTERNALLY AND INTERNALLY. WE DO THIS BY ANTICIPATING LONG-TERM CHANGES AND BUILDING LONG-TERM VIABILITY. THIS IS EXPRESSED IN DIFFERENT ITEMS WITHIN THE FORTHCOMING RECOMMENDED BUDGET SUCH AS ASSESSING OUR FACILITIES IN THE HISTORIC TRUST AND OTHER EXISTING FACILITIES, CONDUCTING

15:05 STRUCTURAL REPAIRS IN THE OFFICER'S ROW, DREADING IN THE MARINE PARK BOAT LAUNCH AREA, REPLACING EQUIPMENT IN OUR PARKS, BRINGING ON A PROFESSIONAL INVESTMENT ADVISOR FOR OUR INVESTMENT POOL AND SUSTAINING OUR DEPARTMENTS IN PARKS GENERAL SERVICES AND FINANCE TO REDUCE LEADERSHIP VULNERABILITIES. UNDER COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, NOW THAT IT'S ADOPTED THE IMPLEMENTATION WORK CONTINUES AND BEGINS AT THE SAME TIME. THIS INCLUDES REVIEW AND MONITORING, IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EQUITY GOALS, UPDATING THE PARKS COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND HAVING THE SCAFF CAPACITY FOR KEY NEAR-TERM GOALS AND SUB AREA PLANNING. THESE ARE SOME OF THE ITEMS RELATING TO THE WORK FOR THE COMP PLAN. JUST TO HIGHLIGHT, THERE ARE A FEW OTHERS IN THE RECOMMENDED BUDGET.

16:05 UNDER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, THERE IS A POINT HERE FOR DISCUSSION WITH YOU. IN THE RECOMMENDED BUDGET, THERE IS A RECOMMENDATION FOR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS COORDINATOR. THE COORDINATOR WILL REPORT TO THE DIRECTOR OF ENGAGEMENT AND ACCESS AND LEAD THE DAY-TO-DAY WORK. ALONG WITH THE COORDINATOR, THERE IS A RECOMMENDATION TO ENGAGE FOR SERVICES TO REVIEW ALL THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS. UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF THE DIRECTOR OF ENGAGEMENT AND ACCESS, THE COORDINATOR WOULD HANDLE THIS WORK IN ADDITION TO ANY POLICY UPDATES, WORK WITH STAFF LIAISONS ON ANNUAL REPORTS, ASSIST ADMIN IN SCHEDULING, WORK WITH YOU ON DIRECTION FOR BOARD AND COMMISSION RECRUITMENTS, GOALS, FORMATION, AND/OR DISSOLUTION, PERFORMANCE MEASURES, AND OTHER DIRECTION. IF APPROVED, THE COORDINATOR PROVIDES A REVIEW OF THE BUDGET.

17:05 IT WOULD ALLOW THE DIRECTOR TO CONTINUE HER WORK FOR VANCOUVER FOR ALL, ENGAGE WITH THE COMMUNITY AND CITY EMPLOYEES. AT THIS POINT, THE BREADTH AND LEVEL OF THE WORK OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS WARRANTS A POSITION. UP FOR COUNCIL DISCUSSION IS A REQUEST FOR AN ADDITIONAL POSITION, A YOUTH COORDINATOR THAT WOULD WORK WITH THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, AS IT HAS BEEN STATED BY SOME COUNCILORS, THE DESIRE TO ENGAGE WITH YOUTH MORE. IF THERE IS A DESIRE FOR A YOUTH COORDINATOR, IT WOULD BE AN ADDITIONAL ONGOING COST TO THE GENERAL FUND OF APPROXIMATELY 121,000 PER YEAR. THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS COORDINATOR IS THE SAME COST, THE SAME ANNUAL ONGOING COST. SO I'M GOING TO TAKE A PAUSE HERE AND SEE IF COUNCIL WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS.

18:05 I THINK WE HAVE TIME TO DISCUSS THAT ADDING A POSSIBLE YOUTH COORDINATOR POSITION ON TOP OF A BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS COORDINATOR POSITION. ALL RIGHT. I'D ALSO LIKE US TO OPEN UP FOR QUESTIONS ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDES, TOO. SURE. BECAUSE THIS IS A VERY NARROW TOPIC AND WE JUST WENT THROUGH 20 SLIDES BEFORE THAT. SO WHY DON'T WE FIRST SEE IF ANYONE HAS ANY THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS ON THE QUESTION BEFORE US ON YOUTH COORDINATORS? THANK YOU, MAYOR PROTIM. I LONG WANTED THIS. SO PARTING SHOTS, YES. I WOULD LIKE -- WE'RE BUILDING A CITY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS. AND I THINK THOSE VOICES NEED TO BE INTEGRATED. IN ORDER FOR THEM TO BE INTEGRATED FULLY AND SUPPORTED

19:05 AND I THINK THERE NEEDS TO BE SOMETHING TO WALK THROUGH THAT -- SOMEBODY TO WALK THROUGH THE PROCESS WITH THEM. SO I FOR ONE AM IN SUPPORT OF TRYING TO FIND THAT FUNDING. THANK YOU. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. COUNCILOR PEREZ. THANK YOU. I -- YOU KNOW, RIDGEFIELD HAS JUST RECENTLY ADDED A YOUTH COUNCIL. THE CENTER NOW HAS A YOUTH COUNCIL. AND WE ARE A MUCH BIGGER POPULATION. WITH A GROWING YOUTH POPULATION THAT DESERVES OUR ATTENTION AND DOORS AND INCLUSION INTO CIVIC LIFE. AND FOR A VERY LONG TIME WE HAVE TRIED TO INCORPORATE SERVICES AND PROGRAMS THAT REALLY BENEFIT YOUTH. AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE NEED A YOUTH COUNCIL FOR THE CITY OF VANCOUVER. WHETHER THAT'S COORDINATED BY A YOUTH COORDINATOR OR A

20:05 DIFFERENT TYPE OF POSITION, WE NEED A YOUTH COUNCIL FOR THE CITY OF VANCOUVER. IT'S RIDICULOUS TO SEE OUR SURROUNDING JURISDICTIONS THAT ARE WAY SMALLER IN POPULATION SIZE BE FURTHER AHEAD THAN WE ARE. AND SO WHATEVER WE NEED TO DO TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT WHATEVER POSITIONS, WE DON'T WANT TO NARROW IT TO JUST A YOUTH COORDINATOR, BUT THE OUTCOME IS WE WANT TO HAVE AN ESTABLISHED YOUTH COUNCIL THAT WE WORK WITH. COUNCILOR HARLESS. YEAH, I WOULD LOVE FOR US TO EXPLORE HOW TO DO THAT AS WELL. AND, YOU KNOW, PRIORITIZING THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS COORDINATOR, OBVIOUSLY, THAT MAKES SENSE. HOWEVER, I KNOW THERE'S ALSO OTHER OPPORTUNITIES IF IT'S NOT SOMEBODY THAT IS A YOUTH COORDINATOR IN TITLE, MAYBE IT'S AN INTERNSHIP WITH ONE OF OUR COLLEGES OR UNIVERSITIES THAT

21:05 YOU KNOW, THOSE STUDENTS NEED INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES. SOMETIMES THEY'RE AT NO COST OR LOW COST BECAUSE THEY'RE GETTING CREDITS THROUGH THE UNIVERSITY. AND THAT COULD BE UNDER THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS COORDINATOR, FOR EXAMPLE, WHO WOULD OVERSEE THAT INTERN. I KNOW WE DO INTERNSHIPS IN MANY DEPARTMENTS HERE. SO THERE MIGHT BE AN OPPORTUNITY THERE UNTIL WHEN AND IF WE COULD HAVE SOMEONE SPECIFICALLY AS A YOUTH COORDINATOR. I AGREE WITH WHERE COUNCIL MEMBER PEREZ WAS GOING WHERE IT'S MORE ABOUT THE OUTCOME OF A YOUTH COUNCIL. THAT IS THE DESIRE THAT I'VE HEARD UP HERE FROM EVERYBODY. ANY OTHER? COUNCIL MEMBER STUPPER. THANK YOU. I AM -- I DON'T THINK THIS IS THE TIME OR PLACE TO DEBATE HOW YOUTH ARE INTEGRATED IN, WHETHER THEY'RE INTEGRATED INTO EXISTING BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS

22:05 OR IF IT'S A SEPARATE YOUTH COUNCIL. I AM -- BUT I'M INTERESTED IN SEEING A PROPOSAL MORE FULLY FLESHED OUT. THANK YOU. ANY MORE THOUGHTS ON THE YOUTH COORDINATOR PORTION OF THIS QUESTION? ALL RIGHT. NOW I'D LIKE TO OPEN IT UP FOR ANY THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDES THAT WERE DISCUSSING THE OVERALL THEMES OF THE MANAGER'S BUDGET. COUNCIL PRESIDENT PEREZ. JUST QUICKLY, ON ONE OF THE SLIDES THAT SAYS ALL THINGS EQUAL, I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER WHAT SLIDE IT WAS. CAN YOU JUST ELABORATE WHAT THAT MEANS? SLIDE NINE. ASSUMING ALL THINGS EQUAL.

23:05 SLIDE FOUR, WE TOOK OUR ASSUMPTIONS FOR REVENUE. WE TOOK OUR FORECAST VERY CONSERVATIVELY ON THE REVENUE SIDE. SO WITHOUT BEING OVERLY AGGRESSIVE ON THE REVENUE, I WOULD SAY. SO REVENUE IS ALWAYS KIND OF HARD, ESPECIALLY ON THE SALES TAX AND OTHER ITEMS. WE WERE VERY CONSERVATIVE ON THAT. SO IT'S JUST ALL THINGS EQUAL, LIKE THE SAME STATUS QUO? IS THAT WHAT IT MEANS? YES. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. I'D LIKE US TO GO TO SLIDE 18. 18, SORRY. THERE YOU GO. WELL, MAYBE IT ISN'T 18 ON THIS PRESENTATION. IT'S ABOUT THE PARKS BUDGET. MAYBE GO BACK ONE. LET'S SEE WHERE WE ARE.

24:05 I THINK WE'RE KIND OF INTERSPERSED THROUGH DIFFERENT SLIDES. WELL, SO MY QUESTION REVOLVES AROUND, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A -- ON ONE OF THE SLIDES, MAYBE -- THERE IT IS. YEAH. OH, IT'S 19. IT'S AT 18. THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR POSITIONS FOR PARKS AND GENERAL SERVICES HAS CAUGHT MY ATTENTION. AND ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I HAVE AROUND THAT IS KNOWING THAT WE'VE -- WE DEFINITELY CUT BACK ON PARK STAFF, PARK MAINTENANCE STAFF, YOU KNOW, IN OUR LAST BUDGET TO THE DETRIMENT, IT APPEARS FROM, YOU KNOW, THE COMMENTS WE'VE RECEIVED FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC ON PARKS MAINTENANCE AND JUST NOT HAVING ENOUGH STAFF TO DO ALL THE THINGS THAT NEED TO HAPPEN. I MEAN, CLOSING RESTROOMS INSTEAD OF CLEANING THEM AND REPAIRING THEM, YOU KNOW, ISN'T REALLY A GOOD SOLUTION FOR PARKS. AND SO I'M WONDERING HOW WE'RE ADDRESSING IT BY HIRING A DEPUTY DIRECTOR INSTEAD OF PERHAPS UTILIZING THAT FUNDING FOR MORE STAFFING. OR MAYBE THERE IS A STAFFING

25:05 THAT YOU'RE NOT HIGHLIGHTING. I CAN SPEAK DIRECTLY TO THE POSITION OF THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR. SO THESE TWO DEPARTMENTS ARE THE LAST TWO DEPARTMENTS THAT DON'T HAVE A DEPUTY DIRECTOR. AND WITH THE SIZE OF THE CITY, IT'S GOOD PRACTICE TO HAVE A DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR THE SIZE AND LENGTH OF THE CITY, IN CASE OF ANY LEADERSHIP ISSUES OR WE WANT TO AVOID ANY POINTS OF FAILURE BECAUSE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE DEPARTMENTS. AND AS FAR AS THE SERVICE LEVELS AND THE -- REGARDING THE DEPARTMENT, I'M GOING TO DEFER THAT QUESTION TO DAVE PURLICK. I DON'T KNOW IF HE'S ONLINE. DAVE'S HERE. SORRY, I DIDN'T SEE YOU, DAVE.

26:05 I KNOW DAVE WORKED OUT A PLAN ON THIS POSITION SPECIFICALLY. OKAY. I WOULD SAY MY POSITION WAS EXACTLY YOUR POSITION IN THE LAST BUDGET. WE FOCUSED ON DEPLOYING STAFF AT THE LEVEL OF ENSURING WE MAINTAIN AS MANY PROGRAMS AND SERVICES AS POSSIBLE. I'M STRONGLY IN FAVOR OF THIS PROPOSAL AND THIS BUDGET CYCLE, ONLY SPEAKING FOR PARTS, THE REASON BEING WE NEED TO HAVE A FUTURE AS WELL AS SUSTAINED SERVICE LEVELS AND ULTIMATELY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SIGNIFICANT WORK IN OUR PARKS COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO ALIGN A PROPOSAL FOR POTENTIAL LONG-TERM FUNDING AND WE'RE ALSO TALKING ABOUT ANNEXING UP TO 35 FACILITIES WITH CLARK COUNTY AND WE CAN'T -- I DON'T BELIEVE WE CAN ADEQUATELY PLAN FOR THE FUTURE WITH OUR CURRENT STAFF COMPLEMENT, FOCUSING PRIMARILY ON DEPLOYING PROGRAMS AND SERVICES THAT WE OFFER TODAY. SO I THINK THAT ADDITIONAL MANAGEMENT

27:05 WILL PRIMARILY BE FOCUSED ON THOSE PREPARING US FOR ANNEXATION GROWTH AND SUSTAINABLE FUNDING. ARE YOU PROPOSING IN THIS BUDGET CYCLE ADDITIONAL MAINTENANCE STAFF? YES. YOU'LL SEE A PROPOSAL COMING THROUGH PUBLIC WORKS BUDGET THAT WOULD RESTORE SEASONAL TEMPORARY STAFF AND GROUNDS MAINTENANCE. SO THERE WOULD BE SOME -- AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AN ADDITIONAL PROGRAM BEING MOVED TO DEPLOY THAT POSITION TO BETTER SUPPORT EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA DURING THE SUMMER. SO WE'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE MAJOR SERVICE IMPACTS. I THINK ULTIMATELY WE WILL CONTINUE TO ONE STEP UP, MAYBE ONE STEP OR TWO STEP BACK AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITHOUT ADDITIONAL DEDICATED FUNDING. SO I THINK WE WANT TO DO BOTH. WE WANT TO MANAGE OUR SERVICE

28:05 AND CURRENT RESOURCES, BUT MAKE SURE WE'RE DOING THE WORK TO PLAN FOR THE FUTURE AS WELL. OKAY. THANKS FOR ALL OF THOSE RESPONSES. SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT. ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS ON THESE PREVIOUS SLIDES? OR ANY OF THE PROPOSALS SO FAR? ALL RIGHT. WE DO? OKAY. I APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING THAT UP AND WOULD LOVE TO SEE WHAT THIS POSITION DESCRIPTION FLESHED OUT. THANK YOU. WOULD WE BE ABLE TO SEE THE POSITION DESCRIPTIONS OF ALL THESE NEW POSITIONS BEING PROPOSED JUST TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW THEY ALIGN WITH THE WORK OF THE CITY? BECAUSE THERE'S MULTIPLE NEW POSITIONS BEING PROPOSED WITH THIS BUDGET. OKAY. COUNCILOR? JUST ONE MORE THOUGHT AS WE TALK ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CITY, THE STAFFING AND SUCH

29:05 JUST WANTING TO CONSIDER HOW TOP HEAVY WE ARE WITH THAT COMPARED TO STAFF THAT'S OUT ON THE GROUND DOING THE WORK. SO I'M CURIOUS AS TO WHAT THAT LEVEL OF WORK LOOKS LIKE WITH THE ADDITION OF THESE TOP POSITIONS SUCH AS THE DEPUTY POSITIONS, NOT TO SAY THAT THEY'RE NOT IMPORTANT, BUT I WANT TO GET A BETTER PICTURE OF WHAT WE'RE ADDING AND WHERE WE ARE AS A GOVERNMENT, THEN OTHERS AND ESPECIALLY IN THE DIFFERENT AREAS THAT WE TALK ABOUT THE DEPARTMENTS. OKAY. WE CAN DO THAT. OKAY. LET'S MOVE ON. THANK YOU. OKAY. SO TRANSITIONING A LITTLE BIT HERE, WE WANTED TO PROVIDE THE COUNCIL WITH AN OVERVIEW OF SOME OF THE KEY REVENUE ITEMS IN THE RECOMMENDED BUDGET.

30:05 WE HAVE A NEW COMBINATION OF PUBLIC SAFETY FUNDING THAT IS HELPING SUPPORT THIS PRIORITY AREA. THE PUBLIC SAFETY SALES TAX IS GOING TO GO INTO EFFECT NEXT YEAR, RAISING ABOUT 5.6 MILLION IN 2027 AND 7 MILLION IN 2028. THIS IS PLANNED TO SUPPORT 16 NEW POLICE POSITIONS, PROVIDING ONGOING OPERATIONAL SUPPORT FOR THE REAL TIME INFORMATION CENTER, AS WELL AS AN INCREASE IN SUPPORT FOR PUBLIC DEFENSE. THE RELATED HB 2015 GRANT FUNDING IS GOING TO HELP SUPPORT ONE-TIME POLICE POSITION COSTS FOR A PERIOD OF TIME AS WELL, AND HELP FUND ONE-TIME COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH ADDITIONAL STAFF LIKE EQUIPMENT AND VEHICLES, AS WELL AS SOME OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT REAL TIME INFORMATION CENTER. AS YOU KNOW, PROP 5 REVENUES ARE SUPPORTING THOSE 13 POLICE POSITIONS, ONE CITY PROSECUTOR AND A LEGAL ASSISTANT. THERE ARE ALSO TWO REVENUE ITEMS THAT WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE TO HIGHLIGHT FOR COUNCIL DISCUSSION. THE FIRST OF THOSE IS THE

31:05 HB 2442, WHICH IS A .01% LOCAL SALES TAX DEDICATED TO SUPPORTING CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES. THE RECOMMENDED BUDGET ASSUMES SOME NEW REVENUE FROM THIS POTENTIAL SALES TAX, BUT THAT NEW REVENUE STARTS IN 2028. THE PLAN IS TO COME BACK AND DISCUSS THIS FURTHER WITH COUNCIL DURING THE YEAR TO SEE IF THAT IS SOMETHING THAT Y'ALL ARE INTERESTED IN IMPLEMENTING. THE CURRENT RECOMMENDATION, ASSUMING THAT THERE IS SUPPORT, WOULD BE TO OFFSET THE CURRENT CHILDREN'S JUSTICE CENTER EXPENSES WITH THAT NEW TAX AT ABOUT $1.7 MILLION IN 2028. THAT WOULD LEAVE ABOUT $5.5 MILLION IN REMAINING RESOURCES TO BE PROGRAMMED BASED OFF OF COUNCIL DIRECTION. I'LL GO AHEAD AND TALK ABOUT THE SECOND REVENUE ITEM HERE FOR COUNCIL DISCUSSION AND THEN PAUSE THERE FOR DISCUSSION. SO THE OTHER CHANGE TO HIGHLIGHT FOR COUNCIL DISCUSSION ON REVENUE IS THE CHANGE IN THE UTILITY TAX GOING FROM 28.9% TO 28.99%.

32:05 THIS CHANGE IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE REVENUES BY ABOUT $210,000 PER YEAR. THE CITY MANAGER IS RECOMMENDING TO USE THESE RESOURCES TO FUND A 1.0 FTE THAT WILL HELP SUPPORT THE CLIMATE ACTION FRAMEWORK AND GENERALLY HELP ADVANCE THE CITY'S CLIMATE GOALS. SO I WILL PAUSE THERE AND SEE IF THERE IS ANY COUNCIL DISCUSSION ON THOSE TWO ITEMS. ALL RIGHT. DO WE HAVE ANY THOUGHTS THAT WE'D LIKE TO CHAIR AT THIS POINT? OKAY. COUNCIL MEMBER STOVER. THANK YOU, MAYOR PROTEM. THANK YOU FOR THIS DISCUSSION. TALK TO ME ABOUT HOW CONSERVATIVELY WE'RE FORECASTING THIS PUBLIC SAFETY SALES TAX. I WOULD SAY THAT FOR 2027, FAIRLY CONSERVATIVELY, WE ARE ONLY COUNTING ON TEN MONTHS OF REVENUE IN 2027, KNOWING THAT WE HAVE KIND OF A TWO-MONTH LAG BEFORE THOSE REVENUES ARE TO COME IN. SO I THINK WE'RE FEELING THAT

33:05 FAIRLY CONFIDENT ABOUT THE REVENUE PROJECTIONS. ARE WE PUTTING IN THE POSSIBILITY OF A RECESSION INTO THOSE FORECASTS? WHAT I WOULD SAY IS THAT RIGHT NOW, WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT IS NOT THE FINALIZED CITY MANAGER'S BUDGET, RIGHT? SO WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY LOOKING AT THIS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF EXACTLY WHAT ALL THIS PUBLIC SAFETY SALES TAX IS GOING TO -- LIKE IT'S NOT ALL FINALIZED. AND DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IS MAKING SURE THAT FROM AN ONGOING REVENUE AND ONGOING EXPENSE PERSPECTIVE THAT WE'RE NOT KIND OF LIKE FULLY CAPTING OURSELVES OUT IN YEAR ONE, RIGHT? SO WE'RE NOT LOOKING AT $7 MILLION OF REVENUE IN YEAR ONE AND TAKING THAT ALL THE WAY OUT WITH EXPENSES. OKAY. SO I LIVE WITH THE ANXIETY THAT WE ARE WAY PAST DUE FOR A RECESSION.

34:05 AND THE INFLATION PRESSURES ARE NOT ABATING RIGHT NOW AND THAT THAT'S GOING TO -- WE'RE ALREADY SEEING THE EFFECTS OF THAT IN CONSUMER SPENDING. SO I GUESS IT'S GREAT THAT YOU'VE GOT THIS ADDITIONAL CAPACITY FOR OTHER PROGRAMMING. AND I HOPE THAT THIS COUNCIL -- OR FUTURE COUNCILS ARE GOING TO DO THE SAME. WE'LL NOT BUDGET THAT MONEY OUT OF FORECAST, BUT WE'LL WAIT UNTIL THAT MONEY IS ACTUALLY IN THE ACCOUNTS BEFORE ANY SPENDING IS PROPOSED. BECAUSE I JUST -- I DON'T TRUST THE ECONOMY TO RELY ON SALES

35:00 TAX. THANK YOU. COUNCILOR STOBER, IF I COULD, I COULD ADDRESS THAT A LITTLE BIT TOO, BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS WITH THE WAY THAT WE'VE PUT THE BUDGET TOGETHER IS THAT WE KNOW THAT IN FUTURE YEARS THAT THE EXPENSES OF THE POLICE OFFICERS THAT WE HIRE WILL CATCH UP TO THE AVAILABLE RESOURCES. SO WE FOCUSED ON ANYTHING IN THE EARLY YEARS THAT WOULD USE KIND OF THAT MARGIN IS ALL THINGS LIKE ONE-TIME EXPENSES OR CAPITAL EXPENSES, MUCH LIKE WE DID WITH PROPOSITION 2, WHERE WE USED THE EARLY YEARS TO FUND IMPROVEMENTS TO FIRE STATIONS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. SO THAT GIVES US A BUFFER, BECAUSE IN THE EVENT THAT WE DON'T SEE THOSE REVENUES MATERIALIZED, WE CAN PULL BACK ON SOME OF THOSE CAPITAL EXPENSES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T OVER EXTEND OURSELVES. AND WITH THE WAY THAT WE HAVE THINGS DISTRIBUTED, IT'S NOT LINEAR WHERE EVERYTHING SHOWS UP IN YEAR ONE. SO IF REVENUES DON'T MATERIALIZE

35:58 IN YEAR ONE, ITEMS THAT ARE ANTICIPATED FOR YEAR TWO, MAYBE SOME OF THOSE POSITIONS JUST DON'T GET CREATED. WE ALSO THEN BUILT BUFFERS INTO THE WAY THAT WE ARE ANTICIPATING POSITIONS TO SHOW UP IN FUTURE YEARS. TYPICALLY IN THE PAST, WHEN WE PUT SOMETHING IN, THERE WAS AN ASSUMPTION MADE THAT THAT NEW POSITION WOULD ALWAYS START ON JANUARY 1, AND SO IT WAS FULLY LOADED FOR A FULL YEAR, AND WE HAVE SCALED THOSE BACK FOR NINE MONTHS AS WELL, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT AS WE GO THROUGH SOME OF THESE, WE HAVE SOME LEAD TIME BEFORE SOME OF THOSE DECISIONS WOULD ACTUALLY BE IMPLEMENTED. IT GIVES US THE ABILITY TO PULL SOME OF THOSE LEVERS BACK IN THE WAY THAT THE ECONOMY TURNS DOWN. ONE OTHER THING THAT I WANTED TO SHARE ON THAT IS THAT WE HAVE HEARD THAT THERE IS AN INTEREST IN COUNCIL IN MORE REGULAR UPDATES ON THAT, AND SO WE ARE INTENDING TO COME BACK PERIODICALLY AND PROVIDE UPDATES TO THE COUNCIL ON SORT OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY SALES TAX AND SPENDING ON THAT. SO HOPEFULLY WE WILL BE BACK BEFORE YOU TOO LONG WITH AN UPDATE ON THAT. I WOULD LIKE SOME CLARIFICATION

36:56 ON THIS PARTICULAR SLIDE. WHEN I READ IT THE FIRST TIME, I WAS ASSUMING THAT THESE ARE THREE DIFFERENT TAXES. IS THAT CORRECT? YES. OKAY. SO THIS HOUSE BILL 242 IS AN ADDITIONAL .01 THAT WE'RE DISCUSSING. RIGHT. AND SO -- BECAUSE YOU SAID PROGRAM FOR 2028 AS IF IT'S ALREADY BEEN ACCEPTED AND MOVED FORWARD? LET ME DRILL DOWN ON THAT FOR YOU A LITTLE BIT. SO THE WAY THAT THE CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED BUDGET LOOKS LIKE RIGHT NOW IS THAT THERE IS A SMALL AMOUNT OF REVENUE ASSUMED IN 2028 ASSOCIATED WITH THIS NEW SALES TAX. IT'S ABOUT $1.7 MILLION AND IT'S OFFSETTING THE CHILDREN'S JUSTICE CENTER EXPENSES. IF THAT SALES TAX WERE TO MOVE FORWARD, THERE WOULD BE AN ADDITIONAL $5.5 MILLION IN CAPACITY TO BE SPENT AT COUNCIL DIRECTION. WHAT I WAS TRYING TO SUGGEST EARLIER IS THAT PART OF THE PLAN WOULD BE TO COME BACK TO COUNCIL AND HAVE THAT

37:56 CONVERSATION OF DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? IS THERE INTEREST IN IMPLEMENTING THAT SALES TAX? AND IF NOT, THERE WOULD BE PLENTY OF TIME TO ADDRESS THAT IN THE BUDGET AND SHIFT THOSE RESOURCES ELSEWHERE. WHAT I -- WHAT JUMPS OUT AT ME IS THE IDEA OF OFFSETTING THE CHILDREN'S JUSTICE CENTER COSTS WITH THIS TAX. THE VOLATILITY OF, AGAIN, KIND OF GOING BACK TO A SALES TAX VERSUS USING OUR BUDGET THAT'S BEEN BUDGETED FOR YEARS AS A STABLE INCOME OR CONTRIBUTION TO THE CHILDREN'S JUSTICE CENTER AS OUR CONTRIBUTION. THE COUNTY HAS A CONTRIBUTION AND WE HAVE A CONTRIBUTION AND I HAVE BEEN PART OF DISCUSSIONS WITH THE CHILDREN'S JUSTICE CENTER AS THE COUNCIL'S REPRESENTATIVE FOR NOW, WHAT, TWO OR THREE YEARS NOW? I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER. BUT WHAT THEY DON'T NEED TO HEAR IS THAT WE SUDDENLY HAVE LESS FUNDING TO SUPPORT.

38:55 SO THIS SEEMS TO ME AS IF WE'D BE MOVING AWAY FROM BEING A TRUSTED PARTNER WITH A FUND THAT SUDDENLY DROPS BECAUSE OF RECESSION OR OTHER REASONS. AND SO I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR PROPOSAL. IF IT WAS NOT OFFSETTING AND IT WAS SAYING THAT WE ARE ACTUALLY PROVIDING ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR OTHER CAPACITY TO THE PROGRAM, THAT I'M INTERESTED IN HEARING. OKAY. WE HAVE THOUGHTS. COUNCILMEMBER. ON THIS SAME CONVERSATION, I THOUGHT ABOUT THE SALES TAX. I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT IT COULD EVEN BE USED FOR THIS. YOU KNOW, READING WHAT WAS PASSED BY LEGISLATURE, IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S MORE FOR ASSISTING CHILDREN WITH CHILD CARE, OTHER SUPPORT SERVICES, AFTER-SCHOOL

39:52 PROGRAMMING, WORKFORCE CAPACITY BUILDING, SHELTER AND RENTAL ASSISTANCE AND TRANSPORTATION. THAT DOESN'T BRING -- YOU KNOW, SUPPORTING THE CHILDREN'S JUSTICE CENTERS. I'M NOT SURE HOW WE CAN BE USED FOR THAT, IF THAT'S EVEN HOW WE EVEN MOVE FORWARD. SURE, WE CAN GET YOU AN ANALYSIS ON THAT. OKAY. I'M NOT IN FAVOR OF HB 2442 AT THIS TIME, BASICALLY BECAUSE THE FINANCIAL BURDEN ALREADY ON OUR RESIDENTS WHO ARE STRUGGLING TO MEET THEIR BASIC NEEDS, IN PARTICULAR, SENIORS AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND THOSE WHO LIVE ON A FIXED INCOME, AND THERE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ANY PROTECTIONS IN PLACE FOR THIS.

40:47 SO AT THIS POINT IN TIME, GIVEN ALL THE OTHER TAXES BEING ADDED, NOT JUST HERE LOCALLY, I BELIEVE THAT THIS IS NOT FOR US JUST TO DECIDE TO ADD ON ANOTHER TAX AT THIS POINT. ALL RIGHT. SO AT THIS POINT, JUST TO ASK COUNCIL FOR, I GUESS, A THUMBS UP IF WE HAVE A MAJORITY TO EVEN MOVE FORWARD WITH STAFF BRINGING US BACK MORE INFORMATION ON THIS OR NOT, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT STAFF IS LOOKING FOR TODAY. SO MAYBE JUST I'M GOING TO LOOK TO THE SIDE AND SEE. WE HAVE TWO, THREE. OKAY. SO WE DO HAVE A MAJORITY TO BRING BACK MORE INFORMATION ON THIS PARTICULAR ITEM, BUT YOU'VE HEARD SOME OF THE CONCERNS THAT HAVE BEEN RAISED FOR SURE. LET'S TALK ABOUT THE INCREASE IN THE UNITED STATES. DO WE HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION WE NEED TO ASK STAFF TO BRING BACK MORE INFORMATION OR NOT?

41:47 I WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE. ALL RIGHT. SO WE HAVE A MAJORITY OF BRING US BACK SOME MORE INFORMATION ON THE UTILITY TAX. COUNCILORS, DO WE HAVE SOME MORE CLARIFYING QUESTIONS SO THAT STAFF KNOWS WHAT QUESTIONS AND INFORMATION THEY SHOULD BE BRINGING BACK? I HAVE SOME IDEAS MYSELF, BUT GO AHEAD. THANK YOU, MAYOR PARTIM. TYPICALLY, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT UTILITY TAX, THERE'S A -- THERE ARE GRAPHS BROUGHT TO US THAT SHOW WHERE WE STACK UP VERSUS OUR SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES OR OTHER TARGET COMMUNITIES WHEN IT COMES TO OUR UTILITY RATES. SO DEFINITELY WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OF THIS IN THAT CONTEXT. OKAY. ANYTHING ELSE? ALL RIGHT. LET'S MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE. ALL RIGHT.

42:47 SO IN PREVIOUS WORK SESSIONS, YOU'LL HAVE DISCUSSED SOME OF THE STRATEGIES THAT CITY STAFF ARE DEPLOYING TO HELP MANAGE THE STRUCTURAL OPERATING DEFICIT, TO KIND OF RE-EXAMINE AND SHORE UP OUR FINANCIAL PRACTICES AND STILL REALLY TRY TO MAKE PROGRESS IN COUNCIL AND COMMUNITY PRIORITIES IN THE COMING BIENNIUM. WE'RE GOING TO TOUCH ON SEVERAL OF THESE ITEMS AGAIN BEFORE WE GO INTO A FORECAST UPDATE. SO YOU HAVE SEEN THIS TABLE BEFORE, SO I WON'T GO INTO EACH OF THESE ITEMS LISTED HERE, BUT THESE ACTIONS, TAKEN IN SUM, REPRESENT THE CITY'S EFFORTS TO REALLY ANALYZE OPPORTUNITIES BOTH ONE TIME AND ONGOING TO DIRECT THE FUNDS THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO US TO THEIR HIGHEST AND BEST USE TO MAKE SURE OUR FINANCIAL PLANNING IS REALLY GROUNDED IN REALITY AND TO HELP SOLVE THE BUDGET GAP THAT'S BEFORE US. THAT'S BEEN A COMMON THING THAT YOU'VE HEARD THROUGHOUT THE SPRING AND ONE THAT YOU'RE GOING TO SEE AS WELL. THESE ARE A SERIES OF ADDITIONAL STRATEGIES THAT ARE BEING EMPLOYED DURING THE 27-28

43:44 BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS. WHAT THESE STRATEGIES POINT TO IS A HOLISTIC AND REALLY CAUTIOUS APPROACH TO THE NEXT BIENNIUM. THE CITY IS UNDERTAKING WORK TO REVIEW OUR LEGACY FINANCIAL PRACTICES, AS LON MENTIONED, FOR EXAMPLE. THAT WORK IS GOING TO CONTINUE GOING FORWARD. IT'S ONGOING. WE'VE GOT PLANNED UPDATES TO REVIEW THOSE LEGACY FINANCIAL PRACTICES AND EFFORTS UNDERWAY TO IMPROVE OUR PLANNING FOR FUTURE EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT, AS LISA MENTIONED. OVERARCHINGLY, THIS BUDGET TAKES A DISCIPLINED APPROACH TO APPROVING NEW BUDGET REQUESTS AND IS REALLY ASKING DEPARTMENTS TO ASSESS THEIR EXISTING CAPACITY AND DEMONSTRATE THEIR NEEDS BEFORE NEW RESOURCES ARE APPROVED. AND THAT, MORE THAN ANYTHING, HAS LED TO AN OVERALL TIGHTENING OF DEPARTMENT BUDGETS IN A VERY INTENTIONAL AND STRATEGIC WAY GOING INTO THIS BIENNIUM. WE'RE GOING TO BE WORKING ON IMPROVED PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET MONITORING GOING FORWARD, AND TO THAT END, WE'LL BE DOING A YEAR-END REVIEW WITH DIRECTORS ON THEIR BUDGETS TO

44:43 LOOK AT TRENDS, TRY TO SEE WHERE ARE WE OVERSPENDING IN AREAS, WHERE ARE WE UNDERSPENDING, AND DISCUSS HOW THAT'S GOING TO AFFECT OUR FUTURE PLANNING GOING FORWARD. OUR AIM WITH ALL OF THIS IS TO PRESERVE THE CAPACITY OF THE GENERAL FUND AND TO, AS WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD, EVALUATE MULTIPLE OPTIONS TO MOVE WORK FORWARD, BOTH FROM A FUNDING PERSPECTIVE AND FROM AN OPERATIONAL PERSPECTIVE. WE CERTAINLY HAVE MORE WORK TO DO. THE CITY IS STILL FACING AN OPERATING DEFICIT, BUT THESE EFFORTS HAVE HELPED BALANCE THIS BIENNIUM BUDGET AND IMPROVE THE FINANCIAL OUTLOOK SOMEWHAT AS THIS APPROACH KIND OF RIPPLES THROUGH THE FUTURE YEARS OF THE FORECAST, AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS THAT OUR EFFORTS TO BEND DOWN THE COST CURVE NOW ARE COMPOUNDING IN THE OUT YEARS OF THE FORECAST, BUT AS YOU HEARD LON SAY EARLIER, WE KNOW THAT WE MIGHT SEE SOME REVISIONS TO THOSE EXPENSES IN THE FUTURE AS WE KIND OF FURTHER THIS ANALYSIS AND KIND OF SHORE UP OUR FINANCIAL PRACTICES, SO WE KNOW THAT WE'LL SEE UPDATES GOING FORWARD. SO WITH THAT IN MIND, I'LL PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON WHERE

45:41 THINGS ARE AT WITH THE GENERAL FUND STREET FIRE FORECAST. IN JULY AND AUGUST, WE SHARED WITH YOU THIS SLIDE SHOWING A SMALL SURPLUS IN 2027 THAT'S KIND OF QUICKLY OVERCOME BY THE YEAR-OVER-YEAR IMPACTS OF THE CITY'S STRUCTURAL OPERATING DEFICITS. SO YOU SEE THAT $5.5 MILLION SURPLUS KIND OF BEING EATEN AWAY OVER TIME, AND THEN BY 29-32, THE TOTAL VALUE OF THAT OPERATING DEFICIT WAS ESTIMATED A LITTLE OVER $100 MILLION. THIS FORECAST SLIDE HAS BEEN UPDATED TO REFLECT THE CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED BUDGET, AND SO WE'RE SHOWING ONGOING REVENUES AND ONGOING EXPENDITURES OVER THE NEXT SIX YEARS, AND SO WE'RE KIND OF SHIFTING FROM THIS FORECASTED ASSUMPTIONS, AND AS LISA MENTIONED, OUR FORECASTED ASSUMPTIONS ARE VERY CONSERVATIVE TO WHAT IS ACTUALLY IN THE BUDGET SYSTEM KIND OF CARRIED FORWARD OVER TIME. THE UPDATED CHART SHOWS THAT THE CITY IS ESSENTIALLY BALANCED IN 27 AND 28, WITH THE STRUCTURAL OPERATING DEFICIT ARISING AGAIN

46:41 KIND OF IN THE LATTER YEARS OF THE FORECAST. THAT TOTAL ESTIMATED DEFICIT ACROSS THOSE YEARS IS JUST ABOUT $62 MILLION. SO THAT YOU CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, COMPARED TO THE PRIOR FORECAST UPDATE, THAT REVENUE PICTURE REALLY HASN'T CHANGED MUCH. THE MORE SIGNIFICANT DRIVER OF THE CHANGE IN THE FORECASTED DEFICIT IS THE EXPENSE TREND LINE. AND, YOU KNOW, THE KIND OF THE RATIONALE, THERE'S ALL OF THE CHANGES THAT THE CITY HAS MADE TO BEND DOWN THAT COST CURVE FROM AN ONGOING PERSPECTIVE, AGAIN, RELATIVE TO THAT CONSERVATIVE FORECAST, ARE CARRIED THROUGH EACH YEAR OF THE FORECAST. THOSE SAVINGS COMPOUND YEAR OVER YEAR OVER YEAR. SO WE STILL HAVE SIGNIFICANT BUDGET CHALLENGES ON THE HORIZON, AND LOTS OF WORK TO DO ON THE STRATEGIES WE HAVE KIND OF LIKE LAID OUT BEFORE US. BUT THE CONSERVATIVE APPROACH THAT WE'RE TAKING FOR THIS 2728 RECOMMENDED BUDGET IS REALLY KIND OF HELPING TO EASE THE OUT-YEAR ISSUES THAT WE'VE GOT. THIS NEXT SLIDE SHOWS THE SAME FORECAST CHART FOR THE

47:39 2728 CITY MANAGER RECOMMENDED BUDGET, BUT IT ALSO REFLECTS THE USE OF ABOUT $13 MILLION FOR ONE-TIME INITIATIVES. AND SO YOU SAW IN THE STRATEGY SLIDES AND HEARD ABOUT IN EARLIER CONVERSATIONS THE VARIOUS WAYS THAT THE BUDGET PROVIDES ONE-TIME COST SAVINGS OVER THE BIENNIUM. AND THIS FORECAST SLIDE SHOWS THE APPLICATION OF ONE-TIME EXPENDITURES IN GENERAL FUNDS, STREET AND FIRE FUNDS. THESE EXPENDITURES WON'T CARRY FORWARD INTO THE 2930 BIENNIUM, BUT THEY DO SET US UP TO ADVANCE REALLY IMPORTANT INITIATIVES, SO WE WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THEM FOR YOU. SO THIS TABLE SHOWS A LIST OF SOME OF THOSE ONE-TIME INITIATIVES THAT ARE FUNDED DURING THE 2728 BIENNIUM, AND THIS IS ONE OF THEM THAT IS GOING TO HELP ADVANCE WORK, LIKE YOU'VE KIND OF ALREADY SEEN US TALK THROUGH IN SOME WAYS, SO THE INSTALLING SOLAR AT FIRSTENBERG, SECURING RESOURCES AT THE ARTS HUB FOR PHASE ONE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION, SUPPORTING CONTINUED WORK IN THE COMP PLAN AND ANNEXATION PLANNING, AND ENSURING THAT OUR PUBLIC

48:39 SAFETY DEPARTMENTS HAVE THE EQUIPMENT THAT THEY NEED AS WE'RE KIND OF WORKING TOWARDS THAT IMPROVED APPROACH FOR EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT OVER THE LONG TERM. SO WITH THAT, I THINK I'M GOING TO TURN IT BACK OVER TO YOU. DOES THE COUNCIL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THESE FORECASTS? GO AHEAD. I HAVE A QUESTION ON SLIDE 27 OR 26. KEEP GOING BACK. ONE MORE, I BELIEVE. THERE YOU GO. THIS ONE? YEAH, THAT ONE. I APPRECIATE THE REVIEW OF LEGACY PRACTICES. I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO DO. I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT PROGRAMMATIC CAPACITY AND HOW MUCH OF THAT IS ADMINISTRATIVE AND HOW MUCH OF THAT COULD BE CENTRALIZED AS OPPOSED TO EACH DEPARTMENT HAVING ITS OWN ADMINISTRATION. SO I WAS WONDERING IF THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE LOOKED AT IN TERMS OF LEGACY

49:37 PRACTICES? OR HAVE YOU CONSIDERED THAT AS AN OPTION? I THINK THAT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING TO EVALUATE. WHEN I'M SORT OF THINKING ABOUT WHAT THIS BULLET POINT MEANS, WHERE MY HEAD GOES IS MORE OF A REVIEW OF BUDGET VERSUS ACTUALS OF LIKE EACH DEPARTMENT AND PROGRAM WITHIN A DEPARTMENT HAS A CERTAIN LEVEL OF BUDGET YEAR OVER YEAR AND EVALUATING WHETHER OR NOT THAT PROGRAM IS ACTUALLY UTILIZING THE CAPACITY THAT THEY ALREADY HAVE BEFORE REQUESTING ADDITIONAL RESOURCES, RIGHT? SO KIND OF REALLY MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE FULLY UTILIZING THE RESOURCES THAT ARE ALREADY AVAILABLE TO US BEFORE ASKING FOR MORE RESOURCES AND HAVING THOSE PROGRAMMATIC AND PERFORMANCE CONVERSATIONS AT THAT LEVEL BEFORE SEEING WHETHER OR NOT WE NEED TO ADD MORE RESOURCES TO ACHIEVE THE SAME GOAL. AND MY THOUGHT IS ABOUT DUPLICATION OF PROGRAMMATIC ACTIONS ACROSS DEPARTMENTS THAT COULD BE REDUCED TO A CENTRALIZED APPROACH. SO THAT'S JUST WHERE MY THOUGHT

50:37 WENT WITH THAT AND SOMETHING THAT I'M HOPING YOU WILL CONSIDER AS FAR AS ADDRESSING SOME SAVINGS. IN THE FUTURE. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT. I DON'T SEE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS. GO AHEAD. OKAY. WE'RE GOING TO GO OVER THE TIMELINE. WE'RE FAST APPROACHING THE PUBLISHING OF THE CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED BUDGET. WE DO HAVE YOUR FEEDBACK, AND SO I THINK WE WILL PROVIDE THAT TO YOU PROBABLY IN A MEMO FORMAT OR MAYBE THROUGH CITY MANAGER'S COMMUNICATION PRIOR

51:35 TO THAT. WE ARE REQUIRED TO PUBLISH THE BUDGET BY LAW ON OCTOBER 1ST. WE ALSO HAVE TWO UPCOMING WORKSHOPS SPECIFICALLY ON THE BUDGET, THE PUBLISHED BUDGET. THE FIRST ONE WILL BE ON OPERATING BUDGET ON OCTOBER 12TH AND THEN THE CAPITAL BUDGET FOR OCTOBER 26TH. AND THEN PRESENTED FOR COUNCIL CONSENT ON NOVEMBER 2ND. AND THEN THE PUBLIC HEARING AND ADOPTION OF THE BUDGET ON NOVEMBER 16TH. SO WITH THAT, THAT CLOSES OUR PRESENTATION AND OPENING IT UP FOR GENERAL DISCUSSION FROM COUNCIL OR FEEDBACK OR ANY REVIEW OF ANY PREVIOUS SLIDES. HOW IS STAFF GOING TO BRING FORWARD THE BUDGET WHEN WE -- IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S A FEW DECISIONS ON REVENUE SIDE THAT

52:31 HAVEN'T -- THAT COUNCIL HASN'T WEIGHED IN ON? WELL, WE COULD PROVIDE THE INFORMATION THROUGH -- I'M GOING TO LOOK OVER THE LAWN A LITTLE BIT HERE BECAUSE OF THE TIMELINE. I THINK WE COULD PROVIDE THAT IN A MEMO FORMAT. AND I THINK WITH THE DATE, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY OTHER METHOD TO COMMUNICATE BECAUSE I THINK THERE'S THE COMMUNITY FORUM NEXT WEEK, RIGHT? YEAH. AND NORMALLY WHEN WE'VE HAD CHOICES THAT THE CITY COUNCIL HAS TO MAKE, WE KIND OF MODEL IT TWO DIFFERENT WAYS. WHAT I WOULD BE INCLINED TO DO IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GIVE THE COUNCIL A LIST, LIKE IF YOU WERE TO CHOOSE TO NOT MOVE FORWARD WITH AN ADJUSTMENT TO THE UTILITY TAX, THIS IS WHAT WE WOULD HAVE TO REMOVE FROM THE BUDGET SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT THE IMPACT WOULD BE. BUT TO ACTUALLY PREPARE THE

53:30 BUDGET AS THOUGH THOSE ITEMS ARE INCLUDED IN THERE. AND, YOU KNOW, I'LL SAY THAT SOME OF THOSE ITEMS, THEY'LL BE FUTURE DECISION POINTS FOR THE CITY COUNCIL. IF YOU DO DECIDE THAT YOU WANT TO ADOPT THE NEW CHILDREN AND FAMILIES SALES TAX, WE DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT IN DECEMBER OF 2026. THAT COULD OCCUR IN 2027 LEADING UP TO JANUARY 1ST. SO THOSE TYPES OF DECISIONS, WE CAN MODEL THEM IN THERE. BUT BECAUSE OF THE SUPPLEMENTAL PROCESS, WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS ALONG THE WAY. IF YOU THINK BACK TO THE DISCUSSIONS THAT WE HAD, WE'VE HAD TO DO THAT IN THE PAST WHEN WE'VE HAD VOTED PROPOSITIONS OUT IN FRONT OF THE PUBLIC, WHERE WE HAVE TO SHOW WHAT A BUDGET COULD LOOK LIKE IF THE PROPOSITION PASSES AND THEN END UP ADOPTING THE BUDGET FOR WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE WHEN PROPOSITION FIVE DID NOT PASS. EXCUSE ME, PROPOSITION FOUR DID NOT PASS. JUST GIVEN THE LEVEL OF DISCUSSION THAT WE HAD ON THOSE REVENUE, NEW REVENUE IDEAS, I

54:28 WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT VERY CLEARLY SHOWN WITHIN WHATEVER DOCUMENTS YOU SHARE WITH US IN THE COMING WEEK. WHAT THE EFFECT OF THOSE DECISIONS LOOK LIKE ON OUR BUDGET. SO I THINK MOST OF COUNCIL WOULD BE IN AGREEMENT WITH THAT. I'M SEEING SOME HEAD NODS. SO MOVING FORWARD AS IF IT'S NOT A DONE DEAL YET WOULD BE MY PREFERENCE. AND THEN OBVIOUSLY WE ASK FOR MORE INFORMATION AROUND THOSE PIECES TOO. SO STAFF IS PLANNING TO PROVIDE US THOSE MATERIALS BEFORE OUR FORUM. IS THAT BEFORE NEXT MONDAY? OR IS THIS SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE THINKING OF GETTING US BEFORE OCTOBER, BEFORE THE BUDGET IS PUBLISHED OCTOBER 1ST? WHEN ARE WE GETTING THOSE MATERIALS? THAT'S MY QUESTION. WE CAN TRY AND GET IT TO YOU

55:24 IN A MEMO THAT LAWN CAN DISTRIBUTE TO YOU THIS FRIDAY. OKAY. DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSIONS? NOT FROM MY POINT OF VIEW. WE WILL ENDEAVOR TO GET YOU THE INFORMATION THAT YOU NEED BECAUSE WE WANT YOU TO FEEL FULLY INFORMED WHEN YOU MAKE THOSE DECISIONS. OKAY. YES. JUST A COMMENT. I HEARD FROM COMMUNITY WHO ATTENDED SOME OF THE BUDGET COMMUNITY MEETINGS THAT YOU PUT ON AND GOT REALLY GOOD FEEDBACK. I JUST WANTED TO SHARE ABOUT -- IT SOUNDS LIKE IT WAS A GREAT SUCCESS AND WAS CURIOUS IF THERE WERE MORE PLANNED. WE DON'T HAVE ANY MORE PLANNED FOR RIGHT NOW. BUT I WOULD NOT BE ADVERSE TO DOING THAT, ESPECIALLY ONCE WE HIT THE POINT WHERE WE HAVE THE BUDGET ADOPTED AND GO OUT AND

56:24 TALK TO THE COMMUNITY ABOUT WHAT IS ACTUALLY INCLUDED IN THE BUDGET BECAUSE, AS YOU SAY, COUNCIL STILL HAS SOME DECISIONS TO MAKE BETWEEN NOW AND THEN. AND WHILE WE'VE SHOWN THE COMMUNITY SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS FOR WHAT THE DRAFT BUDGET CONTAINS, SOME OF THOSE MAY NOT MAKE IT THROUGH TO THE FINAL VERSION. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. LOOKS LIKE THAT'S EVERYTHING. WE DON'T HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS. THANK YOU, STAFF, FOR JOINING US TONIGHT. AND THAT WILL BE THE END OF OUR WORKSHOP TIMEFRAME. WE'LL BE BACK AT 6:30 AFTER A DINNER BREAK. THANK YOU, EVERYONE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR FEEDBACK.