* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:03] OKAY. UH, [ TOWN OF GREENBURGH OFFICE OF THE TOWN BOARD 177 Hillside Avenue, Greenburgh, NY 10607 Tel: 914-989-1525 Fax: 914-993-1541 Email: HCancro@GreenburghNY.com https://greenburghny.com/485/Watch-Live-Board-Meetings] WELCOME TO OUR TOWN BOARD. OUR WORK SESSION TODAY IS, UH, DECEMBER 9TH AT 5 45. AND THE FIRST ITEM ON THE WORK SESSION AGENDA IS AGENDA REVIEW. AND, UM, I HAVE, UH, ONE REQUEST. UM, UM, WE HAVE, UM, A REQUEST TO, UM, UH, APPROVE A TWO YEAR AUDIT, UH, CONTRACT WITH OUR AUDITORS. AND, UM, I BELIEVE THAT, AND I EMAILED EVERYBODY ON THE BOARD, I BELIEVE, UH, THAT, OH, WAIT, WAIT. I THOUGHT WE'RE DOING THE AGENDA. THAT'S THE AGENDA REVIEW FOR TOMORROW. WHERE IS THAT? WE HAVE TO START WITH THE AGENDA. IT'S CO THREE OR, WELL, LET'S GO THROUGH THE AGENDA AND THEN YOU CAN TALK ABOUT THAT. RIGHT, RIGHT. BUT I, RIGHT. OKAY. ALRIGHT. SO JUST HANG ON, LET'S START LOOKING AT IT. SURE. IS THIS, WHAT IS THE, OH, THAT'S AN ERROR. IT'S GINA. YES, I AM. SO FOR KAREN HILL, YOU WANT US TO ADD THAT SHE WAS A RESIDENT OF, IS IT THE VILLAGE OF OUR YEAH, SHE, SHE WAS AN, SHE WAS A RESIDENT OF VARLEY. YEAH. THE VILLAGE OF LEY OR THE UNINCORPORATED AREA WITH AN LEY POST OFFICE. I DON'T WANNA SAY SHE WAS A VILLAGE OF LEY RESIDENT. IF SHE, I WOULD HAVE TO CON, I WOULD HAVE TO GIVE YOU THE ADDRESS TO CONFIRM THAT. I JUST KNOW SHE WAS IN, SHE'S IN LEY. I DON'T KNOW. YEAH, IF YOU GIVE US THE ADDRESS, WE CAN FIGURE IT OUT. NO PROBLEM. ARE WE DOING LIAISON REPORTS? I THINK WE SHOULD. WE HAVEN'T DONE IT IN A LONG TIME. SURE. OKAY. I THINK WE SHOULD NOTE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE PLANNING OUT TO COME OUT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, THAT IT WILL PROBABLY BE A VERY LONG MEETING TOMORROW NIGHT, CONSIDERING THERE ARE NUMEROUS PUBLIC HEARINGS, WHICH, UM, ARE IMPORTANT AND EXPECT A GOOD CROWD TO COME OUT AND SPEAK. SO, UH, JUST MIGHT BE A LONG NIGHT. OKAY. SO DO WE STILL WANNA INCORPORATE THE, THE LIAISON REPORTS IF WE'RE GONNA HAVE LONG HEARINGS? HOW WE'VE GOT WHAT, FIVE HEARINGS? YES. MAYBE FOUR. GARRETT HAD REQUESTED THAT, UM, THE ONE FOR WEST RUM POSTPONED UNTIL THE 14TH. YOU'RE TAKING THE CAPITAL BUDGETS? EVERYTHING. YEAH. FINE. UM, WE DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER PRESENTA. OH. ARE WE HAVING A PRESENTATION BY, UH, KEN JONES? PAUL, I THOUGHT WE WERE GONNA HAVE A PRESENTATION BY. WELL, IT'S NOT, WHEN I, WHEN I SPOKE TO HIM ABOUT IT, HE SAID HE COULD JUST DO IT A PUBLIC COMMENT. YOU SAID YOU WANTED HIM TO DO AN AFTER I THOUGHT THAT IT WOULD BE EASIER, YOU KNOW, SINCE, UM, IT IS, IT COULD BE LIKE A FIVE MINUTE, IT'S ONLY GONNA TAKE FIVE MINUTES. YOU KNOW, ALL HE'S ASKING FOR IS, UM, WELL, HE WAS GONNA COME TALK TO US ON THE 23RD IN DETAIL ABOUT THE PROPOSAL FOR THE, THE BANNER PROPOSAL. YOU, UH, THE 23RD, YOU MEAN AT THE WORK SESSION? YES. THAT'S FINE. THEN, THEN HE COULD DO, UH, THEN YOU JUST DO IT A PUBLIC COMMENT. YEAH. THEN YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO RIGHT. OR HE DOESN'T HAVE TO DO THE PUBLIC COMMENT. YOU KNOW, IF HE'S GONNA BE MEETING, HE WANTS TO INTRODUCE IT THOUGH. OKAY. WHATEVER. UNTIL HE GIVES A PUBLIC COMMENT. YEAH. OKAY. SO WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE THAT PRESENTATION. RIGHT. ON THE OTHER HAND, UM, IF, UH, HE WANTS TO SHOW UP, INSTEAD OF MAKING HIM WAIT FOR, FOR ALL THE PUBLIC HEARINGS, HE, HE WAS OKAY WITH THAT. HE CAN, HE CAN, HE CAN DECIDE. COME LATER AND, YEAH. OKAY. WHATEVER. HE, HE LIVES RIGHT DOWN THE STREET, BASICALLY. OKAY. SO HE CAN MONITOR IT, WHATEVER, AND GET A BETTER SENSE. SO DOES THAT MEAN THERE ARE NO PRESENTATIONS? YEAH, I CANCELED, UH, ONE, THERE'S A GROUP OF, UM, UH, PEOPLE, THEY WANT TO DO WHAT THEY DID IN LEY WITH A QUILT PROJECT, BUT THEY WANNA DO IT FOR THE TOWN, YOU KNOW, WITH THE TOWN. SO THEY WERE GONNA MAKE A PRESENTATION AND, UM, AND JA, I ASKED THEM TO MAKE IT IN SOMETIME IN JANUARY. JANUARY. GOOD. OKAY. SO THAT BEING SAID, I THINK WHAT COUNCILWOMAN JACKSON WAS SUGGESTING IS THAT MAYBE WE HAVE TOO MUCH ON THE AGENDA FOR IN PUBLIC HEARINGS TO DO THE LIAISON REPORTS. I, I WAS JUST ASKING, I WAS SUGGESTING, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE WHAT EVERYTHING HAVE GOING ON IS, ARE WE, ARE WE STILL DOING THEM? WELL, WE JUST TOOK OFF PRESENTATIONS, WHICH USUALLY TAKE ABOUT A HALF AN HOUR. OKAY. THE 10 MINUTE PRESENTATION, THAT MEANS PRESENTATIONS. RIGHT. THE OTHER THING YOU COULD DO IS YOU COULD HAVE, UH, THE LIAISON REPORT AT THE END OF THE MEETING AFTER EVERYBODY. UM, NO, THAT'S POINTLESS. WHAT'S THE POINT? THEY'RE GONE. NOBODY'S GONNA HEAR IT. MM-HMM [00:05:01] . YEAH, I'M JUST THROWING OUT. YEAH. AT MIDNIGHT. LET'S HAVE A LIAISON REPORT THAT GETS YEAH. I MEAN, WE CAN WATCH. SO CAN WE DO A BETTER ARROW THERE? BETTER ARROW TO CONSIDER THE 2026 PRELIMINARY BUDGET. YES. CAN'T WE GET A SYMBOL? IT TOOK ME A DINNER OR TWO TO FIGURE OUT THAT THAT WASN'T, UH, GREATER THAN SIGN, BECAUSE THAT'S AGENDA QUICK. YOU DON'T GET OH, YEAH. OKAY. IT'S NOT EXACTLY, YOU KNOW, MICROSOFT WORD OR . OH, OKAY. IT'S THE, IT'S THE BEST YOU'RE GOING TO GET . YEAH, I CAN LIVE WITH THAT. I HAVE A REQUEST FROM COMMISSIONER DUQUE TO HOLD OVER THE LIMITED IMMUNITY HEARING UNTIL JANUARY 14TH. OKAY. OKAY. ALRIGHT. IT'S GETTING BETTER AND BETTER AS WE GO. JANUARY 14TH. UH, I, IT, IT WAS JUST CONFIRMED FOR THE MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR KAREN HILL. RIGHT? IT'S UNINCORPORATED GREENBERG. OKAY. THANK YOU. UNINCORPORATED LEY RATHERS. NO. WHICH IS THE SAME INCORPORAT INCORPORAT MAIN THING. I MEAN, BUT I DID, I I GET IT, BUT I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN. OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU, . OKAY. IF YOU CAN SEND ME THE ADDRESS, IT'LL NARROW IT DOWN. THANK YOU. NOW, SOMEONE WHO WAS ALREADY CONFIRMED THAT TRUSTED, TRUSTED, UH, PERSON WAS CONFIRMED, BUT IS IT IN THE POST OFFICE OF LEY? OH, GARY, CAN YOU JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION PLEASE? , SINCE FRANCIS DOES NOT BELIEVE ME. NO, I JUST, YES. THANK YOU. YES. HE SAYS YES. THANK YOU. THANK OH, THANK YOU, JONATHAN. YOU KNOW, MY POSITION ON CD TWO RELATING TO, TO THE PLANNING BOARD IS BASICALLY THE SAME. YOU KNOW, I, I SUPPORT, UH, INCREASING THE NUMBER OF ALTERNATES, BUT I DON'T BELIEVE THAT, UH, THESE BOARDS SHOULD HAVE A DED MEMBERSHIP. WELL, WE CAN HAVE THAT DISCUSSION TOMORROW NIGHT, RIGHT? BUT I'M JUST YEAH. MENTION, BUT THAT'S REALLY NOT FOR, UH, AN AGENDA REVIEW. WELL, SOMETIMES BOARD MEMBERS LIKE TO KNOW IN ADVANCE WHAT WE'RE THINKING. I APPRECIATE THAT, PAUL. YEAH. THANK YOU. UM, OKAY. THANK YOU, PAUL. UM, THE OTHER, THE OTHER, THE OTHER, UH, ISSUE THAT, YOU KNOW, I'M REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT IS, UM, UH, CO THREE RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING PKF O'CONNOR DAVIES, AS THE AUDITORS FISCAL YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31ST, 2025, DECEMBER 31ST, 2026, AT A COST OF 103,000, 107,000 RESPECTIVELY REALIZE THAT IT'S TOO LATE TO DO AN RFP FOR, UH, 2025 BECAUSE THE WORK HAS TO BE DONE. YOU KNOW, WE'RE STARTING, WE HAVE TO START, UH, IN EARLY 2026, BUT I, I DO FEEL THAT IT SHOULD ONLY BE A ONE YEAR AUDIT. AND, UM, THERE'S REALLY TWO RE TWO REASONS FOR MY, UH, MY THOUGHTS. ONE IS, UM, UH, THE BOARD, UM, VOTED, UH, FOR A FORENSIC AUDIT. AND THE REASON WE AUDIT, WE VOTED FOR, OR I DIDN'T VOTE FOR IT, BUT THE REASON WHY, UM, EVERYBODY ELSE VOTED FOR THE FORENSIC AUDIT WAS BECAUSE, UH, OBVIOUSLY, UH, THERE'S SOME CONCERNS ABOUT, UM, HOW, UM, YOU KNOW, THE BUDGET WAS, UH, YOU KNOW, REVIEWED. UM, AND WE'RE GONNA BE HEARING FROM, WE, WE DON'T HAVE THEIR REPORT RIGHT NOW. WE DON'T KNOW IF THERE WERE MAJOR, UH, PROBLEMS OR NO PROBLEMS OR MINOR PROBLEMS. AND I, I CAN'T SEE HOW WE COULD, UM, YOU KNOW, GIVE A TWO YEAR CONTRACT TO AN AUDITOR WHEN THE BOARD, OBVIOUSLY, THE MAJORITY OF THE BOARD DOESN'T HAVE CONFIDENCE IN WHAT HAPPENED BECAUSE WE'RE SPENDING $70,000 THOUSAND DOLLARS. ARE YOU SPENDING $70,000 ON, UM, ON, UH, A, A FIRM THAT IS LOOKING LINE BY LINE TO SEE IF THERE WAS ANYTHING THAT WAS DONE WRONG? ALSO, UM, I DID SOME, UM, RESEARCH AND, UM, I'M JUST READING FROM, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I'VE GOOGLED, I SAID, UM, SHOULD, IS THERE A REASON, SHOULD A, SHOULD A FIRM, UH, SHOULD A MUNICIPALITY OR NOT-FOR-PROFIT USE THE SAME CPA FIRM, UH, FOR MORE THAN, UH, SIX YEARS? WE'VE USED THE SAME FIRM FOR OVER 30 YEARS. UM, AND THE BEST PRACTICES, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE EXACT WORDING, IT IS NOT A BEST PRACTICE TO STAY WITH THE SAME AUDIT FIRM FOREVER OR FOR A VERY LONG TIME. EVEN IF THE AUDIT FIRM PROVIDES EXCELLENT SERVICES, BOARD MEMBERS, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC MIGHT PERCEIVE THE ORGANIZATION AS BEING ADVERSE TO AUDIT FIRM ROTATION, THIS COULD LEAD TO QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER THE AUDIT FIRM IS SUFFICIENTLY, UM, YOU KNOW, INDEPENDENT. UM, SO FOR THE PAST NUMBER OF YEARS, I, I'VE ASKED MANY TIMES FOR, UM, BEFORE [00:10:01] KIMBERLY BECAME, UM, UH, CONTROLLER, I ASKED, UM, IF WE WOULD CHANGE, HAVE AN RFP. AND WE WERE ALWAYS TOLD, OH, IT'S GONNA BE A YEAR FROM NOW, AND WE'VE CUT PRACTICALLY ANNUALLY. IT'S ALWAYS, OH, WE'RE GONNA DO AN RFP IN A YEAR. WE NEVER DO IT. SO I FEEL THAT, UM, RIGHT NOW, UH, IT SHOULD BE ONE YEAR AND THERE SHOULD BE AN AMENDMENT TO THE RESOLUTION MANDATING THAT. UM, WE GO FOR RFP FOR, UM, UH, THIS, FOR THE SECOND, FOR THE SECOND YEAR, AND JUST SEE WHAT'S OUT THERE. AND WE HAVE TO, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, THAT'S MY COMMENT. I JUST WANNA RESPOND TO THE BEST PRACTICE. YEAH, I'D LIKE TO HEAR WHAT THE, THANK YOU. I WAS GONNA ASK YOU TO DO THAT. THANK YOU. I BELIEVE THAT APPLIES TO, UM, UNDER THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTING STANDARDS TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND IN MUNICIPALITY, UM, IT'S RECOMMENDED THAT WE NOT NECESSARILY CHANGE FIRMS, BUT WE CHANGE PARTNERS OR WE CHANGE THE AUDIT TEAM. IT'S THE SCHOOL DISTRICT THAT HAS TO CHANGE EVERY THREE YEARS. RIGHT. BUT, BUT THE ISSUE IS THE MAJORITY OF THE BOARD OBVIOUSLY DOESN'T HAVE CONFIDENCE. AND WHILE WAS DONE, BECAUSE YOU ASKED FOR A FORENSIC AUDIT, UM, WHICH WOULD COVER UP, YOU KNOW, UP TILL END OF, UM, I THINK 2023. UM, SO OBVIOUSLY THERE'S BOARD MEMBERS WHO FEEL THAT SOMETHING WAS POSSIBLY DONE WRONG, FRANCIS, AS THE LIAISON TO THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU KNOW THINGS THAT FROM YOUR CONVERSATIONS WITH ROBERTA THAT YOU HAVEN'T TOLD US, BUT IF YOU DID, UH, YOU, BUT IF, AS, AS THE LIAISON, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, YOU ASKED FOR A FORENSIC AUDIT. I'M GONNA BE MEETING WITH THE, THE FORENSIC AUDITORS NEXT WEEK. UM, I THINK OTHER BOARD MEMBERS ARE GONNA BE ALSO, I THOUGHT THAT WAS THIS WEEK. NO, I'M MEETING, MEETING NEXT. MY MEETING IS NEXT WEEK. UH, WE SCHEDULE A MEETING FOR THURSDAY. THIS THURSDAY AT FOUR O'CLOCK. NO, I HAVE SPECIAL, NO, I HAVE NO, I'M TALKING ABOUT WITH THE FORENSIC AUDITORS, NOT, WAIT, WE ARE, YOU'RE INTERVIEWED. CAN YOU CLARIFY? I'M BEING INTERVIEWED BY THE FORENSIC AUDITORS. SO THE THING IS, ALL I'M SAYING IS THAT TOWN STAFF ARE BEING INTERVIEWED BY THE FORENSIC AUDITORS WITHIN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS. I DON'T KNOW IF THE, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY FOUND OR DIDN'T FIND, BUT ALL I KNOW IS THAT AT THE DIRECTION OF THE BOARD, UH, THEY'RE LOOKING AT, UM, AT, YOU KNOW, OUR PREVIOUS BUDGETS AND APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS AND REVENUES AND ALL THAT. AND THEY'RE GONNA BE COMING UP WITH, UM, THEIR FINDINGS, UH, WHICH COULD INCLUDE NEGATIVE, YOU KNOW, COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS, HOW WE COULD DO THINGS BETTER. SO IF THEY FIND THAT THERE WERE PROBLEMS WITH WHAT WAS DONE IN THE PAST, AND OUR AUDITORS DIDN'T TELL US, AND THEY'VE BEEN SERVING US FOR 30 YEARS, UH, WHY WOULD WE USE THE SAME FIRM'S? THAT'S A DIFFERENT TYPE OF AUDIT. SO THEY'RE, IF YOU JUST LET ME SPEAK, THEIR JOB IS TO COME IN HERE TO SAMPLE AND TO DETERMINE IF OUR, WHICH THEY P OUR, THE, THE REGULAR AUDITORS, THE AUDITOR WERE TO COME IN AND SAMPLE AND TO DETERMINE IF OUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ARE PRESENTED FAIRLY. AND THAT'S IT. IT'S NOT UNUSUAL FOR A MUNICIPALITY TO ASK FOR, UM, A MORE IN-DEPTH AUDIT. AND IN THIS CASE, AND WE WENT OUTSIDE OF PKF, AND WE HIRED AN OUTSIDE FORENSIC TEAM TO DO THAT. COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TYPE OF AUDIT WHERE, UM, ONE IS JUST SAMPLING AND, AND BASED ON THOSE SAMPLES, IF THERE'S A FINDING, THEN THEY WOULD ASK FOR ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION. BUT THEY'RE ONLY REQUIRED BY LAW TO TAKE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF SAMPLES IN THE FORENSIC AUDIT. THEY'RE GOING TO GO LINE BY LINE AND LOOK AT THE DETAIL. UH, IT'S JUST, IT'S NOT FAIR TO SAY, UM, THAT THEY POSSIBLY COULD HAVE MISSED SOMETHING. WELL, THEY'VE BEEN WORKING FOR THE TOWN FOR THIR FOR ABOUT 30 YEARS. AND I'VE HAD MEETINGS, I THINK ELLIE, BUT I I SEE YOU WERE AT A MEETING WITH THEM ABOUT TWO, THREE YEARS, A COUPLE YEARS AGO. YES. RIGHT. SO WE HAD MEETINGS SEPARATE FROM THE AUDITORS, AND I BASICALLY SAID SPECIFICALLY TO THEM MORE THAN ONCE. UM, I SAID, IS, YOU KNOW, HOW'S THE TOWN DOING? ARE THERE, YOU KNOW, ARE WE HANDLING EVERYTHING RIGHT? THEY SAID EVERYTHING'S GREAT. YOU KNOW, WE MANAGED TERRIFICALLY, UH, UH, THERE'S NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT. SO I SORT OF FEEL THAT, UH, THEY HAD 30 YEARS TO LOOK AT THINGS. AND I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, I'M SAYING MAYBE I, THERE'S A GOOD CHANCE THAT THIS FORENSIC ORDER COULD BE A TOTAL WASTE OF, OF MONEY. THERE ARE A COUPLE OF THINGS HERE, IF I MAY. I JUST WANNA SUPPORT THE CONTROLLER. SHE MADE IT CLEAR THAT THERE ARE TWO SEPARATE KINDS OF ORDERS THAT THE, THE, THE, UH, PKF, UM, O'CONNOR DAVIES HAS, DOES A BASICALLY SAMPLING. THEY DON'T LOOK IN DEPTH. A FORENSIC AUDIT IS SEPARATE. THAT [00:15:01] IS A, AN IN DEPTH LOOK. AND BY THE WAY, I MIGHT SAY THAT WE AS PART-TIME EMPLOYEES ARE NOT HERE FULL TIME AS LIAISONS TO EACH OF THE DEPARTMENTS THAT WE'RE LIAISONS TO. AND YOU KEEP BRINGING THAT UP. I MEAN, AS THAT, THAT FRANCIS IS THE LIAISON, SO HE SHOULD KNOW THAT'S, THAT I WOULD THINK WOULD BE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER AND NOT A LIAISON. SO LET'S YOU KNOW, WHICH IS BOTH, TO BE FAIR, YOU ARE HAVING A, YOUR, YOU, YOU, THE, THE AUDITORS, PKF O'CONNOR WE'RE LOOKING AT SAMPLINGS. AND BASED ON THE SAMPLINGS, THEY FELT THAT EVERYTHING WAS OKAY, WHICH THEY REPORTED TO YOU. SO I DON'T SEE HOW THE ONE THING CAN CONNECT TO THE OTHER. SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEPARATE THAT. I WOULD LIKE TO SEPARATE THE LIAISON RESPONSIBILITIES FROM LOOKING IN DEPTH AT ALL THOSE DETAILS, BECAUSE THAT IS NOT WHAT WE DO. WE DO GET INVOLVED WITH EACH OF THE, THE, THE GROUPS THAT WE LIAISE WITH. BUT WE DON'T, WE'RE NOT HERE FULL TIME TO CHECK ON THE WORK THAT THE AUDITORS DO AND THAT THE BOOKKEEPER OR, OR, UM, COMP CONTROLLER DOES. SO, SO I WOULD JUST WANT, AND ALSO WE HAVE TO REALIZE TOO, IT'S NOT UNCOMMON FOR AN ORGANIZATION TO DO A FORENSIC ORDER WHEN YOU CHANGE COMPTROLLERS. SO I JUST, I JUST ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE, WE ALSO INCLUDE THAT AS WELL. SO, AND, AND, AND KIMBERLY, I KNOW YOU WERE GOING TO SAY SOMETHING, BUT IT'S, IT'S TWO DIFFERENT, TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF, OF, OF LOOKS. SO WE NEED TO JUST MAKE SURE WE ARE, WE'RE CLEAR ON THAT. SO I WAS JUST GOING TO ADD THAT I AM NOT FAMILIAR. I'VE NEVER SAT IN A MEETING WITH THE AUDITORS, SO I DON'T REALLY HAVE AN EXPERIENCE WITH THEM, UH, NEGATIVE OR POSITIVE. UM, I THINK THAT UNLESS THERE WAS SOME SORT OF FINANCIAL REASON NOT TO DO IT, LIKE IF IT WOULD COST US MORE JUST TO DO LIKE A ONE YEAR CONTRACT AND THEN ANOTHER YEAR CONTRACT. I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH DOING A ONE YEAR CONTRACT AND, AND ASSESSING IT AND THEN SAYING, YEAH, THEY'RE GREAT. LET'S CONTINUE WITH THEM. I, I MEAN, I PERSONALLY JUST 'CAUSE I DON'T HAVE ANY REAL FEELING ABOUT THAT. WELL, I, I, I JUST, WAIT, WAIT, CAN I JUST GET CLARIFICATION? SO YOU'RE SAYING, UNLESS THERE IS A BIG COST DIFFERENCE YEAH. YOU'RE OKAY WITH THAT OKAYM OKAY. WITH JUST DOING A ONE YEAR CONTRACT. YEAH. AND I, I, I WOULD DEFER TO, I WOULD DEFER TO THE COMPTROLLER BECAUSE SHE HAS THE EXPERTISE IN, WELL, YOU'RE SAYING ON CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, EXCUSE ME. I'M CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER. MY DECISION IS IT'S A ONE YEAR CONTRACT. THAT'S WHAT I'M RECOMMENDING. OKAY, VERY GOOD. THAT'S YOUR RE THE, UH, BUT WHAT I'D LIKE TO KNOW IS IN THIS RESOLUTION, IF WE DO TWO YEARS, ARE WE GOING TO WRITE IN THERE THAT WE GET A WHOLE NEW TEAM COMING IN SO IT'S NOT THE SAME AUDITORS? YES, WE COULD INCLUDE THAT. YES. I KNOW WE WILL. YES, WE WILL. OKAY. YES. NOT GOOD ENOUGH. WELL, CERTAINLY THE TEAM FROM 30 YEARS AGO AND EVEN 20 YEARS AGO AND PRO PROBABLY EVEN 10 YEARS AGO, IS GONNA BE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ANYWAY. YES. AND IN THE PRELIMINARY AUDIT, UM, IS SUPPOSED TO START NOW. AND I DID GET EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE WITH NEW TEAM MEMBERS 'CAUSE I REQUESTED THAT. SO FRESH EYES WOULD BE GOOD. RIGHT. BUT YOU, BUT WITH SOME OF THESE STATEMENTS, I FEEL LIKE YOU HAVEN'T READ THE CERS BECAUSE THEY'RE NOTED IN THERE AND FINDINGS FROM YEAR TO YEAR, AND THERE ARE FINDINGS. OKAY. WELL, LET ME JUST SAY SOMETHING. IF YOU LOOK AT THE AGENDA, WHEN WE APPROVE, WHEN THE BOARD, THE MAJORITY OF THE BOARD APPROVED THE FORENSIC AUDITOR, BASICALLY, UH, IF YOU, I DON'T HAVE IT IN FRONT OF ME, BUT IT BASICALLY INDICATED THAT WE'RE LOOKING, UH, TO SEE IF THERE WERE MISUSES, UM, OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS. I DID. IF, IF YOU LOOK, YOU, YOU CAME UP WITH A PARAGRAPH THAT WAS VERY, VERY TROUBLING BECAUSE IT, YOU KNOW, IT MADE IT SOUND LIKE YOU'RE, YOU'RE LOOKING TO SEE IF THE TOWN DID ANYTHING THAT WAS INAPPROPRIATE OR WRONG. I HAVE NO, THE ONLY, UH, INFORMATION I HAVE IS BASED ON, YOU KNOW, ROBERTA NEVER SAID THERE WAS ANYTHING THAT WAS DONE WRONG. AND THE AUDITORS, WHEN I SPOKE TO THEM MANY, MANY TIMES, THEY SAID, EVERYTHING IS GREAT. WE HAVE A GREAT, YOU KNOW, TOWN. UH, AND IT'S, THE FINANCES ARE GREAT. WE'RE BETTER THAN OTHER COMMUNITIES. SO OBVIOUSLY THE BOARD, YOU KNOW, HAS QUESTIONS. AND WHAT I'M, UH, BECAUSE THAT'S WHY YOU, YOU HIRE, YOU HIRE THE FORENSIC ORDER. UM, WHEN I MENTIONED THAT FRANCIS IS THE LIAISON, THE ONLY REASON I'M MENTIONING IT IS BECAUSE HE IS THE ONE WHO ASKED FOR THE, UH, FORENSIC AUDIT. HE'S THE ONE WHO CAME UP WITH A PARAGRAPH, UH, THAT INDICATED THAT THERE COULD HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE, UH, THINGS THAT ARE DONE, WERE DONE WRONG. AND MAYBE HE KNOWS THINGS [00:20:01] THAT I DON'T KNOW, UH, OR THE CONTROLLER DOESN'T KNOW. AND MAYBE HE, UH, HE HASN'T TOLD US. SO, SO IF, IF, SO ALL I'M SAYING IS I DON'T WANNA GO WITH A TWO YEAR FIRM WITH A TWO YEAR, UM, A RENEWAL WHEN WE DON'T HAVE THE RESULTS OF THE, THE, THE AUDITOR. AND I COULD SAY WHEN I FIRST GOT ELECTED, UM, WE DID A RFP AND WE GOT BETTER PRICES BECAUSE THERE WAS COMPETITION. IF YOU GO 30 YEARS WITH NO, UH, WITH NO COMPETITION, THEY'RE GONNA, THE PRICES ARE GONNA ALWAYS GO UP AND UP AND UP. WHEN, WHEN A COMPANY, UH, CO FIRM, WHEN THEY KNOW THAT, UH, UH, THIS COMPETITION, THE RATES GO DOWN YOU IN, IN MY OPINION. SO, WELL, AS, AS YOU SAID, YOU, YOU MADE, YOU, YOU'RE MAKING A POINT THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD DO. BUT I THINK THIS IS REALLY AT THE 11TH HOUR THAT YOU'RE MAKING THE POINT. IF YOU WANTED, IF YOU HAD, AND YOU SAID YOU SPOKE TO THE PREVIOUS CONTROLLER, NOT THIS CONTROLLER, ABOUT GETTING AN RFP OUT. SO IF THAT'S, I THINK ACTUALLY WE DID, UH, IF THAT'S CASE, IF I DON'T RECALL SAYING THAT WE, I DID ASK FOR AN R BUT SAYING ONE THING AND, AND I DID ASK FOR AN RRP YES. MAKING AS THE, AS THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFER OFFICER AND, AND REQUESTING AND PUTTING IT IN WRITING AND PUTTING IT ON THE SCHEDULE FOR US TO HAVE THE DISCUSSION IS ANOTHER THING. THIS SAYING IT OFF THE CUFF. AND I DON'T WANNA, I I'VE GOTTA STOP TALKING BECAUSE YOU'VE MADE SOME ACCUSATIONS AGAINST, UM, IT'S NOT AN ACCUSATION AGAINST, UM, FRANCIS SHEEN. AND HE SHOULD SPEAK FOR HIMSELF TOO. WELL, IT'S ALSO 6 0 5 AND WE'RE, WE'RE DOING THIS, UH, LIGHTING CEREMONY . WELL DO I HAVE, I WANNA ASK JOE, DO I HAVE PARIS CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER TO SAY IT HAS TO BE A ONE YEAR TERM? NO. SO WHAT POWERS DO I HAVE AS CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER? ANYTHING? DO I HAVE ANY COMING UP WITH AN HONEST BUDGET THAT JUST ASKING? YEAH, I COULD SEND YOU TO SECTION OF THE TOWN LAW, WHICH POINTS OUT WHAT YOU HAVE CONTROL OVER. BUT A LOT OF IT IS SUBJECT TO A MAJORITY APPROVAL FROM THE TOWN BOARD. NOT ALL OF IT. UM, I COULD SEND THAT SECTION TO YOU LATER TONIGHT. THE TENTATIVE BUDGET IS YOUR BUDGET AND YOUR BUDGET ALONE. IT'S NOT THE CONTROLLER'S BUDGET. YOU MADE THAT CLEAR A FEW WEEKS AGO THAT YOU GIVE DIRECTIVE TO THE CONTROLLER AND YOU EXPECT THEM TO CARRY IT OUT IN YOUR TENTATIVE BUDGET. IN YOUR TENTATIVE BUDGET THIS YEAR, US CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER WAS ALLOWED TO SAY, KIMBERLY DON'T HAVE A LARGE TAX INCREASE, STAY IN YOUR OFFICE UNTIL YOU GET IT BELOW 3%. HOW IS THE ONLY WAY TO DO THAT TAKE FROM FUND BALANCE? AND THAT'S WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING YEAR AFTER YEAR BY YOU IN YOUR TENTATIVE BUDGET TAKING FROM FUND BALANCE. AND YOU VOTED IT AND NOW HE LET YOU SPEAK. AND NOW, AND NOW WE'RE FACED WITH A MINI CRISIS BECAUSE MANY PEOPLE ARE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO AFFORD THE TAX INCREASES THAT WE HAVE TO DO BECAUSE YOU WERE TAKING FROM FUND BALLOTS, SOME OF WHICH THE REST OF US DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT BECAUSE WE VOTED TO PUT MONEY IN RESERVE. AND INSTEAD, YOU DIDN'T, AS CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER PUT IT INTO RESERVE AND INSTEAD PUT IT INTO THE, UH, TO THE, UH, FUND BALANCE TO USE FOR NORMAL EVERYDAY EXPENSES. NOW, THAT'S NOT THE, THAT'S NOT THE AUDITORS. THE AUDITORS WILL LOOK AT THE BOOKS AND SAY, OH, YOU HAVE A HEALTHY FUNDS BALANCE. THEY'RE NOT GONNA LOOK AND SAY, YOU GOT IT BY TAKING IT OUT OF SOMETHING THAT WASN'T RESERVED, BECAUSE THAT'S A POLICY DECISION. SO THEY DON'T, THEY DON'T PINPOINT THINGS LIKE THAT. NO, NO, NO. BUT LEMME JUST SAY, LEMME JUST ANSWER. I DUNNO. THAT'S I'M ASKING. YES. BUT LET ME JUST ANSWER SOMETHING EVERY, WHEN WE APPROVED THE BUDGET, IT WAS APPROVED BY EVERY MEMBER OF THE TOWN BOARD AND YOU VOTED FOR THE BUDGET. SO YOU CAN SAY, I WAS NOT FAMILIAR THAT WE USE FUND BALANCE BECAUSE YOU VOTED FOR IT. AND THERE WERE PEOPLE, I THINK HAL SAMIS, THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO SPOKE AT BUDGET HEARINGS EVERY SINGLE YEAR SAYING, YOU'RE USING TOO MUCH FUND BALANCE. YOU DID NOTHING ABOUT IT BECAUSE YOU VOTED FOR A BUDGET. THAT BASICALLY WAS PRETTY MUCH SIMILAR TO EVERY BUDGET THAT I PROPOSED. AND THE THING IS, IF YOU HAD CONCERNS AS BUDGET LIAISON, UM, ABOUT USING FUND BALANCE, THEN YOU COULD HAVE SPOKEN OUT AND YOU COULD HAVE DONE WHAT YOU'VE DONE ON WITH MANY THINGS THAT I, I RECOMMEND AND ASKED OTHER BOARD MEMBERS TO VOTE, UM, UH, TO MODIFY THE BUDGET, WHICH YOU DIDN'T DO. YOU DIDN'T BOTHER. WELL, WE'RE DOING THAT NOW, BUT WE'RE DOING THAT. LET'S, LET'S STAY WITH THIS. LET'S STAY WITH THIS, PAUL. LET, LET HIM, PAUL, YOU'VE ALREADY ADMITTED THAT THE TENANT BUDGET IS YOUR BUDGET AND YOUR BUDGET ALONE. RIGHT? AND YOU COURT, IN YOUR TENDER BUDGET FOR YEARS, YOU HAVE PUT THE TERM RESERVE FOR COURTHOUSE INTO THE BUDGET. WHY DID YOU USE THE RESERVE FOR COURTHOUSE IF YOU DIDN'T MEAN TO RESERVE [00:25:01] IT? IT'S YOUR BUDGET THAT WORDING YOU OWN. BUT YOU BASICALLY, YOU VOTED, YOU VOTED FOR THE FINAL BUDGET AND AND YOU TOOK IT OUT. YES. I ADMITTED YOU VOTED TO OUT. I ADMITTED PAUL. I VOTED TO RESERVE 12 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS FOR THE COURTHOUSE. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW BEHIND THE SCENES? YOU ARE NOT GONNA RESERVE IT. YOU BASICALLY, YOU BASICALLY, YOU'RE THE BUDGET LIAISON IN ONE YEAR. YOU, YOU, UNLESS YOU DIDN'T READ THE BUDGET, WHY? YOU PROBABLY DON'T BOTHER TO READ THE BUDGET, KNOW WHEN YOU'RE DONE. WHAT YOU DIDN'T, YOU DIDN'T READ IT. WHY DON'T YOU NOTICE READ IT. READ IT SAYS, IT SAYS PAUL. IT SAYS, AND PLEASE DON'T INTERRUPT ME. YOUR BUDGET, WHICH YOU ACKNOWLEDGE IS YOUR BUDGET SAID RESERVE FOR COURTHOUSE. ANYBODY READING THAT WOULD SAY THAT THAT MONEY, 12 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS ONE YEAR, 12 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR, $7 MILLION ANOTHER YEAR, ALL OF THAT ADDING UP TO $39 MILLION RESERVED FOR COURTHOUSE. IT'S YOUR WORDING. BUT, AND ANYBODY, AND I VOTED FOR RESERVING IT FOR THE COURTHOUSE, ALL THE BOARD MEMBERS VOTED TO RESERVE IT FOR THE COURTHOUSE. 'CAUSE THAT'S THE WORDING YOU PUT. AND THEN BEHIND THE SCENES, YOU CHOSE NOT TO RESERVE IT AND PUT IT INTO FUND BALANCE SO THAT WE WOULD THINK WE'RE IN GOOD SHAPE. THE ORDERS WILL SAY, HEY, YOU HAVE PLENTY OF FUND BALANCE. IT'LL PROBABLY EVEN HELP YOUR BOND RATING, BUT IT'S STEALING FROM WHAT THE VOTERS VOTED FOR. AND THAT'S $39 MILLION FOR A COURTHOUSE THAT THE ONLY THING THAT'S LEFT IS 7.4. AND OUR CONTROLLER SAID, I DON'T THINK IT'S, IT'S PROPER TO ASK THE VOTERS TO SPEND ANOTHER $39 MILLION FOR ADDITIONAL MONEY FOR A COURTHOUSE THAT THEY HAVE ALREADY, UH, PAID FOR. AND THAT IS WHAT THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER YOU HAVE DONE. YOU HAVE MISLED THE TOWN BOARD. YOU HAVE MISLED THE PUBLIC AND ALL, ALL I COULD SAY, AND THIS IS, SORRY, THIS IS ALL I'M GONNA SAY. SORRY. NO, WE SAID WE, WE TOLD THE PUBLIC WE WERE GONNA DO A LIGHTING AT SIX AND OKAY. OH, I'M JUST SAYING ONE THING. THING. NO, WAIT, I'M GONNA SAY ONE THING BEFORE WE GO OUT. I'M NOT NECESSARILY GONNA GO OUT THERE 'CAUSE THERE'S NOBODY THERE. OKAY. I, YOU KNOW, I I LIGHT THE TREE. THEY CAN LIGHT THE TREE. WE SHOULD, WE CAN DO IT, BUT WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT DOING SIX. IT'S REALLY COLD. IT'S REALLY COLD. HOLD OUTSIDE. SO WE JUST HAVE, WE HAVE STAFF ON, ON HOLD WAITING TO DO THIS. SO IF WE, IF WE SAID SIX AND WE'RE GOING TO, UH, PUBLICIZE IT AND PUT IT AND STREAM IT OUT, LET'S DO THAT. SO WE CAN JUST COME BACK AND WE CAN CONTINUE THE YEAH, I JUST WANNA SAY ONE, AND THEN I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA SAY ONE THING AND THEN I'M GONNA BE QUIET. IT'S GONNA TAKE ONE MINUTE. EVERY ASPECT OF THE BUDGET WAS APPROVED BY EVERY MEMBER OF THE TOWN BOARD, AND EVERY BUDGET WE APPROVED WAS UNANIMOUS. SO EVERY, ANY CHANGES, UM, WAS DONE. AND IT A RESPONSIBILITY. AND I NEVER HIDE ANYTHING I, I EXPLAINED IT TO, TO PEOPLE. SO WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE INTERNS? WHAT I, I DON'T KNOW. I DON'T, I WE HAVE WHERE YOU HAD LUMP SUMS AND YOU WERE TAKING, WE HAD A BUDGET FOR INTERNS OF $10,000 AND YOU HAD, I THINK IT WAS A $20,000 SLUSH FUND IN THE SUPERVISOR BUDGET. AND YOU WERE TAKING FROM THAT BUDGET TO PAY TO SUPPLEMENT THE INTERNS. THAT'S SO THERE WERE, YOU KNOW, NO, NO, I'M SAYING THAT, BUT THE, WELL, THE, YOU KNOW, THE JOB OF THE BOARD, EVERYTHING WAS, YOU JUST SAID THE JOB OF THE THE BOARD IS THAT EVERYTHING WAS OUT, OUT THERE. AND, AND I HAVE TO SAY THAT WE'VE NEVER DONE IN MY, THE, THE LIMITED TIME THAT I'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD, THIS IS THE MOST THOROUGH VETTING OF THE BUDGET WE HAVE DONE, WHICH IS GREAT. YEAH. WELL, THAT'S NOT MY PROBLEM. THE BOARD, WE DIDN'T DO, THE BOARD HAS POSSIBILITY. WE WERE NOT PRESENTED WITH THE BUDGET UNTIL IT WENT OUT. WE'RE ARGUING, WE'RE ARGUING BACK FORTH, FORTH. I WOULD JUST LIKE SAY THAT GETTING THAT TOPIC, WE, WE DO NEED TO GET OUTSIDE IF WE'RE GONNA DO THAT. SO WE SHOULD DO THAT. BUT THE REASON WE'RE DOING THIS VETTING IS REALLY BECAUSE OF ME, BECAUSE I DIDN'T REALLY KNOW ABOUT THE BUDGET. I DIDN'T REALLY UNDERSTAND THE BUDGET. SO I THINK WE HAVE TO CONTINUE WITH THIS PROCESS. THIS HASN'T HAPPENED BEFORE. OKAY. AND WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE? WHAT ELSE WHAT HAPPENED HAPPENED BEFORE THAT IT STARTED WITH YOU. I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAD THIS UNDERSTAND YOUR COMMENT THAT WE HAD THIS THOROUGH BUDGET DISCUSSION IN A WORK IN WORK SESSIONS. AND I'D LIKE YOU TO BE THE BUDGET LIAISON THAT YEAR. WE DIDN'T. YOU DESERVE IT. WE DIDN'T DO THIS LAST YEAR. YOU DO. YOU'D BE A GREAT LIAISON. I DON'T KNOW. I I DON'T, I I WANT TO FAMILIAR FAMILIARIZE MYSELF MORE WITH THIS. SO I'VE BEEN ASKING A LOT OF QUESTIONS AND THAT EVOLVED INTO THIS, WHICH IS GREAT. SO WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO DO THIS SO THAT THINGS LIKE WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT DON'T HAPPEN SO THAT WE ARE MORE, UH, AWARE OF EVERYTHING AND THEN WE CAN SEE WHAT WE CAN'T SEE THINGS THAT ARE HIDDEN MEAN. THERE'S [00:30:01] NOTHING HIDDEN. WELL, THAT WAS, BUT IT WASN'T HIDDEN PEOPLE, THE BOARD DIDN'T SPEND THE TIME TO, TO REVEAL IT. YOU WROTE RESERVE FOR COURTHOUSE THAT HAS MEANING TO IT. YOU USED THAT WORD. AND, AND LET ME JUST SAY THIS. YOU DIDN'T DO YOUR JOB, JUST ADMIT IF PAUL, YOU COULD ADMIT IT IF YOU MADE IT MISTAKE, YOU'RE THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, LET'S SAY FOR THE FIRST YEAR THAT YOU PUT IN RESERVE FOR COURTHOUSE, YOU DIDN'T REALLY MEAN THE WORD RESERVE. AND YOU DECIDED NOT TO ACTUALLY RESERVE THE MONEY SO THAT IT WOULD BE DEDICATED FOR THE COURTHOUSE. AND INSTEAD YOU PUT IT INTO THE FUND BALLOTS. WHY DID YOU DO IT THE SECOND YEAR RESERVE FOR COURTHOUSE AFTER THE FIRST YEAR, YOU PUT IT INTO FUND BALANCE, YOU KNEW IT WASN'T GETTING RESERVED, BUT YOU'D MISLED US BY SAYING RESERVE FOR COURTHOUSE BECAUSE, AND IF YOU DIDN'T OWE THE SECOND YEAR, WHY DID YOU DO IT THE THIRD YEAR WHERE YOU SPEND DOWN $39 MILLION TO ABOUT $32 BILLION USING THAT OTHER MONEY FOR FEEL GOOD STUFF OR WHATEVER IT WAS. BUT TO SAY YOU SAT HERE AND VOTED FOR THE BUDGET. YES. I VOTED FOR A BUDGET THAT SAID RESERVED MONEY FOR A COURTHOUSE. OKAY. YOU, YOU CHECKED IT SAID RESERVE. OKAY. ALL THAT WAS, WE'VE A BUDGET. NO, WE'VE GOT THROUGH THAT POINT. WE'VE, OKAY. WELL, ACCOUNTABILITY. WELL, I, I WANNA THANK, UH, JOY FOR, UH, FOR DOING YOUR JOB AND BASICALLY SCRUTINIZING THE BUDGET. YOU, YOU SHOULD BE COMMENDED. THAT'S ANOTHER STATEMENT THAT WE COULD ACTUALLY TALK, DISCUSS ABOUT. NO, IT'S GOOD. SHE, SHE'S DOING A GREAT JOB AND WE SHOULD COMMEND HER. RIGHT. THAT'S ALL FOR JUDGE. AND WE'RE COMING BACK TO CONTINUE THE DISCUSSION, RIGHT? FOR THE PUBLIC. WE'RE WATCHING. YES. YEAH. THANK YOU. ARE YOU READY? UH, GINA, CAN YOU HEAR US NOW? YES. I JUST HAVE ONE QUESTION AS A FOLLOW UP TO THE CONVERSATION. WE HAD, UH, FRANCIS, EVERY YEAR YOU LOOKED AT FUND BALANCES, EVEN AS A LIAISON. AND I WANT TO KNOW IF YOU, UH, LOOKED AT THE COURT FUND BALANCE, SOME INCREASES EACH YEAR. UM, DID YOU, IF YOU LOOKED AT THE COURT, UH, FUND BALANCE, DID IT INCREASE OR DID IT DECLINE? AND WHY DIDN'T YOU ASK? UM, UH, IF YOU HAD ANY CONCERNS ABOUT THE FUND BALANCE IN THE COURT WHEN YOU VOTED TO ADOPT, UM, EACH YEAR'S BUDGET? WHO WROTE THAT? THAT YOU JUST READ THAT? NO, YOU JUST READ IT OFF. I, I WROTE IT. WHO WROTE THAT TO YOU? ME? I WROTE IT, BUT I'M JUST ASKING. I'M JUST ASKING. THE, THE QUESTION IS, WHAT WAS THE QUESTION? CAN YOU PLEASE REPEAT IT? YOU BASICALLY VOTED FOR EACH YEAR'S BUDGET, EVERY BUDGET THAT WE APPROVED WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. UH, THAT SINCE YOU'VE BEEN ON, YOU KNOW, THE BOARD AND I BASICALLY WANT TO KNOW IF YOU HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THE COURT FUND BALANCE, UM, AND IF IT DECLINED OR IF IT, UM, INCREASED. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, SINCE YOU, IF YOU'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT THE BUDGET AND YOU UNDERSTAND THE BUDGET, SOME IF, AND YOU HAVE CONCERNS, WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING? COULD YOU TAKE THAT BUDGET IN FRONT OF YOU AND SHOW ME WHERE THE COURTHOUSE FUND BALANCE IS? NO, I'M JUST ASKING. I JUST WANT [00:35:01] TO KNOW IF YOU KNOW HOW TO FIND IT. BUT BECAUSE YOU'RE ASKING ME, I'M ASKING YOU. I'M NOT, IT'S NOT IN THE BUDGET EXACTLY. , IT'S NOT IN THE BUDGET. IT'S NOT IN THE BUDGET. IT'S NOT PART OF IT. YOU THE CHIEF FINANCIAL, IT'S IN THE BALANCE SHEET, BUT I'M NOT GONNA GET INTO A FIGHT. OKAY. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE. OKAY, LET'S MOVE ON. IT'S NOT, YOU CAN FINISH THE REVIEW. SO WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO? ARE WE GONNA, UH, ARE WE GONNA DO IT A ONE YEAR AUDIT OR A TWO YEAR AUDIT? I'M SUPPORTING THE CONTROLLER. SHE'S DONE A FANTASTIC JOB. UM, RECOMMEND HER AND I'M GOING TO SUPPORT HER. OKAY. OKAY. I WOULD SUPPORT WHAT THE CONTROLLER'S RECOMMENDING. I ALREADY STATED I'M SUPPORTING THIS CONTROLLER. OKAY. AND THAT THE RESOLUTION ITSELF IS GOING TO STATE THAT IT WILL BE A SEPARATE TEAM. YES. A DIFFERENT TEAM. YEAH. AS LONG AS IT'S A DIFFERENT TEAM. ARE WE EVER GONNA, UH, CHANGE, UH, COMPANIES OR DO AN RFP OR BASICALLY WE'RE GONNA USE THEM. WE HAVE THE BEST AUDIT. WELL, ARE YOU CALLING OUT FOR THAT MR. CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER FOR NEXT YEAR? YES. TO DO. OKAY, THEN WHAT, WHAT DO YOU WANT? I WANT PUT THAT OUT. IS IT, PUT THAT ON THE SCHEDULE AND WE CAN NO, I'D LIKE, UH, COULD WE PUT IN THE RESOLUTION AT THE END OF THE, SINCE YOU'RE GONNA, SINCE I'M BEING OUTVOTED, THAT AT THE END OF TWO YEAR, THAT AFTER, UH, THE TWO YEARS, THE, THE CONTROLLERS, UH, MANDATED TO, UH, DO AN RFP FOR, FOR AUDITORS, WOULD, COULD, COULD YOU, UH, PUT THAT AS AN A AMEN AMENDMENT? UM, SO WE HAVE, BECAUSE I MEAN, I THINK IT'S RIDICULOUS TO HAVE THE SAME FIRM FOR 30 YEARS WITH NO RFP. WE DEFINITELY COULD GET BETTER PRICES. I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT. OKAY. SO, UM, ALL RIGHT, LET'S MOVE ON. JOE, COULD YOU, COULD YOU JUST CHANGE THE WORDING THEN FOR THE RESOLUTION TO REQUIRE AN RFP AT THE END OF THIS? YEAH, WE COULD AMEND THAT. OKAY. OKAY. LET'S SEE. SO THE CL FIVE RESOLUTION, RESCINDING RESOLUTION CL TWO, WHICH DOESN'T SEEM TO HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH CL FIVE. SO I'M CONFUSED. CL TWO OF 1124. 2024. OH OF 1124. I'M SORRY. RIGHT. OKAY. SO THE CHANGE IS NOT IN THE DATE, BUT IN THE TIME THEY ORIGINALLY HAD IT FROM FOUR 30 TO SIX 30 AND THE RABBI CAN'T MAKE IT UNTIL SIX 30. SO RATHER THAN MAKE IT CONFUSING, WE JUST DID AWAY WITH THE PREVIOUS RESOLUTION AND MADE A NEW ONE. OKAY. SO I DIDN'T HAVE IT ON INCORRECTLY IN MY, I HAD A QUESTION REGARDING PW, UH, PW ONE. SO PW ONE WAS, UM, IS, UH, AUTHORIZING ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR AN EMERGENCY AND ONCO A SEWER REPAIR AND STREET EXCAVATION REPAIR AND RESTORATION SERVICES FOR 2025 WITH MURANO BROTHERS ON AN AS NEEDED BASIS FOR AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $2 MILLION. BUT THE BACKSTORY OF THIS IS THAT WE, IN THE VERY END OF MAY OF 2025, PASSED A RESOLUTION, AWARDING THE BID FOR ABOUT $2.5 MILLION TO MURANO BROTHERS. AND HERE WE ARE IN THE SAME YEAR COMING BACK AND ADDING ANOTHER $2 MILLION TO THAT $2.5 MILLION AWARD. YOU KNOW, AND AT SOME POINT, WHEN DO WE GO OUT TO BID AGAIN? I'M NOT CALLING. I AGREE WITH YOU. YEAH, $2 MILLION. OH, PW. OKAY. ADDITIONAL IS CRAZY. PARTICULARLY SINCE WE JUST AWARDED THE BID AT THE END OF MAY OF 2025. NOW THIS MAY BE DALE AVENUE AND [00:40:01] IT'S EATING UP A LOT, BUT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE THERE'S AN AWFUL LOT GOING ON THERE, AT LEAST NOT IN RECENT MONTHS. SO AT A MINIMUM, WE NEED TO GET SOME MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT RIGHT BEFORE TOMORROW NIGHT, OR HOLD IT OVER, UH, FOR THE 17TH. AGREED. YEAH. BECAUSE IF WE KNEW THAT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT $4.5 MILLION WORTH OF WORK, THE OTHER PEOPLE WHO BID MIGHT HAVE BID MORE, YOU KNOW? RIGHT. BEEN MORE COMPETITIVE. I DON'T KNOW. WE JUST HAVE TO BE CAREFUL. WELL, THE, WHEN WE WERE TALKING YESTERDAY ABOUT LOOKING AT WAYS OF, UH, YOU KNOW, SAVING TAXPAYER DOLLARS, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE HAVE TO LOOK AT ALL THE CONTRACTS AND CONSULTANTS OUTSIDE LEGAL FIRMS AND EVERYTHING. AND YOU KNOW, I REALLY FEEL THAT, UM, IF WE IN THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, COUPLE YEARS, UM, REALLY SCRUTINIZE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE SPENDING, I THINK WE COULD SAVE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY. CAN WHAT CAN WE, UM, AND PO FOUR, THE RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE TOWN SUPERVISOR TO EXECUTE A HOLD HARM HARMLESS AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TOWN OF GREENBURG AND BMR LEY PARK, LLC FOR THE USE OF 4 10, 4 40. SO ON THE RIVER ROAD LEY, WHAT IS IT THAT THEY ARE GOING TO BE USING IT FOR, AND WHY DO WE HAVE TO HAVE A HU UM, HOLD HARMLESS AGREEMENT? WELL, BUT THAT'S FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT TO USE IT AS A TRAINING FACILITY. OKAY. YES. THAT IS. RECENTLY I SENT A MEMO TO THE BOARD OF ETHICS ASKING IF WE, IF WE WOULD BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE CODE OF ETHICS MM-HMM . IF THE, UH, POLICE WOULD TAKE A TEMPORARY DONATION FROM THIS APPLICANT. SO THIS IS A HOLD HARMLESS. UM, SO WHEN THOSE EVENTS OCCUR WHERE WE'RE NOT HELD, THEY'RE NOT HELD LIABLE FOR THOSE ISSUES. SO THAT'S WHY THAT'S ON. OKAY. BE HEARD BACK, YOUR I JUST HAVE, I HAVE NOT, AND I'M NOT SURE IF SOMEONE ELSE HAS. SO CAN WE MOVE THIS? CAN WE ACTUALLY ADOPT THIS WITHOUT GOING FROM THE ETHICS BOARD? OH, I APOLOGIZE. I THOUGHT YOU MEANT FROM THE DEPARTMENT. WE HAVE HEARD BACK FROM THE BOARD OF ETHICS. IT'S NOT IN VIOLATION OF THE CODE OF ETHICS. OKAY. WHAT ABOUT CR ONE WHERE IT'S $6,000 FOR, FROM METROPOLIS COUNTRY CLUB, IT'S A DONATION OF $6,000. UM, DO THEY HAVE ANY OUTSTANDING, UH, ACTIONS FROM THE TOWN THAT ARE PENDING? I BELIEVE THEY MIGHT. WHICH ONE ARE YOU? CR ONE. C ONE ONE. RIGHT. I KNOW WE'VE ACCEPTED DONATIONS FROM THEM IN THE PAST, BUT I'M NOT SURE IF THE APPLICATION STATUS CHANGED. WELL, IT MAY BE, THE DIFFERENCE IS THIS IS METROPOLIS COUNTRY CLUB FOUNDATION VERSUS THE COUNTRY CLUB. RIGHT, RIGHT. WHICH I THINK IT PROBABLY IS, BUT, AND MAYBE WE HAVE A PRIOR, MAYBE, MAYBE WE HAVE A PRIOR OPINION THAT SAYS THAT THAT'S OKAY. I COULD TAKE A LOOK AT THAT. I HAVE A QUESTION. WHEN WE RECEIVED DONATIONS FROM THEM IN THE PAST, WAS IT FROM THE FOUNDATION OR WAS IT FROM THE ACTUAL CLUB FROM, BECAUSE THEY GIVE FOUNDATIONS EVERY YEAR. THEY GIVE EVERY DAY. THEY GIVE DONATIONS EVERY YEAR TO THE COMMUNITY CENTER. RIGHT. THIS IS THE SECOND YEAR TO BOTH THAT I'M AWARE OF. THIS IS RIGHT. SECOND YEAR. OKAY. OH, OKAY. LET, LET'S JUST MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T GET OURSELVES, UH, RIGHT. BUT THEY, THEY ALSO GIVE INTO ABIN TWO DAY CAMP. THAT, RIGHT. RIGHT. MM-HMM . OH NO. THAT IT DOES GOOD WORK. IT'S JUST WE WANNA MAKE SURE THE LEGAL OF IT. RIGHT. THE LEGALITY OF ACCEPTING IT. I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT DID WE GET AN OPINION LAST YEAR? DO YOU REMEMBER? WE DID. I BELIEVE IT WAS LAST YEAR OR THE YEAR BEFORE. UM, ALL THE DONATIONS I'M SEEING AT THIS POINT HAVE BEEN BY THE FOUNDATION. EVERYONE I'VE SEEN SO FAR. I DO REMEMBER TALKING ABOUT IT THOUGH. I, I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT C3. IT'S A RESOLUTION SCHEDULING A PUBLIC HEARING FOR WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14TH AT SEVEN 30 FOR, UH, THE PURPOSE OF CONSIDERING A ONE YEAR AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TOWN OF GREENBURG AND THE VILLAGE OF IRVINGTON TO PROVIDE FIRE PROTECTION SERVICES TO UNINCORPORATED AREA RESIDENTS OF THE EAST IRVINGTON FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT FOR THE YEAR 2024. SO THE CONCERN THAT I HAVE, AND I'VE HIGHLIGHTED THIS DURING THE PAST COUPLE MONTHS, IS THAT THE HEARING'S GONNA BE IN 2026. THE, THE CONTRACT IS, UH, FOR SERVICES THAT WERE PROVIDED IN 2024, WHICH IS, UM, YOU KNOW, LONG TIME AGO, UM, THE LAST TIME WE PAID, UH, THE IRVINGTON FIRE DISTRICT WAS, UH, IN 2023 TARRYTOWN. UM, WE STILL DON'T HAVE A CONTRACT WITH THEM. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, YOU KNOW, I, WHEN I SPEAK TO VILLAGE OFFICIALS, YEAH, THEY'RE UPSET BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT GETTING PAID FOR SERVICES THAT WERE RENDERED. AND, UM, WELL, WE'VE DISCUSSED THIS MANY, MANY TIMES. WELL, YOU KNOW WHAT? WELL, TAR TOWN ONLY GAVE US THE DATA FOR 2024, ABOUT SIX WEEKS AGO. OKAY. SO LET ME NOT EVEN, DID YOU WANT, DID YOU WANT, DID YOU WANT US TO PAY A BILL THAT WE DIDN'T RECEIVE? NO, [00:45:01] I, I HAD A SUGGESTION. UM, WOULD IN THE FUTURE, UM, WOULD WE BE ABLE TO, IF THERE'S NOT, IF WE DON'T HAVE ALL THE DATA, UM, WORK OUT SOMETHING, SAY WITH THE VILLAGES WHERE WE COULD PAY, SAY, LET'S SAY THE SAME, UH, AMOUNT THAT WE PAID THE YEAR BEFORE, AND THEN IF THERE'S, UH, A DISPUTE OVER, YOU KNOW, OVER A CERTAIN PORTION YEAH, A CERTAIN PORTION, UH, WE WOULD THEN NEGOTIATE OVER THE DISPUTED AMOUNT RATHER THAN FOR THE SERVICES THAT WERE RENDERED. BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT REAL, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW, THE TOWN WE ARE, WE'RE NOT GONNA SAY, OH, WE DON'T LIKE THE CONTRACT. WE'RE NOT GONNA PAY YOU ANYTHING. YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY DID PROVIDE SERVICES, SO THEY'RE ENTITLED TO AT LEAST WHAT THEY GOT IN PREVIOUS YEARS. AND I THINK THAT IF WE DID THAT, UM, FOR ALL THE FIRE DISTRICTS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE VILLAGES, YOU KNOW, WON'T FEEL THAT, UM, WE'RE, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRYING TO STIFF THEM WHY WHAT WE PAYING IS NOT TO BE SO NEGATIVE BECAUSE WE DON'T PAY OUR BILLS. NO, BECAUSE, BECAUSE COULD YOU READ C FOUR? WHY DO YOU PAINT THIS OUT TO BE SO NEGATIVE THAT WE DON'T PAY OUR BILLS AND WE DON'T, DO WE HAVE A CONTRACT IN PLACE? THERE IS A PROCESS IN PLACE. I DON'T, THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO GIVE US THE DATA SO WE CAN PAY THE INVOICE. WE JUST, FOR TERRYTOWN, FOR TERRY, HOLD ON. HOLD ON. I'M FRANCIS FOR TERRYTOWN, WE JUST, WE JUST RECENTLY GOT THAT INFORMATION FOR 2024. BUT YOU DON'T, YOU DON'T MENTION THAT PIECE OF IT. YOU GIVE IT TO PARENTS THAT IT'S THE TOWN BOARD, IT'S GREENBURG TOWN BOARD. THAT IS THE BAD PERSON. THAT'S NOT, THAT'S NOT FULFILLING THE CONTRACT. THAT'S NOT RIGHT. WE ARE DOING WHAT WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING. IF THEY DON'T GIVE US THE INVOICE, AS IS WRITTEN, AS THE PROCESS THAT'S SUPPOSED TO GIVE US THE INVOICE. WHY ARE WE THE BAD PEOPLE? WHY ARE WE THE BAD PERSON FOR THIS? THAT'S NOT RIGHT. ON THE INITIAL DATA THEY GAVE US WAS INCORRECT. AND THEY HAD TO, THEY HAD TO GIVE US ADDITIONAL DATA. SO WHEN WILL THE TAR TOWER CONTRACT BE READY? WE CURRENTLY WORKING ON IT, WE'RE, WE HAD THE DATA FOR ABOUT THREE WEEKS AT THIS POINT. UM, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER COULD BE A PROVISION THAT THE TOWN REQUIRES, THE DATA, THE ACTUAL EXPENSES DUE, LET'S SAY BY MARCH OF THE FOLLOWING YEAR, TO KIND OF HOLD THE VILLAGES MORE ACCOUNTABLE INSTEAD OF WAITING, THE TOWN WAITING WITH NO DATE GIVEN. AND EVERYBODY ACTS DIFFERENTLY. IF WE PUT A PROVISION IN PLACE GIVING A DUE DATE FOR THOSE EXPENSES AND THEY SHOULD HAVE THEM, THEN MAYBE WE COULD OPERATE. NO, THAT'S FINE. I THINK THAT'S GOOD. AND I THINK SOMEONE HAD EXPRESSED THAT SOME OF THE VILLAGES ACTUALLY PREFERRED DOING IT AFTER THE FACT. AND WE WERE GONNA LOOK TO SEE WHICH VILLAGES WANTED TO DO THAT. OTHERS DID NOT. UM, BUT WE, I THOUGHT WE WERE RESPECTING SOME OF THEIR PREFERENCES. RIGHT. SO THERE'S A NEW VILLAGE MANAGER, AND IF YOU NOTICE FOR CL FOUR, WHICH YOU CHOSE NOT TO READ, THAT'S DEALING WITH THE FIRE PROTECTION FOR THE YEAR 2025. I WAS, I WAS IN CONTACT WITH THE VILLAGE MANAGER, AND I WAS HOPING THAT WE COULD ACTUALLY HAVE THE PUBLIC HEARING AND THEN ADOPT IT ON THE, UM, 17TH WITH OUR BUDGET, UH, BUDGET. BUT THE TOWN ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TELLS ME THERE'S NOT ENOUGH TIME TO NOTICE THAT, UH, THE PUBLIC HEARING. SO, RIGHT. WE'RE GOING TO DO THIS AND NOTICE THIS IS GONNA BE SCHEDULED FOR OUR FIRST MEETING IN JANUARY. UM, SO WE'LL HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING ON BOTH OF THEM, AND THEN THEY'LL BE CAUGHT UP. NO, THAT'S GREAT. UH, I, I LIKE YOUR SUGGESTION IS IT REALLY MAKES A LOT OF SENSE. MM-HMM . AND BECAUSE AGAIN, IT'S REALLY A PRINCIPLE. UM, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT BASICALLY WE SHOULDN'T BE, YOU KNOW, WE SHOULD BE PAYING BILLS, YOU KNOW, QUICKLY RATHER THAN WAITING A COUPLE YEARS. WELL, AGAIN, YOU'RE SAYING THE BILL, THAT'S THE THING CALLED, WE DIDN'T HOLD UP THE BILLS. WE DIDN'T GET THE BILLS. WE DIDN'T GET THE BILLS FOR TWO YEARS. RIGHT. BUT, YOU KNOW, THE VILLAGE OFFICIALS HAVE BEEN COMPLAINING TO ME FOR, FOR MANY, MANY. DID YOU ESTIMATE WHERE THE BILL IS? WELL, THEY BASICALLY WERE COMPLAINING, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? RIGHT NOW WE'RE, THEY'RE, AND NOW THEY UNDERSTAND WE'RE WE'RE GONNA DO IT BETTER IN THE FUTURE AND WE WON'T HAVE THIS PROBLEM. YOU KNOW? AND I THINK, JOE, YOUR SUGGESTION, MAYBE WE COULD DO A LOCAL, YOU KNOW, UH, MAYBE WE COULD HAVE A DRAFT LOCAL LAW AND THEN, UM, OR A RESOLUTION AND THEN, UM, I COULD, WE COULD SHARE IT WITH ALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENTS AND THE, THE VILLAGES SAY, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO DO IT DIFFERENTLY IN THE FUTURE, THEN THERE'LL NEVER BE A PROBLEM AGAIN. OKAY. I'LL PUT THAT TOGETHER. SO THAT, THAT WAS VERY CONSTRUCTIVE, YOUR SUGGESTION. THANK YOU, . NO, I'M JUST, I'M JUST COMMENDING, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT A JOKE. I'M JUST COMMENDING EXCELLENT WORK. RIGHT. AND WE MAY WANT TO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW WHAT, UM, A FORMER CONTROLLER, MANY, MANY CONTROLLERS BEFORE IS WE KEEP BASING THESE THINGS ON BUDGETS, BUT ON SOME OF THESE, THERE'S NO REASON WHY WE COULDN'T GET ACTUAL NUMBERS. RIGHT? WHAT, SO THEY WOULD PROVIDE ACTUAL NUMBERS. IN OTHER WORDS, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IS YOU HAVE A BUDGETED AMOUNT MM-HMM . AND THEN THE FOLLOWING YEAR YOU SEE [00:50:01] HOW CLOSE DID YOU COME TO THAT BUDGET? RIGHT? IF IT'S UNDER YOU REIMBURSE, IF IT'S OVER, YOU KNOW, THAT KIND OF THING. SO YOU'RE ACTUALLY DEALING WITH REAL NUMBERS SENSE. YES. YES. DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? CONTROLLER? I CAN PUT TOGETHER ANY FINANCIAL STATEMENT YOU WANT , , AND WE KNOW YOU CAN . OKAY. SO NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT THE, BUT COULD YOU A QUESTION FOR A QUESTION, I GUESS, UH, RICH IS NOT ON, IS HE? I DON'T SEE HIM THERE. NO. UM, THERE'S A NOTICE OF CLAIM FOR US PICKING UP, UH, SOME TYPE OF A UTILITY, SOMETHING OR OTHER FROM, UH, FIRE SANITATION. AND IT APPARENTLY WASN'T OUT FOR GARBAGE PICKUP. AND I'M JUST WONDERING HOW CLOSE TO THE CURB WAS IT? YOU KNOW, IF IT, IF IT WAS JUST ON THE SIDE OF THE DRIVEWAY, WHICH IS THE WAY THING READS, THAT'S ONE THING. BUT IF IT'S SIDE, WHICH ONE? UH, IT'S GETTING HERE SOMEPLACE. LET'S SEE, THAT'S GOTTA BE AN A TAT ONE, $93. THAT ONE. RIGHT? $93. SO IT WAS BASICALLY, IT WASN'T PROPERTY DAMAGE. IT WAS, IT WAS ACTUALLY TAKEN. RIGHT. SO THAT'S PROBABLY NOT THE RIGHT WORDING. VANDALIZED. YEAH, IT WAS, WELL IT WAS DAMAGED WHEN IT WAS PUT IN THE TRUCK AND CRUSHED. OH, OH, WAS IT NOTICED RIGHT AWAY? IS THAT I BELIEVE SO. UM, I COULD GET YOU THE FULL DETAILS FOR THAT. I KNOW WE DO REACH OUT TO DPW FOR ANY CLAIMS SUCH AS THIS TO ENSURE THERE IS LIABILITY ON THE PART OF THE TOWN. YEAH. SO A T ONE AND 82 ARE THE SAME SITUATIONS. A ONE, NO, A ONE, A DIFFERENT SITUATION IN A T TWO. A T TWO INVOLVES, UM, AND I'M SURE YOU KNOW THE NAME. YES, YES. UH, SO I CHECKED INTO THAT JUST TO MAKE SURE THERE WASN'T ANY FAVORITISM OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. 'CAUSE EVERY BOARD MEMBER KNOWS THE PERSON WHO'S FILED THIS CLAIM. MM-HMM . AND, UM, THE TOWN ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, UH, ASSURED ME THAT THE PERSON WHO WAS PROCESSING THIS CLAIM, WHO WE ALL KNOW IN THE TOWN ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, IS VERY, VERY THOROUGH. SO THAT'S ACCURATE DOWN TO THE PENNY . DON'T DOUBT THAT CLAIM SPECIALIST, CAROLYN, I GIVE HER A GREAT DEAL OF RESPECT. THE WAY SHE HANDLES THESE CASES REALLY LOOKS INTO ALL THESE MM-HMM . AND WE WERE NOT AWARE WHO THIS PERSON WAS. WHEN WE LOOK AT CLAIMS, WE DON'T LOOK REALLY LOOK AT THE PERSON. MM-HMM . WE JUST LOOK AT THE FACTS IN DEMAND. SO THIS IS WHERE THERE WAS, AND I KNOW THE SITUATION VERY WELL BECAUSE THERE WAS A WATER MAIN BREAK ON CENTRAL AVENUE, UH, NEAR LAWTON STREET. AND, UH, THEY PUT DOWN PLATES AND SOME PEOPLE MAY HAVE HIT THOSE PLATES BEFORE CONES WENT UP. AND OUR BUILDING INSPECTOR WENT OUT IN, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, GOT SOME CONES AND PUT UP THE CONES. AND I DON'T THINK ANYBODY HIT IT AFTER THAT. I'M CURIOUS AS TO WHAT TIME THIS, THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED. BUT THERE WAS A, WAS AN ISSUE BECAUSE OF A MAJOR WATER MAIN BREAK AND THEY WERE DOING, THE TOWN WATER DEPARTMENT DID FANTASTIC WORK IN GETTING WATER BACK TO THOSE BUILDINGS, UH, FAIRLY QUICKLY. PLATES DON'T NORMALLY RUIN TIRES, BUT, UH, PROBABLY, OH, I CAN ATTEST TO IT. RUINING TIRE HAPPENED TO ME. YEAH, ME TOO. YEAH. DID UH, WAS IT A CON ED PLATE OR CON ED RARELY WILL PAY FOR A PLATE. YEAH. I, I DON'T REMEMBER. IT WAS A LONG TIME AGO. IT WAS ON THE FTR DRIVE, UNFORTUNATELY. . OH, OKAY. UH, FOR THE SEWER DISTRICT EXTENSIONS, WILL WE HAVE SOMETHING FROM THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT STATING THAT THEY APPROVE, I COULD REACH OUT TO THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT. YOU KNOW, IT'S GONNA BE MY QUESTION, THE PUBLIC HEARING, SO MIGHT AS WELL GET IT OUT HERE NOW. AND THE SIGNAL INFRASTRUCTURE FOR EAST HARTSDALE AVE IS, UM, IS THAT PART AND PARCEL OF THE, THE LARGER GAME PLAN THAT WAS PRESENTED BY, UM, GARRETT ? WHAT IS THE [00:55:02] C ONE? MM-HMM . NO, NO, NO, NO. I'M SORRY. I'M LOOKING AT THE WRONG THING. NO, UM, I JUST LOST IT. C CD, CD FOUR. CD FOUR. WE'D HAVE TO ASK THE COMMISSIONER. I'M NOT SURE. YEAH, RIGHT. I THINK WE THREW EVERYBODY OFF BY HAVING A MEETING GOING OUT AND THEN THEY THOUGHT WE WERE GONNA GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION. YEAH. WELL, THEY THOUGHT WE WERE GONNA MAKE THEM GO OUTSIDE WITH US . RIGHT. ON CO FIVE, UH, WE'RE DOING A BUDGET AMENDMENT TO PURCHASE SNOW REMOVAL VEHICLES. I'D LIKE TO KNOW IS THAT ADDITIONAL VEHICLES? AND IF SO, UH, WHAT'S HAPPENING TO THE EXISTING ADDITIONAL, UH, THE EXISTING SNOW REMOVAL VEHICLES? UH, IT'S A QUESTION THAT'S GONNA BE ASKED EACH TIME WE GO OUT TO GET ADDITIONAL VEHICLES. OH, YOU WERE ASKING THAT YESTERDAY REGARDING LIKE AUCTIONING OFF. RIGHT. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN, RIGHT, RIGHT. DO WE JUST NEED MORE OR IS IT TO REPLACE SOMETHING? AND IF SO, HOW BAD OF SHAPE, HOW, WHAT'S THE CONDITION OF THE, UH, THE EXISTING ONES? THEY NEED MORE. I SPOKE TO THEM TODAY. THEY NEED MORE VEHICLES. ADDITIONAL, YES. ADDITIONAL VEHICLES. YES. SO WE HAVE THE PERSONNEL TAX, WE HAVE THE PERSONNEL TO ACTUALLY OPERATE THEM THAT THEY DIDN'T SAY , THEY NEEDED MORE VEHICLES IN THE NEW YEAR. RIGHT. SO IT'S NOT, I HAVE A JUSTIFICATION FOR YOU TOMORROW. OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I, OR NOT , YOU'LL HAVE AN EXPLANATION FOR US TOMORROW, . OKAY. WHETHER IT'S A JUSTIFICATION. ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANYTHING WE'LL SAY, SHALL WE, UH, MOVE FORWARD? MM-HMM . OKAY. NO, DON'T WE HAVE TO DO THE BUDGET? YEAH. THERE'S, UH, TWO DIFFERENT BUDGETS DONE WITH THE AGENDA REVIEW FOR 26. THERE'S UH, ONE AT 6% AND WE HAVE ONE AT 10%. RIGHT. SO WHAT, TELL ME WHAT WE DO WITH THE SLIP SHEETS. I DON'T, I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT YET. SO THE SLIP SHEETS ARE THE CHANGES THAT ARE MADE. MM-HMM . IT'S BROKEN OUT BY FUND. AND YOU'LL SEE THAT, UM, IN THE A FUND, THEY, EACH TOTAL CHANGES WERE NETTED TO, WELL, THEY WERE 81,774 AND IN THE B FUND, SIX 67,000. AND THEN THAT WAS OFFSET BY AN ADJUSTMENT TO THE APPROPRIATION OF FUND BALANCE AND NETTED TO ZERO. SO THESE ARE ALL THE CHANGES. AND IT SEEMS LIKE A LOT, SOME OF THEM ARE REALLY MINUSCULE BECAUSE WE GOT, AS I MENTIONED, UM, THOSE RATES CAME IN FOR THE EMPLOYEE BENEFITS. WE MADE THAT ADJUSTMENT. SO THAT CHANGES ALL OF OUR ALLOCATIONS THAT GO TO THE I FUND. SO WE'RE JUST KIND OF TIGHTENING UP THE NUMBERS OUTSIDE OF, UM, THE CHANGES THAT WE HAD DISCUSSED PRIOR, SUCH AS THE SALARIES. UM, AND THEN THE AUDITORS DID ADVISE THAT WE TAKE OUT, UM, REMOVE THE FORECLOSURE REVENUE BECAUSE PAUL HAD ASKED, UM, IN AN EMAIL IF WE SHOULD INCLUDE IT. AND HE WANTED ME TO CONTACT THE AUDITORS AND I DID. AND WE TOOK IT OUT BECAUSE WHY? WELL, IT'S BASICALLY A MOVING TARGET. IT'S UNRELIABLE, IT'S UN, YOU KNOW, CONSIDERED LIKE UNBUDGETED REVENUE. IT'S NOT STANDARD. WE WOULDN'T SEE THAT IN THE UNIFORM CHART OF ACCOUNTS. BUT EVEN IF IT'S NOT REFLECTED IN THE BUDGET, WE HAVE REALLY MADE A PRIORITY TO COLLECT AS MUCH AS WE CAN OVER THE NEXT YEAR. WE'RE ANTICIPATING MANY, MANY YEARS, I SHOULD SAY. RIGHT. BUT IF WE'RE GONNA COLLECT IT, WON'T THAT REDUCE THE TAX, THE TAX RATES IF WE, IF WE'RE SUCCESSFUL? NO. SO THAT WILL, THAT WILL CHANGE THE FLOW OF THE PROJECTION. AS I SAID, THAT'S A, YOU KNOW, THE, UM, UNRESTRICTED FUND BALANCE IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING FROM MONTH TO MONTH DEPENDING ON WHERE WE LAND AND AT THE END OF THE YEAR IF WE HAVE A SURPLUS OR A DEFICIT. SO THE LANDSCAPE OF THAT IS ALWAYS CHANGING, RIGHT? I MEAN THE, THE TOWN HAS TO GUARANTEE, UM, THE SCHOOLS AND THE COUNTY, UM, A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE TAXES WHETHER WE COLLECTED OR NOT. YES, THAT'S CORRECT. SO WE'RE GONNA BE GETTING SO THAT MONEY IS A TOWNS TO KEEP. YES. UH, SO I, I BELIEVE THAT, YOU KNOW, THE PROJECT, I BELIEVE THAT THAT WILL HELP THE TOWN, YOU KNOW, REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF THE TAX HIKES. THAT'S MY PERSONAL FEELING. RESTRICTED FOR THE COURTHOUSE. [01:00:01] I DUNNO, , WHAT'S THAT? WHAT KIND OF NUMBERS ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? PROBABLY WHAT WE SHOULD USE IT FOR. YES. THE COURTHOUSE, YES. YOU PUT IT BACK TO COURTHOUSE. COULD ALSO BE USED TO, UH, UH, KEEP THE TAXES LOWER, GET THE TAXES LOWER. BUT WE HAVE TO, ISN'T THAT WHAT PUT US IN THE SITUATION WE'RE IN ANYWAY? WELL, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE, I MEAN, YESTERDAY YOU MENTIONED, UM, SOMETHING THAT YOU, YOU, YOU CAME UP WITH, YOU KNOW, AN IDEA THAT SHOULD LEAST BE EXPLORED IN TERM THAT COULD REDUCE, UM, THE TAXES. AND I WAS LOOKING AT, UM, THE COUNT, WHAT THE COUNTY DOES, THE BOARD OF LEGISLATORS, THEY HAVE, UM, UH, CITIZENS BUDGET ADVISORY COMMITTEE, UM, AND THE CITIZENS BUDGET ADVISORY COMMITTEE COMES UP WITH, HAS COME UP WITH A LOT OF, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS. IN FACT, YOU KNOW, I HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF DEBT RATIO, UH, UH, CAPITAL MARKETS AT LOW INTEREST RATES, UM, SALE, THEY DO ANALYSIS OF SALES TAX. SO, AND YOU KNOW, I JUST SORT OF FEEL AS A COUNTY, THEY'RE REQUIRED TO ADD THAT ADDITIONAL REPORTING THAT WE'RE NOT REQUIRED TO AS A LOCAL DEPARTMENT. I THINK, I THINK WE SHOULD. AND IT'S WORTH CHECKING TO SEE AS A, AS A WAY OF MAKING A DETERMINATION. UM, ON AVERAGE, HOW MANY OF THE, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS ARE ADOPTED? WELL, THE, I'M CURIOUS TO KNOW THAT THE RECOMMENDATION THAT I HAVE IS FOR THE TOWN BOARD RIGHT NOW. YOU KNOW, NOBODY IS GONNA BE HAPPY WITH THE TAX HIKE. YOU KNOW, WE ALL KNOW THAT. UM, BUT THE THING IS, WE HAVE TO BE, WE HAVE TO HAVE AS MUCH DISCIPLINE AS POSSIBLE TO TRY KEEPING THE TAXES AS LOW AS POSSIBLE. AND I THINK THE CONSTITUENTS, YOU KNOW, WILL APPRECIATE THAT. AND I, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO RECOMMEND IS THAT WE HAVE A SEVEN MEMBER, UH, CITIZENS BUDGET, YOU KNOW, ADVISORY COMMITTEE. UM, AND THAT THE TOWN SUPERVISOR APPOINT TWO, UH, UH, BOARD MEMBERS AND EVERYBODY ELSE ON THE BOARD APPOINT ONE, UM, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, ONE BOARD MEMBER. UM, UM, OR IT COULD BE, YOU KNOW, IT'S SOMETHING, SOMETHING IN THAT, UM, YOU RANGE, UH, THE CONTROLLER COULD APPOINT SOMEBODY. UH, BUT I THINK THAT WE SHOULD, I THINK THAT WE SHOULD BASICALLY HAVE A CITIZENS BUDGET COMMITTEE MADE UP OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE, UH, FINANCIAL EXPERTISE WHO COULD REVIEW THE BUDGET OR COME UP WITH OTHER, YOU KNOW, THEY COULD LOOK AT IT LINE BY LINE. THEY COULD HELP US REVIEW CONSULTANT SPENDING OUTSIDE LEGAL COSTS. UM, UM, UH, LINE BY LINE. I LOOK AT LINE BY LINE. NO, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT, DOES THE COUNTY HAVE A BUDGET OFFICER? NO, BUT THEY HAVE A BUDGET. HOW IS THEIR FINANCE? RIGHT? BUT ALL I'M SAYING IS WHAT DOES THAT COMMITTEE REPORT TO? THE BOARD OF LEGISLATORS, THAT COMMITTEE. BUT I FEEL THAT A LOT OF MUNICIPALITIES HAVE THESE, THEY DO HAVE THEM. IT DOESN'T MEAN, SO THAT WE CAN'T EXPLORE IT. BUT THAT'S NOT GONNA ADDRESS THE PROBLEM RIGHT NOW. NO, BECAUSE, BECAUSE I DON'T WANT PEOPLE SYSTEM WE'RE GONNA MAKE RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE I DON'T WHEN, WHEN WE HAVE PROJECTIONS, I BELIEVE THAT IF WE HAVE A LOT OF DISCIPLINE AND WE BASICALLY CREATE A CITIZENS COMMITTEE, I BELIEVE THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO FIND, I THE STATEMENTS THAT YOU HAVEN'T READ THE MDNA. NO. I I BUT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THE STATE IN THAT POSITION. UNDERSTAND. I DO UNDERSTAND IT. AND ALL I'M SAYING IS THAT IN LIABILITIES THAT WE TAKE ON EACH YEAR, LET, LET ME SAY I DO UNDERSTAND IT. ALL I'M SAYING IS THAT I BELIEVE THAT WE'RE GONNA BE, IF WE BASICALLY ARE HAVE A LOT OF DISCIPLINE AND WE LOOK FOR WAYS OF, UM, OF SAVING, YOU KNOW, DOLLARS, I BELIEVE THAT WE'RE GONNA, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO KEEP THE PROJECTED TAX RATES LOWER. THE STATEMENT WHEN, WELL, THAT'S, THE EXPENSES HAVE KEPT INCREASING, INCREASING IN THE REVENUE, BECAUSE MAYBE IT HAS NOT. AND WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY TAX INCREASES. AND THEY'RE OUTPACING M REAL AMOUNTS. NO, I'M NOT, EACH YEAR, I'M, I'M SAYING THAT I BELIEVE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO, UM, BRING THE FUND BALANCE UP. AND I KNOW THAT, UH, THERE'S PROJECTIONS, THERE'S GONNA HAVE TO BE TAX HIKES. ALL I'M SAYING IS THAT I FAIL AT THE SAME TIME WE'RE INCREASING THE TAXES. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, MAKING ADJUSTMENTS TO THE TENTATIVE BUDGET, I FAIL THAT THE TOWN BOARD SHOULD SAY TO THE RESIDENTS, WE'RE LIKE, REALLY COMMITTED. WE'RE GONNA DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO RUN THE TIGHTEST, MOST EFFICIENT GOVERNMENT POSSIBLE. AND, UM, AND WE'RE GONNA INVOLVE CITIZENS WITH BUDGETARY EXPERTISE. AND THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY WHO COULD HELP US COME UP WITH, UH, CREATIVE IDEA THAT COULD POSSIBLY BRING COSTS DOWN. MAY I, IF I JUST, WHAT, WHAT'S TIME? I JUST WANTED, I'M NOT NECESSARILY ARGUING YOUR POINT. WE'LL, WE'LL GET TO THAT, BUT, BUT I THINK THAT IT'S IMPORTANT TO, TO LISTEN TO WHAT THE CONTROLLER JUST SAID. SO I WILL REITERATE, OUR EXPENSES ARE GOING UP. SO OUR EXPENSES IN COSTS FOR RAW MATERIALS, OUR EXPENSES IN COST FOR [01:05:01] INSURANCES ARE EXPENSES FOR COSTS. AND I COULD KEEP GOING. SO THOSE ARE GOING UP. SO TO KEEP THE FUND BA TO KEEP THE, THE, UM, THE MONIES, THE PAID OUT BY ALL OF US, BECAUSE WE ARE PAYING TAXES TOO, WITH ALL OF US AND OUR CONSTITUENTS. WE HAVE TO REFLECT THAT TO SOME DEGREE. AND THE WAY TO DO IT IS NOT BY, FOR INSTANCE, CUTTING IN HALF A BUDGET FOR, UM, FOR DRAINAGE. YOU CAN'T JUST ARTIFICIALLY CUT THE MONEY TO NOT PASS ON ACTUAL REAL COSTS AND REAL PROBLEMS THAT HAVE TO BE ADDRESSED AND THEREFORE NEED THE MONIES. WE, WE, WE CAN'T ARTIFICIALLY PASS THE GIVE, HAVE EVERYONE PAYING LOWER TAXES. EVERYONE WANTS TO PAY LOWER TAXES. WE ALSO HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND THE PROPORTION OF TAXES THAT PEOPLE ARE PAYING TO THE TOWN. WHAT IS IT, WHAT 18% OF THEIR TAXES ARE PAID TO FOR TOWN TAXES? LESS FOR THE VILLAGES, RIGHT. LESS. RIGHT. SO, SO IT'S THE, THE BULK OF THE TAXES THAT PEOPLE ARE PAYING ARE SCHOOL TAXES, WHICH WE HAVE NO CONTROL OVER. RIGHT? THAT'S, THAT'S A BUDGET THAT, THAT WE ALL, WE BEING ALL THE RESIDENTS OF THE TOWN VOTE ON. BUT FOR US, THAT PROPORTION OF TAXES IS ONLY RIGHT. IT'S SMALL, IT'S COMPARED TO, BUT, RIGHT, RIGHT. IT'S NOT THE A HUNDRED. SO THAT CLARITY IS IMPORTANT AND THE CLARITY THAT PRICES ARE GOING UP, AND WE HAVE TO REFLECT THAT SOMEHOW SO THAT WE DON'T AFFECT OUR FUND BALANCE. WHAT THAT FUND BALANCE IS, AS THE CONTROLLER HAS POINTED OUT, IT ENABLES US TO GET PAYING LOWER INTEREST RATES. SO AS ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF HAVING A, A FUND BALANCE THAT WORKS IN THAT, BECAUSE THE HIGHER INTEREST RATES ARE GONNA COST US MORE MONEY ULTIMATELY. SO, AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT UNRESTRICTED FUND BALANCE, NOT 'CAUSE OVERALL WE HAVE $160 MILLION IN FUND BALANCE, BUT TIED UP. SO, OKAY. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. SO WE HAVE TWO DIFFERENT SCENARIOS HERE THAT YOU PRESENTED. MM-HMM . YES. SOMEONE ASKED FOR SIX, AND I, SO DAVID 10, THE TOWN BOARD IS MEETING WITH, UM, OUR AUDITORS, UM, ON THURSDAY AT FOUR O'CLOCK. SO HONESTLY, I DIDN'T AGREE TO THAT. I CAN'T, I'M WORKING. I I CAN'T BE AT THAT, BUT I CAN'T BE THERE EITHER. UM, I, I THINK I CAN BE THERE. NO, I CAN BE THERE. I CAN'T BE THERE. I THOUGHT THEY ALREADY ANSWERED YOUR QUESTIONS. WELL, YOU KNOW, I FEEL THAT THE WHOLE BOARD NEEDS TO KNOW, YOU KNOW, I, I WANNA KNOW. I JUST CAN'T, I YEAH, WELL, WE'LL RECORD IT. OH, OKAY. AND, AND THEN WE, YOU COULD ANYBODY, UH, I THOUGHT WE DECIDED WE WERE GONNA WAIT TILL THE ARE YOU AUDIT PRESENTATION. OKAY. SO THEN YOU ALL RIGHT. BUT I CAN'T, BUT YOU'RE GOING TO BE THERE, JOE, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE'LL HAVE A I QUARTER. OKAY. BUT IT WAS PUBLICLY NOTICED. WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE BETTER TO HAVE IT AT A REGULAR WORK SESSION SO THAT EVERYBODY WOULD BE THERE. AND WE COULD DO THAT IF YOU WANT. I MEAN, IT REALLY DEPENDS. IF YOU, YOU HAVE TO DO IT THIS WEEK. I, I, I WOULD LIKE TO DO IT THIS WEEK, BUT I THINK THAT I WANNA DO IT BECAUSE I'M MEETING WITH THE FORENSIC AUDITORS, AND I WANT TO, UH, AND ALSO I'D LIKE TO DO IT BEFORE WE APPROVE THE BUDGET. THE QUESTION I HAVE, THE QUESTION I HAVE, WHICH I WANNA RE ASK THEM, IS YOU MENTIONED, HOW MUCH DO WE HAVE IN, UH, IN, UH, THE FUND BALANCE FOR, UH, IN THE B FUND? YOU SAID RESTRICTED, SO THE B FUND, IT IS, UH, UNDER MAJOR GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS, THERE'S, UM, I THINK IT'S OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, IT'S IN THIR AROUND 30 MILLION SOMETHING. BUT BECAUSE OF THE GS B REGULATIONS, YOU CAN'T LIST THAT AS UNRESTRICTED. BUT I WANTED TO MENTION THAT 20 MILLION OF THAT IS BUILDING PERMIT MONEY THAT WASN'T RESTRICTED. OKAY. BUT THE QUESTION I, THAT, THAT, SO YOU SAID IT'S 30, BUT THAT'S NOT UP TO THE AUDITORS TO RESTRICT THAT. THAT'S UP TO US TO RESTRICT THAT. NO, NO, BUT I'M SAYING COULD THE BOARD BY RESOLUTION. BUT, BUT YOU SAID, I'M SORRY. HOLD ON. PAUL, I JUST, JUST BEFORE YOU ADD, BEFORE, I JUST WANNA GET CLARIFICATION. WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY? THAT'S NOT UP TO THE AUDITORS TO RESTRICT IT. NO, NO, NO. BACK BEFORE THAT YOU SAID THE BUILDING PERMITS, I'M SORRY. THE BUILDING, THE BILLING PERMIT INCOME THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE RESTRICTED, IT WASN'T RESTRICTED, BUT IT'S SUPPOSED ISN'T BY LAW SUPPOSED TO BE RESTRICTED, AND THAT'S THE REASON WHY THEY'RE PAYING THOSE PARTICULAR FEES. IT IS, BUT I, THE PLAN IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WE DON'T WANNA SINK THAT FUND BALANCE IS THAT WE WOULD RE BECAUSE IT HADN'T BEEN RESTRICTED, IS WE WOULD [01:10:01] RESTRICT THAT OVER A PERIOD OF TIME OR AS NEEDED. SO, UM, I HAVE BEEN WITH THE BUILDING PERMIT FEES, COMMUNIC COMMUNICATING WITH THE BUILDING DEPARTMENT, AND OF, IF THE MONEY IS NEEDED, THEN A RESOLUTION WILL GO TO THE BOARD AND WE'LL RESTRICT THE FUNDS. BUT THE QUESTION I HAVE IS, YOU, YOU SAID IN THE, IN THE B BUDGET, UH, WE HAVE A, A TREMENDOUS FUND BALANCE. SO THEY'RE GONNA TELL YOU THAT WE HAVE $30 MILLION IN MAJOR GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS. THAT'S, THAT WE HAVE IN SAVINGS. THAT CAN'T BE SHOWN AS UNRESTRICTED. BUT WHAT I'M TELLING YOU IS THAT I BELIEVE THAT BECAUSE THE BUILDING PERMIT MONEY WAS NOT RESTRICTED, A SMALL PORTION OF IT WAS THAT, ACCORDING TO WHAT I LOOKED AT, 19 MILLION OF THAT BELONGS TO THE BUILDING DEPARTMENT. OKAY. BUT LET ME ASK A QUESTION. DOES THE BOARD HAVE THE ABILITY BY LOCAL LAW TO, UH, TO, UH, MAKE IT UNRESTRICTED? BECAUSE IT, BECAUSE THE PROBLEM IS YES. AND IF WE DID THAT, WOULD THAT ENABLE US TO, UH, AVOID SOME OF THE LARGER TAX HIKE? IT'S NOT RESTRICTED. NO, BUT I'M SAYING, I'M, I'M ASKING IT IS, IT IS ALLOWING US, BECAUSE WE APPROPRIATED IT IN THIS BUDGET. RIGHT. BUT I'M SAYING, BUT I'M, I'M SAYING A LARGE PORTION OF IT, I'M $10 MILLION. NO, BUT I'M SAYING IF WE HAVE AN AWFUL, IT'S, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT WE HAVE $30 MILLION THAT TAXPAYERS, YOU KNOW, SPENT. AND BASICALLY THAT MONEY ISN'T AN ACCOUNT AND WE'RE GONNA BE RAISING TAXES BECAUSE WE CAN'T USE FUND BALANCE. THAT, UM, THAT, I MEAN, 11.8 OF IT WE'RE USING IN THIS 2020 6%. NO, BUT I'M SAYING, I'M SAYING COULD, IF THE BOARD WANTS TO 11 8 MILLION, YES. IF WE, IF WE WANNA SAY WE DON'T WANNA DEAL WITH, UH, RESTRICTED OR UNRESTRICTED, AND WE WANNA HAVE THE LAST, WE DON'T HAVE A NO, BUT I'M SAYING, COULD, WOULD THE BOARD HAVE THE OPTION OF SAYING EVERYTHING'S UNRESTRICTED RIGHT NOW? YES. I MEAN, IT IS UNRESTRICTED. SO, OKAY, SO THEN, THEN THE BOARD THAT'S BRINGING DOWN THE RATES TO THIS THAT'S RIGHT. BRINGING DOWN THE NO, WELL, I UNDERSTAND IS THAT'S BRINGING DOWN THE RATES TO THIS. YES. WHAT DO YOU MEAN BRINGING DOWN THE RATES? BECAUSE TO THESE LARGE RATING, BECAUSE 11.8 OF THAT, AND WHAT'S EVER GONNA BE LEFT OVER SURPLUS, A DEFICIT OF 25, WHICH WE DON'T KNOW YET, IS GONNA BE THE NEW, UH, BALANCE IN NON, UH, MAJOR GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS. AND THEN THE PORTION OF THAT THAT WE'RE USING, THAT WE'RE PROPOSING TO USE IN 26 IS $11.8 MILLION. RIGHT. NO, NO, I'M NOT SAYING, I'M JUST SAYING WE ALSO DON'T KNOW WHERE WE'RE MANING IN 25. ALL I'M ASKING IS COULD WE HAVE MORE, IF THE BOARD WANTED TO HAVE MORE FLEXIBILITY RATHER THAN HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT RESTRICTED OR UNRESTRICTED, NOT THAT WE'RE GONNA DO THAT, BUT I'M SAYING IF WE WANTED TO GIVE THE FUTURE BOARDS THAT, UM, OPTION, WOULD THAT MAKE, WOULD THAT MAKE SENSE? BECAUSE I FEEL THESE RESTRICTIONS BASICALLY ARE HURTING, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, TAXPAYERS. BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD HAVE ANOTHER PANDEMIC LIKE YOU HAD WHEN THE TOWN WANTS TO USE, UM, FUND BALANCE, UM, YOU KNOW, TO KEEP THE TAXES, UH, MAYBE ARTIFICIALLY LOW AT SOME POINT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE HAVE TO RAISE THE FUND BALANCE, WHICH IS WHAT WE'RE DOING, YOU KNOW, THIS YEAR. BUT AGAIN, YOU KNOW, IT'S POSSIBLE, AND I'M NOT SAYING WE SHOULD DO IT, BUT IT'S POSSIBLE THAT WHEN YOU HAVE THESE LONG-TERM PROJECTIONS, IF EVERYTHING WAS UNRESTRICTED, THEN WE MIGHT HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE FLEXIBILITY AND, AND WE'LL GO ROOM. AND THAT'S WHY I SORT OF FAILED. BUT WE, WE ARE USING THAT MONEY AND WE CAN USE IT BECAUSE IT WAS NOT RESTRICTED TO THE BUILDING DEPARTMENT. I'M SAYING, BUT I'M SAYING I WANT TO GET RID OF THE BUILDING DEPARTMENT RESTRICTIONS. RIGHT. WELL, THAT, BUT WE'VE ALREADY, BUT LET'S, LET'S REMEMBER WHY IT SHOULD, SOME OF IT SHOULD BE AT LEAST NEEDS TO BE RESTRICTED. REGENERON CAME IN WITH ENORMOUS BUILDING PERMITS, YOU KNOW, 13, $16 MILLION. BUT ONCE THEY PAY THEIR BUILDING PERMITS AND THEY STOCK CONSTRUCTION, WE GET NO MORE MONEY IN SUBSEQUENT YEARS. BUT NOW ALL THE INSPECTIONS HAVE TO BE DONE. AND SO WE HIRE OUTSIDE FIRMS BECAUSE IT'S A SPECIALIZED RESEARCH FACILITY. SO WE PAY A LOT OF MONEY FOR PEOPLE TO DO THOSE INSPECTIONS. IF WE SPEND DOWN THAT MONEY BECAUSE, HEY, LET'S KEEP THE TAX RATE DOWN, WHICH IS ALWAYS A, A GOAL. THEN THE FOLLOWING YEAR, WHAT DO YOU DO FOR THE MONEY TO DO THE INSPECTIONS? NOW, DO YOU SHORT, UM, SHORTCHANGE THE, SO THAT YOU'RE, THAT'S A SAFETY ISSUE? WE CAN'T DO THAT. NO, BUT SO THE IDEA OF KEEPING, UH, IT'S LAUDABLE TO TRY AND KEEP A TAX RATES DOWN, BUT IT HAS TO BE DONE IN A RESPONSIBLE WAY SO THAT YOU ARE DEALING WITH YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE AT THE SAME TIME. YOU'RE NOT SELLING OUT THE FUTURE. SO THAT AT SOME POINT SOMEBODY SAYS, OKAY, REGENERON, YOU ARE NOW ABOUT TO ACTUALLY COME OUT OF THE GROUND ON ANOTHER [01:15:01] BUILDING, AND YES, WE GAVE YOU ALL THE MONEY, YOU KNOW, THREE YEARS AGO, WE EXPECT TO HAVE THE INSPECTIONS. AND THEN WE SAY, WELL, WE USED IT TO KEEP DOWN THE TAX RATE IN 2026. YEAH, BUT DIDN'T WE, LAST YEAR, I I, WE HAD THIS DISCUSSION ABOUT HAVING MONEY IN THE BANK AS IT WERE FOR THESE INSPECTIONS THAT WE HAD. WE WANTED TO BE VERY, WE HAD THIS DISCUSSION WE DID, AND, BUT WE ONLY HAD $2.5 MILLION. RIGHT. BECAUSE WE KNEW THAT WE WOULD HAVE THIS. AND, AND JUST FOR PEOPLE TO, TO UNDERSTAND THERE ALREADY WAS A PROBLEM. IF IT HADN'T BEEN, I THINK, WASN'T IT FRANK MODO WHO FOUND THAT THE A A CONTRACTOR WAS USING THE WRONG MIX FOR THE CONCRETE THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE INTRINSIC FOR THE SUPERSTRUCTURE OF THE GARAGE TRUCK WAS ABOUT TO POUR A FOUNDATION INTO THE WELLS THAT WERE FILLED WITH WATER FROM THE OVERNIGHT RAINFALL. SO THE MIX WASN'T INCORRECT. IT WOULD'VE BEEN INCORRECT IF THEY POURED IT INTO OKAY, THE FOUNDATION FOOTINGS. RIGHT. SO, SO, BUT THE, THE POINT OF IT IS THAT HAD THAT HAPPENED, THAT IN THAT BUILDING, THE WHATEVER CONSTRUCTION IT WAS THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SUPPORTED BY THAT CONCRETE WOULD'VE BEEN AT RISK, NOT THE MUCH, AND THAT WOULD'VE BEEN PEOPLE'S LIVES AT RISK. SO THIS IS WHY THESE INSPECTIONS ARE SO KEY, AND THE KNOWLEDGEABLE PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE TO PAY FOR ARE SO KEY AND MAKING SURE WE HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO PAY FOR THE RIGHT INSPECTORS. AND TO BE VERY CLEAR, ISN'T THAT WHAT THE BUILDING PERMIT IS FOR, TO COVER THAT? YEAH. TO BE VERY CLEAR, REGENERON THANKED FRANK MOTO FOR CATCHING WHAT HE CAUGHT, BECAUSE CONTRACTORS DO THEIR WORK, THE BUILDING IS UP, AND THEN IT'S THE PROPERTY OWNER REGENERON, WHO WAS GOING TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH CRACKS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, MAYBE 10 YEARS FROM NOW, OR 15 YEARS, BECAUSE IT WAS NOT THE RIGHT MIX. AND SO THEY WERE VERY FORTUNATE TO, UH, THEY, THEY WERE VERY, VERY GRATEFUL, GRATEFUL THAT, UM, THAT WAS CAUGHT. UH, AND HE IS DONE SIMILAR THINGS WITH COCA-COLA, UH, WHERE THEY PUT IN THE WRONG SIZE PIPES ON THE GROUND AND THEY HAD TO REPLACE THEM. RIGHT. WHAT ALL I WAS SAYING WITH THE RESTRICTION, I'M NOT SAYING WE SHOULDN'T SPEND ALLOCATE FUNDS, UH, FOR THE BUILDING INSPECTIONS BECAUSE WE HAVE TO DO THAT. WE DON'T HAVE A CHOICE OF THE, OF THAT. BUT ALL I'M SAYING IS, UM, UM, IF IT WAS UNRESTRICTED AND THE BOARD BASICALLY HAD THE FLEXIBILITY OF, UM, OF MAKING THESE DECISIONS EVERY YEAR, I FEEL THAT THE BOARD WOULD THEN, THEN OUR HANDS ARE NOT AS TIED AND WE WOULD HAVE MORE, UM, YOU KNOW, MORE, MORE FLEXIBILITY. AND I, I SHOULD MENTION, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE NEVER GONE OVER OUR, WE HAVE NEVER VIOLATED OUR OWN FUND BALANCE POLICY. SO THE THING IS, WE, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, THIS YEAR'S FUND BALANCE, UH, POLICY FUND USE OF FUND BALANCE IS STILL WITHIN OUR FUND BALANCE POLICY. WE MIGHT BE, UH, REDUCING THE FUND BALANCE AND USING A LOT OF FUND BALANCE, BUT WE'RE NOT VIOLATING WHAT THE BOARD APPROVED, UH, YOU KNOW, Y YOU KNOW, YEARS AGO. AND, UH, THAT MAYBE WE SHOULD REVISIT THAT. YEAH. OKAY. THAT POLICY, UH, THE COMP CONTROLLER ONE TO SAY SOMETHING, OR MAYBE IT WAS, I DON'T WANNA SEE THE SAME THING HAPPENED WITH THE BUILDING PERMIT MONEY THAT HAPPENED WITH THE COURTHOUSE MONEY. THAT'S ALL I WANT TO SAY. RIGHT. AND WE, WE, WE HAVE TO, WE REALLY HAVE TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT THAT, AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE CONCERNED. RIGHT, RIGHT. OKAY. OKAY, SO TAX RATES, SO NOTHING'S CHANGED IN THE B AGAIN, BECAUSE I CAN'T BUDGE THAT, BUT WE HAD, UM, A REQUEST AT SIX AND REQUEST AT 10. SO YOU COULD SEE THAT'S TWO SEPARATE SPREADSHEETS. YEAH, TWO SEPARATE SPREADSHEETS. SO YOU COULD JUST, OKAY. I'M SORRY. I'M SORRY, KIMBERLY, DID YOU SEND THAT TO ME? BECAUSE I SEE THE, I SEE THE SLIP SHEETS, BUT I DON'T SEE THAT. NO, WE HAD TROUBLE, UM, GETTING IT FORMATTED, FORMATTED BEFORE I CAME DOWN, SO IT WAS DONE LAST MINUTE. AND I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT. I COULD TAKE PHOTOS. UH, I'M NOT SURE. IT'S PRETTY SMALL PRINT THOUGH. YEAH, PROBABLY NOT TO EMAIL IT. IT'D BE, IT'D BE EASIER TO EMAIL IT THEN. I CAN, I CAN INCREASE THE FONT. LET ME, LET ME SEE IF I HAVE SOMEBODY UP THERE THAT CAN EMAIL IT TO YOU. YOU DID $1 EXCESS VALUE . I THINK WE ASKED HER FOR A THOUSAND THOUSAND . OH YEAH. A THOUSAND, I GUESS. I GUESS THAT'S WHAT IT WAS BEFORE MOVE THREE, UH, DECIMAL [01:20:01] POINTS. SORRY. YES. SORRY ABOUT THAT. THAT'S ALRIGHT. THAT'S ALRIGHT. . OOPS. HOW TO GET THEM OUT QUICK. SO, OKAY. WHICH ONE DO YOU WANNA LOOK AT FIRST? OR DO YOU WANNA LOOK AT THEM BOTH AT THE SAME TIME? SO THE FIRST ONE STARTS WITH 10. OKAY. SO YOU USE THOSE AS STARTING POINTS, ONE AT 10 AND ONE AT SIX. SO WHEN YOU SAY 10, WHAT LOOKING AT YES, 10%. LEMME JUST, LEMME GET 10%. WAIT FOR YOU. ONE SECOND, JENNA TO GET THAT. OKAY. IF YOU CAN JUST START TALKING. OKAY. I JUST WANT TO JUST KNOW I CAN FOLLOW, I JUST DIDN'T YEAH, JUST BE CLEAR WHAT YOU'RE TALKING. I CAN CATCH UP. OKAY. SO ONE SPREADSHEET STARTS WITH A 10% INCREASE FOR THIS YEAR. ONE SPREADSHEET STARTS WITH A 6% INCREASE FOR THIS YEAR, UM, AND THEN GOES, OKAY. YES. YEP. SO I JUST, UM, I'M JUST A LITTLE CONFUSED WHY WE, I THINK AS, AS GINA MENTIONED LAST NIGHT, MORE OF LIKE EQUALIZING IT A LITTLE BIT MORE. LIKE WHY WOULD WE GO FROM LIKE ON THE 6% ONE STARTING WITH SIX SIX AND THEN 6.43% AND THEN JUMP TO 10.41 BECAUSE IT HAS TO DO WITH THE ASSESSED VALUE, THOSE NUMBERS THAT WE GOT FROM ED AND THE TAX RATE. AND SO I CAN'T, THEY'RE ALL CONNECTED. OKAY. THE ASSESSED VALUE, THE TAX RATE AND THE APPROPRIATION. SO IF I DON'T INCREASE THE TAX AS THE APPROPRIATION'S GONNA GO UP, IF THE ASSESSMENT GOES UP, THE RATE'S GONNA GO DOWN, THEN I HAVE TO INCREASE THE APPROPRIATION. SO, SO THAT'S, THAT'S HOW IT FLOWING. ONE QUESTION BASED ON THE METRICS THAT ARE SENT IN THERE FOR THE EXPENDITURES THAT IT'S KEEPING PACE WITH. SO WHY WOULD WE HAVE SUCH A, A SMALL INCREASE FROM THIS YEAR TO, FROM 2026 TO 2027 WHEN WE'RE STARTING AT 6% AND JUST GOING TO 6.43. JUST CURIOUS WHY WE WOULD JUST DO THAT VERY SMALL INCREASE. UM, I WOULD HAVE TO LOOK AT THE DATABASE AT THE BOTTOM AND SEE WHAT CHANGED HERE IN THE REVENUE AND THE EXPENSES THAT'S DRIVING THAT. I MEAN, IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE COMPLEX THAN ME ANSWERING IT OFF THE CUFF, BUT I CAN CERTAINLY GET YOU AN ANSWER FOR THAT BECAUSE ARE, YOU'RE NOT BUILDING YOUR FUND BALANCE, I'M NOT BUILDING IT. RIGHT. YOU'RE JUST, YOU JUST, YOU JUST STAY STATUS QUO. OKAY. RIGHT. AND SUPPOSED TO, THE OTHER ONE BILLS THE FUND BALANCE BACK TO WHERE, RIGHT. FRANCIS, YOU TALK INTO THE MIC PLEASE. UH, SURE. SAY THAT AGAIN. YEAH. THE, THE 6% JUST STAYS AT STATUS QUO WITH THE, THE SCENARIO STORY WAS 6%, RIGHT? YEAH. STAYS AT STATUS QUO, WHEREAS THE 10%, OH, SORRY, GO AHEAD. WELL, TELL ME IF I'M WRONG, . NO, BUT I, I HAVEN'T ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION. OKAY. OKAY. UH, BILLS THE FUND BALANCE BACK TO WHERE, UM, WE HAVE SOME KIND OF A RESERVE. OKAY. SO GO TO THE TOP LINE. YOU SEE WHERE IT SAYS ESTIMATED ASSESS ROLL. SO THE ASSESSMENT ROLL WENT UP, THIS IS INFORMATION AND THESE ARE ESTIMATES. ED WAS NOT COMFORTABLE WITH THESE. OKAY. BUT, UM, SO THAT DRIVES THE TAX RATE DOWN. THAT'S WHY I SEE, I SEE. OKAY. WELL THAT WOULD MAKE, IT'S SO CONFUSING. YEAH. TRYING TO FIGURE THIS OUT FOR YEARS. YEAH. OKAY. SORRY, I DIDN'T MEAN TO, AND THEN IT'S EQUALIZED, RIGHT? YES. BY THE STATE. SO YES, ALL THIS IS BEST VERY TROUBLING. AND THEN THE OTHER IS THE, UH, THE 10. SO, BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE IT IN FRONT OF ME. SO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THERE'S A SHEET THAT HAS 6%, IS THE 10% IS THE SCENARIO STARTING OFF FOR 6% AND THEN IT'S ELEVATING AND THEN INCREASING RATHER. AND THEN YOU HAVE A 10%, IT STARTED WITH 10% AND THEN IT'S INCREASING THAT WAY. SO I'LL, I'LL JUST READ IT OUT TO YOU. SO, YOU KNOW, SO THE ONE THAT STARTS WITH 6% GOES 6% THIS YEAR, THEN 6.43%, THEN 10.4 4, 1 2 7, THEN 10.4, UH, FOUR 1%, THEN 9.98%, THEN 9.53% AND THEN ENDING IN 20 31, 9 0.27%. THE OTHER SCENARIO STARTS AT 10%. AND THEN NEXT YEAR IS 6.46%. SO IT GOES DOWN AND THEN BACK UP TO 10.41 AND THEN 9.99, 9.9, 9.53, 9.30. DO YOU WANT ME TO SCAN IT THERE? YEAH, I, I MESSAGED, BUT I'M NOT SURE IF ANYBODY'S UP THERE. I'M, I'M SO SORRY. IT'S JUST [01:25:01] THANKS. SO, SO, SO IS THERE, IS THERE, IS THAT THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN EQUALIZE THAT OUT, KIMBERLY? SO WE NOT HAVING, SO IT'S, I I REALLY CAN'T EQUALIZE IT OUT BECAUSE THERE'S SO MANY MOVING PARTS TO IT. LIKE I SAID, THERE COULD BE A YEAR WHERE THE ASSESSMENT VALUE GOES UP OR THERE COULD BE A YEAR WHERE IT STAYS THE SAME GOES UP AGAIN AND THAT'S GONNA DRIVE THE RATE AND THEN THAT'S GONNA DRIVE THE PROPERTY TAX, UH, THE PROPERTY TAX. AND THEN THAT'S ALSO GONNA DRIVE WHAT THE APPROPRIATION IS. THEN THERE'S ALSO FACTORING IN, UM, THOSE METRICS THAT INVOLVE THE INCREASES IN EXPENSES. YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT ARE WE FORECASTING? THERE IS THE CHANGES IN CONTRACTUAL EXPENSES, THE INCREASES IN, UM, NON-MANDATED EMPLOYEE FRINGE BENEFITS, THE INCREASES IN MANDATED FRINGE BENEFITS WHERE WE HAVE TO PAY EMPLOYER PORTIONS, UM, CHANGES IN CONTRACTUAL SALARIES, CHANGES IN CONTRACTUAL OUTSIDE VENDORS. SO ALL OF THOSE FACTORS ARE GOING TO PLAY A ROLE IN WHERE WE'RE GONNA LAND WITH THESE RATES FROM YEAR TO YEAR. IT'S NOT AS SIMPLE AS ME JUST, YOU KNOW, ARBITRARILY RIGHT. GIVING YOU A BASIC ANSWER. SO YEAH, I, I, 'CAUSE I THINK WHAT GINA WANTED TO SEE, WHICH I THOUGHT WE WERE GONNA SEE, WAS SORT OF MORE INCREMENTAL, NOT JUST LIKE, WHAT DO YOU, WELL INCREMENTAL, I CAN'T DO THAT BECAUSE I SAID THAT'S YEAH. THE ASSESSMENT'S DRIVING UP FROM THAT. I KNOW, BUT THAT'S WHAT, THE MATH'S NOT THERE FOR THAT. RIGHT? WHAT YOU'S SAYING IS TO GET THEM AS EQUAL AS POSSIBLE, YOU HAVE TO START WITH A HIGH NUMBER. YES. ACCORDING TO OR ACCORDING TO YOUR SPREADSHEET, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A 6% INCREASE AND A 12%, A 10% INCREASE ON SOMEBODY WHO HAS A HOME WORTH $750,000 IS $12. THAT'S RIGHT. CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT AGAIN? I'M SORRY. I'M SORRY FRANCIS. I DIDN'T HEAR YOU. 'CAUSE THERE WERE OTHER CONVERSATIONS GOING. WOULD YOU SAY, SO ACCORDING TO THE, TO THE PROJECTION HERE, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A 6% RATE AND A 10% RATE IS $12. YEAH. FOR SOMEBODY WHO HAS A $750,000 HOME. SO THAT'S RIGHT. THE PERCENTAGE SEEMS HIGH, BUT IT'S NOT A LOT OF DOLLARS AT ALL. NO, IT'S NOT. YEAH. WHICH IS A GOOD THING. SO UN UNDERSTAND. SO UNDERSTANDING THAT, AND THAT IS A GOOD THING. UM, DID AND WAS ANYONE, SHOULDN'T ED BE AT THIS CON OR THE ASSESSOR SHOULD BE AT THIS, THIS, UM, THIS DISCUSSION. SO, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE REMEMBER I MENTIONED ABOUT HAVING RANGES. SO WE COULD JUST GIVE SOMEONE, GIVE A PERSON AN IDEA AND THEN YOU GUYS CAME BACK TO ME. SO THEY CAN GIVE THE MATH, WE CAN DO THE MATH AND THEY CAN DO IT THEMSELVES, BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT RESIDENTS UNDERSTAND WHAT EXACTLY THE IMPACT OR NOT EXACTLY GET AN IDEA RATHER OF WHAT THE IMPACT IS GOING TO BE BASED ON WHERE THEIR HOUSE IS ASSESSED AT. SO IS THERE SOMETHING THAT MAY, IS THERE SOMETHING THAT WE CAN PUT ON, THAT WE CAN PUT ONLINE SO THEY CAN DO THAT, UM, HYPOTHETICAL CALCULATION JUST TO GET AN IDEA CAN GIVE LIKE THREE DIFFERENT, SO WE CAN AS MUCH ADVISE AS POSSIBLE WOULDN'T ON PUTTING A PROJECTION OUT THERE OF WHAT IT WOULD BE, BUT MAYBE ONCE WE FINALIZE, WE CAN PUT A TABLE IN THERE, THERE IS A TABLE AVAILABLE WHERE THEY COULD PUT IN THEIR ASSESS VALUE AND CALCULATE THEIR TAX. I KNOW SOME MUNICIPALITIES HAVE THAT, BUT I DON'T, I DON'T THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA TO, UM, PUT PROJECTIONS ON WHERE THEIR TAXES ARE GOING OUT THERE. I DON'T, I DON'T, I DON'T THINK SHE MEANS NECESSARILY PROJECTIONS. I THINK SHE JUST MEANS DIFFERENT EXAMPLES OF DIFFERENT HOUSE, UH, PROPERTY, UH, LEVELS. YEAH. SO, SO THERE'S, THERE IS A PROGRAM THAT YOU CAN PUT ON OUR WEBSITE WHERE THEY CAN TYPE IN, BUT I THINK GINA'S JUST ASKING FOR US TO JUST USE AN EXAMPLE OF A 350,000, RIGHT? SO THEY CAN PUT THEIR VALUE OF THEIR HOUSE IN. WHAT ARE YOU SAYING AND CALCULATE OUT? ARE YOU SAYING WHAT THEIR TAX WOULD BE? I GUESS THE, WHAT YOU MADE THE CALCULATIONS BASED AND, AND YOU APPLIED IT TO A HOUSE AT $750,000. YES. SO I THINK IT'S MORE LIKE, OKAY, TAKE THOSE SAME CALCULATIONS AND APPLY IT TO A HOUSE THAT'S $400,000 OR A PAY A HOUSE THAT'S 1,000,002. IT JUST USING THE, WOULD YOUR CALCULATIONS THEREFORE STILL APPLY DOING IT IN THAT WAY? OR AM I OFF BASE? YEAH, WE COULD DO THAT. I JUST WOULDN'T SEE THE, THE PURPOSE. UM, BECAUSE, WELL WE, AT THE END OF THE DAY, MY CONCERN IS A FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY TO THESE TAXPAYERS AND THAT MEANS THAT I HAVE TO INCREASE THESE TAXES, PROTECT THIS FUND BALANCE. AND, UM, SO LETTING THEM PUT HOW THE, YOU KNOW, ASSESS VALUES IN AND CALCULATING OUT [01:30:01] THEIR TAXES. I, I DON'T SEE WHERE THAT IS USEFUL. WHAT, WHAT I'M SAYING IS SO, SO, SO SAY LIKE, SO SAY, SAY FOR AN EXAMPLE, IF SOMEONE GETS A NEW JOB AND THEY WANTED TO FIGURE OUT HOW MUCH THEIR ANNUAL SALARY, HOW MUCH THEY'RE GOING TO BRING HOME, A DP HAS A, HAS A CALCULATOR WHERE THEY CAN PUT IN, IT'S BUILT IN BEHIND WHERE YOU CAN CALCULATE HOW MUCH YOUR ESTIMATED CHECK WILL BE. CAN WE DO THAT IN THE SAME VEIN FOR RESIDENTS TO SAY, OKAY, IF YOUR HOUSE IS, IS ASSESSED AT 4 25, THIS IS, THIS IS POTENTIALLY, OR THIS, WHAT COULD BE WHAT YOUR TAX INCREASE AMOUNT WOULD BE, MONTHLY, QUARTERLY, YEARLY, WHATEVER. THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY. SO THEY CAN HAVE AN GUESSTIMATE OF WHAT IT COULD BE. AND I'M JUST SAYING AFTER, YOU KNOW, WE JUST, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THEY HAVE, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE RESIDENTS HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION SO THEY CAN PLAN FOR IT. I GUESS THE ASSESSOR COULD PUT SOMETHING ON HER PAGE, BUT I DON'T SEE ASSESSOR FINANCE WAS TALKING ABOUT AND I REALLY WASN'T REFERRING TO YOU. WELL, SHE'S NOT GONNA PUT TAXES ON HER PAGE. I WAS REFERRING TO, I CAN ASSURE YOU, I'M SORRY. THE ASSESSOR'S NOT GOING TO PUT TAXES ON HER PAGE. SHE'S ASSESS. NO, BUT BUT SHES NEED, YOU KNOW, THEY WOULD HAVE TO, WELL SHE'S ASSESS VALUE EXPLAINING HOW I THINK THAT IF PAGE, IF WE HAVE THE RATE PER THOUSAND OF ASSESSED VALUE, RIGHT? SO IF YOU HAVE A, UH, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT DOING A RANGE. 'CAUSE IF YOU DO A RANGE BETWEEN 300 AND $400,000 AND WE GIVE A RANGE FOR THAT AND YOUR 300,000, YOU'RE GONNA SAY, WOW, THAT'S WAY TOO HIGH. RIGHT? SO THAT'S ABOUT HOW SMALL OF A RANGE DO YOU GET? WELL, THE RANGE COULD BE A THOUSAND DOLLARS INCREMENTS, WHICH, UH, OF ASSESS VALUE, WHICH IS WHAT WOULD BE HELPFUL. UH, KIMBERLY GAVE US PER DOLLAR , SO, SO I THINK WE JUST WANT TO, YOU KNOW, MULTIPLY THAT BY A THOUSAND. YES, THAT'S RIGHT. JUST MULTIPLY. AND I THINK, I THINK THE FACT THAT WE ARE AT FULL ASSESSMENT AND THEY COULD LOOK AT THEIR TAX BILL AND SEE WHAT DO WE THINK THEIR HOUSE IS WORTH, THEIR ASSESSED VALUE, THEY COULD TAKE THAT NUMBER AND JUST MULTIPLY IT AND MULTIPLY IT BY THAT NUMBER. GINA, YOU SHOULD HAVE THOSE. AND THAT'S, AND THAT'S WHY, AND THAT'S WHY I BACKED OFF THE RANGE AND THAT'S WHY I USED THE EXAMPLE OF A DP. SO IF YOU'RE SAYING THAT I'M GOING TO MAKE $55,000 A YEAR KNOWING WHAT MY NEW YORK STATE TAXES IS GOING TO BE AND ON WHATEVER LOCAL TAXES IS APPLICABLE FOR THAT AS WELL, I CAN GET A GUESSTIMATE OF WHAT MY NET PAY TO TAKE HOME. SO IF WE HAVE ON OUR BOTTOM OF MY TAX BILL AND SAY, OKAY, THE ASSESSMENT OF MY HOME IS GOING TO BE $425,000, WHATEVER THAT RATE IS NOT CALCULATION, THIS IS WHAT IT'S GOING TO BE FOR THE NEXT YEAR. AT LEAST I HAVE SOME IDEA. SO IF WE, YOU KNOW, I I, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE AGAIN, I'M, I'M GONNA KEEP STRESSING THIS. I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO GIVE RESIDENTS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT POSSIBLY WHAT THEY CAN BE, AT LEAST IN THE RANGE NOW WHEN I'M REFERRING TO A RANGE IS THAT IT COULD BE OFF BECAUSE OF, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE TAX RATE OR WHATEVER, BUT AT LEAST THEY HAVE AN ESTIMATE OF WHAT IT COULD POSSIBLY BE BECAUSE WE WANT PEOPLE TO TRY TO PLAN FOR THAT. THAT'S EXACTLY, YEAH, I THINK THAT'S A GOOD IDEA. HAVE BE, BUT THAT'S IT. GINA, PUT IT OUT THERE. TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR EMAILS THAT HAVE IT. I HAVE IT. I HAVE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. YEAH, I, I SUGGEST PUTTING IT OUT THERE AS WELL, BUT YOU CAN'T PUT IT ON THE ACTUAL TAX BILL ITSELF. WE WOULD HAVE ISSUES WITH THAT, BUT YOU COULD PUT IT IN OTHER STATEMENTS, POST IT ONLINE, MAKE A LINK TO THE ASSESSMENT ROLE, ALL DIFFERENT VARIOUS WAYS TO GET THAT INFORMATION OUT THERE. RIGHT. BUT I THINK WE JUST WANNA, WE JUST WANNA ARM RESIDENTS WITH AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE SO THEY CAN PREPARE. THAT'S IT. BUT I REALLY THINK THAT YOUR POINT ACTUALLY MAKES A LOT OF SENSE BECAUSE PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE, THEY LOOK AT THE PERCENTAGES, EVERYBODY'S GONNA BE REALLY UPSET IF YOU LOOK AT THE DOLLAR AMOUNTS, THEY'LL REALIZE, OH, YOU KNOW WHAT, IT'S, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, AND THEY ALSO ANALYZE, THAT'S WHY FRANCIS SAID YOU JUST YEAH, THE AMOUNT, 3000 I, I MENTIONED THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 6% AND, AND UH, THAT'S $12. YEAH. YES, IT'S $12, BUT THERE'S ALSO A BASE, RIGHT? SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, UH, $346 WOULD BE THE, WOULD BE THE ACTUAL MM-HMM . YES. $346. YES. RIGHT? MM-HMM . ON THE HOUSE FOR 750,000. OKAY. SO, BUT WE HAVE TO DECIDE WHAT, WE DON'T WANNA TRIVIALIZE ANY OF THESE NUMBERS BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE JUST OF COURSE, HAVE TROUBLE DOING THAT. YEAH. UM, BUT WE HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION ABOUT WHICH WAY WE WANNA YES. GO. RIGHT. WELL, UNFORTUNATELY, YOU KNOW, STARTING WITH THE LOW NUMBER DOES NOT BUILD BACK OUR FUND BALANCE. IT'S JUST COVERING EXPENSES AT THE MOMENT. WE PROJECT THEM TO BE. SO AT NO POINT WOULD WE BE CO WOULD WE BE BUILDING BACK THE PHONE BALANCE IF WE STARTED 6% NOW? NO, WE'RE, NO, WE'D STILL BE USING ALMOST THE SAME AMOUNT AT THE END. SO YEAH, IT WOULD BE LIKE A SO WHAT THIS YEAR IS CRUCIAL. IT SEEMS LIKE THIS, [01:35:01] THIS PARTICULAR YES, THIS IS, YES. OKAY. UNDERSTOOD. WELL THAT'S A, WELL, THE YEAR PRIOR WAS A CRUCIAL NO, I, I KNOW, BUT I'M SAYING LIKE, THIS YEAR'S MORE IMPORTANT THAN NEXT YEAR BASED ON THESE CALCULATIONS. ALRIGHT, SO WHAT IS YOUR RECOMMENDATION, MADAM CONTROLLER? THE 10. 10. OKAY, I JUST WANTED TO HEAR IT. OKAY. NO CHANGE IN THE B. OKAY, SO THEN, SO THEN IF WE DO THE TEND THEN WE ARE GONNA WORK WITH THE COMP CONTROL. I MEAN, WE'RE GONNA WORK WITH THE COMPTROLLER AND THE, UM, ASSESSOR. ASSESSOR. WE WORK TOGETHER TO, TO BUILD SOME SORT OF, YOU KNOW, CALCULATION SO RESIDENTS CAN FIGURE WHAT THAT'S THE INCREASE IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE. GOT IT. WE, WE, I I I JUST FEEL LIKE THAT'S OUTSIDE OF THE SCOPE OF WHAT I WOULD DO HERE WITH THE BUDGET, BUT I SAY THAT ONE MORE TIME. NOT FOR THE BUDGET BOOK. OKAY. NO, NOT FOR THE . DON'T THINK IT WOULD BE OUTSIDE OF THE SCOPE OF WHAT I WOULD BE DOING HERE IN OTHER, IN OTHER, AS, AS JOE SAID, OTHER WELL, INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY, NOT TO BE RELIED UPON. PLEASE DO YOUR OWN CALCULATION, BUT TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY, CALCULATING OUT FUTURE INCREASES PER YEAR SO HOMEOWNERS CAN PLAN AHEAD AND NOT BE SURPRISED WHEN THEY RECEIVE. NO, AND THAT'S NO GUARANTEE. OH NO, I'M NOT GONNA DO PROJECTION AHEAD. I'LL JUST DO THE CURRENT YEAR. I, I CAN'T DO THAT BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE YOU DON'T CONTROL ASSESSMENTS. NO, I DON'T. BUT WHAT WE CAN DO, THANK YOU. WHAT WE CAN DO IS SAY THAT EACH YEAR WE WILL PROVIDE FOR THAT YEAR, ONCE WE HAVE THE INFORMATION FOR THAT PARTICULAR YEAR. I MEAN, WE CAN, AND YOU COULD ALSO PROVIDE IT BASED ON CURRENT ASSESSMENT AND SAY DISCLAIMER. YEAH. TYPICALLY THEY'VE BEEN INCREASING, WHO KNOWS WHEN THE MARKET'S FINALLY GOING TO SHIFT BACK DOWNWARDS, BUT DO IT ON THE CURRENT VALUE AT THAT TIME. I MEAN, WE, WE COULD PUT A CHART UP FOR 2026 AND DO VARIOUS, UM, ASSESSED VALUES AND CALCULATE OUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE TAX WOULD BE. SO WE CAN DO THAT. OR, OR I, I, AGAIN, I, I SAID I DIDN'T WANNA BE THERE, OR IF YOU JUST WRITE OUT WHAT THE CALCULATION IS, SO THEN THEY CAN STEP BY STEP OF HOW TO DETERMINE, MAYBE WE CAN JUST, HERE'S AN HERE THAT'S PROBABLY GONNA OPEN UP A LOT OF, UH, INQUIRIES AND PHONE CALLS THAT NO, NO, BECAUSE THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT FRANCIS SAID. GIVE THEM THE CALCULATION. OKAY. CALCULATION IS HOW MUCH PER ONE, PER 1000. WELL, IT'S NOT THE CALCULATION. I, I WAS TRYING TO, I I, I, WE WE'RE ALL SAYING THE SAME. I THINK, I MEAN, THAT'S FRANCIS, WE'RE ALL SAYING THE SAME THING. I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE HOWEVER WE DO IT, THAT IT'S, IT'S EASY. IT'S EASY AND FRIENDLY ENOUGH SO PEOPLE CAN TRY TO FIGURE THAT OUT. AND WE PUT ALL THE DISCLAIMERS AND LET THEM UNDER AND LET RESIDENTS UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS AN ESTIMATE. WE DON'T HAVE TO, WE DON'T HAVE, THIS IS HOW, THIS IS HOW WE WOULD CALCULATE IT SO THEY WOULD UNDERSTAND. RIGHT. AND WE DON'T HAVE TO COME UP WITH THAT LANGUAGE THIS INSTANT. THE ATTORNEY CAN COME UP WITH THE LANGUAGE. NO, NO, I, RIGHT. NO, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE SOMETHING, I DON'T KNOW WHERE WE NEED TO PUT ON OUR WEBSITE WHERE RESIDENTS CAN FIND IT SO THEY CAN DO THAT. BECAUSE THIS IS, YOU KNOW, A STRONG INCREASE. WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE. SO WE ALREADY HAVE SOMETHING UP ABOUT HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR TAXES, I BELIEVE, OR SOMETHING. WELL, THERE IS A VIDEO, LET'S JUST MAKE SURE IT'S STRONG AND IT'S, AND PEOPLE CAN UNDERSTAND IT AND IT'S USER FRIENDLY, NOT, YOU KNOW, WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE PEOPLE CAN UTILIZE IT'S, WE'LL TAKE A LOOK AT IT AND WE'LL COME UP WITH SOMETHING THAT MAKES IT, WE HAVE YOUR TAX, THE ACTUAL TAX BILL UP ON THE WEBSITE. YES. THAT'S UP THERE. YEAH. SO LET'S JUST FIGURE THAT. I JUST, IT'S ABOUT MAKING SURE EVERYONE HAS THE INFORMATION SO THEY CAN PREPARE. SO LET ME ASK FOR THE AVERAGE PERSON AGAIN, IN THE A BUDGET THEY'RE GONNA BE PAYING NEXT YEAR, 346, UH, DOLLARS AND 63 CENTS. WHAT WERE THEY PAYING IN 2025? UH, I DON'T HAVE THAT IN FRONT OF ME. OKAY. BECAUSE THAT I THINK IS, I THINK THAT'S IN YOUR BUDGET MESSAGE. NO, BUT I'M SAYING IF WE COULD SAY WE PAID TWO IN 2025, YOU PAID 300, UM, $30 AND 2026 YOU PAID. RIGHT? SO YOU WANNA SEE THE INCREASE FROM THIS PAST YEAR THAT CLOSE TO THE NEXT YEAR. YEAH. YOU KNOW, SO THIS WAY WE COULD SAY, UH, THE TAXES FOR SOMEBODY WITH A $750,000 HOME IS GOING UP, UH, $8 OR $12 OR WHATEVER. AND WE COULD, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW PEOPLE ARE GONNA, WELL, IT'S GONNA BE MUCH, IT'S GONNA BE MORE THAN THAT THOUGH, RIGHT? WHAT? WELL, NO, THAT'S WHAT I'M JUST SAYING. I WANT TO KNOW, RIGHT. KNOW THE NUMBER BECAUSE THIS IS 6% MORE THAN, OBVIOUSLY IT'S 6% MORE OF WHAT? FIGURE OUT WHAT IT'S, IT'S IN YOUR BUDGET MESSAGE. SO, SO IN 2025, IT WAS, UH, LEMME SEE. PAY IN 2027 TO 25, 3 24 57 AND 26 VERSUS 3 15, 12 [01:40:01] AND 2025. SO FROM 3 24 TO 3 46, WELL, NO, IT WAS 3 15, 12 IN 2025 BECAUSE THE ORIGINAL OH 3 15 12 BUDGET HAD A 3% INCREASE. SO IT WAS, UH, SO THREE 15 TO THREE 40 MM-HMM. 3%, $30. THAT'S PROBABLY GONNA BE THE BIGGEST JUMP. YEP. SO 3 15, 12, RIGHT. 'CAUSE IT'LL BE LESS NEXT YEAR. YEP. OKAY. OKAY. OH, ARE WE GOOD? UM, WELL, I DO WANT TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE UNSPEAKABLE, UH, THE BUDGET AT 10%. THAT'S GENERAL FUND. SO WE'RE RELYING ON ABOUT $11 MILLION IN THE B FUND. UH, YES. RIGHT? YES. $11.8 MILLION. BUT DID THE B FUND, AT LEAST AS WE GO ALONG, UH, IT'S STILL NOT GREAT, BUT IN IT'S BETTER. 2031, WE'D STILL BE DRAWING $4 MILLION FOR FUND FUND FROM FUND BALANCE. YES. WELL, UNLESS NEXT YEAR WE, HEY, KIMBERLY, CHANGE THIS. YOU STOP HOLDING THE MIC. SORRY. WE'RE GETTING YOUR, OH, SORRY. ISN, I GOTTA LEAN, SHAME ON YOU. . IT'LL DROP FROM 11,000 DOWN TO 4,000. YOU CAN ACTUALLY TURN IT 11 MILLION DOWN A LITTLE BIT, YOU KNOW, JUST TWIST IT DOWN. SO IT'S ACTUALLY NOW YOU DON'T HAVE TO TOUCH IT. OH, IT KEEPS GOING BACK UP. THAT'S, YEAH. OKAY. UM, CHANGED OUT. SO I GUESS THE QUESTION FOR US IS WHAT IS THE ACCEPTABLE USE OF FUND BALANCE? IS, IS THE NUMBER ZERO? OR IS IT, WELL, THIS IS THE FIRST PLACE I'VE WORKED IN 30 YEARS USING FUND BALANCE, USING FUND BALANCE TOWARDS, UH, APPROPRIATIONS IN THE BUDGET. THAT'S ALL I'LL SAY. NO, IT'S NOT GOOD PRACTICE. IT'S, NO, IT'S NOT. NO. I THINK WE ALL REALIZE THAT NOW. BUT THERE'S ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF, UH, WE ARTIFICIALLY KEEPING THIS NUMBER 2.86 LOW BY, BY PULLING ON FUND BALANCE. I THOUGHT WE CAN'T EXCESSIVELY, I CAN'T BECAUSE OF, BECAUSE OF THE MONEY THAT'S SITTING THERE IN THE MAJOR GOVERNMENT, OTHER MAJOR GOVERNMENTAL FUNDS, I CAN'T, UM, CHANGE THE RATE BECAUSE WE'RE AT THE UPPER LIMIT. THE UPPER LIMIT, YES. . OKAY. BUT THAT DOES MEAN THOUGH, IS IN 20 28, 9, 29, 30, AND 31, WE'RE IN 8% RANGES. YEP. YEAH. MM-HMM . UNLESS WE MAKE CUTS, I MEAN, WELL, WE HAVE TO HAVE A, A BETTER WAY OF WORKING AND NOT EVERYTHING THAT IS NICE TO HAVE, UM, CAN BE APPROVED. WELL, YOU KNOW, I ALSO WANTED TO BRING UP, UH, THE, UH, THE HEALTHCARE BUYOUTS BY PUTTING UP A CAP FOR EVERYBODY. I KNOW THAT IT'S, YOU MENTIONED THAT IT'S WELL CONTRACTUAL, BUT I'M WONDERING IF WE COULD, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVE SOME SORT OF DISCUSSION, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH THE UNIONS AND, UM, AND IF THE BOARD, I MEAN, WE'RE THE ONLY COMMUNITY THAT'S GIVING ALL THE EMPLOYEES TO TAKE THE BUYOUT 20, LIKE $20,000 AND YOU, IN A YEAR OR TWO, IT'S GONNA BE ANOTHER $2,000 MORE. IT'S AN INDIRECT SALARY INCREASE. AND I JUST FEEL WE SHOULD PUT A CALF, AND I'M JUST SORT OF WONDERING IF THE BOARD WOULD BE AMENABLE TO AT LEAST HAVING A DISCUSSION AND, UM, OR EVEN IF WE, UM, LEAVE OUR CURRENT EMPLOYEES, YOU KNOW, WHERE THEY ARE, BUT I'M FOR NEW EMPLOYEES OR WHATEVER, IF WE GRADUALLY DO WHAT, YOU KNOW, PUT IT MORE IN LINE WITH WHAT EVERY OTHER COMMUNITY IN, UM, IN WESTCHESTER AND PROBABLY THE STATE IS DOING, I THINK THAT'S WORTH WORTH A DISCUSSION. YES, I AGREE. I AGREE. SO WHEN COULD WE, UH, HAVE A DISCUSSION ON THAT? WELL, WE'D HAVE TO CONTACT THE UNIONS AND HAVE THAT DISCUSSION. YOU'D ALSO HAVE TO AMEND THE EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK AS WELL, WHICH WE'RE WORKING ON. YES. MM-HMM . [01:45:01] YEAH. THAT'S, THAT'S A GOAL FOR NEXT YEAR. RIGHT. OKAY. OH, ALL, ALL RIGHT. SHALL WE KNOW WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT ? YOU'RE GONNA LOVE THIS ONE. ARE WE READY TO MOVE ON? HANG ON ONE SECOND. OKAY, MOVE ON. ON THE, UM, HOLD ON. COUNCILWOMAN HAS SOMETHING ON THE, UM, AGENDA WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT. UM, EVERYONE'S FAVORITE SUBJECT, A DU BECAUSE GARRETT GAVE US SOME MORE INFORMATION. WE DON'T HAVE TO TALK ABOUT IT NOW. I'M JUST SAYING WE DI WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT IT. YOU WOULD ASK FOR SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. RIGHT. BUT HE SAID HE REALLY DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO DO IT AND HE, HE GAVE US SOME, HE GAVE US SOME, WHICH MM-HMM . YOU KNOW, I DON'T THINK IT'S ENOUGH TO MAKE A DECISION CONCERNING RIGHT. AT THIS POINT HERE TOMORROW. WELL, YEAH. BUT IT'S, IT'S A LOT OF MM-HMM . IT'S NOT, NOT ENOUGH TIME TO ABSORB ANYTHING. RIGHT. RIGHT. SO WE'RE NOT GONNA VOTE ON IT TOMORROW. RIGHT. I DON'T THINK WE CAN ON A NIGHT OF A PUBLIC HEARING. NO, I'M JUST ASKING. WELL, WELL, WHETHER WE WILL CLOSE THE HEARING OR NOT, I GUESS. RIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT. OKAY. THIS HAS BEEN FUN. YEAH. . AND WE STILL, AND WE STILL HAVE A, A FULL AGENDA, EXECUTIVE SESSION, MOTION FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR PURPOSES OF DISCUSSING PERSONNEL MATTERS INVOLVING SPECIFIC INDIVIDUALS AND TO SEEK LEGAL ADVICE IN VARIOUS MATTERS. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. AYE. WE WILL BE COMING BACK TONIGHT, BUT WE WILL BE TOMORROW NIGHT. YEAH. WE JUST CAME BACK THE ONE TIME TONIGHT. THIS IS IT, . THAT'S RIGHT. RECORDING. STOPPED. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.