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UH, GOOD MORNING EVERYONE.[County Council Budget Work Session]
OUR REAL THIRD, UH, BUDGET WORK SESSION TODAY.BUT IF I MAY, I WOULD LIKE TO OPEN IT UP WITH SOME CONDOLENCES FOR THE DOZA FAMILY AND THE ABINGTON FIRE DEPARTMENT OF THE PASSING OF, UH, MS. LINDA DOZA.
UH, IT'S A GREAT, UH, FAMILY THAT HAS BEEN DEDICATED TO HARFORD COUNTY FOR MANY, MANY YEARS, AS LONG AS THE ENTIRE ABITA FIRE COMPANY.
SO, UH, PLEASE ACCEPT OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS.
AND WITH THAT, UM, MS. HASLER.
WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR US HAVING THIS OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT OUR BUDGET.
AS YOU KNOW, I CAN TALK ABOUT THE LIBRARY FOR HOURS, BUT I WILL NOT BECAUSE YOU HAVE A REALLY LONG DAY AHEAD OF YOURSELF.
BUT FIRST, LET ME INTRODUCE A FEW FOLKS I HAVE WITH US, CHARLES ROSS CHARLES, HE'S OUR HEAD OF, UH, HR.
WE ALSO HAVE, UH, DARIA PERRY, OUR COO, WE HAVE WITH US AMBER SHREDS, HER FIRST DAY BACK WITH US DIRECTOR OF PHILANTHROPY AND DEVELOPMENT.
WE ALSO HAVE BETH LAPIER, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SERVICES, JEN BUTTON, MY TRUSTEE, ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATOR, AND KEEPS ME STRAIGHT WHERE SHE TRIES TO KATHY KOK, MY FINANCE C F O.
AND OF COURSE, OUR STAR TODAY IS IBU IBU AS OUR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PUPPY, IBU.
AND HE WOKE UP FROM HIS NAP, AND IF HE GETS ANNOYING, AMBER WILL COME AND RESCUE YOU FROM HIM.
AS LONG AS HE DOESN'T GET IN MY COFFEE, EVERYTHING WILL BE ALL RIGHT.
I, I CANNOT PROMISE THAT, BUT WE'LL TRY.
UH, THE LIBRARY SUBMITTED OUR FISCAL YEAR OPERATING BUDGET AND CAPITAL BUDGET REQUEST TO THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE AND HIS TEAM, AND YOU DO HAVE A COPY.
I SENT THAT UP EARLIER A FEW WEEKS AGO, AND I WILL BE BRIEF ABOUT THE BUDGET BECAUSE THERE'S REALLY NOT A WHOLE LOT TO TALK ABOUT, UNFORTUNATELY.
UM, WAGE PARITY REMAINS A TOP PRIORITY FOR LIBRARY STAFF AND TO SAY THAT OUR STAFF IS DISAPPOINTED NOT TO RECEIVE WAGE PARITY WITH THE COUNTY EMPLOYEES OR TO BE INCLUDED IN THE ONE AND A HALF AND ONE AND A HALF PERCENT SALARY INCREASE PROPOSED FOR COUNTY EMPLOYEES IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT.
AND I WANNA UNDERLINE THAT THAT IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING SO HARD TO GET WAGE PAY TO THE COUNTY LEVEL, JUST TO THE COUNTY LEVEL.
AND, UH, UM, THIS WAS A VERY BIG DISAPPOINTMENT.
A 1% INCREASE FOR THE LIBRARY STAFF IS ABOUT $148,679.
33% OF OUR LIBRARY EMPLOYEES EARN LESS THAN $29,000, AND 42% EARN LESS THAN 39,000.
NOW, KEEP IN MIND WE HAVE A LOT OF PART-TIME STAFF BECAUSE WE ARE OPEN SIX DAYS A WEEK AND HOPEFULLY SOMEDAY BACK TO SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
A LIVING WAGE IS CRITICAL, ESPECIALLY AS WE RELY ON MANY PART-TIME STAFF TO MEET THE HOURS OF OUR OPERATIONS.
IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT WE MAINTAIN THE POSITION OF RECRUITING AND RETAINING THE BEST LIBRARY STAFF FOR OUR COMMUNITIES.
AND THIS IS EVEN MORE A PRIORITY AS WE CONTINUE TO STABILIZE AFTER THE PANDEMIC.
WE ARE ALSO VERY DISAPPOINTED NOT TO, TO RECEIVE THE REQUESTED PEP FUNDING OF $15,700.
NOW YOU MAY THINK, WHAT IS $15,700 COMPARED TO OUR BUDGET? IT'S A LOT.
THE LIBRARY IMPLEMENTED A PEP PROGRAM A FEW YEARS AGO MIRRORING THAT, WHICH IS OFFERED TO COUNTY EMPLOYEES.
ALL NEW HIRES ARE ADDED TO THE PEP PLAN, AND WE OFFERED A ONE-TIME FINANCIAL INCENTIVE LAST YEAR FOR EXISTING EMPLOYEES BY IMPLEMENTING A PEP.
THE LIBRARY FUTURE OPEB LIABILITY HAS BEEN DRASTICALLY AND SIGNIFICANTLY, SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED.
WE ARE ALSO VERY DISAPPOINTED NOT TO RECEIVE THE 10% HEALTH INSURANCE INCREASE THAT IS PROPOSED IN THE COUNTY BUDGET FOR COUNTY EMPLOYEES.
WE ARE IN THE SAME PLAN THROUGH THE CONSORTIUM AND UP TO THE RELEASE OF THE BUDGET.
WE WERE TOLD THAT THERE WOULD BE NO INCREASE TO HEALTHCARE COSTS.
OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATION TO OFFER HEALTH BENEFITS THAT MIRROR THE COUNTY EMPLOYEES, INCLUDING OUR RETIREES WHO ARE COVERED UNDER UNITEDHEALTHCARE, WHICH IS A MAJOR SAVINGS TO BOTH THE COUNTY AND TO THE RETIREES.
OUR EXPENSES HAVE INCREASED THE SAME AS WHAT THE COUNTY HAS PROJECTED, AND WITH INFLATION CURRENTLY AT 5.3%, IT DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE DECREASING.
WE REQUESTED CAPITAL FUNDING FOR THE BELLAIRE RENOVATION PROJECT THAT WE HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING FOR THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS.
WE ARE VERY CONCERNED THAT THE PROJECT HAS BEEN PUSHED BACK WITH NO DATE.
THE LIBRARY HAS BEEN VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE RECEIVED MARYLAND STATE LIBRARY CAPITAL GRANTS THAT THE COUNTY SUBMITTED LETTERS OF SUPPORT FOR MATCHING FUNDS.
WE WERE AWARDED 1.414 MILLION AND HAVE APPLIED FOR A FISCAL YEAR 24 SECOND GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF 4,141,000 FOR THE BELLAIRE PROJECT.
WE HAD PLANNED TO APPLY FOR A THIRD YEAR GRANT, BUT WITHOUT CLEAR DIRECTION FROM THE COUNTY ON CAPITAL PROJECTS, IT DID NOT SEEM PRUDENT.
I WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE CLARIFICATION OF THE LIBRARY FUND BALANCE AS OF JUNE 30TH, 2022.
WE HAVE A FUND BALANCE OF 12 MILLION, BUT ARE NOT PERMITTED TO USE THE AMOUNT FOR MANY ITEMS INCLUDING PREPAIDS, SUCH AS THE $211,132
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FOR THE CARE FIRST JULY BILL THAT WE PAY IN JUNE.THE HEALTHCARE CONSORTIUM FUNDS WITH THE COUNTY AND OTHER AGENCIES, WHICH IS A LITTLE OVER 3 MILLION FOR THE HEALTHCARE RESERVE OR THE ENCUMBRANCES.
AND THAT IS OPEN PURCHASE ORDERS AT THE END OF FISCAL YEAR 22 THAT WE CARRIED INTO FISCAL YEAR 23.
THAT IS A STANDARD OPERATING BUSINESS.
THIS IS ALWAYS INCLUDED IN THE ANNUAL AUDIT HOUR FUND BALANCE, AND AVAILABLE FOR FULL REVIEW BY ANYONE AT ANY TIME, LEAVING SEVEN THOUSAND SEVEN MILLION FIVE HUNDRED SEVENTY SIX MILLION AS A TRUE FUND BALANCE, WHICH WE ALL ALLOCATED 5.4 MILLION TO CAPITAL PROJECTS, WHICH INCLUDES THE BELLAIRE RENOVATION.
THAT MONEY IS THERE FOR THAT PROJECT, ALONG WITH OTHERS.
CONSERVATIVE SPENDING AND BUDGETING ENABLED THE LIBRARY TO SET ASIDE THESE FUNDS FOR THE LARGE CAPITAL PROJECTS AND SUPPORTING HARTFORD COUNTY GOVERNMENT AND THEIR PRIORITIES.
YOU KNOW, I ALWAYS LIKE TO TALK ABOUT GOOD NEWS.
OUR OUTREACH SERVICES ARE EXPANDING AS WE ARE LAUNCHING LIBRARY ON THE GO WITH THREE NEW VANS.
YES, THEY WERE BUILT IN TURKEY.
IT TOOK OVER A YEAR FOR THEM TO ARRIVE IN HARTFORD COUNTY, BUT THEY'RE HERE.
TYPICAL ITEMS THAT WILL BE HOUSED ON THE VANS INCLUDE BOOKS, BASEBALL KITS, BIKES, CROQUETTES, CROQUET SETS, FISHING RODS, FOOTBALL, KICKBALL, MINIGOLF, SET, PICKLEBALL SETS, SKATEBOARD KITS, SLEDS, SOCCER BALLS, AND MORE.
WELL, I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THE SLEDS.
WE HAVE NOT HAD SNOW IN HOW LONG
THE NEW DARLINGTON LIBRARY OPENED AND IS UP IS AN UPCYCLED WAWA THAT WAS ORIGINALLY CONSTRUCTED IN 96.
THE FACILITY INCLUDES THE FIRST 24 7 PICKUP MATERIALS, LOCKER SYSTEM, A TABLET TOWER FOR PERIODICAL READING, AND AN OUTDOOR PATIO AND FIREPLACE.
THE HARTFORD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL ID PROJECT INITIATIVE CONTINUES AND IT ENABLES ALL STUDENTS IN HARTFORD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO USE THEIR STUDENT IDS TO ACCESS HARTFORD COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY RESOURCES ONLINE, REMOTELY, ANYTIME, AND ANYWHERE IN ADDITION TO THE EDUCATORS AT THE SCHOOLS.
IN ADDITION, THE LIBRARY WAS HONORED TO ONCE AGAIN SPONSOR THE HARFORD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER OF THE YEAR PROGRAM, WHICH I UNDERSTAND WAS AN AMAZING EVENING.
THE LIST OF NONPROFITS AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE PARTNER AND SUPPORT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR CONTINUE TO GROW BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS.
WE FEEL IT IS PART OF OUR MISSION IS TO SUPPORT OUR NONPROFITS AND OUR OTHER AGENCIES OUT THERE THAT DO SUCH A GREAT JOB FOR OUR COMMUNITIES.
THE HARVARD COUNTY CULTURAL ARTS BOARD PROVIDED $175,000 THROUGH 58 GRANTS AWARDED THROUGH FOUR PROGRAMS IN FISCAL YEAR 22, AND ARE ON TARGET FOR EXCEEDING THAT THIS YEAR, MORE THAN 414,000 PEOPLE ATTENDED OUR PROGRAMS LAST YEAR, AND WE HAVE MORE THAN 220,000 REGISTERED ACTIVE BORROWERS IN HARTFORD COUNTY.
THIS WEEK IS NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK, AND WE CELEBRATE WITH OUR COMMUNITIES THE CRITICAL RESOURCES AND SERVICES THAT OUR LIBRARIES BRING TO ALL AGES, DEMOGRAPHICS, AND BACKGROUNDS.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO FINISH WITH A QUOTE FROM AUTHOR AND MOVIE PERSON.
I BELIEVE HE'S MADE FILMS. NEIL GAIMAN, WHO I HAVE MET YOU SHOULD BE ESPECIALLY NICE TO A LIBRARIAN TODAY OR TOMORROW, SOMETIMES THIS WEEK ANYWAY, PROBABLY THE LIBRARIANS WOULD LIKE TEA OR CHOCOLATES AND I'M GONNA INSERT WINE.
OR A RELIABLE SOURCE OF FUNDING.
AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE LIBRARY AND ALL YOU DO FOR HARFORD COUNTY COMMUNITIES.
SO, MARY, LET ME THANK YOU AND YOUR TEAM FOR THE SERVICE THAT YOU PROVIDE, UH, HARFORD COUNTY RESIDENTS ON EVERY DAY.
UH, WE APPRECIATE ALL THAT YOU DO APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE THIS MORNING.
AND IF I CAN, I'D LIKE TO ASK YOU TO SEND A COPY OF YOUR COMMENTS, UH, TO MS. HARRIS THIS MORNING SO SHE CAN DISTRIBUTE IT AMONGST THE COUNCIL.
AND WITH THAT COUNSEL, UM, MR. JERDEN, GOOD MORNING.
WHERE'S IBU? YOU TOOK HIM BACK, RIGHT? YES.
SO, UM, IT'S ALWAYS NICE TO SEE IBU IT ALWAYS NICE TO SEE YOU AND YOUR STAFF.
UM, THE BELL AIR PROJECT, YOU SAID 4.1 MILLION, UM, FOR A GRANT.
WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON'T USE THAT? WELL, WHERE DO WE STAND WITH THAT? DO WE, ARE WE GONNA LOSE THIS? THAT'S A VERY GOOD QUESTION.
UH, WHAT WE WILL DO IS WE WILL ASK FOR AN EXTENSION OF THE FISCAL YEAR 23, WHICH WAS A LITTLE OVER 1 MILLION.
AND THEN WHATEVER WE DO RECEIVE FOR FISCAL YEAR 24, I'M HOPING, AND WE'RE WORKING WITH THE COUNTY, THAT WE CAN USE SOME OF THE FUNDING TOWARD THE ROOF PROJECT.
WE DIDN'T REALIZE WHAT DIRE CONDITION THE ROOF IS IN, NOT THE ELEVATORS THEY'RE BEING REPAIRED NOW, UH, OR REPLACED.
UM, BUT THE ROOF ITSELF, AND THAT'S ABOUT A 575,000 PRICE TAG.
SO I'M HOPING THAT WE CAN USE SOME OF THE FUNDING TO GO TOWARD THAT, TO SAVE THE COUNTY A LITTLE BIT OF MONEY.
UM, THE OTHER PIECE OF IT IS, UH, IF THE MAJOR RENOVATION PROJECT DOES NOT HAPPEN WHERE WE CAN MOVE WALLS AND, AND THINGS LIKE THAT, WE WILL REFRESH THE BUILDING.
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AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL HAVE THE SUPPORT OF THE COUNTY.UM, BELLAIRE IS OUR FLAGSHIP BRANCH.
IT'S BEAUTIFUL, BUT IT IS SHOWING ITS AGE.
AND AS WE ALL KNOW, AS WE SHOW OUR AGE, SOMETIMES WE HAVE TO SHORE IT UP AND MAKE IT LOOK NICER, LITTLE BIT MORE FUNCTIONAL, BRING IT UP TO SPEED.
UM, SO THAT'S WHAT WE HOPE TO DO WITH THAT MONEY.
WE HOPEFULLY WE WILL GET AN EXTENSION FOR IT THOUGH.
WHEN WAS THAT ADDITION DONE ON BEL AIR? WHAT WAS THAT? IN THE NINETIES? 96.
I, I WAS A, I WAS A NINE HOUR WEEK EMPLOYEE WHEN I STARTED, AND I STARTED RIGHT BEFORE THE PROJECT.
SO IT STARTED, WE STARTED PACKING THINGS UP, UM, PROBABLY ABOUT A MONTH AFTER I STARTED AT THE LIBRARY.
SO, AND IT OPENED, I BELIEVE IN 97.
AND IT IS, IT'S SEVERAL, IT'S THREE BUILDINGS, PUT TOGETHER THE NEW EDITION, NEW EDITION, UM, AND THEN A BUILDING FROM THE 47 AND THEN IN THE SIXTIES.
UM, BUT I CAN'T LOG IN RIGHT NOW.
I'M NOT EVEN GONNA COMMENT ON THAT ONE.
UM, THANK YOU COUNCILMAN JENGEN.
COUNCILMAN PENMAN, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, YOU GUYS HAVE A TREMENDOUS PROGRAM, GREAT RESOURCE TO THE COMMUNITY, UM, TO KIND OF, YOU KNOW, UH, ATTRACT THAT COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT THAT WE NEED AND GET THESE KIDS OFF THESE GAMING SYSTEMS. SO I APPLAUD YOU FOR THAT.
IN THE DIFFERENT INNOVATIVE, INNOVATIVE WAYS THAT YOU GUYS HAVE DONE TO TRY TO ATTRACT THEM.
I THINK IT'S TRAGIC THAT YOUR, UH, FUNDING WAS FLAT, UH, ESPECIALLY WHEN INFLATION IS UP.
WITH INFLATION, HOW HAS THAT IMPACTED YOU ON JUST THE PURCHASE OF BOOKS AND ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU NEED? SUPPLY WISE, JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER BUSINESS OR EVEN A FAMILY HOUSEHOLD, IT'S, IT'S AFFECTING US, UH, GREATLY.
UH, WE HAVE TO RETHINK AND BE VERY CAREFUL ON HOW WE SPEND OUR FUNDING FOR BOOKS, OUR DATABASES, UH, ANY OF OUR MATERIALS, EVEN OUR NONPUBLIC THINGS SUCH AS SUPPLIES THAT WE USE TO, YOU KNOW, RUN OUR BUSINESS.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING'S JUST GONE UP SO MUCH AND, UH, I, I LISTENED TO ANBAN BASU LAST YEAR, LAST WEEK AT A FUTURES CONFERENCE.
UM, AND THE NEWS WASN'T GREAT WHEN IT COMES TO THE INFLATION.
IT'S DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT'S COMING DOWN ANYTIME SOON.
SO, UM, IT'S JUST, IT WILL HOBBLE US.
AND YOU KNOW, WE DID A COMP CLASS STUDY ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO, I THINK IT WAS RIGHT BEFORE THE LOCKDOWN, SO WE'VE BEEN 2019.
SO WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO IMPLEMENT THAT WITHOUT ADDITIONAL FUNDING FROM THE COUNTY.
AND LAST YEAR WE FINALLY GOT TOO CLOSE TO BEING AT WAGE PARODY, BUT NOW WE'RE JUST GONNA FALL DOWN AGAIN.
SO IT SEEMS WE'RE IN THIS ENDLESS CYCLE.
CAUSE THAT LEADS ME INTO MY SECOND QUESTION.
I THINK I, I HEARD YOU SAY FOR A 1% PAY INCREASE, IT WOULD COST 148,000.
SO THAT BRINGS IT TO A A PERCENT AND A HALF AT 220.
AND IF THE FULL FUNNY WOULD FOR THE 3% OVER THE YEAR WOULD BE 444,000 ROUGHLY.
WHAT I DON'T HAVE IS, I'M JUST HOPING TO HAVE AN ENTIRE NUMBER WITH THAT 10% HEALTH HEALTHCARE INCREASE.
IS NOT THAT YOU HAVE IT NOW, BUT IS THERE ANY WAY THAT YOU CAN GET ME THAT NUMBER? SURE.
SO I CAN SEE WHAT THE, YOU KNOW, THE PICTURE LOOKS LIKE TO PUT YOU ON PARODY WITH THE OTHER COUNTY EMPLOYEES.
I THINK WE, WE DO HAVE THAT NUMBER.
WE PUT IT IN THE BUDGET AS A, AS A PLACEHOLDER BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE DO OUR BUDGET WEIGH IN ADVANCE AND THAT'S THE GENERAL RULE THUMB, 10% FOR THAT.
SO WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT TODAY.
IF NOT, I'LL SEND IT ALONG WITH THE COVER, WITH THE LETTER.
SO, AND ALSO THAT FUND BALANCE THAT YOU HAVE MM-HMM.
CAN IT BE USED FOR SALARY INCREASES THOUGH? NO, NO, NOT GENERALLY.
UNLESS IT WOULD BE A LUMP SUM.
BUT WE WOULD'VE TO TAKE IT OUT OF THE, WE WOULD HAVE TO, UH, DOCUMENT IT INCREDIBLY WELL.
SO IF WE DID, THIS IS AN ONGOING EXPENSE.
WHAT WAS THE UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE? 12.
WE HAVE, UH, 7.5 MILLION THAT WE CAN USE.
UM, AND THEN WE ALLOCATE A 5.44 TO THE CAPITAL PROJECTS.
KATHY, YOU DO THAT FOR ME?
AND IT ALL GETS ALLOCATED IN AUGUST OF EVERY YEAR WHEN WE SIT DOWN WITH THE AUDITORS, WE HAVE TO ALLOCATE THAT MONEY SO IT DOESN'T SIT LIKE IN A, IT'S NOT SITTING SOMEWHERE WHERE IF, IF WE DECIDE TO BUY 20 MORE IBUS, WE COULD SPEND IT.
UH, AGAIN, I WANNA THANK YOU ALSO EVERYONE ELSE THAT LIBRARIES ARE ESSENTIAL TO HARFORD COUNTY AND TO OUR CHILDREN, TO THE, OUR ADULTS ALSO.
UM, UM, UM, I, I WAS SURPRISED TO HEAR THAT YOU'RE NOT INCLUDED IN THE ONE AND A HALF AND ONE AND A HALF, UM, PERCENT INCREASE.
UM, ONE OF 'EM IS EVEN TAKEN OUT THE NEXT JANUARY MAYBE.
CUZ THAT'S NOT GUARANTEED EITHER.
YOU KNOW, THAT ACCORDING TO WHAT I'VE READ.
YOU KNOW, IT DEPENDS ON, UM, IF, UH, THE FUNDS ARE GONNA BE AVAILABLE.
AND I, I GUESS I DON'T KNOW WHO MAKES THAT DECISION, BUT,
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UM, I'M ALSO THE, THE, THE, UH, FUND BALANCE, UH, YOU CAN'T USE IT FOR WAGES, BUT NOW MISUNDERSTANDING.DID YOU, CAN YOU USE THAT ANY FOR HEALTHCARE? WE CANNOT USE IT FOR HEALTHCARE.
YOU, YOU HAVE A HEALTHCARE INCREASE THOUGH, RIGHT? CORRECT.
AND THAT'S NOT, THAT'S, THAT'S THE EMPLOYEE'S PIECE, NOT THE, NOT THE COUNTY'S PIECE.
LET ME ASK MY FINANCE EXPERT
YEAH, I THINK IT'S, IT'S THE OVERALL INCREASE.
YOU MORE INCREASE IN THE, IT'S THE OVERALL INCREASE TO US.
WHAT IS THE OVERALL INCREASE? WELL, THE COUNTY PUT IN 10% AND I BELIEVE THAT'S, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW HOW IT'S BROKEN DOWN.
MAYBE RAVI OR KIM CAN, I CAN'T ANSWER IT.
BECAUSE THERE'S NOT, BECAUSE WE DID NOT BUILD IT IN.
SO IT'S NOT IN OUR IT'S NOT IN OUR MR MS. SPENCE, IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU.
I DIDN'T SEE YOU SITTING BEHIND MR. KEARNEY.
I HOPE YOU'RE FEELING MUCH BETTER.
SO THERE'S A COURSE, THE COUNTY PAYS A PERCENT AND EMPLOYEES PAY A PERCENT.
SO YOUR PERCENT GOING TO GO UP.
YOU'RE SAYING THE AMOUNT THAT YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO PAY.
IS THE COUNTIES COR WELL, IF THEY ANSWER, THEY'RE REQUESTING 10% INCREASE, I WOULD ASSUME THAT'S WHY THEY REQUESTED IT, BUT, WELL, WHEN YOU SAY 10%, YOU KNOW, IT CAN HIT A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
IT COULD BE 10% OF THE COUNTY'S PORTION, IT CAN 10% OF THE POLICE PORTION OR IT CAN BE 10% OF THE WHOLE PICTURE.
THE COUNTY DID NOT BUDGET AN INCREASE IN THE PREMIUM.
SO FROM A BUDGET PERSPECTIVE IN, UM, ALL OF, ALL OF THE COUNTY BUDGETS, UM, THERE WAS NO INCREASE IN INSURANCE.
AND THERE WILL, AND THERE IS NO INCREASE THEN IF THERE'S NO INCREASE IN THE PREMIUM COST, THEN THERE IS NO CHANGE TO THE, UH, EMPLOYEE EMPLOYEE PORTION.
MR. SANDIS, CRACK THAT MIC OVER TO YOU, PLEASE.
THERE'S NO INCREASE IN, SO WE, WE DID NOT BUDGET A INCREASE IN THE PREMIUM COST.
SO THE BUDGETS, THE INDIVIDUAL BUDGETS DID NOT HAVE AN INCREASE IN, UM, DID NOT HAVE AN INCREASE IN INSURANCE COSTS THAT WOULD BE REFLECTED IN THE BUDGET.
AND THEN SUBSEQUENTLY THERE WAS NO, IF THERE WAS NO INCREASE IN THE PREMIUM COSTS, BECAUSE THE WAY PREMIUMS WORK IS EMPLOYEES PAY 5% AND IT VARIES ON WHEN YOU WERE HIRED, BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S WHETHER IT'S 10% OR 5% OR WHATEVER, THEN THERE IS NO INCREASE ON THE EMPLOYEE PREMIUM PORTION AS WELL.
SO WE'VE HAD SEVERAL YEARS WHERE THE HEALTH INSURANCE WAS TO THE GOOD.
UM, AND BECAUSE OF THAT, YOU KNOW, WE TOOK THE APPROACH THAT, THAT THEY'RE THAT FROM THOSE, FROM THOSE PRIOR YEARS OF, OF KIND OF CONSISTENTLY BEING TO THE GOOD THAT WE COULD HOLD, HOLD THE EXPENDITURE FLAT AND NOT PASS ANYTHING ONTO, UM, UH, TO THE, TO THE EMPLOYEES.
AND SO GENERALLY THE LIBRARY I USE IS THE SAME PREMIUM RATES, YOU KNOW, AS, AS WE ARE.
SO YOUR EMPLOYEES SHOULD NOT SEE A HEALTH INCREASE EITHER.
AND YOU ALSO HAVE SEEN, YOU HAVE ALSO SEEN AN A, UM, UH, SEVERAL YEARS OF, OF, UM, YOU TO THE GOOD ON PREMIUMS. SO WHAT WAS THE 10%? DON'T, I'M NOT SURE COUNTY THAT THAT WAS EARLY ON IN THE BUDGET PROCESS.
SO WE JUST PLUG A NUMBER IN, BUT THEN WHEN WE FINALLY GET THE NUMBERS IN, I MEAN, WE'RE SELF-INSURED.
SO TO SOME EXTENT, I MEAN THIS IS, IT'S LIKE ANY OTHER TYPE OF, OF, OF, OF AN ESTIMATE.
UM, IF IF COSTS COME IN CONSIDERABLY HIGHER, UM, THAN OUR PREMIUM, THEN YOU, YOU HAVE TO MAKE THAT UP.
IF THEY COME IN LOWER, LIKE THEY HAVE IN THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, YOU GET MONEY, YOU GET MONEY BACK.
THAT'S IN PART WHY YOUR FUND BALANCE HAS PROBABLY BEEN ABLE TO GROW A LITTLE BIT OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS.
CUZ WE'VE HAD SOME, SOME GOOD YEARS.
THAT'S PART OF, PART OF, UH, PART OF THE CALCULATION.
UM, BUT AGAIN, I MEAN THESE ARE, THESE ARE ALL ESTIMATES, BUT I THINK WE HAVE MADE EFFORTS IN THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, UM, TO TRY TO CONTROL HEALTHCARE COSTS, UH, MOST NOTABLY MOVING FROM THE, UH, TO THE CO-INSURANCE MODEL AWAY FROM THE UM, UH, FROM THE TRADITIONAL, UH, COPAY, UH, MODEL.
AND WHAT WE'VE SEEN IS A TRUE, UM, UM, LESSENING OF OUR, OF OUR HEALTHCARE COSTS GROW.
EVERYTHING ELSE HAS GOT INFLATION IN HEALTHCARE, WHICH FIVE YEARS AGO WAS WHERE ALL THE INFLATION WAS.
NOW THERE ISN'T THE INFLATION ON HEALTHCARE, SO IT'S STILL IN EVERYTHING ELSE.
BUT DID THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? NO, I'M MORE CONFUSED THAN I THINK I NEED TO, BUT IT'S OKAY.
AND I'M NEGOTIATING THIS KIND OF STUFF FOR YEARS, YOU KNOW, HEALTHCARE AND, AND, UH, HOW YOU HANDLE IT, HOW IT'S SETTLED FROM THE OUTSIDE, HOW YOU DO IT INTERNALLY AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF.
BUT I I, I'M, I'M GETTING TWO DIFFERENT STATEMENTS HERE.
YOU'RE SAYING THAT THERE'S AN INCREASE AND HE'S SAYING THERE ISN'T.
SO CAN SOMEBODY EXPLAIN THO THOSE TWO THINGS TO ME? LET ME CLARIFY.
UM, THE INCREASE IS THAT THE COUNTY HAS BUDGETED 10% INCREASE FOR THAT, I GUESS THAT BUDGET LINE ITEM FOR THE COUNTY, HOW IT'S BEING USED OR SPENT? UH, IT WAS IN THE, I BELIEVE IT WAS IN THE BUDGET REPORT AND THAT WAS SUBMITTED BY THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE.
I COULD BE WRONG ON THAT, BUT I'M PRETTY SURE.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING.
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AGREE WITH ROBBIE.WE HAD TALKED ABOUT THIS, UM, OVER THE LAST COUPLE WEEKS THAT THERE WOULD BE NO INCREASE.
SO IT, IT WAS CONFUSING TO US TO SEE THAT 10% WAS PUT INTO THE BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY.
NO, I, BUT THAT WOULDN'T BE MY ANS MY QUESTION TO ANSWER THAT WOULD BE OKAY.
WELL, I, I'M, I I CAN'T, I CAN'T SPEAK TO WHAT'S IN THE, WHAT'S IN, WHAT'S IN THE BUDGET MESSAGE.
WHAT I'M SAYING, AND WHAT KIM WAS ALSO SAYING IS THAT ON A BUDGET BASIS, WE ARE, WE DID NOT CHA INCREASE THE PREMIUM COST FOR, FOR HEALTH INSURANCE, WHICH FLOWS THROUGH TO THE EMPLOYEE SIDE.
UH, SO, AND WE HAVE WORKED WITH AON IN ORDER TO LET THEM KNOW.
AND I, I WILL SAY FOR KAISER, BECAUSE WE CAN'T CONTROL KAISER CAUSE WE'RE NOT SELF-INSURED, THERE IS A PREMIUM INCREASE ON THE KAISER SIDE.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANYBODY IN KAISER.
I THINK WE HAVE LIKE, LIKE A HANDFUL TOO.
UM, BUT ON THE CARE FIRST SIDE WHERE THE COUNTY IS SELF-INSURED, WE HAVE WORKED WITH CARE FIRST AND OUR HEALTH CONSULTANTS TO KEEP THOSE PREMIUMS FLAT FOR NEXT, NEXT, UH, NEXT YEAR.
AND THE LIBRARY FOLLOWS SUIT WITH, WITH THE COUNTY.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE IS, THERE IS NOT A INCREASE IN HEALTH INSURANCE.
AND, UH, I'M NOT, LET ME SAY THIS.
YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES YOU CAN PLAY WITH THESE NUMBERS AND THEY GET, UM, THEY GET CONFUSING.
IS YOUR MICROPHONE ON MR. CUT? WHAT'S GOING ON? I THINK, I THINK WHERE YOU SAW THE 10%.
YEAH, THAT'S FOR, UM, MEDICAL SERVICES.
THAT'S FOR PSYCHIATRIC EVALUATIONS.
UM, PRE-EMPLOYMENT PHYSICALS IN HRS BUDGET.
UM, LET ME ASK YOU ANOTHER QUESTION.
UM, UH, THE, UH, THE JOB TOWN LIBRARY NEEDS HELP SAY AT LEAST, UH, IS THERE, AND YOU'RE NOT ON THE CONSTRUCTION SIDE OR THE PARA SIDE, UH, BUT MAYBE YOU CAN ANSWER THIS.
IS THERE ANY, UH, YOU SEE ANYTHING IN THE FUTURE FOR, UH, UPGRADING THAT LIBRARY? UH, UM, AND WHEN AND IF AND HOW MUCH AND MAYBE ABSOLUTELY.
AND THAT WAS, UH, PART OF THE, UH, RESERVE FUND THAT WE HAVE SET ASIDE IS TO REFRESH THE JAPA LIBRARY AND OUR COUNTY EXECUTIVE VISIT IT, UM, ABOUT A MONTH OR SO AGO.
AND, AND AGREED IT NEEDED, IT NEEDED SUBSTANTIAL HELP.
IS THERE ANY TIME LIMIT OR YOU'RE SEEING, UH, WE HAVE TO GO BACK AND RE-LOOK AT ALL THE, THE MONEY THAT'S REMAINING TO SEE ALL THOSE PROJECTS.
SO, UM, BUT IT'S ON, IT'S DEFINITELY ON THE LIST AND IT'S PART OF OUR FACILITIES MASTER PLAN TOO.
IF YOU CAN KEEP ME UP TO DATE.
I'M, I KNOW I HAVE A MEETING AT THE EDGEWOOD LIBRARY ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT AT SIX O'CLOCK, SO I'LL CHECK THEM OUT.
I HAS SOME SPRUIKING UP TO DO TOO.
WE STRUGGLE WITH THE, UM, OUTSIDE, UH, THE GROUNDS KEEPING AT EDGEWOOD LIBRARY OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
IT JUST SEEMS LIKE A, EITHER THE, THE DIRT DOESN'T WANNA GROW ANYTHING.
UM, LOTS OF BALD SPOTS AND THINGS, BUT, UH, THE COUNTIES PARKS AND REC DOES A REALLY GREAT JOB TRYING TO KEEP THAT UP.
WELL, WE HAVE HAD SOME ISSUES WITH THE, UM, SOME PEOPLE LIVING BEHIND THE, THE LIBRARY OVER THE YEARS AND WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO WORK WITH THEM AND TRY TO GET THEM PLACES TO, TO, TO STAY VERSUS, UH, SLEEPING OUT THERE IN THE OUTSIDE AND AT THE LIBRARY.
SO I'LL LET YOU KNOW HOW THAT GOES, WAYNE.
VISIT THERE TOMORROW NIGHT OR WEDNESDAY NIGHT.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ANY INFORMATION.
MR. GINGER, UM, MARY, GO, GO BACK.
THE, UM, WHAT WOULD THE DOLLAR AMOUNT BE, UH, FOR RAISES? IF YOU GOT THE ONE AND A HALF PERCENT, WHAT WOULD THAT DOLLAR AMOUNT BE? DO YOU KNOW? UH, WELL, 1% IS 148,679.
SO LET ME ASK, UH, SO I KNOW, UM, YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT IT'S TOO HARD ACCOUNTING, BUT WHAT IF YOU DID A ONE TIME BONUS, UM, AND DID IT MAYBE IN SIX MONTH INTERVALS, THEN WOULD THAT BE MUCH EASIER TO DO IT? IT HAS, IT HAS ITS PLUSES AND MINUSES.
UM, WE'VE DONE THAT PREVIOUSLY WHEN, WHEN THINGS WERE A LITTLE BIT, UM, SHORT AND WE CAN DO THAT AND WE CAN USE OUR, SOME OF OUR RESERVES FOR THAT.
SO WE HAVE SUPPLEMENTED AT SOME OF OUR COMP CLASS WITH OUR RESERVES.
UM, IT'S JUST THE DOWNSIDE TO IT IS, IT'S LIKE ANY, EVERYBODY'S HUMAN NATURE, YOU GET IT AND THEN YOU FORGET, YOU KIND OF GET IT AND IT DOESN'T GO TOWARD THEIR PENSION OR, UH, YOU KNOW, ANY OF THAT.
THOSE NUMBERS THAT ARE REALLY CRITICAL TO A LOT OF OUR STAFF TOO.
SO WHAT WILL HAPPEN IS WE WILL GO BACK AND, AND LOOK TO SEE WHAT WE HAVE IN RESERVES, JUNE'S COMING UP.
SO, UM, WE CLOSE OUT THE YEAR AND THEN WE'LL KNOW WHERE WE ARE IN, IN AUGUST AND THEN FIGURE OUT WHAT WE CAN DO FOR STAFF AT THAT POINT.
SO WE'LL GO BACK AND WE ALWAYS GO BACK AND RE-LOOK AT IT.
AND THEN I, I KNOW WE HAVE TIFFANY COMING IN, SO WE'RE GONNA ASK HER ABOUT THE COST OF HEALTHCARE, WHERE THAT, WHERE THAT IS, CUZ
[00:25:01]
I KNOW IN THE SMALL MARKET, WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY A LOT DIFFERENT, UM, BUT I EVEN KNOW ON A LARGE MARKET, I KNOW THE COSTS HAVE GONE UP, BUT OUR PREMIUMS FROM WHAT ROBBIE'S SAYING ARE STAYING FLAT, CORRECT? YES.PREMIUM AND THAT PREMIUMS, YES.
PREMIUM FROM A BUDGET STANDPOINT AND FROM A PREMIUM STANDPOINT, WE ARE, WE ARE FLAT, WE ARE ACTUAL HEALTHCARE COSTS WILL GO, IS ALWAYS DEPENDENT UPON WHAT THE ACTUAL CLAIMS ARE.
NOW ALL WE KNOW IS THAT IN THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, THE CLAIMS HAVE BEEN, HAVE BEEN TO THE GOOD, BUT THAT IS ALWAYS THE CHALLENGE OF BEING SELF-INSURED.
BUT THE, BUT THE COST OF SERVICES HAS INCREASED.
IT'S JUST OUR CLAIMS HAVE NOT INCREASED.
SO, SO YEAH, I MEAN, HAVE HAS, HAS MEDICAL COSTS INCREASED IN INCREASED? ABSOLUTELY.
AND, BUT IT IS, IT'S, IT'S SPORADIC AND A LOT OF IT, AGAIN, DEPENDS ON WHAT HAPPENS ON THE INDIVIDUAL BASIS, YOU KNOW, UM, THAT'S THE UNIQUE, LIKE NOW KAISER, THAT IS A HUNDRED PERCENT TRUE INSURANCE.
YOU KNOW, WE SEND THEM THE MONEY.
IF THEY'RE TO THE GOOD, THEY HAVE EXTRA MONEY.
IF THEY'RE TO THE BAD, THEY LOSE MONEY.
BUT WITH SELF INSURANCE, THIS IS ALWAYS, ALWAYS THE CHALLENGE.
BUT WE HAVE BEEN TO THE GOOD THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS FOR THAT ONE.
THANK YOU MR. JANAN AND MS. SOLES.
GOOD MORNING, MARY AND ALL YOUR STAFF.
THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO SAY, AS YOUR LIAISON FOR THE LIBRARIES, UH, FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, DURING TIMES, TIMES OF THE ECONOMIC DECLINE, LIBRARIES DO GET INUNDATED WITH USERS.
SO IT'S PRETTY CRITICAL THAT WE, WE DO WHAT WE NEED TO FOR YOU GUYS.
UM, I JUST HAD TWO QUICK QUESTIONS.
WHO PAYS FOR THE UTILITY COSTS FOR THE LIBRARIES? THE LIBRARY PAYS FOR ALMOST ALL OUR BRAND HAVE ONE, ONE LOCATION OF COUNTY.
AND THEN, UM, ALSO FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, STATE LAW DOESN'T ALLOW YOU TO CHARGE FOR, UM, ANY OVERDUE BOOKS, AND WE DON'T WANNA PUT THOSE EXPENSES ON OUR CUSTOMERS.
SO IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT CAN HELP WITH REVENUE WITHOUT PUTTING IT ON TO YOUR CUSTOMERS? SURE.
WE'RE, WE'RE, WE ARE KNOWN FOR BEING VERY CREATIVE ON RAISING REVENUE THAT IS PERMITTED BY STATE LAW.
AND YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT, STATE LAW PROHIBITS MOST THINGS.
UH, WE CAN'T DO, LIKE I CANNOT CHARGE YOU TO CHECK OUT A BOOK OR A MOVIE OR, UM, YOU KNOW, USE OUR DATABASES OR ANYTHING OF, OF THAT TYPE, OUR TYPICAL RESOURCES.
AND THE STATE DID PASS A LAW, I GUESS IT WAS A YEAR AGO OR SO, PROHIBITING ANY OVERDUE FEES, FINES FOR CHILDREN'S MATERIALS.
AND IT'S BEEN A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT IS A CHILDREN'S MATERIAL? IS IT THE MATERIAL, IS IT LIBRARY CARD? UM, SO, UH, THE STATE, WE'RE ALL WORKING THROUGH THAT CURRENTLY.
WE'RE NOT CHARGING FOR OVERDUE MATERIALS FOR ADULT MATERIALS EITHER.
UM, HOWEVER, AT SOME POINT YOU HAVE TO BRING IT BACK OR WE WILL HAPPILY CHARGE YOU A REPLACEMENT FEE THAT WE'RE ALLOWED TO DO.
WE ALSO DO PASSPORT PROCESSING.
THAT HAS BEEN A GREAT REVENUE GENERATOR FOR US FOR THE PAST PROBABLY EIGHT YEARS OR SO.
WE ALSO, WE LOOKED INTO DOING THE TSA PRE, UM, BUT THE COMPANIES THAT CURRENTLY DO THAT WAS NOT HAPPY THAT LIBRARIES WERE LOOKING AT DOING IT, EVEN THOUGH WE WOULD DO A MUCH BETTER JOB.
UM, AND PEOPLE LOVE COMING TO THE LIBRARY.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE OUR MEETING ROOMS WE CHARGE FOR, UM, YOU'RE HAPPILY YOU CAN USE OUR MEETING ROOMS THAT WE DO CHARGE A SMALL FEE FOR OUR NON-PROFITS AND A LITTLE BIT MORE FOR OUR BUSINESSES.
SO WE CAN ALWAYS LOOK AT INCREASING THAT.
UH, WE DO CHARGE, IT IS FREE IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND TO HAVE A LIBRARY CARD, BUT IF YOU'RE OUTTA STATE, WE CHARGE YOU A MINIMAL FEE ALSO FOR THAT BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT PAYING TAXES IN MARYLAND.
UM, SO WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING AT HOW WE CAN GENERATE REVENUE.
WE ALSO SEEK GRANTS, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE REALLY HAPPY THAT IT'S AMBER'S FIRST DAY BECAUSE THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS ON OUR TOPIC WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT IS, UH, SEEKING GRANTS BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES OUT THERE TOO.
UM, PG E GREEN GRANT, WE'VE RECEIVED ROSEDALE, FEDERAL APG.
LOTS OF OUR PARTNERS OUT THERE HAVE BEEN VERY GENEROUS TO US.
SO WE WILL CONTINUE BEATING THE BUSHES ON THAT AND BEING CREATIVE.
AND WE CAN CHARGE, IF I BRING IN A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AUTHOR, LIKE A COLLEEN HOOVER, THE FOUNDATION CAN CHARGE THAT.
NOT THE LIBRARY, BUT THE FOUNDATION, KEN.
SO, AND THE GALLO, OF COURSE, IS OUR BIG, BIG FUNDRAISER FOR THOSE THINGS.
UM, I, YOU KNOW, THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO.
I'M A BIG SUPPORTER OF THE LIBRARIES, UM, AND I APPRECIATE YOU PROVIDING ALL THESE EXAMPLES OF PROGRAMMING.
I, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS IN THE PAST, BUT UP UNTIL THE PANDEMIC, I DIDN'T HAVE A HOME COMPUTER.
AND SO I WENT TO THE HAVE GRACE BRANCH LIBRARY AFTER WORK EVERY DAY TO DO MY GRADUATE WORK, TO DO MY LESSON PLANNING.
UM, AND I WOULD SIT THERE AND FOR HOURS ON END, I WOULD WATCH OUR LIBRARY WORKERS DO SOFT PROGRAMMING.
YOU KNOW, THE STUFF OF TEACHING SOMEBODY IN THE COMMUNITY HOW TO USE A COMPUTER, HELPING SOMEBODY FIX THEIR RESUME, WATCHING THE 12 CHILDREN PLAYING, UH, FORTNITE IN THE LOBBY TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY STAY OUTTA TROUBLE.
YOU KNOW, UM, HELPING, HELPING A FAMILY PICK OUT A BOOK THAT'S SPECIAL FOR THEIR KID.
ALL THOSE THINGS THAT OUR LIBRARY WORKERS DO EVERY DAY.
[00:30:01]
YOU KNOW, I THINK PAY PARODY IS THE BARE MINIMUM THAT WE SHOULD BE DOING TO DO ANYTHING LESS IS DISRESPECTFUL.AND I'M SORRY THAT WE'RE EVEN HAVING TO HAVE THE CONVERSATION.
I JUST, IT TO THE PEOPLE WHO DO THE WORK FOR SO LITTLE MONEY OF SUCH VALUE, UM, IT'S JUST NOT RIGHT.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T LIVE IN A VACUUM.
UH, WE'RE SURROUNDED BY LIBRARY SYSTEMS OUTSIDE OF HARTFORD COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARIES, AND IT'S A VERY TIGHT LABOR MARKET FOR LIBRARY WORKERS.
UM, SO I WAS WONDERING IF YOU HAVE ANY KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY'S BUDGET LOOKS LIKE FOR NEXT YEAR? WHAT THEIR PAY INCREASES FOR STAFFING LOOKS LIKE FOR NEXT YEAR? UM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, YOU ALWAYS RUN THE RISK OF SOMEBODY, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO WALL SEPARATING HARTFORD AND BALTIMORE COUNTY THAT WOULD KEEP SOMEBODY, YOU KNOW, NO ELECTRIC COLLARS ARE ON OUR EMPLOYEES.
UM, UH HA YOU KNOW, WHAT IS IT GONNA LOOK LIKE FOR SOMEBODY WHO WANTS TO WORK IN BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARIES NEXT YEAR? WELL, AS I USED TO WORK AT BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY, UM, WE'RE A MUCH BETTER LIBRARY SYSTEM, BUT DON'T ANYBODY SAY THAT OUTSIDE THESE WALLS MM-HMM.
I'M NOT AWARE RIGHT AT THE MOMENT.
I DO KNOW THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE, UH, JOHNNY O HAS PUT IN A VERY ROBUST BUDGET PROPOSAL FOR THE YEAR.
I READ THAT IN THE PAPERS, UH, PROBABLY LIKE EVERYONE ELSE.
UM, I DO KNOW LAST YEAR THEY RECEIVED A THREE AND 3%.
UM, SO, UH, WHERE WE RECEIVED THE 10%, WHICH WAS FABULOUS, ABOUT GETTING US UP TO CLOSE TO WAGE PARITY.
AND, UM, AND I DO KNOW THEIR BENEFITS ARE A LITTLE BIT MORE EX WELL, THEY'RE A LOT MORE EXPENSIVE THAN WHAT WE PAY IN HARFORD COUNTY FOR OUR BENEFIT ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES.
UM, BUT WE CAN, I CAN FIND OUT THAT INFORMATION FOR YOU.
I DO KNOW WE ARE VERY FORTUNATE IN HARFORD COUNTY THAT, UM, OUR TURNOVER RATE IS REALLY LOW COMPARED TO OTHER LIBRARY SYSTEMS IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND.
MARY'S COUNTY IS AT A 35% TURNOVER RATE.
UM, AND IT'S, AND IT VARIES IN BETWEEN LIKE 9% TO THE 35%.
AND WE'RE AT 12%, WHICH HAS BEEN GREAT.
AND CHARLES AND HIS TEAM HAVE BEEN RECRUITING SO MUCH.
IF YOU REMEMBER IN FORMER YEARS, I ALWAYS TALKED ABOUT HOW WE WERE HOLDING A LOT OF POSITIONS TO BE FILLED.
SO ABOUT, I GUESS ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO AFTER THE PANDEMIC, WE STARTED FILLING THEM, UM, BECAUSE WE'RE BUSY, WE'RE REALLY BUSY AND TIMES HAVE CHANGED.
SO, UM, I CAN GET THAT INFORMATION FOR YOU THOUGH.
ANYWHERE THAT SOMEBODY COULD FEEDERS REACH WITH THEIR CAR.
ANYONE? MR. ROBERT? THANK YOU.
HOW ARE YOU? UM, FIRST OFF, I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR THE DONATION FROM THE LIBRARY TO SAR FOR THEIR NEW SAFE HOUSE.
THERE'RE GETTING READY TO GET THAT OTHER WAY.
YOU MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE THE ANSWERS HERE, MAYBE CHARLES KNOWS.
BUT, UM, REGARDING, UH, EMPLOYMENT IDEA OF STARTING WAGE RATE FOR YOUR EMPLOYEES ENTRY LEVEL, KIND OF YOU.
CURRENTLY OUR SALARY SCALE IS, STARTS A LITTLE BIT UNDER $15 AN HOUR.
UM, WE ARE, OUR GOAL ON OUR PRIORITY AND OUR BOARD IS FULLY SUPPORTED, THIS IS TO GET IT TO $17.
WE'RE COMPETING WITH A LOT OF OUR ENTRY LEVEL POSITIONS WITH AMAZON, CHICK-FIL-A, ALL THOSE PLACES.
AUDI, THEY'RE, THEY'RE AT $17 AND WE JUST CAN'T COMPETE WITH THEM NOW.
I THINK WE'RE A MUCH NICER PLACE TO WORK, BUT STILL, REALISTICALLY, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ALL COMPETING WITH NOW.
SO OUR GOAL IS 17, AND I WAS HOPING TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT BY JULY 1ST, SO WE WILL SEE.
AND YOU GAVE SOME NUMBERS FOR EARLY IN YOUR, UH, PRESENTATION, UH, FOR DIFFERENT WAGE RATES, BUT I WAS WONDERING WHAT THE AVERAGE WAGE RATE IS ACROSS THE LIBRARY, IF YOU KNOW THAT.
YOU CAN GET THAT TO US LATER IF YOU KNOW IT UNLESS YOU WANT I, I, I WILL.
KATHY, DO YOU HAVE THAT WITH YOU? YEAH, WE'LL GET IT TO YOU.
AND YOU TALKED ABOUT THE HIRING HAS INCREASED THE BIG INITIATIVE TO HIRE PEOPLE RIGHT NOW, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS YOUR VACANCY RATE? DO YOU KNOW? UM, I THINK WE HAVE SIX POSITIONS RIGHT NOW THAT ARE CURRENTLY NOT POSTED.
UM, THREE OF THEM ARE 15 HOUR POSITIONS AND THREE ARE FULL-TIME POSITIONS.
AMBER STARTED, THERE'S A BOOK AGAIN THAT WE DON'T KNOW.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S DOWN FROM, I BELIEVE WE HAD 32, 35.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE RESERVE FUND, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, WE LOOK AT EVERY POSITION BEFORE WE FILL IT.
WE MAKE SURE IT'S, IT'S WHAT WE NEED.
IT'S, WE MAKE SURE IT MEETS THE NEEDS OF NOT ONLY THE LIBRARY, BUT THE COMMUNITY.
YOU KNOW, THINGS ARE CHANGING.
SO WE TAKE OUR TIME TO EVALUATE EVERY, EVEN OUR 15 HOUR POSITIONS.
UM, I KNOW FIRSTHAND THE COLLABORATIVE EFFORT OF YOUR TEAM.
UM, I ALWAYS WANNA THANK EVERY
[00:35:01]
SINGLE ONE OF YOU.I'VE WORKED WITH EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU RECENTLY, AND IT WAS A JOY.
UM, MY QUESTION IS, UM, IT APPEARS THAT, UM, THE GOVERNOR WILL SIGN INTO EFFECT, UM, A 15 HOUR WAGE LAW, UM, EFFECTIVE IN JANUARY.
UM, AND I KNOW THAT YOU DO HAVE EMPLOYEES THAT ARE NOT AT THAT PAY RATE RIGHT NOW.
IF YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO OFFER OUT OF YOUR BUDGET, WHAT, WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE EMPLOYEES WHO YOU'RE NOT ABLE TO MEET THAT STANDARD FOR THE STATE? WE WILL HAVE NO CHOICE.
WE WILL HAVE TO FIND THAT MONEY SOMEWHERE.
SO IT MAY BE THAT ONE OF, ONE OF THE SIX POSITIONS DISAPPEARS, AND WE USE THE FUNDING FOR THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T WANNA DO THAT BECAUSE THERE ARE, THEY'RE OUR FRONTLINE STAFF.
THOSE POSITIONS, I BELIEVE, EXCEPT FOR TWO OF THEM ARE BACK IN HEADQUARTERS.
WE, I MEAN, WE WOULD HAVE NO CHOICE.
AND KATHY IS, YOU KNOW, DOING THE NUMBERS.
SHE DOES THE NUMBERS WEEKLY TO SEE IF THIS HAPPENS.
IF INFLATION GOES UP THIS MUCH, THIS IS WHAT WE'LL HAVE TO DO WHERE WE'LL HAVE TO CUT BACK.
AND THE LAST THING WE WOULD CUT BACK IS JUST LET YOU KNOW IS OUR MATERIALS, OUR BOOKS, THOSE THINGS BE, ARE CRITICAL.
UM, NOTICE WE DO NOT HAVE SUNDAY HOURS.
WE HAVE NOT BROUGHT THEM BACK SINCE THE PANDEMIC.
UM, AND IT'S BECAUSE OF OF FUNDING, YOU KNOW, INSTEAD OF FOR THAT.
WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO BRING SUNDAY HOURS BACK? IT WOULD TAKE SOME FUNDING AND I, I DON'T KNOW THE DOLLAR AMOUNT AT THE MOMENT, BUT WE COULD FIND THAT OUT FOR YOU.
IT'D PROBABLY BE, UM, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WE ARE HARFORD COUNTY AND BECAUSE SUNDAY IS FAMILY TIME, WE DO PAY OUR STAFF WHO WORK SUNDAY'S TIME AND A HALF.
UM, EVEN IF THEY'RE HAVEN'T MET THE 40 HOUR ROLE, IT'S JUST FLAT TIME AND A HALF.
UM, AND WE DO THAT BECAUSE WE KNOW PEOPLE NEED EXTRA MONEY AND IT'S ALSO, THEY'RE GIVING THEIR FAMILY TIME UP.
MR. AND CYNTHIA, I JUST WANNA SAY ONE MORE IF I MAY.
YOU, I THINK YOU'RE GONNA MAKE ME CRY NOW BECAUSE WE HAVE THE, I SAY THIS ALL THE TIME.
WE HAVE THE BEST STAFF AT HARVARD COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY.
AND SOMETIMES WE'RE AT ODDS, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THEY CARE SO MUCH ABOUT WHAT THEY DO.
AND YOU HAVE TO WORK IN A PUBLIC LIBRARY.
PEOPLE THINK WE SIT AND READ ALL DAY,
THANK GOD WE HAVE, WE RENEW IT THREE TIMES.
SO THAT'S A BLESSING FOR YOUR DIRECTOR, BUT THEY REALLY CARE ABOUT THEIR COMMUNITIES AND THEY GIVE SO MUCH.
SO THANK YOU FOR THOSE WORDS, MR. ANDES.
WELL, MARY, I WANT TO, I WANNA GO RIGHT BACK ONTO THAT TOPIC FOR YOU.
UM, I, I CAN GIVE YOU COUNCILMAN BENNETT A LITTLE BIT OF INFORMATION ON ONE OF THE NEIGHBORING COUNTIES.
UM, ONE TO OUR NORTH HAS GIVEN OVER $192,000 IN NEW FUNDING THIS YEAR.
OPERATIONAL 4% INCREASE IN COLA.
UH, THAT COUNTY HAS ONE FIFTH OF THE BUDGET THIS COUNTY HAS.
UM, SO WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT A NUMBER OF 200 AND SOME THOUSAND DOLLARS, AND WE'RE GONNA PUT $10 MILLION IN HR FOR FUTURE 1.5 RAISES POTENTIALLY AS COUNCIL MCG GUTHRIE RE UH, REFERENCED EARLIER, THAT GIVES THE COUNTY TWO MONTHS OF REVENUE PROJECTIONS TO LOOK AT WHERE WE ARE.
SO INSTEAD OF POTENTIALLY THROWING THAT MONEY INTO A FUND BALANCE LATER ON, I THINK THAT THIS COUNCIL AND SOMETHING I'LL RECOMMEND SHOULD LOOK AT THAT AS SOMETHING THAT YOU SHOULD SEE TO COME ACROSS THIS COUNCIL AT SOME POINT MIDWAY THROUGH THE YEAR, IF, UH, THE REVENUE IS BETTER THAN EXPECTED.
SO I WOULD JUST LIKE TO, UM, TO SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, FOR WHAT YOU'RE DOING, WHAT YOUR STAFF HAS DONE, YES, THE 10% THAT CAME THROUGH LAST YEAR WAS BECAUSE OF A LOT OF YEARS OF NOT GETTING IT.
AND I THINK, THINK THAT THE, THE FASTEST WAY TO FALL BEHIND IN WAGE PARODY IS TO GIVE AND THEN STOP AND GIVE AND THEN STOP.
SO, UM, JUST TO YOUR STAFF AND TO WHAT YOU'RE DOING, THIS IS AN AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT IS MIND BLOWING TO THE COMMUNITY.
I HOPE THAT IS NOT IN YOUR BUDGET WHEN OTHER COUNTIES ARE WAY MORE FUNDED AT THIS POINT THAN WHERE WE ARE NOW.
SO, AND I'M SURE THE OTHER INFORMATION THAT YOU'LL GATHER IS GONNA SHOW THE SAME NUMBERS.
ANYONE ELSE? MR. STOVER? UM, MARY, SO I HAD, WHEN DR.
FELDER WAS SITTING THERE LAST WEEK, I HAD A SIMILAR CONVERSATION WITH HER CUZ YOU GUYS ARE KIND OF IN THE FLAT FUNDING BOAT, I GUESS IT'S MORE OF A PONTOON.
UM, YOUR ALL'S CONTRIBUTION FROM THE STATE THOUGH IS FAR LESS THAN THE COLLEGE.
WHAT PERCENTAGE OF BUDGET IS THAT? IT'S ABOUT BETWEEN 12, 12 AND 13% DEPENDING ON, ON THE YEAR.
AND WE WERE NOT THIS OVER, CAN YOU BRING THAT MIC TO YOU OR MAKE SURE IT'S ON PLEASE? AND WE, WE WERE NOT FORTUNATE IN ANNAPOLIS THROUGH LEGISLATION, UH, THIS YEAR FOR THE PER CAPITA INCREASE.
HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE BRINGING THAT BACK NEXT YEAR.
UH, THE COLLEGE SEEMED TO DO BETTER WITH THE STATE, BUT YOU ALL ARE FLAT.
ANYONE ELSE? MARY, AS ALWAYS, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR PRESENTATION AND AGAIN FOR YOUR SERVICE THAT YOU PROVIDE TO COUNTY.
[00:40:01]
TO TAKE A BRIEF SECOND BEFORE WE START, UH, WITH DR.BUT YOU COULD LEAVE THE DOG WITH ME.
UM, I THINK SHE HAS TO GO BACK TO HER OWNER
UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE.
UM, BUT, UH, WANNA WELCOME UH, DR.
BOLSON AND, AND HIS STAFF HERE TODAY.
HIS, HIS DEDICATED TEAM HERE TODAY.
AND, UM, WHENEVER YOU'RE READY, SEAN.
[00:45:01]
GOOD.SO I'M GONNA WALK YOU THROUGH SOME SLIDES.
NORMALLY WE PRESENT ACTUALLY WHAT WE REQUESTED IN OUR BUDGET, AND WE'LL GET TO THAT BRIEFLY AT THE END.
BUT AS YOU GUYS ALL UNDERSTAND, WHAT WE REQUESTED IS REALLY LESSED TOPIC TODAY IN A WAY.
SO I WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SORT OF OUR, OUR BUDGET CIRCUMSTANCES.
I'VE PRESENTED MUCH OF THIS TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, BUT I THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT THAT Y'ALL SEE IT.
UM, THE MOST SIMPLE SUMMARY LOOKS LIKE THE COMPUTER REFORMATTED US A LITTLE BIT, BUT THE SIM, THE SIMPLEST SUMMARY OF OUR BUDGET, 86% INSTRUCTION AND TRANSPORTATION FOR STUDENTS STUDENT FACING IS 86% OF OUR BUDGET.
11% COVERS OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE, 3% IS ADMINISTRATION.
DIFFERENT FORMAT AT THIS VERSION WORKS FOR YOU.
AND THEN BECAUSE THE COST OF ADMINISTRATION AND HCPS HAS, UH, BEEN QUESTIONED VIGOROUSLY, UM, OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS, I WANTED TO PUT THIS UP.
THIS IS FROM A REPORT POSTED ON MSTS SITE.
YOU KNOW, BASICALLY THE, THE TWO MAJOR CATEGORIES MEASURED BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF ED, UH, ADMINISTRATION AND MID-LEVEL ADMINISTRATION.
BASICALLY ALL TYPES OF SCHOOL SYSTEM LEADERSHIP IS WRAPPED UP IN THERE.
HARFORD COUNTY IS 24TH TO 24TH AND SIGNIFICANTLY BELOW THE STATE AVERAGE.
UH, SO IN TERMS OF RUNNING AN EFFICIENT OPERATION, WE WANT PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND, UM, THAT WE HAVE DATA TO SUPPORT THAT WE DO THAT.
UM, WE'VE ALSO TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE IDEA THAT, UM, SCHOOL FUNDING IS, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT'S REALLY KIND OF DRIVING, UH, INCREASED COST IN THE DISTRICT FOR OUR BUDGET.
BUT WHAT THIS SLIDE REPRESENTS, NO MATTER HOW YOU LOOK AT OUR BUDGET, WHETHER IT'S PERCENT OF HARPER COUNTY GENERAL FUNDS, UM, WITH DEBT SERVICE AND PEGO WITHOUT DEBT SERVICE AND PEGO, OR WITH, UM, NO MATTER HOW YOU MEASURE IT, THAT THE PERCENTAGE THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OCCUPIES IN HARTFORD COUNTY'S BUDGET HAS GONE CONSISTENTLY DOWN.
AND OF COURSE, WITH THIS YEAR'S PROPOSED BUDGET, FY 24 UC, AN EVEN MORE AGGRESSIVE DIP POINT BEING THAT YES, EDUCATION IS EXPENSIVE.
YES, THE COST OF EDUCATION HAS BEEN GOING UP ACROSS THE STATE AND THERE'S BEEN A HUGE INVESTMENT FROM THE STATE LEVEL IN ADVANCING EDUCATION.
UM, BUT THE COST TO THIS COMMUNITY HAS GONE UP AT A LOWER RATE, UM, THAN THE REST OF THE OVERALL BUDGET IN IN HARVARD COUNTY.
AND AGAIN, WE WANT PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND THAT BECAUSE AGAIN, LISTENING TO SOME OF THE PRESENTATIONS EARLIER IN THE YEAR, IT WAS IF OUR COSTS, OUR EXPENSES WERE WHAT WAS DRIVING, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE FINANCIAL CHALLENGES WE'VE CONFRONTED IN THIS COUNTY, A ANY WAY YOU LOOK AT THE MONEY COMING INTO THE SCHOOLS, WE APPRECIATE THE INVESTMENT THIS COMMUNITY'S MADE IN EDUCATION.
I FEEL WE HAVE A VERY STRONG, UH, SYSTEM AND I THINK WE DO, UH, QUITE A LOT WITH THE MONEY WE GET.
UM, I HAVEN'T SEEN THE LATEST REPORT, BUT WE ARE STILL 22ND, 23RD, 24TH IN TERMS OF PER PUPIL FUNDING IN THE STATE.
AND SO AGAIN, WE ARE SPENDING LESS PER STUDENT THAN MUCH OF MARYLAND, YET WE ALWAYS OUTPERFORM THE FUNDING.
WE'RE WELL ABOVE WHERE WE RANK IN FUNDING.
UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT I NEED TO GO THROUGH ANY OF THESE IN GREAT DEPTH.
I JUST TOUCHED ON THIS, BUT YOU CAN SEE THAT AGAIN WHILE WE'VE AVERAGED, UM, NEAR 50% OVER THE LAST, WHAT'S THE 17 YEARS? UM, AGAIN, WITH THIS YEAR'S PROPOSAL, WE'RE, WE'RE WELL BELOW 50% OF COUNTY FUNDS.
THIS SLIDE AGAIN, SHOWS THE CHANGE IN REVENUE, AGAIN, INDICATING OUR COSTS HAVE GONE UP, BUT THEY'VE GONE UP COMMENSURATE WITH THE REST OF THE COUNTY.
AND WHEN YOU SEE THE GAP, UH, AND THE PROPOSAL, UM, THIS YEAR, WE START TO SEE THAT FLAGGING INVESTMENT IN, IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS COMING FROM OUR COUNTY LEADERSHIP.
ONE OF THE BIG DRIVERS, CUZ I KNOW A QUESTION THAT'S COME OUT RECENTLY ALSO IS WE DID RECEIVE, UM, A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE FROM THE STATE AND THIS YEAR'S FUNDING.
AND THAT HAS A LOT TO DO WITH BLUEPRINT, WHAT WE'VE DONE HERE AND WE HAVE PEOPLE PARTICIPATING, YOU KNOW, FROM ACROSS THIS COMMUNITY ON OUR BLUEPRINT COMMITTEES.
THESE ARE THE FOUR MAJOR WORK AREAS OF, UH, THE MARYLAND, UH, BLUEPRINT.
AND WHAT WE'VE LISTED HERE, AND I WON'T READ THEM TO YOU, BUT YOU HAVE HARD COPIES.
THESE ARE SORT OF MAJOR TO-DO ITEMS FOR THE SCHOOL SYSTEM RELATED TO THE BLUEPRINT.
I KNOW THESE ARE THINGS THAT, THAT ARE IN
[00:50:01]
THAT 400 PAGE PIECE OF LEGISLATION FROM A FEW YEARS AGO.AND IT LISTS ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT, THAT WE NEED TO BE SPENDING MORE MONEY ON.
AND FRANKLY, WHILE A LOT OF MONEY HAS COME IN FROM THE STATE TO ADDRESS THE BLUEPRINT, THE MONEY FROM THE STATE AT BEST COVER 75% OF THAT TO-DO LIST.
THERE IS AN EXPECTATION THAT THE LOCAL COUNTY IS ENHANCING THEIR EFFORT TO ADDRESS THE BLUEPRINT.
AND AGAIN, THOSE, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN SORT OF A CHALLENGE AT THE STATE LEVEL.
MANY DISTRICTS ARE STRUGGLING WITH HOW TO KEEP UP WITH THOSE COSTS.
AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT EXAMPLES OVER THE YEAR.
ONE OF THE, THE MOST OBVIOUS ONES IS THAT BY FY 25, EVERY DISTRICT IS SUPPOSED TO BE SUPPOSED TO HAVE A STARTING SALARY OF $60,000 FOR THEIR TEACHERS.
UM, FOR HARFORD COUNTY TO REACH THAT NUMBER, OUR INCREASE, OUR COST OF LIVING INCREASE WOULD HAVE TO BE AT LEAST 2.4% PER YEAR JUST TO STAY ON TRACK TO HIT THAT 60,000 CUTOFF.
AS YOU'VE SEEN IN THE NEWS, SOME OF THE DISTRICTS AROUND THE STATE ARE LIKELY TO HIT THAT NUMBER IF, UM, EARLY.
UH, SOME OF THEM HAVE SORT OF RAPIDLY RAMPED UP, PARTLY BECAUSE, UM, WE'RE NOT THE ONLY STATE PUSHING HIGHER SALARIES FOR TEACHERS BECAUSE WE ARE IN A NATIONWIDE TEACHER SHORTAGE.
AND, UM, SO THAT HAS BEEN ACCELERATING.
BUT AGAIN, WHAT YOU HAVE HERE IS A LIST OF OTHER THINGS THAT ARE NEW, UH, EXPENSES FOR US BECAUSE OF BLUEPRINT REQUIREMENTS.
AND AGAIN, STATE FUNDING IS ADDRESSING THE LION'S SHARE OF THAT, BUT CERTAINLY NOT ALL OF IT.
SO WHILE IT'S HARD TO BE COMING TO YOU ASKING FOR EVEN MORE, I MEAN, YOU DIDN'T PASS THE BLUEPRINT AS A COUNCIL, I'M AWARE OF THAT.
UH, THAT IS A CHALLENGE THAT LOCAL COMMUNITIES ARE FACING.
UH, BUT THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE THINGS THAT ARE APPEARING IN STATE LAW THAT WE'RE WORKING TO ADDRESS.
AND, UM, SO THAT INFLUENCES WHAT WE ASKED.
THESE NEXT FEW ARE JUST TABLES.
I'LL JUST INCLUDE, I MEAN, I DON'T NEED TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME ON THESE, THESE ARE KIND OF THE TABLE VERSION OF THE GRAPHS WE SHOWED YOU.
UM, BUT AGAIN, YOU CAN DO THE YEAR TO YEAR COMPARISON TO SEE THAT AGAIN, FUNDING FOR SCHOOLS HAS STAYED CONSISTENT WITH THE COUNTY, BUT IN, IN, IN EVERY CASE THAT THE, THE SHARE OF THE COUNTY FUNDS HAS GONE DOWN.
AND AGAIN, THIS WAS JUST A NUMBER OF WAYS TO LOOK AT THAT.
AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE'VE BEEN DEALING WITH, UH, QUITE A BIT OF INFLATION AND, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO KEEP OUR, UM, FUNDING LEVEL AT LEAST KEEP UP WITH THAT BECAUSE AS WE'RE SEEING ACROSS THIS BUDGET FROM THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE, UM, WERE SO MANY OF THE MAJOR ENTITIES, UH, AND I I I AM PARTICULARLY CONCERNED ABOUT FLAT FUNDING FOR THE LIBRARIES, THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND THE REDUCTION IN FUNDING FOR PARKS AND REC.
BECAUSE WHEN I PUT THOSE THREE TOGETHER AND, AND ATTACH THEM TO THE SCHOOLS, I MEAN, THAT'S SO MUCH OF THE WORK IN THIS COUNTY, UH, THAT WE DO TO SUPPORT CHILDREN.
AND, UM, TO SEE, I MEAN, FLAT FUNDING IN AN INFLATIONARY ENVIRONMENT IS A CUT NO MATTER HOW YOU LOOK AT IT.
AND, UM, SO SEEING THAT THE SUPPORT FOR ALL OF THOSE ENTITIES, UH, MAKES ME CONCERNED FOR THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO OUR CHILDREN IN AND OUT OF SCHOOL.
AGAIN, I, I WON'T SPEND A LOT OF TIME IN THE COUNTY REVENUE DATA.
YOU HAVE ACCESS TO THIS, BUT WE WANTED TO PUT IT IN THERE.
SO THIS IS NORMALLY WHERE WE SPEND MOST OF OUR PRESENTATION, BUT I'M GOING TO JUST TOUCH ON IT VERY QUICKLY.
THIS IS THE ONE PAGE SUMMARY OF WHAT WE PUT FORWARD IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET REQUEST.
UM, THE CATEGORIES YOU SEE, UM, THESE ARE THE MAJOR AREAS WHERE WE, WE WERE LOOKING TO INCREASE THE BUDGET AND, YOU KNOW, INCREASE THE RESOURCES WE HAVE TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS.
UM, AND IF YOU RECALL, WHAT WE SENT IN OUR LOCAL REQUEST TO, UM, TO THE COUNTY WAS THE EQUIVALENT OF THE EMPLOYEE SALARY AND WAGE PACKAGE, WHICH, UH, SHOWS HERE AS THE FIRST ITEM AT 19.158 MILLION.
UM, AND IF YOU SORT OF GO A LITTLE BIT PAST THE MIDDLE, THE INTERSCHOLASTIC ATHLETICS AND, AND STUDENT ACTIVITIES, 583,863, WHEN YOU ADD THOSE TOGETHER, THAT WAS THE TOTAL OF WHAT WE ASKED AS AN INCREASE FROM THE COUNTY.
BASICALLY THE SALARY PACKAGE, UM, TO SUPPORT OUR STAFF.
THAT REPRESENTS A STEP PLUS A 3% COLA.
AND REMEMBER I SAID WE NEED TO BE DOING A 2.4% COLA TO STAY ON TRACK WITH THE SIX.
SO THAT IS KIND OF OUR LOW NUMBER THERE.
UM, AND THEN OF COURSE WE ADDED THE, THE, THE INTERSCHOLASTIC ATHLETICS.
WE, WE'VE WAIVED THAT FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, BUT WE FELT THE NEED TO KIND OF ENSURE THAT THE REVENUE WAS ADDRESSED IN THE BUDGET.
IT WAS A REASON WE ASKED FOR THAT.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, ENDURING ANY MAJOR CUTS, IF WE'RE NOT ABLE TO FUND THAT, THAT MAY BE SOMETHING WE'LL HAVE TO LOOK AT BRINGING BACK.
BUT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, A LOT TO BE SOLVED IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN WITH ANY OF THESE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE FIND OUT WHAT THE FINAL ANSWER IS ON THE BUDGET.
[00:55:01]
I WANT TO TURN FOR A SECOND AND ALLOW MR. BROWN TO, TO SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE CAPITAL BUDGET.UH, THERE WAS ONE SORT OF MAJOR CONCERN THAT I WANT HIM TO, TO HIGHLIGHT AND THEN WE WILL OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS.
UH, WITH OUR REQUEST THAT WE SUBMITTED, UH, TO THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE, UM, WE, BECAUSE OF THE, UH, ISSUES THAT WE HAD IN BEL AIR, THE HOMESTEAD WAKEFIELD PROJECT, WE PRETTY MUCH LOST A YEAR, UM, CAUSE OF THE ROAD DISCUSSION WITH THE TOWN.
UM, AND BECAUSE OF THAT, WE DEFERRED OUR REQUEST FOR THAT SCHOOL PROJECT ONE FISCAL YEAR.
AND WE FOCUSED OUR ATTENTION ON THAT NEXT PROJECT AT, UM, HARTFORD ACADEMY, UM, AT CAMPUS HILLS, UH, WHERE, UH, WE, WE REQUESTED THE $16 MILLION FOR, UM, PLANNING AND DESIGN FUNDING, WHICH THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE DID FUND.
BUT IN, UM, REVIEW OF, UH, THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE'S BUDGET, UH, THE PROJECT AT HARTFORD ACADEMY ISN'T BEING FUNDED TO FY 27.
AND, UM, IF YOU, UM, THOSE OF YOU WHO COULD RECALL THE DECISION THAT WAS MADE BY THE BOARD LAST YEAR WHEN WE WERE DOING THE BALANCING ENROLLMENT, UM, THE HARTFORD ACADEMY AT CAMPUS HILLS WAS INTENDED TO ADDRESS NOT ONLY THE, UM, SPECIAL NEEDS REQUIREMENTS AT HARTFORD ACADEMY, BUT ALSO, UH, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, UM, WITH AROUND 550 SEATS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS, UH, TO BALANCE ENROLLMENT IN HARFORD COUNTY OR ELEMENTARY.
UM, THIS YEAR WE DID MAKE ADJUSTMENTS IN OUR ATTENDANCE BOUNDARIES FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS, UH, TO ADDRESS THE, UH, CAPACITY ISSUES SPECIFICALLY IN THE BELAIRE AREA.
UH, BUT THE DECISION WAS MADE TO DEFER THAT AT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LEVEL.
UM, YOU KNOW, FOR REASONS THAT WE HAD DISCUSSED THEN.
UM, BUT WHAT HAPPENS HERE IS WITH THE FUNDING OF HARTFORD ACADEMY AND FY 27, IT SHIFTS, UM, THAT PLAN WHERE WE INTENDED TO BRING THAT SCHOOL ONLINE FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR OF THE 2026 SCHOOL YEAR.
UH, BUT WITH THE FUNDING, UH, PLAN AS IT WAS PRESENTED, UH, WE WILL PRETTY MUCH BE LOOKING AT, UM, SHIFTING THAT TWO YEARS TO SCHOOL, YEAR 28.
UM, NOW I GUESS THE DOMINO EFFECT WOULD BE IN OUR FACILITIES MASTER PLAN, THE NEXT PROJECT IS OLD POST.
SO THEN THERE WILL BE, UM, A DOMINO EFFECT WHERE ALL OF OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS WERE PRETTY MUCH, UM, SHIFT, UH, TWO YEARS SINCE THE, UH, STRATEGY FOR HARFORD COUNTY IS NOT TO FUND TWO SCHOOL PROJECTS AT A TIME.
UH, WE WOULD MOVE FORWARD WITH, UH, HARTFORD ACADEMY AND FY 27, WILLIAM PAER OLD POST, WHICH IS NOT IN THE COUNTY EXECUTIVES BUDGET, UM, BUT ONE WE THINK IT WOULD BE FY 29 AND THEN BEL AIR MIDDLE SCHOOL, UM, WHICH WAS PLANNED, UM, TO ADDRESS THE, YOU KNOW, THE CONTINUED GROWTH IN THAT AREA.
UM, WHERE WE SCHEDULED THAT FOR FY UM, 30, THAT'S GONNA PUSH THAT OUT TO FY 31.
AND THEN IT GOES ON AND ON AND ON.
AND IF YOU, UM, TAKE A LOOK AT OUR, UH, FACILITIES MASTER PLAN, UM, FOLLOWING THAT AS, YOU KNOW, CTON WRIGHT HIGH SCHOOL AND, AND SO ON.
SO I JUST WANTED TO TO POINT OUT THAT, UM, IN THE REQUEST THAT WE'VE MADE, UM, THERE'S BEEN A SHIFT, UM, WILLIAM O POST.
WE WANTED TO START PLANNING FOR THAT, UM, PROJECT SO THAT WE COULD GET READY, UM, THAT WENT UNFUNDED IN OUR REQUEST FOR, UM, DOING A SCOPE STUDY AND FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR THAT PROJECT.
SO THOSE ARE KIND OF LIKE THE MAJOR, UM, IMPACTS IN OUR CAPITAL BUDGET REQUEST.
UM, BUT THEN, UM, WHEN YOU START TO LOOK AT SOME OF OUR OTHER INITIATIVES, UM, THROUGHOUT THE CAPITAL BUDGET, YOU KNOW, SO MUCH THAT WE, UM, ASKED FOR, UM, DID GO UNFUNDED, UM, AND NOT COUNTING THE STATE, UH, PROJECTS AT, I DON'T WANNA GET 'EM, UH, YOU KNOW, HARTFORD TECH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH THAT PROJECT.
THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE DID, UM, FULLY FUND THE LOCAL SHARE, UM, FOR THAT THE HAVE THE GRACE ROOF REPLACEMENT PROJECT.
UM, THE HARTFORD, UM, THE ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE DID MOVE FORWARD, UM, WITH RECOMMENDING FUNDING FOR THAT PROJECT.
THE ABERDEEN MIDDLE H V A C RENOVATION.
UM, THAT'S, UH, BEEN FORWARDED BY, UM, THE COUNTY.
UM, AND THEN AGAIN, AS I, UM, HAVE SAID THE, UM, $16 MILLION FOR PLANNING AND DESIGN FOR HARFORD ACADEMY, WE DID RECEIVE THAT.
UM, BUT THEN THERE'S THAT GAP IN TIME, SO WE WOULD MOVE FORWARD WITH PLANNING AND DESIGN.
UM, BUT THEN THE CONSTRUCTION FUNDING AS IT'S PRESENTED, UM, WOULD NOT FOLLOW IN THE NORMAL SEQUENCES.
AND, AND IF I COULD, UM, ALSO, UH, WHEN WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THE PLANNING FOR HARTFORD ACADEMY AND WORKING WITH, UM, YOU
[01:00:01]
KNOW, THE STATE MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING THAT INDICATED TO US THAT THEY HAVE A NEW POLICY THAT THEY PUT IN PLACE A FEW YEARS AGO, UM, ABOUT, UM, SCHOOLS NOT BEING SERVED BY PUBLIC UTILITIES.AND THEY WANTED US, UM, TO GET, UM, AN ASSURANCE FROM THE COUNTY TO DO ONE OF TWO THINGS, EITHER EXTEND PUBLIC UTILITIES TO THE SHUCKS ROAD PROPERTY, WHICH, YOU KNOW, IS A HUGE TASK, OR TO, UM, SHOW THAT THERE'S NO PROPERTY WITHIN THE DEVELOPMENT ENVELOPE THAT'S SERVED BY PUBLIC UTILITIES THAT COULD BE USED FOR THIS SCHOOL PROJECT.
SO WE DID MEET WITH THE ADMINISTRATION TO TALK ABOUT THAT.
UM, THEIR PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT SENT US SOME PROPERTIES TO EVALUATE, AND WE DID MEET AND TALK ABOUT SOME THAT WILL BE SUITABLE.
AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THERE ARE SOME CONVERSATIONS GOING ON WITH SOME PROPERTY OWNERS TO SEE IF THERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS THAT COULD BE USED, UM, INSTEAD OF THE STRUCTURAL PROPERTY.
SO WE UNDERSTAND THAT THERE WOULD BE SOME DELAY IN THE PROJECT BECAUSE OF THAT, UM, PROCESS OF FINDING ANOTHER, YOU KNOW, PIECE OF PROPERTY AND WORKING THROUGH THAT.
UM, BUT THAT WE DIDN'T EXPECT FOR THAT TO MOVE, YOU KNOW, TO FY 27.
SO WHEN WE SAW THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S ONE OF THE MAJOR THINGS I THINK I JUST WANTED TO BRING UP, YOU KNOW, TODAY.
UM, BUT AGAIN, THERE ARE SOME OTHER, UM, YOU KNOW, BUDGET CONCERNS THROUGHOUT THE BUDGET, BUT GOOD MAJOR THINGS.
SO WITH THAT, WE WILL TURN IT OVER TO QUESTIONS.
SO IF I MAY, UM, MR. BROWN, I AGREE WITH YOU.
IT'S, IT'S, IT'S CONCERNING TO ME TO THINK FOR ONE MINUTE THAT, UH, WE WOULD MOVE THESE PROJECTS THAT FAR DOWN THE ROAD.
OLD POST IS ONE OF THE OLDEST SCHOOLS IN THE COUNTY AND HAS BEEN PUSHED BACK SO MANY DIFFERENT TIMES.
AND I UNDERSTAND THE, THE, UM, THE, THE NEED TO, UH, DO HARTFORD ACADEMY AND COMBINE THAT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BECAUSE OF OUR, UM, CAPACITY ISSUES, I GUESS IS THE BEST WAY TO PUT IT.
UM, AND I'M, I'M, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE CONVERSATIONS, I'M SURE MR. MCCORD'S INVOLVED.
MR. SANDS IS PROBABLY INVOLVED IN THEM, UM, WITH SOME OTHER SITE LOCATIONS BEING LOOKED AT.
UH, BUT I WOULD HOPE THAT WHATEVER HAPPENS THERE, UH, COMES, UH, TO FRUITION MUCH SOONER THAN 27.
UH, THAT'S JUST PUSHING EVERYTHING BACK.
AND, UM, AND I'M SURE MR. GUTHRIE, UH, AND MR. BENNETT, BECAUSE THEY ARE ON THE BORDERS THERE, UH, AT OLD POST, WOULD WANNA SEE THAT PROJECT MOVE ALONG SOONER THAN LATER.
UM, AND, UH, IF I MAY, I, I, UM,
I KNOW THEY'RE ALL, THEY ALL HAVE MANY, MANY QUESTIONS.
UM, SEAN, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR ALWAYS BEING AVAILABLE TO ME FOR A PHONE CALL AND MY COLLEAGUES FOR THAT MATTER, WE MEET ON A REGULAR BASIS.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT MANY OF THESE ISSUES OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS, LONG BEFORE THE BUDGET WAS EVER PRESENTED.
SO, UM, I THANK YOU FOR KEEPING ME UP TO SPEED ON THAT.
UH, AND WITH THAT MR. GUTHRIE AS THE LIAISON, I'M GONNA GO WITH YOU FIRST.
UM, SINCE THEY TOUCHED ON THE, THE WILLIAM PECO POST, UH, SCHOOLS, UH, WHEN I WAS ON THE COUNCIL BEFORE FOR 12 YEARS, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT IT THEN
AND, UH, AND NOW IT'S PUSHED OUT TO 29 AND HOW FAR, YOU KNOW, UH, I'VE TOURED THOSE SCHOOLS AND I'LL TELL YOU IT, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S REALLY EMBARRASSING.
I MEAN, PARTICULARLY THE ONE SCHOOL, IT USED TO BE, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, IT USED TO BE A HIGH SCHOOL AND THEY'RE, THEY'VE CONVERTED INTO AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
SO THEY HAVE THESE ROOMS THAT ARE SO BIG AND ALL FOR, UH, ELEMENTARY STUDENTS THAT, AND YOU WALK AROUND THESE CINDER BLOCK DOOR WALWAYS IN THERE.
I MEAN, IT LOOKS, IT'S JUST, IT'S UNBELIEVABLE FOR AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
UM, I, I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT, UM, UM, RIGHT BETWEEN THE TWO SCHOOLS IS BUILDING A NEW SCHOOL, ONE SCHOOL AND IT WOULD BE ALL IN ONE AND THEN THE OTHER TWO WOULD BE TORN DOWN.
IS IT STILL WHERE WE'RE AT? WELL, MAYBE YOU BRING UP, YOU BRING UP A GREAT POINT.
UM, I, I CAME ON BOARD, UM, WITH HARPER COUNTY IN 2008.
AND IN 2008 WE HAD OUR, UM, LIST OF CAPITAL PRIORITIES.
AND THE SCHOOLS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TODAY ARE THE SAME SCHOOLS WE WERE TALKING ABOUT IN 2008.
SO WE DID A, UM, SCOPE STUDY IN 2008, 2009 FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, OLD POST.
AND THAT WAS THE CONCEPT THEN, BUT NOW IT'S 2023.
SO WE DID REQUEST FOR SOME FUNDING, UM, TO GO AND REVISIT THAT, TO DETERMINE WHAT WOULD THE, WHAT WOULD THE SOLUTION BE TODAY.
SO YES, THAT WAS THE PLAN THEN.
BUT WE WOULD NEED TO, UM, YOU KNOW, KIND OF, YOU KNOW, JUST FRESH LOOK
[01:05:01]
AT IT TO DETERMINE IF THAT'S STILL, UM, WHAT IS GOOD FOR HOFF COUNTY NOW.IF I COULD JUST BRIEFLY ADD, UM, THANK YOU.
JUST, JUST THE BIG PICTURE PIECE.
WE HAVE 52 SCHOOL LOCATIONS IN A NUMBER OF OTHER BUILDINGS AND, YOU KNOW, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, BUT I, I'VE PUT IT OUT, BUT NOT TO THIS COUNCIL BEFORE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ON A SCHEDULE TO DO ONE SCHOOL EVERY TWO YEARS, SO THAT'S 104 YEAR CYCLE.
SO JPA TOWN WAS A PROJECT WE JUST FINISHED.
CAN YOU IMAGINE NOT REVISITING NEXT SCHOOL FOR 104 YEARS.
UM, THERE NEEDS TO BE A COMMUNITY-WIDE SOLUTION TO, TO HAVE A MORE SUSTAINABLE, UH, CAPITAL PLAN.
AND SO THE IDEA THAT THIS YEAR'S BUDGET BOOK PROPOSES PUSHING EVEN THAT SLOW PACE OUT AN ADDITIONAL LOOKS LIKE THREE YEARS, UM, IS REALLY CONCERNING.
CUZ WE NEED TO BE TALKING ABOUT HOW DO, HOW DO WE ACCELERATE THIS SO THAT OUR BUILDINGS AREN'T, YOU KNOW, CRUMBLING FOR THE NEXT GENERATION.
UM, I KNOW THEY'RE FINISHING UP ON JOHN TOWN HIGH SCHOOL, BUT I WAS DISAPPOINTED BECAUSE WHEN I WAS ON THE COUNCIL BEFORE AND WE, WE WERE PUTTING IN SCHOOLS ALL OVER THE PLACE.
WE REALLY DID A HECK OF A JOB.
WE, WE BUILT, I CAN REMEMBER 'EM ALL.
WE BUILT A BRAND NEW, WE TORE DOWN THE BE BLAIR HIGH SCHOOL, BUILT A BRAND NEW SCHOOL RIGHT DOWN THE ROAD, BUILT A BRAND NEW PATTERSON MILL AND EL AND UH, UM, UH, MIDDLE, UH, HIGH SCHOOL.
UM, WE, UH, PUT IN A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS, I BELIEVE IN THE, IN THE HABIT GRACE, UH, SCHOOL.
AND, UH, LAST I SAW GUYS GOT THE NUMBERS.
IT'S STILL IN THE 60 TO 70%, UH, CAPACITY.
UH, IS THAT FAIRLY CORRECT? WHICH SCHOOL ARE YOU REFERRING? I'M TALKING ABOUT THE NEW UH HA GRACE, UH, MIDDLE HIGH SCHOOL.
WELL, NOT THE, THE TIRE BUILDING.
NO, YOU'RE LOOKING AT 90 SOMETHING PERCENT FOR HA GRACE, BUT WE KNOW THAT IN THE ABERDEEN AND HAVE GRACE, THERE'S PLAN GROWTH.
SO THAT'S A WHOLE NOTHER CONVERSATION THAT WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING ABOUT LOOKING FOR, UM, PROPERTY AND DOING LAND BANKING TO ADDRESS, UM, THE PLAN DEVELOPMENT IN THE ABERDEEN HAVE A GRACE AREA.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING ELSE WE WOULD NEED TO DISCUSS.
BUT, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW WE ARE JUST REALLY, I MEAN, WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT IT ALL, BUT THE PROJECTS THAT ARE RIGHT IN FRONT OF US, WE CAN'T GET TO.
AND YES, AND I, I DON'T WANNA BLAME MYSELF FOR IT CAUSE I STARTED IN 2008 AND EVERYTHING CAME TO A SCREECHING HALL.
SO WITH ABERDEEN AND BE JAR, OF COURSE, YES.
EVERYTHING CAME TO A HALT, BUT THAT'S ANOTHER ARGUMENT.
WE ALSO TORE DOWN AND TOTALLY REBUILT, UH, EDGEWOOD HIGH SCHOOL.
UH, DEERFIELD TORE THAT DOWN AND BUILT IT, UH, BRAND NEW SCHOOL IN DEERFIELD, ONE IN THE MIDDLE, UH, PUT A, UH, 15, 12, $15 MILLION, UH, ATTACHMENT TO THAT.
AND, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, WHAT I'M LEADING TO IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I DISCUSSED WITH THE DEN COUNTY EXECUTIVE CRAIG, THAT, UH, IF, IF I WAS IN SUPPORT OF ALL THIS AND I WAS, UH, THAT KNEW WHAT THEY WOULD BUILD, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BUILDING A BRAND NEW JOB OF TOWN HIGH SCHOOL AND MAKING A MIDDLE HIGH SCHOOL AND TAKE MAGNOLIA MIDDLE OKAY.
AND MOVE THOSE PEOPLE THERE AND MAKE THAT A SCHOOL.
AND THEN THE DREAM FELL THROUGH AND WE GET, UM, EVERYBODY'S GETTING A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLAR SCHOOLS ON IT AND WE GOT A $30 MILLION THAT AIN'T TRUMP CHANGE, BUT WE GET A $30 MILLION RENOVATION.
SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS, THAT WAS MY BEEF.
UM, LET ME, UH, LET ME ASK YOU A QUESTION OF, UM, UH, CAN YOU OPEN TO THIS PAGE, HARFORD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL'S SHARE OF COUNTY BUDGET? UH, CAN WE, CAN WE GET THAT UP? I NEED, IF YOU CAN EXPLAIN SOMETHING TO ME, PAGE NUMBER.
UH, IT'S, THERE'S NO NUMBERS ON THE PAGES.
SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE IT LOOKS LIKE THIS.
UH, IF YOU COULD, IF YOU COULD EXPLAIN SOMETHING TO ME CUZ UM, IT'S NOT MAKING SENSE TO ME, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S NEITHER HERE OR THERE.
IT SAYS HERE IN HIS WHITE, UH, UH, BLOCK HERE, IT SAYS FROM 52 POINT 12% IN 2015 TO 48.9, UH, 1% PROPOSAL IN 24.
BUT YOUR GRAPH HAS 48.9 IN, UH, IN 23 AND DROPPING ALL THE WAY DOWN TO 45.13 AND 2024.
BUT YOUR LINE HERE SAYS 48.90.
WHAT, CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE TO ME? JUST A MISTAKE,
[01:10:01]
UM, YEAH.CAUSE I THINK WHEN WE ORIGINALLY BUILT THIS, WE, WE DIDN'T HAVE THE 24, SO WE HAD THE, WE HAD THE FY 23 ACTUAL IN THERE, WHICH WAS 48.91.
SO THAT'S WHERE YOU SEE THAT NUMBER.
BUT I THINK WE ADJUSTED THE SLIDE AND SHOULD HAVE MOVED IT TO 45 POINT 13.
THEN CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO ME, LOOKING AT THE GRAPH ALL THE WAY BACK TO 2015, CAN YOU TELL ME, UH, HOW YOU JUDGE THIS? UH, UH, TREMENDOUS DROP FROM 48.91 TO 45.13? OF COURSE, THAT'S 2024.
SO YOU'RE, WHY ARE YOU ESTIMATING THAT SIGNIFICANT DROP? THAT'S THE PROPOSED BUDGET? YEAH, THAT'S OUR, THAT'S THE 45.13 IS WOULD BE THE SHARE OF THE BUDGET AS IT'S CURRENTLY PROPOSED, AS IT'S PROPOSED BY YES.
BY YOU GUYS OR THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE, THE EXECUTIVES PROPOSED.
UM, IF WE WERE FUNDED AT THE, AT THE AMOUNT IN THE COUNTY EXECUTIVES BUDGET RIGHT NOW, UM, THERE'S A, THERE'S A LOT, A LOT OF TALK ABOUT THIS, UH, MILLION, $90 MILLION, UH, UM, THAT YOU HAVE, UH, UH, UH, SET ASIDE OR WHAT DO YOU CALL THAT? THE, UH, FUND BALANCE.
UM, AND, UM, UH, I NOTICED, UH, IN, IN YOUR PROPOSED BUDGET, YOU, UH, PROPOSED, UH, UH, 19 MILLION AND CHANGE, UH, AT, TO KEEP THE BUDGET WHERE IT IS AND PLUS ANOTHER 19 MILLION.
IS THAT, IS THAT FAIRLY ACCURATE? SO OUR PROPOSAL TO THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE WAS AN, WAS ABOUT A 19 MILLION INCREASE OVER LAST YEAR.
AND SO YEAH, LAST YEAR WE WERE FUNDED 324 MILLION.
AND SO THE REQUEST WAS AN ADDITIONAL 19 MILLION, UM, WHICH AGAIN, WAS THE EQUIVALENT OF OUR SALARY PACKAGE.
UM, BUT THE, THE OTHER 19 THAT COMES IN IS INSTEAD OF GOING UP 19 FROM LAST YEAR, THE, SEAN, CAN YOU PULL THAT MICROPHONE? OH, I'M SORRY.
INSTEAD OF GOING UP NINE THE 19, WE PROPOSED, YOU KNOW, THE, THE COUNTY EXECUTIVES PROPOSED BUDGET ACTUALLY GOES DOWN FROM LAST YEAR BY 19.5 MILLION.
SO WE'RE DOWN 38, 30 9 MILLION, MORE OR LESS.
UH, LET ME ASK YOU, UH, IT SEEMS DIFFERENT IN DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.
UH, WHAT CAN YOU USE THAT 90 MILLION FUND BALANCE FOR, OR WHAT YOU CAN'T AND WHAT CAN'T YOU USE IT FOR? YES.
SO THE 92 MILLION IS ACTUALLY A STATEMENT IN OUR AUDITED FINANCIALS AS OF JUNE 30TH, 2022.
SO IT'S SIMILAR TO THE COUNTY'S STATEMENT IN THEIR AUDITED.
THAT SAID, THE COUNTY HAS A GENERAL FUND FUND BALANCE OF OVER 200 MILLION.
WE BOTH HAVE APPROXIMATELY 36 TO 38 MILLION UNASSIGNED.
THAT UNASSIGNED NUMBER IS TRULY THE NUMBER THAT WE WORK OFF OF WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT USING IT FOR THINGS LIKE BALANCING THE BUDGET, WHICH YOU WANNA DO MINIMALLY, BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANNA USE FUND BALANCE TO PAY FOR RECURRING EXPENSES.
SO IDEALLY IT'S FOR ONE-TIME EXPENSES, EMERGENCIES THAT COME UP AND SO FORTH.
I CAN WALK YOU THROUGH THE 92 MILLION.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANNA SPEND THAT TIME DOING THAT.
I CAN, I HAVE A SUMMARY THAT I CAN SEND TO YOU THAT WELL, RATHER THAN DO IT THERE, YOU SEND IT TO THE WHOLE COUNCIL.
CAUSE WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT, YOU KNOW, AND THAT'S, UH, WHEN PEOPLE LOOK AT THAT AND THEY SAY, WELL, YOU GOT $92 MILLION SITTING OUT THERE AND IT'S FUN, AND YOUR, YOUR BOTH OF YOUR PROPOSALS TO, TO, UH, ARE AROUND 40 MILLION.
YOU COULD TAKE HALF THAT AND TAKE CARE OF YOUR, YOUR ENTIRE PROPOSAL.
THE PROBLEM IS WELL, THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE, YEAH, THE PROBLEM IS THAT'S THE GOOD NEWS.
WELL, BAD NEWS IS WE'VE CREATED A STRUCTURAL DEFICIT WITH THE PROPOSED LEVEL OF FUNDING.
YOU CAN'T USE THE FUND BALANCE TO DO THAT WITHOUT ADDRESSING THE STRUCTURAL DEFICIT UNDERNEATH.
SO WE CAN USE A PORTION OF OUR UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE, CERTAINLY TO BALANCE THE BUDGET, BUT IT WOULD BE COMPLETELY IRRESPONSIBLE TO JUST TAKE 40 MILLION AND THROW IT AGAINST THIS BUDGET WITHOUT CORRECTING THE UNDERLYING PROBLEMS THAT ARE NOW CREATED BECAUSE OF THE LEVEL OF FUNDING WE'VE RECEIVED.
UM, SEAN, CAN YOU SPEAK TO, UM, ONE OF OUR, I GUESS, EARLIER CONVERSATIONS WHERE YOU KNEW THAT YOU WERE GONNA HAVE TO USE SOME OF YOUR UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE TO COVER SOME OF THE BLUEPRINT EX MANDATES THAT ARE NOT FUNDED? UM, WAS SPORTS PART OF THAT? DID I, DID I REMEMBER THAT? WELL,
UM, SO I, I THINK OUR, OUR BIGGEST CONCERN WITH REGARD TO FUND BALANCE IS, AS, AS
[01:15:01]
WE'VE INDICATED, IT IS HEALTHIER THAN IT'S BEEN.I MEAN, WHEN I ARRIVED, OUR FUND BALANCE WAS ALMOST ZERO.
AND WE'VE HAD SURPLUSES MOST OF THEM DUE TO THE SURPLUSES FROM HEALTHCARE.
AND YOU'VE HAD A SHORT CONVERSATION IN HEALTHCARE, YOU KNOW, WITH THE LAST PRESENTATION.
AND, UM, BUT THERE WERE, WE ALL HAD SIGNIFICANT INFUSION OF FUNDS FOR THE BLUEPRINT, I'M SORRY, FOR THE, THE FEDERAL STIMULUS OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.
AND THAT CREATED EXPENDITURES IN A LOT OF AREAS.
UM, WE HAD NEARLY $90 MILLION COME IN THROUGH, THROUGH FEDERAL STIMULUS FUNDS, AND THE IDEA WAS TO WHEREVER WE COULD SPEND THEM ON ONE TIME EXPENSES, BUT YOU CAN ONLY BUY SO MUCH PPE, SO MANY MASKS AND ALL THAT STUFF, AND
AND SO THINGS STARTED TURNING INTO, UM, WE, WE DID START USING RECURRING, WE STARTED HIRING PEOPLE BECAUSE BASICALLY WHEN IT CAME TO HELPING STUDENTS RECOVER FROM THE PANDEMIC, IT WAS HANDS WE NEEDED INTO SCHOOLS WORKING WITH KIDS.
AND IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET, WE HAVE, UM, A NUMBER OF POSITIONS THAT ARE SITTING IN, IN THE FEDERAL GRANTS THAT ARE POSITIONS THAT ARE WORKING IN OUR SCHOOLS.
94% OF THOSE POSITIONS ARE STUDENT FACING.
UM, AND SO PART OF WHAT WE WERE LOOKING TO DO WAS TO MOVE SOME OF THOSE POSITIONS INTO OUR OPERATING BUDGET, BECAUSE THESE PEOPLE WHO WE'VE HIRED, YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE BEEN MAKING PROGRESS ON CLASS SIZE.
WE'VE PUT IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF SUPPORTS.
WE'VE PUT IN SUPPORTS FOR TEACHERS ALSO BECAUSE, AGAIN, WITH THE TEACHER SHORTAGE, WE, OUR TEACHER, OUR, THE TEACHERS WERE ABLE TO HIRE, UM, BECAUSE WE HAVE MANY MORE WHO WE'RE HIRING WHO DON'T HAVE THE SAME QUALIFICATIONS AS THEY ONCE DID.
SO WE NEED TO SUPPORT THEM AS WELL.
THE BLUEPRINT, WE HAD A SCHEDULE OF FUNDING INCREASES THAT WE COULD ANTICIPATE THROUGH THE BLUEPRINT.
UM, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF SCHOOLS DEEMED PRIORITY SCHOOLS.
AND WHAT THEY ARE IS YOU HAVE TITLE ONE SCHOOLS, WHICH ARE YOUR VERY POOREST, AND THEN OUR PRIORITY SCHOOLS IS OUR NEXT SCHOOLS THAT ARE LIKE OUR NEXT POOREST SCHOOLS.
THE BLUEPRINT IS GIVING MONEY WHERE SOME OF THOSE SCHOOLS ARE GETTING ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR, FOR SUPPORT THE SCHOOL, FOR SPECIALISTS, FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND THESE SORTS OF THINGS.
BUT THAT'S COMING OUT ON A SCHEDULE.
MEANING THIS YEAR WE HAVE THREE CONCENTRATION POVERTY SCHOOLS.
NEXT YEAR WE MAY HAVE MORE, BECAUSE WHAT THEY'RE DOING IS, UM, THEY'RE LOWERING THE, THE, THE POVERTY RATE AT WHICH A SCHOOL BECOMES QUALIFIED TO GET THIS EXTRA SUPPORT.
AND AGAIN, THAT'S ON A SCHEDULE.
SO WHAT WE'VE DONE IN SOME CASES IS WE'VE FORWARD FUNDED THAT.
IN OTHER WORDS, WE HAVE SCHOOLS THAT WE KNOW THE BLUEPRINT IS GOING TO COVER THE FUNDING FOR, TO HAVE ADDITIONAL SUPPORTS, ADDITIONAL STAFF, ADDITIONAL MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORTS, THOSE SORT OF THINGS.
UM, SO WE HIRED POSITIONS KNOWING THAT IN TWO YEARS, SOME OF THAT MONEY WILL BE COMING THROUGH THE BLUEPRINT TO PAY FOR THOSE POSITIONS.
BUT WE FELT, YOU KNOW, RATHER THAN RECURRING FOREVER, PUT THE HIRING POSITIONS THAT WOULD BE RECURRING FOREVER.
WE HIRED POSITIONS THAT WE KNEW EVENTUALLY THE BLUEPRINT WOULD HELP US PICK UP.
AND SO THAT'S PART OF THE ANSWER THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE LOOKING TO MOVE POSITIONS FROM THESE GRANT FUNDS THAT WE HAD FROM THE FEDERAL STIMULUS INDOOR OPERATING BUDGET.
WE'VE BEEN LEVERAGING WHAT WE KNOW IS COMING WITH THE BLUEPRINT FUNDS TO HELP US, YOU KNOW, SPEED UP THAT SCHEDULE.
UM, BUT THE OTHER THING IS, WE STILL HAVE POSITIONS THAT AT THE END OF, IN THE FALL OF 24, ALL OF THE FEDERAL MONEY EXPIRES.
AND WE KNOW WE WILL HAVE POSITIONS THAT WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO PICK UP.
AND WE WERE ANTICIPATING WE TO USE A FAIR BIT OF FUND BALANCE NEXT YEAR, UM, BECAUSE THAT IS REALLY THE YEAR OF THE CLIFF.
THAT'S THE YEAR WHERE THE FEDERAL FUNDS EXPIRE, NOT JUST FOR HAR COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, BUT YOU KNOW, EVERY PUBLIC ENTITY THAT GOT FUNDS AND THERE IS GOING TO BE A, A SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE NEXT YEAR.
SO WE KNOW IN TERMS OF FUND BALANCE, THE REAL EMERGENCY FOR US HITS NEXT YEAR.
AND MAYBE IN THE, IN A COUPLE YEARS FOLLOWING THAT, UM, AS WE'RE, YOU KNOW, THEN COMPLETELY OUT OF FEDERAL FUNDS.
AND SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT ADDRESSED THE QUESTION.
I WENT A COUPLE DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, BUT THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT GOING ON WITH THESE FUNDS.
WE'VE, WE'VE WORKED VERY, VERY HARD TO USE THEM RESPONSIBLY, BUT ALSO TO SUPPORT OUR KIDS IN THE WAY THEY NEED SUPPORT.
BOLSON, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
I JUST WANNA ALSO THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING, UM, MYSELF AND, UH, MY, UH, COMMUNITY ADVISOR, BROOKE SEARCHER TO SIT DOWN, UH, WITH YOUR FINANCE TEAM AND JUST KIND OF LEARN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE BUDGET.
I THINK IT WAS EXTREMELY HELPFUL FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND IT.
IT'S STILL VERY COMPLEX AS, AS YOU KNOW, BUT, UH, IT WAS HELPFUL.
[01:20:01]
UM, JUST HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS.UM, YOUR BUDGET WAS CUT, OBVIOUSLY, AND BASED OFF OF, UH, THE NEWLY ENACTED LEGISLATION DOWN IN ANNAPOLIS WAS REALLY ALLOWED THEM TO JUST RESET THE MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.
UM, WAS THERE ANY OTHER JURISDICTION THAT WAS IMPACTED THE WAY THAT HARFORD COUNTY WAS WITH THAT LEGISLATION? NOWHERE NEAR THE SCALE.
SO WE'VE DONE IT LIKE AN INFORMAL SURVEY, BUT I HAVEN'T SEEN RESPONSES FROM EVERY SCHOOL SYSTEM.
I'M AWARE OF EIGHT DISTRICTS IN THE STATE THAT ARE RECEIVING MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT FUNDING.
UM, THERE WERE ONLY THREE DISTRICTS IN THE STATE THAT COULD HAVE BEEN CUT BY A LARGER NUMBER LIKE YEAR OVER YEAR.
LIKE THEIR FUNDING COULD HAVE GONE DOWN FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR BY A LARGER THAN US.
UM, BALTIMORE COUNTY, P UH, HOWARD COUNTY AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY ALL HAD NUMBERS.
THEIRS WERE 30, 40 AND SOMETHING ELSE.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT MONTGOMERY'S DOING.
I HAVEN'T SEEN THEIR BUDGET, BUT OBVIOUSLY BOTH BALTIMORE AND HOWARD ARE RECEIVING FUNDING ABOVE THE PREVIOUS YEAR'S FUNDING LEVELS.
SO THEY DIDN'T EXPERIENCE THE CUTS, UM, ANYWHERE NEAR LIKE WHAT WE SAW.
AS I SAID, THERE'S EIGHT DISTRICTS DOING FLAT FUNDING, SO THE SO LIKELY THEY ALL HAD MINIMAL CORRECTIONS.
BUT AGAIN, THE NEXT CLOSEST BEHIND US IS POSSIBLY FREDERICK.
UM, I'M NOT ENTIRELY CERTAIN WHAT'S HAPPENING, FREDERICK.
I UNDERSTAND THEY'RE BEING FUNDED AND MADE OF EFFORT.
THEY COULD HAVE SEEN MAYBE AN EIGHT OR 9 MILLION CUT.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, AND, AND ACTUALLY FREDERICK'S A LARGER COUNTY THAN OURS.
SO AGAIN, SMALLER CUT, BIGGER COUNTY.
AND THEN ALL THE OTHERS THAT ARE ON THE LIST THAT ARE DOING MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT ARE, ARE EVEN SMALLER.
SO YES, THERE ARE A FEW, BUT THIS IS PRETTY PRECEDENT SETTING, UH, FOR A HARPER CUZ WE ARE, WE ARE EXPERIENCING BY FAR THE LARGEST CUT OF STATE.
MY NEXT QUESTION IS, UM, OBVIOUSLY YOU WERE CUT, SO IT WOULD REQUIRE YOU TO USE A GREAT DEAL OF THAT FUND BALANCE AS, AS YOU MENTIONED.
I THINK THIS IS KIND KIND OF THE LINES THAT, UH, COUNCIL PRESIDENT VINCENTI WAS TALKING ABOUT.
BUT LET'S JUST SAY HYPOTHETICALLY YOU WERE FUNDED FLAT FROM LAST YEAR'S BUDGET, YOU WOULD'VE STILL BEEN REQUIRED OR NEEDED TO USE SOME OF THAT FUND BALANCE TO KIND OF, UH, OFFSET SOME OF YOUR, YOUR COSTS THAT YOU HAVE.
SO THE INITIAL BUDGET I PRESENTED TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION HAD, I THINK WE HAD A 27 OR A 28 MILLION REQUEST WHEN THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE AND, AND, AND MR. SANDIS CAME TO THE BOARD MEETING, MADE AN APPEAL TO THE BOARD.
WE ACTUALLY WENT BACK, WE CUT ABOUT 9 MILLION OFF THAT REQUEST.
UM, AT THE TIME WHEN WE WERE MAKING THE ADJUSTMENTS TO REDUCE THE REQUEST THAT WE ULTIMATELY FORWARDED, UM, WE DID INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF THUMB BALANCE WE WERE GONNA USE AT THAT TIME.
SO THE REQUEST WE PUT IN ORIGINALLY WAS ALREADY LOOKING TO SPEND ABOUT JUST UNDER 5 MILLION IN FUND BALANCE.
UM, IF WE, IF WE WERE ABLE TO SEE A SLIGHTLY HIGHER NUMBER THAN IS WHAT IN WHAT'S IN, IN THE, THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE'S BUDGET, UM, REGARDLESS, UNLESS IT GETS ALL THE WAY BACK TO OUR FULL REQUEST, WE'LL BE USING, YOU KNOW, MORE THAN 5 MILLION IN FUND BALANCE.
I DON'T KNOW THE TOTAL AMOUNT BECAUSE AGAIN, MY GREAT CONCERN IS THE NEXT TWO YEARS, BUT WE WILL STILL NEED TO USE, UH, SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF FUND BALANCE TO, YOU KNOW, TO NOT TO, TO NOT BE IN A POSITION TO MAKE CUTS THAT COULD DO HARM TO, TO OUR OPERATIONS, WHICH I'M ASSUMING IS, IS A BIG PART OF THAT IS RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION FOR YOUR STAFF MEMBERS.
I I'M ASSUMING THAT THAT 19 MILLION WAS KIND OF PRESCRIBED FOR THAT, AND THAT'S GONNA PROBABLY BE A HEAVY HIT TO TRY TO MATCH THAT.
YEAH, THAT IT WAS 19.1 ISH MILLION DOLLARS WAS FOR OUR SALARY PACKAGE, UM, A STEP INCREASE IN THE 3% COST OF LIVING INCREASE, WHICH WE KNOW IS ALREADY MODEST IN THE SIX TO 7% INFLATIONARY TIME.
UM, AND WE'VE BEEN DOING WELL THE LAST FEW YEARS IN RECRUITING, UH, COMPARED TO SOME OF OUR NEIGHBORS.
BUT WE SEE OUR BIGGEST NEIGHBOR IN BALTIMORE COUNTY, UM, BEING MUCH MORE AGGRESSIVE IN THEIR SALARY PACKAGE THIS YEAR.
SO WE'RE ALREADY ANTICIPATING SOME CHALLENGES, BUT I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THE OVERALL PICTURE OF, YOU KNOW, THESE, THESE CANDIDATES ARE VERY SMART, YOU KNOW, TEACHER CANDIDATES, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY'RE LOOKING AND SEEING WHAT'S HAPPENING IN DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES AND THEY'RE LOOKING FOR WHERE THE SUPPORT IS.
SO WE'VE BEEN THE OVERALL MESSAGE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE COULD GO FLAT.
I MEAN, WE, I'VE RECEIVED LETTERS FROM PEOPLE WHO REMEMBER WHEN WE SKIPPED STEPS YEARS AGO, WHO LEFT THE COUNTY.
UH, ONE IS A, AS A LIVES HERE IN A COUNTY AND, AND TEACHES, UH, IN A NEIGHBORING COUNTY WHO SAID, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE STARTED INDICATING THAT WE WEREN'T GONNA SUPPORT OUR TEACHERS AND, AND KEEP UP WITH THE SALARIES THEY HAD TO LEAVE, UM, THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT CONCERN US.
WE, WE'VE, WE'VE DONE WELL RECRUITING EVEN IN A TOUGH TIME, BUT THE, THE SIGNALS THAT COME FROM THIS SORT OF BUDGET MESSAGE, UM, ARE REALLY CONCERNING.
[01:25:01]
I AGREE.UH, THE NEXT QUESTION IS KIND OF PERTAINS TO THE, UH, CAPITAL PROJECTS AND THOSE ARE THE SCHOOL PROJECTS.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S, UM, RENOVATING OR THE NEW SCHOOL THAT I THINK IT WAS DISCUSSED, UM, NOT SO LONG AGO WE HAD, I'M GONNA, THE BAD WORD IS REDISTRICTING EFFORT OR BALANCING ENROLLMENT, RIGHT? SO IF, IF THOSE RENOVATIONS OR THE NEW SCHOOLS ARE PUSHED FURTHER BACK, WOULD THERE BE ANY CONSIDERATION TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION AGAIN ABOUT BALANCING ENROLLMENT? WELL, IF YOU WANTED, I'M JUST BE, YEAH.
THERE, THERE REALLY WOULDN'T BE, I MEAN, WE PROBABLY WOULDN'T GO AGGRESSIVELY AT THAT BECAUSE THAT NEW SCHOOL WAS ONE OF THE IMPORTANT VARIABLES IN THAT, THAT WE NEED.
SO WHAT WE LEARNED THROUGH OUR BALANCING ENROLLMENT EFFORTS, ONE OF THE THINGS WAS OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS ARE AT 93% CAPACITY AND WE'RE SEEING A LITTLE BIT OF GROWTH.
NOTHING, YOU KNOW, NOTHING DRAMATIC.
BUT WE, WHAT WE LEARNED IS, YOU KNOW, MOVING PEOPLE AROUND WAS SORT OF MEDDLING AT THE MARGINS.
WE NEED THAT ACTUAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CAPACITY, WE NEED THOSE SEATS TO REALLY BALANCE ENROLLMENT RIGHTS.
SO THIS WOULD ACTUALLY DELAY THAT, WHICH I KNOW NO ONE'S EXCITED TO SEE THAT TOPIC COME BACK ON THE AGENDA.
BUT THERE'S A, YOU KNOW, THERE'S AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ANGLE TO THAT TOO, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, WE STILL HAVE A NUMBER OF SCHOOLS THAT ARE CLOSED TO DEVELOPMENT BECAUSE THEY'RE AT OR ABOVE CAPACITY, AND THEY, THEY, THEY HIT THAT THRESHOLD WHERE WE'RE DEVELOPING AND, YOU KNOW, IF WE ARE TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE GROWING IN THIS COUNTY, UM, THE BALANCING ENROLLMENT IS ONE IMPORTANT VARIABLE IN THAT, AND THAT WILL BE DELAYED IF THIS BUILDING IS DELAYED.
SO IF IT'S DELAYED TOO LONG, WE COULD BE HAVING THAT CONVERSATION AGAIN.
WELL, WE'RE GONNA NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET MORE ELEMENTARY SEATS
SO I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW WE DO THAT, BUT YES.
UM, MR. PENMAN, I THINK, MR. YES.
YEAH, SO, SO AGAIN, UM, THE PLAN THAT THE BOARD, UM, HAD SET IN MOTION, UM, WAS FOR US IN, UM, YOU KNOW, 20, YOU KNOW, NEXT YEAR IS TO START REVISITING HOW WE WOULD MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, UM, BOUNDARIES.
SO WE HAD A SOFT RECOMMENDATION, UM, BUT WITH THE NEW SCHOOL COMING ONLINE, DEPENDING ON WHERE WE PLACE IT, WE WOULD HAVE TO TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS WERE AND GO BACK TO THE, UM, COMMUNITY AND TO THE BOARD TO HAVE A NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE AREA ADJUSTMENT.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE WILL HAVE TO DO BECAUSE WE DEFERRED MAKING THAT ADJUSTMENT LAST YEAR BASED OFF THE ANTICIPATION OF THE NEW SCHOOL BASED ON ANTICIPATION OF THE NEW SCHOOL.
UM, NEXT QUESTION IS MENTAL HEALTH AND, AND SPECIAL NEEDS.
I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IT EARLIER.
UH, HOW HAS THAT IMPACTED YOUR OPERATION AND THE COST OF, OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM? WELL, THERE'S, THERE ARE A COUPLE THINGS.
UM, OBVIOUSLY THE MENTAL HEALTH IS AN ISSUE THAT, AGAIN, YOU'RE READING ABOUT, IT'S HAPPENING EVERYWHERE.
WE HAVE A LOT OF RESOURCES IN PLACE TO SUPPORT THAT.
WE HAVE A GREAT HEALTHCARE COMMUNITY AROUND US HELPING WITH THAT.
UM, AND SO I FEEL LIKE WE'VE MADE GOOD PROGRESS, WE'VE ADDED CAPACITY TO DO IT, AND, YOU KNOW, I MIGHT HOPE WE'D BE ABLE TO STAY ON, ON COURSE WITH THAT SPECIAL NEEDS IS ANOTHER THING.
UM, WE'VE SEEN AN INCREASED, UH, POPULATION WE'RE SEEING, PARTICULARLY COMING IN THROUGH KINDERGARTEN WHEN WE FIRST SEE THESE STUDENTS.
THERE'S ONE PARTICULAR ISSUE THAT IS A PARTICULAR CONCERN TO ME THAT WE NEED TO BE PLANNING AHEAD FOR IS, YOU KNOW, WE RECEIVED DATA THAT BASICALLY INDICATES EACH MONTH THERE ARE ABOUT 20 SUBSTANCE EXPOSED BABIES BORN IN HARFORD COUNTY.
AND SO WE'RE OBVIOUSLY DEALING WITH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE LEGACY OF THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC, BUT I'M ALSO CONCERNED ABOUT WHERE THIS MIGHT BE GOING WITH, WITH, UM, UH, THE LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA.
BUT THE IMPACT FOR THE SCHOOL SYSTEMS, PARTICULARLY IN THE SPECIAL ED WORLD, IS FREQUENTLY THESE, UM, SUBSTANCE EXPOSED YOUTH ARE IN NEED OF ADDITIONAL SERVICES.
LIKE SPECIAL EDUCATION PLENTY A MONTH IS A BIG NUMBER BECAUSE WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE, SO IF A STUDENT IS VERY SEVERELY DISABLED, YOU KNOW, TO THE LEVEL WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE STUDENTS WE SERVE AT HARTFORD ACADEMY WHO ARE NON-VERBAL, WHO REQUIRE, YOU KNOW, A A SEPARATE AID JUST TO SUPPORT THEM ALL DAY LONG, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT STUDENTS WHOSE, WHOSE SERVICES COST UPWARD OF A HUNDRED TO $200,000 PER STUDENT, YOU KNOW, COMPARED TO OUR AVERAGE PRICE PER STUDENT, WHICH IS AROUND 15,000.
UM, SO IF WE'RE DEALING WITH A LEGACY OF THE OPIOID CRISIS LEGALIZING MARIJUANA, WE'RE SEEING AN INCREASING RATE OF SUBSTANCE EXPOSED BECAUSE YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, WITH 20 A MONTH, YOU'RE
[01:30:01]
PUT A COUPLE HUNDRED NEW STUDENTS INTO OUR SPECIAL ED PIPELINE WITH EVERY KINDERGARTEN CLASS.THAT'S A MONSTROUS PRICE TAG THAT EVERY COMMUNITY'S GONNA NEED TO GET AROUND, AND WE'RE SEEING IT.
UM, I AM WORRIED ABOUT OUR ABILITY, CUZ YOU KNOW, THESE, THESE SERVICES ARE MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE, LIKE I SAID, THAN THE AVERAGE AVERAGE STUDENT.
AND, AND THAT'S SOME OF THE PRESSURE WE'RE GETTING.
UM, AND IT'S, WE, WE ADDRESS SOME OF IT.
WE HAVE SOME GROWTH, UH, IN OUR SPECIAL ED PROGRAMS THAT WE'LL ADDRESS IN THIS BUDGET, BUT WE'RE CONSTANTLY WORKING TO KEEP UP WITH THAT.
AND THEN MY FINAL QUESTION IS, IT'S A LINE ITEM QUESTION THAT I JUST WASN'T SURE ABOUT.
UH, AND IT'S IN YOUR BUDGET BOOK ON PAGE ONE 18.
UM, IT'S HAS THE SUMMER SCHOOLS, UH, STARTS OUT WITH FY 20, UH, 146 LAST YEAR BEING, UH, WELL 23 1 73, BUT THEN IT JUMPS TO NEARLY A MILLION.
SO I DID, I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THAT CHANGE WAS.
UH, WAS THAT A, SOMETHING THAT WAS GRANT FUNDED THAT'S NO LONGER GRANT FUNDED OR? YES, SO WE USED A GOOD PORTION OF OUR, UM, SUMMER SCHOOL FUNDS COMING FROM THE PANDEMIC FUNDS, AND WITH THOSE EXPIRING THE NEEDS OF THE STUDENTS STILL EXIST.
SO WE WERE PROPOSING TO MOVE, UM, A GOOD BIT OF THAT INTO THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR NEXT YEAR.
SO I ALWAYS HAVE TO CHIME IN BECAUSE I KNOW WE FOCUS ON THE OPERATING BUDGET, BUT IF I COULD EXPAND ON THE CAPITAL BUDGET, UM, YOU KNOW, DR.
BOL, UH, MENTIONED, UH, THE IMPACT, UM, FROM HEALTH AND WELLNESS AND SPECIAL ED ON A OPERATING BUDGET.
UH, BUT IF YOU LOOK AT OUR CAPITAL BUDGET, UM, EVERY YEAR WE'RE, UM, BEFORE THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE AND BEFORE THIS BODY, UM, YOU KNOW, THE BOARD HAS PRIORITIZED, UM, OUR SPECIAL ED PROGRAMS, UM, RELATIVE TO OUR FACILITIES REQUIREMENTS.
SO AS THE POPULATION GROWS, THERE'S AN IMPACT ON WHETHER OR NOT WE CAN ACCOMMODATE PROGRAMS IN OUR BUILDINGS.
SO WITH ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, UM, YOU KNOW, GROWING AND BEING AT CAPACITY, WHEN WE START TO EXPAND OUR SPECIAL AIR PROGRAMS, THERE'S A REQUIREMENT FOR US TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS IN OUR SCHOOL BUILDINGS.
AND WITHOUT HAVING THE APPROPRIATE CAPITAL FUNDING, IT'S HARD FOR US TO KEEP UP WITH IT.
NOW, UNFORTUNATELY, FOR US, UM, THE COUNTY DID, UM, YOU KNOW, MAKE A COMMITMENT TO SUPPORTING OUR SPECIAL, UM, NEEDS PROGRAMS. AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE COUNTY EXECUTIVES BUDGET IN PRIOR YEAR APPROPRIATIONS, UH, WE HAVE ALWAYS EVERY YEAR RECEIVED FUNDING FOR THE EXPANSION OF SPECIAL ED PROGRAMS, UM, TO THE TUNE OF OVER, UM, 7 MILLION IN PRIOR YEAR APPROPRIATIONS.
AND THIS COUNTY EXECUTIVE CONTINUED TO SUPPORT THAT WITH 2.4 MILLION, BUT THAT'S JUST FOR SPECIAL ED.
SO WITH THE BLUEPRINT WITH PRE-K PROGRAMS, UM, COMMUNITY SCHOOLS AND ALL OF THESE PROGRAMS THAT ARE COMING ON BOARD, UM, WE'RE STRUGGLING WITH KEEPING UP WITH THE REQUIREMENTS FROM A BUILDING.
SO IT IS ONE THING WHEN YOU START TALKING ABOUT KEEPING UP, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH, UM, SUSTAINING OUR BUILDINGS LONG TERM WITH THAT OVER A HUNDRED YEAR CYCLE, IT'S ANOTHER THING TO START TALKING ABOUT WHAT DO WE NEED TO SUPPORT SPECIAL ED.
UM, THE PRE-K EXPANSION, THE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, ALL OF THOSE BLUEPRINT REQUIREMENTS IMMEDIATELY IMPACT OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND WE'RE TRYING TO GET OUR HANDS AROUND IT.
UM, BUT ONE THING WE DO KNOW IS THAT THERE'S GOING TO HAVE TO, THERE SHOULD BE, WE DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING.
THERE SHOULD BE A COMMITMENT, UM, ON A CAPITAL SIDE IN ORDER TO SUPPORT ALL OF THAT BECAUSE WE CAN BRING IN ALL THE STAFFING, BUT THEY DON'T, WE DON'T HAVE SPACE TO ACCOMMODATE.
IF YOU GO AND VISIT OUR SCHOOLS, YOU'LL SEE HOW CRAMPED THEY ARE, AND WE'RE TRYING TO BE CREATIVE.
AND THEN NOW WE'RE PUTTING IN A REQUEST, UH, FOR MORE RELOCATABLE CLASSROOMS. SO WE'RE GOING TO, IMMEDIATELY, WHEN I CAME ON BOARD, WE HAD OVER 150, UM, RELOCATABLE, YOU KNOW, UNITS OUT ON OUR SCHOOL SITES.
WE'RE UNDER 50 NOW, AND I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT NUMBER, BUT WE'VE OVER THE YEARS, INTENTIONALLY, UM, SCALED DOWN ON THAT, UM, INVENTORY OF OUR RELOCATABLE CLASSROOMS. BUT NOW WE'RE HAVING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT PURCHASING AT TWO, 300, $400,000 A CLIP JUST TO BUY RELOCATABLES TO ACCOMMODATE THE ADDITIONAL PROGRAMS AND THE SPACE REQUIREMENTS, THE, THE SITE.
UM, AND I'M, I'M SORRY, I'M, I'M VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT IT.
YOU KNOW, THE SITE REQUIREMENTS HAVE CHANGED WITH STORMWATER MANAGEMENT.
SO WHEN WE BRING THESE UNITS ON, UM, GETTING, UM, YOU KNOW, PREPARING A SITE, IT, IT COSTS A LOT OF MONEY.
SO I DON'T, I DON'T WANT, YOU KNOW, TO, TO JUST OPERATING, OPERATING, OPERATING.
THEY'RE INEXTRICABLY LINKED CAPITAL AND OPERATING.
SO WHEN WE'RE NOT FUNDING THE CAPITAL BUDGET, THAT NOW IS GOING TO IMPACT THE, THE OPERATING BUDGET EVEN MORE.
SO THEY GO HAND IN HAND AT THE TABLE TO KEEP ME HONEST.
[01:35:01]
NOW THANK YOU FOR THAT, CORNELL, I, I APPRECIATE YOUR PASSION.UM, AND I'M SURE OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS DO AS WELL.
HOW ARE YOU? AND, UH, MR. BROWN AND MR. JUDGE? GOOD MORNING.
THANK YOU MS. JUDGE FOR MEETING WITH MYSELF AND, AND, UH, MY, UM, UH, BUDGET PERSON ERIC REIBERT.
UM, CAN YOU CLARIFY, YOU MENTIONED SOMETHING ABOUT THE SPORTS PROGRAM THAT YOU FUNDED FOR ME, FOR ALL THE STUDENTS, I DIDN'T HAVE TO PAY THE ACTIVITY THING.
YEAH, I, I KIND OF FIGURED YOU'D ASK.
I I, I, WHEN I MENTIONED, WELL, YOU FIGURED, RIGHT,
UM, SO LAST YEAR YOU ASKED IF THAT WAS SOMETHING WE COULD WIN AND WE HAD WAIVED IT THROUGH THE PANDEMIC.
AND, AND INTERESTINGLY, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, WE KNEW WE HAD FUNDS, WE HAD SURPLUS FUNDS.
SO EACH YEAR, YOU KNOW, FROM THE TIME THAT THE, THE ATHLETIC FEE WENT INTO PLACE, THE REVENUE FROM THAT IS UP TO ABOUT A HALF A MILLION DOLLARS.
AND SO WHERE WE HAVE TO BALANCE OUR BUDGET, THIS IS ONE OF THOSE EXAMPLES WE DIDN'T, YOU CAN'T JUST ELIMINATE IT CUZ IT WAS RECURRING FUNDING.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD GET EVERY YEAR.
AND SO RATHER THAN JUST ELIMINATE IT, WE SAID, OKAY, WE'LL WAIVE IT FOR ANOTHER YEAR.
IT WAS CENTRAL PAY FOR IT OUT OF OUR SURPLUS OR OUR FUND BALANCE FOR ANOTHER YEAR, AND THEN WE WILL PUT IT IN NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET REQUESTS.
SO IT'S ESSENTIALLY FUNDED AS A RECURRING THING SO THAT WE'RE NOT JUST WAIVING HALF A MILLION DOLLARS IN RECURRING FUNDS.
AND SO WHEN WE DID THIS YEAR'S REQUEST, THAT WAS ONE OF THE LINE ITEMS, UM, OF THE, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY LINE ITEM REQUESTS WE HAD, BUT THERE WERE MANY, AND IT WAS JUST ONE.
SO WHEN WE, WHEN WE IDENTIFIED WHAT WE WOULD INCLUDE IN THE REQUEST THAT WENT TO THE COUNTY, WE DID THE SALARY PACKAGE AND THAT, SO RIGHT NOW, AGAIN, WE WERE LOOKING TO HAVE THAT FUNDED IN OUR RECURRING FUNDS SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO PASS THAT ON TO PARENTS, THAT HALF MILLION DOLLARS THAT WE WOULD'VE GENERATED GETTING THE, GETTING THE FEE.
UM, SO WHEN, IF, BUT BEING, SEEING THAT WE'RE NOT FULLY FUNDED, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO REVISIT WHETHER WE CAN AFFORD TO WRITE THAT HALF MILLION DOLLARS OFF, UM, OR WHETHER WE NEED TO REINSTITUTE THE FEE.
SO THERE'S NOT A FINAL DECISION ON THAT, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE ARE IN, IN YEARS PAST, IF SOMEBODY HAD TO PAY THE FEE AND THEY WERE, UM, WAS THE P WAS THE FEE PAID FOR IN SOME CIRCUMSTANCES FOR STUDENTS, UM, AND NOT FOR OTHERS.
SO, YOU KNOW, IF SOMEBODY COULDN'T AFFORD IT BECAUSE OF THEIR, USUALLY, USUALLY BASED ON INCOME, THERE'S A WAIT.
SO, SO MY BIGGEST CONCERN WAS, WAS BEFORE WAS THAT THE PEOPLE THAT ARE STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WERE MAYBE THERE'S TWO KIDS PLAYING SPORTS, YOU KNOW, AND THEY'RE PLAYING, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE PLAYING, UH, THREE SPORTS A YEAR, TWO KIDS, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN IT'S $600.
NOW, I PERSONALLY VERY BIG SPORTS FOR ME, I KNOW DION PLAYED SPORTS IN, UH, IN HIGH SCHOOL TOO, SO I, SO I KNOW IT'S BIG FOR HIM.
SO, UM, I REALLY WOULD APPRECIATE IT, UM, THAT SOMEHOW OR ANOTHER WE MAKE SURE THAT THAT STAYS IN.
SO, UM, AND, AND SO ANY WHICH WAY, I DO HAVE SOME QUESTIONS, UM, OR SOME INFORMATION THAT I GOT FROM CRYSTAL BROOKS, UH, BASED ON PAST, FROM ACTUALLY FROM WHEN I SAT ON THE COUNCIL THE FIRST YEAR, OUR, OUR MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT, THE FIRST YEAR WAS 245 MILLION.
AND, AND HCP REQUESTED 260 MILLION, UH, COUNTY EXECUTIVE WOUND UP ACTUALLY FUNDING 256 MILLION, WHICH WAS 10 MILLION ABOVE THE MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT, OR 4.4% ABOVE THAT.
NOW I REMEMBER THESE, UH, HALLS WERE FILLED WITH PEOPLE COMPLAINING, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, BASED ON US, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAD PEOPLE IN HERE ALL THE TIME.
I SEE SOME PEOPLE IN THE, UH, SITTING HERE TODAY THAT WERE VERY VOCAL BACK THEN.
THEN THE FOLLOWING YEAR, MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT WAS THEN, THEN TWO 60 AND HCP REQUESTED 276 MILLION, WHICH WAS 16 MILLION ABOVE MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT, WHICH WE FUNDED IN FULL, WHICH WAS 6.4% THE FOLLOWING YEAR, MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.
UM, YOU GUYS ASKED FOR 293 MILLION, WHICH WAS 23 MILLION, UH, WHICH WE ACTUALLY FUNDED, WHICH WAS 23 MILLION ABOVE MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT OR 8.7%.
AND THEN IN FISCAL YEAR 2023, UH, MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT WAS 293 MILLION.
UH, WE FUNDED 324 MILLION, WHICH WAS A 30 MILLION INCREASE ABOVE MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT AT 10.4%.
BUT WHEN I LOOK AT THIS REVENUE DATA HERE ON HCP LOCAL REVENUE DATA, IT REALLY, IT, IT SHOWS
[01:40:01]
THE MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT, BUT THE PERCENTAGES ARE DIFFERENT.SO I JUST SEE THAT WE ACTUALLY FUNDED THE LAST 1, 2, 3, 4 YEARS ABOVE MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.
AND IT LOOKS LIKE, I KNOW MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT WAS RESET TO 2 91.
YOU'RE ASKING FOR 3 43, WE'RE, WE'RE RECOMMENDING 3 0 4, IT'S STILL 13 MILLION ABOVE WHAT MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT WAS THE NEW MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.
SO I JUST WANT TO PUT THOSE NUMBERS OUT THERE AND CLARIFY THAT UP A LITTLE BIT.
IF, IF YOU WANNA MAKE ANY COMMENTS ON THAT.
I'M NOT SURE I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU JUST SAID.
SO FIRST OF ALL, WE'VE GONE BACK, I THINK WE WENT BACK IN 1988 AND WE FOUND ONLY TWO INSTANCES, TWO OR THREE, ERIC GET US 2, 2, 2 INSTANCES IN THAT TIME WHEN THE COUNTY FUNDED RIGHT AT MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.
SO EVERY OTHER YEAR, THIS COUNTY IS FUNDED ABOVE MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT EXCEPT FOR THE TWO.
ONE OF THEM I THINK WAS IN 2008 OR 2009.
UM, AND THEN THERE WAS ANOTHER KIND OF AROUND THAT TIME CONNECTED TO ECONOMIC DOWNTURNS AND ALL THAT.
SO THIS COUNTING HAS ALWAYS FUNDED ABOVE MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT, EVEN THOUGH THERE'S ALWAYS, THERE HAVE BEEN FIGHTS ABOUT HOW MUCH, YOU KNOW, IT SHOULD BE, IT'S FUNDED ABOVE MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.
UM, THIS YEAR THE HOUSE BILL 1450, WHICH I BELIEVE WAS THE LAST BILL RATIFIED BY BOTH HOUSES OF THE LEGISLATURE LAST YEAR, AND, UM, WHEN IN VERY LATE CREATED A COMPLETELY UNPRECEDENTED OPPORTUNITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT TO GO BELOW FLAT FUNDING.
BUT THAT HAD TO DO WITH CALCULATIONS RELATED TO THE WAY FUNDING WAS DONE DURING THE PANDEMIC.
UM, FRANKLY I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY OUR PORTION WAS SO LARGE.
I THINK IT HAD, I THINK ON TO SOME LEVEL WE WERE PENALIZED FOR FUNDING ABOVE MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.
UM, BUT WITH THAT SAID, THERE'S NEVER BEEN AN OPPORTUNITY UNDER STATE LAW TO GO BELOW FLAT FUNDING.
AND, BUT, BUT THAT CAME UP THIS ONE YEAR AND, UM, IT HAPPENS TO COINCIDE WITH THIS, THIS PARTICULAR, UH, BUDGET PROPOSAL.
UM, OUR REQUEST, UH, WAS CERTAINLY ABOVE MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT, OUR INITIAL REQUEST, UM, BUT THE MINIMUM MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT THAT COULD BE GIVEN IN THIS COUNTY IS 304 MILLION THIS YEAR.
AGAIN, 19.5 BELOW WHAT WE RECEIVED LAST YEAR.
BUT THE FUNDING THAT'S BEEN PROPOSED IN THE CURRENT COUNTY EXECUTIVES BUDGET IS EXACTLY AT MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT, THE LOWEST POSSIBLE NUMBER HE CAN DO BY LAW.
WELL I JUST WAS READING WHERE WE WERE FUNDING ABOVE MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT FOR LAST, UH, YOU KNOW, FOUR YEARS THAT EVERY YEAR WE WERE ACTUALLY OVER MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT, 10 MILLION, 16 MILLION, 23 MILLION AND 30 MILLION.
NEARLY EVERY YEAR FOR THE LAST 30 YEARS.
AND THERE WERE SOME BIG, BIG SPENDING OVER ESPECIALLY THE LAST TWO YEARS.
PARDON? SO JUST TO CLARIFY, THE 19 SUBTRACTED FROM, UM, HOUSE BILL 1450, WOULD THE BARE MINIMUM THAT WE HE COULD, THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE COULD HAVE FUNDED IS 3 0 4, CORRECT? CORRECT.
NOT TO 89 OR TWO 90, IF, IF THE BILL HAD NOT GONE THROUGH MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT WOULD'VE BEEN AROUND 324 MILLION, WHICH IS WHAT WE RECEIVED IN FY 23, GIVE OR TAKE ENROLLMENT CHANGES AND SO FORTH.
BUT 3 24 WOULD'VE BEEN OUR MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT THIS YEAR WITH THAT HOUSE BILL IT RESET MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT, $19 MILLION LESS THE 2 91.
WELL, YES AND NO THAT DID THAT.
THE BILL HAS THAT, THERE'S NUMBERS IN THERE, BUT THAT IT, THAT IT ALL, THE ULTIMATE IMPACT ALLOWED IT TO GO 19.5 BELOW LAST YEAR'S FUNDING LEVEL.
SO I SEE, I I KNOW WHERE YOU'RE, CUZ THAT WAS IN THE, IN THE BILL THERE WERE NUMBERS THAT SORT OF RESET IT, BUT OUR MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT NUMBER FOR THIS YEAR WAS 3 0 4, BUT IT'S NOT CLEAR LOOKING AT THAT BILL, THAT'S A, THERE'S, THERE'S, AND THIS IS INFORMATION I GOT FROM, FROM OUR, UH, AUDITOR THAT SAID, MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024 IS 291 MILLION.
HCP REQUEST IS 343 MILLION, COUNTY FUNDING IS 304 MILLION.
SO THOSE NUMBERS THAT WENT IN THE BILL WERE DONE PRIOR TO RATIFYING BUDGETS LAST YEAR.
SO I THINK HOW THAT WORKS, AND WE CAN CONFIRM WITH THE NUMBERS, BUT IF WE HAD BEEN FUNDED AT MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT LAST YEAR, THAT WOULD'VE BEEN THE NUMBER BECAUSE IT WOULD'VE BEEN 19 AND A HALF BELOW WHAT OUR MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT NUMBER WAS.
BUT BECAUSE WE WERE FUNDED OVER MAINTENANCE
[01:45:01]
OF EFFORT LAST YEAR, THE ACTUAL EFFORT IS WHAT YOU RETRACT, YOU WOULD SUBTRACT FROM.SO INSTEAD OF SUBTRACTING FROM WHAT THE MINIMUM THE LAST COUNTY EXECUTIVE COULD HAVE GIVEN US, THEY HAD TO SUBTRACT FROM THE 3 24 THAT WE ACTUALLY RECEIVED, WHICH IS WHAT BRINGS US TO THE 3 0 4.
BUT THAT'S BECAUSE THE NUMBER'S IN THAT BILL, I MEAN, THAT WAS PASSED IN APRIL OF 22.
UM, AND OF COURSE OUR BUDGET WASN'T RATIFIED UNTIL JUNE.
SO THAT'S WHY THERE'S A DISCREPANCY.
I JUST HAVE A COUPLE, UH, QUESTIONS AND I'M JUST GONNA READ FROM THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE BUDGET BUDGET MESSAGE AND, AND MAYBE YOU COULD RESPOND, UM, WHEN STATE FUNDING IS COMBINED, THE 304 MILLION DID RECEIVE COUNTING FUNDING PLUS A PORTION OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM'S FUND BALANCE.
HARVARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS WILL BE ABLE TO FULLY FUND THEIR FY 24 BUDGET.
AND SO THAT WAS A STATEMENT HE MADE.
AND I WONDER IF YOU HAVE A RESPONSE TO THAT.
UM,
UM, THOSE FUNDS COME AND THEY GAVE US A CHART REFLECTING THAT BRINGS ATTACHED YES.
UM, OUR, OUR FUNDING RE REQUEST ALREADY ACCOUNTED FOR THE INCREASE FROM THE STATE BECAUSE LIKE I SAID, THERE ARE MANY NEW EXPENDITURES THAT ARE COMING FROM THE STATE THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT WAS BUILT INTO OUR REQUEST OF 19 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS.
UM, SO TO SUGGEST THERE'S MONEY THERE SURE.
BUT CAN WE FULLY FUND WITH, WITH A PROPOSAL THAT'S 39 MILLION BELOW WHAT WE REQUESTED? I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW, I MEAN, BECAUSE THAT PROPOSAL WE SUBMITTED HAD ALREADY ACCOUNTED FOR WHAT WE ANTICIPATED AS AN INCREASE FROM THE STATE.
SO I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THAT STATEMENT MAKES ANY SENSE.
ROBBIE, CAN YOU RESPOND? WELL, I MEAN, I THINK IT GOES BACK TO THE, UM, TO THE USE OF OF FUND BALANCE AND THE, THE IDEA OF, OF A, UM, ONGOING REVENUES VERSUS ONGOING EXPENDITURES.
UM, I THINK THE POINT IS IS THAT THE FUND BALANCE HAS A UNASSIGNED NUMBER OF 30 $35 MILLION.
AND THEN WITHIN THEIR ASSIGNED BUDGETS, THERE ARE SOME ELECTIONS THERE AS WELL.
SOME, SOME ARE HARDER TO REMOVE THAN OTHERS.
BUT THERE, THERE'S, THERE'S FUNDING ABOVE THE REQUIREMENT FOR, FOR THE HEALTH CONSORTIUM.
THERE'S, THERE'S FUNDING IN THERE FOR LEASES, FOR FUEL, FOR THINGS LIKE THIS ALL VALID, YOU KNOW, UM, CONCERNS, UM, BUT ARE KIND OF VOLUNTARY ASSIGNMENTS.
UM, SO THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE'S POINT WAS, IS THAT IF THEY WANTED TO, TO FUND, UM, THEIR BUDGET ON A YEAR BASIS, THAT UM, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT THEY, THAT THEY COULD UNDERSTANDING THEN THIS IS THE SAME THING THAT WOULD BE THE CASE IF THE COUNTY WERE TO FUND ANYTHING ABOVE AND BEYOND.
AT THIS POINT WE'RE ALL TALKING ABOUT FUND BALANCE, WHETHER IT'S THEIR FUND BALANCE, WHETHER IT'S OUR FUND BALANCE.
WE HAVE EXHAUSTED THE CURRENT REVENUES, UM, BY, AND THE, THE COUNTY EXECUTIVES BUDGET HAS 63 MILLION OF, OF, UM, FUND BALANCE IN IT, UH, FAR MORE THAN ANY ANYONE ELSE.
UM, SO ANY ATTEMPT TO CHANGE THAT, UM, CHANGE APPROPRIATIONS IS REALLY GONNA REQUIRE SOMEONE TO USE FUND BALANCE, WHETHER IT'S US, WHETHER IT'S THE SCHOOLS, WHETHER IT'S THE LIBRARY, THAT'S KIND OF WHERE IT ALL IS COMING AND UNDERSTAND THEY'RE ALL CORRECT IN THAT.
UM, WHEN YOU START TALKING ABOUT PUTTING IT IN THERE FOR ONGOING EXPENDITURES LIKE WAGES AND POSITIONS, THOSE ARE ONGOING EXPENDITURES.
UM, AND, AND THAT IS UNDERSTAND THEY'RE ONGOING, BUT THESE FOLKS WILL BE BACK NEXT YEAR ALSO, CORRECT? WELL, I MEAN THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT IS, THAT IS CORRECT.
AND SO THAT WOULD, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD, WE WILL, WE WILL CERTAINLY FIND OUR, YOU KNOW, TO THE EXTENT THAT EITHER ONE OF US USES FUND BALANCE, WE ARE GO, ARE ALL GOING TO FIND OURSELVES IN, IN, IN THAT, THAT SITUATION, IF THIS WAS ABOUT ONE TIME EXPENDITURES, IT'S A LOT, IT'S A LOT, IT'S A LOT DIFFERENT.
BUT YOU, YOU COULD TAKE THE STRATEGY THAT, YOU KNOW, WE IF AS THE REVENUES GET BETTER THAT SOME OF THIS STUFF, SOME OF THAT STRUCTURAL DEFICIT MIGHT, MIGHT GO AWAY.
WE MIGHT BE IN A BETTER POSITION.
THAT'S ALWAYS THE THING WITH FUN BALANCE.
YOU CAN USE IT, YOU CAN USE IT FOR, YOU CAN EITHER COME IN AND SAY STRAIGHT UP ONE TIME EXPENDITURES OR YOU CAN SAY, ALL RIGHT, WE GOTTA GET THROUGH THIS BRIDGE, WE NEED TO BRIDGE IT.
AND THEN WE THINK THE REVENUE SITUATION'S GONNA BE BETTER ON THE OTHER END, WHETHER THAT'S ADDITIONAL STATE REVENUE OR ADDITIONAL COUNTY REVENUE.
UM, BUT THEN BOTH OF THOSE ARE CERTAINLY, UM, UM, UH, A LITTLE BIT OF A GAMBLE.
ANY RESPONSE? I MEAN, I THINK MR. SANDS KIND OF COVERED IT.
I MEAN IF OKAY, WE HAVE ENOUGH FUN BALANCE.
SO I GUESS THE STRAIGHT UP STATEMENT IS IF WE USED ALL OF OUR FUN BALANCE, YES WE COULD FILL THIS GAP, BUT THAT WOULD LEAVE ME WITH A REALLY FRIGHTENING SITUATION FOR NEXT YEAR BECAUSE, UM, ALL OF THAT WOULD NEED TO BE FUNDED NEXT YEAR AS WELL BECAUSE THEY'RE RECURRING.
AND SO, BUT YOU'LL BE BACK HERE NEXT YEAR, SO I DON'T KNOW.
I'M CERTAINLY HOPING TO BE BACK HERE NEXT YEAR.
[01:50:01]
ALL ARESO IN ALL FAIRNESS, IF THE COUNTY USED IT FUNDS BALANCE, IT WOULD BE IN THE SAME SITUATION AS THE SCHOOL AND, AND THAT THAT REALLY IS AT THE HEART OF ALL THIS.
IT'S, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE WE'RE BOTH TALKING ABOUT ABOUT PRIOR YEAR SURPLUSES, WHICH WERE MADE AVAILABLE, UM, KIND OF DUE TO A, A COMBINATION OF, OF, OF WEIRD PARTS WITH THE PANDEMIC AND ADDITIONAL REVENUES, WHETHER IN YOUR END IT WAS GRANTS THAT WEREN'T EXPECTED, WHETHER ON OUR END IT WAS MAYBE SOME OF THE INCOME TAX.
WELL, I WOULD TAKE EXCEPTION TO THE FACT THAT UH, IF, IF THE SCHOOL COMES INTO SOME KIND OF PROBLEM, THEY, THEY'RE ALWAYS GONNA COME BACK TO US.
WELL, AND YOU HAVE NOWHERE TO GO.
AND, AND THAT IS, THAT IS, THAT IS CERTAINLY TRUE.
ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THE COUNTY'S FUND BALANCE IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN THE OTHER, OTHER ENTITIES, UM, IS THAT THE, THE COUNTY HAS REVENUE VOLATILITY IN THAT OUTSIDE ENTITIES KNOW, OKAY, WELL, LIKE THIS IS, THIS IS THEIR BUDGET AND THEY HAVE MADE WORK WITH MAYBE LESS THAN WHAT THEY WOULD THAN, THAN WHAT THEY'VE REQUESTED OR WHAT THEY, OR WHAT THEY NEED TO OPERATE.
UM, BUT THEY GENERALLY DON'T, DON'T HAVE THE SAME VOLATILITY THAT WE DO.
LIKE, OOH, I WONDER WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN TO INCOME TAX.
MAYBE IT'S GONNA BE, MAYBE IT'S GONNA BE DOWN 5% OR MAYBE IT'S NOT.
AND THEN THE OTHER THING, WHICH OF COURSE THE COUNTY HAS IS WE HAVE ALL OF THE DEBT, UM, AND WE NEED TO HAVE, UM, ADEQUATE FUND BALANCE RESERVES, UM, TO ASSURE THE INVESTMENT COMMUNITY THAT WE ARE NOT GONNA MISS ANY OF OUR DEBT SERVICE.
UM, YOU KNOW, ANY OF OUR, UM, DEBT PAYMENTS.
AND SO THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY COUNTIES ALSO, YOU TYPICALLY HAVE HIGHER FUND BALANCES BECAUSE OF BOTH THOSE TWO, THOSE TWO FACTORS.
WELL, THE OTHER THING, RAVI, IS THEY ALSO, IF THEY DO GET INTO A PICKLE SO TO SPEAK, THEY'RE GONNA COME TO THE COUNTY AND SAY, WE NEED MORE MONEY.
CUZ THINGS AREN'T, AREN'T MATCHING HERE.
NOT, NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE WILL.
I I DON'T KNOW WHO WE WOULD ASK FOR.
I MEAN, REALISTICALLY EXACTLY.
WE'RE NOT GONNA ASK THE STATE.
WE'LL PASS THE HAT AROUND HERE AND WE CAN'T ASK THE TOWNS.
UM, AND THAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH THE COUNTY IS THAT WE ARE OFTENTIMES, UM, WE WE, WE, WE DON'T HAVE ANY BACKUP.
AND I THINK THAT'S THE THE POINT I WANTED TO MAKE.
THEY ALWAYS HAVE THE ABILITY TO COME BACK TO US.
UH, THE OTHER THING I WANT TO SAY IS IN HIS MESSAGE, HE SAYS, UH, IN ALL SIX FIGURE SALARIES IN CENTRAL OF STOOD NEARLY 20 MILLION IN, IN FUNDING AND, UH, HIS MESSAGE TO PRIORITIZE FOR THOSE WHO WORK INSIDE OUR SCHOOLS, NOT THOSE WHO WORK OR TELEWORK OUTSIDE.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE A RESPONSE TO THAT PARTICULAR, UH, UH, STATEMENT.
I'VE TRIED, I MEAN, I HAVE TRIED TO ADDRESS THAT THROUGH THE OVERALL PICTURE OF OUR EFFICIENCY IN CENTRAL OFFICES.
SO YES, THERE ARE SOME HIGH, HIGH SALARY PEOPLE THERE.
UM, THOSE SALARIES ARE UNDER MARKET FOR THIS REGION.
AND THE SIZE OF OUR CENTRAL OFFICE, AGAIN, PER PUPIL IS SMALLER THAN EVERYONE OTHER ONE IN THE STATE.
UM, AND JUST AS WE TALKED ABOUT THE POSITIONS, IF YOU, IF YOU LOOK AT THE INVESTMENTS IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, THE PERCENTAGE OF THE INVESTMENTS GOING INTO POSITIONS THAT ARE STUDENT FACING OR DIRECTLY STUDENT SERVING, UM, THAT'S STILL THE HIGHEST PORTION.
THAT'S WHERE THE INVESTMENTS HAVE BEEN.
UM, SO TO BE ABLE TO CHERRY PICK, YOU KNOW, THE, THE SALARIES OF THE TOP LEADERS IN THE DISTRICT, AGAIN, WHICH ARE VERY CONSISTENT WITH OTHER OFFICES LIKE THIS.
I MEAN, WE HAVE BETWEEN FIVE AND 6,000 EMPLOYEES WE'RE SERVING.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, I I MEAN I CAN DO WHAT I, I, I'LL SAY WHATEVER YOU WANT, BUT WE RUN A VERY EFFICIENT OPERATION.
I THINK THOSE SALARIES ARE APPROPRIATE.
UM, MOST OF OUR NEIGHBORS IN SIMILAR POSITIONS MAKE MORE SO.
AND DO YOU STILL HAVE FOLKS TELEWORKING? YES.
UM, WE HAVE IN THE CENTRAL OFFICE WE HAVE APPROXIMATELY 25 PEOPLE WHO ARE APPROVED FOR FULL-TIME TELEWORK.
AND AGAIN, THE PANDEMIC CERTAINLY TAUGHT US THAT THAT'S AN EFFECTIVE MODEL AND SOME CASES, BUT NOT IN EVERY CASE.
AGAIN, 25 PEOPLE, A LOT OF A COUPLE HUNDRED PEOPLE WHO ARE OVER THERE, IT'S A FAIRLY SMALL PERCENTAGE.
UM, BUT THAT IN A WAY IS ALSO AN EFFICIENCY FOR THE COUNTY BECAUSE OTHERWISE THAT'S SPACE.
WE NEED TO BE LEASING SOMEWHERE TO GIVE PEOPLE OFFICES BECAUSE WE'VE BACK FILTERED.
THERE'S NO, YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T WALK OVER THERE AND SEE AN EMPTY SPACE ANYWHERE IN OUR BUILDING.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, WHILE THERE ARE THOSE WHO MAYBE DISAGREE WITH THE PREMISE OF TELEWORKING THAT'S IN OUR CURRENT, YOU KNOW, ENVIRONMENT.
MANY COMPANIES IN THIS COMMUNITY ARE STILL TELEWORKING, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF EMPLOYEES ARE STILL TELEWORKING.
AND SO AGAIN, WE'RE SUSTAINING OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE, WE'RE SUSTAINING WHAT WE NEED TO DO FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
BUT YES, WE HAVE SOME PEOPLE WHO, WHO HAVE THAT OPTION.
UM, I IMAGINE YOU WEAR A BOW TIE BECAUSE, UH, OTHERWISE WITH THE ROLLERCOASTER YOU'VE BEEN ON, THERE WOULD BE A TIE FLAPPING IN YOUR FACE AT ALL TIMES.
UM, I'M SURE YOU REMEMBER THE NIGHT THAT IT WAS ANNOUNCED THAT YOU WOULD BE SUPERINTENDENT OF HARFORD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
UM, THERE WERE, UH, HUNDREDS OF SCHOOL TEACHERS IN THE BOARD OF EDUCATION BUILDING, UH, YOU KNOW, ABOUT TO TEAR THE, THE WALLS OFF THE BUILDING
[01:55:01]
BECAUSE WE WERE FACING STAFFING CUTS AND, UH, AND A TOUGH BUDGET THAT YEAR.UM, AND SINCE THEN, YOU KNOW, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF, UH, OF TOUGH BUDGETARY DECISIONS THAT THE SCHOOL SYSTEMS HAD TO FACE.
UM, I WAS HOPING YOU COULD SPEAK TO THE PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS THAT WERE CAUSED BY US FACING, OR, SORRY, NOT US, THE SCHOOL SYSTEM FACING NO FUN BALANCE, YOU KNOW, IN THE YEAR WHERE WE HAD NO, OR THE SCHOOL SYSTEM HAD NO FUN BALANCE, AND, UH, THERE WAS A, UH, CAPITAL PROJECT EMERGENCY AT HARTFORD ACADEMY, WHAT THAT CAUSED PRACTICALLY TO HAPPEN TO ALL SCHOOLS WITHIN HARTFORD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
SO, YEAH, I, I ARRIVED, THIS WAS IN JUNE OF 2018 TO SIGN MY CONTRACT.
THE ROOM WAS FULL, AND THEY WEREN'T THERE TO MEET THE NEW SUPERINTENDENT.
THEY
MY UNDERSTANDING IS THE BOARD MET TILL ABOUT 2:00 AM.
UM, BEFORE THAT NIGHT WAS OVER, THEY HAD SPENT THE DISTRICT'S AVAILABLE FUND BALANCE DOWN TO APPROXIMATELY A MILLION DOLLARS.
UM, WE DID HAVE A CAPITAL EMERGENCY EARLY IN THAT YEAR.
I THINK IT WAS AN HVAC THING THAT, UM, WOULD'VE NEARLY EXHAUSTED ALL OF THAT.
AND WE ALSO HAD A 4 MILLION HEALTHCARE CALL THAT YEAR.
FORTUNATELY, WE HAD FUNDS IN THE, IN THE RATE STABILIZATION FUND THAT WERE ABLE TO COVER THE HEALTHCARE CALL.
BUT OVER TIME, WE HAD TO BUILD THAT BACK.
UM, WHAT THAT MEANT, WE DID A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT YEAR.
WE DID A VARIETY OF THINGS TO, TO MAKE SURE, UM, BECAUSE PART OF BALANCING THE BUDGET INTO THE NEXT YEAR WAS ALLOWING US, UM, TO START BUILDING BACK A LITTLE SORT OF FINANCIAL VIABILITY.
UM, BECAUSE IN ADDITION TO USING ALL THE FUND BALANCE THAT YEAR, THEY ALSO MADE SOME OTHER CUTS, SOME OF WHICH WERE, WERE STILL STRUGGLING WITH NOW BECAUSE THEY CUT SUPPORT FOR TEACHERS, UH, THEY CUT THE COACHES.
AND IN THIS CURRENT ENVIRONMENT WHERE WE HAVE THE TEACHERS WHO ARE COMING IN ON ADDITIONAL CERTIFICATIONS WHO NEED THAT SUPPORT, WE STILL HAVE FEWER COACHES IN THE DISTRICT THAN WE DID, UM, IN 2018.
AND SO WE'VE HAD SOME LINGERING EFFECTS OF THAT YEAR.
AND, UM, I KNOW THERE WERE OTHER SP SPECIFIC EXAMPLES WHERE SMALL THINGS WERE WERE CUT BECAUSE WE REALLY TIGHTENED BELTS QUITE A LOT.
UM, AND WE STAINED A LOT OF THAT OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.
BUT, UH, THIS IS, YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE DONE IT.
I MEAN, THAT YEAR WAS, I BELIEVE, THE 10TH YEAR OF CUTTING POSITIONS IN A ROW.
UH, WE WENT THROUGH ONE MORE YEAR.
WE, WE CUT POSITIONS FOR 11 STRAIGHT YEARS IN ORDER TO BALANCE OUR BUDGET.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, TO BE STARTING THAT AGAIN IS REALLY CONCERNING.
CUZ WE'VE, WE'VE BARELY RECOVERED.
UM, YOU KNOW, ALONG THOSE SAME LINES FROM A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE PERSPECTIVE, YOU KNOW, SPENDING WAS FROZEN AT SCHOOLS, WHICH MEANS IF A SCHOOL HAD NOT PURCHASED ENOUGH SOAP TO MAKE IT THROUGH THE REST OF THE YEAR AND YOU RAN OUT OF SOAP, THERE WAS NO SOAP IN THE BATHROOM AT THE SCHOOL, WHICH MEANS AS A SECOND YEAR TEACHER, I BOUGHT SOAP FOR THE BATHROOMS BECAUSE WHEN MY KINDERGARTNERS SHOW UP IN A BATHROOM, FIRST OFF, I HAVE TO TEACH THEM HOW TO WASH THEIR HANDS IN A PUBLIC BATHROOM.
BUT THEY NEED SOAP, YOU KNOW, SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I WENT AND I BOUGHT SOAP, I BOUGHT SOAP DISPENSERS CUZ IT, I COULDN'T BUY SOAP THAT HOOKS UP TO A, A, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC BATHROOM SOAP DISPENSER.
AND IT'S JUST A LESSON LEARNED THAT WHEN WE CUT FUNDING TO A SCHOOL SYSTEM, THE PEOPLE WHO PICK UP THAT FUNDING COST ARE THE EMPLOYEES OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
YOU KNOW, UM, I KNOW PEOPLE WHO ARE INCLUSION HELPERS PAY LESS THAN $20,000 A YEAR WHO SPEND MONEY OUT OF THEIR OWN POCKET ON THE CHILD THEY SERVICE EVERY DAY BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE DO WHO WORK WITH KIDS.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, ANYWHERE THAT THERE IS A LACK IN FUNDING, THE SILENT PART, NOT MENTIONED IN THE STATEMENT FROM THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE IS IT'S THE PEOPLE WHO WORK WITH THE STAFF WHO WILL PICK UP THE GAP.
IT'S THE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THE CLASS.
YOU KNOW, IN 20 21, 20 22 SCHOOL YEAR, I SPENT $8,000 PERSONALLY IN MY EXPERIENCE AS A SCHOOL TEACHER ON MY CLASSROOM BUYING PUMPKINS FOR MY KIDS.
YOU KNOW, GIVING THEM EXPERIENCES THEY WOULDN'T OTHERWISE HAVE.
UH, REBUILDING THE SET OF THE LAND TO MAKE BELIEVE INSIDE MY CLASSROOM SO THAT MY CHILDREN WHO, YOU KNOW, LIVING IN POVERTY SHORTCHANGED EVERYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD, DON'T EXPERIENCE THAT IN HARTFORD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
BUT IN ORDER TO DO THAT, TEACHERS SHORTCHANGE THEMSELVES.
UM, AND IT'S JUST IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF TALK, YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE MR. GIDA, MR. G, FOR SHARING
[02:00:01]
ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE FUND ABOVE MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.IN PREVIOUS YEARS, LOOKING BACK FROM 2013 FORWARD INFLATION NATURAL NATIONALLY HAS BEEN 29.94%.
UM, NOW SINCE THAT TIME TO NOW, THE SCHOOL SYSTEM HAS FACED INCREDIBLE MAINTENANCE, UH, UH, MANDATES FROM THE STATE, NOT JUST THROUGH THE BLUEPRINT, BUT THROUGH LIKE THE VARIETY TO READ ACT, WHICH REQUIRES FOR ALL KINDERGARTNERS, FIRST GRADERS, SECOND GRADERS TO BE SCREENED FOR LEARNING, UH, DISABILITIES.
AND THEN TO RECEIVE TIER TWO INTERVENTIONS, WHICH MEANS SOMEBODY PROVIDING ADDITIONAL READING SUPPORT THROUGHOUT THE DAY THAT COSTS MONEY.
UM, YOU KNOW, IN ADDITION TO PROVIDING MORE PRE-K PROGRAMMING THAT COSTS MONEY, IN ADDITION TO PROVIDING COMMUNITY SCHOOLS THAT COSTS MONEY.
BUT EVEN WITH ALL THOSE ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMINGS THAT ARE NOW OFFERED IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEMS, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE WE TURNED A PIZZA PARLOR INTO A CHUCK E CHEESE.
WE HAVE ALL THESE, YOU KNOW, UH, THINGS TO MAINTAIN.
NOW, UM, HT P S FUNDING OVER THOSE 10 YEARS HAS ONLY GONE UP 37.65%.
SO EVEN WITH ADDING ALL OF THAT, HCPS HAS BEEN ABLE TO MATCH CLOSELY TO INFLATION COMPARED TO OTHER DEPARTMENTS IN THE COUNTY.
OTHER AGENCIES IN THE COUNTY THAT HAVE HAD THEIR FUNDING OVER THAT SAME TIME GO 70% OR HIGHER, UH, IN, IN THEIR FUNDING.
SO I JUST THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE RECOGNIZE ON A HISTORICAL SCALE THAT WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT A SYSTEM THAT HAS RECEIVED THIS TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF OVERFUNDING AND SUPPORT.
IT'S A SYSTEM THAT, WHILE UNDERFUNDED HAS BEEN ABLE TO DO MORE WITH LESS OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
BUT YOU CAN ONLY DO THAT SO MANY TIMES.
YOU KNOW, YOU CAN ONLY TURN A PANCAKE INTO A CREPE FOR SO LONG BEFORE IT JUST AS A LITTLE DRIBBLES ON THE, THE PAN.
UM, AND THEN ALONG WITH STAFFING, YOU KNOW, IN MARYLAND IN THE MOST RECENT YEAR TO DATE, UH, ONLY 1,593 COLLEGE GRADUATES HAD EARNED A TEACHING DEGREE.
YOU DIVIDE THAT BY 24 SCHOOL SYSTEMS, THAT'S 66 TEACHER CANDIDATES AVAILABLE PER SYSTEM.
NOW, HARTFORD COUNTY'S VERY LUCKY TO HAVE TUNE AS A, A PARTNER AND SUPPORT THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, I THINK OVERWHELMINGLY WE PULL ALL THOSE GRADUATES AS A SCHOOL SYSTEM.
TOWSON'S A CLOSE PARTNER, BUT EVEN SO, TO FILL THE 200, 300 VACANCIES EVERY YEAR, YOU'RE EITHER LEFT TO GET UNDERQUALIFIED CANDIDATES WHO DON'T HAVE A TEACHING CERTIFICATION, OR YOU HAVE TO PULL FROM OTHER COUNTIES, WHICH IN A WORLD WHERE WE'RE NOT GRADUATING ENOUGH PEOPLE OF DEGREES, YOU HAVE TO BE COMPETITIVE WITH OTHER COUNTIES.
OR THE REVERSE HAPPENS, OTHER COUNTIES PULL YOUR STAFF AND THEN YOU'RE LEFT WITH A GREATER STAFFING, UH, DEFICIT.
UM, I WAS JUST WONDERING IF YOU COULD SPEAK TO THE IMPACT BALTIMORE COUNTY GOVERNMENT FULLY FUNDING ABOVE MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT, UM, UH, BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS IS GONNA HAVE ON OUR ABILITY TO HOLD ON TO CERTIFIED STAFF WHO HAVE TEACHING DEGREES AND YEARS OF EXPERIENCE.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE POOL OF CANDIDATES THAT WILL GET TO REPLACE THOSE STAFF? WELL, THE, PROBABLY THE SHORT ANSWER IS WE DON'T KNOW UNTIL IT'S TOO LATE, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
SO, YOU KNOW, THIS ONE THAT'S, SHE'S FROM BALTIMORE, YOU KNOW, HE'S FROM ANNE ARUNDEL, HE'S FROM, WE RECRUITED A LOT OF PEOPLE OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS FROM OTHER DISTRICTS.
UM, AND IN FACT, ONE THING THAT STARTED JUST A FEW YEARS AGO, YOU KNOW, WHEN IT WAS ABOUT 2019, AND I WENT TO HR AND SAID, LISTEN, WE NEED TO ACCELERATE OUR HIRING AND START HIRING MUCH QUICKER IN JANUARY.
SO WE STARTED VERY EARLY THIS YEAR AND WE'VE BEEN HIRING VERY AGGRESSIVELY.
SO WE'VE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE DOOR ALREADY.
BUT WHAT I DON'T KNOW IS IF, AGAIN, WITH THESE CURRENT DISCUSSIONS, WITH THIS SORT OF PERVASIVE FEAR THAT, YOU KNOW, SUPPORT FOR EDUCATION IS, IS DISAPPEARING, THAT HARVARD WILL BE AT A DISADVANTAGE IF WE'RE GOING TO SEE AN UPTICK IN RESIGNATIONS OF PEOPLE MOVING.
I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO PLAN FOR THAT.
UM, BUT THE QUESTION IS, WE DON'T KNOW HOW AGGRESSIVELY TO HIRE BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW HOW MANY POSITIONS WE MAY HAVE TO ELIMINATE TO BALANCE THIS BUDGET.
SO THE UNCERTAINTY OF NOT KNOWING HOW MANY POSITIONS TO HIRE FOR, UH, THE, THE OTHER IMPACT OF NOT KNOWING IF THIS IS GOING TO BE THE CATALYST, WHICH CAUSES PEOPLE TO, TO MAKE THAT LEAP.
CUZ AGAIN, WE CERTAINLY PULLED PEOPLE IN FROM BALTIMORE.
I'D LIKE TO THINK IT WASN'T JUST BECAUSE OF THE COLA THAT WE WERE ABLE TO OFFER LAST YEAR, CUZ LAST YEAR WE DID THE HIGHEST IN THE STATE.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT WEIGHS INTO SOME PEOPLE'S DECISIONS.
BUT I FEEL LIKE WE'VE BECOME, UH, AND, AND MR. RICHARDSON, OUR SUPERINTENDENT OF HR HAS SAID THIS, YOU KNOW, WE'VE
[02:05:01]
BECOME AN EMPLOYER OF CHOICE BECAUSE WE'VE OFFERED OPEN CONTRACTS TO PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE STATE, EVERY COUNTY IN THE STATE, AND THEY'RE CHOOSING TO COME HERE TO WORK, BUT IT'S NOT JUST SALARY.UM, BUT IF THERE IS A PERVASIVE SENSE THAT A COMMUNITY DOESN'T SUPPORT ITS EDUCATORS, UM, THAT TREND COULD TURN AND MAKE IT HARDER FOR OUR RECRUITERS.
SO WE STILL HAVE A GAP TO FILL.
LIKE I SAID, WE DON'T KNOW HOW MANY TO HIRE BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW HOW MANY POSITIONS WE'RE GOING TO HAVE FOR NEXT YEAR.
BUT I AM WORRIED THIS IS, YOU KNOW, SUSTAINING SALARY IS ONE PIECE, RIGHT? THAT RECRUITS PEOPLE.
IT'S CERTAINLY NOT THE ONLY PIECE THEY LOOK AT.
THEY LOOK AT THE SUPPORTS WE HAVE FOR TEACHERS.
YOU KNOW, IN THE YEARS AFTER WE CUT COACHES TO BALANCE THE BUDGET, THAT MADE IT HARDER BECAUSE THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS A DECISION POINT FOR A LOT OF THE PEOPLE WHO CHOSE TO COME TO WORK HERE CUZ THEY RECOGNIZE THE NEED FOR THAT SUPPORT WHEN THEY COME IN.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF LITTLE THINGS THAT, IT MAY BE SALARY PACKAGE OR IT MAY BE SOME OF THE OTHER TYPES OF SUPPORTS WE MAY HAVE TO TRIM DOWN IN ORDER TO BALANCE THIS BUDGET.
UM, AND ALONG THOSE SAME LINES, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 1,500 PEOPLE GETTING TEACHING DEGREES, IT'S DISPROPORTIONATE.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S NOT THE SAME NEED FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD MAJORS AS THERE IS FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION MAJORS, ESPECIALLY SPECIAL EDUCATION MAJORS.
VERY COMPETITIVE TO GET SOMEBODY WITH A SPECIAL EDUCATION CERTIFICATION AND DEGREE INTO A SCHOOL SYSTEM.
UM, WHICH IS WHY THE SCHOOL SYSTEM HAS USED OP UH, YOU KNOW, GETTING THOSE CONTRACTS INTO PEOPLE'S HANDS EARLY AS A WAY TO TRY AND SECURE THOSE PEOPLE.
BECAUSE IT'S ESPECIALLY HARD TO MAKE SURE SOMEBODY'S SERVICED, UH, SOMEBODY GETS THE SERVICES THEY NEED IF THE PERSON DOING THE SERVICES DOES NOT HAVE A CERTIFICATION TO KNOW WHAT THOSE SERVICES ARE.
UM, YOU KNOW, THAT CREATES A TREMENDOUS NEED.
BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS RIGHT NOW, THOSE EARLY CONTRACTS THAT WE, THE SCHOOL SYSTEM HAS GOTTEN WITH STAFF, FUTURE STAFF, UH, HAVE NOW BEEN OPENED UP FOR THEM TO INTERVIEW ELSEWHERE BECAUSE OF THE UNCERTAINTY WITH STAFFING RIGHT.
IS THAT TRUE THAT NORMALLY YOUR SECURITY? NOT, NOT THAT I'VE BEEN TOLD.
WE HAVEN'T MADE ANY CHANGES ON THE OPEN CONTRACT.
UM, I BELIEVE WE'RE GOING TO NEED EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE ONES WE'VE HIRED BECAUSE WE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, WE DO AN EARLY INCENTIVE TO GET PEOPLE TO LET US KNOW IF THEY'RE RETIRING OR RESIGNING.
SO WE HAVE A GOOD SENSE OF THE VACANCIES WE HAVE.
UM, SO I DO NOT EXPECT, I MEAN, I HOPE TO RELEASE NONE OF THOSE PEOPLE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THOSE WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO GET.
BUT LIKE I SAID, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IF THIS WILL CHALLENGE OUR HIRING GOING FORWARD.
UM, BUT THE OTHER PART IS WE NEED TO GET THE BUDGET FIGURED OUT SO WE KNOW HOW MANY POSITIONS TO HIRE FOR.
THAT IS REALLY PROBABLY THE BIGGEST VARIABLE NOW THAT THIS, YOU KNOW, IN THE LAST THREE YEARS WHEN WE WERE FULLY FUNDED AND IN FACT ESSENTIALLY THE LAST FOUR YEARS, UM, WE KNEW WHEN THE PROPOSAL CAME OUT, HOW MANY POSITIONS WE'D HAVE SO WE COULD CONFIDENTLY BE HIRING IN APRIL.
IT'S SCARY TO WAIT UNTIL JUNE BECAUSE THERE'S A BIG HIRING GAP.
I MEAN, THAT'S WHEN MOST OF IT HAPPENS.
AND SO THE FACT THAT WE'RE IN THIS PLACE OF UNCERTAINTY NOW IS, UM, IS REALLY CONCERNING.
AND IT'S A NOTHING AGAINST OUR NON, UH, CREDENTIALED, YOU KNOW, STAFF CUZ EVERYBODY'S DOING THE WORK AND EVERY, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY'S RESPECTED.
BUT, UM, IT'S, IT'S VERY DIFFERENT, ESPECIALLY IN A SCHOOL SYSTEM WHERE WE DON'T HAVE CASE MANAGERS DOING THE PAPERWORK FOR OUR STUDENTS WITH, WITH IEPS TO HAVE SOMEBODY WHO DOESN'T HAVE A SPECIAL EDUCATION BACKGROUND, DOESN'T HAVE A SPECIAL EDUCATION DEGREE, UH, SERVICING CHILDREN WITH IEPS.
AND YOU HAVE TO DO THAT KIND OF STUFF MORE AND MORE WHEN YOU CAN'T ATTRACT PEOPLE FROM OTHER COUNTIES.
AND WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE GRADUATING FROM UNIVERSITIES.
YOU'RE LEFT WITH HIRING ANYBODY WHO HAS A COLLEGE DEGREE OFF THE STREET, WHICH THEN HURTS THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION, WHICH THEN IMPACTS HOW MUCH WE HAVE TO SPEND ON OTHER SERVICES WITHIN THE COUNTY.
IT'S A VERY EXPENSIVE, UH, PROCESS LONG TERM ON THE IMPACT OF OUR CHILDREN ACROSS THE COUNTY.
UH, YOU SPOKE SOME ABOUT OUR, THE COUN, UH, THE SCHOOL SYSTEM'S PRIORITY SCHOOLS.
UM, OUTSIDE OF MY ROLE AS A COUNCIL MEMBER, I, I WORK AT A PRIORITY SCHOOL.
UH, YOU KNOW, A MAGNOLIA MIDDLE SCHOOL IS A SCHOOL THAT RANKS 13TH PERCENTILE FOR ALL MIDDLE SCHOOLS IN THE STATE.
ACCORDING TO THE MARYLAND REPORT CARD.
UH, LESS THAN 5% OF ALL STUDENTS PROFICIENT IN THEIR MATH ASSESSMENT LAST YEAR, 21% PROFICIENT IN THEIR READING ASSESSMENT LAST YEAR.
A SCHOOL WHERE THE STAFF WORKS VERY HARD TO SUPPORT CHILDREN.
I USED MY LUNCH BREAK TO TEACH CHILDREN HOW TO READ BECAUSE I REALIZED VERY QUICKLY INTO THE YEAR WHEN I WAS TRYING TO TEACH PHASES OF THE MOON AND CHILDREN COULD NOT READ THE WORD MOON, THAT I HAD SOME WORK TO DO TO TEACH SIXTH GRADE CONTENT IN A ROOM WHERE NOBODY COULD READ ABOVE A THIRD GRADE LEVEL.
UM, COULD YOU JUST SPEAK ON A PRACTICAL SENSE WHAT A RESTRICTIVE BUDGET LIKE THIS COULD MEAN TO SCHOOLS
[02:10:01]
LIKE THAT SCHOOL AND OTHER SCHOOLS IN WHICH OUR MOST VULNERABLE CHILDREN, OUR MOST AT-RISK CHILDREN, UH, OCCUPY EACH DAY AND, UH, TO WHAT THEIR EXPERIENCE COULD BE LIKE IN SERVICES, IN QUALITY, UM, AND IN STAFFING.EVERY, EVERY RESOURCE MA I MEAN, ALL THE RESOURCES MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
UM, AND THERE'S A LOT TARGETING HELPING STUDENTS SORT OF RECOVER FROM THE ACADEMIC CHALLENGES THEY'VE EXPERIENCED, BUT ALSO THE HISTORIC CHALLENGES.
UM, WE'VE WORKED TO GET ADDITIONAL RESOURCES SCHOOLS, AS YOU MENTIONED, THE PRIORITY SCHOOLS MODEL WAS TO ALLOW US TO DIFFERENTIATE THE RESOURCES GOING TO OUR POOREST SCHOOLS SO THE STUDENTS HAD ACCESS TO NOT JUST, AGAIN, IN SOME CASES, UM, MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORTS AND OTHER CASES, UM, SPECIALISTS, MATH SPECIALISTS, READING SPECIALIST TYPES TO, TO GO IN SUPPORT TEACHERS AND STUDENTS DIRECTLY, UM, TO ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE GAPS THAT OUR POORER SCHOOLS HAVE TO OUR OTHERS.
UM, CURRENT BUDGET CRISIS, I, I I'M LESS CONCERNED ABOUT DIRECT IMPACTS THERE AS MUCH WE'RE, WE'D HAVE, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO CON LIKE TIGHTEN UP A LITTLE BIT EVERYWHERE.
UM, IT'S IMPORTANT TO ME THAT NO MATTER WHAT WE END UP DOING WITH CUTTING THAT WE'RE VERY AWARE OF, YOU KNOW, NOT DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTING PARTICULARLY OUR POORER SCHOOLS.
UM, AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE WILL REMAIN FOCUSED ON, YOU KNOW, REGARDLESS OF WHAT NUMBER WE'RE WORKING WITH.
UM, BUT, BUT THERE'S NO QUESTION THERE ARE GREAT NEEDS THERE THAT STILL NEED TO BE FILLED.
AGAIN, IDEALLY, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'D BE PUSHING FORWARD AT THIS POINT, BUT THAT'S NOT WHERE WE ARE.
UM, AND THEN JUST LAST QUESTION.
LOOKING HISTORICALLY AGAIN, THE LAST TIME THAT THERE WAS CUTS TO THE SCHOOL SYSTEM STAFFING WERE NUMBERS RELEASED THAT SHOWED STRATEGICALLY, LIKE YOU WERE SAYING, OUR SCHOOLS WITH HIGHER ECONOMIC STATUSES RECEIVED LARGER CUTS IN STAFFING.
UM, AND IT WAS SOME SCHOOLS SAW 12 STAFF, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, AND, AND IN THAT RANGE CUT FROM THEIR, THEIR, UH, STAFFING.
AND THAT WAS WITH A MUCH SMALLER DEFICIT IN, IN THE BUDGET THAT WAS PUT FORTH.
UM, YOU KNOW, THINKING ABOUT OUR SCHOOLS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, BEL AIR, FALLSTON C MILTON, UM, YOU KNOW, NORTH HARTFORD WHERE THERE ISN'T THAT SAME, UH, UH, HIGH POVERTY NEED, HOW COULD THIS POTENTIALLY IMPACT THE STAFFING AND SERVICES AT THOSE SCHOOLS? BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, EVEN IF THOSE SCHOOLS, EVEN IF THERE ISN'T A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF OF, OF POVERTY, THERE IS STILL POCKETS OF, OF HIGH NEED.
AND, AND THEN THOSE CHILDREN WILL LOSE OUT ON SERVICES AND, AND, UH, BECAUSE OF, OF STAFFING.
SO THERE'S KIND OF TWO MAJOR CONSIDERATIONS, RIGHT? SO THE BUDGET IN A, IN A BUDGET THAT IS 87% PEOPLE, UM, ANY CUTS OF THIS SCALE ARE GONNA INVOLVE PEOPLE ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.
UM, AND USUALLY I SUMMARIZE IT AS, DO YOU HAVE, I MEAN, IT'S HOW MUCH YOU PAY THEM AND HOW MANY PEOPLE YOU HAVE, RIGHT? SO ARE TWO BIG TICKET ITEMS THAT CAN HELP YOU ADDRESS A 40 MILLION GAP IN A BUDGET ARE GONNA BE THE SALARY PACKAGE, WHICH IS 19.1 MILLION.
IF WE WERE TO, YOU KNOW, CHANGE THAT, WE'D HAVE TO NEGOTIATE WITH OUR ASSOCIATIONS, THAT COULD BE A WAY TO RECOVER SOME AMOUNT OF THIS GAP.
BUT THE CHALLENGE THERE IS IN TERMS OF COMPETING WITH OTHER DISTRICTS, IT, IT DIMINISHES OUR ABILITY TO COMPETE WITH THEM IF, IF WE REDUCE THAT.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE HAVE TO BE THOUGHTFUL ABOUT.
AND THEN THE OTHER IS JUST THE NUMBER OF POSITIONS, UM, WE'VE BEEN CHALLENGED IN THE LAST FEW YEARS IN TERMS OF SUPPORT POSITIONS IN THAT THOSE ARE ACTUALLY WHERE WE'VE HAD SOME OF OUR BIGGEST SHORTAGES, CUSTODIANS, PARA-EDUCATORS.
UM, THE LOWER PAID POSITIONS HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN EVEN HARDER FOR US TO FILL.
UM, AND THERE'S REALLY NOT ANY ROOM TO REGAIN THE BUDGET THERE.
SO IT'S KIND OF FROM THERE UP THAT WE'D HAVE TO DO CUTS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, SO THE CHANCE OF OF CLASS SIZES CHANGING.
WE'VE MADE PROGRESS A LITTLE BIT IN OUR CLASS SIZES RECENTLY, BUT THAT WOULD HAPPEN, YOU KNOW, THE WAY WE STAFF OUR SCHOOLS IS THERE'S SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT RATIOS DEPENDING ON WHETHER A SCHOOL IS 75% POVERTY OR ABOVE 50 TO 75% OR BELOW 50% POVERTY.
THEY HAVE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT STAFFING RATIOS.
AND AS YOU INDICATED, THE MORE THE POORER THE SCHOOL, THEY HAVE SLIGHTLY MORE FAVORABLE RATIOS.
UM, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO LOOK ACROSS THE SPECTRUM PROBABLY.
UM, SO IT'S HARD TO SAY HOW, BUT AGAIN, IT'S ALL A FUNCTION OF HOW MUCH WE HAVE TO CUT.
IF WE'RE FILLING A SMALLER GAP, YOU KNOW, WE WON'T HAVE TO DO ANY HARM TO THE SALARY AND WAGE PACKAGE AND WE MAY NOT HAVE TO, UH, INCREASE CLASS SIZE AS MUCH.
BUT THIS IS CLASS SIZES VERSUS SALARY VERSUS EVERYTHING ELSE IS.
AND, AND JUST ONE LAST POINT OF CLARIFICATION.
[02:15:01]
IF, IF SALARIES WERE TO BE RENEGOTIATED, IT'S REALLY JUST MOVING MONEY FORWARD A YEAR BECAUSE LIKE YOU STATED, YOU STILL HAVE TO GET TO 60,000 IN THE NEXT, NO QUESTION, THREE YEARS.SO IT'S JUST MAKING THE REQUEST FOR NEXT YEAR, EVEN LARGER AND THE, AND THE GAP BETWEEN MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT AND WHAT IS NEEDED EVEN LARGER, UM, AND EVEN MORE CUMBERSOME TASKS TO COVER.
SO, YOU KNOW, THAT MIGHT MAKE THIS YEAR SURVIVABLE, BUT IT MAKES THE CLIFF FOR NEXT YEAR HIGHER.
BOLSON FOR BEING HERE TODAY AND TO YOUR STAFF AS WELL.
UM, I JUST HAD TWO QUICK QUESTIONS.
BASED ON THE CAPITAL PROJECTS, UM, WHAT ARE THE CONCERNS WITH FUNCTIONALITY OF THESE SCHOOLS AND PUSHING BACK THIS TIMELINE SPECIFICALLY OLD POST? UM, WELL THAT'S, THAT'S ALWAYS A GOOD QUESTION.
I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A BIGGER PICTURE ISSUE AND YOU HAVE 104 YEAR CYCLE.
WE HAVE A PROBLEM AND WE NEED TO ADDRESS IT.
UM, OUR TEAM DOES A FANTASTIC JOB, BUT THAT MEANS WE'RE MEETING FUNDS IN MAINTENANCE RATHER THAN REPLACEMENT.
SO WE'RE SPENDING THE MONEY ON THE MAINTENANCE AND THE, AND THE TEAM GETS THE JOB DONE AROUND THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, OLD POST ROAD IS DEFINITELY END OF LIFE AND THEN SOME.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT, THE, THE LAST THING WE WANNA SEE HAPPEN IS SOMEHOW IN THIS GAP WHERE IT'S PUSHED BACK THAT WE HAVE A BIG SYSTEM FAILURE THAT CAUSES US TO INVEST.
YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE THERE'S SOMETHING GOING WRONG IN THE CAR THE YEAR BEFORE YOU WANNA SELL IT.
LIKE, DO YOU, DO YOU PAY OR NOT? WE DON'T HAVE A CHOICE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO MAKE A MULTIMILLION DOLLAR REPAIR.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE TYPE OF THING THAT JUST MAKES EVERYTHING HARDER.
SO THERE'S ALWAYS CHALLENGES RELATED TO THAT.
BUT I KNOW MR. BROWN'S LIKE ITCHING TO, TO SAY SOMETHING.
I'VE BEEN SITTING HERE, I CAN'T BE QUIET, BUT FOR SO LONG,
SO GOING BACK TO 2006, OUR SCHOOL BOARD, UM, PRIORITIZE OUR MULTI-SCHOOL FACILITIES.
SO OLD POST, UM, WILL BE AFTER HOMESTEAD WAKEFIELD, UM, IS, UH, TO RECEIVE THEIR NEW FACILITY.
OLD POST WILL BE THE LAST SCHOOL THAT HAS THREE BUILDINGS.
SO YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, I'M GOING TO GO WILLIAM PICKER OLD POST AND THEN AN ANNEX.
SO FROM A SAFETY AND OPERATIONAL STANDPOINT, WE'RE OPERATING THREE FACILITIES THERE.
UM, OUR ADMINISTRATION AND JUST HOW THE BUILDING IS BEING MANAGED.
SO, UM, WE'VE BEEN, UH, FOCUSED ON ADDRESSING OUR SCHOOLS SO THAT WE JUST HAVE THE ONE BUILDING WITH THE ADMINISTRATION, WITH THE CUSTODIAL STAFF, AND THERE'S JUST A BETTER OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY.
SO FUNCTIONALITY, WHEN YOU START LOOKING AT IT FROM THAT STANDPOINT, OLD POST IS THE LAST OF THAT MODEL WHERE WE HAVE FREE BUILDINGS ON ONE CAMPUS SERVING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL POPULATION.
SO I WOULD IMAGINE IT'S SAFE TO SAY THAT WE'RE PROBABLY INCURRING GREATER COSTS BY KEEPING THESE OLDER FACILITIES OPEN JUST ON MAINTENANCE.
AND, UM, HAVE GRACE, UM, YOU KNOW, HIGH SCHOOL, MIDDLE SCHOOL, WE COMBINE THAT TO THE, YOU KNOW, ONE FACILITY.
UM, WE'VE EXPERIENCED A LOT OF THE EFFICIENCIES THERE WITH GETTING RID OF THOSE AT ADDITIONAL FACILITIES TO INCLUDE THE AUDITORIUM.
WE TRANSFERRED THAT OVER TO COUNTY GOVERNMENT AND NOW PARKS AND REC, THEY'RE OPERATING THAT FACILITY FOR THE COMMUNITY.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS A BENEFIT, UM, THERE AS WELL.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN ATTEMPTING TO DO.
BUT AGAIN, IT'S 2023 AND OLD POST WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN, UM, YOU KNOW, RECEIVED THEIR NEW FACILITY IN LIKE 20 14, 20 15, I THINK IT WAS BEFORE THAT.
NO, IT'S BEEN SOME TIME EVEN BEFORE THAT.
WE TALKED ABOUT, WELL BEFORE I CAME ON, PROBABLY.
I GOT AN UPDATED INFORMATION ON THAT CHART THAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT.
UM, IT WASN'T CALCULATED IN THAT THE, THE STATE CHANGED THE MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.
SO, AND MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT FOR WAS 304 MILLION.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I HAD INFORMATION ON THE CHART THAT WAS WRONG AND THAT IS THE CORRECT INFORMATION TO CLARIFY.
THE FLAT FUNDED WOULD BE FUNDED AT THE LEVEL WE WERE LAST YEAR.
SO FUNDED AT MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT, WHICH IS 304 IST, THAT WHICH IS THE RIGHT, THE NEW MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT IS WHAT I MEANT.
RIGHT? SO THAT MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT IS 304 MILLION AND THAT'S WHAT THE FUNDING IS.
JUST WANTED TO FIRST THANK, UH, DEBORAH AND ERIC.
I THINK I SAW ERIC SOMEWHERE IN THERE.
UM, HAD A GOOD MEETING AS, UH, MR. PENMAN OUTLINED AND GAVE US A LOT OF CLARITY AHEAD OF TIME.
UM, I THINK I SECONDED, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY ALL THE DISCUSSIONS TODAY AND FOCUSING ON SALARY.
UM, ONE OF THE SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS I'VE WATCHED, UH, AND THE NUMBERS ARE A LITTLE ROUNDED IN MY MIND, BUT IT WAS O OF THE 5,600 EMPLOYEES, I THINK IT WAS CLOSE TO 4,500 PLUS, UH, LIVE OF WORK IN HARTFORD COUNTY.
I THINK THAT WAS CLOSE TO THAT NUMBER NORTH OF 80%, WHICH AGAIN, THE SALARY PACKAGE BEING REINVESTED INTO HARTFORD COUNTY, IT'S A HIGH PERCENTAGE RATE.
[02:20:01]
UM, AND OF COURSE THEIR PROPERTY TAXES PAID ON THEIR HOMES.SO I THINK WHEN WE LOOK AT THIS BUDGET, THE FOCUS ON SALARY OBVIOUSLY, AND THEIR, THE, THE BOARD'S WILLINGNESS TO, YOU KNOW, READJUST OBVIOUSLY A SALARY PACKAGE IS IMPORTANT.
UM, MY ONLY QUESTION, UM, I THINK MR. BROWN, AND I DON'T THINK WE'VE GOT THE MEET, BUT IN TERMS OF, UM, COSTS AND I THINK THINGS GET CONFLATED TOGETHER WITH SALARIES AND CAPITAL.
CAPITAL, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S AN APPROPRIATIONS FOR ENGINEERING AND DESIGN.
AND, AND AGAIN, THIS IS NOT TO INSINUATE LACK OF DUE DILIGENCE, IT'S JUST TO POINT OUT THE COST FOR THESE FACILITIES JUST TO DESIGN.
AND I'M ASSUMING JUST THE ENGINEERING IN THE LAST THREE FOR HARTFORD TECH, HARTFORD ACADEMY AND ABERDEEN MIDDLE, IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S ALMOST 22 MILLION JUST IN DESIGN AND ENGINEERING.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT CAN BE ADDRESSED WITH WORKING WITH THE COUNTY AND YOUR OFFICE TO INTERNALIZE THAT? OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WOULD JUST BE OUTSOURCED FOREVER? UM, YOU KNOW, CUZ IT JUST SEEMS THAT'S A LARGE COST TO YOUR PROJECTS, WHICH ARE OBVIOUSLY ARE IMPORTANT.
UM, IS THERE A WAY TO GO AFTER THAT NUMBER? CUZ OBVIOUSLY MATERIAL COSTS OR MATERIAL COSTS, RIGHT? SO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FOR CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT, DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION.
SO WE WOULD THEN, IF WE WERE GOING TO IT'S OUTSOURCING VERSUS HAVING AN INTERNAL CAPACITY, I'M AN ARCHITECT BY TRAINING.
SO WE WOULD HAVE THE ENGINEERS, ARCHITECTS, CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS TO HIRE, RIGHT? UM, THOSE INDIVIDUALS.
SO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT WHOLE OFFICES, UM, WITH SALARY AND BENEFITS, YOU KNOW, SO INSTEAD OF, UM, THAT OUR MODEL, UM, WE DO, UM, CONSTRUCTION, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HIRE ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS TO DESIGN OUR FACILITIES.
UH, WE CURRENTLY HAVE FOUR PEOPLE NOT COUNTING OUR, UM, OFFICE SUPPORT STAFF.
I'M WORKING IN OUR PLANNING CONSTRUCTION DEPARTMENT, VERY LEAN, YOU KNOW, WITH OUR, UM, SUPERVISOR, OUR TWO PROJECT MANAGERS, UM, OUR FACILITIES PLANNER AT, WELL ACTUALLY FIVE, AND OUR, UM, PROJECT ASSISTANT.
SO THEY'RE THE FOLKS WHO MANAGE OUR CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM AND WE HIRE ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS, CIVIL ENGINEERS, STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS, ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS, MECHANICAL ENGINEERS AND ARCHITECTURAL TEAMS TO DESIGN OUR FACILITIES.
UM, AND THEY, UM, COST IS LIKE A, YOU KNOW, 6% OF THE CONSTRUCTION BUDGET FOR DESIGN SERVICES.
AND THEN YOU HAVE ANOTHER, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU, YOU KNOW, FOUR OR 5% FOR CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SERVICES WITH PROJECT MANAGERS, ONSITE SUPERVISION, UH, FOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
AND WE DO A MULTI-PRIME, UM, YOU KNOW, CONSTRUCTION PROCESS WHERE THEN WE GO AND JUST BID FOR THE BRICKS AND STICKS.
AND THAT'S WHERE THE MAJORITY OF THE, UM, YOU KNOW, COST WOULD, IF YOU LOOK AT LIKE, HAVE A GRACE ELEMENTARY MIDDLE SCHOOL WAS A, YOU KNOW, $86 MILLION CONSTRUCTION PROJECT.
AND THE REST OF THAT WAS FOR CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT, DESIGN SERVICES AND, UH, YOU KNOW, SITE FEES AND THOSE KIND OF THINGS.
SO IT'S PRETTY STANDARD WITHIN THE INDUSTRY RIGHT NOW.
I JUST WAS ASKING IN TERMS OF IF IT WAS A WAY FOR US AS THE COUNTY TO HELP FACILITATE LONG TERM WITH THE A HUNDRED YEAR PLAN, WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY WE WILL ALL BE GOING, UH,
I JUST DIDN'T KNOW IF THAT WAS SOMETHING WE'D, WE'D BE HIRING MORE OKAY.
FOLKS IN ORDER TO MANAGE THE NUMBER OF PROJECTS THAT WE HOPE TO HAVE MOVING FORWARD.
UM, I, I THINK THE FIRST THING I WANNA GO ON IS FUND BALANCE, BECAUSE I THINK THAT TODAY WE'VE HEARD SOME HONESTY BETWEEN BOTH THE ADMINISTRATION AND THE BOARD OF EDUCATION ABOUT FUND BALANCE AND HOW WE USE FISCAL YEAR ENDING 2022 AUDITED NUMBERS, WHICH ARE VERY STALE AT THIS POINT IN TIME VERSUS THE CURRENT YEAR.
UM, BUT I THINK YOU BOTH TOUCHED ON ELOQUENTLY TODAY IS ASSIGNED FUND BALANCE VERSUS UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE.
SO THE NUMBERS THAT ARE BEING THROWN AROUND HERE, 92,000,001 WAY, UM, THE ADMINISTRATION'S DEALT WITH THEIR FAIR SHARE OF FUND BALANCE, UH, QUESTIONS OVER THE LAST COUPLE DAYS AS WELL.
UM, I, I THINK THAT IT'S FAIR TO MAKE THE CONCLUSION THAT ALL SIDES WOULD AGREE THAT THERE IS QUITE A BIT OF US ASSIGNED FUND BALANCE THAT COULD BE MADE TO HELP EACH OTHER, THE COUNTY AND THE BOARD OF ED IN SOME WAY.
AND THAT I AGREE WITH COUNCILMAN BENNETT'S PROPOSITION.
THE BIGGEST CONCERN HERE IS, UM, SURE YOU CAN USE HOUSE BILL, UH, 1452, REDUCE IT, BUT YOU'RE NOT, YOU'RE KICKING THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD.
AND I THINK ALL OF US, IT DOESN'T TAKE THAT MUCH MATH TO SEE WHAT THAT MEANS IN THE FUTURE.
SO I GUESS MY FIRST QUESTION WILL BE TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION IS HOW DO YOU SEE NEXT YEAR'S FUNDING LOOKING BASED ON THE FUNDING THAT IS, IS USING THE, THE STATE'S 19.5 MILLION AVAILABLE WAIVER THIS YEAR? GO AHEAD.
WELL, I DON'T HAVE A CRYSTAL BALL, SO I'M NOT GONNA ANSWER THAT DIRECTLY.
HOWEVER, UM, IF WE RECEIVE THE 3 0 4 FROM THE COUNTY, IF THAT IS OUR FUNDING FOR FY 24, THAT RESETS MAINTENANCE
[02:25:01]
OF EFFORT GOING FORWARD.SO OUR MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT NEXT YEAR WOULD ALSO BE 3 0 4.
SO THE STATE, WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT STATE NUMBER WILL BE.
THAT WOULD BE THE AVAILABLE NUMBER FOR EVERYTHING.
SO WHAT I HAD PUT BACK UP ON THE SCREEN, SO THIS YEAR WE HAVE ALMOST 52 MILLION IN REQUESTS.
19.6 OF THAT WAS THE COUNTY REQUEST.
SO IF, YOU KNOW, WE HAD A MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT OF 3 0 4, IF THE SITUATION IN THE ACCOUNT IN THE COUNTY DIDN'T IMPROVE TO ALLOW FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING, THE FUND BALANCE WE'VE EVEN TALKED ABOUT ISN'T ENOUGH TO ADDRESS THE CORRECT CONCERNS THAT WE HAVE.
SO, SO THE, THE, THE SHORT ANSWER IS THREE OR FOUR IS THE NEXT YEAR'S BASELINE FOR WHAT THE COUNTY COULD DO.
SO LET'S, LET'S JUST ASSUME THAT THAT'S WHAT THEY DO.
UM, THE NUMBERS IN THE BOOK FOR THE STATE FUNDS THAT YOU RECEIVED OR PROPOSED TO RECEIVED IN FISCAL YEAR 24 IS THE UNRESTRICTED VERSE RESTRICTED NUMBERS.
HAVE YOU SEEN THOSE NUMBERS? UN IT'S ABOUT 1 78, OR I HAD IT UP HERE A SECOND AGAIN.
UM, IT, IT SHOWS ABOUT 20 MILLION IS RESTRICTED OF YOUR STATE FUNDS AND THE REST OF IT WOULD BE UNRESTRICTED.
IS THAT, IS THAT CLOSE? SO THERE ARE A LOT OF WAYS TO LOOK AT THE RE USED TO BE THE STATE FUNDING COMING IN WOULD BE COMPLETELY UNRESTRICTED.
BUT WITH THE BLUEPRINT AND THE REPORTING THAT'S REQUIRED FOR MANY OF THE, UM, DIFFERENT REVENUE STREAMS THAT ARE COMING IN FOR BLUEPRINT, SOME JURISDICTIONS ARE ACCOUNTING FOR THOSE AS RESTRICTED, SOME ARE UNRESTRICTED.
A LOT OF IT DEPENDS ON YOUR SYSTEM.
SO THAT'S A LOOSE NUMBER AS FAR AS WHAT'S WE ARE SEEING AN INCREASED REQUIREMENT FROM THE STATE TO TAKE THE FUNDS THAT WE ARE RECEIVING AND APPLY IT SPECIFICALLY TO AN ITEM.
IT'S NOT SIMPLY AN UNRESTRICTED FUNDING SOURCE.
WE HAVE TO SPEND THIS MUCH ON, UM, COLLEGE AND CAREER READY.
WE HAVE TO SPEND THIS MUCH ON PRE-K AND THERE'S REPORTING BACK TO THEM EXACTLY.
SO THE, THE 42 AND ADDITIONAL FUNDING, WHICH IS MAINLY FOR BLUEPRINT, FROM WHAT I HAVE BEEN TOLD, WHERE WHERE ARE YOU SEEING FOOD? UH, IT'S RIGHT IN THEIR BUDGET BOOK.
SO I DON'T BELIEVE YOU HAVE ACCESS TO IT, BUT THAT'S WHAT THEY'VE DONE.
THEY'VE PUT IT AS THE UNRESTRICTED 42 MILLION THAT'S INCREASED THIS YEAR.
THEY HAVE IT TO YOU ALL AS UNRESTRICTED.
SO OUR REVENUE NUMBER FROM THE STATE IN THE UNRESTRICTED OPERATING BUDGET IS ABOUT 33 MILLION.
THAT IS THE NUMBER THAT WE ARE RECEIVING IN THE OPERATING BUDGET.
THAT IS WHAT I'M REFERRING TO THAT SOME MONEY IS ACCOUNTED FOR IN THE SAID RESTRICTED, WAS THAT 33 MILLION? I'M SORRY? 33 MILLION.
YEAH, THEY'RE SHOWING AT 278, YOU'RE 78, THE TOTAL 30 INCREASE.
SO 33, I'M, I'M JUST WORRIED ABOUT WHAT PART THEY FEEL IS UNRESTRICTED VERSUS WHAT YOU FEEL IS UNRESTRICTED.
I MEAN, LEMME ASK THAT A LITTLE BIT.
SO THERE'S TWO THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING.
SO THE STATE, I'LL START, I'LL USE THIS ONE I GUESS
SO THE STATE'S BEEN, UM, THEY'RE STILL CATCHING UP WITH HOW TO MANAGE THIS BLUEPRINT STUFF.
SO THINGS THEY'VE BEEN MOVING AROUND, WHAT THEY CONSIDER RESTRICTED AND WHAT THEY DON'T.
BUT EVEN SO THEY, SO SOME THINGS HAVE GONE UNRESTRICTED AND FRANKLY FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, SOME OF IT FEELS A LITTLE ARBITRARY.
UM, SO WE'VE SEEN A, A CONTINUING TREND OF MORE THINGS COMING IN RESTRICTED, BUT EVEN IN THE UNRESTRICTED BUDGET.
SO IF YOU'RE, WITHOUT GETTING TOO DEEP, DEEP INTO WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE BLUEPRINT, SOME THINGS COME IN IN SPECIFIC LINE ITEMS THROUGH THE LEGISLATION OF THE BLUEPRINT.
OTHER THINGS COME IN AS TO DO ITEMS THAT DON'T HAVE THEIR OWN FUNDING CATEGORIES.
THEY COME IN THROUGH OUR FOUNDATION FUNDING.
UM, BUT THERE ARE MANY TO DO ITEMS WITH THAT AS WELL.
AND SO WHILE IT'S ALL FEELING MORE RESTRICTED, WHAT SHOWS UP IN THE RESTRICTED BUDGET AT TIMES, LIKE I SAID, FEELS A LITTLE ARBITRARY, BUT WE GET A LOT MORE OF THAT THAN WE EVER HAD.
BUT EVEN THE UNRESTRICTED MONEY IS MORE RESTRICTED THAN IT'S EVER BEEN.
AND LET ME, LET ME, CUZ YOU'VE HIT IT CUZ THAT'S MY CONCERN AS WELL IS YOU HAVE A LOT HARDER TIME BUILDING SOME OF THESE ONE OR, UM, SOME OF THESE RECURRING COSTS AND PUTTING THAT MONEY TOWARDS THAT BECAUSE YOU JUST DON'T KNOW IF THAT WILL BE THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I'M GETTING AT.
AND I THINK THAT SHOWS TO THE NARRATIVE OF WHAT WE'RE BEING TOLD.
SO GOING BACK FROM, AND, AND THIS IS COMING FROM THE PUBLIC NOW CUZ WE'RE, WE'RE NOT SEATED UP THERE, THE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND THE ADMINISTRATION HAS PLAYED OUT PUBLICLY, UH, FOR, FOR WEEKS NOW.
SO MY QUESTION BECOMES IS WHEN DID YOU, WHEN WERE YOU AWARE, OBVIOUSLY WE ALL FLOATED AROUND, IT'S IN-HOUSE BILL 1450, WHICH WHICH I HAVE THAT SAYS THE 19 MILLION IS ABLE TO BE CUT THIS YEAR.
WHEN WAS THE SCHOOL BOARD, DID YOU, DID YOU FIND OUT WHAT THE REST OF US THE DAY THE BUDGET WAS PRINTED OR WAS THAT GIVEN TO YOU? WERE YOU GIVEN ANY ADVANCED NOTICE? NO, WE KNEW THE POSSIBILITY OF IT GOING DOWN.
WE PROBABLY BECAME MORE AWARE OF IT IN LIKE JANUARY OR FEBRUARY THAT IT WAS A POSSIBILITY.
JUNE 12TH WHEN MSD RELEASED THE SECOND ROUND OF STATE FUND.
SO YOU ASSUMED LIKE WE DID THE NUMBER THAT YOU SAW ON THE PAGE.
BUT ALSO, AGAIN, WE'RE IN ACCOUNTING THAT HAS NEVER DON'T DISAGREE.
FUNDED AT MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT WAS NEVER A CONSIDERATION.
[02:30:01]
WASN'T A CONSIDERATION IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS.UM, AND SO WHILE WE KNEW THAT WAS KIND OF THE CATASTROPHIC WORST CASE SCENARIO, UM, I GUESS WE HAD A LITTLE MORE CONFIDENCE IN THE SUPPORT FOR EDUCATION.
SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS KIND OF WE, SO WE WERE, WE BECAME AWARE OF IT.
UM, BUT THAT'S NEVER BEEN THE CONVERSATION HERE.
SO IT IS THIS YEAR APPARENTLY.
AND OBVIOUSLY YOU HAVE LESS TIME TO BUDGET BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO WAIT FOR YOUR APPROPRIATION AND THEN YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH.
SO IT DOES KIND OF FLIP EVERYTHING AROUND AND, AND TO, TO FINAL, TO FINALIZE MY POINTS AND TO COME FULL CIRCLE, UH, THE AMOUNT OF RESOURCES THAT YOU HAVE LOST AND, AND YOU CAN DO THE RECRUITING ALL THE I AND, AND FULL, YOU KNOW, TRANSPARENCY.
I HAVE A SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER WHO IS MY WIFE THAT WORKS FOR THE COUNTY THAT CAME FROM BALTIMORE COUNTY, AND THE SAME PROGRAMS THAT YOU HAVE DISCUSSED IN HERE.
AND I WANTED TO SIT AT THE END, NOT IN THE BEGINNING BECAUSE I WANTED TO HAVE THE HONEST DIALOGUE BACK AND FORTH FIRST.
BUT, UH, I, I'M, I'M VERY FRIENDLY WITH A LOT OF TEACHERS IN THE COUNTY AND, AND THIS, I'VE NEVER SEEN 'EM LIKE THIS EVER.
AND, AND YOU COULD GO BACK TO 18, YOU CAN GO BACK TO WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT CUTS.
THIS JUST SEEMS LIKE IT CAME OUTTA LEFT FIELD.
AND I WANT TO CHALLENGE ALL OF YOU SITTING IN THOSE CHAIRS RIGHT NOW.
GOD, YOU GOTTA DO BETTER THAN THIS FOR US BECAUSE IT'S, IT'S, IT'S THE FUNDS THAT ARE HERE AND IF, IF, IF THIS IS REALLY WHERE YOU THINK WE'RE AT IN REGARDS TO THE REVENUE AND, AND WHAT WE BROUGHT ON, I JUST THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, IF, IF WE COULD SIT THERE AND TALK ABOUT UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE AND EVERYTHING ALL WE WANT, BUT WE STILL HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER AND I JUST DON'T THINK THAT'S WHERE WE ARE.
SO THANK YOU MR. RE THANK YOU MR. COUNCIL PRESIDENT.
BOLSON FOR YOUR PRESENTATION TODAY.
UH, JUST A QUICK POINT OF CLARIFICATION.
YOU TOUCHED UPON THIS WITH MR. BENNETT EARLIER, BUT IS THERE A KIND OF A STANDARD FORMULA OR, OR, OR STANDARD THAT YOU USE? UH, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE A PROJECTED NUMBER OF NEW HIRES COMING IN.
WHAT ARE YOU BASED IT ON? I KNOW IT'S BASED PRIMARILY ON ENROLLMENT, BUT CAN YOU MAYBE ELABORATE ON THAT? HOW YOU KIND OF PROJECT WHAT YOUR NEEDS ARE GONNA BE MOVING FORWARD? UM, WELL FIRST WE'RE LOOKING AT TURNOVER, RIGHT? SO, SO WE START KIND OF WITH THE STATUS QUO AS, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO WE STAFF THIS YEAR, UM, WHERE WE CAN, WE WE'RE GOING, WE, WE'VE MADE A LITTLE PROGRESS IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, UH, ADDRESSING FUND, UH, ADDRESSING, UM, CLASS SIZE.
AND SO IF, IF WE THINK THERE'S ROOM TO REQUEST AN IMPROVEMENT IN CLASS SIZE, WE CAN ADJUST THE RATIOS WE USE TO STAFF OUR SCHOOLS.
AND SO THERE'LL BE A KIND OF A FORMULA FOR THE NUMBER OF TEACHERS IT WOULD ADD.
SO IF WE WERE GONNA TAKE, YOU KNOW, KINDERGARTEN CLASSES FROM, YOU KNOW, 20 PER CLASS ON AVERAGE TO 18, WE CAN PLUG THAT IN.
IT'LL TELL US HOW MANY TEACHERS WE NEED.
SO WHEN, WHEN WE'VE, WHEN WE'VE TRIED TO ADJUST THOSE, IT WOULD COME OUT FORMULA WISE, BUT THAT'LL SHOW UP IN THE BUDGET IF WE DO THAT.
UM, SO MOSTLY WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, USUALLY STARTING FROM WHERE WE WERE THE LAST YEAR.
CAUSE WE HAVEN'T HAD A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES TO GROW LIKE THAT.
BUT THEN WE ALSO DO HAVE TO TRY TO ANTICIPATE ENROLLMENT.
BUT THAT'S ALWAYS TRICKY BECAUSE KINDERGARTNERS TEND TO SHOW UP AND WE DON'T KNOW HOW MANY YOU'RE GONNA GET.
AND THAT'S ALWAYS THE BIGGEST QUESTION IN THE YEAR.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE PLACES WHERE WE TRY TO BUILD IN A LITTLE BUFFER TO BE ABLE TO SIGN PEOPLE AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
AS YOU KNOW, THOSE KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATIONS COME IN THROUGH THE SUMMER.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF SCIENCE, A LITTLE BIT OF ART, UM, BECAUSE YOU'RE TRYING TO GUESS HOW MANY YOU'RE GONNA GET.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE ALWAYS CATCHING UP WITH HOW MANY TRANSFERRED OUT, HOW MANY TRANSFERRED IN, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A ROLLING NUMBER THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
SO, BUT DO WE HAVE, I MEAN, THE SHORT ANSWER IS THERE ISN'T A, THE STATE DOES NOT HAVE CLASS SIZE REQUIREMENTS, SO WE LOOK TO OUR NEIGHBORS TO TRY TO BENCHMARK AGAINST THEM AND TRY TO KEEP THEM CONSISTENT.
UM, WE'D ALL LIKE TO SEE THEM SMALLER, BUT THAT ISN'T SOMETHING THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE REQUIREMENTS FOR THAT, THAT WOULD DRIVE THAT.
AND, AND SO WHAT'S THE REALITY RIGHT NOW? DO YOU HAVE THAT RATIO? OUR CLASS SIZES, UM,
UM, IT'S A LITTLE HARD TO SAY CUZ IT GOES SCHOOL BY SCHOOL AND THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT, THAT DRIVE IT.
YOU KNOW, WE TRY TO KEEP, FOR EXAMPLE, OUR SECONDARY CLASS IS UNDER 30, BUT WITHIN A SCHOOL YOU'LL SEE A WIDE RANGE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE A SPECIALIZED CLASS AND ONLY A FEW KIDS SIGN UP FOR YOU, YOU'LL HAVE A CLASS WITH EIGHT, AND THEN OVER HERE YOU'LL HAVE A CLASS OF 35.
UM, SO AT SECONDARY, AGAIN, WE, WE START LOOKING AT PLACES WHERE THE NUMBERS GO OVER 30 AS AS BEING HIGH AND WE TRY TO ADDRESS THAT WHERE WE CAN, BUT WE CAN'T ALWAYS, ELEMENTARY, WE TRY TO KEEP OUR KINDERGARTEN UNDER 20, UM, MID GRADES UNDER 25 AND FOURTH, FIFTH GRADE UNDER 30.
UM, AND THERE'S MORE OR LESS WHERE WE ARE, IT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU SEE LIKE ALL THE SCHOOLS PUT TOGETHER BASED ON SOME DIFFERENT FACTORS.
BUT THAT'S ABOUT WHERE WE ARE.
[02:35:01]
VERY MUCH.IF I CAN ADD A LITTLE BIT TO THAT, YOU KNOW, TALKING ABOUT THE STATE NOT HAVING REQUIREMENTS FOR CLASS SIZE, NOWHERE IN THE BLUEPRINT IS CLASS SIZE REFERENCE, SO THERE'S NO FUNDING COMING FOR CLASS SIZE.
SO THAT IS SOLELY A LOCAL INITIATIVE TO DO, AND THAT FUNDING WOULD HAVE TO COME FROM THE LOCAL SIDE THAT THE STATE'S NOT GOING TO GIVE US FUNDING FOR THAT.
UM, SO I, I JUST WANT TO ASK, UH, I, I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU'RE CALLING IT A CUT, BUT IN REALITY YOUR WHOLE BUDGET WAS FUNDED, UM, WHICH STATE AND COUNTY FUNDS? UM, NO, IT WASN'T.
SO MY QUESTION IS, I UNDERSTAND YOU AND THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE AT ODDS, ARE YOU AT LEAST TALKING SO THAT MAYBE YOU CAN COME TO SOME HAPPY MEDIUM? SO WE'RE NOT IN THIS, UH, SO BUTTING HEADS,
SO WHILE I WAS TALKING STATE AND COUNTY, SO ON THE SCREEN, OUR REQUEST IS ALMOST 52 MILLION.
WE ARE EXPECTED TO RECEIVE 33 MILLION FROM THE STATE.
THAT'S WHAT'S IN THERE, FOLKS.
SO YEAH, THAT'S, THAT'S NOT A, THE NUMBER THAT IS USED FOR THE OPERATING BUDGET.
SO THE FUNDING FROM THE STATE IS ONLY, THAT'S THE NUMBER WE'RE GETTING FROM THE STATE.
SO YOUR SECOND PART OF YOUR QUESTION THOUGH, UM, YOU KNOW, WE MET LAST TUESDAY THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, SO ALL OF THIS HIT PRIOR HIT ON FRIDAY AND YOU KNOW, WE HAD NEWS BACK AND FORTH AND I KNOW, YOU KNOW, SO THAT THE PUBLIC CONFLICT, IF YOU WANNA CALL IT THAT, UH, HAD ALREADY BEGUN.
SO WE SPOKE, THEN OUR BUDGET FOLKS MET, UM, AGAIN ON THURSDAY.
SO THERE ARE ONGOING DISCUSSIONS AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
AND YOU KNOW, WE, YOU KNOW, WE APPRECIATE THE DISCUSSION.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, THE PUBLIC IN, WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE THE BEHIND THE, BEHIND THE SCENES AND THE OUT IN PUBLIC CONVERSATIONS.
WE WANNA KEEP THIS AS TRANSPARENT.
SO MY QUESTION, YOU ARE HAVING BEHIND THE SCENES DISCUSSION TO MAYBE, SIR YES SIR.
UM, MR. GUTHRIE, UH, JUST TO FOLLOW UP, UH, AND, UH, SOME THINGS THAT MR. UH, BOYD TALKED ABOUT, UM, BACK TO THE WILLIAM PEOLE POST, UH, REMEMBER BACK IN 2008, 2010, WE'RE ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT IT IN THAT FRAME.
UH, BUT INSTEAD THEY SAID, WELL, WE'LL AIR CONDITION IT, YOU KNOW, WELL, YOU'RE, YOU COME FROM CONTRACT, YOU COME FROM, YOUR BACKGROUND IS, WELL, YOU KNOW, WHAT IT TAKES TO, TO AIR CONDITION AN OLD BUILDING, YOU KNOW, IT'S VERY EXPENSIVE.
SOME OF 'EM, YOU CAN'T EVEN DO IT.
AND THAT'S WHY YOU STILL SEE A LOT OF BUILDINGS AROUND WITH, WITH THE UNITS HANGING OUT THE WINDOW BECAUSE IT'S ABSOLUTELY, THE, THE COST TO, UH, AIR CONDITION OF OLD BUILDING LIKE THAT IS, IS, UH, UH, IS, IS IS EXTREMELY HIGH.
AND THEY, BUT THEY DID AIR CONDITION THE, UH, THE, THE ONE BUILDING.
SO, AND THEN, AND AS YOU KEEP PUSHING THIS OUT, NOW WE'RE PUSHING IT OUT TO, UH, MAYBE 20, 29 EVERY YEAR.
SO, UM, WE KEEP FOOLING AROUND, YOU KNOW, THE COST IS GOING TO BE SO HIGH, NOBODY'S GONNA WANNA DO IT, SO WE NEED TO PUT THE, UH, SHOVEL ON THE GROUND AS SOON AS WE CAN.
YEAH, KNOWING THAT WILLIAM, WILLIAM PEGA OLD POST AT THE TIME, OLD POST NOW, UM, KNOWING THAT, UM, THE CONSTRUCTION WASN'T GOING TO OCCUR, UM, OUR BOARD AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS BODY HERE APPROVED, UH, CAPITAL FUNDING, UM, YOU KNOW, TO DO AIR CONDITIONING, YOU KNOW, AT THE, UM, I DUNNO, THE PRIMARY, THE PRIMARY BUILDING, NO, THE INTERMEDIATE BUILDING.
AND, UM, WE DID MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT.
BUT WE ONLY EXPECTED TO HAVE THAT EQUIPMENT IN THERE FOR LIKE, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER 10 YEARS.
SO, YOU KNOW, SO WE'RE KIND OF, UM, YOU KNOW, PUSHING ON ON THAT NOW.
SO BY THE TIME WE GET BACK TO OLD POST, IT'LL BE SOME 15 PLUS YEARS SINCE THAT H V C PROJECT IMPROVEMENT THERE.
UM, AND IT'LL BE, THE EQUIPMENT WILL BE BEYOND ITS USEFUL LIFE.
AND WE, WE MADE SOME OTHER, UM, IMPROVEMENTS TO THE OPEN SPACE, UH, PORTION OF THE, THE, UM, SECOND BUILDING.
SO THERE'S BEEN SOME INVESTMENT THERE, BUT WE DID THAT KNOWING THAT IT WOULD BE SOME TIME BEFORE WE WOULD, UM, YOU KNOW, GET TO REPLACE, YOU KNOW, THOSE FACILITIES.
UM, I'D LIKE TO CLOSE BY JUST SAYING THAT IN MY MOST RECENT MEETING WITH THE SUPER, I MEAN WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT, SORRY, WITH THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE AND DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION, UH, I REMINDED HIM, UH, A GREAT LEGISLATOR UNDERSTANDS THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION AND COMPROMISE.
[02:40:01]
THESE MEETINGS AND TALKS CONTINUE TO GO.AND I ALSO WOULD, LIKE, I ALWAYS SAY WE'RE BLESSED IN HARTFORD COUNTY TO HAVE A GREAT QUALITY OF LIFE, AND IT'S BASED ON TWO KEY COMPONENTS.
IT'S GREAT PUBLIC SAFETY AND GREAT PUBLIC EDUCATION.
AND I HOPE THAT WE CONTINUE TO DO BOTH THOSE THINGS.
UH, SO WITH THAT, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND CLOSE, UH, THIS SESSION AND LOOK FORWARD TO A BREAK AND THEN THE AFTERNOON SESSION.
THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOU BEING HERE TODAY.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED, UM, WITH, UH, DEPARTMENT OF LICENSE INSPECTIONS, LICENSE AND PERMITS.
MR. TRUIT, HOW ARE YOU TODAY? GOOD, THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT, WHENEVER YOU'D LIKE TO START, IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO COMMENT IN ON BEFORE.
DO YOU WANT TO INTRODUCE YOUR FOLKS, PLEASE? SURE.
WITH COUNCIL PRESIDENT PENNON COUNSEL MEMBERS, UH, WITH ME, DID I HAVE MY SENIOR MANAGEMENT PARTNERS, DEPUTY DIRECTOR HAROLD BOWLING, AND ALSO ADMINISTRATIVE SECRETARY JOE ROW.
UM, INSPECTIONS, LICENSE AND PERMITS.
THE OVERALL DEPARTMENT, UM, THEY'RE ALL STARTS ON 3 72, 72, UM, INC.
UH, DECREASES 430 2008 57, AND WE WILL GO THROUGH EACH DIVISION FROM THERE QUICK.
UM, THE DE THE DIRECTOR'S OFFICE ON STARTS ON PAGE 3 75.
THERE'S A DECREASE IN THE DIRECTOR'S OFFICE OF 1 24, 8 13.
IT'S MAINLY THE RESULT OF THE 27 PAY AND SOME STAFF TURNOVER, UM, AS WELL AS A DECREASE IN HIS, UM, DIRECTOR'S OFFICE FOR TEMPORARY SALARIES.
THERE WERE SLIGHT INCREASES IN, UM, CONTRACTUAL SUPPLIES AND BUSINESS AND TRAVEL.
UM, THOUSAND AT THE MOST FOR ALL THREE.
SO ON PAGE 3 78 IS BUILDING SERVICES.
THERE'S A DECREASE THERE OF 180 4 0 24.
AGAIN, YOU WILL SEE THE BULK OF THAT IS IN PERSONAL SERVICES.
UM, FOR STAFF TURNOVER, THE 27TH PAY HEALTH BENEFITS WENT DOWN, TRYING TO TURN 77 9.
AND THEN UNDER CONTRACTUAL SERVICES, WE DID ADD A LITTLE BIT OF FUNDING, $25,000, UM, TO SUPPORT SOME NEGLECTED STRUCTURES AND SO FORTH.
WE MOVED IT TO THE CAPITAL BUDGET, SO THAT WAS A DECREASE.
PAGE 3 81 IS PLUMBING SERVICES, AGAIN, DECREASE THERE OF 55,006 10, AND YOU WILL SEE THE BULK OF THAT IS IN PERSONAL SERVICES, UM, FOR THE 27TH PAY AND HEALTH BENEFIT ADJUSTMENTS ON PAGE 3 84 IS THE ELECTRICAL SERVICES DIVISION.
THERE'S A DECREASE THERE OF 68,000 4 0 9.
THE BULK OF THAT DECREASES IN PERSONAL SERVICES.
UM, AT 72 6 59 DECREASE, UM, OFFSET VERY SLIGHTLY BY INCREASES TO SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS AT THE COST OF THREE 3,500 AND THEN BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
WE INCREASE THE MONTHLY INCREASE FOR MONTHLY $750.
SO THAT WASN'T, UH, CUTTING JOE'S SALARY.
ANYTHING ELSE, KIM? UM, THEY DO HAVE ONE CAPITAL PROJECT.
THIS IS WHERE SOME OF THE MONEY WENT FROM THE OPERATING TO THIS DEMOLITION OF ABANDONED BUILDINGS.
AND DO YOU HAVE ANY
MR. COUNCIL, PRESIDENT? YES, SIR.
COUNSEL, AS YOU SEE, UH, THE MAIN RESPONSIBILITY OF THE DEPARTMENT IS TO ENSURE PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY, AND WELFARE IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT.
BUILT IS ORGANIZED IN THE FOUR DIVISIONS AS ASSIGNED AT THE TOTAL POSITIONS OF 31 STAFF MEMBERS.
CURRENTLY, DLP HAS ONE OVER POSITION, WHICH HAS BEEN ACTIVELY RECRUITING SINCE TWO DECEMBER OF 2022.
WITHIN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, TEAM WITHIN DLP IS TRENDING TO ISSUE OVER 3,700 LICENSES.
16,000 PERMITS COMPLETE OVER 46,000 INSPECTIONS, GENERATE 1.9 BILLION IN REVENUE AND CONDUCT OVER 550 INVESTIGATIONS COMPARED TO FY 22.
AND ASSUMING THE LAST QUARTER WILL PERFORM AS RELEVANT TO THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR TRENDS, DEPARTMENT WILL EXCEED OUR FISCAL YEAR COMPARISONS BY AN AVERAGE OF 2.1%.
1.7% CROSS EACH CATEGORY WITH THE EXCEPT EXCEPTION OF INVESTIGATIONS, WHICH IS TRENDING TO ABOUT A 17% REDUCTION DEPARTMENT'S PERFORMANCE MEASURES ARE ESTABLISHED TO PERMIT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF OUR STAFF, AND PROACTIVELY WORK TO PREVENT FUTURE COMPLICATIONS FOR OUR CITIZENS.
BY ALLOWING PERMITS TO EXPIRE EACH YEAR, STAFF MEMBERS ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLETE A MINIMUM OF 10 YEARS, OR EXCUSE ME, 10 HOURS OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND WORK TO PREVENT PERMITS FROM EXPIRING BY A MINIMUM OF 30%.
[02:45:01]
TO REPORT THAT THE TEAM HAS EXCEEDED OUR EXPECTATIONS AND PERFORMANCE MEASURES IN EACH OF THE CATEGORIES.AS A TEAM OF DEPARTMENT CONDUCTED OVER 512 HOURS OF CONTINUED EDUCATION AND EQUATES TO AN AVERAGE OF 17.65 HOURS PER EMPLOYEE DEPARTMENT HAS ALSO PREVENTED OVER 1600 ELIGIBLE PERMITS FROM EXPIRING, WHICH IS A CLOSE TO ABOUT A 40% REDUCTION.
THE MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE THAT OUR DEPARTMENT HAS IS ITS EMPLOYEES WHO MAKE UP THE TEAM.
AS AN EMPLOYEE, WITH OVER 29 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN THE DEPARTMENT, I'M BLESSED TO WORK WITH THE DEDICATED PROFESSIONAL STAFF THAT WORKS TIRELESSLY FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE AND WORKS TOWARDS OUR CUSTOMER BASE AND CITIZENS.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO ME PERSONALLY IN RECEIVING THE CONFIDENCE THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE AND THIS BODY BE FACILITATED, THE OPPORTUNITY TO ALLOW ME TO LEAD AND PROVIDE DIRECTION TO THE DEPARTMENT TEAM MEMBERS WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT ACCOUNT FOR OVER 341 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE.
ON AN AVERAGE THAT EQUATES TO AN AVERAGE OF 11.7 YEARS OF TENURE OF SIGNIFICANT IMPORTANCE.
WE MUST REMEMBER FOR THE, FOR THE DEPARTMENT TO REMAIN SUCCESSFUL, WE MUST CONTINUE TO INVEST IN THE DEPARTMENT STAFF AND WORK WAYS TO FIND THOSE WAYS TO CONTINUE TO INCREASE AT THE CURRENT RETENTION RATE THIS YEAR.
TO INVEST IN OUR STAFF, I'LL BE RAISING THE REQUIRED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENT TO A MINIMUM OF 15 HOURS PER EMPLOYEE.
AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IS ESSENTIAL IN MAKING SURE THAT OUR STAFF STAYS CURRENT ON CODES, MATERIALS, AND INDUSTRY TRENDS THROUGHOUT THE FISCAL YEAR.
THE DEPARTMENT CONTINUES TO LEVERAGE AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF AND EXPAND UPON THE USE OF THE UNDERGO SYSTEM.
BY DOING SO, THE DEPARTMENT CREATES EFFICIENCIES AND IMPROVES CUSTOMER SERVICE WHILE CONTROLLING OUR COSTS.
WE CONTINUE WORK CLOSELY WITH OUR SISTER ALLEY AGENCIES, MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY TO REFINE AND DELIVER NEW BUSINESS PROCESSES.
THIS FISCAL YEAR, WE COMPLETED THE FILING, EXPANSION, UPGRADES, ONLINE, COMMERCIAL TRADE PERMIT, APPLICATIONS FOR ELECTRICAL FUEL, GAS, MECHANICAL PLUMBING, PLUMBING AND WATER SORE CONNECTIONS, AND ONSITE UTILITY CONNECTIONS.
WE COMPLETED A PRELIMINARY PLANT INTERVIEW PROCESS FOR ONLINE APPLICATIONS AND COMPLETED OUR CROSS-FUNCTIONAL COLLABORATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES TO REVISE THE BUILDING PERMIT AMENDMENT PROCESS.
WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE CHIEF BUDGET OFFICER AND THIS BUDGET STAFF.
ALONG WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION, WE WORKED TO DEVELOP A BUDGET PROPOSAL TO REPRESENTS FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY WHILE STILL INVESTING IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, CUSTOMER SERVICE, AND THE SAFETY OF OUR STAFF.
IN CLOSING, WE BOTH WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION OF THE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET PROPOSAL AND RESPECTFULLY REQUEST YOUR FAVORABLE CONSIDERATION.
THIS TIME, MR. BOLEY AND I WILL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
THANK YOU BOTH, UH, FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
AND, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR, UH, PRESENTATION.
UM, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR, UH, WILLINGNESS TO PARTNER WITH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO TRY TO KEEP, UH, THINGS MOVING QUICKER THROUGH THAT PROCESS.
UH, AS I TOLD THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE, UH, WE TRULY DO APPRECIATE HIS INVESTMENT IN THE IT, WHICH I DO BELIEVE HELPS THEM BE, UH, MORE UPDATED AND TO BE MORE EFFICIENT IN, IN THEIR PROCESSES AS WELL.
SO I APPRECIATE YOU, UH, BEING AT THE HEAD OF THAT AS, AS YOU WORK CLOSE WITH THEM.
UM, THE ONE QUESTION I DO HAVE, I SEE, UH, BUILDING, UH, INSPECTOR SUPERVISOR IS, IS THAT SOMETHING PROPOSED THAT YOU DON'T CURRENTLY HAVE? UM, THE ONE PROPOSAL THAT WE HAVE, BOTH, BOTH POSITIONS ARE IN THE, UH, PAYING CLASSIFICATION CURRENTLY.
AND THAT'S ALL THE REASON THAT WAS.
IT WAS JUST A CHANGE IN POSITIONS THIS YEAR THAT OCCURRED IN THE BUDGET.
COUNSEL, ANYONE? MR. GINGER? SEAN, I WANNA, UH, GOOD AFTERNOON.
I WANT TO THANK YOU BOTH FOR THE MEETING THAT WE HAD AT THAT TIME AND THE, UH, INTER GOV REPORTS FOR ALL THE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION THAT GOES ON AND, AND I KNOW ALL MY OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS GET THAT.
I, I THINK IT'S GREAT, UM, THAT WE CAN SEE WHAT'S GOING ON IN EACH ONE OF OUR DISTRICTS AND WE CAN SEND OUT SOMETHING TO, UH, TO SOMEBODY.
I, I, IT, IT'S, UH, PHENOMENAL EVERY SATURDAY IT COMES IN MY, MY EMAIL BOX AND, UH, I LOOK FORWARD TO IT TO SEE WHAT'S GOING ON.
SO I, I REALLY DO APPRECIATE IT.
I KNOW MY OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS APPRECIATE IT AS WELL, BUT IT'S JUST A, IT'S ANOTHER TOOL THAT REALLY IS, UH, HELPFUL FOR US THAT WE KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON IN OUR DISTRICTS AND WE CAN REACH OUT TO PEOPLE AND, UH, IT'S, IT'S PROVEN VERY HELPFUL, SO FORTH.
SO, AGAIN, I, I WANT TO THANK YOU GUYS VERY MUCH FOR THAT.
UH, AGAIN, I WANT TO ECHO THAT.
I WAS GONNA BE IN MY COMMENT ALSO, AND IT SAYS, YOU RENDER PERMIT AND INSPECTION SERVICES THROUGH COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS WITH THE TOWN, UH, ABERDEEN AND CITY AGRA'S AND, UH, BEL AIR.
IS THAT A, SOME KIND OF PAID, UH, AGREEMENT? YES.
SO, UM, BELL AIR AND ABERDEEN, UH, I
[02:50:01]
QUITE HONESTLY DON'T REMEMBER EXACTLY WHEN WE STARTED THOSE AGREEMENTS.THAT WAS PRIOR TO MY TENURE WITH THE COUNTY, WHICH WAS 1994.
BUT WE RENDER, UH, THIRD PARTY INSPECTION AND PLAN REVIEW SERVICES.
SO UNDER THE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT, THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR EMITTING WHAT THE PERMIT FEE WOULD BE TO THE COUNTY, UM, AS IF IT WAS BEING, UM, PERMITTED IN THE COUNTY.
SO WE DO GET COMPENSATED FOR THOSE.
YEAH, I JUST WANNA CONVEY, UM, WHAT MY COLLEAGUE SAID AND JUST THANK YOU FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM'S EFFORTS.
THERE'S BEEN MULTIPLE, UM, TIMES THROUGHOUT MY FIVE MONTHS HERE AT A LIMITED TIME THAT YOU, YOUR, YOUR TEAM HAS BEEN A GREAT RESOURCE TO ME ON DIFFERENT LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES.
SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR AVAILABILITY AND YOUR EXPERTISE.
WELL, UM, MR. BENNETT, UM, I JUST HAVE A FEW, UH, SMALL LINE ITEM QUESTIONS.
UH, FOR THE POSITION OF A MINISTRY OF SECRETARY THREE, UH, IT SAYS, IN THE FISCAL YEAR 2023 BUDGET THAT IS BUDGETED FOR THAT POSITION TO BE PAID, UH, $96,050, UH, FOR THIS YEAR IT'S BUDGETED AT $75,000.
IS THAT SOMEBODY WHO LAST YEAR WAS GETTING PAID 96,000 AND THIS YEAR THEY'RE GETTING PAID 75,000 OR IS THAT SOMEBODY LEFT AND SOMEBODY NEW'S COMING IN? SOMEBODY LEFT AS AND MS. ROUTE TOOK OVER THAT POSITION? SO, YES.
UM, AND ALONG THOSE SAME LINES OF SENIOR CUSTOMER SUPPORT ANALYSTS, YOU KNOW, LAST YEAR IT WAS BUDGETED FOR TWO PEOPLE TO GET PAID, UH, $129,583.
THIS YEAR IT'S TWO PEOPLE GETTING PAID A HUNDRED THOUSAND $88.
IS THAT TWO PEOPLE GETTING PAID ABOUT $15,000 LESS THIS YEAR, OR IS THAT TWO NEW PEOPLE IN THAT POSITION? THEY ARE, UM, CURRENT POSITIONS AND BECAUSE OF THE ATTRITION THAT OCCURRED AND THE MOVEMENT WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT, WE PROMOTED FROM WITHIN.
SO THERE WAS A REDUCTION IN SALARY.
CURRENTLY WE ONLY HAVE ONE, UH, SENIOR PERSON, BUT WE ARE ALLOWED TO HAVE UP TO TWO.
UH, THAT OTHER POSITION IS, UM, BEING FILLED BY A CUSTOMER SERVICE TWO POSITION.
UM, SO THERE ISN'T ANYBODY IN YOUR DEPARTMENT WHO DIRECTLY RECEIVED A PAY REDUCTION THIS YEAR OVER THEIR PREVIOUS SALARY? NO.
UM, JUST A QUICK QUESTION FROM ME.
UH, HAVE WE, IN, IN YOUR CAPITAL PROJECT HERE, HAVE WE EVER DEMOLISHED ABILITY? HAS DELPH EVER DONE IT? YES.
UM, WE, THE REASON WE DID THAT, WE WENT BACK TO, TO MS. SPENCE AND WE WERE STARTING TO GET CLOSE AND EXCEEDED THE 25,000 IN A COUPLE INSTANCES.
SO WITH THE SUPPORT OF MS. SPENCE, WE WENT TO, UM, WORKING AS A CAPITAL PROJECT, WHICH ALLOWS US MORE FLEXIBILITY, DON'T HAVE TO FIND THE FUNDING IN AN OVER A THREE YEAR PERIOD.
SO YES, AS WE CONTINUE TO SEE THESE, WE'VE HAD, UH, FEW CHIMNEY OAK WHERE WE HAD A DOUBLE, UH, DUPLEX THAT WAS COMPLETELY BURNED IN THE GROUND.
WE HAD TO TAKE CARE OF REMOVING THAT CUZ THAT WAS NOT TAKEN CARE OF.
AND THEN PUT A, UH, ROOF OVER TOP OF THAT FOUNDATION THAT WAS LEFT NOT ONLY FOR SAFETY, BUT TO PROTECT THE INVESTMENT OF THE NEIGHBORING STRUCTURE.
AND WE HAD ANOTHER INCIDENT IN JA PATAM WHERE A HOUSE EXPLODED, WAS LEFT, UH, UNFINISHED AND NOT ABLE TO BE CLEANED UP.
COUNTY WENT BACK IN AND CLEANED THAT UP.
SO I WAS WONDERING WHAT WOULD BRING US TO THAT POINT TO WHERE WE HAD TO DO THAT.
UM, ANYONE ELSE? MR. TIBBS? I ASSUME IT'S A TYPO ERROR ON PAGE 3 77 UNDER, UH, STAFF WE HAVE INCREASED TWO OR IS OH YEAH.
ANYONE ELSE? THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
MR. SLIFKA, HOW ARE YOU THIS AFTERNOON? FINE, MR. COUNCIL PRESIDENT, HOW ARE YOU? GOOD.
THANK YOU FOR, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
UM, I WAS JUST GONNA INTRODUCE THE STAFF.
I WAS GONNA SAY, IT LOOKS LIKE HE HAS A FEW PEOPLE WITH HIM TODAY.
MY SENIOR STAFF WITH ME, KAREN WINKOWSKI, TARA LANTHROPE, RACHEL HARBIN,
I KNOW GARY'S ON HIS WAY OVER TO, HE'S HERE.
GARY STEIN, WELL MARIA POUNDS AND TAZI MURKOWSKI AND SUSAN MONT AGING.
SO I WANT TO THANK THEM FOR BEING HERE.
THEY'RE A GREAT SUPPORT STAFF.
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I'D BE WITHOUT THEM BECAUSE ME BEING NEW, IT REALLY TAUGHT ME A LOT.WITH THAT, WE'LL GET STARTED ON PAGE 2 49 IS THE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY SERVICES BUDGET.
THERE'S A DECREASE THERE OF 790 2008 42, 240 1000 IS FOR PERSONAL SERVICES.
AGAIN, UM, ADDED MONEY FOR TEMPORARY SALARIES TO INCLUDE INTERNS AND HUMAN RELATIONS MANAGER.
AS WELL AS, UM, RETIREMENT HEALTH SAVINGS INCREASED IN CONTRACTUAL SERVICES.
THERE'S A DECREASED THERE OF 27,300 FUNDING WAS ADJUSTED FOR OTHER ADVERTISING AND OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES.
AND THAT WAS BASED ON ACTUAL SPENDING HISTORY.
UM, ON PAGE TWO 50, MISCELLANEOUS DECREASES $1,010,500.
$947,000 IS GRANT AID FUNDING.
THAT WAS MOVED FROM COMMUNITY SERVICES TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING TO HANDLE FOR NOW ONE.
UM, AND IF YOU MOVE DOWN A LITTLE BIT FURTHER, SIX, THERE'S A REDUCTION IN GENERAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF $63,500 AND YOU'LL SEE THE LIST OF WHO THE AMOUNTS THEY'RE GOING TO ON THAT PAGE 2 56, OFFICE OF DRUG CONTROL POLICY.
THERE'S A DECREASE THERE OF 1 66 96.
THERE'S SOME OF THAT IS RELATED TO PERSONAL SERVICES FOR DECREASE OF 7 72 2 81.
AND THAT'S MAINLY IN, UH, TEMPORARY SALARIES IN CONTRACTUAL SERVICES.
THIS IS FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, TELEPHONE SERVICES, SO FORTH.
AND WE BASE THAT ADJUSTMENT ON ACTUAL SPENDING.
UM, AGAIN, SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS DECREASES 14,005 AND UNDER MISCELLANEOUS AND THIS BUDGET, THERE'S A DECREASE OF $9,000.
AND THIS IS ALSO BASED ON ACTUAL SPENDING HISTORY.
AGAIN, THERE'S A DECREASE THERE OF 1 0 3 180 19,722 IS IN PERSONAL SERVICES.
THAT'S THE RESULT OF TURNOVER AND UM, A REDUCTION FOR RETIREE HEALTH.
RETIREMENT HEALTH SAVINGS PLAN.
IF YOU MOVE DOWN THE PAGE TO MISCELLANEOUS, THERE'S A DECREASE THERE OF 82,000 1 0 8.
AND THIS IS, UM, BASED ON ACTUAL EXPENSE HISTORY.
UM, WE MOVED, UM, THE APPROPRIATION.
THIS WAS FOR HEALTH BENEFITS FOR GRANT EMPLOYEES THAT AREN'T COVERED BY THE GRANT.
WE MOVE THAT MONEY UP INTO PERSONAL SERVICES AND WITH THAT ATTORNEY, OPEN IT UP FOR ANY QUESTIONS IF ANYBODY HAS ANYTHING.
I'M WILL WAIT TILL HE, UH, HE IT'S OKAY.
I'VE LEARNED IT MIGHT HAVE TAKEN ME FOUR YEARS, BUT I'VE LEARNED.
OKAY, SO, SO GOOD AFTERNOON, UH, MR. SLIFKA.
SO, UH, ACTUALLY MY COMMENTS RIGHT NOW ARE TO MRS. SPENCE.
UM, IT MAKES THINGS EASIER TO FOLLOW AS I WAS USED TO.
SO I REALLY DO APPRECIATE WE MISSED YOU.
AND I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I SAID THAT SO VERY MUCH.
UM, MR. SLIFKA, I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT YOUR TEAM BECAUSE I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT.
WITHOUT YOUR TEAM, YOU'D BE, YOU'D BE A WORLD OF HURT.
SO, UH, I I KNOW IT'S, UH, VERY IMPORTANT TO HAVE GOOD PEOPLE BEHIND YOU TELLING YOU WHAT TO DO.
AND HOPEFULLY YOU'LL LISTEN TO THEM AND, AND, UH, RIGHT NOW I DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH MR. PENMAN.
UM, UNDER THE HARTFORD TRANSIT, WHICH IS ON PAGE 2 56, 2 2 52 54, EXCUSE ME.
UH, I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THERE WAS AN ADMINISTRATOR AND I DON'T SEE IT ON THE BUDGET.
IS THAT SOMEWHERE ELSE? THAT THAT WAS A GRANT FUNDED POSITION? SO THEY WON'T SHOW ON THIS.
THESE ARE ONLY POSITIONS THAT ARE COUNTY FUNDED.
AND WITH THESE THREE POSITIONS, THEY'RE COUNTY FUNDED, BUT WE OFFSET 'EM 100% THEIR COUNTY FUNDED FULL-TIME CLASSIFIED POSITIONS.
WE, WE DO HAVE SOME GRANTS THAT ARE LISTED HERE, BUT THE GRANT POSITIONS WOULDN'T BE ELICITED.
SO THERE'S A SUMMARY OF GRANTS.
NOW THAT'S ANOTHER QUESTION I HAVE.
WE, WE DO NOT PUT IN THERE ALL THE EMPLOYEES THAT ARE COVERED BY GRANTS.
UM, AND THEN ALSO ON THAT SAME PAGE, UH, OUT OF THE THREE EMPLOYEES, THERE'S NO BENEFITS LISTED DOWN THERE.
HE'S A, THIS IS JUST TO SHOW THERE IS THREE CLASSIFIED
[03:00:01]
POSITIONS, FULL-TIME CLASSIFIED POSITIONS THAT ARE FULLY OFFSET WITH GRANT MONEY.SO EVERYTHING, THEIR HEALTH BENEFITS AND EVERYTHING ARE OFFSET WITH GRANT MONEY.
SO THAT'S WHAT THIS PAGE IS SHOWING YOU AND HAVING SOME EXPERIENCE WITH THE, UH, COMMUNITY SERVICES DIVISION.
UH, LOOKING ON THE SUMMARY OF GRANTS, IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S A LOCAL MANAGEMENT BOARD, BUT I THOUGHT THERE WAS A MEDIATION GRANT AS WELL.
WOULD THAT BE LISTED SOMEWHERE ELSE? SHE SAID YES, THERE IS A MEDIATION GRANT.
IS IT, IS IT LISTED SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE BUDGET? HOLD ON, HOLD ON.
YEAH, FOR SOME REASON WE DON'T HAVE, WE DIDN'T GET IT ON THESE FORMS, BUT THERE IS A MATCH FOR IT BACK UNDER PEGO NONDEPARTMENTAL FOR FRANCE.
SO, SO THERE'S A MATCH THAT'S LISTED FURTHER IN THE, IN THE BOOK? YES.
AND I THINK IT'S 28,000 PROBABLY GIVE OR TAKE 30,000 GIVE OR TAKE.
AND WHAT PAGE IS THAT? I'M SORRY.
UM, GOING ON PAGE 2 55, THE OPERATING ASSISTANCE, UM, I KNOW IT'S HAS, UH, MR. SLIFKA A KIND OF A BRIEF EXPLANATION OF WHAT THAT IS, BUT THE COUNTY MATCHES NEARLY $4 MILLION.
I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF, WE CAN GET MORE INFORMATION ON THAT.
MR. HE'S TALKING ABOUT THE, UM, THE OPERATING ASSISTANCE FOR TRANSIT.
OH, GARY, THIS IS FOR YOUR OPERATING ASSISTANCE GRANT.
YEAH, THAT, THAT IS FOR OUR, UM, OPERATING GRANT, WHICH IS PARTIAL FEDERAL STATE.
SO THIS YEAR IT HAS GONE BACK TO FOR 24 WHAT IT WAS PRIOR.
UH, BECAUSE THE LAST TWO YEARS, FISCAL YEARS WE HAD APPROXIMATELY $6 MILLION IN CARES IN ARPA FUNDING THAT OFFSET THAT.
BUT GOING INTO 24, IT GOES BACK TO WHAT IT WAS PREVIOUSLY.
UM, DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR RIDERSHIP NUMBERS ARE? UH, THIS YEAR WE SHOULD BE RIGHT AROUND 320,000 FOR THE YEAR.
WE WERE VERY CLOSE TO 440,000.
UM, AND WE ARE WORKING OUR WAY BACK.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION HAS GONE THROUGH A ROUGH PERIOD WITH THE PANDEMIC.
NO, I IMAGINE WHEN FIGHTER SHIP WAS COMING BACK, IS THERE ANY STRATEGIES TO TRY TO I IMPROVE THAT OR INCREASE THAT? NOTE THOSE NUMBERS? WELL, OUR ISSUE NOW IS DRIVER RELATED.
UM, SO WE ARE MAKING SOME CHANGES FOR INCENTIVES AND BONUSES, WHATEVER, TO REBUILD OUR STAFF.
UM, CAUSE WE ARE SHORT DRIVERS CURRENTLY AND WE DO HAVE ONE ROUTE PERMANENTLY SHUT DOWN ONE LEG OF A ROUTE.
UM, AND THAT HAS AFFECTED US BY ABOUT 3000 PASSENGERS IN THE, OKAY.
UH, JUST TWO MORE QUESTIONS THEN I'LL, I'LL PASS IT OFF ON PAGE TWO 50 OF, UH, THE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY SERVICES THAT I, I CAN BIKE CAMP.
DO WE KNOW WHAT THAT THAT IS DESCRIPTION OF THAT? THIS IS LISTED SOMEWHERE? YEAH.
YEAH, SO WE CONTRACT WITH IEN SHINE TO ORGANIZATION TO BRING CAMP HERE.
AND WE TEACH KIDS WITH DISABILITIES HOW TO RIDE A BIKE.
SO THEY HAVE TO BE EIGHT YEARS OLD.
UM, IT ACTUALLY DOES ALSO INCLUDE ADULTS.
SO IT, UM, IT MAKES THEM, YOU KNOW, INCREASES THEIR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, THEIR EMPLOYABILITY, UM, AND THEIR SOCIAL, UM, COMMUNICATIONS.
I KNOW THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE HAS A PROGRAM SIMILAR TO THAT.
MAYBE YOU GUYS CAN PARTNER UP ON IT, I THINK.
AND THE, THEN JUST A FINAL QUESTION.
[03:05:01]
DISABLED VETERANS.I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVE THAT OFFICE AS WELL.
UM, WELL NOT THE VETERANS, BUT IS THERE ANY PROGRAMS FOR DISABLED VETERANS THAT GOING FORWARD? NOTHING PART NOT NOT KNOWING A BOARD RIGHT NOW, GOING FORWARD.
UM, SITTING ON THE VETERANS COMMISSION.
HOPEFULLY WE MAYBE SIT DOWN WITH YOU AND WE CAN TRY TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING TO PARTNER.
MR. JERDEN, SO YOU MENTIONED ONE LINE IS TEMPORARILY RELEASE SHUT DOWN.
WHERE, WHERE DOES THAT RUN TO? WHAT'S THE LINE? IT'S THE, UH, HOWARD GRACE FELL AIR.
SO THERE ARE TWO OR THREE BUSES RUNNING.
SO INSTEAD OF EACH STOP WE WOULD GET TO LIKE 24 TIMES A DAY EACH STOP ON THAT ROUTE.
WE'RE NOW DOING IT 16 TIMES A DAY.
THANK YOU MR. COUNCIL PRESIDENT.
UM, IN PAST YEAR'S BUDGET, THERE WAS A CARVE OUT, UH, I BELIEVE IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN UNDER, UH, OFFICE OF DRUG CONTROL POLICY FOR A COUPLE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR, UH, I THINK IT WAS ACR ADDICTIONS CONNECTIONS RESOURCE.
IS THAT, IS THAT STILL, UH, A RELATIONSHIP GOING ON THERE? IT WAS KIND OF OUTSOURCED FROM THE COUNTY WHEN I ASKED THE QUESTION LAST YEAR IS THERE'S STILL A RELATIONSHIP THERE.