Mar 15, 2021 Finance Committee

MINUTES OR ANY AMENDMENTS OR CHANGES TO OUR MINUTES FROM FEBRUARY 16TH, 2021 HEARING NO AMENDMENTS, UH, NO CHANGES.

UH, UH, MR. PASSMAN, UM, LET'S MOVE ON THEN, UM, TO, UH, APPROVAL OF THE

[5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES- FEBRUARY 16, 2021]

UH, IF I COULD HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE MINUTES AS, AS PROPOSED SOME OF US, JIM, THANK YOU.

I WILL.

SECOND.

MR. PASSMAN HAS SECOND.

UH, SO THE MINUTES HAVE BEEN APPROVED.

UM, LET'S MOVE ON THEN

[6. UPDATE FROM CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, WHITNEY RICHLAND REGARDING YEAR TO DATE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2021 AND BUDGET CALENDAR]

TO OUR UPDATE, UM, WHICH WE GET FROM MS. RICHLAND, UH, EVERY, UM, FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING, UH, MS. RICHLAND, THE FLOOR IS YOURS.

HEY, GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYBODY HOPE YOU'RE DOING WELL.

UM, TODAY YOU'LL HAVE A FREE YOU AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY, A REVENUE EXPENDITURE THROUGH THE END OF FEBRUARY OF 2021.

UH, WE ARE EIGHT MONTHS INTO OUR FISCAL YEARS.

SO THE PERCENTAGE OF OUR YEAR COMPLETED, UM, IS ABOUT 66.67% TO DATE.

WE HAVE COLLECTED, UM, 85 MILLION, $330,161 OF OUR TOTAL 130 MILLION, $300,431 BUDGET, UH, WHICH LEAVES THE REMAINING REVENUE YET TO BE COLLECTED OF $44,970,270.

UM, EXPRESSED AS A PERCENTAGE, THE TOTAL OF THE REVENUE THAT WE HAVE COLLECTED SO FAR THIS YEAR IS 65.49%.

IN DOWN BELOW THAT WE HAVE OUR GRAPH THAT YOU'RE USED TO SEEING, UM, WITH OUR EXPECTATION, THE RED LINE THEY'RE GOING ACROSS RIGHT AT THE 66.67%.

SO YOU'LL SEE THAT OUR REVENUE TYPES VARY PRETTY WILDLY, UM, IN TERMS OF THEIR SEASONALITY AND THEIR COLLECTABILITY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

UH, WE HAVE OUR ANALYSIS AND THE TABLE POLO.

AND AS WE NORMALLY DO, IF A CATEGORY IS MORE THAN SAY, 5% OR SO OFF, UH, THE PERCENTAGE OF THE YEAR THAT WE'VE COMPLETED, THEN IN ADDITION TO PROVIDING THE FIGURES IN THE TABLE THAT YOU SEE, UM, WE ALSO HAVE PROVIDED A BRIEF EXPLANATION UPON, UM, WHY THOSE REVENUES MAY HAVE A BIT OF A VARIANCE.

UM, SO LET'S START WITH THE TOP WITH THE AVALARA TAXATION, UM, OUR BUDGET FOR THE YEAR, OF COURSE, IT'S THE BIGGEST SOURCE OF REVENUE FOR US AS A COUNTY, THE BUDGET WAS 106 MILLION, $217,968.

AND TODAY'S DATE.

WE HAVE COLLECTED 67,000,800, $2,495, OR APPROXIMATELY 63.8% OF OUR TOTAL THAT WE EXPECT FOR THE YEAR.

UM, AND JUST AS A COMPARISON, UM, LAST MONTH WE WERE RIGHT AROUND THE MID FIFTIES.

SO SOMEWHERE AROUND 54, 55 MILLION.

SO WE'VE, I BELIEVE BROUGHT IN AN ADDITIONAL 12 OR 7 MILLION IN THE LAST MONTH.

UM, MOVING DOWN BELOW THAT WE HAVE OUR LICENSES AND PERMITS AND THAT'S TRACKING PRETTY WELL.

WE'RE RIGHT ALONG WHERE WE WANT IT TO BE AT 64 POINT 69, ALMOST 67%.

UM, EXCUSE ME, 64 POINTS SIX NINE, WHICH IS ALMOST 64.7%.

UM, COMPARED TO OUR 66.6, 7% OF THE YEAR COMPLETED, UM, EXPRESSED IN MIRACLEY WE'VE COLLECTED $2,098,796.

AND THAT ONE, SINCE IT'S RIGHT WHERE IT SHOULD BE, WE'VE NOT PROVIDED A VARIANCE REASON THERE.

UM, THE NEXT CATEGORY BEING OUR INTER-GOVERNMENTAL, UH, THIS ONE IS ACTUALLY, EVEN THOUGH IT'S LAGGING, UM, IN TERMS OF THE PERCENTAGE OF THE YEAR, THAT'S GONE BY IT, WE'VE COLLECTED 52.8%.

THAT'S ACTUALLY RIGHT WHERE WE NEED TO BE.

UM, THAT PARTICULAR REVENUE CATEGORY, UM, IS ONE THAT IS TYPICALLY RECEIVED IN QUARTERLY INCREMENTS.

[00:05:01]

SO FOR US TO HAVE RECEIVED ABOUT 50 TO 53% OF THAT, UM, CATEGORY THAT'S RIGHT WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE AND EXPRESS NUMERICALLY, WE WERE AT $4,783,516 OF A TOTAL BUDGET OF 9 MILLION, $58,838, RIGHT? MOVING BELOW THE CHARGES FOR SERVICES.

AGAIN, WE'VE KIND OF KEEP COMING BACK TO THIS, UM, CATEGORY AND SAYING WHAT A, AN AMAZING NEAR THE REGISTER OF DEEDS IS HAVING.

UM, AND IT'S NOT ONLY THAT DEPARTMENT, BUT THAT IS THE ONE THAT'S PRIMARILY DRIVING THIS INCREASE IN THE CURRENT YEAR.

SO OUR BUDGET WAS 8 MILLION, $862,160.

AND WE'VE RECEIVED TODAY A LITTLE OVER 9 MILLION.

SO THAT'S 9 MILLION, $68,739, WHICH IS EVER A HUNDRED PERCENT, UM, ACTUALLY 102% OF WHAT WE ANTICIPATED FOR FISCAL 21 BELOW THAT WE, OUR FUNDS IN FORFEITURES.

AND, AND AGAIN, THE, THE EXPLANATION WE HAVE HERE, UM, IS PRETTY WELL STILL HOLDING TRUE, UM, ABOUT THE FORFEITURES, THE MAGISTRATE COURT, OF COURSE, UM, KIND OF LAGGING A LITTLE BIT, BUT ALSO ELABORATE FUNDS ARE LAGGING A LITTLE.

AND, AND THIS IS ALL OF COURSE, AS WE KNOW BECAUSE OF COVID.

UM, BUT AS WE CONTINUE TO REOPEN OUR BUILDINGS, UM, TODAY AND CONTINUE TO MOVE COUNTY OPERATIONS FORWARD, UH, FORESEE THAT THESE WILL EVENTUALLY CATCH UP.

SO, UM, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE A BIT LOW AT 49.38%, I'M STILL NOT TERRIBLY CONCERNED ABOUT THIS REVENUE CATEGORY AS A TOTAL, NO INTEREST, AS WE'VE MENTIONED IS SOMETHING THAT IS TYPICALLY ALLOCATED ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.

SO THAT'S DONE AT THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR.

AGAIN, DON'T BE ALARMED EVEN THOUGH WE'RE ONLY SHOWING ABOUT 1.9% THERE, UM, OUT OF A TOTAL 66.7% OF THE YEAR, THAT'S GONE BY, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, WILL BE DONE IN THE YEAR END.

NOW I WILL GIVE YOU A HEADS UP, UM, BECAUSE OF THE DECLINING ENVIRONMENT THAT WE'VE BEEN IN, IN TERMS OF INTEREST RATES.

AND ALSO BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO INVEST FUNDS THE WAY THAT WE NORMALLY WOULD DURING A STRONG TAX COLLECTING YEAR, I DO NOT NECESSARILY THINK THAT WE WILL REACH OUR BUDGET OF $442,000.

UM, HOWEVER IT WILL, OF COURSE BE MORE THAN THE CURRENT THAT YOU SEE THERE THAT $8,648.

THOSE ARE A LITTLE BITTY, INCREMENTAL INTEREST PAYMENTS THAT WE RECEIVED FROM, UM, BANK ACCOUNTS, BUT NOT THE OVERALL INVESTMENT EARNINGS THAT WILL COME FROM THE TREASURER'S OFFICE AT YEAR END.

SO JUST WANT TO LET YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT.

UH, THE MISCELLANEOUS BUDGET WAS 180,000 AND WE HAVE RECEIVED, IT LOOKS LIKE $19,215 TODAY, WHICH IS JUST ABOUT 11% OR SO OF THE BUDGET, ACTUALLY ONLY 10.68.

AND THE REASON FOR THAT, UM, IS IT LOOKS LIKE WE'VE GOT A FEW FULLY OF PAYMENTS.

AND IF, UM, MISCELLANEOUS ELECTRICITY REFUNDS IN THAT CATEGORY, UM, LAST MONTH, THAT BALANCE WAS ACTUALLY A LITTLE BIT BIGGER, BUT AS WE WORK THROUGH THE YEAR, UM, AND WE LOOK AT OUR TRANSACTIONS, SOMETIMES WE REALIZE THAT THINGS NEED TO BE RECLASSIFIED.

AND SO IF YOU ACTUALLY GO BACK AND COMPARE, UM, FEBRUARY'S FINANCIALS TO THE JANUARY ONES, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THAT CATEGORY IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.

UM, AND THOSE ARE JUST THINGS THAT WE DO THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, KIND OF A, SELF-CHECK A SELF AUDIT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE TRANSACTIONS THAT WE HAVE RECORDED, UM, HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN RECORDED IN THE CORRECT ACCOUNT.

SO THAT IS, UM, JUST A LITTLE ADJUSTMENT THAT WE DID THERE.

AND THEN THE TRANSFERS IN, UM, OUR BUDGET WAS $1,545,000 ON THE HEAD.

AND WE'VE COLLECTED TODAY 1 MILLION, $178,811, OR APPROXIMATELY 76.3%.

SO WE'RE A LITTLE BIT, UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT ABOVE THE PERCENTAGE IN TERMS OF THE YEAR COMPLETED, BUT IN TERMS OF BEING ON TRACK WHERE WE NEED TO BE, WE ARE EXACTLY WHERE WE NEED TO BE.

WE'VE RECEIVED A RECORDED THE FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD QUARTER OF TRANSFERS.

SO, UH, IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT IN TERMS OF QUARTERLY BASIS, THEN 75% WOULD BE THREE OUT OF FOUR.

SO WE'RE RIGHT WHERE WE NEED TO BE.

AND I WANT TO, ACTUALLY, BEFORE I MOVE ON TO THE EXPENDITURE PIECE, I WANT TO SHOW YOU, UM, A THIRD PAGE.

THIS IS WHAT I MENTIONED AT THE LAST FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING THAT I WANTED TO ADD AN ADDITIONAL TABLE THAT MIGHT ACTUALLY SHOW YOU, UM, KIND OF A MONTH OVER MONTH AND YEAR OVER YEAR COMPARISON OF BOTH OF OUR REVENUE AND OUR EXPENDITURE CATEGORIES.

SO, BRENDA, IF YOU HAVE THAT IN, CAN PULL THAT UP AND YOU MAY HAVE IT IN FRONT OF YOU.

I'M SEEING MR. LAWSON AT THE MOMENT.

I'M NOT SURE IF EVERYONE ELSE IS SEEING HIM OR IF YOU'RE ABLE TO SEE THE REPORT.

SO I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU KIND OF AN IDEA, UM, IN, UH, I GUESS, A NORMAL YEAR, WHAT OUR REVENUES THIS TIME OF YEAR PARTICULARLY WOULD LOOK LIKE.

UM, JUST AS I MENTIONED,

[00:10:01]

YOU KNOW, WITH OUR, WITH TAXATION BEING OUR BIGGEST SOURCE OF REVENUE AND THAT LAGGING A LITTLE BIT BEHIND, I WANTED TO BE ABLE TO GIVE YOU GUYS A VISUAL ON WHAT THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.

SO IN THIS TOP, UM, CHART HERE GRAPH, WE HAVE A FISCAL 20 IN GREEN AND THEN FISCAL 21 IN BLUE.

AND YOU'LL NOTICE THAT EVERYTHING IS PRETTY CONSISTENT UNTIL ABOUT THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER.

AND THEN SUDDENLY WE HAVE A PRETTY DRASTIC SPIKE, UH, THAT'S HAPPENING.

AND SO IN 20, WHICH WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, A NORMAL YEAR OF COLLECTIONS WITHOUT A DELAY IN TAX BILLS, BEING SET, WE SEE A SHOPPER, UM, INCLINE UP TO $120 MILLION OR SO, WHEREAS, UH, IN 21, WE'RE STILL TRYING TO GET TO THAT SAME LEVEL.

UM, I HOPE THAT THIS WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR YOU GUYS JUST IN ENHANCING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE NUMBERS THAT I'M PRESENTING ON THE FIRST PAGE.

UM, WHILE NUMBERS ARE USEFUL.

SOMETIMES I FIND THAT OTHERS LIKE MYSELF OR MORE VISUALLY, UM, NO MORE VISUAL LEARNERS.

SO YOU'RE INCLINED TO LIKE SOMETHING LIKE THIS A LITTLE BIT BETTER, UM, THAN JUST STRAIGHT NUMBERS.

SO I WANTED TO SHOW THAT TO YOU.

AND AGAIN, WE KNOW THIS IS DUE TO THE DELAY IN THE TAX BILLS AND COLLECTING A BAD WARM TAXATION FOR THE CURRENT YEAR.

GRANA, IF YOU DON'T MIND JUMPING BACK TO PAGE TWO, WELL, I SUPPOSE IF YOU WANT TO SIT, YOU'RE ALREADY THERE ON PAGE THREE, YOU CAN ALREADY, WE CAN TALK ABOUT THE EXPENDITURES IF YOU WANT.

SO, UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS, IT'S A MUCH DIFFERENT CHART.

IT'S MUCH MORE CONSISTENT.

UM, THEY'RE PRETTY, YOU KNOW, PRETTY WELL TRACKING CLOSE TO EACH OTHER.

THERE'S A BIT OF A DIP, UM, IN FISCAL 20 OR KIND OF A LEVELING OFF OR A PLOT TABBING EFFECT BETWEEN DECEMBER AND JANUARY IN FISCAL 20.

WHEREAS FISCAL 21, DOESN'T QUITE TO HIT THAT SAME LEVELING OFF AND AGAIN, TWENTIES AND GREEN AND 20 ONES AND BLUE.

UM, BUT MY LITTLE NOTE AT THE BOTTOM, JUST KIND OF, UM, ELABORATES A LITTLE BIT ON WHAT WE EXPECT THIS TREND TO DO AS THE YEAR CONTINUES ON.

I FEEL THAT THEY WILL PRETTY WELL MIRROR EACH OTHER.

UM, BUT I EXPECT THAT BY A FISCAL YEAR END, THAT THE SPREAD WILL REDUCE A LITTLE BIT.

SO IT'LL BE INTERESTING TO SEE HOW THAT PANS OUT IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.

AND I'LL CONTINUE TO ADD THESE GRAPHS, UM, TODAY, AS YOU SEE THEIR EXPENDITURES IN FISCAL 21 ARE APPROXIMATELY 8 MILLION, 368,000 $8,843 LOWER THAN IN FISCAL 20.

BUT AGAIN, THAT YOU'RE IN, I DON'T EXPECT THERE TO BE SUCH A DRAMATIC DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO EXPENDITURES IN THOSE FISCAL YEARS.

I THINK THEY WILL MORE CLOSELY MIRROR ONE ANOTHER.

ALL RIGHT, BRENDA, IF YOU WILL GO NOW GO BACK TO PAGE TWO FOR ME.

UM, AND THEN WE WILL TAKE A LOOK AT THE IRREGULAR SUMMARY OF EXPENDITURES THAT WE TYPICALLY LOOK AT EACH MONTH.

UH, SURE.

I'M SORRY.

I CAN'T SEE ANYONE SO NO, THAT'S OKAY.

WELL, YOU HAVE THE SCREEN UP AND ERROR THE, UH, THE CHART UP IN, AND I WAS FASCINATED BY THAT CHART.

WE'RE GUARDING THE TREND LINES, UM, ESPECIALLY ON EXPENDITURE.

I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY AND MAKE SURE I'M LOOKING AT IT CORRECTLY.

THOSE ARE NOT, THOSE ARE NOT MONTH TO MONTH EXPENDITURES.

THEY ARE CUMULATIVE AS OF THE END OF THE MONTH, CORRECT? YES, SIR.

THAT, THAT IS CORRECT.

SO EACH MONTH THEY ADD ON EACH OTHER, UM, BUT I WANTED TO BE ABLE TO SHOW YOU WHEN I SAY MONTH EVERY MONTH KIND OF CONSECUTIVELY THE, THE ACCUMULATION.

THAT IS CORRECT.

THANK YOU FOR POINTING THAT OUT.

AND I'M SORRY IF I MISSTATED THAT RIGHT, BECAUSE WHEN I FIRST LOOKED AT IT, UM, PRIOR TO THE MEETING, I WAS, I WAS WONDERING WHAT THE DIFFERENTIAL, IF YOU TAKE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TOP BOTTOM, TOP LINE AND THE BOTTOM LINE AND ADD THEM TOGETHER THROUGHOUT THE, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, THEN REALLY WE ARE WAY AHEAD OF OUR BUDGET CYCLE.

AND THAT'S NOT WHAT YOU'RE SHOWING ME SHOWING YOU ACCUMULATE.

SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I HAVE THAT RIGHT.

YOU DID.

YES.

THANK YOU FOR POINTING THAT OUT.

WHICH IS ABOUT 65.2% OF THE TOTAL BUDGET.

IF THERE ARE NO OTHER QUESTIONS, I'LL JUMP BACK TO THE, UM, THE SUMMARY ON THE EXPENDITURE PIECE THAT BRENDA HAS PULLED UP.

SO AS CHAIRMAN PASSMAN POINTED OUT LAST MONTH, THERE WAS A BIT OF A ROUNDING ISSUE AT THE VERY TOP HERE.

SO I HAVE CORRECTED THAT.

UM, SO WE DO REFLECT A VERY BALANCED BUDGET, BUT 130 MILLION, $300,431.

UM, OUR CARRY OVER FROM FISCAL 2020, UH, IS $1,353,447.

SO OUR TITLE FISCAL YEAR ALL IN BUDGET IS 131,000,650, $2,878.

AND OUR ACTUAL EXPENDITURES TODAY ARE EXCUSE ME, 77, $976,809.

AND WE HAVE ENCUMBRANCES OUTSTANDING OF JUST SHY OF 7 MILLION.

IT'S AT 6 MILLION, 975,477.

SO ALL IN OUR TOTAL KIND OF CONSUMED PIECE OF THE BUDGET IS $84,952,286,

[00:15:03]

AND THAT LEAVES A REMAINING BUDGET OF $46,700,592.

AND I'LL WORK MY WAY THROUGH THOSE SO THAT WE'LL CAN ELABORATE A LITTLE BIT ON SOME OF THOSE BALANCES.

UM, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT WITH THE CHART HERE, THAT EXPECTED LINE THAT GOES ACROSS, UM, PRETTY WELL HITS THE TOP OF MOST OF THOSE CATEGORIES.

SO YOU CAN SEE FROM THAT, THAT WE, FOR THE MOST PART ARE WHERE WE SHOULD BE IN TERMS OF THE YEAR COMPLETED, WHICH IS AGAIN THE 66.67%.

UM, SO AS FAR AS THE EXPLANATIONS, WE REALLY FOCUSED ON, UM, PUBLIC WORKS, WHICH AS YOU CAN SEE IS NOT QUITE AS DRASTICALLY ABOVE THAT LINE AS SOME OF THE OTHER CATEGORIES, BUT BECAUSE IT WAS A LITTLE BIT HIGHER THAN OUR USUAL SPREAD OF SAY 5%.

WE WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT AGAIN, UM, THAT IS MAINLY BECAUSE OF CONTRACTS AND POS IN A YEAR.

SO, UM, EVEN THOUGH IT LOOKS LIKE THE TOTAL BUDGET CONSUMED AS HIGH, UM, ACTUAL EXPENDITURES TO DATE ARE A LITTLE BIT LESS THAN THAT.

SO WE HAVE ABOUT 3 MILLION, $300,000.

IT IS ENCUMBERED THAT IS SITTING IN THAT BALANCE.

UM, BEYOND THAT, UM, PUBLIC WELFARE IS A LITTLE BIT LOWER, NOT TOO, TOO BAD, BUT ABOUT 13% LOWER THAN WHAT WE WOULD EXPECT.

SO I JUST WANTED TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO THAT.

OUR BUDGET IS $708,261 TO DATE.

WE'VE ONLY EXPENDED, UM, $377,945, WHICH IS 53.3 OR SO PERCENT OF THE BUDGET.

AND, UM, THIS TREND AND A LITTLE BIT LOW.

AND WHEN WE LOOKED INTO THE DETAIL BEHIND THAT ACTUALLY HAYES DID THIS FOR ME.

SO THANK YOU, HAYES.

UM, IT LOOKS LIKE SOME OF THE COSTS OF PERSONNEL AND OFFICE SPACE ARE TURNING A LITTLE BIT LOW IN THAT CATEGORY.

THE OTHER TWO THAT I WANT TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO YOU AGAIN.

UM, AND SOME OF THIS IS PRETTY WELL CONSISTENT FROM THE PREVIOUS MONTH IN THE OTHER CATEGORY, THERE IS A USE OF FUND BALANCE FOR THE TOGETHER.

UM, I'M SKEWED, EXCUSE ME, NOT THAT TOGETHER FROM YOU FOR IT, BUT IT'D BE FOR COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.

AND THAT WAS FROM ESCROW FUNDS.

SO THAT'S NOT A NEW THING, BUT BECAUSE IT STILL LOOKS, YOU KNOW, LIKE A REALLY BIG VARIANCE IN THIS CHART.

I JUST STILL WANT TO REMIND YOU WHAT THAT WAS.

AND THEN THE SAME THING AGAIN, WITH CAPITAL PROJECT.

SHE MAY REMEMBER FROM THE PRIOR MONTH THAT WE HAD AN AMBULANCE, IT WAS TOTAL, BUT WE WILL BE RECEIVING INSURANCE PROCEEDS, UM, TO OFFSET THAT.

AND ADDITIONAL AMBULANCE WAS NOT, UM, AN ITEM THAT WAS BUDGETED.

SO THAT IS WHY THE CAPITAL PROJECTS OR CAPITAL OUTLAY PIECE, UM, IS HIGHER THAN WHAT WE NORMALLY WOULD EXPECT.

SO WE BUDGETED HUNDRED AND $6,286.

UM, IF YOU INCLUDE THE OUTLAY OF THAT, UM, REPLACEMENT AMBULANCE TODAY IN THAT 1 MILLION, $18,263, THAT IS WHAT IS PUTTING US ABOUT 116 OR SO PERCENT OF OUR BUDGET FOR THE YEAR.

SO I JUST WANTED TO EXPLAIN THAT TO YOU AND LET YOU KNOW WHERE WE ARE, BUT I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE THIS MONTH FOR YOU IN TERMS OF FINANCIALS.

UM, WE DO HOPE TO CONTINUE ADDING TO THIS REPORT AS THE MONTHS GO BY.

I WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO REPORT TO YOU GUYS ON SOME OF THE, UM, SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS, AS WELL AS THE, WE HAVE ONE INTERNAL SERVICE FUND AND THEN ALL OF OUR PROPRIETARIES, WHICH ARE THINGS LIKE OUR AIRPORTS, UM, STORM WATER, THINGS LIKE THAT.

SO, UM, ACTUALLY, NO, I'M SORRY, COUNCILMAN MCCLELLAN.

YOU ASKED ME FOR AN UPDATE ON THE CARRY OVER BUDGET.

LET ME GO BACK TO THAT PRINTER.

THIS IS NOT SOMETHING YOU HAVE.

I DON'T THINK CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG AND IF YOU HAVE IT, YOU CAN PULL IT UP.

IF NOT, I WILL ATTEMPT TO SHARE MY SCREEN WITH YOU.

UM, WHAT WAS IT AGAIN? IT WAS A CARRY OVER BUDGET FOR PISTOL.

MS. RICHARD LOBBY WAITING.

UM, IT LOOKS LIKE A REVENUE AS WELL AS OUR EXPENDITURE ALMOST, UM, NECK AND NECK.

IS IT SO CURRENTLY? UM, YES, SIR.

SO REVENUES ARE AT 85 MILLION AND THEN EXPENDITURES ARE AT 77.9.

SO THERE'S ABOUT, UH, OH, LET'S SEE ABOUT, UH, IF YOU RUN THAT UP TO 78, UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT A SEVEN OR SO MILLION

[00:20:01]

DOLLAR DIFFERENCE.

IF YOU ADD THE ENCUMBERED YES.

THEN YOU, YOU CORRECT? WE'RE GOSH, RIGHT AT MAYBE HALF A MILLION DOLLARS OF EACH OTHER.

BRIANNA, ARE YOU ABLE TO SHARE THAT MY SCREEN HAS GONE AWAY? UM, MY SCREEN RIGHT NOW, IS IT UP ON THE SCREEN? OKAY.

I'M SORRY.

THEN I'M THE HOLD UP HERE.

LET ME JUST PULL IT UP FROM MY FILES.

SO, UM, FOR THE GARY EVER FISCAL 21 BUDGET, YOU CAN SEE AT THE TOP, WE HAVE UNDER THE GENERAL FUND, WE'VE BROKEN IT OUT BY YOUR FUNCTIONAL AREAS.

SO WE'VE GOT, UM, THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT, WHICH WOULD BE KIND OF ENCOMPASSED IN PUBLIC SAFETY.

UM, WE'RE NOT ENTIRELY BY FUNCTIONAL, BUT MORE BY DEPARTMENT.

SO WE'VE GOT THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT AND THEN WE'VE GOT A LITTLE BIT OF PUBLIC WORKS, ROADS AND DRAINAGE, MOSQUITO CONTROL, PARKS, AND RECREATION, ANIMAL SERVICE, AND THEN THE TREASURER'S OFFICE.

AND THEN ON PAGE TWO, WE REALLY HAVE, UM, MOSTLY FACILITIES MAINTENANCE.

AND THEN WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT FOR THE SPECIAL REVENUE FUND FOR THE TREASURER'S OFFICE.

AND THEN AT THE BOTTOM WE HAVE OUR PROPRIETARY FUND, ONE OF THEM BEING STORMWATER.

UM, SO ALL IN THE GENERAL FUND, WHICH I KNOW IS WHAT WE ARE REALLY FOCUSING ON HERE WAS A $1.3 MILLION CARRY OVER.

UM, I ASKED HAYES TO UPDATE THIS FOR ME.

AND SO ACTUALLY THERE'S NOT A BIG CHANGE.

UM, OVER THE LAST TIME THAT WE REPORTED TO YOU GUYS ON THIS, WHICH I THINK WAS PROBABLY DECEMBER.

I DON'T RECALL DOING THIS FOR YOU GUYS IN JANUARY.

UM, I APOLOGIZE.

UH, WE WILL CONTINUE TO STAY ON TOP OF THIS IN OUR COMING MONTHS THAT, UM, THERE DOESN'T APPEAR TO BE A TON MORE ACTIVITY.

SO OVERALL OUT OF A $1.3 MILLION CARRY OVER, UM, OH, I'M SORRY.

THOSE ARE REMAINING BALANCES, NOT THE AMOUNT THAT IS EXPENDED TODAY.

SO WE ACTUALLY HAVE, UM, ABOUT $105,000 LEFT ALMOST $106,000 LEFT.

SO HEY, SPEAK UP IF I'M MISREADING YOUR REPORT, BUT, UM, THAT'S WHAT I'M SEEING.

WE'VE GOT A CARRY OVER AMOUNT AND A REMAINING BALANCE.

AND SO THEREFORE IT LOOKS LIKE MOST OF THIS STUFF HAS ACTUALLY BEEN SPENT.

SO ALL OF ALL, BUT ABOUT $106,000, UM, HAS, LIKE YOU SAID, EITHER BEEN SPENT OR ENCUMBERED.

SO THAT'S A GOOD SON.

UM, AND AGAIN, AS WE CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGH THE YEAR, WE WILL, UM, MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE COMMUNICATING WITH EACH OF THESE DEPARTMENT HEADS.

IT LOOKS LIKE MOST OF THEM ARE FAIRLY WELL ON TRACK.

UM, THE, PROBABLY THE BULK OF IT WOULD BE BETWEEN, I WOULD SAY MAYBE FACILITIES IS A LITTLE BIT LOWER, BUT MAINLY THE SHERIFF.

SO THEY'VE GOT ABOUT THAT $25,000 THAT HASN'T EITHER BEEN EXTENT OR ENCUMBERED ON THE LAB.

UM, BUT I DO KNOW A LOT OF THAT 461 IS CURRENTLY SITTING AS AN ENCUMBRANCE AND NOT AN ACTUAL EXPENDITURE YET.

SO HOPEFULLY THAT WILL BE WRAPPED UP BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR.

I KNOW BACK IN DECEMBER, THEY WERE REPORTS THAT THEY WERE RIGHT ON TRACK AND THAT AT THAT TIME THEY WERE GOING TO COME IN AT BUDGET.

SO WE'LL DO A LITTLE BIT BETTER OF A JOB BEING MORE THOROUGH NEXT MONTH, UM, IN LETTING YOU KNOW, MORE DETAILS BEHIND ALL OF THESE AMOUNTS.

BUT IN THE MEANTIME, UM, YOU HAVE AN IDEA ABOUT WHERE WE ARE.

UM, COUNCILMAN MCCLELLAN, SPECIFICALLY, YOU WERE THE ONE THAT ASKED FOR THIS UPDATE.

IS THERE AN AREA THAT YOU WOULD LIKE FOR US TO FOCUS IN ON FOR YOU YOU'RE STILL ON MUTE? I DON'T BELIEVE, UH, ARE YOU BETTER WITH ME WHO YOU, THAT QUESTION? IT MAY HAVE BEEN SOMEONE ELSE.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? THANK YOU, MS. RICHLAND AS ALWAYS, UM, UH, VERY INFORMATIVE AND, AND TOP NOTCH.

I APOLOGIZE.

I THOUGHT IT WAS YOU.

UM, DOES ANYONE ELSE STAND HAPPEN TO HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO ANSWER OR PERHAPS DO A LITTLE MORE DIGGING FOR YOU? ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I THINK THAT, UM, THE, UM, UM, CARRY OVER WAS BROUGHT ON REGARDING THE, THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE AND WHETHER THEY HAD PURCHASED VEHICLES, I THINK IS WHAT WAS MENTIONED AT THE LAST MEETING.

ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR MISS RICHLAND? UH, THE, UM, WITH THE SHERIFF BUDGET, UH, THE LAB WAS ONE OF A CONCERN I HAD, BUT, UH, I SEE THAT MOST OF THAT FUNDS HAVE BEEN EXPENDED TO AT THIS TIME THEY HAVE EITHER BEEN EXPANDED OR ENCUMBERED.

SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS, UM, DEPENDING UPON WHAT THE ENCUMBRANCES ARE, HOPEFULLY THEY WILL HAVE THOSE COMPLETED BEFORE THE 30TH OF JUNE.

UM, SO THAT WE'RE NOT HAVING TO DEAL WITH A SIMILAR CARRYOVER SITUATION AGAIN IN FISCAL 22.

BUT I WILL TELL YOU WHAT I WILL BE HAPPY TO, UM, SPEAK WITH SOMEONE FROM THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT AND GET AN EVEN BETTER HANDLE ON WHERE THEY ARE AND WHETHER OR NOT THEY STILL THINK THAT THEY WILL BE ABLE TO COMPLETE THIS BEFORE JUNE THE 30TH.

AND I'LL BE HAPPY TO SEND YOU GUYS A FOLLOW UP EMAIL ON THAT.

[00:25:03]

SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.

UM, LET'S

[7. PRESENTATION BY BEAUFORT AREA HOSPITALITY ASSOCIATION]

MOVE ON THEN TO A PRESENTATION.

I THINK THAT, UM, UH, HAYES, UH, WILLIAMS, OUR FINANCE DIRECTOR, UM, IT HAS BEEN INTRODUCED MS. ASHLEY HAWK OF THE, UM, UM, UH, AREA HOSPITALITY ASSOCIATION.

HEY, HEY, UH, THIS IS HAYES HONOR, THESE YAR, AND, UH, SHE HAD A COUNSELING ROBIN WITH ME ACTUALLY FROM THE, UH, FROM BAJA AND, UH, TIFFANY FROM CLARK COUNSEL.

CORRECT.

AND, UH, MS. MS. HOWARD WANTED TO, UH, UH, PRESENT, UH, AN AWARD.

NOW LET HER SINCE, UH, COUNSELING COUNSELING HERE, I'LL LET HER PRESENT IT TO HIM.

GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE.

THANK YOU FOR TALKING TO ME.

UM, THE TIMES WE LIVE, I THANK GOD FOR TECHNOLOGY.

UM, SO THIS PAST JANUARY, OUR ASSOCIATION PUT ON THE INAUGURAL BEUFORD OYSTER FESTIVAL, AND WHILE SOME THOUGHT WE WERE CRAZY FOR DOING SO WE THOUGHT IT WAS NECESSARY IN PROVIDING ACTIVITY TO OUR BUSINESSES.

SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, WE WANTED TO THANK YOU ALL FOR THE GRANTS THAT WE RECEIVED LAST YEAR, UM, THAT MADE THINGS POSSIBLE FOR THE FESTIVAL TO GO ON.

SO WE HAD, UM, THE INAUGURAL OYSTER FESTIVAL PAINTING, WHICH WAS COMPLETED BY LOCAL ARTISTS, LISA RIVERS, AND SHE WAS IN DOWNTOWN BUFORD AT LEGACY ART GALLERY.

SO WE HAD A DECLARE EDITION DONE FOR Y'ALL AND HERE IT IS.

SO WE WANT TO PRESENT THAT, AND THERE'S A FEW LITTLE HIDDEN IMAGES IN IT, WHICH IS AWESOME THAT SHE DID FOR US.

THERE'S A CROWN IN THERE, A PEARL.

UM, YOU HAVE THE OYSTER FESTIVAL LOGO.

THERE'S SOME , THIS IS THE COUNTY AND THE COUNTY COUNCIL.

WE THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

WE'LL SEE IF WE CAN FIND ALL.

TO OUR FIRST PRESENTATION.

THANK YOU, MS. HOPKINS.

UM, IT'S ACTUALLY GREAT TO SEE PEOPLE COME BACK IN AND, AND SEE WHAT KIND OF GOOD THINGS ARE HAPPENING AT THERE.

SO IT MAKES US FEEL GOOD TO SEE THAT.

SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING OUT.

WE APPRECIATE THAT OUR EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO, UM, LET'S MOVE ON THEN TO OUR NEXT CHAIRMAN CHAIRMAN, UH, BEFORE SHE LEAVES, UH, ASK HER HOW MANY HIDDEN ITEMS ARE THERE.

SO I CAN TRY TO FIND THEM ALL, HOW MANY ITEMS ARE HIDDEN? THERE ARE TWO, THERE'S TWO REALLY HIDDEN IMAGES.

THE CROWN IS THE BIG ONE.

YOU GOT TO FIND THE CROWN.

GREAT.

THANK YOU AGAIN.

UM, NATIONALLY, UM, LET'S MOVE ON

[8. BUDGET PRESENTATION FROM SOLICITOR, DUFFIE STONE]

THIS IS A BUDGET PRESENTATION FROM, UM, UH, OUR SOLICITOR, MR. DUFFY STONE.

UH, AND OBVIOUSLY AS WE GET STARTED, OUR PRESENTATIONS, I CAN TELL YOU THAT, UH, MR. STONE ALWAYS HAS THINGS READY TO GO WHENEVER HE WAS ASKED TO, UH, PRESENT.

UM, HE WAS FIRST IN LINE AT THAT THEY HAVE THINGS SET UP READY TO GO AS, AS ALWAYS.

UM, AND DUFFY, I SEE THAT EVERY SO OFTEN, YOU'RE, YOU'RE FLICKERING ON YOUR SITE.

SO HOPEFULLY WE'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE ANY ISSUES WITH THAT, BUT, UM, THE, UH, MR. STONE, THE FLOOR IS YOURS.

DUFFY, CAN YOU HEAR US NOW? YOU'RE ON MUTE.

YOU ARE STILL ON MUTE.

THERE IT IS.

GOT IT.

YEP.

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? I'M ASSUMING KISSER.

I APPRECIATE YOU GIVING ME AN INTRODUCTION THAT SAYS I'LL ALWAYS BE READY AND THEN MY MUTE STILL HOOKED UP.

SORRY ABOUT THAT.

UM, THANK YOU ALL FOR, UH, FOR HEARING FROM ME TODAY.

I WANT TO, UH, JUST KIND OF GIVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT, UH, WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH AND WHAT WE'RE ABOUT TO DEAL WITH.

I KNOW THAT MOST OF, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THIS YEAR HAS BEEN QUITE CHALLENGING FOR ALL OF US.

I THINK THE NEXT YEAR MAY ACTUALLY,

[00:30:01]

UH, BE AN INCREASED CHALLENGE FOR THOSE OF US IN THE, UH, IN THE CRIMINAL PROSECUTION BUSINESS, NOT JUST IN SOUTH CAROLINA, BUT THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.

UM, AND WHAT I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU IN A FEW MINUTES, UH, SHOULD, SHOULD OUTLINE THAT AS SOME OF YOU MAY KNOW, IN MARCH OF LAST YEAR, THE CHIEF JUSTICE, UH, HALTED ALL, UH, CRIMINAL COURT THAT AFFECTED US, NOT ONLY IN THE, UH, DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE CASES THAT WE WERE WORKING ON, UH, FOR YOU AND MAGISTER SCORE, BUT ALSO IN ALL OF OUR JURY, JURY TRIALS AND GENERAL SESSIONS, EVERYTHING FROM MURDER TO RIGHT TO, UM, TO AFFORD JURIES, UH, ALL WERE PUT ON HOLD.

SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE FACE STATEWIDE.

AND AGAIN, AS, AS MOST OF YOU WOULD PROBABLY ASSUME THAT'S ALSO A NATIONWIDE CONCERN, GIVING YOU SOME IDEA ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH AND WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DEAL WITH NEXT YEAR, I PUT TOGETHER A COUPLE OF SLIDES.

AND THE FIRST ONE I WANTED TO SHOW YOU IS, IS KIND OF GIVING YOU A GENERAL IDEA ABOUT HOW IT NORMALLY WORKS, UH, IN A SORT OF A PRE COVID WORLD.

UM, THE FIRST GRAPH THAT YOU'LL SEE, AND I THINK WE'RE SHOWING THE WHOLE THING, DANI, BUT IF WE COULD JUST HIT THAT ONE, THAT ONE SLIDE DOWN AT THE BOTTOM, UM, THIS IS AN ACTIVE CASE ANALYSIS.

THESE ARE THE NUMBER OF CASES THAT WE HAD THAT CAME IN AS WELL AS, UH, WE STILL SHARING.

YES.

OF CASES, UM, GO TO THE NEXT, GO TO THE NEXT ONE.

UM, THESE ARE THE NUMBERS OF CASES THAT WE CAME IN VERSUS THE NUMBER THAT WE OPENED.

IS IT ALSO IN RELATION TO THE NUMBER OF CASES THAT WE PROSECUTED IN A NORMAL YEAR? WHAT YOU'LL SEE IS THE GRAPH THAT WE'RE SHOWING YOU RIGHT NOW, UH, IS YOU CAN SAY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, WE HAD FOURTH OVER 4,000 CASES THAT WERE PENDING BY THE END OF THAT YEAR, WE HAD 3,700.

AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT WE MOVED BASICALLY 366 ADDITIONAL CASES THAT WE TOOK AND CUT INTO THE BACKLOG.

THAT'S A PRE COVID YEAR.

THAT'S A THAT'S TRADITION.

AND THAT'S GOOD.

IF YOU CONTINUE TO DO THAT, OBVIOUSLY YOUR CASES GO TO COURT QUICKER.

YOU HAVE A MUCH FEWER OF BACKLOG.

UNFORTUNATELY IN MARCH OF LAST YEAR, WE STOPPED COURT.

UM, AND WHILE THE CHIEF JUSTICE HAD THE AUTHORITY TO STOP COURT, HE COULDN'T DO MUCH ABOUT STOPPING CRIME.

SO WE STILL HAD CASES COMING IN.

UH, THE NEXT SLIDE IS THE NEXT, UM, UH, THE NEXT YEAR, THIS IS 2020.

WE HAD A LITTLE BIT OF A DIP IN APRIL.

I THINK ONCE YOU SHUT DOWN AND ONCE THE GOVERNOR SHUT EVERYTHING DOWN, YOU HAD PEOPLE THAT WEREN'T NECESSARILY GOING OUT ON THE STREETS.

SO YOU DIDN'T, YOU HAD A LITTLE BIT OF REDUCTION THERE.

WHAT SEEMED TO BE CONSISTENT WITH THE NUMBER OF CASES THAT WE WERE BRINGING IN.

WE STILL WERE BRINGING IN DUI CASES AND WE WERE STILL BRINGING IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASES, UH, WHERE PROSECUTORS I'LL TELL YOU, UH, REALLY AROUND THE COUNTRY, A LITTLE CONCERNED THAT WITH THE COVID ENVIRONMENT, UH, WE HAD PROBABLY A LOT MORE UNDER REPORTED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASES THAN WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST.

NORMALLY, IF A BATTER IS AT HOME WITH THE VICTIM, ONCE THE BATTER GOES TO WORK OR LEAVES FOR SOME TYPE OF RECREATIONAL ACTIVITY, THE, THE VICTIM CAN CALL IN AND REPORT, OBVIOUSLY DURING THE COVID THAT WASN'T, THAT WASN'T HAPPENING.

SO THERE'S A CONCERN THAT WE'VE HAD A NUMBER OF UNDER REPORTED CASES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.

UH, HOWEVER, WE STILL HAD A PRETTY CONSISTENT NUMBER COMING IN AT THE END OF THE, UH, AT THE END OF THIS NEXT, UH, THIS NEXT YEAR, UH, BY DECEMBER OF 2020, WE WERE LOOKING AT 5,000 PENDING CASES.

AS YOU CAN SEE, THAT'S AN UPWARD TRAJECTORY FROM 3,700.

UM, THAT TRAJECTION OBVIOUSLY HAS STAYED THE SAME.

WE HAVEN'T, WE HAVEN'T STARTED COURT BACK.

WE ARE SCHEDULED FOR JURY TRIALS TO START BACK IN APRIL.

AS OF RIGHT NOW, UH, WE HAVE 5,400 PENDING CASES.

SO THAT'S A PRETTY DECENT INCREASE IN OUR, IN OUR BACKLOG FROM WHERE WE WERE THIS TIME IN 2000 OR DECEMBER OF 2019, MY PROJECTION ON THIS, AND BASICALLY USING THE PREVIOUS NUMBERS OF HOW MANY CASES WE MOVE VERSUS HOW MANY, HOW MANY WE OPEN, IT'S GOING TO TAKE US ABOUT FOUR AND A HALF YEARS JUST TO GET BACK TO WHERE WE WERE IN DECEMBER OF 2019.

UM, THAT'S A CHALLENGE.

UH, THAT'S GOING TO BE SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO BE DIFFICULT, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT EVERYBODY IS GOING TO HAVE TO FACE.

AND, AND WE'RE, WE'RE READY FOR IT.

WE SPENT MOST OF THIS COVID TIME PREPARING FOR THE DAY THAT THIS, UH, THAT CASES WOULD START GOING BACK TO THE JURY.

YOU CAN STILL MOVE SOME, BUT CERTAINLY NOT THE, NOT THE NUMBERS THAT WE HAD EXPERIENCED IN 2019.

I HAD GOTTEN A NUMBER OF CALLS FROM SOME OF YOU ABOUT THE DUI NUMBERS.

WELL, FIRST OF ALL, WITH COVID AND WHAT THE COURT SHUT DOWN, WE WEREN'T ABLE TO TRY CASES.

SO YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A LIMITED NUMBER OF CASES MOVING, BUT I DID FIND SOME STUFF THAT I THOUGHT WAS PRETTY INTERESTING.

I WENT BACK AND PULLED AT THE INSISTENCE OF, UH, OF COUNTY COUNCIL, UH, IN 2000 AND, UM, 2017, UH, BEFORE WE WERE INVOLVED IN W IN A DUI PROSECUTION, WE TOOK A LOOK AT THE NUMBER

[00:35:01]

YEAH.

LOOK, TAKE A LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF CASES THAT CAME THROUGH THE BUFORD COUNTY MATTRESS COURT SYSTEM THAT WERE DUI.

AND THAT FIRST TIME TOP GRAPH SHOWS YOU THE NUMBERS THAT WE, THAT WE GOT, UH, AT THE SAME TIME THAT YOU GOT THEM, UH, FROM YOUR CLERK'S OFFICE, WHAT YOU CAN SEE GENERALLY AS 486 DISPOSED OF CASES DURING THAT YEAR.

UM, BUT I THINK THE IMPORTANT NUMBER TO TAKE A LOOK AT IS THE FIRST ONE, UH, THE NUMBER OF CASES THAT WERE DISMISSED OR NOL PROSSED NOW WHAT THEY CALCULATE AND HOW THEY CALCULATE IT A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE DID IS THAT THEY, THEY DOUBLE UP IN A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE THEY, THEY COUNT THE GUILTY PLEAS AS DISMISSALS OF ONE TICKET FOR, UH, FOR AN ENTERING INTO A GUILTY PLEA OF ANOTHER.

I TOOK ALL OF THOSE NUMBERS OUT.

AND SO THIS IS, THIS IS SORT OF THE, UH, WHAT I CAME UP WITH.

IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE YOU DISPOSED OF, UM, UH, ROUGHLY 486 CASES, BUT YOU CAN TAKE THE 121 CASES OUT, UH, THAT WERE GUILTY.

AND THE PERCENTAGE NUMBER OF CASES THAT YOU DISMISSED, UH, WAS 55%.

SO IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE FROM 2017, WITH 365 CASES, DISPOSED OF 200 OF THOSE WERE DISMISSED, OR NON-PROCESSED NOW CASES GET DISMISSED.

AND I KNOW COUNCILMAN MCKELLA KNOWS THIS, BUT THEY GET DISMISSED A NUMBER OF WAYS THEY GET MEDS DISMISSED BY THE OFFICE.

BUSINESS ON, OR NOT HAVE TO GO TO MAGISTER SUPPORT AND DEAL WITH THAT.

UH, THEY GET DISMISSED BY THE JUDGE WHEN THE DEFENSE MAKES A MOTION.

UM, THEY GET DISMISSED BECAUSE LACK OF DISCOVERY, THERE'S A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT REASONS.

THOSE GET DISMISSED TO ME, THAT'S WHERE WE CAN MAKE THE BIGGEST IMPACT, UM, SINCE WE TOOK OVER.

AND SO THESE NEXT NUMBERS GO FROM DECEMBER THE 19TH, 2019 THROUGH MARCH THIS YEAR.

UM, OBVIOUSLY WE, WE HAVE NOT MOVED THE SAME NUMBER OF CASES.

WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY JURY TRIALS.

UM, HOWEVER, THE NUMBER OF CASES THAT WE HAVE THAT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED, UH, AND YOU COMPARE THAT TO THE NUMBER OF CASES THAT HAVE BEEN PLED.

UM, WE HAVE PLED 41 CASES.

OBVIOUSLY WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY JURY TRIALS, UM, BUT WE HAVE, WE HAVE, UH, LET ME GO BACK ON THAT JUST A SECOND.

UH, WE PLAYED 41 AND ADAM, ALL OF THE CASES DISMISSED TOTAL, INCLUDING ONE DEFENDANT WHO, WHO PASSED AWAY, THERE WERE NON DISMISSALS.

THAT PERCENTAGE IN COMPARISON IS GOING TO BE 15% VERSUS 55%.

AND I THINK THAT'S WHERE WE CAN SEE A DIFFERENCE WITH US HANDLING THEM THESE CASES.

UM, WHAT ELSE, WHAT HAPPENS IN THIS SITUATION? SOMETIMES THESE ARE ERRORS THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT HAS MADE.

THE DUI STATUTE IS PARTICULARLY COMPLEX.

UH, IT IS ACTUALLY NOT A STATUTE WRITTEN TO BE DIFFICULT ON DUI, ON DRUNK DRIVERS.

IT'S MUCH MORE DIFFICULT ON THE OFFICERS THAT ARE MAKING THE CASE FOR US HAVING A PROSECUTOR.

THEY ARE MAKING THE CONSTITUTIONAL ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE SEASONED DEFENSE ATTORNEYS IN PLACE.

SO THE OFFICERS, I THINK, HAS REDUCED THE NUMBER OF CASES THAT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED BY JUDGES.

THE SECOND THING THAT FACTORS IN ON THAT AS WELL IS THAT WHEN OUR LAWYERS DISMISS A CASE, THEY THEN CALL THE POLICE OFFICER AND TELL THEM THEY DISMISSED IT AND THEY TELL THEM WHY.

AND SO I THINK WHAT YOU'RE ALSO GOING TO SEE AS TIME GOES ON, AND I THINK YOU'RE ALREADY SAYING IT IS FEWER MISTAKES THAT ARE MADE THAT COULD BE FIXED, UH, BY THE OFFICER'S DOING IT A DIFFERENT WAY.

UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE I CAN GIVE YOU AS FAR AS, AGAIN, WE'RE NOT, WE, A LOT OF THE CASES THAT I SHOWED YOU ON THAT GRAPH ARE INCLUDING THE DUI TRAJECTORY.

SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A NUMBER OF CASES THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BRING TO TRIAL MATTRESS COURTS ARE OPENING UP ABOUT THE SAME TIME GENERAL SESSIONS IS.

SO WE'RE GOING TO TAKE A LOOK AT, UH, THERE'S GOING TO BE A LOT OF ACTIVITY THIS TIME NEXT MONTH.

SO, UM, I APPRECIATE YOU LETTING ME GO AHEAD AND DO THIS A BUDGET PRESENTATION, BECAUSE A LOT OF US ARE GOING TO BE OUT OF POCKET, UH, IN THE NEXT COMING UPCOMING MONTHS, UM, THAT COVERS THE DUI CASES.

AND I'LL BE GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

LET ME GO AHEAD AND JUST KNOCK OUT SOME OF THIS OTHER STUFF.

THE NEXT THING, THE NEXT SLIDE THAT I'M SHOWING YOU IS, UH, THE OTHER STUFF THAT WE DID THIS YEAR, THESE ARE, THESE ARE NUMBERS LIMITED STRICTLY TO LAST YEAR.

THIS IS WHAT WE DO THAT PRIMARILY IS MANDATED BY STATE LAW.

SOME IN SOME CASES, UM, UM, JUST ABOUT EVERY SOLICITOR'S OFFICE DOES SOME VERSION OF THIS.

THESE ARE THE NUMBERS OF, OF MATTERS TO 244 EXPUNGEMENT CAESAR FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE CRIMINAL HISTORIES THAT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR EXPUNGEMENT, UH, BY LAW.

WE'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR CHECKING ON THAT AND MAKING SURE THAT THE EXPUNGEMENT IS PROPER AND THEN PROCESSING THAT WE PROCESSED 244 OF THOSE.

UM, IT IS SURPRISING TO ME THAT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE STILL ACTUALLY WRITE BAD CHECKS, BUT THEY DO.

UH, AND WE HANDLED 89 OF THOSE LAST YEAR FOR BUSINESSES, UH, TRYING TO HELP THE, THE SMALL IN PARTICULAR, THE SMALL

[00:40:01]

AND WE WOULD DEAL WITH IT BEFOREHAND.

THE OTHER NUMBERS ARE OUR INTERNAL PROGRAMS, DIVERSION NUMBERS, UH, THAT WE HAVE PRODUCED.

THE NEXT SLIDE SHOWS YOU, UM, THE INTELLIGENCE SUPPORT WE'VE GIVEN TO LAW ENFORCEMENT, UH, OUR INTELLIGENCE.

AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE NOT COME THROUGH OUR OFFICE, I'D LOVE TO SHOW YOU AROUND.

UM, WE HAVE AN INTELLIGENCE UNIT THAT PROVIDES A NUMBER OF SERVICES FOR OUR LAWYERS, GETTING CASES PREPARED FOR TRIAL, GIVING ME INFORMATION ABOUT WHO, WHAT KIND OF DEFENDANTS WE HAVE COMING INTO THE SYSTEM, BUT ALSO ONE OF THEIR JOBS IS TO ASSIST LAW ENFORCEMENT.

UH, AND AS YOU CAN TELL, THEY ARE, THEY'RE PRETTY HEAVILY USED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT THROUGHOUT THE 14TH CIRCUIT, AND PARTICULARLY IN AREA OF MOBILE PHONE EXTRACTIONS.

UM, THAT IS WHERE WE GET A GOOD BIT OF INFORMATION THAT WE USE TO PROSECUTE CASES.

AND, AND A LOT OF THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES GET THIS INFORMATION TO SOLVE THEIR CRIMES.

OUR VICTIM CENTER HAS BEEN THESE NEXT TWO NUMBERS ARE THE ONLY TWO NUMBERS THAT ARE NOT LIMITED TO 2020.

UH, WE OPENED OUR VICTIM CENTER, UH, AS, AS YOU KNOW, IN OCTOBER OF 2018.

UM, THIS IS THE NUMBER OF VICTIMS THAT WE HAVE HAD THAT HAVE COME THROUGH OUR VICTIM CENTER.

THESE ARE SERVICES BEING PROVIDED BY HOPEFUL HORIZONS, BY LOW COUNTRY LEGAL AID, UH, BY, BY, UH, CITIZENS, OPPOSED TO, UM, CHILD ABUSE, UH, AND SOME VARIOUS OTHER AGENCIES THAT WE HAVE GIVEN OFFICE SPACE TO, WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THEY WOULD SIMPLY BE THERE AND PROVIDE THESE SERVICES FOR, UM, OUR CHILDREN'S CENTER.

UNFORTUNATELY, I'LL TELL YOU THAT WE'VE HAD 112 OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT HAVE COME THROUGH THE VICTIM CENTER THAT HAVE BEEN CHILDREN.

UH, AND MOST OF THESE ARE VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT.

UM, THE SEXUAL ASSAULT EXAMINATIONS THAT YOU SEE, THESE ARE EXAMINATIONS THAT ARE PERFORMED ON VICTIMS AND FOR VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT, SOME ADULTS, SOME JEW, SOME CHILDREN, UH, THEY, THESE ARE PERFORMED BY OUR PEDIATRIC, UH, SEXUAL ASSAULT NURSE EXAMINER.

SHE HAS, SHE IS PAID FOR BY A FEDERAL BRAND, AND SHE HAS STARTED A PROGRAM IN BUFORD COUNTY TO, UM, TRAIN MORE PEDIATRIC SEXUAL ASSAULT, NURSE EXAMINERS, AND ADULT SEXUAL ASSAULT, NURSE EXAMINERS.

THESE PEOPLE NOT ONLY GIVE, UM, SOME VITAL HEALTH, UH, TREATMENT TO VICTIMS OF RIGHT, BUT THEY ALSO PROVIDE EVIDENCE FOR US TO PROSECUTE THE CASES.

SO IT'S AN INTEGRAL, UH, FOR WHAT IT IS THAT WE DO, UH, AS WELL AS FOR BENEFIT FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIMS. UM, THE NEXT SLIDE GETS INTO A LITTLE BIT OF THE FUNDING I THIS YEAR, UM, WHAT I'VE DONE IS I WENT, I WENT AND TOOK A LOOK AT SEVERAL YEARS AGO.

I ALSO AM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE STATE PROSECUTION COMMISSION.

UH, AND SEVERAL YEARS AGO, TALKING TO PART OF MY JOB WITH THEM IS TO MEET WITH SENATE FINANCE AND HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS, AND, AND, UH, PRESENT THE BUDGET FOR, UH, THE PROSECUTION COMMISSION.

WHAT THE QUESTION I GOT SEVERAL YEARS AGO FROM SOME SENATORS WAS HOW MUCH DO THE COUNTIES PROVIDE WHAT COUNTIES PROVIDE, WHAT VARIOUS THINGS LIKE THIS.

AND SO THERE WAS AN ASSESSMENT OF ALL THE COUNTIES, UH, OF SORT OF A PER CAPITA DISTRIBUTION, HOW MUCH IS BEING GIVEN PER COUNTY COUNCIL TO, UH, TO THE SOLICITOR'S OFFICES, WHAT I'VE SHOWN YOU THERE.

AND THIS NEXT SLIDE IS BASICALLY THE OTHER COUNTIES THAT ARE SIMILAR TO US, AND THAT THEY'RE ALL COASTAL COUNTIES AND THEY RELY HEAVILY ON TOURISM.

UH, AS YOU KNOW, OUR POPULATION IS 192,000, AND, AND I KNOW I DON'T WORK THE 18TH HOLE, UH, LIKE MR. HARVEY, SEAN DOES, BUT I SUSPECT THAT THERE'S 190, 2000 PEOPLE ON HOLE NUMBER 18 AT THE HERITAGE EVERY YEAR.

SO THAT NUMBER IS EXTREMELY LOW FOR US.

UM, AND IT'S A LOW NUMBER FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY, WHICH IS WHY I SHOW YOU THE FUNDING FOR CHARLESTON, GEORGETOWN AND ORANGE COUNTY.

WHAT YOU SEE THERE IS A PER CAPITA DISTRIBUTION FROM COUNTY COUNCIL DIRECTLY TO THE SOLICITOR'S OFFICES.

WHEN I FIRST TOOK A LOOK AT THIS, I WAS KINDA SURPRISED AT OUR NUMBER OF COMPARED TO THOSE, BUT THE MORE I THOUGHT ABOUT IT, ACTUALLY, THE MORE PROUD I GOT TO THE FACT THAT IT'S THAT MUCH LOWER.

I LIKED THE IDEA THAT WE, THAT WE USE LESS TAX DOLLARS THAN ANY OTHER SOLICITOR'S OFFICE ON THE COAST.

UH, IN FACT, WE'RE YOU, THE NEXT SLIDE WOULD SHOW WE'RE WAY TO EVEN RAISE THE MONEY TO THE LOWEST LEVEL OF ANY OF THOSE COUNTIES.

IT WOULD BE A $700,000 INCREASE, UM, AT $13 AND 47 CENTS PER PERSON.

UM, I LIKE THE IDEA THAT WE ARE, THAT WE ARE, WE HAVE DONE AS MUCH AS WE HAVE DONE WITH THE FUNDING THIS YEAR.

I AM ASKING US TO GO UP A LITTLE BIT.

UH, I WANT TO MOVE IT UP TO, UM, $11, UH, PER CAPITA.

THIS IS AN ADDITIONAL $225,842.

UM, I THINK THAT

[00:45:01]

THAT IS REASONABLE.

I'D ALSO WHAT I PARTICULARLY LIKE ABOUT IT IS IT KEEPS US A LITTLE BIT LOWER, STILL A DECENT AMOUNT LOWER THAN THESE OTHER COUNTIES, UH, PER CAPITA, THE END OF THE DAY, WE ARE GOING TO DEAL WITH SOME CHALLENGES NEXT YEAR.

AND UNFORTUNATELY PROBABLY FOR THE NEXT FOUR AND A HALF YEARS, UH, THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO TACKLE.

AND THAT'S GOING TO TAKE ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.

IT'S GOING TO TAKE A LOT MORE COURT TIME.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT COURT ADMINISTRATION HAS IN PLAN.

I DON'T KNOW, UH, IF THEY'RE DOUBLING COURT WEEKS, IF THEY'RE TRIPLING THEM, I'M NOT SURE WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO, BUT, UH, BUT I KNOW THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE PREPARED FOR THAT, BUT BEING PREPARED MEANS THAT WE HAVE THE TIME TO BE PREPARED AND, AND THAT'S GOING TO TAKE SOME ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.

SO THAT IS, THAT'S THE IDEA BEHIND OUR BUDGET PRESENTATION.

I KNOW I'VE COVERED A LOT OF AREA, BUT I WANTED TO TRY TO ANSWER SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I HAD ALREADY RECEIVED FROM SOME OF YOU, BUT I'LL BE GLAD MR. CHAIRMAN TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

AND IF YOU HAVE RIGHT, THANK YOU, MR. STONE, AS ALWAYS, HOPEFULLY I NEVER HAVE TO GO UP AGAINST YOU FOR ANY REASON, CAUSE OBVIOUSLY WE ALL KNOW WHY YOU WERE SUCH A GOOD SOLICITOR.

SO, UM, ANY QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS FOR MR. STONE? NO QUESTION MS. KIM, MS. .

I'LL ASK A QUESTION OR TWO.

UM, MRS. STONE'S GOOD TO SEE YOU.

UM, UH, APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.

UH, THE FIRST QUESTION I WANT TO KNOW IS, UM, IN, IN, IN LIGHT OF, UM, UH, YOU UPCOMING CASELOAD THAT YOU S YOU SAID YOU BOUGHT FOUR AND A HALF YEARS BEHIND, UM, ARE YOU FULLY STAFFED AT THIS TIME TO HANDLE THE CASE LOAD COMING UP THIS YEAR? NO, SIR.

NOT.

I'LL BE HONEST WITH YOU.

UH, AND GLOVER, I DON'T KNOW, AT WHAT POINT IN TIME WE'LL HIT THE RIGHT NUMBER ON THAT.

UM, I WOULD, THIS, THIS IS GOING TO ALLOW US TO GET AT LEAST THREE MORE LAWYERS IN HERE.

UM, I THINK WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO KEEP ADDING UNTIL WE HIT THAT MAGIC NUMBER.

IT, UNFORTUNATELY, LIKE I SAID, YOU KNOW, BACK IN 2007 19, IT WENT VERY WELL.

BUT, UM, BUT WITH THESE NUMBERS, IT'S GONNA, IT'S GONNA TAKE US AWHILE.

AND I THINK WHAT'S IMPORTANT ABOUT THAT IS THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT WE DO IT, AND THIS IS THE KEY TO HAVING THE RIGHT NUMBER OF PEOPLE.

UH, YOU'VE GOT TO DO IT RIGHT.

YOU CAN'T JUST DO IT FAST.

AND, UH, THERE'S GOING TO BE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF, I THINK THROUGHOUT, UH, THROUGHOUT THE COURT SYSTEMS OF, WE'VE GOT TO GET THESE CASES MOVED AND WE'VE GOT TO GET THEM TO COURT, UH, IS IMPORTANT FOR ME TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR PEOPLE ARE PREPARED AND THAT THEY HANDLE EACH ONE OF THESE CASES PROFESSIONALLY.

SO WE'RE NOT WHERE WE NEED TO BE AS FAR AS PERSONNEL.

UH, I'M HOPING THIS WILL HELP US GET THERE, BUT I'M GOING TO HAVE TO REASSESS NEXT YEAR TO SAY, TO SEE KIND OF WHERE WE ARE ON THAT.

THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO GET AT LEAST FOR ANOTHER TWO OR THREE YEARS.

UM, MY OTHER QUESTION IS, UM, THE, UH, SEXUAL ASSAULT NURSE THAT YOU HAVE ON BOARD RIGHT NOW, YOU SAID IT'S FUNDED BY THE FEDERAL, UH, FUNDING.

UM, IS THAT A CONTINUOUS FLOW OF FUNDS OR IS THAT GOING TO BE A POINT WHERE, UM, THAT'S GOING TO BE, UH, NEEDED TO BE, UM, LOOKED AT ELSEWHERE? YEP.

WELL, I HOPE, LET ME TELL YOU, WE'VE GOT TWO AREAS THAT ARE LIKE THIS, OUR SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT, WHICH HANDLES OUR SEXUAL ASSAULT PROSECUTION CASES, AS WELL AS OUR CHILDREN, UH, CHILD ABUSE.

THAT'S COVERED BY A FEDERAL GRANT TOO.

WE WERE JUST ABLE TO GET THAT RE-UPPED FOR ANOTHER THREE YEARS.

UH, WE'VE GOT A VERY GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR GRANT PEOPLE, UH, BUT A COUPLE OF THINGS I WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT THAT I'VE NOTICED ON SOME OF YOUR BUDGET REQUESTS TO VARIOUS AGENCIES, WHAT MATCHING MONEY THAT, THAT, THAT WE'RE REQUIRING FROM OTHER PEOPLE.

WE FACTOR THAT IN THROUGH OUR BUDGET BEFORE WE ASK FOR A GRANT.

SO I'M NOT COMING.

I WON'T, IF YOU'LL NOTICE, I HAVEN'T COME TO YOU AND SAID, I NEED MONEY TO MATCH A GRANT.

UM, WE FACTOR THAT IN BEFORE WE ASKED FOR THE GRANT, THE NURSE, UH, HERE'S THE ISSUE WITH THE SEXUAL ASSAULT NURSE.

THERE ARE CURRENTLY I THINK, THREE PEDIATRIC SEXUAL ASSAULT NURSES IN THE ENTIRE 14 CIRCUIT, AND OUR NURSE HAS TRAINED TWO OF THEM.

UH, AND SHE MAKES UP THE THIRD.

UM, THIS IS AN AREA THAT HAS BEEN A PARTICULAR NEED.

UH, CHILDREN PRIOR TO US OPENING THE CHILDREN'S CENTER WERE BEING DRIVEN TO THE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY IN CHARLESTON IN ORDER TO HAVE A SEXUAL ASSAULT EXAM.

UH, NOT ONLY ARE NOW, THEY ABLE, THEY'RE ABLE TO DO THAT HERE, BUT, UM, UH, HEATHER DOLLAR, WHO IS OUR NURSE IS SOMEBODY THAT, THAT IS NOW TRAINING OTHER GROUPS OF NURSES SO THAT WE CAN SORT OF PERPETUATE THIS.

UM, I THINK IT'S A GOOD FEDERAL GRANT.

I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT I THINK THE PERFORMANCE HAS BEEN GOOD AND CERTAINLY THE NEED IS THERE.

AND I'M HOPING WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO KEEP THAT FUNDED.

UH, WE ACTUALLY MET WITH THEM LAST WEEK, UM, AND THEY INDICATED THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE REALLY HAPPY WITH THE WORK THAT, UH, HEATHER DOLLAR HAS DONE.

SO I'M HOPING THAT THAT'S GOING TO BE SOMETHING

[00:50:01]

ANY OTHER, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY, MARKER.

THIS IS STILL, YEP.

STILL GO AHEAD.

YEAH.

UM, DEFINITELY, UH, YOU'VE BEEN SERVING AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL.

I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE A TERM IS FINISHED, YOU'RE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF IT, BUT YOU MIGHT TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT YOU DO DO OR ARE DOING AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL.

WELL, THE, UM, THANK YOU.

UH, I DID MY, I FINISHED MY PRESIDENCY LAST YEAR AND THE LAST THING I DID WAS HAD A VIRTUAL BOARD MEETING WITH, UH, WITH OVER A HUNDRED DISTRICT ATTORNEYS AROUND THE COUNTRY.

AND IF YOU THINK THIS IS BAD, YOU OUGHT TO SEE IT ON THE, YOU GOT TO SAY HOW DIFFICULT THAT IS TO DO.

UM, NO, IT'S, UH, IT'S OVER, I'M TECHNICALLY CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF THE NATIONAL DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S ASSOCIATION NOW, BUT THAT'S A LOT LESS RESPONSIBILITY THAN BEING PRESIDENT, BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT IT WAS A, IT WAS A PARTICULARLY GOOD YEAR.

UM, DESPITE THE CHALLENGES, UM, MUCH OF THE STUFF THAT YOU SEE IN OUR OFFICE, UH, OUR IDEAS AND PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE, UH, FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM STOLEN FROM OTHER DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICES AROUND THE COUNTRY, THE, UM, THE, THE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER, WHICH WE NOW HAVE, THAT'S THE FIRST ONE IN SOUTH CAROLINA ACTUALLY CAME FROM, UM, ORIGINALLY SAN DIEGO, BUT A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE WHO IS A DISTRICT ATTORNEY IN SALT LAKE CITY, WAS ABLE TO TELL ME ALL ABOUT HIS AND, AND SHARE IT.

AND THAT'S WHERE THAT IDEA CAME FROM.

OUR INTELLIGENCE UNIT CAME OUT OF, UH, STRAIGHT OUT OF MANHATTAN, WHICH IS A PSI VANCE'S OFFICE THAT, THAT, UH, HAS A CRIME STRATEGIES UNIT, BUT SO MUCH OF WHAT WE DO, UH, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GET FROM THOSE OTHER PROSECUTORS.

AND, AND I, I CAN TELL YOU THAT TATURA, MY OFFICE IS SORTA LIKE THE TOUR OF THE NATIONAL DISTRICT ATTORNEYS ASSOCIATION.

BUT, UM, BUT THANK YOU FOR ASKING THAT I, UM, UH, IT'S, IT'S BEEN A WORTHWHILE TIME, BUT, UH, UM, BUT MY PRESIDENCY IS OVER AND I'M GOOD WITH THAT.

I'VE GOT, UH, I GOT A LOT OF OTHER STUFF I NEED TO BE DOING GREAT.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR ANYBODY? AND IS THAT AS MR. STONE JUST MENTIONED TOURING HIS OFFICE, I WOULD RECOMMEND ANY COUNCIL PERSON THAT HASN'T DONE IT IS TO, UM, GET A HOLD OF MR. STONE.

HE IS VERY EASILY ACCESSIBLE AND WOULD LOVE TO SHOW YOU WHAT HE'S GOT OUT THERE.

IT IS PRETTY AMAZING.

WE ARE, UM, WE ARE ON THE CUSP OF, OF ALL NEW THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING AND DUFFY'S GOING A GREAT JOB OF, OF MAKING THAT AVAILABLE FOR ALL VICTIMS. SO IN DUFFY, THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR WORK.

UM, NO OTHER QUESTIONS THEN WE'RE FINISHED WITH THE PRESENTATION.

I HAVE NOT VISITED YOUR OFFICE.

UM, SO I'M GOING TO GO THROUGH, UH, THE CLERK OF COURT TO ARRANGE A TIME IN THE MORNING SOMETIME TO VISIT.

AND IF ANYBODY ELSE WANT TO GO ON THAT TERM, IT'D BE GREAT, BUT I NEED TO, I NEED TO COME AND VISIT YOU MYSELF.

THANKS.

YOU GOT MY, YOU HAVE MY CELL NUMBER, DON'T YOU? UH, YES.

JUST CALL ME, I'LL SET IT UP.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

I APPRECIATE YOU HAVING ME.

THANK YOU, MR. .

UM, LET'S MOVE ON THEN TO HARD, REAL QUICK, MARK.

YEP.

ONE COMMENT ABOUT DUFFY'S PRESENTATION.

I'D LIKE TO, I'D LIKE TO JUST POINT OUT THAT, THAT FOR ME INDIVIDUALLY, THIS IS JUST MY PERSONAL OPINION.

I THINK WE'RE GETTING A VERY GOOD VALUE OUT OF OUR, UH, SOLICITOR'S OFFICE AND, AND THE, UH, THE BUDGET REQUESTS THAT THEY'RE ASKING DOES NOT SEEM, UM, OUT OF, COMPLETELY OUT OF, UM, ORDINARY OUT OF HAND.

I THINK IT CERTAINLY IS CONSISTENT WITH WHAT WE WOULD EXPECT AT THIS PHASE OF THE ECONOMY, ESPECIALLY RECOVERING FROM A PANDEMIC.

AND SO, UM, AS THE BUDGET IS PREPARED, I HOPE THAT HIS REQUEST RECEIVES FAVORABLE COMPANY, UH, CONSIDERATION.

MOVE ON THEN TO OUR DISCUSSION ITEMS. AND AS WE JUST SAW WITH, UM, UH, MR. STONE WITH THE SOLICITOR'S OFFICE, UH, WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO GET OUR PRESENTATIONS PUT TOGETHER, UH, FROM OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AND HAVE THEM COME UP AND THAT'S KIND OF WHAT OUR NEXT TOPIC IS, IS AS WE WORK TOWARDS, UM, THE, UH, THE, THE ITEMS ON THE BUDGET IS TO, UM, FIGURE OUT WHAT'S BEST FOR EVERYBODY AND GET KIND OF INPUT.

THANK YOU, BRIAN.

A VERY, VERY WELL PUT, I APPRECIATE YOU SPEAKING OUT ON THAT.

ANYONE ELSE LIKE TO COMMENT BEFORE WE MOVE ON? ALL RIGHT.

UM, LET'S

[9. DISCUSSION OF BUDGET WORKSHOPS]

UM, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY WE'VE BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL IN YEARS PAST AND HOW WE DID IT, BUT, UM, HAVING, UM, HAVING OUR OWN BUDGET DIRECTOR, UM, MS. PINKY, HARRIET, UM, I WANT TO GET HER INVOLVED AND HAVE US DISCUSS WHAT IS BEST OR WHAT PEOPLE WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN OUR UPCOMING WORKSHOPS.

SO WE'RE NOT WASTING PEOPLE'S TIME AND PEOPLE WANT TO COME AND THEY WANT TO, UH, BE PART OF, UM, THE PRESENTATIONS THAT WE HAVE.

SO AT THIS POINT, I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO MS. HARRIET.

[00:55:01]

UM, I JUST WANTED TO GIVE A QUICK BUDGET, UH, STATUS UPDATE CURRENTLY.

UM, WE HAVE HAD SEVERAL MEETINGS WITH DEPARTMENT HEADS AND, UM, ASSISTANT COUNTY ADMINISTRATORS REGARDING THEIR DEPARTMENT BUDGETS.

AND, UH, WE'RE WORKING TO CONSOLIDATE A GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURE, UM, BUDGET RIGHT NOW, AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO SLOWLY TAKE ON THE SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS AS WELL AS THE, UH, PROPRIETARY FUNDS.

UM, AS OF RIGHT NOW, WE'RE DOING A LOT OF, UM, CLEANING UP OF SOME OF OUR EXPENDITURE LINE ITEMS. WE'RE CONSOLIDATING SOME OF OUR, SOME OF OUR, UM, LINE ITEMS TO HAVE THEM PAID OUT OF THERE.

UH, THE, LIKE IT CONSOLIDATIONS AS WHAT YOU PRESENTED IN OUR BUDGET RETREAT, UH, FINANCE GOALS, AND THEN ALSO WITH RISK MANAGEMENT, UM, AND FACILITIES MANAGEMENT TO TAKE OVER, UM, UTILITY PAYMENT, UM, THE BUDGET WORKSHOP DISCUSSIONS THAT WE WERE PLANNING TO HAVE.

UM, CURRENTLY WE'VE AMENDED THIS BUDGET CALENDAR JUST SLIGHTLY, AND WE'LL HAVE IT SENT OUT TO COUNCIL AFTER TODAY'S MEETING.

UM, WE'VE ADDED A COUPLE OF DATES SPECIFICALLY JUST TO DO COUNCIL ADMINISTRATOR, UM, BUDGET WORKSHOPS, UM, APRIL 9TH, WHICH IS A FRIDAY WE'RE PROPOSING THIS DATE TO HAVE, UM, ALL DEPARTMENT WORK, UH, BUDGET WORKSHOPS, UH, WITH COUNCIL AND THE ADMINISTRATOR'S OFFICE.

AND THEN ALSO ON APRIL 16TH, THIS WOULD ALSO BE A FRIDAY THAT WE WOULD HAVE A BUDGET WORKSHOPS AND, UH, EOS STANDS FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS THAT HAVE NOT YET PRESENTED THEIR, UM, BUDGET PRESENTATIONS TO COUNCIL.

WE WILL ALSO HAVE A REGULAR FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING ON APRIL 19TH AS USUAL.

AND I AM PLANNING ON HAVING A COUPLE OF MORE ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT THEIR BUDGETS AT THAT FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING, BUT THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR COUNCIL TO SIT DOWN WITH ADMINISTRATION AND WORK OUT ANY QUESTIONS THAT THEY MAY HAVE, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE ONE FINAL, UH, BUDGET WORKSHOP IN MAY BEFORE WE START, UM, WITH THE PRESENTATION OF THE ADMINISTRATOR'S RECOMMENDED BUDGET TO COUNCIL, AND THEN ON WITH THE OUTSIDE AGENCIES FURTHER DOWN, UH, SCHEDULED ON MAY 10TH AND MAY 24TH.

UM, SO CURRENTLY THIS IS WHAT WE ARE WORKING ON.

UM, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS IF ANYONE HAS ANY, UM, REGARDING OUR CURRENT STATUS AND THE UPCOMING BUDGET WORKSHOPS.

UM, MR. CHAIRMAN, I HAD A QUESTION.

YES, GO AHEAD.

I SEE, UM, BEAVER MEMORIAL HOSPITAL ON THERE, BUT, UM, WHAT ABOUT BUFORD JASPER COMP HEALTH? WILL THEY BE PRESENTING? UM, YES.

MA'AM.

WE ARE TRYING TO SCHEDULE THOSE.

I HAVE NOT HEARD BACK FROM THE, FOR JESPER CROP COMP HEALTH YET.

UM, I'M WAITING TO HEAR IF THEY CAN ALSO BE INCLUDED ON THE 10TH OR WHETHER THEY WILL BE INCLUDED ON THE 24TH DATE.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I CAN'T SEE ANYBODY.

ANYBODY ELSE OUT THERE JUST HAVE A COMMENT, BUT APRIL 16TH, THAT'S THE WEEK HERITAGE.

I KNOW FOR ME PERSONALLY, THAT'S GOING TO BE, IT'S GOING TO BE A TOUGH ONE.

SO JUST TO HAVE, YEAH, THANK YOU.

LET'S LOOK AT THAT ONE TO SEE IF WE CAN PUSH THAT TO THE NEXT WEEK, IF POSSIBLE, BECAUSE YES, THAT WAS WHEN, WHEN MADE THE SCHEDULE DIDN'T, UH, DIDN'T REALIZE THAT, UM, WHAT WAS HAPPENING WITH THAT.

SO THAT'S PROBABLY A GOOD POINT.

THANK YOU, CHRIS.

THERE'S NO OTHER QUESTIONS TO OUR NEXT DISCUSSION ITEM AND DISCUSSION ITEM, UH, WE'RE GONNA BRING MISS RICHLAND BACK UP AGAIN.

ANY OTHER, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT, MS. HARRIS, WE APPRECIATE YOU.

I KNOW HOW MUCH TIME AND ENERGY YOU'VE PUT INTO THIS.

AND, UM, I, I, YOU KNOW, I, I, RIGHT NOW LOOKING FORWARD, UM, UH, I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE VERY SUCCESSFUL WHAT YOU GOT PLANNED, SO WE'LL BE LOOKING FORWARD TO WHEREVER THEN WE'VE GOT COMING UP HERE.

UM, ALL RIGHT.

SO, UH, LET'S MOVE ON THEN IF

[10. DISCUSSION OF THE POSSIBLE USES OF FUND BALANCE FROM 2020 ]

UM, AND TALK ABOUT OUR FUND BALANCE FROM 2020.

SHARE MY SCREEN.

UM, SO LET ME KNOW WHEN YOU CAN SEE THIS.

CAN EVERYONE SEE THAT THIS LITTLE SCHEDULE HERE? YES.

LEO, MAYBE.

SO LET ME SEE THIS SMALL, SEE WHITNEY.

LET ME SEE IF I CAN ZOOM.

LET'S DO LIKE 200% AND SEE WHAT IT DOES.

IS THAT A LITTLE BETTER? YES.

MUCH BETTER.

GOING TO BE SOMEWHERE AROUND MAYBE NINE AND A HALF, MAYBE $10 MILLION.

SO, UM, AS AN OVERVIEW, BEFORE I JUMP INTO THESE TABLES, UM, WE RECEIVED SOME DRAFT FINANCIALS FROM OUR AUDITORS, AND IT LOOKS LIKE THE SURPLUS FROM FISCAL 20 FOR THE GENERAL FUND IS PROBABLY

[01:00:01]

UM, AND THAT'S QUITE A HANDSOME SURPLUS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR.

IF YOU ADD THAT TO THE FUND BALANCE FROM FISCAL 19, WHICH WAS A LITTLE OVER $43 MILLION, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE CLOSE TO 52 OR SO MILLION DOLLARS IN FUND BALANCE.

UM, AND THERE'S NOT NECESSARILY ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT, UH, PERCENTAGE OF OUR OPERATING BUDGET OF 130 MILLION, IF THAT HOLDS PRETTY STEADY.

UM, THAT'S ABOUT A 40%, UH, RAINY DAY FUNDS TO OUR OPERATING BUDGET.

AND SO WHAT I WANTED TO PROPOSE TO YOU GUYS TODAY IS THAT WE DO A BUDGET AMENDMENT FOR USING SOME OF THAT FUND BALANCE IN THE CURRENT YEAR.

AND I'LL GIVE YOU TWO REASONS WHY.

UM, ONE IS BECAUSE IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, UM, MOST OF THE CAPITAL OUTLAYS WERE PRETTY WELL SLASHED TO ZERO.

YOU SAW EARLIER ON THE FINANCIALS THAT WE HAD JUST UNDER A MILLION DOLLARS, UM, BUDGET FOR CAPITAL OUTLAY THIS YEAR, THAT'S VERY, VERY LOW.

UM, WE USUALLY HAVE SEVERAL MILLION DOLLARS BUDGETED.

AND SO WHAT YOU WILL FIND THERE IS A DIFFERENCE FOR ALL THOSE CAPITAL OUTLAYS THAT NORMALLY WOULD HAVE OCCURRED INTO FISCAL 21.

THOSE ARE GOING TO GET PUSHED TO FISCAL 22, AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A VERY INFLATED FISCAL 22 BUDGET.

SO MY FIRST PROPOSAL WOULD BE TO USE SOME OF THAT FOR ADDITIONAL CAPITAL OUTLAY THAT OTHERWISE NORMALLY WOULD HAVE BEEN BUDGETED IN FISCAL 21 TO GO AHEAD AND DO THOSE THINGS IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR BY USING SOME OF THE FUND BALANCE FROM FISCAL 20, MY SECOND PROPOSAL.

UM, AND ONE THAT I REALLY LIKE IS THE ONE THAT IS ON THE SCREEN HERE.

UM, YOU WILL RECALL THAT WE RECENTLY FINISHED ALL OF OUR RATINGS, UM, AND PASSING AN ORDINANCE TO REFUND TWO DIFFERENT, UM, DEBT ISSUANCES, ONE DATING BACK TO 2010, WHICH YOU CAN SEE HERE ON THE TOP.

AND THEN THE OTHER WAS A 2012 ISSUANCE.

YOU'LL PROBABLY REMEMBER THAT, UM, IN THOSE DISCUSSIONS WE PROJECTED THAT WE WOULD SAVE AROUND 2 MILLION OR SO DOLLARS IN INTEREST.

UM, IF WE WERE TO REFINANCE AT A LOWER INTEREST RATE, ALL OF THAT DEBT.

SO WE HAVE SOME SCHEDULES HERE THAT WE'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU THE FIRST ISSUANCE TO REFINANCE REFINANCE AT A RATE, UM, THAT WAS VERY COMPETITIVE AT THE TIME WE WENT THROUGH THOSE, UH, REFUNDING HEARINGS ON THE FIRST DAY, ISSUANCE WAS AROUND 1.2, ALMOST $1.3 MILLION.

THE SECOND ISSUANCE WOULD SAVE AROUND 1.6 MILLION.

MY PROPOSAL TODAY IS TO CONTINUE FORWARD WITH THAT REFUNDING, BUT RATHER THAN GOING ALL THE WAY UP TO THAT $13 MILLION, WHICH IS HOW THAT REFUNDING WAS STRUCTURED IN THE ORDINANCE, IT WAS TO REFUND UP TO 13 OR SO DO NOT EXCEED, UM, PRINCIPLE AMOUNT OF $13 MILLION, WHICH AS YOU SEE IS THIS 7.8.

UM, AND THIS 5.3, INSTEAD, MY PROPOSAL, AND THIS IS FOOD FOR THOUGHT FOR YOU GUYS TODAY IS THAT WE TAKE, UM, SOME OF FISCAL NINETEENS OR EXCUSE ME, FISCAL TWENTIES FUND BALANCED THAT NINE AND A HALF PERCENT MILLION DOLLARS.

WE COMPLETELY PAY OFF THE 2012 USDA LOAN THAT THE PRINCIPAL BALANCE, UM, OR FISCAL YEARS, OR EXCUSE ME, CALENDAR YEARS, 20, 20 PAYMENT, NON, WHERE WE JUST MADE 21.

SO THE PRINCIPAL BALANCES, UM, JUST OVER $5.3 MILLION, WE'RE ALREADY BY REFINANCING GOING TO SAVE 1.6.

IF WE COMPLETELY PAY OFF FOR THE TECHNICAL TERM TO FEES THIS DEBT IN THE CURRENT YEAR, WE WILL SAVE NOT ONLY THIS 1.6, LET ME GO BACK UP.

SO YOU CAN SEE THE HEADING HERE.

ADDITIONALLY, THIS INTEREST COLUMN.

IF HE FOLLOWED US ALL THE WAY DOWN, WE WILL SAVE ANOTHER 3.6 MILLION THAT WE WOULD HAVE PAID IN INTEREST BETWEEN CALENDAR YEAR 22 AND THE MATURITY AT CALENDAR YEAR 53.

SO TOGETHER, IF YOU'RE ADDING THESE TWO, YOU'VE GOT THE 3.6 AND THE 1.6, YOU'VE GOT $5.2 MILLION TOTAL INTEREST SAVINGS.

SO TO SUM IT UP, WE GIVE SOMEONE 5.3 MILLION TODAY AND TOMORROW WE'VE SAVED OURSELVES 5.2.

UM, SO I PERSONALLY REALLY LIKED THAT OPTION.

UM, BUT I WANTED TO PRESENT THAT TO YOU GUYS TODAY.

UM, AND ALSO A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THE BACKGROUND OF THAT THE DEBT PAYMENTS ARE NOT REPAID FROM THE GENERAL FUND.

SO WE HAVE OUR OWN SEPARATE DEBT MILLAGE, AS I'M SURE YOU GUYS ARE ALL AWARE THAT WE LEVY FOR SERVICING ALL OF THE COUNTY'S DEBT.

SO ESSENTIALLY WHAT THAT WOULD DO IS IF WE USED A GENERAL FUND SURPLUS TO PAY OFF A DEBT THAT IS TYPICALLY SERVICED THROUGH A DEBT MILLAGE, WE WOULD EXPECT TO SEE A CORRESPONDING REDUCTION IN THE DEBT MILLAGE RATE.

WELL, WHAT WE COULD DO IS IN RAISE THE GENERAL FUND MNO MILLAGE RATE BY THAT SAME PERCENTAGE.

[01:05:01]

IN A SENSE, THE BURDEN ON THE TAXPAYERS IS EQUAL.

CAUSE YOU'VE GONE DOWN A MILLAGE, YOU'VE GONE UP A MILLAGE, SO IT EQUALIZES, BUT WHAT THAT ALLOWS US TO DO OVER THE LONG RUN IS BETTER PROTECT COUNTY'S RESOURCES IN TERMS OF DEBT SERVICE, AND CONTINUE TO FUND ADDITIONAL OPERATING TYPE EXPENDITURES, LIKE WHAT THE SOLICITOR, UH, MENTIONED TO YOU TODAY.

SO I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF A BACKGROUND ON THAT AND TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WE HAVE A COUPLE OF OPTIONS THERE, SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO USE THAT SURPLUS FROM FISCAL 20? YOU ARE UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO USE IT WHATSOEVER.

I JUST HAD THAT ON MY MIND AND I WANTED TO PRESENT IT TO YOU, UM, AND GET FEEDBACK FROM YOU GUYS ON WHETHER OR NOT YOU LIKE THOSE IDEAS OR WHETHER OR NOT YOU WOULD PREFER JUST TO ALLOW THAT BALANCE TO CONTINUE TO BUILD IN OUR RAINY DAY FUND.

SO WITH THAT, I WILL TURN IT BACK OVER TO MR. LAWSON FOR DISCUSSION.

YOU'RE NEEDED, RIGHT? I CAN NOT SEE THE SCREEN OF ANYBODY.

SO IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE JUST SPEAK UP.

YEAH, I DO.

UM, MARK, IF I COULD YESTERDAY, IT'S ACTUALLY NOT A QUESTION.

IT'S A COMMENT.

THANK YOU, WHITNEY, FOR, UM, DOING THIS RESEARCH AND ALL THIS LEGWORK TO FIND OUT WHAT OUR OPTIONS ARE.

THIS IS EXACTLY THE KIND OF THING, UM, THAT I'M INTERESTED IN DOING, PAYING DOWN DEBT, ADDING THAT MILLAGE TO GENERAL FUND, BECAUSE I'VE NEVER LIKED THE IDEA OF FUNDING MAINTENANCE THROUGH, UH, BORROWING.

I THINK THAT MAIDEN'S CURRENT YEAR EXPENDITURES NEED TO BE MET BY CURRENT YEAR REVENUE.

AND SO, UM, THIS SOUNDS LIKE A REALLY GOOD IDEA, AND I WANT TO DO THAT.

WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT, UM, UH, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE TAKING MONEY FROM THE RIGHT POTS.

I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW THAT IT'S REALLY LEGAL FOR US TO WE'D HAVE TO HAVE A, OBVIOUSLY A RULING, BUT I DON'T REALLY THINK IT'S LEGAL FOR US TO FUND CURRENT YEAR OBLIGATIONS OUT OF MONEY THAT WAS RAISED FOR DEBT SERVICE.

I THINK THEY'RE LEGALLY SEPARATE FUND.

UM, AND THEY'RE CONSTITUTIONALLY SUPPOSED TO BE SEPARATE.

SO I, I APPRECIATE YOU DOING THIS AND I LIKE THE IDEA OF PAYING OFF DEBT, UM, IF WE HAVE THE MONEY TO DO THAT.

SO THANK YOU.

ANYBODY ELSE? UM, MARK'S THERE.

YEP.

STILL GO AHEAD, MR. CHAIRMAN.

UM, YEAH, I THINK TO BRIAN'S POINT, MY RECOLLECTION IS THAT WE CAN USE OPERATING SURPLUSES TO PAY CAPITAL, BUT WE CAN'T TAKE CAPITAL SURPLUSES TO PAY OPERATING.

SO I THINK WE'RE ON SOLID GROUND HERE.

UH, THIS MAKES A LOT OF SENSE.

UH, CAN'T SEND YOU A REASON WHY WE WOULDN'T DO IT.

IF WE NEED A MOTION TODAY, I'D BE HAPPY TO MAKE ONE ON THE, UH, USING THIS MONEY TO PAY DOWN DEBT.

AND I'D BE HAPPY TO SECOND IT JUST TO, I WILL, I WILL MAKE THAT MOTION AS LONG AS BRIAN'S BLOG.

THE SECOND, I'M WILLING TO SECOND IT.

NOW, ONE OTHER THING I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT FOLKS AS WE PAY DOWN DEBT.

IT, UM, IT INCREASES OUR ABILITY TO, UM, TO BORROW MONEY IN THE FUTURE.

SHOULD THERE BE SOME DRASTIC OCCURRENCE, YOU KNOW, HURRICANE OR WHATEVER, BUT THE MONEY THAT WE CAN JUST USE JUST TO DRAW ON OUR OWN AUTHORITY, WHAT WE CALL 8% MONEY.

IT, UM, IF WE PAID DOWN DEBT, IT FREES UP MORE 8% MONEY FOR BIGGER PURCHASES THAT WE NEED TO MAKE IN THE FUTURE.

GREAT.

SO WE HAVE A MOTION ON THE TABLE, UH, BY MR. ROBIN AND HAS BEEN SECONDED BY MR. .

IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? I HAVE A COMMENT IF I MIGHT.

DEFINITELY APPRECIATE THE RESEARCH.

YOU'RE GOOD, CHRIS.

UM, YEAH, I WOULDN'T DO A GREAT JOB PULLING THIS TOGETHER.

UM, SO THAT GO WITH BRIAN.

SO LIKE, THIS IS EXACTLY THE TYPE OF STUFF THAT WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT NOW, AS FAR AS PAYING DOWN THE DEBT.

I THINK I'M IN AGREEMENT WITH THAT SOUNDS GOOD.

GOOD IDEA.

UH, I DON'T KNOW THAT I'M NECESSARILY THERE YET, AS FAR AS INCREASING THE GENERAL FUND MILLAGE, UH, TO OFFSET THAT, I FEEL IT FEELS TO ME LIKE IF WE'VE, UM, YOU KNOW, DONE THE WORK TO ACCUMULATE THE SURPLUS AND THE TAXPAYER SHOULD GET A BENEFIT, BUT, UM, CERTAINLY IN, UH, IN AGREEMENT WITH THE FIRST PIECE OF THAT, WHICH IS PAYING DOWN THE DEBT.

GREAT.

THANK YOU, MR. HERBERT, SEAN, UH, ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS MR. CHAIRMAN? THIS IS YOURS.

REVEALED TOO MUCH OF MY PLAN.

UM, I'M, I'M INCLINED TO, UM, AGREE WITH, UH, CHRIS.

UM, ANYTIME MIKE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN SAVE TAXPAYERS, UM, UM, ON THEIR, UM, TAXES.

UH, I'M IN FAVOR OF THAT.

SO I'M INCLINED TO AGREE, UM, WITH CHRIS'S POSITION, BUT, UM, BUT I LIKE THE OPTION OF HAVING, YOU KNOW, THE AVAILABILITY OF, UH, THE POSITION TO BORROW IF WE HAVE TO, BUT IF WE CAN SAVE TAXPAYER, LET'S DO SO.

THANKS, CHRIS.

YOU

[01:10:01]

YOU SAID THE QUIET PART OUT LOUD.

SO WE HAVE A, UM, A MOTION AND A SECOND, UM, UH, LET'S OUT THERE AND WE NEED TO VOTE ON THAT IF THERE'S NO OTHER QUESTIONS AND BASICALLY WE'LL BE TAKING THIS AND, AND, UM, MOVING IT TO COUNTY COUNCIL, IF THAT'S WHAT THE WILL OF THIS, UM, COMMITTEE WOULD LIKE TO DO.

THE MOTION INCLUDE THE LOGIC OF REDUCING THE DEBT MILLAGE, BUT INCREASING THE GENERAL REVENUE MILLAGE.

UM, THAT IS, YEAH, I, I, FRANKLY, THIS, THIS IS JUST, UH, FROM MY UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT, UM, THE MOTION IS IN, WHAT WE'VE HEARD TODAY IS WHITNEY SPOKE TO THE JUSTIFICATION OF PAYING OFF, UM, UH, BOND BORROWING THAT WE HAD DONE YEARS AGO, THAT WE HAVE THE MONEY IN PLACE TO DO THAT IN THE CURRENT YEAR.

AND SO THIS IS REALLY, IT WILL AUTHORIZE HER TO, UM, SEND FORWARD A CHANGE IN THE DEBT MILLAGE BUDGET, UM, OR THE DEBT BUDGET THAT WE HAVE TO PAY OFF THIS LARGE BOND.

IT HAS NO EFFECT ON THE AMOUNT THAT WE COLLECT FROM THE TAXPAYERS.

SO THAT'S ALREADY, UM, THAT'S ALREADY IN PLACE AND ON THE TAX BILLS AND WE'VE MADE NO AUTHORIZATION TO INCREASE EXPENDITURES AND IT ALLOWS THEM TO AT LEAST TALK ABOUT THE IDEA OF A NEED FOR A MILLAGE RATE INCREASE ON THE OPERATIONAL SIDE FOR THE NEXT BUDGET YEAR, BUT IT HAS NO BEARING ON CURRENT YEAR BUDGET STUFF.

AM I WRONG STEW? YEAH, THAT WOULD BE THE WAY I WOULD LOOK AT IT, OR JUST AS KIND OF A BALANCE SHEET ITEM WHERE WE'RE TAKING SOME CASH ON HAND AND PAYING DOWN ON A QUESTION FOR US.

I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER IS, IS THIS REQUIRED ORDINANCE OR COULD WE DO IT WITH A RESOLUTION? ANYBODY KNOW, I JUST OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD STU I THINK IT'S, UM, IT'S, WE'RE REALLY A RULE REQUIRE A BUDGET, UM, AMENDMENT.

AND SO THAT'S THREE READINGS IN PUBLIC HEARING.

THAT'S JUST OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD GETTING COUNSEL ON THAT.

I AGREE WITH THAT, MR. FLUE, WILLING, MR. RODMAN.

I AGREE THAT DOES TAKE AN ORDINANCE DOES NOT INCLUDE, AND THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO BE SURE OF.

IT'S NOT A TRADE-OFF OF ONE FOR THE OTHER IN THE LANGUAGE HERE THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE VOTING ON.

IT'S SIMPLY A MATTER OF PAYING OFF THE EXISTING DEBT WITH THE MONEY FROM THE, UH, THAT'S AVAILABLE.

IS THAT CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT.

AFTER THE EXPLANATION FROM, UH, MR. AND THE, UM, THE CONFIRMATION FROM MR. RODMAN.

SO THEN GOING FORWARD WITH REGARD TO GIVING SOME CONSIDERATION FOR MITIGATION TO THE TAX PAYER, THAT WOULD BE THE TOPIC OF ANOTHER DISCUSSION.

IS IT, IS THAT CORRECT? MR. FLOLAN THE STILL, I THINK WE DO IT AS PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS.

AND PART OF THE BUDGET.

AND FRANKLY, NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO COLLECT THIS MONEY IN ORDER TO PAY DOWN THIS BOND.

WHAT WE'LL DO NEXT YEAR IS COMPLETELY, AGAIN, THE QUIET PART OUT LOUD.

CHRIS WILL FIGHT ALL THAT OUT AS, UH, AS THE BUDGET APPEARS.

YEAH.

MARCUS HAS ONE OTHER QUESTION FOR WHITNEY, YOU KNOW, SINCE YOU DID SUCH A GOOD JOB ON THIS ONE, IF YOU LOOK OUT OVER THE HORIZON, IS THERE ANOTHER BOND THAT WE OUGHT TO BE LOOKING AT? THERE WILL BE A SUR IN THE YEARS TO COME.

SOME OF THEM HAVE, UM, TIMEFRAMES WITH WHICH YOU CAN PAY THEM BACK OR DEFEASE THEM REFUND THEM.

UM, THESE TWO ARE THE TWO THAT ARE CURRENTLY ELIGIBLE.

UM, BUT IF YOU'D LIKE FOR US TO TRY TO PUT TOGETHER, UM, MAYBE A TIMELINE THAT SHOWS YOU, WHICH, UM, WHICH ISSUANCES WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR, UM, A DEFEASANCE, I CAN CERTAINLY DO THAT.

THAT'S NOT A PROBLEM.

THAT'S NOT NECESSARY.

WE TRUST YOU TO BRING THEM FORWARD AT A PERFECT TIME.

VERY WELL.

SURE.

YOU KNOW, MARK, YOU KNOW, ON THE SAME SUBJECT, I MEAN, THIS IS, UM, THIS IS SORT OF THE SAME SUBJECT, BUT IT'S NOT THIS PARTICULAR ITEM.

I THINK THAT, UM, WE COULD PROBABLY EXPECT INTEREST RATES TO INCREASE.

UM, W YOU KNOW, RELATIVELY SOON WITHIN THE NEXT FIVE OR SIX YEARS, INTEREST RATES WILL START TO RISE.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS WE TO TALK ABOUT, UM, OR HAVE A, A PHILOSOPHY ON COUNTY COUNCIL THAT RATHER THAN BORROW MONEY, WE PUT MONEY ASIDE TODAY, OR HAVE SOME INVESTMENTS THAT ARE, UM, CASH EQUIVALENT SO THAT WHEN WE NEED TO SPEND A MILLION DOLLARS TO REPAIR A BRIDGE, UM, RATHER THAN BORROW THE MONEY, WE, YOU KNOW, TAKE IT OUT OF OUR INVESTMENTS ARE MORE SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS JUST TO PHILOSOPHY.

GOOD POINT.

THANK YOU, BRIAN.

[01:15:01]

IS THERE ANY NEED FOR US TO DO A ROLL CALL VOTE? UM, ARE THERE ANY EXCEPTIONS TO THE MOTION AND THE SECOND HEARING? NO EXCEPTIONS.

WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND PASS THIS WITH, WITHOUT EXCEPTION.

SO IT, IT MOVED TO, UM, TO FULL COUNTY COUNCIL.

THANK YOU, WHITNEY.

HOW COULD YOU DO IT? ALL

[11. AN APPOINTMENT FOR ANDREW DISALVO FOR BOARD OF ASSESSMENT APPEALS ]

[12. A REAPPOINTMENT FOR JAMES BUCKLEY TO AIRPORTS BOARD JAMES BUCKLE]

AND LET'S MOVE ON THEN TO, UM, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.

THEN WE'RE GOING TO TAKE BOTH OF THESE AT THE SAME TIME, AND UNLESS SOMEONE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THESE, UM, UH, THE TWO APPOINTMENTS SEPARATE, IS THERE ANYONE THAT WOULD LIKE TO, UM, HEAR THESE APPOINTMENTS, UH, SEPARATE HEARING? NO OBJECTION.

WE WILL THEN, UM, ASK FOR APPROVAL FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF, UM, ANDREW, ANDREW DE SALVO FOR THE BOARD OF ASSESSMENT APPEALS AND ALSO THE RE REAPPOINTMENT FOR JAMES BUCKLEY TO THE AIRPORT BOARD CHAIRMAN.