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[1. Call to Order]
THE TOWN OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND, FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE.I CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER KRISTA, ARE WE IN COMPLIANCE WITH FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT? YES, SIR.
WOULD YOU CALL THE ROLL? CERTAINLY MR. BROWN, MR. HARKINS, MR. STANFORD, MR. LENNOX, I'LL PRESENT, SIR.
[4. Approval of the Minutes]
HAVE MINUTES FROM THE REGULAR MEETING OF APRIL 19TH, 2022.ARE THERE ANY ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS OR CORRECTIONS MOVE ADOPTION IS WRITTEN.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.
[6a. Report from the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry Concerning the American Rescue Plan Act 2021 Grants - Scott Wierman, President and CEO]
NEW BUSINESS, WE HAVE TWO AGENDA ITEMS WE HAVE WITH US.SCOTT CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE FOUNDATION OF THE LOW COUNTRY TO REPORT ON THE SECOND TRAUNCH OF THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT 2021 GRANTS.
MR. CHAIRMAN, MR.
KRISTA, HAVE WE ANY APPARENTS BY CITIZENS? WELL, WE DO.
THAT'S MR. HOAGLAND, AND I DO NOT SEE HIM IN THE AUDIENCE TODAY.
UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE BACK TOGETHER, UH, WITH YOU.
UM, AND AGAIN, LET ME SAY AT THE BEGINNING, THE FOUNDATION APPRECIATES THE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE TOWN, WITH THE ARPA FUNDS.
I'M JOINED THE DAY BY MY COLLEAGUE, UH, DEBBIE COCOON, WHO SERVES AS VICE PRESIDENT FOR COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FOR THE FOUNDATION.
SHE OVERSEES ALL OF OUR GRANT MAKING PROGRAMS, AS WELL AS OUR SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS. LAST YEAR, THOSE TWO COMBINED PROGRAMS TOTALED JUST UNDER $7 MILLION.
UH, MORE IMPORTANTLY TO THIS PROCESS.
DEBBIE IS THE STAFF LEAD FOR THE AARP PROCESS, UH, FOR THE TOWN.
AND SHE HAS BEEN, UH, SHE'S WORKED DIRECTLY WITH EACH OF THE GRANT RECIPIENTS, NOT ONLY IN THE PROCESS, BUT ALSO HAS HAD CONVERSATIONS AS A FOLLOWUP WITH EACH OF THE GRANTEES TO GET PROGRESS REPORTS.
AND I BELIEVE YOU ALL RECEIVED MAYBE YESTERDAY, A THOROUGH REPORT ON ALL OF THE GRANTS AND PROGRESS TO THIS POINT, BUT YOU'LL HAVE A CHANCE TO HEAR FROM DEBBIE IN A MINUTE, AND WE'LL BE HAPPY TO ENTERTAIN ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE.
WE ALSO WANT TO THANK THE CITIZENS OF, UM, HILTON HEAD ISLAND, WHO REALLY ARE THE ONES THAT ARE MAKING THIS HAPPEN.
UH, AS YOU MAY RECALL, WE HAVE SEVEN, UH, CITIZENS THAT ARE CHARGED WITH THE RESPONSIBILITY OF REVIEWING ALL OF THE APPLICATIONS MEETING, UH, DISCUSSING DOING THE DUE DILIGENCE IN CONJUNCTION WITH DEBBIE, UM, AND MAKING DECISIONS.
THEY SEVEN INDIVIDUALS OR PEACHES PETERSON, JERRY FARRON, REVEREND DOUG FLETCHER, HERBERT FORWARD, GALEN MILLER, SHEILA MAHONEY.
AND OF COURSE JOHN REPRESENTING THE TOWN TODAY.
UM, THE FOUNDATION HAS BEEN ABLE THROUGH THE OPERA PROCESS TO AWARD.
UM, WE'VE HAD TWO ROUNDS OF GRANTS AND OF THE FIRST $500,000 TRAUNCH WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DISTRIBUTE 499,825 OF THOSE DOLLARS TO THIS POINT, 18 ORGANIZATIONS, 18 DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS HAVE RECEIVED FUNDING AND ONE ORGANIZATION, UH, SANDALWOOD HAS RECEIVED TWO GRANTS, ONE FROM EACH CYCLE.
WE WENT BACK AND LOOKED AT, UM, KIND OF WHAT THE DEMAND HAS BEEN AND HOW WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO RESPOND JUST IN A GENERAL SUMMARY.
40% OF THOSE ALMOST $500,000 HAVE GONE TOWARDS FOOD AND SECURITY NEEDS.
28% WENT TOWARDS EMERGENCY HOUSING RELIEF.
25% WENT TO HEALTH OR MENTAL HEALTH.
AND ABOUT 6% WENT TO CHILDCARE.
AS I MENTIONED TO YOU, WHEN I MET WITH YOU IN FEBRUARY, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE FEEL LIKE WE CAN ADD SOME VALUE IN THIS PROCESS IS JUST BRINGING THESE GROUPS TOGETHER.
THEY'RE ALL VERY BUSY, ESPECIALLY OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, UH, ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF THE PANDEMIC.
UM, BUT DEBBIE HAS ACTUALLY BEEN ABLE TO CONVENE TWO GATHERINGS OF THE NONPROFITS AND FROM THOSE MEETINGS, NUMBER ONE, THERE WERE SOME FOLKS THAT HAD A CHANCE TO MEET PERHAPS FOR THE FIRST TIME.
UM, BUT A NUMBER OF COLLABORATIONS HAVE RESOLVED IT FROM JUST BEING IN THE SAME ROOM AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT THEY'RE DOING.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, LOW COUNTRY LEGAL VOLUNTEERS, WHICH HAS BEEN HELL HAPPENING, UH, WORKING AROUND, UM, EMERGENCY HOUSING RELIEF, UM, WAS ABLE TO PARTNER WITH BOTH OF THEM AND SING THEM THE WOOD
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TO BE PRESENT, TO HELP IDENTIFY CLIENTS WHO COULD USE THEIR SERVICES IF THEY HAD HOUSING NEEDS.WE'RE ALSO PLEASED TO SHARE THAT IT OWNED AT LEAST TWO.
UH, TWO OF THE GRANT RECIPIENTS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO LEVERAGE THE ARPA FUNDING TO GET ADDITIONAL PRIVATE FUNDING.
UM, JUST LAST WEEK WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO TOUR, UM, VOLUNTEER AND MEDICINES, UM, DO FRESH PRODUCE PROGRAM.
UM, THEY'VE ALREADY BEEN DISTRIBUTING FOOD TO A NUMBER OF AGENCIES.
UM, SECOND HELPINGS, UH, DEEP WELL, AND I BELIEVE SANDALWOOD AS WELL.
UM, AND THEY HAD A DONOR THAT CAME IN AND SAW THIS PROCESS AND WHAT THEY'VE DONE AND THE INDIVIDUAL WAS ABLE TO WRITE A CHECK TO DOUBLE THE CAPACITY OF THEIR ABILITY TO, UM, DISTRIBUTE FRESH PRODUCE, WHICH IS, IS CRITICAL GOING FORWARD.
UM, WE WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS IS THIS CONTINUES, BUT EARLY ARE OBVIOUSLY THE INFLATIONARY PRESSURES, UM, THAT WE'RE ALL FACING, PARTICULARLY FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE FINANCIALLY OPPRESSED.
WE ANTICIPATE DEMAND FOR FOOD ASSISTANCE WILL CONTINUE TO BE A KEY, UM, REQUEST IN A DOMAIN.
INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, HOUSING SUPPORT SEEMS TO BE SLOWING DOWN A LITTLE BIT.
THAT WAS A VERY HOT TOPIC EARLY ON.
UM, BUT THE AGENCIES THAT HAVE RECEIVED SOME THAT MONEY SAID THAT WHILE THERE'S STILL A NEED AT THE PACE OF, UM, THE REQUEST, UM, IS DEFINITELY SLOWING DOWN.
WE'RE NOT SURE IF THAT IS DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTABLE TO PEOPLE BEING ABLE TO GET BACK TO WORK, OR IF PEOPLE HAVE JUST RELOCATED OFF THE ISLAND AND FOUND HOUSING SOMEWHERE ELSE.
SO WITH THAT, I'M GONNA, UM, PAUSE AND I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO DEBBIE FOR A FEW MINUTES, JUST TO TALK ABOUT THE REPORTING, THE INTERIM REPORTING AND KIND OF SOME PLANS FOR THE SECOND ALLOCATION OF $500,000.
UH, MY REMARKS WILL BE VERY BRIEF.
UM, AS SCOTT MENTIONED, I DID SPEAK WITH THE MAJORITY OF THE, UH, THE GRANTEE ORGAN OR RECIPIENT ORGANIZATIONS OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS.
UM, YOU ALL RECEIVED THE REPORT THAT HAS THE INFORMATION, A VERY BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF MY CONVERSATIONS WITH THE ORGANIZATIONS.
MOST OF THEM ARE ON TRACK TO, UH, COMPLETELY SPEND OUT THEIR GRANT FROM THIS FIRST TRAUNCH OF FUNDING.
UM, THOSE WHO HAVE NOT, UH, COMPLETELY SPENT IT OUT OR WILL NOT SPEND IT OUT, UM, BY THE JUNE REPORTING DATE, WE'LL SUBMIT AN INTERIM REPORT INSTEAD OF A FINAL REPORT.
MOST OF THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT YOU, UH, THAT HAVE RECEIVED FUNDING THROUGH THIS PROCESS DO PLAN TO APPLY FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING.
UM, THERE ARE INCREASED NEEDS AS, AS WE ALL KNOW, UM, WHAT WE WILL, UM, START THE PROCESS, UH, AS SOON AS WE WORK WITH THE TOWN TO CONFIRM THE CRITERIA FOR THE SECOND TRAUNCH TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY CHANGES THAT ARE MADE TO THE AREAS OF NEED OR, OR, UM, ANYTHING ELSE WE'LL ALSO, ONCE WE KNOW WHAT THE FUNDING CYCLES ARE, ONCE YOU RECEIVE THE FUNDING FROM THE GOVERNMENT, WE'LL PUT THE RFPS OUT.
WE, I GO TO OUR DATABASE AND I CONTACT ALL OF THE HILTON HEAD ORGANIZATIONS OR THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT OFF OF THE ISLAND THAT I KNOW PROVIDE SERVICES TO HILTON HEAD.
WE ALSO, UM, WE MAKE PRESENTATIONS IN OUR BI-MONTHLY IMPACT INFORMATION SESSIONS, WHERE ORGANIZATIONS COME IN TO LEARN ABOUT OUR GRANT PROCESSES.
WE DISCUSS THIS OPPORTUNITY THERE AS WELL.
UM, IT, THE, THE INFORMATION GOES OUT ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA.
IT'S LISTED ON OUR WEBSITE, UM, UH, OUR MARKETING DIRECTOR WHO IS BRAND NEW TO THE FOUNDATION.
WHO'S BEEN HERE FOR ABOUT SIX WEEKS.
WE'LL WORK WITH CAROLYN GRANT, WITH THE TOWN TO MAKE SURE THAT SHE, THE INFORMATION THAT THE TOWN NEEDS TO GET THE, UH, THE INFORMATION OUT TO AGENCIES AS WELL.
AND I THINK THAT'S PRETTY MUCH ALL I HAVE TO SAY, UNLESS YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR REPORT.
UM, YOU HAVE A DIFFICULT BALANCING ACT BECAUSE YOU HAVE A LOT OF ORGANIZATION, A NUMBER OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE REACHING OUT WHEN YOU DO NOT FULLY FUND A PARTICULAR REQUEST OR DON'T FUND IT AT ALL.
WHAT SORT OF EXPLANATION IS GIVEN TO THAT PARTICULAR, UH, NONPROFIT ABOUT THE REASONING BEHIND THAT? I CONTACTED EVERY NONPROFIT, WHETHER THEY RECEIVE A GRANT OR DOWN, WE HAVE A PHONE CALL AND I, UM, HELP THEM IDENTIFY WE DISCUSSED IF THERE'S A REASON THAT THEY WERE NOT ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE THE GRANT.
IF, UM, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S A SPECIFIC REASON WE TALK ABOUT THAT, SOMETIMES WE IDENTIFY FUNDS WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION THAT MAY BE A BETTER RESOURCE FOR THAT PARTICULAR GRANT.
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SEEM TO MEET THE NEED CLOSELY ENOUGH FOR THE COMMITTEE.UH, SO WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, WE HAD AN ORGANIZATION THE FIRST, THE FIRST, UM, APPLICATION ROUND THE COMMITTEE FELT THAT THE APPLICATION WASN'T QUITE STRONG ENOUGH.
THEY ASKED STAFF TO WORK WITH THIS ORGANIZATION TO HELP THEM, UM, BETTER UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS AND, AND, UH, THE, THE, THE WAY THAT THEY COULD BETTER MEET THE NEEDS THAT THERE THEY WERE LOOKING AT.
SO WE WORKED REALLY CLOSELY AND THEY, UH, APPLIED THE SECOND, THE SECOND GO AROUND, RECEIVED FUNDING.
AND THEY'RE VERY, VERY EXCITED, VERY, UH, THEY'VE DONE A GREAT JOB OF WORKING, COLLABORATING WITH OTHER AGENCIES.
SHE USED THE AMERICAN RESCUE, YOU, UH, EXCELLENT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WHAT YOU'RE DOING IN THE TOWN.
UH, WE WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THAT.
I THINK YOU'RE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY ARE MUCH CLOSER, UH, TO PEOPLE IN NEED THAN WE ARE SITTING HERE.
AND, UH, WE SHARE YOUR CONCERNS AND YOUR ABILITY TO, UM, BE ON THE FRONT LINE AND DOING GOOD IN THE COMMUNITY IS VERY APPRECIATED.
UH, GOOD MORNING, UH, ECHO THE GRATITUDE OF MY COLLEAGUES WITH THIS RELATIONSHIP THAT WE HAVE WITH COMMUNITY FOUNDATION AND LOW COUNTRY.
UM, AND ALSO COMMEND YOUR EFFORTS.
UM, NOT ONLY IN, IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, BUT, UH, ALWAYS IN THE, THE, UH, I AM TRYING TO COLLABORATE WITH ALL OF THE ORGANIZATIONS.
YOU'VE HAD SOME SUCCESS IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE.
UM, YOU MENTIONED THAT, UH, SOME OF THE ORGANIZATIONS ARE NOT GOING TO GET THROUGH THE ENTIRE AMOUNT OF MONEY REQUESTED.
VINCENT DEPAUL'S HA UM, THEY HAVE HAD A D THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE NUMBER OF FOLKS COMING FORWARD WHO WERE, UH, WITH, UH, EMERGENCY HOUSING NEEDS THAT THEY EXPECTED.
SO THEIR HOPE WAS TO SPEND ALL OF THIS, UH, YOU KNOW, TO BE ABLE TO GET THIS, THIS ASSISTANCE TO THE COMMUNITY AND THEN APPLY AGAIN.
UH, THEY HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT.
THEY'RE LOOKING REALLY STRONG AT THE COVID CONNECTION TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT, THAT THE NEED IS RELATED TO COVID AND, UM, UH, THEY WILL BE FILING, UH, AN INTERIM REPORT IN JUNE.
AND I THINK THEY HAVE ABOUT 18,000 LEFT TO SPEND THAT WILL GO, THAT THEY WILL, THAT THEY WILL USE BETWEEN NOW AND NEXT JUNE SO THAT THEY CAN DO A FINAL REPORT IN JUNE.
I SPOKE WITH, UM, WITH MARGIE TOMTEC, WHO'S RUNNING THAT PROGRAM.
UH, I HA SHE'S IN CONTACT WITH BOTH SANDY GILLIS AT DEEP WELL AND, UM, WITH, WITH, UM, ERIC AT NIP.
AND SO THERE'S, IF THEY WILL, UM, WORK TOGETHER TO HELP HER FIND RECIPIENTS, IF, IF THE RECIPIENTS DON'T GO DIRECTLY TO ST.
UM, AS A COUNCILMAN HAWKINS MENTIONED, UM, THIS EXERCISE IS CRITICAL TO US BECAUSE WE'RE NOT AS CLOSE TO THE SITUATION.
UM, BUT I WANT TO TAKE THAT STEP FURTHER AS WE USE THOUGHT TO EMBARK ON INITIATIVES HERE AT THE TOWN.
UM, I'LL USE ONE AS A PARTICULAR EXAMPLE.
UM, I'LL, UH, REDEVELOPMENT OF THE MID ISLAND AREA.
UM, THIS INFORMATION THAT YOU ALL PROVIDE TO US IS, IS VERY IMPORTANT.
UM, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M KEENLY INTERESTED AT THIS POINT, UM, AND MAYBE DURING THE SECOND WAVE, YOU CAN, UH, FORMULATE THE APPLICATION PROCESS SO THAT MAYBE WE GET A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAILED DATA.
UM, I'M REALLY CONFUSED WITH THE HEIGHT IN THE FOOD INSECURITY AND THE DECLINE IN THE HOUSING.
UM, IT, IT'S NOT MAKING SENSE TO ME.
AND I I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THE EXODUS OF FOLKS FROM HILTON HEAD TO OTHER AREAS BECAUSE OF THE RENTAL, UH, INCLINES.
UM, SO IF WE CAN GET SOME BETTER DATA AROUND THAT, THAT WILL HELP US DOWN THE ROAD.
UM, AND THE OTHER IS JUST, THE GEOGRAPHICAL AREA IS MOST COMMONLY SERVED, I THINK IS IMPORTANT ALSO.
AND AGAIN, I, I REALLY THANK YOU ALL FOR ALL YOUR EFFORTS.
UM, ALEX, CAN I SHARE ONE THING AS FAR AS THE, UH, ANOTHER, UM, ISSUE WITH, UH, THE RENTAL ASSISTANCE? WE HAVE, UM, THERE'S A STATE AGENCY THAT IS, UM, PROVIDING A LOT OF RESOURCES AS WELL, UP TO 18 MONTHS OF RENT.
THAT'S ONE LOW COUNTRY, LEGAL VOLUNTEERS IS HELPING PEOPLE GET ACCESS TO THAT FUNDING AS WELL.
SO THERE'S STILL A LOT OF, A LOT OF FUNDS AVAILABLE,
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BUT THERE'S NOT AS MUCH I THINK FOR, FOR FOOD.DEBBIE I'M SCOTT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
UH, I'VE GOT TO SAY IT'S REALLY, UH, PLEASANT TO SEE WHEN THE PLANS FOR A PROCESS ARE PLAYED OUT AND WORK, AND EVEN GREATER THAN THAT, THEY WORK TO THE BENEFIT OF SO MANY AGENCIES THAT HAVE A NEED AT THE SAME TIME, THEY PROVIDE SERVICES FOR THOSE WHO ALSO HAVE A NEED.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE, IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE REPORT THAT YOU SUBMITTED, THERE WERE FOUR NATIONS, UH, BUT OF THOSE FOUR, THREE OF THE FOUR WERE SUBSEQUENTLY FUNDED.
AND SO AGAIN, EMPHASIS ON THE PROCESS.
UH, SPEAKING OF PROCESS, THE APPLICATION FORM THAT YOU DESIGNED, UH, IS REALLY INTERESTING.
UH, WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN IN TERMS OF QUALITY OF APPLICANTS APPLICATIONS? THE POLITICS OF THE APPLICATIONS IS GOOD, UM, THAT THE AGENCIES, MOST OF THE AGENCIES ARE FAMILIAR WITH OUR APPLICATION, UH, PORTAL AND, AND THE PROCESS.
SO I THINK THIS, THIS PARTICULAR APPLICATION IS NOT AS COMPLICATED AS SOME, EXCEPT FOR THE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS, AS FAR AS THE INCOME LEVEL AND THE RACE AND ETHNICITY, UH, GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS ONCE FOR THE CDBG GRANTS, THEY WERE A LITTLE BIT BETTER PREPARED THIS TIME.
SO, UM, I'M, I'M PLEASED WITH, WITH THE WORK THAT THE AGENCIES PUT INTO THIS PROCESS.
SO WE NOW HAVE GONE THROUGH BOTH THE FIRST AND SECOND TRONCHES ACTUALLY, NO, UH, JUST THE, THE INITIAL TRAUNCH OF 500,000, THE SECOND, UM, 500,000 WILL COME INTO THIS NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
AND WE'RE JUST WAITING ON THE TOWN TO TELL US THE TIMING OF THAT.
AND THEN TWO CYCLES IN THE FIRST TRADITION, RIGHT? BECAUSE THE TWO CYCLES IN SUBSEQUENT TRANSFERS, DEPENDING ON THE DEMAND, I MEAN, IF WE FIND, UM, EXCELLENT PROPOSALS AND THE FIRST CYCLE OF THE SECOND TRAUNCH, AND WE CAN WISELY INVEST THAT MONEY BACK IN THE COMMUNITY, THERE WILL ONLY BE ONE CYCLE.
WE JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT THE DEMAND WILL BE GOOD.
ONE OF THE THINGS YOU MENTIONED WAS UNANTICIPATED, AND THAT WAS THE LEVERAGE OF THESE FUNDS BY THE, UH, GRANT APPLICANTS AND AWARDEES.
UH, IF YOU CAN CONTINUE TO ACCUMULATE, UH, WHAT DOLLARS WERE AWARDED SUBSEQUENT OR AS A RESULT OF THESE DOLLARS, IT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WE CAN USE SE PROSPECTIVELY, UH, IN, IN THE FUTURE.
I KNOW IN THE CASE OF, UM, VOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE, IT WAS A $40,000 GIFT THAT WAS MADE BY AN INDIVIDUAL WHO WAS APPRECIATIVE OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING.
THEY WERE ABLE TO SEE IT, AND THEY WOULD SEE THAT PRODUCE IS ALREADY BEING DELIVERED AND SH AND SHARED WITH THOSE IN NEED.
AND JUST SAID, WHAT IF WE COULD DOUBLE THE CAPACITY? AND SO THEY WROTE A CHECK FOR $40,000, SIGNIFICANT ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM ANY OF THE PUBLIC SCOTT AND DEBBIE.
WE APPRECIATE THE PARTNERSHIP.
[6b. Town of Hilton Head Island Financial Update]
SECOND AGENDA ITEM IS A FINANCIAL UPDATE THROUGH APRIL AND APRIL IS THE 10TH MONTH OF OUR FISCAL 2022.UM, YES, I'M HAPPY TO PRESENT 10 MONTHS IN, UM, IT, WHAT A DIFFERENT LOOK IT IS, UM, FROM 10 MONTHS AGO, WHEN, WHEN THIS BUDGET WAS FIRST PASSED BY TOWN COUNCIL, THERE WAS STILL QUITE A BIT OF NERVES ABOUT HOW IS, UH, COVID GONNA AFFECT OUR REVENUES, HOW IS COVID GONNA AFFECT OUR EXPENDITURES? AND, UM, WILL WE COLLECTIVELY AS A COMMUNITY BE ABLE TO COME OUT OF, UH, THE THREAT OF COVID? AND SO HERE WE ARE 10 MONTHS IN OKAY.
SO WE CONTINUE TO THINK TOWN COUNCIL FROM, UH, PAST ACTIONS, BUILD RE BUILD RESERVES AND DIVERSIFY REVENUE STREAMS. THAT'S CERTAINLY HELPED US IN TIMES OF DISTRESS, WHETHER IT'S A HURRICANE OR WHETHER IT'S A PANDEMIC, UM, IT HELPED THE TOWN, UH, HAVE FINANCIAL RESILIENCY, AND THAT CERTAINLY SHOWED, UH, APRIL'S PRELIMINARY RESULTS.
WE ARE GLAD TO REPORT THAT APRIL WAS ANOTHER GOOD COLLECTION MONTH,
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UM, OF THE 10 MONTHS THAT WE REPORTED SO FAR, THIS YEAR EIGHT HAVE BEEN BETTER THAN LAST YEAR.UM, THE OUTLIER, IF YOU LOOK AT THAT MARCH, UM, WAS JUST A DELAY IN THE PROPERTY TAXES FROM YEAR TO YEAR.
UM, AND, AND SO IT PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BEEN NINE MONTHS OUT OF 10, THAT WAS BETTER THAN LAST YEAR.
SO, UH, YEARLY YEAR TO DATE, UM, OUR REVENUES CONTINUE TO BE ABOVE THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS THAT CONTINUE TO BE STRONG.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO NOTE THAT OF THESE, UH, REVENUES FOR THE GENERAL FUND, ABOUT 80% OR OUTSIDE REVENUES AND 20% TRANSFERS IN.
AND SO OF THE REVENUES THAT ARE OUTSIDE REVENUES, WE DON'T HAVE CONTROL OVER THE TIMING OF IT, BUT THE TRANSFERS WE DO 10 MONTHS IN, WE'RE STILL NOT FINISHED WITH THE YEAR.
AND SO MAY IS NOT A BIG COLLECTION MONTH.
YOU CAN LOOK AT THAT IS WHAT ARE WE EXPECTING THIS MONTH? NOT A LOT.
SO OUR PICTURE BETWEEN WHAT YOU SEE HERE 10 MONTHS IN VERSUS 11 MONTHS, UM, WON'T CHANGE THAT MUCH FROM A REVENUE SIDE.
IT BE ONE MORE MONTH ON THE SPENDING SIDE.
AND YOU CAN LOOK AT JUNE IS, UH, IS A VERY IMPORTANT MONTH FINISH THE YEAR.
SO WE HAVE, UH, SEVERAL DIFFERENT REVENUES THAT ALL FALL IN AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
AND SO WE WILL BE WATCHING THOSE VERY CLOSELY, UH, PROPERTY TAXES ARE 99.2% OF BUDGET.
UM, AND SO WE'RE HAPPY TO REPORT THAT.
SO BASICALLY WE'VE, WE'VE MET BUDGET AND, UM, WE STILL HAVE A COUPLE OF MONTHS TO GO.
UM, QUESTION WAS ASKED, WELL, HOW, WHAT DO WE EXPECT? AND SO, UM, HE LOOKED AT 2021 ACTUAL 15 MILLION, 9, 22 BUDGET, 15,000,007.
AND SO YEAR TO DATE, WE'RE AT 15,000,006, BUT WE EXPECT THROUGH MAY AND JUNE COLLECTIONS, WE SHOULD BE AT 16,000,001.
WE CAN EXCEED LAST YEAR AND, UM, AND CALL IT A SUCCESSFUL, UM, PROPERTY TAX COLLECTION YEAR, UH, REVENUE PREVIEW.
UH, THESE ARE A LITTLE BIT SMALLER, UM, BUT SOME OF THE IMPORTANT ONES YOU CAN SEE, THESE ARE THE SAME SUBSET OF MAJOR REVENUES, BUT I THINK THEY'RE A GOOD INDICATION OF THE OVERALL, UM, TAX INCREMENT FINANCING, 7%.
YOU HAD DIFFERENT NUMBERS EARLIER IN THE YEAR.
UM, THIS IS MORE OF A COMPLETE LOOK, LOCAL AND STATE AID TAX, BOTH OF THE ABOVE 30% BETTER THAN LAST YEAR.
SO THOSE, THOSE NUMBERS CONTINUE, UM, THEIR STRENGTHS REAL ESTATE TRANSFER FEE AT ONE AND A HALF PERCENT LESS OF WHAT WAS IT RECORD LAST YEAR.
AND SO I WOULD NOT LOOK AT THAT AS A NEGATIVE AT ALL.
IT'S CONTINUING IN THE, IN THE SAME SENSE THAT WE WERE, UM, LAST YEAR WAS A RECORD NUMBER, AGE TAX, UM, 30% ABOVE BEACH FEE, 34% ABOVE ELECTRIC FRANCHISE FEE.
AND, AND, AND, AND THANK THE MAYOR FOR THE QUESTION.
UM, WHY WOULD WE BE LESS? AND SO WE HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR FRIENDS AT PALMETTO ELECTRIC, AND, UM, THEY TRACKED THIS VERY, VERY CLOSELY.
OUR WEATHER HAS BEEN MORE MODERATE THAN LAST YEAR.
AND SO WHEN IT'S MORE MODERATE, PEOPLE USE LESS ELECTRICITY WHEN THEY USE LESS ELECTRICITY THAN WE GET LESS FRANCHISE FEE.
AND SO IT'S A, IT'S A FUNCTION OF THEIR REVENUE.
THEY PAY US A PERCENTAGE OF THEIR REVENUE AND THE DEMAND HAS NOT BEEN AS MUCH AS LAST YEAR ROAD USAGE FEE.
OF COURSE WE HAVE PAUSED COLLECTIONS.
AND SO WE WON'T SEE ANY MORE, UM, FROM THAT FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR STORM WATER.
UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT WE'RE SLIGHTLY MORE, BUT STORMWATER IS A VERY STABLE REVENUE ARGUMENT THEN.
SO IT'S JUST ABOVE PROPERTY TAXES, WE'RE BEATING LAST YEAR BY 1.7%.
AND SO THOSE PERCENTAGES EARLIER IN THE YEAR, OR BIG, BIG SWINGS DIFFERENCE FROM THE YEAR BEFORE, BUT NOW IT'S MUCH MORE, UM, OF WHERE YOU'LL SEE IT END UP.
AND SO BUSINESS LICENSE, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF CHANGES IN THE BUSINESS LICENSE TIMING.
AND SO I W IT'LL BE INTERESTING TO SEE THE DIFFERENCE ON THAT.
I DON'T THINK THAT A PERCENTAGE OF 30%, UM, BETTER THAN LAST YEAR HOLD, THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE REDUCED.
AND SO, UM, AMBULANCE BILLING, 9.7%, THAT'S, THAT'S ALL INACTIVITY ACTIVITY ON THE ISLAND IS HIGH AMBULANCE RUNS ARE HIGHER JOHN TO THE EXTENT THAT THE COMMITTEE CAN SEE THOSE NUMBERS, UH, EXPLAIN WHY THE TOTAL REVENUE TO DATE DIFFERS FROM THE SIMILAR SLIDE, TOTAL REVENUE TO DATE ON
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THE GENERAL FUND.AND WHAT YOU SEE IS THAT, UM, UH, A BROADER LOOK OF THE FUNDS BEYOND THE GENERAL FUND.
AND SO IT WAS THE FUNDS OF THE GENERAL FUND, UM, SUPPORT THE OPERATIONS OF THE TOWN, UH, WHETHER IT'S, UM, ALL THE, ALL THE DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES OF THE JUST DAY TO DAY WORKINGS OF THE TOWN FROM THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS AND THESE, UM, REVENUES OR, OR MORE BROADENED, UM, SUPPORT, UM, DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING THE CAPITAL PLAN, INCLUDING DEBT SERVICE, INCLUDING, UM, OUR, UM, A TAX GRANTS.
AND SO IT'S, UH, IT'S A BROADER LOOK.
SO THIS IS MORE OF A TOTAL PICTURE OF REVENUE GENERATED TOWN-WIDE THROUGH 10 MONTHS.
AND FROM THIS REVENUE, THE GENERAL FUND IS FUNDED.
AND NO, YEAH, I THINK THAT'S A VERY GOOD CHARACTERIZATION OF THAT.
THIS IS A BROADER LOOK OF WHICH THE GENERAL FUND IS A SUBSET.
SO WE AS A COMMITTEE, I THINK OUGHT TO FOCUS ON THIS, AND IF THERE'S ANY EMERGING TRENDS, WE'RE GOING TO SEE IT HERE.
WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY GOING TO SEE IT IN REVENUE GENERATED FOR THE GENERAL FUND.
AND THE GENERAL FUND IS, UM, IS A MORE NARROW LOOK.
AND THIS IS A, UH, A BETTER OVERALL LOOK FOR THE TOWN.
UM, JUST A LITTLE BIT OF, UH, TALKING ABOUT THESE, UM, HOW ARE WE COMPARING YEAR TO YEAR? UM, IT'S SO 14% IS, UM, I THINK IF ANYBODY WOULD'VE SAID, OH, YOU'RE GOING TO BE 14% UP AND 10 MONTHS INTO THE YEAR, ANYBODY WOULD HAVE BEEN SKEPTICAL.
UM, AND SO WE CAN BE SURPRISED IN A GOOD WAY.
UH, HOW DID WE DO COMPARED TO THE FULL YEAR? UM, WE'RE 85% OF LAST YEAR'S COLLECTIONS.
AND SO, UM, LAST MONTH WAS EIGHT 75%.
SO THAT KIND OF GIVES YOU A, UH, A SENSE OF HOW MUCH DID WE COLLECT IN APRIL, WHICH WAS A GOOD MONTH.
AND, UM, WE'RE CERTAINLY NOT GOING TO STOP AT $86 MILLION.
AND THAT WAS THE TOTAL FOR LAST YEAR'S FOR THIS SIDE OF REVENUES.
AND SO OUR FIRST LOOK EARLY ON IN THE YEAR, WE STARTED THE SCHEDULES.
OKAY, WELL, WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO AT LEAST MEET LAST YEAR? AND, UM, WE'LL DO BETTER.
UM, AND, AND SO YOU LOOK AT THE PIE CHART, SAME THING.
UM, WE'RE 83% OF THE FISCAL YEAR.
WE'VE DONE 85% OF THE COLLECTIONS.
UM, AND OUR EXPECTATIONS, WE SHOULD BE $90 MILLION THIS YEAR.
SO WE WON'T STOP AT THE 86 MILLION FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR, WE'LL BE ABOVE 90 MILLION.
AND SO WE CAN BE HAPPY TO REPORT THAT AT THIS TIME, REAL ESTATE TRANSFER FEE WOULD GET A LITTLE BIT MORE INTO THE EXPECTATION.
YOU CAN SEE THE GREEN BAR IS ALMOST AS GOOD AS LAST YEAR, WHICH IS BLUE, UM, AND WELL ABOVE THE YELLOW, WHICH WAS THE YEAR BEFORE.
AND SO THAT, UM, CONTINUES IT'S RIGHT.
UM, AND SO ANYTIME THAT WE CAN REPORT, IT'S ALMOST AS GOOD AS, UM, THIS SCHOOL YEAR 21.
UM, THAT'S A GOOD YEAR, YEAR TO DATE.
WE ARE, YOU CAN SEE THE YEAR TO DATE NUMBERS ARE TRACKING VERY, VERY CLOSELY TO LAST YEAR'S RECORD NUMBERS AND WELL ABOVE THE YEAR BEFORE, UH, WHAT DO WE HAVE LEFT LAST YEAR? THERE WAS TWO VERY GOOD MONTHS IN MAY AND JUNE.
AND SO WE HOPE THAT WE CAN DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
AND SO, UM, WHAT WE'VE SEEN IS THAT THE LOW INVENTORY LEVELS, UM, LIMIT THE, UH, REAL ESTATE, UH, TRANSFER FEE JUST AS THE SALES SEEM TO BE HAPPENING RIGHT AWAY.
THERE'S JUST NOT A LOT TO SELL.
AND SO IT WAS A FAST TURNOVER AND WE KIND OF TRANSITIONED TO SPENDING, UM, APRIL IS MUCH MORE OF A, UM, MORE PREDICTABLE, UH, NUMBER, UM, A LOT LIKE MARCH.
AND SO YOU CAN SEE OUR NUMBERS, UM, WERE 3.4% MORE THAN LAST YEAR TO DATE.
AND THIS IS, UM, THE QUESTION WAS ASKED, OKAY, HOW DOES THIS COMPARE WITH OUR BUDGET? IT'S CONSISTENT WITH OUR BUDGET AND CONSISTENT WITH OUR, UM, UH, PROJECTIONS ON FOR THE YEAR.
SO GENERAL FUND, LIKE WE TALKED ON THE REVENUE SIDE, THESE ARE THE TOWN'S BASIC OPERATIONS.
THERE'S BEEN A LITTLE BIT OF, UM, SHIFTING BETWEEN LAST YEAR AND THIS YEAR OF WHERE WE RECORD OUR SPENDING.
BUT I THINK IF YOU LOOK AT IT OVERALL AND SAY, OKAY, WE'RE 3.4% MORE SPENDING LAST YEAR, IT'S A VERY REASONABLE AND A MODEST INCREASE.
[00:30:01]
UH, JUST A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT CHANGES.LIKE, UH, IF YOU LOOK AT THE ADMINISTRATIVE LEGAL, WELL, THAT'S A BIG INCREASE WITH THAT INCLUDES FIRE RESCUE IT THIS YEAR, YOU LOOK AT PUBLIC PROJECTS AND FACILITIES AND SAY, WELL, THIS YEAR WE HAVE A FULL YEAR OF THE LOOK COUNTRY CELEBRATION PARK OPERATIONS.
LAST YEAR, WE WERE STILL DELAYING FOR COVID SOME.
AND SO WE WERE PURPOSEFULLY HOLDING BACK IN CASE OUR REVENUES DIDN'T COME IN.
UM, IF YOU LOOK AT THE SHERIFF AND BEACH SERVICES LAST YEAR, WE TOOK SOME OF THE SAVINGS THAT WE HAD, UM, FROM PUBLIC SAFETY AND PUT IT INTO THE COUNTY PARKS.
UM, THIS YEAR WE'RE NOT DOING THAT.
AND SO, UM, THE PARKS, UM, FUNDING IS IN THE FACILITIES.
AND SO NOT ANYTHING THAT WAS UNEXPECTED.
AND SO, UM, A COUPLE OF THINGS HERE THAT, HOW ARE WE DOING COMPARED TO THE BUDGET? WE'RE 10 MONTHS IN 83% OF THE YEAR, 75% OF THE BUDGET IS SPENT LAST YEAR.
WE WERE 73% OF THE BUDGET SPENT.
AND SO I THINK WHAT YOU CAN DRAW FROM THAT IS THAT A COUPLE OF THINGS, ONE OUR BUDGETS OLD, TIGHTER THIS YEAR THAN LAST YEAR, AND IT SHOWS THROUGH HERE.
AND ALSO LAST YEAR, THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF, UM, HOLDING BACK ON SPENDING, UM, PENDING, UM, THE OUTCOME OF, UM, COVID COLLECTIONS ON OUR REVENUE.
AND SO, UM, WE'RE TRYING TO DO MORE, UM, WITH OUR BUDGET AND MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THE SPENDING IS IMPLEMENTED TEMPORARY USE OF THE RESERVES.
YOU CAN SEE THE REVENUES, UH, THIS IS THE GENERAL FUND AND BACK TO A MORE NARROW LOOK, UH, REVENUES ARE UP 8% SPENDING IS UP 3%, UM, NET GENERAL FUND ACTIVITY.
UM, YOU'LL SEE THOSE NUMBERS BOUNCE, UM, BETWEEN NOW AND JUNE 30TH.
AND SO, ALTHOUGH IT SAYS 50%, 57% BETTER THAN LAST YEAR, YOU'LL SEE THAT NUMBER JUMP UP AND DOWN, UM, BEFORE WE FINISHED JUNE 30TH, BUT, UM, A GOOD PLACE TO BE.
UM, JUST PUT IT IN A GRAPHICAL SENSE.
UM, YOU LOOK AT APRIL AND, AND WHAT A DIFFERENCE.
YOU CAN SEE THE DIFFERENCE YEAR TO DATE OF OUR USE OF OUR FUND BALANCE.
AND SO OUR SPENDING IS MORE STEADY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
OUR REVENUES ARE DELAYED MOSTLY.
UM, WE CAN SEE THAT THROUGH OUR PROPERTY TAXES, BUT OTHER REVENUES AS WELL.
AND SO WE RUN A TEMPORARY DEFICIT.
YOU CAN SEE THROUGH, UM, DECEMBER THIS YEAR, BUT BEYOND THAT FOR THE PREVIOUS YEARS, BUT IN APRIL, UM, IT'S A GOOD PLACE TO SAY ALL FOUR YEARS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, WE SHOWED A TEMPORARY SURPLUS.
AND SO THEN WE CAN SAY, OKAY, THAT'S A GOOD PLACE LOOKING INTO THE LAST TWO MONTHS OF THE FISCAL YEAR.
UM, THIS IS JUST A LINEAR GRAPH OF THE SAME INFORMATION, BUT YOU CAN SEE THE GREEN IS OUR CURRENT YEAR.
SO THE GREEN, THIS IS THE BEST YEAR OF THE FOUR THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
UM, AND SO WE CAN, UH, BE THANKFUL WE'RE AT THIS POSITION AT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR.
UM, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR? AND SO WE JUST EXTENDED IT OUT.
WE KNOW THE HISTORY FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS, WE ARE GOING TO MAY, UH, A LOW COLLECTION MONTH.
AND SO WE KNOW THAT THAT TEMPORARY SURPLUS IS GOING TO DROP.
IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE HOW MUCH, UM, AND IT'S GOING TO, UM, WE'LL HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF UPS AND DOWNS YET, UM, BEFORE WE FINISH OUT THE YEAR.
AND SO, UM, SOME OF OUR JUNE REVENUES, AND THAT'S JUST PART OF THE YEAR-END ACCRUAL PROCESS.
I ACTUALLY, A LOT OF OUR JUNE REVENUES, WE RECEIVE IT IN JULY.
WE, BECAUSE OF, UM, YOUR RENT AND FOR THE AUDIT, WE POST THEM TO JUNE 30TH.
AND SO WE DON'T KNOW THESE THINGS UNTIL, YOU KNOW, THIRD OR FOURTH WEEK OF JULY THAT WE'RE ABLE TO, UM, GET YOU HARD NUMBERS ON JUNE, BUT IT'S COMING UP.
AND SO THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS ALSO THE JUNE SHOWS A HIGHER COLLECTION MONTH IS THAT A LOT OF THIS ACTIVITY IS BOTH JUNE AND JULY.
WE POST BACK TO, UM, JUNE 30TH FOR THE AUDIT BEACH FEET, ANOTHER, A GOOD COLLECTION.
[00:35:01]
ACROSS THE BOARD BEACH FEE HAS BEEN BETTER EVERY SINGLE MONTH, UM, BEACH FEE YEAR TO DATE BETTER THAN THE LAST TWO YEARS, EVERY SINGLE MONTH HOSPITALITY, AGAIN, BETTER EVERY SINGLE MONTH.UM, AND SO APRIL IS A HIGHER MONTH.
YOU CAN SEE SOME PEOPLE PAY MONTHLY, SOME PEOPLE PAY QUARTERLY.
UM, AND SO APRIL WAS A QUARTER, A QUARTER END, AND WE, AGAIN, BEAT LAST YEAR, BE THE YEAR BEFORE, UM, CONSISTENTLY OR YEAR TO DATE HOSPITALITY COLLECTIONS, UM, BEAT THE LAST TWO YEARS STORM WATER THAT THIS IS WAY TOO MUCH INFORMATION.
UH, I DID WANT TO JUST PUT IT IN THERE AND IT'S, IT'S MORE FOR A REFERENCE ITEM, BUT, UM, IF YOU LOOK AT OUR OPERATING REVENUES, UH, THEY'RE PRETTY CONSISTENT, PRETTY FLAT, NOT A LOT OF CHANGE.
AND SO WHAT IS GENERATED THROUGH THE STORMWATER FEES, DOESN'T CHANGE HUGE AMOUNTS.
AND SO YOU DON'T SEE THE HUGE PERCENTAGES THAT YOU MIGHT ON SOME OTHER REVENUES THAT ARE MORE, UM, ECONOMICALLY SENSITIVE, THESE ARE MORE STEADY.
UM, AND SO THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE TO WORK WITH.
AND I, I, WHAT YOU'LL SEE IS A MORE FULLY UTILIZED STORMWATER BUDGET SO THAT THE ACTIVITIES IN THE STORM WATER TEAM ARE, UM, FULLY IMPLEMENTING THERE.
THEY'RE DOING THE BUDGET, MAKING THESE IMPROVEMENTS, RIGHT? IF YOU TAKE FOUR YEARS AT A TIME, BASICALLY WE'RE A BREAKEVEN.
SO THE FOUR YEARS SINCE, UH, UH, THE POST MATTHEW THAT WE'VE BASICALLY BROKEN EVEN FOR STORM WATER.
AND SO YOU LOOK AT THIS AND SAY, WELL, WE WOULDN'T WANT TO HOLD BACK ANY MONEY WE WANT TO IMPLEMENT.
UM, JUST A NOTE, WELL, PART OF WHAT WE DO, UM, STORMWATER'S JUST A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.
AND SO IT'S MORE OF A, UM, BUSINESS LIKE ACCOUNTING THAN WHAT YOU WOULD SEE IN OUR, UM, FUND FINANCIALS FOR THE REST OF THE FUNDS.
BUT, UM, WHAT WE TRY TO DO IS THAT THE DEPRECIATION AND AMORTIZATION TOGETHER ABOUT EQUAL, UM, OUR CAPITAL INVESTMENT.
AND SO THAT'S KIND OF ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE WAYS THAT WE LOOK AS WE TRY TO BUDGET.
AND SO WE TRY TO MAKE THAT, UM, CASH FLOOD WORK, JOHN, ON, ON THAT FUND.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT ALSO TO NOTE THAT IN ADDITION TO, UH, CONSTRUCTION, I E CAPITAL, UH, YOU INCUR SIGNIFICANT MAINTENANCE ON THE EXISTING SYSTEM.
AND THE MAINTENANCE EXPENSES IN MANY YEARS ARE EQUAL TO THE CONSTRUCTION OR CAPITAL EXPENSES.
AND I THINK IN 23, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE MAINTENANCE BE MORE THAN THE CAPITAL INVESTMENT AND THE MAINTENANCE IS IN WHICH EXPENSE LINE DOWN, YOU'LL SEE IT IN THE OPERATING COSTS.
UM, AND SO, UH, OF THAT, AND SO SALARIES AND BENEFITS ARE PAID FROM THAT.
UM, ALSO JUST YOUR BASIC OPERATING SUPPLIES, BUT THAT RUNS ABOUT $800,000.
AND SO, UM, THE REST OF THAT IS GOING TO BE SYSTEM MAINTENANCE.
SO THAT'S FUN THE WAY IT SHOWS THERE DOES NOT LOOK EFFICIENT.
AND IT'S ONLY WHEN YOU ADD BACK THE MAINTENANCE EXPENSES THAT IT DOES LOOK EFFICIENT.
AND, AND YOU KNOW, WHAT, IN A NORMAL, IF YOU WERE TO LOOK AT A BUSINESS P AND L AND SAY, WELL, THAT'S A LOT OF SPENDING, BUT IF YOU CONSIDER, YOU KNOW, THIS IS WE'RE PROVIDING A SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY, YOU WANT TO SEE THAT MAINTENANCE EXPENSE, AND YOU WANT TO SEE THAT SPENDING, UM, BECAUSE WE'RE, YOU'RE SEEING THOSE IMPROVEMENTS, UM, AROUND THE ISLAND.
UM, JUST ANOTHER LOOK, UM, THIS IS, UH, IF YOU LOOK AT OUR ANNUAL REPORT, PAGE 40 AND 41, I THINK THOSE ARE SOME OF THE BEST WAYS THAT YOU CAN KIND OF SUMMARIZE OUR FINANCIAL PICTURE.
AND SO I TOOK THOSE, UM, REVENUES FROM THOSE PAGES, PLUS THE WARM WATER AND MAPPED THEM OVER TIME.
AND YOU CAN SEE AT 2020 WAS THE START OF COVID.
IT STARTED IN MARCH BEFORE MARCH.
WE WERE, UM, WELL ABOVE AND HAVING A VERY SUCCESSFUL YEAR IN 2020 UNTIL THE SHUTDOWN HAPPENED.
AND THEN YOU CAN SEE HERE IN 2020, WE WENT FROM WELL ABOVE PREVIOUS YEARS TO BELOW BECAUSE OF THE COVID SHUTDOWN.
BUT THEN YOU CAN ALSO SEE IN 20 21, 20 22, AND NOW OUR 2023 BUDGET, WE HAVE CERTAINLY BOUNCE BACK AND BOUNCE BACK.
WELL, AND THAT'S OUR, OUR STORY.
AND IF YOU TAKE OUT AND THERE'S SOME ODDITIES HERE, IF YOU ARE FIVE MILLS IS GOING TO EXPIRE FOR THE DISASTER RESERVES, UM, LEASE PROCEEDS TO PAY FOR FIRE TRUCKS, THERE'S KIND
[00:40:01]
OF TWO ANOMALIES.YOU TAKE THOSE OUT AND IT GIVES YOU A LOOK AT ALL.
HOW MUCH INCREASE ARE YOU EXPECTING FOR 2023? AND I THINK YOU CAN SEE THROUGH THIS CHART, UM, VERY, VERY MODEST, VERY, VERY FLAT.
WE SHOULD BE COMFORTABLY EXCEED THIS AND A YEAR FROM NOW HAVE, UM, CONVERSATIONS ABOUT, UM, MORE STEPS FORWARD.
AND THAT'S HOW I THINK THAT POSITIONS TOWN COUNCIL IN A WAY THAT THEY CAN BE COMFORTABLE ABOUT 23 AND REALLY THINKING ABOUT 24, UM, BECAUSE OUR ISLAND IS DOING WELL THIS IS WAY TOO MANY NUMBERS, BUT I, BUT I WANTED TO GIVE JUST KIND OF A POINT OF REFERENCE IS THAT OUR FUND BALANCES ARE LIMITED AND WE COLLECT THEM AND WE'RE DEFINED BY THE TYPE OF REVENUE.
SO THOSE ARE THE TYPE OF USES, BUT YOU CAN SEE A FIVE-YEAR LOOK OR IT'S MORE THAN THAT SIX YEAR LOOK AT UNBALANCES OVER TIME.
IT'S A GENERAL IS OUR OPERATING BUDGET.
OUR OPERATING BUDGET OPERATING, UM, ACTIVITIES ARE FUNDED THROUGH THERE.
AND THEN THE DIFFERENT, UM, CATEGORIES.
THOSE ARE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF REVENUE.
I WOULD LEAD YOU TO THE NATURAL DISASTERS.
YOU LOOK AT PRE MATTHEW, THERE WAS NOTHING, THERE THERE'S NOTHING IN THAT FUND.
IT WAS CREATED REALLY TO CAPTURE THE ACTIVITY OF HURRICANE MATTHEW AND THEN TO PREPARE FOR WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN AFTER HURRICANE MATTHEW, IF THERE'S ANOTHER HURRICANE IRMA OR DORIAN OR FLORENCE OR, OR WHATEVER.
AND I THINK THAT'S A SUCCESS THAT THE TOWN HAS HAD IS THAT WE, WE DID DO A BOND ISSUE.
WE DEPOSITED THOSE MONIES INTO THAT FUND, AND YOU CAN SEE IT WENT FROM ZERO TO NOW, $33 MILLION, ALMOST 34, UM, AS A PREPARATION FOR THE NEXT HURRICANE.
AND SO WE, WE SET THOSE ASIDE AND WE SET THOSE ASIDE FOR A DECLARED DISASTER.
AND SO ARE, WE CAN CELEBRATE THAT.
UM, I, I PUT IN THERE AND I, I MADE JUST A LITTLE CHANGE AT THE BOTTOM WITHOUT CIP OR DISASTER.
IF YOU LOOK AT OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS LINE, UM, IT WENT FROM 5 MILLION UP TO 40 MILLION AND BACK DOWN TO SEVEN.
AND, AND REALLY THAT'S JUST THE TIMING OF OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS.
AND SO WHAT YOU'LL SEE IN THERE AS BOND PROCEEDS FOR US, CB BOND PROCEEDS FOR THE RECREATION ASSOCIATION, BUILDING BOND, PROCEEDS FOR OUR FIRE STATION TOO.
AND SO THOSE ARE KIND OF ANOMALIES THAT WE JUST TEMPORARILY PARK THOSE FUNDS UNTIL THEY'RE SPENT OUT ON CAPITAL PROJECTS.
AND SO I THINK, UM, THE DISASTER FUNDS ARE SET ASIDE AND WE DON'T PLAN TO SPEND THOSE UNLESS WE HAVE TO.
AND THE CIP, UM, TO ME THEY'RE ALREADY SPENT.
AND SO WHAT IF I TAKE THOSE TWO OUT, THEN WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT COUNTING WHAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO SPEND AND WE'RE NOT COUNTING WHAT IS GOING TO BE SPENT.
AND THAT'S MORE OF A COMPLETE PICTURE OF, UM, OUR FINANCIAL POSITION, UM, OF WHAT WE HAVE TO WORK WITH.
SO, UM, JUST A LITTLE DESCRIPTION.
HERE'S, UM, JUST A POINT OF REFERENCE IF YOU WANT TO SEE, WELL, HOW DO WE USE THESE FUNDS? AND, UM, I PUT A FEW NOTES ON THERE.
UM, YOU DO THAT IN A GRAPHICAL SENSE.
UM, THAT'S A NICE UPWARD TREND.
AND SO WE CAN BE THANKFUL THAT, UM, OUR FUND BALANCES ARE GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
SO WE'RE PUTTING A LITTLE BIT OF A PREDICTION IN THERE FOR, UM, JUNE 30TH OR HOW WILL WE END UP THIS YEAR? UM, AND YEAH, YOU GO BACK TO 3 20, 21, AND THESE ARE ACTUALLY, THESE ARE OFF THE ANNUAL REPORTS YOU THROW IN 2022.
THOSE ARE PROJECTIONS, BUT WE FEEL GOOD ABOUT THOSE WE'RE 10 MONTHS IN ANOTHER PIECE TO LOOK AT THIS AS THAT, IF YOU LOOK AT OUR BONDED INDEBTEDNESS FROM 2018 TO 2022, NICE STEPS DOWN EVERY SINGLE YEAR.
AND SO 2022, THESE ARE OUR 2021 OR ACTUALS 2022 IS ALMOST 10 MONTHS IN, WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER ACTUAL.
AND THEN WITH THE BUDGET THAT'S BEING CONSIDERED FOR SECOND READING, SOON IN JUNE, WE'LL HAVE A FIFTH YEAR IN A ROW WITH REDUCTION IN DEBT.
SO THAT HELPS ADD TO OUR, THE TOWN'S CAPACITY IF WE NEED TO BORROW.
AND IT HELPS TO OUR FINANCIAL POSITION.
IF YOU JUST LOOK AT OUR BALANCE SHEET, OUR DEBT LEVELS HAVE DROPPED AND OUR FUND BALANCES HAVE INCREASED.
UM, YOU PUT THEM TOGETHER AND YOU SEE THE BLUE FUND BALANCE IS GOING UP, BUT DEBT GOING DOWN AND CERTAINLY, UM, ALL VERY GOOD TRENDS.
[00:45:02]
UM, AND THEN IF YOU TAKE THE DIFFERENCE, UM, AND IT'S, IT'S GOOD TO KNOW, BUT THIS IS THE DIFFERENCE OF, UM, DEBT FUND BALANCES MINUS THAT.AND SO WE CERTAINLY CAN SHOW, UM, INCREASE IN FINANCIAL POSITION.
UM, I DID WANT TO SAY THAT OUR DEBT IS, UM, ISSUED WITH, UM, THE EXPECTATION THAT FUTURE COLLECTIONS WILL MAKE THOSE PAYMENTS AND NOT FUN BALANCES.
UM, BUT, UH, IT'S A GOOD BALANCE SHEET COMPARISON.
UM, IT'S A GOOD MEASURE OF YOUR FINANCIAL POSITION AND CAPACITY.
UM, AND SO IF YOU CONSIDER THAT OUR EXPECTATION IS OUR FUND BALANCES ARE GOING TO GO UP IN 22 TEMPORARILY, BASICALLY OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS THAT ARE IN PROCESS, BUT NOT FINISHED.
AND WE'RE GOING TO SPEND SOME OF THOSE, UM, INTO THE NEW YEAR.
WE PROJECT THAT WE SHOULD END UP AT A VERY SIMILAR LEVEL AT THE END OF 2023, WITH WHERE WE WERE AT 2021.
SO WE, WE HAVE A TEMPORARY INCREASE ON 22.
WE SPEND THAT MONEY IN 23 AND, UM, WE'RE STILL IN GREAT FINANCIAL POSITION.
AND, UM, THAT'S OUR STORY, JOE, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO REDUCE OUR DEBT INTO 2023.
SO I THINK IT'S, UH, I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THAT.
AND, AND SO I'M GLAD NOT TO REPORT PROBLEMS AND CAN REPORT SUCCESSES.
AND SO YOU LOOK AT OUR FUND BALANCES MINUS OUR DEBT, THAT KIND OF LEVELS OFF.
WE KIND OF HIT A COMFORTABLE LEVEL.
I THINK I WOULD DESCRIBE THAT AS, AS A COMFORTABLE LEVEL.
AND SO IN A PLACE WHERE WE WOULDN'T NECESSARILY NEED TO ADD MORE AND IT'S, NOW WE CAN HAVE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT HOW DO WE BEST DEPLOY THOSE FUNDS.
AND SO, UH, TO COME BACK TO COUNCILMAN STANDS FOR, UM, QUESTIONS BEFORE IS YES, WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO NEED HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS.
MATTHEW IS 57 MILLION AND YOU THROW IN INFLATION THAT HAS ALREADY HAPPENED.
YOU THROW IN INFLATION, THAT'S HAPPENING NOW, AND IT'S GOING TO BE SUBSTANTIALLY MORE THAN THAT.
UM, AND, AND SO HOW WOULD WE GET THERE? HERE'S, UM, A QUICK LOOK HOW WE COULD GET THERE, UM, WITH THE CAVEAT THAT MATTHEW IS A ONE, ALMOST A TWO AND IT BE WORSE.
AND SO THEN THE MAGNITUDE GOES UP THERE, THE EXPENSES GO UP IN GREATER MAGNITUDES FROM ONE TO TWO TO THREE.
SO IT'S JUST A PART OF HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS.
JOHN, ARE YOU SUGGESTING THAT MAYBE WE NEED TO REVISIT THIS FUNDING OF THE DISASTER FUNDS, UM, WITH MORE ALLOCATIONS TO THOSE FUNDS? ARE YOU COMFORTABLE WITH WHERE WE ARE IN THE CURRENT BUDGET? I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO, UM, PROBABLY HAVE A REAL DISCUSSION ABOUT EVERY SINGLE YEAR AND AS A COMMUNITY TO DECIDE, WELL, HOW READY IS READY? HOW, HOW, HOW MUCH SHOULD WE SET ASIDE? AND I THINK IT'S A VERY, UH, WE NEED TO HAVE A REAL DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT AND A POLICY.
AND SO I THINK THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE SOMETHING THAT FINANCE ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE CAN TAKE UP.
UM, AND MAYBE TOWN COUNCIL COULD TAKE UP AS A NORMAL CONVERSATION.
DO WE FEEL THAT WE ARE BEST PREPARED OR ARE APPROPRIATELY PREPARED? CLEARLY WE KNOW ANOTHER STORM IS COMING.
AND I DO APPRECIATE THE RESEARCH THAT YOU'VE DONE INTO THE INCREASED COSTS THAT WE CAN BE FACED WITH.
THAT WAS SOMETHING WE ASKED FOR AND YOU'VE DONE IT.
UH, THANK YOU TO MR. STANFORD'S POINT.
UM, I THINK THERE'S SOME INFORMATION THAT'S CRITICAL TO US REALLY ANALYZING THIS.
THAT'S PROBABLY MISSING AT THIS POINT, UM, BECAUSE WE AREN'T READING IT.
SO IT COSTS US 57 MILLION BEFORE.
UH, RIGHT NOW WE HAVE CAPACITY OF ABOUT 72 AND A HALF MILLION.
THERE'S SOME TYPE OF PERCENTAGE INCREASE THERE THAT I CAN'T DO ON MY HEAD AT THE MOMENT.
BUT, UH, WHAT I'D LIKE TO KNOW IS WE STARTED IN MATTHEW'S YEAR WITH ZERO.
WE HAD TO GET THE 57 MILLION, WE'VE MADE SOME ADJUSTMENTS TO GET TO 72 MILLION.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES THEN? AND NOW I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT.
AND THE ITEMIZED SIDE THAT I'M LOOKING AT, AM I RIGHT? YEAH.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THE BOND CAPACITY WAS THERE, BUT THE BOND CAPACITY WAS, UH, IT WAS BASED ON OUR, UM, TAX ROLL AND ON THE ASSESSED VALUE.
AND, BUT THE MATH TURNED OUT TO BE ABOUT $14 MILLION CAPACITY THAT WE SET ASIDE FOR EMERGENCIES.
AND NOW TOM COUNCIL MADE THE POLICY TO INCREASE THAT TO 20 MILLION.
SO THAT HELPS US TO GET THERE.
[00:50:01]
UM, THE NATURAL DISASTER FUND, WE USED SOME GENERAL FUND FUND BALANCE.WE USE SOME STORMWATER FUND BALANCE.
WE USED SOME BEACH FEE FUND BALANCE IN ORDER TO DO THE INITIAL PUSH FOR, UM, THE MATTHEW RESPONSE TO, TO DO THE CLEANUP.
AND THEN WE PUT THE THEME OF REIMBURSEMENTS BACK INTO, UH, THE NATURAL DISASTER FUND.
AND THEN IN ADDITION TO THOSE FEMA REIMBURSEMENTS, WHICH STAYED IN THE NATURAL DISASTER FUND, WE DID A BOND ISSUE.
IT WAS FUNDED BY THE FIVE MILLS.
AND SO WE PUT THE PROCEEDS OF THOSE BONDS INTO THE NATURAL DISASTER FUND.
WE MADE THE PAYMENTS WITH THE FIVE MILLS AND, UH, AND THAT HELPED PUT US AS A COMMUNITY IN A BETTER SPACE.
DID I ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, COUNCILMAN? YEAH.
ALL I'M SUGGESTING IS THAT AS WE HAVE THE CONVERSATION IN SUBSEQUENT YEARS AND INFORMATION BE, I GUESS, MORE PREVALENT HERE, SO THAT WE'RE MAKING A, UH, A SOUND, A DECISION BASED ON HISTORY AND FUTURE AS WHERE I'M GOING.
YOU MAY NEED TO TRANSLATE THAT FOR ME, MR. LEE, I THINK, I THINK YOU, YOU ARE ASKING THEM THE RIGHT QUESTION.
THE ONE THING THAT DOESN'T SHOW HERE, UH, IS, UH, UNUSED BORROWING CAPACITY, UH, HAS TO GO ON TOP OF THE FUND BALANCES.
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME, IN A LONG TIME, YOU SEE OUTSTANDING DEBT, UH, BEING LESS THAN THE FUND BALANCES.
SO OUR NET POSITION IS POSITIVE.
UH, SO TO THE FUND BALANCES AND THE DISASTER FUNDS THAT WE HAVE ON, UH, ON HAND, WE ADD TO IT, THE UNUSED BORROWING CAPACITY.
AND WE ARE WELL ABOVE THAT $72 MILLION.
AND THAT WAS, I, I TRIED TO ANSWER IN THIS SLIDE.
I JUST TRIED TO ANSWER THE QUESTION.
IF WE HAD A MATTHEW EVENT ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION, HOW COULD WE GET THERE? THIS IS HOW WE COULD GET THERE.
AND I DIDN'T ANSWER THE QUESTION.
WELL, IF IT WERE WORSE, WHAT ELSE COULD WE DO? THERE'S OTHER LEVERS THAT WE COULD PULL IF WE WERE PUSHED, BUT I THINK IT'S AN IMPORTANT POLICY PLACE FOR TOWN COUNCIL TO SPEND SOME TIME AND MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY'S COMFORTABLE AND THE COMMUNITY IS COMFORTABLE WITH, UM, OUR POSITION AND OUR APPROACH.
OH, STORM SEASON STARTS MONDAY, JUNE 1ST.
SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO, UM, TRY TO KEEP YOU INFORMED.
AND SO WE'LL CONTINUE IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS.
AND SO THAT GIVES ME, I GET QUESTIONS AND THAT KIND OF, UM, HELPS ME TO, TO INCLUDE A FEW THINGS IN HERE.
UM, THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO OTHERS.
IF, IF YOU'RE HAVING A QUESTION, THEN OTHER COUNCIL PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE THE SAME QUESTION.
AND SO THAT'S CERTAINLY HELPFUL.
UM, WHAT CAN WE LOOK AHEAD TO 2022 PRELIMINARY RESULTS? AND WE'RE NOT THAT FAR FROM STARTING 20, 23.
AND SO WE HAD 20, 22 IS A GOOD YEAR.
UM, UH, FROM THE BUDGET PERSPECTIVE, WE GOT PUBLIC HEARING SECOND READING ON THE SEVENTH.
UM, AND I DO LIKE TO EMPHASIZE THAT OUR, UM, FIVE MILS THAT WAS FOR DISASTER IS EXPIRING.
AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN CELEBRATE AS A COMMUNITY.
UM, AND SO, UH, TOWN COUNCIL SAID FIVE YEARS, IT'S BEEN FIVE YEARS AND IT'S GOING AWAY.
SO, UM, UH, MR. CHAIRMAN ASKED THE QUESTION, SHOULD WE GO OVER THE DETAILS OF THIS, BUT THERE'S A, UH, AN, I JUST PUT THIS LIST FOR FUTURE DISCUSSION AND TO MAKE A NOTE THAT, UM, FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE HAS A LOT OF AGENDA ITEMS THAT ARE ON THE STRATEGIC PLAN, HERE'S THE LIST AND THAT WE'RE GOING TO CHECK BACK.
AND THAT'S PROBABLY SOMETHING THAT WE'LL SPEND SOME MORE TIME AT OUR NEXT MEETING ABOUT THE PROGRESS REPORT, THE EXPECTED DATES, THE TIMELINE, UM, SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT, UM, FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE IS, UM, UH, KEEPING UP TO DATE WITH THE PULSE AND, UM, APPROPRIATE PROGRESS OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
SO WE CERTAINLY WOULD OPEN THAT UP TO ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS.
UM, JOHN EXCELLENT REPORT AS USUAL.
UM, IT'S, THIS IS A COMFORTABLE SEAT TO BE IN WHEN WE RECEIVE A REPORT LIKE THIS.
UM, I DO HAVE ONE OR TWO QUESTIONS, SO I SEE 31 PLUS PERCENT GROWTH IN BUSINESS LICENSE REVENUE.
A FACTOR OF THAT IS NOW HAVING BUSINESS LICENSES ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE OWNER OF ONE SINGLE, UH, SHORT-TERM RENTAL PROPERTY.
[00:55:01]
DO WE HAVE ANY BREAKOUT BETWEEN THE EFFECT OF THAT NEW TAX REVENUE VERSUS THE OTHER GENERAL BUSINESS TAX REVENUES? LET ME MAKE A NOTE OF THAT.UM, BECAUSE, UM, I THINK WHAT WE'VE DONE IS HAD A PICTURE MIDSTREAM AND SO THERE'S, THIS IS LIKE A HALFTIME REPORT.
AND SO I THINK WE'D LIKE TO, UM, IN THE NEXT MONTH OR TWO, BE ABLE TO GIVE YOU A MORE COMPLETE LOOK AT OUR BUSINESS LICENSE.
AND YES, WE, WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT DYNAMIC OF INCLUDING THE ONE UNIT, UM, RENTALS AS THE BUSINESS LICENSES, BUT, UM, THERE'S BEEN, UM, INCREASED ACTIVITY.
AND SO YOU WOULD EXPECT BUSINESS LICENSES, UM, A FUNCTION OF SALES INTO IT'S MUCH LIKE YOUR HOSPITALITY AND BEACH, UM, AND ACCOMMODATIONS TAX IS.
AND SO YOU WOULD EXPECT THEIR PERCENTAGES TO BE HIGH, BUT, UM, NOT NECESSARILY AS HIGH AS, AS THOSE.
AND SO MY EXPECTATION IS IT'S PARDON ME.
I APOLOGIZE THAT THEY'RE GOING TO COME DOWN, BUT, UM, IT'S STILL EARLY.
AND SO, UM, WE DON'T QUITE HAVE OUR APPLES TO APPLES YET, BUT WE WILL HAVE THAT STUDENT, UH, REPORT ON THAT SOON WOULD BE, WOULD BE VERY USEFUL.
UM, I'M STARTING TO SEE SOME IMAGES OF BEARS IN THE MEDIA, FINANCIAL REPORTS, SOMETIMES THAT IS ANTICIPATION OF AN ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN.
UH, IT WOULD ALSO BE USEFUL TO ME AND I THINK PROBABLY TO THE ENTIRE COUNCIL TO LOOK BACK TO THE LAST RECESSION AND SEE WHAT THE IMPACTS WERE OF THE RECESSION ON THE TOWN, ON THE REVENUE SIDE, AS WELL AS ON THE EXPENDITURE SIDE.
NO, I THINK THAT'S AN EXCELLENT QUESTION.
UM, AND SO THAT'S A PIECE OF IT IS THAT PART OF THE REASON THAT WE STUDY OPERATIONS IN, IN DIFFICULT ECONOMIC TIMES, UM, THERE WAS, UH, I CAN TELL YOU, THERE WAS A, AN EFFECT ON OUR BUSINESS LICENSES, UM, ACCOMMODATION TAX, BEACH FEES AND PROPERTY TAXES TOO.
UH, THE VALUATIONS DROPPED SIGNIFICANTLY, UM, IN THE 2010, 2011 TIMEFRAME AND HAS TAKEN A WHILE TO COME BACK AND SECOND QUARTER 2020.
AND SO A RECAP OF WHAT THAT EXPERIENCE WAS SO THAT WE CAN BE PLANNING AGAINST WHATEVER'S GOING TO HAPPEN WITH THE STRANGE WORLD WE LIVE IN RIGHT NOW.
LASTLY, WE SEE THE, THIS VERY STEEP CURVE OF IMPROVED FINANCIAL POSITION FOR THE TOWN, UH, THAT YOU'VE BEEN HAPPILY REPORTING TO US NOW FOR SOME TIME, DO YOU SEE THAT GROWTH AND IMPROVEMENT LEVELING OFF INTO THE FUTURE? UM, I, IT'S HARD TO PREDICT.
I MEAN, THAT THAT'S PRETTY STEEP CURVE THAT WE'VE SEEN OF INCREASES HERE, AND I DON'T WANT US TO GET FAT AND HAPPY SAYING, OH, WE JUST CONTINUE DOING THAT.
AND SO I'M WONDERING WHAT YOUR CRYSTAL BALL TELLS US.
MY EXPECTATION WOULD CERTAINLY BE MORE MODEST AND MY EXPECTATION WOULD BE THAT, OKAY, THIS IS A NICE JUMP THAT WE'RE EXPERIENCING.
WE HOPE IT STAYS, BUT WE CERTAINLY DON'T EXPECT THAT KIND OF INCREASED TO COMPOUND ON ITSELF.
AND AT SOME POINT YOU ALSO FEEL A CAPACITY ISSUE IS THAT THERE USED TO BE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE SHOULDER SEASON AND, AND, AND TIMES WHEN THE ISLAND WAS LESS BUSY.
AND NOW WHAT I THINK PART OF THIS IS, IS THAT OUR SHOULDER SEASONS HAVE REALLY DROPPED OFF AND WE'RE BUSY ALL THE TIME.
AND SO OUR ABILITY TO, TO SEE THESE KINDS OF INCREASES, I THINK, ARE, ARE GOING TO BE VERY LIMITED.
I THINK THAT THAT'S A GOOD WARNING FOR ALL OF US TO HAVE THAT IS WE CAN'T REALLY EXPECT TO HAVE THIS LEVEL OF GROWTH MOVING FORWARD.
IT'S, IT'S BEEN FOR SOME EXTRAORDINARY REASONS, LIKE, IS THIS A REAL ESTATE BUBBLE? I DON'T KNOW, BUT VALUES ARE CERTAINLY GONE UP DRAMATICALLY.
IF YOU GO BACK TO MARCH OF 2020, AND THE CONVERSATION WAS, IS THAT, UM, ARE WE GOING TO BE ABLE TO KEEP OUR OPERATIONS OPEN, UM, HOW MUCH WE NEED TO CUT TO REALLY MAKE IT WORK AND TO BE RESPONSIBLE AND, AND THEN SHIFT IN JUST A VERY SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME TO SAYING, OKAY, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A CONVERSATION IN THE FUTURE ABOUT HOW DO YOU BEST USE THE SURPLUS FUND BALANCE POLICIES, AND WE'RE GOING TO PAY OFF OUR DEBT.
WHAT A NICE CHANGE THAT IS A NICE CHANGE.
UM, DESTROY THAT CONCENTRATE A LOT ON THE, UH, THE, I GUESS, REVENUES.
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I DON'T KNOW, MY MIND MAY WORK BACKWARDS ON MY QUESTION.WELL, YET WE'LL FIGURE IT OUT.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE BUDGET, WHICH SEEMS LIKE A BLUR AGO, UM, WITH THIS ONE, UM, YOU KNOW, ALPHA ONE, I'M REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE REVENUE PIECE BECAUSE YOU JUST DON'T KNOW.
UM, BUT WHEN YOU START TO GET TOO CLOSE OF BUDGET, THE EXPENDITURE SIDE IS WHAT RISES TO, UM, MY LEVEL OF, OF, UH, ANXIETY, UM, INCREASING.
UM, SO I'M JUST WANTING TO SEE THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE IN YOUR NEXT PRESENTATION.
WELL, WE ARE, UM, I KNOW WE ARE COLLECTED ABOUT 74 MILLION OF, I THINK IT WAS 96 MILLION WAS THE TOTAL LAST YEAR.
UM, BUT WHERE WE ALL WITH THE EXPENSE SIDE, YOU KNOW, HOW MUCH WE'VE, UH, NOT ONLY SPENT, BUT I'D USE THE WORD ACCOMPLISHED.
I THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT OKAY.
UM, IN TERMS OF WHAT WE SPENT OUR MONIES ON.
AND TO ME THAT HELPS US AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH DISCUSSIONS AROUND OUR FINANCES, GOING BACK TO COUNCILMAN STAMP THIS BOY, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE KNOW THAT WE'VE SEEN SOME INCREASES IN SOME AREAS.
IT LOOKS GOOD ON PAPER, AS FAR AS A DOLLAR FIGURE IS CONCERNED, BUT WE HAVE SOME NEGATIVE EFFECTS IN TERMS OF OUR COMMUNITY VALUES.
UM, W WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SHORT TERM RENTALS RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE MAYBE WE HAVE TOO MANY, MAYBE WE DON'T, WE HAVEN'T ANSWERED THAT QUESTION YET, BUT WE'VE OBVIOUSLY SEEN AN INCREASE IN OUR REVENUES BECAUSE OF THAT.
UM, SO ATTACHING THOSE, UH, THOSE REVENUES AND ALSO THE EXPENDITURES TO OUR LONG-TERM COMMUNITY PLANNING NOW, COMMUNITY VALUES IS SO IMPORTANT TO THIS, THIS DISCUSSION.
UH, SO JUST THOSE TWO ITEMS IN THE NEXT PRESENTATION WOULD HELP ME A LOT EX UH, I'LL TRY TO EMPHASIZE SOME OF THAT.
THE, UH, ONE SUBJECT I'D LIKE TO SEE A DEEPER DIVE ON IN THE FUTURE, NOT, NOT TODAY IS, UH, ONE OF OUR LARGEST ASSETS ON THE ISLAND, BUT IT'S SUBTERRANEAN THE, THE STORM WATER SYSTEM.
AND IF YOU COULD CREATE AN OVERVIEW THAT WOULDN'T INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING ONE IS, UH, THE, THE AGE OF THE SYSTEM ON AVERAGE, AND THEN BY, BY LOCATION, UH, THE, THE, UH, UH, DEBRIS STATION SCHEDULE THAT, UH, REFLECTS WHAT AN ENGINEER WOULD CALL NORMAL USEFUL LIFE AND TO SEE WHETHER OUR FUNDING, UH, FOR THAT ASSET.
UH, IS IT ADEQUATE OR NOT, OR IS THERE A SHORT FALL? OKAY.
YES, WE'LL HAVE SOME MORE DETAIL ON THAT.
THAT'S IT, JOHN, THANK YOU FOR CONTINUING TO TEACH US ABOUT THE TOWN FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
I THINK EVERY SESSION, UH, WE HAVE, UH, GOES IN THAT DIRECTION.
UH, I THINK I HEARD YOU SAY THAT YOUR FORECAST FOR FISCAL YEAR 22 REVENUE, UH, IS A LITTLE ABOVE BUDGET, UH, AND YOUR FORECAST FOR EXPENSES ARE AT BUDGETS.
UH, HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT TWO MONTHS AS WE HAD FOR OUR FISCAL YEAR END 22, UH, THE SLIDES THAT YOU PUT UP WERE GOOD.
I WANNA PARTICULARLY, UH, POINT OUT SLIDES, 10 AND 11, WHICH ARE, UH, TOTAL SOURCES OF REVENUE AND SLIDES, 37 AND 38, WHICH ARE FUND BALANCES AND USE OF THOSE FUND BALANCES.
UH, SO MY RECOMMENDATION TO THIS COMMITTEE IS TAKE 10 AND 11 AND 37 AND 38.
TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AT THEM, UH, TO THE EXTENT THAT THE HAVE QUESTIONS, LET'S BRING THE QUESTIONS FORWARD.
UH, FOR JOHN, UH, IF I WERE TO DO A 62ND ANALYSIS OF TIME FINANCIALS, I WOULD FOCUS ON THOSE FOUR SLIDES.
IS THERE ANY OTHER BUSINESS TO COME BEFORE THE COMMITTEE? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE.