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[1. CALL TO ORDER]
EVERYONE.WELCOME TO THE SPECIAL CALL COUNTY COUNCIL MEETING REGARDING THE FISCAL YEAR 25 BUDGET.
THIS IS, UH, UH, TUESDAY AFTERNOON AT ONE O'CLOCK.
WOULD YOU ALL RISE FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE? I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
WE DO HAVE A QUORUM FOR US TO BE ABLE TO CONDUCT BUSINESS TODAY.
[3. PUBLIC NOTIFICATION OF THIS MEETING HAS BEEN PUBLISHED, POSTED, AND DISTRIBUTED IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE SOUTH CAROLINA FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT]
OF THIS MEETING HAS BEEN PUBLISHED, POSTED, AND DISTRIBUTED IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE SOUTH CAROLINA FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.[4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA]
THE AGENDA, AND I WOULD ASK A MEMBER OF COUNCIL TO APPROVE TODAY'S AGENDA.MR. MCKELLEN AND MR. CUNNINGHAM MADE THE MOTION AND SECOND FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA.
IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? SEEING NONE, THE AGENDA WILL BE APPROVED WITHOUT OBJECTION, AND I SEE NO OBJECTIONS.
ITEM NUMBER FIVE IS A DISCUSSION OF
[5. DISCUSSION OF FY 25 BUDGET]
THE FISCAL YEAR 25 BUDGET.SO WHAT I'M GOING TO DO IS I'M GOING TO ASK FOR A MOTION AND SECOND SO WE CAN CONDUCT THE BUSINESS REGARDING THE DISCUSSION SURROUNDING THE FISCAL YEAR 25 BUDGET.
SO MAY I HAVE THAT MOTION? SO MOVED.
MR. CUNNINGHAM MADE THE MOTION.
AS WE UNDERSTAND, WE DO HAVE SOME ITEMS THAT WE HAVE TO DISCUSS REGARDING THE FISCAL YEAR 25 BUDGET.
WE ALSO HAVE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE BUDGET ORDINANCE ITSELF TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE COMFORTABLE WITH ALL OF THE ITEMS THAT ARE IN THAT, UH, ORDINANCE.
UH, I'M GOING TO ASK OUR, UH, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER DENISE CHRISTMAS TO COME FORWARD AND TALK ABOUT WHAT WE HAVE TO DO WITH SOME OF THE ITEMS THAT NEED TO BE CHANGED IN THE BUDGET.
SO THERE WERE A FEW ITEMS THAT WERE DISCUSSED.
UH, THE BIGGEST ITEM WAS THE DISABILITIES AND SPECIAL NEEDS, UM, TRANSFER IN TO THEIR FUND FROM THE GENERAL FUND.
THEY, FOR SOME REASON, THEIR INSURANCE WAS NOT KEYED INTO THE BUDGET OR PERHAPS, UH, WE SEPARATED ALL OF THEIR HOUSES BY PROJECT CODE.
AND THIS IS OUR FIRST YEAR DOING PROJECT ACCOUNTING.
AND THERE MAY BE IN A LITTLE CHECK BOX THAT MIGHT NOT HAVE CHECKED.
I HAVEN'T, I'VE DUG INTO IT AND I CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHERE THAT BUDGET DISAPPEARED TO.
BUT, UM, IT COULD BE THAT IT DID NOT ROLL OVER BECAUSE OF THE NEW PROJECT ACCOUNTING MODULE.
THAT'S $2,678,062, UM, THAT WE WOULD NEED FROM THE GENERAL FUND TO A SUPPLEMENT THAT FUND'S BUDGET, DISABILITIES AND SPECIAL NEEDS BOARD.
SO IN THE CURRENT YEAR, WE SUPPLEMENT THEM BY 2.4 MILLION, A LITTLE OVER 2.4.
UM, OVER THE YEARS, THEY HAVE NOT NEEDED THE GENERAL FUND TO HELP THEM OUT BECAUSE THEY CARRIED A PRETTY HEFTY FUND BALANCE, BUT THEY'VE, UM, DWINDLED AWAY AT THAT FUND BALANCE.
SO AS OF THE CURRENT YEAR, FISCAL YEAR 24, THEY ASKED FOR OUR HELP, WHICH WAS LAST BUDGET YEAR, UM, TO SUPPLEMENT TO MAKE THEM WHOLE.
SO THIS YEAR THEIR ASK IS THE $2.6 MILLION FROM THE GENERAL FUND.
AND WHEN YOU SAY THE GENERAL FUND, THAT IS WHAT? THAT IS? UH, FUND 1000 AND IT'S OUR, UH, GENERAL OPERATING FUND, WHICH HAS MILLAGE ATTACHED TO IT.
AND SO RIGHT NOW IN THE GENERAL FUND, OUR FUND BALANCE IS A LITTLE OVER $61 MILLION.
AS YOU KNOW, WE'RE ONLY REQUIRED TO KEEP 30% OF OUR PRIOR YEARS OPERATING EXPENDITURES, WHICH COMES TO A LITTLE OVER 45 MILLION.
SO WE HAVE, WE HAVE EXTRA IN THERE.
AND I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT WE BALANCE THE BUDGET WITH THE FUND BALANCE, JUST AS WE DID IN THE CURRENT BUDGET.
WE DID USE $4.2 MILLION IN OUR CURRENT FISCAL YEAR OF FUND BALANCE TO BALANCE OUR BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 24.
SO WE, WE WEREN'T GOING TO USE ANYTHING, UH, ANY FUND BALANCE AND KIND OF GOT EXCITED ABOUT THAT, BUT THIS CAME UP.
SO USING 2.678 WOULD BE MY RECOMMENDATION THERE.
UM, IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS? WANT A MOTION ON THAT? I WILL NEED A MOTION, BUT FIRST LET'S MAKE SURE EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS WHAT HAS TO BE DONE.
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WE HAVE ANYBODY ONLINE? YES, I THINK SO.YORK ARE TO MAKE A MOTION IF YOU WANT ME TO CHECK IT BEFORE WE GET A MOTION, I WANNA MAKE SURE EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
YOU'RE OKAY WITH YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT? UH, YEAH.
MARK, ARE YOU CLEAR? YES, I'M CLEAR.
OKAY, THEN I WILL NEED A MOTION.
THIS HAS BEEN ADVERTISED AS A WORKSHOP.
SO YOU GUYS ARE JUST GATHERING INFORMATION IN THIS, RIGHT? THAT YOU WILL THEN BRING FORWARD? THAT'S RIGHT.
SO YOU JUST MAKE A LIST OF INFORMATION.
SO ITEM ONE THEN IS WHEN WE GET TO THE COUNCIL MEETING, SOMEONE WILL MAKE THAT MOTION TO TRANSFER INTO THE APPROPRIATE LINES IN THE DSN BUDGET FROM THE GENERAL FUND IN THE AMOUNT OF $2,678,062.
YOU MEAN, YOU MEAN ON MONDAY? YES.
WE ENOUGH TIME FOR THE THREE READINGS IF WE DO THAT? YES.
THE, THE SECOND READING THAT IT IS A VERY GOOD QUESTION.
IF YOU DIDN'T HEAR THAT, MR. MCKELLEN WAS ASKING, WILL WE HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO ADOPT THE BUDGET? THE ANSWER IS YES.
AT THE MEETING ON MONDAY, IT WILL BE THE SECOND READING OF THE ORDINANCE WHEREBY WE WILL MAKE THE CHANGES THAT WE PROPOSE TODAY.
THE FINAL READING WILL BE ON THE 27TH OF JUNE, WHICH WILL BE A SPECIAL MEETING TO ADOPT THE FISCAL YEAR 24 25 BUDGET.
WHAT WAS THE FIRST READING? THE FIRST READING WAS LAST WEEK, 28TH.
THAT'S WHY WE'RE HAVING THIS SPECIAL MEETING.
SO THAT CLEARS UP ITEM NUMBER ONE.
LET'S GO ON TO ITEM NUMBER TWO.
YEAH, ITEM TWO, MS. TABER, SORRY.
OH, THIS IS WHERE I GET TO ASK QUESTIONS.
SO WE WANT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S IN, WHAT MIGHT BE PROPOSED TO BE PUT IN OR TAKEN OUT OF THIS BUDGET.
SO I WANNA THANK MR. ROBINSON 'CAUSE WE ORIGINALLY SENT HIM SIX PAGES OF QUESTIONS, UM, THAT WE COMPILED.
SO I WANNA THANK YOU FOR THAT.
AND ONE THING I WILL NOTICE, WE CHANGED CHART OF ACCOUNTS, SO THERE WAS A LITTLE HARD TO TRACK THINGS YEAR TO YEAR BECAUSE SOMETHING'S CHANGED.
BUT YOU KNOW, WE MADE THROUGH IT.
UM, I QUESTIONED IF COUNTY COUNCIL, THE FUNDING WAS A LITTLE BIT ON THE LIGHT SIDE AND YOU SAID WE MIGHT HAVE TO INCREASE IT A BIT.
UM, SO WE MIGHT, BECAUSE THERE WERE PROFESSIONAL FEES IN THERE AND SO ON.
SO THAT WAS ONE OF MY QUESTIONS.
COMP AND CLASS INCREASES CERTAINLY WREAKED HAVOC ON THE WHOLE THING BECAUSE THAT, THAT WAS AN INCREASE ALL THE WAY AROUND.
I DID HAVE A QUESTION ON, WE DID NOT INCLUDE THE SOLICITOR IN THE FIRST BUDGET BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY INFORMATION AND WHEN THEY DON'T PRESENT, WE GIVE THEM A FAT ZERO INCREASE.
AND SO THEN MR. BARTOLO, YOU REACHED OUT AND I BELIEVE WE SENT THAT TO EVERYONE.
SO I WANTED TO DISCUSS GIVING THEM A 5% INCREASE FOR THE PUBLIC.
THEY'VE HAD ZERO INCREASE OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, I THINK, RIGHT? MISS CHRISTMAS.
SO STANDARD FOR THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS, WE WERE GIVING 5%, WHICH IS ROUGHLY 85,500.
GIVE OR TAKE A FEW BUCKS, I DON'T KNOW.
BUT IN ORDER NOT TO, TO MAKE THIS A ZERO CHANGE, I ASKED CAN WE TAKE THE PLANNING POSITIONS? THERE'S TWO OF 'EM CITED FOR GREEN SPACE.
AND MY QUESTION IN MS. HOWARDS WAS, WHY AREN'T THEY BEING CHARGED A GREEN SPACE? AND SO MAYBE THAT COULD BE SOMETHING YOU ALL PASS ON TO EVERYBODY BECAUSE IN ORDER TO COME UP WITH 85 5 FOR THE SOLICITORS, IT'S GOTTA COME FROM SOMETHING ELSE.
WE CAN REDUCE THE PAYROLL CONTINGENCY ACCOUNT BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE PLANNERS ARE CURRENTLY BUDGETED.
AND THEN WE CAN INCREASE THE SOLICITOR'S LINE ITEM BY THAT 85, WHATEVER THAT NUMBER IS.
BUT, SO WE'RE NOT CHARGING GREEN SPACE FOR THOSE PLANNERS.
TOM, KEVIN AND CHRISTINE HAVE HAD CONVERSATIONS AND TOM HAS CONFIRMED THAT YES, WE CAN CHARGE THE GREEN SPACE.
IS IT GREEN SPACE? GREEN GREEN SPACE FUND.
I MEAN, I THINK THAT WOULD BE ACCURATE SINCE THEY WOULD WORK ON GREEN SPACE, WHATEVER PART THEY DO, AND WE SHOULD CHARGE THE FUND.
WELL, THE IDEA IS, UM, THAT THE MAJORITY OF THEIR WORK, MAYBE 90% OF THEIR WORK, 95% OF THEIR WORK WILL BE FOR THE GREEN SPACE.
AND THE ADVICE IS TO, UH, ATTRIBUTE SOME SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THEIR WORK TO THE GENERAL FUND JUST IN CASE THEY ANSWER THE PHONE FOR THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT OR, YOU KNOW, TAKE THAT SOMETHING GOOD BECAUSE THAT WAS ABOUT 190,000 BETWEEN THE TWO OF THEM.
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WOULD BE MONEY TO GIVE THE SOLICITOR HIS OFFICE 5% INCREASE, NOT WHAT THEY ASKED FOR.AND MAYBE DAVID WANTS TO CHIME IN, BUT WE GAVE OTHERS 5%, SO I WAS CAPPING IT AT FIVE AND I HAD A LIST OF QUESTIONS I ANSWERED TOO.
ALRIGHT, WE'RE GOING TO GO AROUND.
UH, DAVID, DID YOU WANT TO COMMENT ON THIS? YEAH, NO, UH, TAB, THANK YOU FOR, FOR BRINGING THAT UP AND SOME GO PERFECTLY.
YOU KNOW, I THINK EVERYBODY'S BEEN HIT WITH INFLATIONARY COSTS.
I'M GLAD THEY DID ANSWER SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WE'VE SENT TO 'EM.
UM, AND I THINK IT IS JUSTIFIED FOR THAT 5% INCREASE THIS YEAR.
WE GO AROUND, I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE 5% INCREASE.
NOW, UH, WHEN YOU, UH, SAID THE DEPARTMENT'S GOT A 5% INCREASE, THAT WAS DEPENDENT UPON THEIR BUDGET SUBMISSION.
SO IF SOMEONE PUT IN A MILLION DOLLAR REQUEST, THEY GOT A 5% INCREASE ON THE MILLION DOLLARS.
IS THAT WHAT HAPPENED? I'LL REFER THAT TO CFO.
I THINK WHAT MS. TABER IS TALKING ABOUT ARE THE OUTSIDE AGENCIES, RIGHT, THOSE DEPARTMENTS.
SO IF THEY HAD A BUDGET SUBMISSION, WHATEVER THAT WAS, EVERYBODY GOT 5%.
SO SOME PEOPLE PROBABLY MAY HAVE GOTTEN A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS AND SOME PEOPLE MAY HAVE GOTTEN $2,000.
SO IT DEPENDS ON WHAT THEY ASK FOR, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY NEEDED IT.
SO WAIT, WHAT? NO, THEY WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE A DEBATE.
BUT THAT'S A MISUNDERSTANDING.
SO THEY, ANY OUTSIDE AGENCY THAT ASKED FOR INCREASED FUNDING, LET ME GO THERE.
THEY GOT 5% OFF OF WHAT THEY GOT THIS YEAR, NOT 5% OF WHAT THEY ASKED FOR.
A 5% INCREASE OVER THE CURRENT YEAR.
5% OF THE, OF THE NUMBER THAT THEY WERE GIVEN RIGHT.
SO THE MORE THEY ASKED FOR IT, THE MORE THEY GOT IS 5%.
WHAT'S WRONG? SO NO, WHAT WHAT THEY CURRENTLY ARE RECEIVING IN FISCAL YEAR 24 THIS YEAR.
THEN THE INCREASE WOULD BE 5% OVER WHAT? OF THAT NUMBER.
SO IF IT WAS A MILLION DOLLARS, IT WAS 5% REGARDLESS OF WHAT THEY ASKED FOR.
SO IF SOMEBODY ASKED FOR A MILLION DOLLARS, THEY GOT 5% OF A MILLION.
IF IT WAS 200, THEY GOT 5% OF WHAT THEY ARE CURRENTLY BEING GIVEN, GIVEN RECEIVING.
LIKE WHAT WE'RE WRITING CHECKS OUT OF OUR OFFICE FOR.
IF WE ARE WRITING CHECKS TO A BC COMPANY FOR A MILLION DOLLARS, THEN THEY GET 5% MORE IN THE FISCAL YEAR.
25 IN THE UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR.
AND IF IT WAS 200,000 RATHER THAN A MILLION, THEY ONLY GOT 5% OF THE 200,000.
WELL, I, I'M CLEAR, BUT I I I DON'T GET THE CONCEPT, BUT I'M CLEAR.
BUT ONCE HE WAS CLEAR, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE IT'S THE, THEY'RE USING THE FISCAL 24 TO FUND THE FISCAL 25.
THAT'S, THAT'S THE TOTAL NUMBER.
WE'RE DISCUSSING THIS PARTICULAR ITEM, PUTTING IN MONEY FOR THE SOLICITORS OFFICE FROM THE PAYROLL CONTINGENCY FUND FOR THE INCREASE OF THE TOTAL OF APPROXIMATELY $85,500.
MS. HOWARD, UM, I, I ALSO SENT A LIST OF QUESTIONS.
I'M NOT, I'M NOT CONVINCED ABOUT ALL THE ANSWERS, BUT IT CLEARED UP A LOT OF MY QUESTIONS THAT I HAD WHEN MR. KIDD WAS HERE.
UM, I, IF WE'RE DOING 5% FOR EVERYBODY, I, I STILL WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE DETAILS IN THE SOLICITOR'S BUDGET NEXT YEAR.
UM, BUT I COULD GO ALONG WITH THE 5% FOR THIS YEAR AND I CERTAINLY AM GLAD THAT WE CAN CHARGE THE GREEN SPACE ACCOUNT.
I'M OKAY WITH IT, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOMETHING DIFFERENT NEXT YEAR PRESENTED THAN MS. BROWN.
ARE YOU OKAY WITH THIS PROPOSED CHAIR? THIS 5% IS, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE SOLICITORS BUDGET.
SOLICITORS, BUT WELL, ONLY THE SOLICITORS, BUDGET ONLY.
WE HAVEN'T GOT TO THE SHERIFF'S YET.
THEY'RE, ARE YOU OKAY WITH THAT? YEAH, I'M FINE WITH IT.
MR. CUNNINGHAM, REFRESH MY MEMORY.
DID THE SOLICITOR'S OFFICE ASK FOR AN INCREASE THIS YEAR? YES.
DID THEY GIVE A PRESENTATION ON IT OR A LINE ITEM OF WHAT THEY WANTED? NO.
SO THEY DON'T GIVE LINE ITEMS BECAUSE THEY GET APPROPRIATIONS, QUARTERLY APPROPRIATIONS BECAUSE WE DON'T, UM, WE DON'T PAY THEIR PAYROLL IN HOUSE AND WHATNOT.
SO ANOTHER COUNTY IS THEIR HOME COUNTY.
SO THEY HANDLE ALL OF THEIR BOOKS AND PAPERWORK.
SO EVERY OTHER COUNTY JUST GIVES A QUARTERLY APPROPRIATION AND THAT'S WHAT WE DO.
WHO IS THEIR, UH, HOME COUNTY? IS IT CO AND WHAT PERCENTAGE DOES COLTON PAY COMPARED TO US? WE DO NOT KNOW.
WHAT PERCENTAGE ARE WE 72% OF COUNTY REVENUE NOT, BUT THEIR OFFICE IS IN OUR COUNTY, BUT THEY'RE NOT HOUSED THROUGH PAYROLL IN OUR COUNTY.
BUT THEIR OFFICE IS ON ONE 70.
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CORRECT.UH, MR. LAWSON, YOU'RE ON MUTE.
LET ME MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND.
UM, THIS IS NOT 5% OF PAYROLL.
IT'S A SPECIFIC AMOUNT OF MONEY.
THAT'S, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT'S WHAT WE ARE DEALING WITH.
SO, UH, YOU'RE TELLING ME MS. CHRISTMAS THAT, UM, ALL THE DEPARTMENT GOT AN AVERAGE OF ABOUT 5% ON THEIR AND THEIR NINE ITEM BUDGET FROM LAST YEAR.
WAS WE JUST MAKING AN EXCEPTION FOR THE SOLICITOR? NO, SIR.
THAT, SO WHAT MS. TABER MEANT TO SAY WAS THE OUTSIDE AGENCIES, NOT DEPARTMENTS, BUT THE OUTSIDE AGENCIES RECEIVED A 5% INCREASE OVER THEIR CURRENT YEAR FUNDING.
UM, AND THOSE AGENCIES WOULD BE
YEAH, THE PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE IS NOT AN OUTSIDE AGENCY.
SO COULD YOU LIST THE OUTSIDE AGENCY REAL QUICKLY FOR ME? OKAY.
UM, MR. SIDE, THE SOLICITOR, OKAY.
I KNOW ONE IS THE, THE ISLAND REC CENTER.
UM, ANOTHER IS DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH.
ANOTHER IS, UM, KEEP BEAUFORT COUNTY BEAUTIFUL MILITARY ENHANCEMENT COMMITTEE.
THE M UM, BEAUFORT SOIL AND WATER.
UM, THE SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER, LRTA, PALMETTO BREEZE, THOSE ARE OUR OUTSIDE AGENCIES.
NOW, THE LRTA PALMETTO BREEZE, THEIR BUDGET LAST YEAR WAS NOT FULLY FUNDED.
AND, UH, SO WE FULLY FUNDED THEIR BUDGET FROM LAST YEAR IN ADDITION TO THEIR REQUEST THIS YEAR, WHICH WAS NOT IN EX MM-HMM.
UH, I KNOW THE SMALL BUSINESS, UM, THEY ONLY ASKED FOR 40,000 EVERY YEAR.
WE INCREASED THEIRS THIS YEAR.
THEY ASKED, WE GAVE THEM WHAT THEY ASKED FOR THIS YEAR.
SO THIS IS SORT OF, UH, DIFFERENT FOR THE SOLICITOR, HUH? THE ONLY PROBLEM I HAVE WITH, WITH THE SOLICITOR, MR. CHAIRMAN AND I CAN, I THINK A MODEST 5% IS PROBABLY OKAY.
IS THAT ANYTIME WE INCREASE THEIR BUDGET, WE CAN NEVER DECREASE IT.
AND NOT KNOWING WHAT ALL THEY ARE ASKING FOR, BUT JUST A BLANKET AMOUNT OF MONEY.
I'M JUST KIND OF LEERY ABOUT THAT.
UM, I'M KIND OF LIKE WHERE ALICE IS, I LIKE TO SEE WHERE, UH, THE FUNDS ARE COMING FROM OR GOING TO, BUT THEY DON'T SHOW US THAT.
UM, IF I COULD RESPOND TO THAT.
THE MONEY RESIDES IN THE PAYROLL CONTINGENCY ACCOUNT, WHICH IS TECHNICALLY NOT PART OF THE SOLICITOR'S BUDGET.
IT'S A PLACEHOLDER FOR AN AMOUNT OF MONEY FOR THEM TO HIRE INDIVIDUALS AS THEY PROPOSED.
FROM WHAT I GATHER, THE MAJORITY OF COUNCIL IS ACCEPTING THIS PROPOSAL TO INCREASE THE SOLICITOR'S BUDGET BY USING MONEY, BY REDUCING THE CONTINGENCY PAYROLL CONTINGENCY FUND.
BUT IT WOULD SEEM TO ME THAT MR. YORK'S, UH, COMMENT OF IF IN FACT WE DO TAKE, DO TAKE THAT FROM PAYROLL CONTINGENCY DIRECTLY INTO HIS BUDGET.
SO IF IT IS ACCEPTABLE, WE UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT, IT JUST REMAINS IN THE PAYROLL CONTINGENCY FUND? NO, IT WOULD GO TO HIS LINE ITEM.
WE WOULD REDUCE THE PAYROLL CONTINGENCY FUND BY THE 85,000 AND MOVE IT TO THE SOLICITOR'S LINE ITEM TO GIVE HIM THAT 5% INCREASE.
MR. CHAIRMAN, CAN I COMMENT TO SOMETHING MS. HOWARD SAID EARLIER, THOUGH? WE'VE BEEN SAYING THIS FOR YEARS, THAT, OH, NEXT YEAR WE EXPECT
[00:20:01]
THIS NEXT YEAR WE EXPECT THAT AND WE JUST KEEP SAYING IT OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN.WE REQUESTED THIS EXACT SAME THING LAST YEAR TO HAVE DISCUSSIONS AND HAVE A PRESENTATION UPFRONT RIGHT AWAY AND A LINE ITEM.
WE HAD THE SAME CONVO LAST YEAR AND WE'RE STILL NOT GETTING IT.
WE'RE SAYING WE'RE GONNA HOLD A STANDARD AND THEN WE JUST DON'T, AND THEN WE SAY, OKAY, HALF OF US ARE GONNA AGREE TO IT, AND THEN WE MOVE ON.
SO I I'M NOT GONNA SUPPORT IT JUST BECAUSE OF THAT.
I MEAN, I THINK IT'S FEASIBLE.
WE'RE ACTUALLY SAVING MONEY IN THE LONG RUN BETWEEN MOVING MONEY OVER TO GREEN SPACE WHERE IT COULD BE SAVING $190,000 TOTAL.
UM, I, I, I JUST, IT, WHEN WE KEEP SAYING THIS OVER AND OVER AGAIN, NEXT YEAR, WE'RE GONNA EXPECT THIS.
WE SAID THE SAME THING WITH THE SCHOOL BOARD BEFORE THAT WE ARE GONNA ASK THEM TO BRING US BACK NUMBERS OF VACANCIES AND THEY STILL WOULDN'T DO IT, STILL WOULDN'T DO IT.
SO NOW WE HAD TO TAKE A DECISION TO CHANGE THAT.
SO I'M JUST SAYING, I'M WITH MS. HOWARD, WE WE'RE SAYING WE EXPECT A DIFFERENT RESULT FROM THEM.
SO I CAN'T SUPPORT IT UNTIL THAT RESULT IS FULFILLED.
DO YOU KNOW THE AMOUNT THAT WAS REQUESTED BY THAT OFFICE THIS YEAR? WELL, CURRENTLY WE PAY THEM EIGHT, ROUGHLY $8 AND 32 CENTS PER PERSON PER CAPITA.
I JUST WANNA KNOW WHAT THE BUDGET REQUEST WAS IN INCREASE OVER LAST YEAR.
AND WHAT WAS IT, HOW MUCH IS THAT OVER LAST YEAR? 54%.
UM, OBVIOUSLY THIS DESERVES MORE DISCUSSION, UM, BECAUSE TAKING A LOOK AT THIS THAT'S ON THE SCREEN RIGHT NOW, THOSE ARE NOT ALL OF THE COUNT COUNTIES THAT ARE IN THE 14TH CIRCUIT.
SO WE'RE NOT COMPARING APPLES TO APPLES.
THOSE ARE OTHER LARGE COUNTIES THAT THEY PICKED TO COMPARE US TO OF WHAT THE, OF WHAT THEIR SOLICITORS GET.
THAT'S JUST, THAT'S ALL THEY TURNED IN FOR THEIR REQUEST.
CHAIRMAN MAY, UM, I DID CONFIRM AFTER SPEAKING WITH THE SOLICITOR, THAT APPROXIMATELY 67% OF THE CASELOAD IS OUT OF BUFORD COUNTY.
UH, AND YES, WE ARE FUNDING 72%, BUT, UH, IT'S NOT THAT LARGE OF A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN CASELOAD VERSUS WHAT WE'RE FUNDING.
I KNOW THE, I KNOW THE OTHER COUNTIES, YOU KNOW, I, I'D ALWAYS LOVE TO SEE THEM STEP UP AND, AND CONTRIBUTE, BUT THAT IS MY UNDERSTANDING IS WE ACCOUNT, BEAUFORT COUNTY IS ABOUT 67% OF THE CASELOAD, UH, FOR THE CIRCUIT.
AND WE'RE FUNDING 72% OF THAT.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE CARRYING BURDEN.
WHAT IS THE PLEASURE OF COUNSEL? CAN I JUST ASK MR. REED? GO AHEAD.
MR. BAROLO, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES.
YOU STAYED VERY CLOSE TO THIS.
HOW, HOW DO YOU FEEL RIGHT NOW WITH ALL YOU'VE HEARD? YOU KNOW, I, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS KIND OF TO LOGAN'S POINT, I, I DON'T THINK THAT THERE WAS EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION ON OUR END ABOUT THE EXPECTATION.
UH, I DID HAVE SOME REALLY GOOD CONVERSATION WITH MR. K AND WITH THE SOLICITOR.
UH, I THINK THERE'S A BETTER EXPECTATION FOR NEXT YEAR, BUT, YOU KNOW, I CAN'T MAKE ANY GUARANTEES OR PROMISES ON THAT FRONT, BUT I THINK THERE WAS A LACK OF COMMUNICATION WHERE COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN, UH, BETWEEN BOTH PARTIES.
SO THAT'S, SOME OF THAT'S ON US AS WELL.
UH, I WOULD, MY UNDERSTANDING IS YES, I THINK WE COULD HAVE DONE A BETTER JOB JUST LIKE THEY COULD HAVE DONE A BETTER JOB.
HOW WE DO A BUDGET EVERY YEAR AT THE SAME TIME? WHAT YEAR? THERE'S A DEADLINE FOR A BUDGET, THERE'S A TIMEFRAME FOR SCHEDULING A, A PRESENTATION.
I MEAN, THE BUDGET'S IN THE SAME TIMEFRAME EVERY YEAR.
I MEAN, THAT'S A YEARLY OCCURRENCE.
I'M, I'M, EXPLAIN TO ME HOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LACK OF COMMUNICATION ON BOTH PARTS.
MAYBE I'M MISSING SOMETHING ON, BUT THAT'S JUST WHAT I'M FOCUSED ON HERE.
WELL, I, I THINK THERE'S, THERE WAS A BIGGER UNDERLYING ISSUE, UH, WITH THE PREVIOUS COUNCILS, IS MY UNDERSTANDING.
AND THE ONLY REASON I'M GOING OUT OF MY WAY IS BECAUSE I KNOW THEY PROVIDE A VALUABLE SERVICE TO THIS COUNTY, JUST LIKE THE PUBLIC DEFENDERS DO.
AND ACTUALLY, YOU TRY TO SUPPORT THESE PEOPLE AND THESE ORGANIZATIONS, UH, TO FUND THAT SERVICE IN THE COUNTY AND PUT EGO ASIDE,
[00:25:03]
THE, THE CURRENT, UH, AGAIN, GO OVER THE CURRENT YEAR'S BUDGET FOR THEM AND THE PROPOSED NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET LINE FROM BEAUFORT COUNTY.THE CURRENT YEAR'S BUDGET FOR THEM IS $1,700,450.
IT'S PAYABLE IN FOUR QUARTERLY APPROPRIATIONS.
THE, THEIR REQUEST WAS 2,615,661.
AND THEN A 5% INCREASE ON TOP OF THAT WOULD TAKE, WOULD TAKE THEM TO 1,786,000.
BUT IF I'M HEARING YOU CORRECTLY, IN OUR BUDGET RIGHT NOW, IS THE 2.6 MILLION NO, NO.
THEY ASKED FOR THAT, BUT WE'RE, OKAY.
SO WHAT'S IN THE BUDGET RIGHT NOW? 1,700,450.
THEY REQUESTED 900 AND SOME INCREASE.
THEY REQUESTED $900,000 INCREASE.
WE'RE WE'RE KEEPING IT THE SAME.
THEY'RE ASKING FOR A 5% INCREASE.
NO, WE'RE TELLING THEM THAT'S ALL WE'LL GIVE THEM.
SARAH, WILL YOU PUT THAT UP? OKAY.
I THINK SARAH FOUND THE DOCUMENT THAT THEY PROVIDE TO THE STATE EACH YEAR.
AND WE THREW THIS UP, I THINK IN THE LAST MEETING TO SHOW THE COUNTY REVENUE.
DOES THAT SHOW THE TOTAL REVENUE TO THAT DEPARTMENT? UHHUH TO THE SOLICITOR'S OFFICE? IT SHOULD BE MAYBE COLUMN TWO.
IS THAT WHAT IT IS THERE? I CAN'T SEE HOW MUCH IS IT COUNTY FUNDING? WE CAN'T, WELL, IT'S THE 14TH CIRCUIT.
SO IT'S THE THIRD ONE FROM THE BOTTOM.
AND WHAT'S THE TOTAL REVENUE FROM THE IT'S 5.6 5 9 5 4 975 OVER $5 MILLION.
UM, AND THEIR COUNTY FUNDING IS 2,374,000 4 99.
AND WE PROVIDE 1.7 MILLION OF THAT, OF THAT 2.3.
UM, HEALTHY, IS THERE ANY COMFORT LEVEL ON THE PART OF COUNTY TO MOVE IT AS REQUESTED TO INCREASE? I DON'T THINK WE CAN DO THAT TILL MONDAY, MR. CHAIRMAN? NO, I, I UNDERSTAND THAT.
UM, SO SOMEBODY WOULD HAVE TO RAISE THAT ISSUE AS A AMENDMENT TO THE BUDGET AS PROPOSED ON MONDAY.
EVERYBODY IS NOW CLEAR ON THAT ONE? YEP.
LET'S MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ISSUE.
SOMEBODY BRING UP THE NEXT ISSUE.
DO YOU HAVE ANOTHER ISSUE? I THINK IT WAS A THIRD ONE.
IS IT THE ALLEN RICK LINE ITEM? YEAH.
I'LL, UH, BE HAPPY TO TALK ABOUT THAT ONE.
THEY, UH, RECEIVED $150,000 LAST YEAR, I BELIEVE, AND REQUESTED A, UH, $50,000 INCREASE THIS YEAR TO BRING THE TOTAL CONTRIBUTION FROM THE COUNTY TO THEM OF, UH, $200,000.
UH, THERE ARE NO COUNTY FACILITIES ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND.
THE ISLAND REC CENTER IS THE ONLY FACILITY THAT'S THERE.
IT'S A PRIVATE FACILITY, BECAUSE YEARS AGO, THE COUNTY DID NOT BUILD ANY FACILITIES ON HILTON HEAD AND THE STARTER, A CAPITAL EXPENSE CAMPAIGN TO FUND IT FROM, UH, PRIVATE, UH, AND PUBLIC PARTNERSHIPS, WHICH THEY'VE DONE.
SO THE COST WAS BORN BY THE PEOPLE OF THE COMMUNITY.
UM, THE MONEY THAT'S RAISED THERE ANNUALLY IS FROM, UH, THE TOWN GIVES THEM OVER A MILLION DOLLARS.
AND THEY HAVE, THEY SELL DONUTS, THEY DO CAR WASHES, THEY HAVE GRANTS, AND THEY HAVE DONATIONS.
AND OF THE THREE OR FOUR, BETWEEN THREE AND $4 MILLION BUDGET THAT THEY HAVE, WE CONTRIBUTE $200,000 OUT OF OUR, WHAT DO WE HAVE? $150 MILLION OPERATING ACCOUNT? YES, SIR.
SO, UM, THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF VISITS THAT TAKE PLACE TO THIS FACILITY, WHICH IS SUPERB FROM THE RESIDENTS OF HILTON HEAD, WHO ARE ALSO RESIDENTS OF THE COUNTY, FROM BLUFFTON, FROM WINDMILL HARBOR, FROM OTHER AREAS OF THE UNINCORPORATED, UH, COUNTY ADJACENT TO THIS AREA.
UH, THIS SUMMER, THE COUNTY FACILITY THAT IS IN THE ADJACENT TOWN WILL BE CLOSED FOR REPAIRS.
SO IT'S LIKELY THAT ALL OF THE PEOPLE WHO WOULD BE USING THAT POOL WILL BE GOING TO HILTON HEAD TO SEEK RELIEF.
UH, I MENTIONED THAT BECAUSE THE MONEY THAT WE PROVIDE,
[00:30:01]
THE $200,000 SUPPORTS THE AQUATIC PROGRAM THERE, WHICH PROVIDES FOR A COVER FOR THE WINTER TO KEEP THE POOL OPERATING.PAYS, UM, SALARIES FOR THE LIFEGUARDS.
IT ALSO PAYS FOR, UM, POOL SUPPLIES.
AND THIS POOL SERVES ALL AGE GROUPS YEAR ROUND FROM, UH, SENIORS TO SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN.
DURING THE SUMMER, THERE IS A SUMMER CAMP FOR KIDS, UH, AFTER SCHOOL IS OUT WHERE A SINGLE PARENT OR, UH, UH, TWO PARENTS ARE WORKING AND THE CHILDREN COME TO THE, UM, ISLAND REC CENTER FOR A CAMP.
SOME OF THE MONEY THAT WE USE KEEPS THE PRICE OF ADMISSION DOWN.
UM, AND IT'S MORE OR LESS A SUBSIDY FOR PEOPLE WHO CAN'T AFFORD THE NORMAL PRICE BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO PAY ADMISSION TO USE THIS FACILITY AS YOU DO IT.
ALL THE FACILITIES AROUND THE COUNTY, UH, THERE'S REALLY NO DIFFERENCE THERE.
AND OUR, OUR, UH, OUR FUNDING TO THE, UM, FACILITY ALLOWS THEM TO MAINTAIN A MAXIMUM CAP ON THOSE AMOUNTS THAT ARE CHARGED TO PEOPLE WHO ARE USING THE, UH, FACILITY.
UM, I DON'T THINK IT'S A BIG, UH, UH, CONTRIBUTION UP CONSIDERING THE INFLATIONARY PRESSURES THEY HAVE FOR SALARIES AND FOR CHEMICALS.
UH, I THINK CONSIDERING WHAT OUR OVERALL BUDGET IS, OUR CONTRIBUTION TO THE FACILITY IS MINIMUM CONSIDERING THERE ARE NO OTHER FACILITIES ON THAT, IN THAT AREA THAT THE COUNTY PROVIDES.
THE CLOSEST ONE IS OUT IN BLUFFTON AND THAT'S GONNA BE CLOSED.
SO I DON'T THINK THIS IS AN UNREASONABLE AMOUNT TO GRANT TO THEM, UH, TO KEEP THE AQUATIC PROGRAM AFLOAT, AS YOU WOULD SAY.
MR. CHAIRMAN, MAY I? YES, GO AHEAD.
I, I GOTTA SAY, I WANNA SUPPORT WHAT MY COLLEAGUE JUST SAID.
I, I COULDN'T SAY IT ANY BETTER.
UM, I JUST WANT TO ADD THAT AGAIN, A NUMBER OF FAMILIES ARE FROM UNINCORPORATED PARTS OF BEAUFORT COUNTY AND, AND VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.
MS. CHRISTMAS, HOW MANY TIMES DID FRANK SO ADDRESS THE COMMITTEE OR COUNCIL? MANY TIMES.
I THINK IT'S AT LEAST THREE TIMES.
AND, AND THERE WAS NOT, I DON'T THINK, ONE QUESTION THAT WE ASKED OF HIM THAT HE DIDN'T ANSWER.
AND, AND AGAIN, THIS IS NOT JUST GOING OUT, IT, IT, IT'S HELPING FAMILIES THAT WE ACTUALLY SUPPORT AND THAT WE REPRESENT.
SO I THINK THAT 200,000 OUT OF A HUGE BUDGET WE HAVE IS, IS A VERY SMALL ASK.
SO AGAIN, PLEASE CONSIDER THAT.
I'D LIKE TO ADD TO THAT TOO, MS. BROWN.
I, UH, A LOT, A LOT, I HAVE A LOT OF CONSTITUENTS IN BLUFFTON THAT USE THE POOL.
AND AS, UM, MY COLLEAGUE NEXT TO ME SAID, YOU KNOW, THAT POOL'S GONNA BE CLOSING AND THEY WILL BE GOING TO THE ISLAND REC CENTER TO SWIM.
SO AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, WE NEED TO GIVE THEM THE EXTRA 50,000 OR WHATEVER IT'S MR. CHAIRMAN.
SO JUST TO BE FACTUAL, NOT FROM THE HEART OR ANYTHING ELSE FACTUAL.
THEIR REVENUE FOR 2025 IS ANTICIPATED TO BE ROUGHLY $300,000.
AND THEIR EXPENSES ARE ANTICIPATED TO INCREASE ROUGHLY 100,000, WHICH MEANS THEIR SURPLUS HAS NOW INCREASED 200,000.
AND THEN HE TALKED ABOUT FOR POOL CHEMICALS, WHICH WENT UP $1,500, SWIMMING POOL SUPPLIES WENT UP $3,000.
SO IN MY ARITHMETIC, THAT'S 4,500 SEASONAL POOL STAFF DECREASED $40,000.
AND REC CENTER YOUTH TEAM PROGRAM EXPENSES DECREASED $810,000.
SO I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHERE ALL OF THAT'S SUPPOSED TO GO.
HE CLEARLY SUBMITTED THE BUDGET.
AND IT'S ALL FACT, IT'S NUMBERS.
IT'S GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING ELSE.
AND THAT'S WHY I SUPPORT THE 5% INCREASE.
AND JUST SO WE KNOW, IN 2022, THEY RECEIVED 135,000, 20 23, 140 5,000, 20 24, 100 50,000, AND FOR 25 THEY WANT 200,000, WHICH IS A 34% INCREASE.
SO IF THEY HAD A LARGER BUDGET, THEY'D GET MORE WITH THE 5%.
WE TAKE THE 5% OFF OF WHAT WE GAVE THEM LAST YEAR, WHICH IS ONE 50, 150,000 TIMES 5%, WHICH IS 7,500.
TRUST ME, MATH I GET, I USED TO TEACH IT.
[00:35:01]
SORRY.YEAH, AND EVEN THOUGH EVERYTHING THAT, UH, MR. BECK HAS, HAS STATED IS TRUE, UM, UH, LET JUST SAY THAT, UM, I'VE LIVED HERE FOR THREE, FOUR YEARS AND ACTUALLY LIVED ON FOR SIX OF THOSE YEARS.
AND MY FAMILY USED REC CENTER EVERY PLACE ELSE IN THE COUNTY.
THERE IS NO, UH, STANDALONE REC PROGRAM LIKE HILTON, PENN, NOT IN WALTON, NOT IN BUFORT, NOT FORT ROYAL.
UM, IT IS ALL PAID FOR BY THE COUNTY FOR ALL OF THE, THE RECREATION.
IF ANYTHING, WE, UH, HAVE UNDER PROPORTION WHAT WE SHOULD BE GIVING THEM.
THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN THAT THEY SERVICE, UM, THAT ARE, THAT'S IN BEAUFORT COUNTY, UM, JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE ON HILTON PAD AND, AND HILTON PAD HAS, HAS, UM, UH, BEEN SUPPORTING THEM.
SO I AM ALL FOR, UM, MR. MCCLEAN'S REQUEST AND, AND THE, I'VE GIVEN THEM THE EXTRA $50,000.
AGAIN, I THINK IT'S MONEY, VERY, VERY WELL SPENT.
UM, IT BENEFITS NOT JUST HILL PET PEOPLE, BUT ALSO THE, THE, THE, THE BLUFFTON PEOPLE, THE UNINCORPORATED AS WELL AS THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON, UH, FOLKS AS WELL.
AND AS I MENTIONED, UM, I, I THINK THAT WE HAVE BEEN UNDER, UM, UM, SUPPORTING THEM FOR, FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.
BUT AGAIN, THEY'VE MOVED FORWARD ON THEIR OWN AND BE ABLE TO HANDLE THINGS ON THEIR OWN.
AND I THINK WE PROBABLY MAKE UP ONLY ABOUT THREE OR 4% OF THEIR TOTAL BUDGET.
SO, UM, THE QUESTION WILL BE THE INCREASE, WILL IT BE 5% OR WILL BE $50,000? SOMEONE WILL MAKE THAT MOTION ON MONDAY.
JUST TELLING YOU WHAT SOMEBODY'S GONNA HAVE TO DO.
DAVID, UH, MR. CHAIRMAN, UH, QUICKLY QUESTION.
I HEARD LARRY, UH, MENTION THAT A FACILITY IN BLUFFTON IS CLOSING.
HOW LONG, SO THAT'S, I GUESS, RENOVATIONS FOR THE POOL, IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT.
DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG THAT'S GONNA BE CLOSED? THREE MONTHS, I WANNA SAY.
THEY SAID WHEN WE HAD THE PRESENTATION IT WAS THREE TO FOUR MONTHS.
UM, AND I'M ASSUMING THAT'S COMING UP FOR THE SUMMER MONTHS, CORRECT? CORRECT.
YEAH, THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING.
UH, DO WE KNOW APPROXIMATELY HOW MANY VISITORS FROM THAT LOCATION GO THERE? I GUESS IN A MONTHLY TIME SPAN OR, OR THE SUMMERTIME? NOT INCLUDING THE SCHOOL.
WE COULD WE GET THAT INFORMATION MR. CHAIRMAN BEFORE MONDAY.
I THINK OUR PARKS AND REC PEOPLE COULD, UH, KNOW THE AMOUNT OF USAGE OF THAT POOL.
I KNOW WHEN I GO TO BATTERY CREEK POOL, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO LOG IN AND YOU HAVE TO PAY MM-HMM.
SO I'M SURE THAT POOL, WE HAVE RUTGERS OF HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE USING IT.
AND I'D ALSO LIKE TO MENTION THAT THEY COULD ALSO USE A BATTERY CREEK POOL IF MAY RIVER'S CLOSED.
SO THE, THE, THE ONLY REASON I'M ASKING THE, THIS INFORMATION IS IF THE I AND REC CENTER IS GOING TO ABSORB THAT OVERFLOW CAPACITY, THEN I THINK THAT EXTRA FUNDING IS GONNA BE NECESSARY.
BUT THEY COULD GO TO BATTERY CREEK PULL TOO.
WHAT'S THE DRIVE TIME DIFFERENCE? OH, I, I CAN LOOK IT UP TO BATTERY, YOU KNOW, GOING OVER THE BRIDGE TO HILL DAD VERSUS THE BRIDGE.
IT'S A DISCUSSION, I'M JUST SAYING.
SO EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS WHAT'S GONNA HAVE TO BE DONE WITH THIS.
IS THERE ANY OTHER THING BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THE ACTUAL, UM, ORDINANCE? OKAY.
YES, DENISE, THERE IS THIS ONE ISSUE ABOUT THE LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICE FEE THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO UPDATE THAT WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF HAVING ANALYZED.
SO THE COMPANY, UH, TI VICE IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE US, UH, I GUESS MODIFIED NUMBERS BY THE END OF THE WEEK, UPDATED NUMBERS UPDATED BY THE END OF THE WEEK.
ISN'T THAT PART OF THE ORDINANCE ITSELF? IT IS.
THAT'S WHAT I SAID, BUT I WANTED TO ADDRESS THE NUMBERS ASPECT OF IT.
UM, THERE IS ONE PARTICULAR SECTION IN THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE THAT IS UPSETTING A FEW PEOPLE THAT WE NEED TO DISCUSS AND HOW COUNCIL FEELS ABOUT THAT.
IT IS SECTION 10, THE TRANSFER OF FUNDS.
WHAT IS HAPPENING IS WE ARE TREATING OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS DIFFERENTLY THAN WE'RE TREATING OUR DEPARTMENTS, WHICH PERSONALLY I DON'T THINK IS AN APPROPRIATE WAY OF DOING IT.
UM, CURRENTLY, IF, IF I HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF IT, WHEN AN ELECTED OFFICIAL, SUCH AS THE SHERIFF'S
[00:40:01]
OFFICE, AND I WILL PICK ON THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE HERE, THEY ARE UNIQUE AND THEY CAN ADDRESS THIS.GOD BLESS THE SHERIFF'S OPERATION IS A UNIQUE OPERATION EVERY DAY.
SOMETHING IS DIFFERENT IN THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE, A BUDGET IS A SPENDING PLAN.
THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT EVERY SINGLE PENNY IN EVERY SINGLE LINE CAN BE ACCOUNTED FOR.
AND THERE ARE TIMES WHERE A TRANSFER HAS TO TAKE PLACE.
CURRENTLY, THE CFO FROM THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE CONTACTS THE CFO FROM THE COUNTY TO SAY, I NEED TO TRANSFER MONEY.
AND THEY WORK OUT THAT TRANSFER IT IS THEN APPROVED BY THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR AND IT'S DONE.
HAVE I SAID ANYTHING INCORRECT? COME ON DOWN.
YOU SEE A THIRD? I JUST WANT TO STATE FOR THE RECORD THAT IT WAS, IT WAS NOT MY IDEA TO PUT THE LANGUAGE IN THERE AND I HAD NO, I UNDERSTAND.
I HAD NO IDEA IT WAS IN THERE UNTIL WE MET LAST WEEK.
SO I'M JUST ADDRESSING KNOW WHAT'S THERE AND WHAT YOU'RE IS CURRENTLY BEING DONE.
AND SHE AND I HAVE A GREAT RELATIONSHIPS
I CANNOT TRANSFER ONE PENNY WITHOUT IT GOING THROUGH THE COUNTY CFO.
THEY KNOW ALL ABOUT ALL OF OUR FUNDS.
I CANNOT SPEND THEM WITHOUT THEM KNOWING ABOUT ANY TRANSACTION OR EXPENDITURE.
AND WE DON'T WORK IN A FIXED ENVIRONMENT.
AND I KNOW SOME EXAMPLES WERE GIVEN BEFORE, FOR EXAMPLE, THE CANINE OFFICER, THE ACTUAL DOG PASSED AWAY.
SO UNFORTUNATELY I DO HAVE TO MOVE MONEY OVER FOR TRAINING FOR SOMEONE TO, UH, BECOME A NEW CANINE OFFICER.
SO THEY HAVE THE TRAINING WITH THE DOG AND THEMSELVES AND IT'S ALREADY GOING THROUGH THE COUNTY CFO.
SO NOW IT'S GONNA COST THE TAXPAYERS MORE MONEY BY NOW GOING UP TO COUNTY COUNCIL.
I MAY, I I DON'T THINK ANYBODY DISAGREES WITH WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
WE UNDERSTAND THE, THE EXCEPTIONAL NATURE OF THE PROFESSION AND, UH, THE EMERGENCIES THAT OCCUR.
WE'RE JUST TRYING TO PUT A PROCEDURE IN PLACE THAT WILL OPERATE SO THAT WE ARE FULLY INFORMED ON WHAT'S HAPPENING.
AND IT SEEMS AS IF YOU ALREADY HAVE THAT IN PLACE.
SO I THINK AN EXCEPTION CAN BE CARVED HERE.
I DON'T, I DON'T THINK IT'S NECESSARY TO BE SO RIGOROUS WITH REGARD TO THIS IF THERE'S ALREADY A, UH, UM, A FORMULA IN PLACE TO KEEP US FULLY INFORMED.
AND I DON'T THINK YOU REALLY NEED TO BEAT IT TO DEATH.
I THINK THAT EVERYBODY GETS IT, AND I DON'T, I'M NOT SURE, BUT I THINK THAT, UH, THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO COME TO A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF EXACTLY WHY WHAT YOU DO IS EXCEPTIONAL TO THE, THE FORMULA THAT WE'RE TRYING TO PROPOSE.
IT'S, IT'S THE LANGUAGE THAT'S THERE THAT HAS CHANGED IT, IT NOW SAYS SUBJECT TO THE COUNTY COUNCIL'S.
I MEAN, I THINK THAT THERE'S PROBABLY A WAY TO JUST CARVE OUT AN EXCEPTION IN THIS, IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE.
SO THE WAY I SEE, AND I COULD BE WRONG, THIS IS THE ONLY ELECTED OFFICIAL WITH THE CFO THAT WORKS DIRECTLY WITH OUR CFO.
IS THERE ANY OTHER ELECTED OFFICIAL THAT DOES THAT? NOT THAT I KNOW OF, BECAUSE THERE'S THE GUARDRAIL.
THAT'S WHY I THINK YOU CAN CARVE OUT AN EXCEPTION IN THIS CASE.
SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO MAKE A CHANGE IN THE LANGUAGE THAT'S HERE.
WHEN YOU READ THE TRANSFER OF FUNDS, THIS, YOU KNOW, THE TOP PARAGRAPH THERE, THERE ARE CERTAIN TRANSFER, UM, AMOUNTS IS A GOOD ONE.
THERE'S NOTHING AFTER $50,000.
THERE IS NOTHING EVER THAT I HAVE LOOKED AT IN PRIOR MINUTES OF ANY MEETINGS THAT SAYS THE FINANCE ADMINISTRATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, THE PRIOR FINANCE COMMITTEES EVER RECEIVED TRANSFER REPORTS SO THAT THE COMMITTEE COULD LOOK AT WHAT IS TRANSFERRED.
NOTHING ON THAT FORM HAS THE PROTOCOLS FOR THAT TRANSFER TO BE APPROVED.
I THINK IT IS INCUMBENT UPON US TO NOW PUT IN SOME GUARDRAILS, AS HAS BEEN SAID, AS TO WHAT COUNTY COUNCIL NEEDS TO HAVE TO UNDERSTAND
[00:45:02]
THE NATURE OF TRANSFERS WHEN THEY'RE DONE, WHY THEY'RE DONE, WHO'S DOING THEM, WHEN DID THEY TAKE PLACE.BECAUSE I WILL TELL YOU, IF A TRANSFER IS DONE ON JULY 2ND FOR A BUDGET THAT STARTED ON JULY 1ST, OH MY GOD, SOMETHING IS WRONG, MR. CHAIRMAN IN THIS LANGUAGE, WHAT YOU'RE SPEAKING OF, UP TO $50,000.
FURTHERMORE, THAT LANGUAGE ONLY APPLIES TO TRANSFERS BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS, NOT EVEN WITHIN A, BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS AND FROM, FROM FUND TO FUND.
SO IN LIKE IN INTRO DEPARTMENTAL TRANSFERS IN INTERDEPARTMENTAL TRANSFER, SORRY.
IF FINANCE IS TRANSFERRING MONEY FROM ONE LINE TO ANOTHER WITHIN THEIR DEPARTMENT, THERE IS NO LIMIT RIGHT NOW.
UM, BUT IF YOU TRANSFER BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS OR BETWEEN FUNDS, UH, ONE CAN DO THAT WITH THE CFO OR COUNTY ADMINISTRATORS APPROVE.
IT MIGHT BE JUST COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR'S APPROVAL UP TO $50,000 AFTER THAT, IT HAS TO COME BEFORE COUNTY COUNCIL.
SO THE, THE PROBLEM THAT WE NOW HAVE IS WE HAVE A NEW COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR WHO WILL NOT START UNTIL THIS BUDGET IS IN FACT ADOPTED.
WE DO NOT HAVE A CFO AND WILL NOT HAVE A CFO UNTIL THIS BUDGET IS ADOPTED.
WE EITHER LEAVE IT AS IT IS AND WAIT FOR THE NEXT YEAR TO HAVE ANY CHANGES MADE OR WE MAKE CHANGES AND EVERYBODY'S GONNA LIVE WITH THEM FOR A YEAR.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO DISCUSS, LEAVE IT ALONE OR MAKE SOME CHANGES.
MR. CHAIRMAN, I GUESS I JUST NEED CLARITY ON ONE THING AND A STATEMENT ON ANOTHER.
SO I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH TRANSFERS FOR THINGS THAT ARE IN NEED.
THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT POP UP THAT YOU DON'T EXPECT.
UM, SO READING THIS CORRECTLY, BACKTRACK TO WHAT YOU JUST SAID.
SO A TRANSFER CAN BE DONE WITHIN A LINE ITEM BUDGET UP TO $50,000 WITH BETWEEN THE CFO OR COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR.
BETWEEN THAT SAID DEPARTMENT, I'M NOT GONNA SAY JUST THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT 'CAUSE THERE ARE OTHER DEPARTMENTS AS WELL.
SO ARE THEY ALLOWED TO REQUEST A TRANSFER UP TO $50,000 AND THAT JUST BE HANDLED BETWEEN Y'ALL? ACTUALLY A SINGLE DEPARTMENT CAN TRANSFER AS MUCH AS THEY WANT CURRENTLY WITHIN THEIR DEPARTMENT.
THIS LANGUAGE STATES IF IT GOES FROM ONE DEPARTMENT TO ANOTHER, OKAY.
SO THIS IS WHERE MY RESERVATIONS COME FROM THAT WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT THE RIGHT ANSWER FOR.
IT'S THE SAME ARGUMENT WE JUST HAD WITH THE SOLICITOR'S OFFICE.
THE MOMENT WE BUDGETS CAN BE TRANSFERRED AND MOVED THAT WAY, AND I'M YOUR CFO, YOU CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, IF I'M ALLOWED TO MOVE MONEY INTO DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS OR REQUEST IN DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS THAT BUDGET'S WHAT'S COMING NEXT YEAR AS THE BASELINE.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU RAISE LINE A AND YOU TAKE STUFF OUTTA LINE A TO MOVE IT TO ANOTHER ONE, LINE A IS STILL YOUR BASELINE.
SO THAT BUDGET IS GONNA CONTINUE TO INCREASE.
'CAUSE MORE THAN LIKELY THEY'RE GONNA ASK FOR A HIGHER REVENUE FROM WHEREVER THEY TRANSFERRED IT TO WITHOUT LOWERING THAT OTHER ONE.
SO FROM A CFO STANDPOINT, MY QUESTION IS WHERE DO WE SET THIS TO SAY, OKAY, WHAT REALLY IS NEEDS OF AN INCREASE OF A BUDGET AND WHAT IS, OH, WELL THEY GAVE US 200,000 HERE LAST TIME WE HAD TO MOVE A HUNDRED OF IT OVER HERE, SO LET'S JUST ASK FOR AN EXTRA A HUNDRED HERE AND LEAVE THIS AT 200.
AND THAT'S WHERE I GET THE BLURRED LINE.
I DON'T CARE HOW IT GETS MOVED AROUND AS LONG AS YOU APPROVE IT, THE BUDGET'S APPROVED.
AND I ALSO KNOW CURRENTLY THE WAY IT'S WRITTEN, MONEY CAN BE TRANSFERRED INTO PAYROLL BUT NOT OUT OF PAYROLL.
SO THAT MEANS CURRENTLY THE WAY IT WOULD BE WRITTEN IS YOU COULD RAISE SALARIES BY MOVING LINE ITEMS OUT SOMEWHERE ELSE INTO PAYROLL.
AND THEN NEXT YEAR YOU CAN COME BACK AND SAY, WELL, I NEEDED THIS, THIS IS WHAT I SPENT.
THIS IS WHERE MY RESERVATION COMES FROM.
I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS.
I WOULD, IT WOULD DRIVE ME CRAZY IF I HAD TO GO ASK SOMEBODY EVERY SINGLE DAY TO MOVE MONEY AROUND FROM AN ACCOUNT TO AN ACCOUNT.
BUT HOW DO WE START PROTECTING OURSELF FROM THAT? 'CAUSE AT SOME POINT WE CAN'T ALWAYS INCREASE EVERYTHING.
WE'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR TAXPAYER DOLLARS AND THIS INCREASES JUST KEEP COMING.
AND RIGHT NOW WE REALLY DO NOT HAVE AN ISSUE WITH MASSIVE, YOU KNOW, VOLUME OF, UH, OF TRANSFERS.
VALERIE DOES ALL THE BUDGET TRANSFERS RIGHT NOW, AND I'VE TALKED TO HER SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE COURSE OF THIS BUDGET SEASON, AND SHE'S NOT RECEIVING A MASSIVE VOLUME OF, UM, OF BUDGET TRANSFERS.
I DON'T THINK IT'S A HUGE ISSUE, BUT WHAT I DO THINK MIGHT BE AN ISSUE IS THE DOLLAR AMOUNT THAT'S BEING TRANSFERRED, MAYBE, MAYBE WE SHOULD INSERT SOME LANGUAGE, UM, CAP IT AT 50,000 WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT.
[00:50:01]
I KNOW BRITTANY WARD, SHE'S WORKED HARD ON, UM, ON GETTING THIS LANGUAGE STRAIGHTENED OUT LAST YEAR.I THINK SHE TIDIED IT UP A BIT FROM WHAT IT WAS LAST YEAR.
WELL, THE WHOLE BUDGET ORDINANCE ACTUALLY, AND TOM, KEVIN, HE'S GOT SOME REALLY GREAT IDEAS TOO.
UM, BETWEEN THE TWO OF THEM AND ME AND CHRISTINE, UH, WEBB, WE'VE PUT OUR BRAINS TOGETHER TO TRY TO COME UP WITH A SOLUTION.
BUT IT'S, IT'S, WE HAVE SO MANY DIFFERENT IDEAS.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT REALLY IS, IS GONNA BE THE BEST, UM, SOLUTION FOR THIS COUNTY.
UH, I'VE WORKED AT OTHER COUNTIES AND WE'VE HAD CAPS, YOU KNOW, BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS WE'VE HAD IN OUR BUDGET ORDINANCE WHERE YOU DON'T TRANSFER AT ALL IN THE PERSONNEL LINE ITEMS NO FROM AND NO TO JUST DON'T TOUCH 'EM BECAUSE IT REALLY MESSES UP YOUR QUARTERLY, YOUR 9 41 REPORTING AND WHATNOT.
UM, AND IT'S HARD FOR OUR EXTERNAL AUDITORS TO TIE IN THOSE AMOUNTS.
SO THAT WAS ALWAYS A NO-NO, WE COULD, YOU KNOW, WE COULD DO THAT AS WELL.
BUT I THINK THE INTENT OF, OF THE ELECTED OFFICIAL, UM, PARAGRAPH WAS JUST THAT EVERY DEPARTMENT REALLY IS A DEPARTMENT OF THE COUNTY AND IT'S ALL TAXPAYER MONEY.
AND I THINK THAT THAT'S WHAT WE WANTED.
YOU KNOW, THAT WAS THE INTENT, I BELIEVE IN INSERTING THAT LANGUAGE.
AM I WRONG? I THINK THE INTENT WAS TO TREAT EVERYBODY, EVERY DEPARTMENT FAIRLY, WHETHER THEY'RE AN ELECTED OFFICIAL OR NOT.
SO YES, SO MR. IS MARK, GO AHEAD TOM, I'LL SPEAK OUT.
UM, YEAH, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HAS PERPLEXED US, PERPLEXED US FOR, FOR YEARS, UM, IS THE FACT THAT, UM, WE GET PEOPLE TO COME IN AND REQUEST, UM, MONEY.
AND I'M NOT SINGLING OUT THE, THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT THAT GET OVER A $30 MILLION BUDGET THAT WOULD GIVE THEM, AND IN THEIR BUDGET, THEY HAVE SO MUCH SET ASIDE FOR LEGAL FEES, SO MUCH SET ASIDE FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT, SO MUCH SET ASIDE FOR THINGS, UM, THAT THEY, THEY HAVE AND THEY WON EVERY YEAR.
AND I THINK SOME OF THE, THE FRUSTRATION IN OUR PART WAS THEY MIGHT PUT IN, YOU KNOW, A MILLION DOLLARS FOR NEW VEHICLES.
UM, ONE YEAR THEY MIGHT, UM, ONLY SPEND HALF OF THAT, BUT THEY TAKE A TRANSFER MONEY SOMEPLACE ELSE, OR THE NEXT YEAR THEY MIGHT NEED A HUNDRED, 1.2 MILLION AND THEY HAVE A MILLION DOLLARS IN THERE.
AND I, I'M JUST USING AN EXAMPLE, I'M NOT SAYING THAT'S EVER HAPPENED.
I'M JUST SAYING THAT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE JUST TRIED TO WRAP OUR HEAD AROUND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, UM, HOW WE HANDLE THESE, THESE TRANSFERS OR, YOU KNOW, I'VE SEEN ANOTHER BUDGET WHERE SOMEONE EVERY YEAR ASKS FOR $200,000 IN LEGAL FEES, AND IF THEY DON'T USE IT, WELL THEN THEY TAKE THAT MONEY AND THEY, THEY USE IT SOMEPLACE ELSE, WHICH WE NEVER KNOW UNLESS WE NEED TO ASK FOR, UM, SOME TYPE OF RECONCILIATION AT THE END OF THE YEAR OF WHERE MONEY WAS ACTUALLY SPENT IN THEIR BUDGET, UM, FOR, FOR EACH OF THOSE LINE ITEMS. SO, UM, BECAUSE THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THAN POSSIBLY A, A ANOTHER, UM, DEPARTMENT OR, OR A
SO AT THE END OF THE YEAR, WE KNOW THAT WHERE MONEY IS SPENT AND WE'RE NOT JUST GIVING A BLANKET, UM, BUDGET AMOUNT THAT, THAT THEY CAN ASK FOR ON THEIR LINE ITEMS THAT SHIPPED AROUND WHEREVER THEY WANT TO.
AND WITH REGARDS TO THE $50,000 LIMIT, WELL THAT'S EASY ENOUGH TO HAVE TWO $49,000 TRANSFERS IN, YOU THEN ARE UNDER 50,000 AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO THEN REPORT IT.
SO I MEAN, THERE, THERE ARE LOOPHOLES TO EVERYTHING.
SO, SO, UM, COUNCILMAN LAWSON IS, IS RIGHT, AND I WANTED JUST TO EXPLAIN TO YOU THE GENESIS OF THIS LANGUAGE AND HOW IT IS DIFFERENT FROM THE CURRENT BUDGET ORDINANCE.
THE CURRENT BUDGET ORDINANCE, UM, ESSENTIALLY PROVIDES, I'LL READ IT, THE IMPORTANT LANGUAGE TO YOU.
THE COUNCIL COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR SHALL OVERSEE AND SUPERVISE THE DAY-TO-DAY OP, UH, PROPER IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ORDINANCE.
UM, AND THEN IN SECTION, UM, EIGHT IT SAYS, EACH DEPARTMENT HEAD IS PERMITTED TO TRANSFER APPROPRIATIONS BETWEEN OBJECT CLASSIFICATION CODES WITHIN THAT DEPARTMENT.
UM, SO ESSENTIALLY WITH ONE EXCEPTION, AND THAT IS TRANSFERS FROM OBJECT CODES 520 THROUGH, UH, 51 30 PERSONNEL CODES ARE NOT PERMITTED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES WITHOUT THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR OR THE CFO'S PRIOR APPROVAL.
SO TRANSFERS FROM ARE NOT PERMITTED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
SO ESSENTIALLY WHAT YOUR CURRENT BUDGET ORDINANCE DOES IS IT ADOPTS, UH, IN ANOTHER SECTION OF THIS ORDINANCE, A LINE ITEM BUDGET FROM EVERY DEPARTMENT AND FROM ALL THE ELECTED OFFICIALS AND AGENCIES, UH, OF THE COUNTY.
AND THEN BY VIRTUE OF THIS LANGUAGE, AS SOON AS THAT'S ADOPTED LINE ITEM, YOU ERASE ALL THE LINES.
SO SUDDENLY, IF, AND I'M NOT GONNA PICK ON THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE IN PARTICULAR, BUT JUST BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT, LET'S SUPPOSE HE'S THE, NOT THE SHERIFF, BUT LET'S SUPPOSE HE'S THE, THE PUBLIC WORKS
[00:55:01]
AND THEIR BUDGET IS $32 MILLION AND THEY'VE BROKEN OUT AND PROVIDED FOR YOU IN LINE ITEM BUDGET.THIS LANGUAGE JUST SAYS, SO THEIR BUDGET IS 32 MILLION, BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS CATEGORY, THAT CATEGORY OR THE OTHER CATEGORY, WHICH IS WHAT THE LINE ITEM BUDGET IS.
SO THE INTENT, AND THIS IS A DISCUSSION THAT WE'VE HAD, UH, WITH CHRISTINE PROBABLY GOING BACK TILL TO LAST FALL.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING THROUGH THIS KIND OF LANGUAGE IN AN EFFORT TO HAVE COUNSEL, UM, HAVE FOLKS PROVIDE, UH, RESPONSIBLE BUDGET, RESPONSIBLE LINE ITEM BUDGET.
SO IF YOU EXPECT TO SPEND THIS MUCH MONEY AND YOU SUB ON, ON A PARTICULAR CODE, AND YOU SUBMIT A LINE ITEM BUDGET THAT SAYS THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE GONNA SPEND YOUR MONEY ON, THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE GONNA SPEND YOUR MONEY ON UNLESS YOU GET AUTHORIZATION TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
NOW, WHETHER OR NOT YOU WANT TO HAVE, UM, A $50,000, UH, EXCEPTION, OR YOU WANT TO HAVE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, YOU WANT TO HAVE A $250,000, THAT'S ENTIRELY UP TO YOU.
AND IN FACT, IT'S ENTIRELY UP TO YOU WHAT LANGUAGE YOU DECIDE TO GO WITH.
THIS WAS JUST A PROPOSAL FROM STAFF.
DOES EVERYBODY UNDERSTAND? OKAY.
SO, UM, UH, OH, COUNSEL, IF WE MAY JUST ADDRESS A FEW COMMENTS, COMMENTS THAT HAVE MADE THE MAY.
I WOULD JUST LIKE TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE COUNCILMAN LAWSON'S, UH, COMMENTS THAT HE JUST MADE.
AS YOU ALL ARE VERY AWARE, THE BUDGETARY PROCESS, WHICH DENISE HAS DONE AN AMAZING JOB AS WELL AS CHRISTINE, THEY HAVE BROKEN OUT EACH PARTICULAR FUND.
YOU CANNOT TRANSFER THE GENERAL FUND INTO THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUND.
SO THE EXAMPLES OF SAYING, WE'RE GONNA USE THIS MONEY FOR SALARIES AND WE GO AND BUY A MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF CARS DOESN'T EXIST.
SO I JUST WANT THE PUBLIC TO KNOW, AND ANYBODY ELSE WHO'S WATCHING, WE DO PROVIDE A LINE ITEM BUDGET.
YOU DIDN'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON IT.
RIGHT? I HAVEN'T RECEIVED ANY, SO I JUST WANT US TO HAVE A POSITIVE FACE WHEN IT COMES TO THESE THINGS.
SUGGEST A MISTAKE USING THOSE EXAMPLES.
I MEAN, MAYBE A BETTER EXAMPLE IS HAVING $400,000 IN THE FURNITURE FUND AND THEN GETTING TO THE END OF THE YEAR AND FINDING, GEE, WE DIDN'T SPEND IT.
AND COMING BACK AGAIN NEXT YEAR AND SAYING, THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA.
LET'S PUT ANOTHER 300,000 IN FOR THE FURNITURE AND MAYBE WE WON'T SPEND IT AND WE CAN PUT THAT SOMEWHERE ELSE.
HOW DO YOU PREVENT THAT FROM HAPPENING? WELL, AND EVERYTHING IS BEING ACCOUNTED FOR THROUGH COUNTY BUYERS.
I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT YOU IN GENERAL, AND IT CAN BE DONE THE OTHER WAY AROUND THAT.
MONEY CAN BE TAKEN OUT OF OTHER AREAS AND PUT INTO PAYROLL AND IT CAN TAKE MONEY OUT OF PAYROLL, BUT YOU CAN ADD MONEY INTO PAYROLL.
BUT AGAIN, IF COUNSEL IS CONCERNED ABOUT ANYTHING REGARDING LINE ITEM TRANSFERS, Y'ALL CAN GO PULL IT DOWN TO THE PENNY OUR BUDGET AND REVIEW IT AT ANY POINT IN TIME.
ANY SORT OF RECONCILIATION, IT CAN BE DONE WITH ANY BUDGET THAT COUNTY APPROVES, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER IT'S THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE OR ANY ELECTED OFFICIALS OFFICE.
IT'S THERE FOR COUNTY TO DIG INTO AND REVIEW IF THEY SO CHOOSE.
WHAT YOU ARE DOING WOULD BE CREATING WOULD BE BURDENSOME NOT ONLY ON COUNCIL, BUT ON THE ELECTED OFFICIALS SHERIFF'S OFFICE IN PARTICULAR.
THERE, THERE'S, THERE'S WAYS OF HANDLING THIS IN THE FUTURE.
UM, SO OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH THAT SECOND PARAGRAPH.
UH, SO WE'RE GOING TO ASK, UH, ADMINISTRATION TO COME UP WITH DIFFERENT LANGUAGE THERE.
I THINK THE, THE BEST WAY TO HANDLE THIS GOING FORWARD IS ONCE THERE IS AN ADOPTED BUDGET, ONCE THIS ORDINANCE IS ADOPTED, YOU HAVE AN ADOPTED BUDGET.
EVERY DEPARTMENT HAS AN ADOPTED BUDGET.
COUNTY COUNCIL ON A MONTHLY BASIS SHOULD GET COLUMN ONE IS YOUR ADOPTED BUDGET.
COLUMN TWO TRANSFERS IN OR OUT.
COLUMN THREE, YOUR ADJUSTED BUDGET, COLUMN FOUR, YOUR, UM, PURCHASE ORDERS AGAINST THAT, YOUR ENCUMBRANCES COLUMN FIVE IS YOUR EXPENDITURES IN BALANCE.
SO THERE'S WAYS FOR US TO UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT GOES ON IN EVERY SINGLE BUDGET.
WE HAVEN'T HAD THAT IN THE PAST, HAD THAT IN THE PAST.
LET, LET ME, LET ME, LET ME FOLLOW UP WITH THIS AND AND MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE'S ON THE SAME PAGE.
THERE'S BEEN A FEW COMMENTS TODAY AND I'VE HEARD, I DON'T REMEMBER WHO MADE 'EM, ABOUT THE LACK OF COMMUNICATION.
THERE IS A LACK OF COMMUNICATION.
SO IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE IT OR NOT, WE COULD ALL DO BETTER AT COMMUNICATING WHAT OUR NEEDS ARE AND WHAT OUR PROPOSED BUDGETS ARE LONG BEFORE WE GET TO THIS POINT.
AND IT COULD BE IN WORKSHOPS OR IT COULD BE THE FACT THAT WE CAN JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER.
ONE OF THE PROBLEMS THAT WE RUN INTO.
AND I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, RUMORS ARE RUMORS,
[01:00:01]
BUT WE'VE GOT INDEPENDENT COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO THINK THAT THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE IS CREATING A SLUSH FUND BY VACANCY FACTOR MONEY.YOU CAN GO THROUGH YOUR CFO AND AND FIND OUT THAT, UH, QUITE QUICKLY, THAT'S NOT WHAT IS DONE SO WHEN YOU CREATE A RUMOR LIKE THAT, THAT WE HAVE A SLUSH FUND FOR VACANCY FACTOR MONEY, IT JUST CREATES OTHER PROBLEMS. THERE'S OTHER RUMORS, UH, FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT WE'RE, WE'RE CREATING A SLUSH FUND TO BUY A NEW HELICOPTER.
I MEAN, ALL OF THAT IS GARBAGE.
AND YOU GARBAGE IN AND GARBAGE OUT.
SO, I MEAN, BETTER COMMUNICATIONS AMONG WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH IS WHERE WE NEED TO GO.
UH, AND THAT'S, THAT'S IN TOTALITY.
SO IF YOU EVER GOT A QUESTION ABOUT THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE, YOU GOT MY CELL NUMBER, CALL ME.
I CAN GIVE SUZANNE, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN TALK TO SUZANNE ABOUT THE BUDGET OR YOU KNOW, YOU CAN TALK TO ME AND IF YOU GOT ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, THEN WE HAVE DANIEL HERE AS WELL.
YOU WEREN'T POINTING TO ME WITH THAT YELLOW CARD, WERE YOU?
YEAH, HE KEPT GOING LIKE THIS.
IS THERE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? OKAY, I HAVE SOME ACTUALLY.
YEAH, JUST, YEAH, GO AHEAD, MARK.
YEAH, I JUST WANT TO, I, I DO WANNA APOLOGIZE FOR USING THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS.
THAT WAS JUST NOW THE FIRST FUND THAT CAME ACROSS THAT OBVIOUSLY YOU CAN'T DO THAT.
SO I APOLOGIZE THAT AND IN NO WAY WAS I REFERRING TO THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE AS, AS IS ACTUALLY, UM, UH, MISAPPROPRIATING FUNDS.
THAT WAS NEVER MY INTENTION WHENEVER I SPOKE BEFORE.
OKAY, MR. YEAH, I'M JUST GONNA SAY WE'RE, WE'RE HAVING A DISCUSSION JUST ABOUT THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE 'CAUSE THEY'RE ACTUALLY HERE WITH A CONCERN.
SO US USING EXAMPLES ABOUT THAT THIS DOES, THIS RULE DOESN'T ONLY APPLY TO THEM.
SO WE, YES, WE'RE HAVING A DISCUSSION ABOUT IT BECAUSE Y'ALL ARE HERE AND Y'ALL ARE HERE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS BECAUSE OF WHATEVER ISSUES YOU HAVE ALONG WITH THE LANGUAGE AS YOU SHOULD.
UM, BUT THIS JUST DOESN'T PERTAIN TO THEM.
SO WHEN WE SAY LINE ITEMS CAN BE MOVED, I EVEN QUOTED, SO YOU WERE POINTING AT ME, I'M ASSUMING NOT HER, BUT WHEN WE'RE SAYING LINE ITEMS CAN BE MOVED, I ACTUALLY REFER TO THIS ER'S OFFICE CAN BE MOVED ANYWHERE.
IT'S NOT JUST Y'ALL'S LINE ITEM BUDGET.
AND IT'S ALSO NOT JUST ELECTED OFFICIALS.
AND THIS IS SOMETHING WE DEAL WITH ALL THE TIME.
IT DOESN'T MATTER IF IT'S THE AUDITOR, TREASURER, SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT, SCHOOL, SAME THING.
THEY ALL HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO THIS WITH THE CURRENT LANGUAGE THAT THE LINE ITEM ACTUALLY MEANS NOTHING.
IT'S NOT SAYING THAT IT'S BEEN CHANGED, IT'S JUST SAYING IT HAS THE ABILITY TO DO THAT AND THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO TO STOP THAT.
SO THAT'S WHERE MY ONLY CONCERN IS.
UM, THE EMPLOYEE THING HAS ALREADY BEEN ADDRESSED YEARS AGO ACROSS THE BOARD.
UM, AND SO HERE WE ARE NOW, MY QUESTION IS JUST ARE WE MOVING FORWARD? ARE WE NOT MOVING FORWARD? IT'S NOT EVEN THE ISSUE WITH THE BUDGET ITSELF OR THE AMOUNT OF THE BUDGET.
IT'S WHAT PROTECTIONS ARE THERE FOR OUR VOTERS ON ALL OF THESE BUDGETS? WE APPROVE, WE APPROVE MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR FOR OUR OWN BUDGET FOR THE SCHOOL'S BUDGET.
UM, OTHER DEPARTMENTS, PUBLIC WORKS.
SO RIGHT NOW, THERE'S NOTHING TO SAY FOR US TO MANAGE ANY OF THAT OTHER THAN TO READ A LINE ITEM.
AND EVEN IF WE DO, THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT.
NOT ONE THING THE WAY IT'S WRITTEN CURRENTLY.
SO THAT'S MY ONLY RESERVATION.
I DON'T WANNA GET INTO DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS.
I DON'T KNOW HOW TO RUN AN OP, A SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT OR AN AUDITOR'S OFFICE OR A TREASURER'S OFFICE.
BUT I'M NOT TRYING TO GET INTO DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS, BUT IT IS MY JOB TO PROTECT OUR TAXPAYERS MONEY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE SOME GROUND TO STAND ON.
AND CURRENTLY WE DON'T AMONGST ANY OF THESE BUDGETS WE PASS, THEY'RE FREE TO DO WHATEVER THEY WANT AS SOON AS WE SIGN OFF ON THE BOTTOM NUMBER.
LOGAN, JUST REMEMBER TO ELECTED OFFICIALS LIKE THE SHERIFF AND THE OTHERS ARE ALSO ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE TAXPAYER'S DOLLAR.
SO, AND IF I, IF I'M NOT ACCOUNTABLE FOR THAT TAXPAYER DOLLAR, THEN I'LL BE IN OFFICE FOUR YEARS DOWN THE ROAD.
YOU'RE ACCOUNTABLE IN YOUR WAY.
I MEAN, YOU MADE A COMMENT, UH, I DON'T KNOW, A COUPLE COUNCIL MEETINGS BACK ABOUT YOU AND ASKED FOR SOME INFORMATION FROM THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE.
LAST BUDGET SEASON ABOUT VACANCIES AND HOW MANY OF THOSE VACANCIES WERE FILLED.
I ASKED IN COUNTY COUNSEL, SO I WENT TO MY CFO AND I SAID, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FROM LOGAN CUNNINGHAM ABOUT THE BUDGET? IT WAS IN COUNTY COUNSEL THAT YEAR.
HE SENT YOU AN EMAIL AND YOU NEVER RESPONDED.
YOU COMMUNICATION KEY TO SUCCESS.
I A HUNDRED PERCENT AGREE, WHICH IS WHY I JUST STATED YOU GUYS ARE HERE TODAY.
AND I HAVE NOT STATED THAT THIS ISSUE IS WITH YOU GUYS.
AND YOU, JUST TO LET Y'ALL KNOW AS WELL, THE, THE PUBLIC
[01:05:01]
DEFENDER'S OFFICE IS NOT A DEPARTMENT OF COUNTY GOVERNMENT.THEY'RE A, THEY THEY'RE A CORPORATION.
JUST LIKE THE SOLICITOR'S OFFICE.
YEAH, THEY'RE AN OUTSIDE AGENCY.
SO THEY'RE NOT A DEPARTMENT OF COUNTY.
IN SUMMARY, WE HAVE DISCUSSED THE FOLLOWING THINGS THAT WE WILL HAVE TO ADJUST THE BUDGET ON MONDAY, THE DSN TRANSFER OF $2,678,062 WITH THE RECOMMENDATION THAT IT'S GOING TO HAVE TO COME FROM THE GENERAL FUND.
ITEM NUMBER TWO IS THE SOLICITOR WHO HAS ASKED FOR A LARGE INCREASE AND WHETHER OR NOT WE'RE GOING TO PROPOSE A 5% INCREASE, THAT COULD AMOUNT TO $85,500.
ITEM NUMBER THREE IS ISLAND RECREATION.
WHETHER OR NOT THE INCREASE IS GOING TO BE GRANTED FROM 150 TO 200,000, THOSE ITEMS WILL HAVE TO BE, UM, RECOMMENDED AS PART OF THE ADJUSTMENT TO THE ORDINANCE TO ADOPT THE BUDGET.
THE LAST ITEM IS IN SECTION 10, THE REWORDING OF SECTION 10 TO MORE REFLECT OF WHAT WE WANT IN THAT LANGUAGE TO BE CHANGED.
IS THERE ANY OTHER DISCUSSION? YEAH, QUESTION, YOUR HONOR, THOSE THREE ITEMS, THEY'RE COMING OUT OF THE FUND BALANCE.
UM, THEY DO NOT HAVE TO COME OUT OF FUND BALANCE.
THEY CAN COME OUT OF OTHER LINES IN THE BUDGET BY REDUCING THE RIGHT.
MR. CHAIRMAN, JUST ONE QUESTION BEFORE WE GET INTO IT THEN.
SO WE JUST DISCUSSED CHANGING SOMETHING FOR THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT.
SO WOULD WE NOT NEED TO MAKE THAT THE SAME THING ACROSS THE BOARD FOR ANY ELECTED OFFICIAL? YEAH, WE WANT TO TREAT EVERYBODY THE SAME.
SO, AND THAT'S MY POINT, BUT WE MADE COMMENTS UP HERE THAT WE CAN MAKE EXCEPTIONS FOR THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT, BUT NOT THE OTHER TWO.
THAT WAS MADE ON, ON THIS STAND.
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WHATEVER RULES WE PUT IN PLACE, IT SHOULD BE ACROSS THE BOARD, WHATEVER WE HOLD YEAH.
WE HOLD ACROSS THE BOARD, NOT JUST TO ONE DEPARTMENT.
SO I MADE THE COMMENT THAT THEY'RE THE ONLY DEPARTMENT OTHER THAN SCHOOL DISTRICT AS A CFO, CORRECT? CORRECT.
NO OTHER ELECTED OFFICIAL HAS A CFO THAT WORKS DIRECTLY WITH OUR CFO.
THAT WAS THE DISTINCTION LARRY TALKED ABOUT AND I TALKED ABOUT.
WELL, I ALSO ADDED THAT THERE'S PROBABLY NOBODY, UH, LIKE THE, UH, LAW ENFORCEMENT FUNCTION WHERE THEY RUN INTO EMERGENCIES ON A DAILY BASIS.
SO I'M NOT SO SURE THAT IF CARVING OUT AN EXCEPTION FOR THE, THE, UM, EMERGENCY, UH, SITUATIONS THAT DEVELOP WOULD APPLY TO EVERYBODY.
SO I'M NOT SURE LOGAN, IF THAT'S NECESSARY, THAT EVERYBODY BE TREATED EXACTLY THE SAME.
NOW, THE, THE, IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING, UH, THAT THE CURRENT COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR HAS THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE A DIRECT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF A TRANSFER OF ANYTHING IN AN ELECTED OFFICIAL.
I DON'T THINK THE ORDINANCE CURRENTLY REQUIRES THAT.
OKAY, SIR, BEFORE WE MOVE ON, OKAY.
UM, YOU TALKED ABOUT, UH, ADMINISTRATION OR STAFF PROPOSING SOME ORDINANCE CHANGE, SOME CHANGE TO THE ORDINANCE IN SECTION 10.
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR, UH, SO WE NEED SOME SPECIFICITY.
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR LIMITS? ARE YOU LOOKING FOR, UH, EXCEPTIONS FOR DEPARTMENTS? UM, I I, WHAT IS THE PLEASURE OF COUNSEL BECAUSE I JUST DON'T WANNA GET IN THE BUSINESS OF DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS.
NO, WE'RE NOT GONNA GET IN THE BUSINESS OF DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS, BUT WE'RE GOING TO, WE CAN SET LIMITS.
AND THE, THE, THE EASIEST WAY FOR US TO UNDERSTAND IS TO HAVE A BUDGET, UH, PRESENTATION MONTHLY THAT HAS THE SPECIFIED COLUMNS, ONE OF WHICH DOES NOT EXIST TODAY.
AND THAT'S TRANSFER OF FUNDS THAT IF YOU DO AN ADOPTED BUDGET TRANSFER OF BUN FUNDS, YOU GET A CURRENT BUDGET.
THAT CURRENT BUDGET IS THEN THE BUDGET THAT THEY ARE DOING PURCHASES AND ENCUMBRANCE ON, WHICH THEN GIVES YOU A REMAINING BALANCE.
AND AS YOU GO THROUGH THE WHOLE YEAR, THAT BUDGET IS ALWAYS IN BALANCE.
AND WITH THAT REPORT, IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS WE CAN FOLLOW UP TOMORROW? ABSOLUTELY.
BECAUSE THAT GOES THROUGH THE COMMITTEE WITH POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNTY COUNCIL FOR ANY OTHER ACTIONS.
CAN I SUGGEST QUARTERLY INSTEAD OF MONTHLY? YEAH.
WHAT? UM, THE PRESENTATION QUARTERLY INSTEAD OF
[01:10:01]
MONTHLY.I MEAN, I THINK MONTHLY IS A, IT'S VERY EXTENSIVE FOR THEM TO GET REPORTS DONE MONTHLY.
I THINK POORLY WOULD BE REASONABLE.
WELL, BUT NOT THE TRANSFER, NOT WITH TRANSFERS AND EVERYTHING.
THAT'S HOW A BUDGET IS STRUCK.
ON THE LAST FINANCIALS THAT I PRESENTED TO Y'ALL, I HAD THE TRANSFER CALL YOU ASKED FOR.
I HAVE, I HAVE ANOTHER GO AHEAD.
THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT.
UM, OKAY THEN, UH, WE, WE NEED TO ANSWER HIS QUESTION.
DO WE WANT ANY KIND OF SPECIFICITY IN THERE AS FAR AS A DOLLAR AMOUNT? I THINK, I THINK YOU GUYS HAVE TO COME UP WITH, BASED UPON OUR LACK OF UNDERSTANDING OF SOME THINGS, WHAT YOU THINK IS GOING BE IN THE BEST INTEREST MOVING FORWARD.
YOU'RE NOT SEEKING PERMISSION, YOU JUST WANNA REPORT.
SO IF YOU GET THE REPORT, THE AMOUNT DOESN'T MATTER BECAUSE IF THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT, YOU'LL BE MAKING AN INQUIRY AS A FOLLOW UP.
SO I'M NOT SO SURE THAT, THAT THERE'S AMOUNTS THAT NEED TO BE STRUCK.
SO LONG AS WE ARE MADE AWARE OF WHAT HAPPENED, THAT'S ALL.
AND, AND GOING BACK TO WHAT MR. LAWSON SAID, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD HAVE ABUSE OF THAT OR, YOU KNOW, NOT NEGLECT OF THE, OF THE POLICY.
YOU COULD HAVE TWO $49,000 TRANSFERS JUST TO, YOU KNOW, CHEAT THE SYSTEM.
SO THAT MAY BE WHY BEAUFORT COUNTY, MAYBE YOU GUYS DID HAVE A THRESHOLD YEARS AGO AND THAT THAT MAY BE WHY IT WAS REMOVED.
BECAUSE YOU KNOW, YEAH, AS LONG AS WE GET THE REPORT MONTHLY, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT THE AMOUNT IS.
IF A BIG AMOUNT JUMPS OUT, THEN THERE'LL BE FOLLOW UP.
I MEAN WE'VE EVEN TALKED ABOUT DOING TRANSFERS, LIKE NOT ALLOWING TRANSFERS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF THE FISCAL YEAR.
MAYBE RESTRICTING TRANSFERS UNTIL MAYBE THE SECOND QUARTER OF THE YEAR.
BECAUSE LIKE YOU SAID, IF YOU'RE DOING TRANSFERS RIGHT AFTER THE BUDGET'S ADOPTED, THEN YOU'RE NOT BUDGETING APPROPRIATELY OR EITHER SOMETHING HAS AN EMERGENCY HAS COME UP, WHICH WE DO HAVE CONTINGENCY LINE ITEMS. RIGHT.
SO, AND WHAT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO UNDERSTAND IS THAT TRANSFER COLUMN IS VERY IMPORTANT.
THERE ARE WHAT ARE CALLED ROLLOVER POS.
THERE ARE THINGS THAT WERE STARTED IN THIS BUDGET YEAR COULD NOT BE COMPLETED AND THEY HAVE TO ROLL OVER.
AND SO YOU'RE GOING TO SEE AN ACCOUNT THAT SUDDENLY HAS ADDITIONAL MONEY IN IT.
IT'S BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T FINISH IT IN ONE YEAR AND THE PURCHASE ORDER ROLLED OVER.
SO THAT'S A PARTICULAR THING THAT WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND.
YOU GOT THAT CLUB NO LIMITS DON'T.
MS. HOWARD, ONE, ONE THING THAT SOMATICS, UM, KEEP BEAUFORT BEAUTIFUL WAS MENTIONED AS AN OUTSIDE AGENCY.
IT IS PART OF, UM, THE COUNTY.
I DON'T KNOW IF DENISE AND VALERIE HEARD THAT.
OH, KEEP BEAUFORT BEAUTIFUL IS NOT AN OUTSIDE AGENCY.
THEY'RE IN OUR OUTSIDE AGENCY DEPARTMENT SO WE CAN MOVE THEM.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE PART OF BUFORT COUNTY AND THEY, AND WHATEVER MONEY THEY EXPEND WILL GO THROUGH, I'M ASSUMING PUBLIC WORKS.
UM, WE NEVER GOT AN ANSWER TO A QUESTION WE ASKED ABOUT KEEPING, UH, BEAUFORT COUNTY BEAUTIFUL.
THEY HAD PUT IN A SUM OF MONEY, I THINK IT WAS $180,000 FOR PLANTINGS.
AND WE DIDN'T KNOW IF THEY WERE ANNUALS OR PERENNIALS THERE.
WILDFIRE ANNUALS MEANS WE'RE GONNA SPEND $180,000, I DON'T KNOW, A YEAR.
I, THERE'S WILDFIRES WITH THREE DO DO REGENERATE THEMSELVES AND NO, WE UNDERSTAND.
YEAH, BUT WE DON'T, I DON'T KNOW.
WE DON'T KNOW, YOU KNOW, THE DEFINITION OF A PERENNIAL PLANT YOU MOVE EVERY YEAR.
YEAH, NO, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THEY WERE, UH, THEY WERE ONLY DO A, A SMALL SECTION TO EXPERIMENT WITH IT TO MAKE SURE IT WORKS.
BUT IF THEY'RE WILDFLOWERS AND THEY COME OUT BACK ALL TIME, THERE'S NO MAINTENANCE.
AND I DON'T, I DON'T, I DON'T THINK IT WOULD BE ANNUAL.
THEY'RE DOING A LANDSCAPE ON HIGHWAY 17 WITH OVERPASSES AND THEY'RE JUST TRYING TO BEAUTIFY THAT.
AND I DON'T THINK THERE WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT REQUIRE ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
SO EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN ON MONDAY.
NOW WILL BE THE SECOND READING AT THAT.
WE WILL TAKE, UM, CERTAIN ITEMS UP AND HAVE THE THIRD READING AND ADOPTION OF THE BUDGET ON JUNE 27TH.
MR. CHAIRMAN, MAY I, I ADDRESS WHAT COUNCIL MS. TABARD MENTIONED A FEW MINUTES AGO? SURE.
THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICT DO HAVE A CFO.
NOT EVERY ELECTED OFFICIAL NEEDS A CFO IN THEIR OFFICE.
THAT IS NOT INDICATIVE OF WHAT IDENTIFIES A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT ONE ELECTED COUNTYWIDE, ELECTED OFFICIAL OR OUTSIDE ENTITY SHOULD BE PERMITTED TO DO AND THOSE THAT
[01:15:01]
SHOULD NOT.I'VE HAD MY CPA LICENSE FOR ALMOST 20 YEARS, AND I'VE BEEN IN YOUR TREASURER'S OFFICE FOR 14.
WE WORK WITH THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT ALMOST DAILY, WHETHER WE'RE IN AGREEMENT WITH EACH OTHER OR NOT.
THAT'S REQUIREMENT TO DO OUR JOB.
THE ELECTED OFFICIALS SHOULD BE TREATED CONSISTENTLY.
I ECHO THE COMMENTS THAT THE SHERIFF HAS MADE.
I HAVE RECEIVED QUESTIONS FROM ONE COUNCIL MEMBER REGARDING MY BUDGET, THE BUDGET I REQUESTED, WHICH IS STILL NOT UP FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, AND THAT I WANT MY CONSTITUENTS, OUR MUTUAL CONSTITUENTS TO KNOW IS STILL NOT IN TODAY'S AGENDA PACKET AND HAS STILL NOT BEEN MADE AVAILABLE ANYWHERE OTHER THAN BEAUFORT COUNTY TREASURER.COM.
I HAVE NO PROBLEM ANSWERING THEM BECAUSE WE ARE DOING A GREAT JOB IN THE TREASURER'S OFFICE AND WE WANNA CONTINUE DOING THAT.
SO PLEASE, I WANNA MAKE NOTE THAT THE, IF YOU ARE GOING TO LIMIT AN ELECTED OFFICIAL'S ABILITY TO DO THEIR JOB SOLELY BASED ON WHETHER THEY HAVE A CFO OR NOT ON THEIR STAFF, I THINK YOU ARE INVITING AN ELECTED OFFICIAL TO ADD AN ADDITIONAL ROLE THAT MAY NOT REALLY BE NECESSARY JUST SO THAT THEY CAN FUNCTION WITHOUT THE HINDERING OF BEING ABLE TO PERFORM THEIR DUTIES.
AND AGAIN, IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM.
AND BEING THAT I'VE BEEN HERE ALMOST LONGER THAN EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THIS ROOM, I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE DETAILING OF BUDGET TRANSFERS HAS BEEN PROVIDED, I WOULD HOPE TO EVERY COUNCIL MEMBER, BUT HAS BEEN PROVIDED FOR THE TREASURER'S OFFICE EVERY YEAR THAT I HAVE BEEN HERE.
NOT JUST ACTUAL VERSUS BUDGET, BUT ANY RELATED TRANSFERS.
AND FRANKLY, THE LARGEST VOLUME AND DOLLAR AMOUNT TRANSFERS ARE PERFORMED BY ADMINISTRATION, NOT BY YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS.
SO THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO CLARIFY.
BUT WHETHER WE HAVE A CFO ROLE IN THE TREASURER'S OFFICE OR NOT, I'M MORE THAN QUALIFIED TO FUNCTION AND OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS SHOULD BE TREATED CONSISTENTLY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? SEEING NONE, WE WILL NOW ADJOURN THIS MEETING.