[00:00:01]
EVERYONE TO THE FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE
[1. Call to Order]
MEETING TODAY.[2. Adoption of the Agenda]
WE HAVE AN AGENDA BEFORE US.THERE ARE MOTION TO ADOPT THAT.
ALL IN FAVOR? WE HAVE THE MINUTES FROM
[3. Approval of the Minutes ]
OUR NOVEMBER 18TH, 2025 MEETING AS WELL.[4.a. Town of Hilton Head Island FY2026 Monthly Financial Update – Dave Byrd, Finance Director]
WE'LL HAVE, UH, OUR FISCAL 2026 MONTHLY FINANCIAL UPDATE BY OUR FINANCE DIRECTOR.UH, GOOD MORNING, CHAIRMAN BROWN AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
MY NAME IS DAVE BIRD, DIRECTOR OF FINANCE FOR THE RECORD.
UH, YOU HAVE A NEW PACKET IN FRONT OF YOU THIS MONTH, AND IT'S A WORK IN PROCESS.
UH, SOME OF IT IS FROM FEEDBACK FROM THE LAST MEETING.
AND, UM, AND AS WE KIND OF GO THROUGH OUR JOURNEY, UH, ANYTHING THAT WE NEED TO ADD OR TAKE AWAY, WE'LL DO THAT AS WE, AS WE GO THROUGH THE NEXT FEW MONTHS GETTING INTO THE BUDGET PROCESS.
BUT WE FELT WE WERE FAR ENOUGH ALONG TO SHARE THIS WITH YOU FOR TODAY.
UM, GETTING INTO THE CONTENT FOR THE MEETING TODAY, UM, THE FIRST ONE, WE DON'T HAVE A SLIDE YET, BUT IT'S GONNA BE, UH, HEALTH OF THE TOWN IS WHAT WE'RE CALLING IT.
AND, UM, WE'RE WORKING WITH, UH, APRIL AND BEN AND, UM, TO GO AND TRY TO COLLECT HISTOR HISTORICAL SALES TECH BY SEGMENT, UH, BY MONTH FOR PRIOR YEARS.
AND JUST TO KIND OF SEE HOW WE'RE TRENDING.
I DID THIS IN BRECKENRIDGE AND IT KIND OF GAVE AN IDEA OF, UH, SOME OF THE SEGMENTS AND, UM, IF WE HAVE ANY ALARMS HAPPENING OR NOT.
AND, UM, IT'S GONNA TAKE A LITTLE TIME TO GET THAT DONE.
SO IF WE CAN HAVE THAT BY JANUARY, WE'LL TRY.
UM, IF NOT, IT MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT LONGER, BUT IF WE JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WE'RE, WE ARE WORKING ON THAT PIECE.
UM, REVENUE AND EXPENSE, THOSE WERE IN SIMILAR PACKETS.
IT'S JUST PRESENTED A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY NOW.
AND THEN THE CAPITAL FUNDS AS WELL.
AND THEN ALSO, WHICH WE WILL HAVE BY JANUARY, IS A FUND BALANCE WALK.
I LOOK AT THAT AS CASH, RIGHT? BASICALLY, HOW ARE WE TRACKING? SO WE'LL KIND OF TAKE FROM 26, UH, FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING BUDGET, KIND OF SEE HOW DO WE THINK WE'RE GONNA BE ENDING BY THE END OF JUNE OF THIS YEAR.
AND THEN AS A TOWN PERSPECTIVE, AND THEN BY FUND, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
AND WE CAN KIND OF HAVE A WALK AROUND THAT.
SO I ALWAYS KIND OF LOOK TO SEE, YOU KNOW, WHERE ARE WE TRACKING FROM A, YOU KNOW, OUR SPENDING PERSPECTIVE.
UM, AND I THINK THE FUND BALANCE WALK IS A GOOD WAY TO, TO LOOK AT THAT AS WELL.
SO WE'LL HAVE THAT FOR THE NEXT SESSION.
AND THEN ALSO WE DID ADD QUARTERLY REVENUE CHARTS, CHARTS, JUST TO TRY TO GIVE YOU SOME HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF HOW WE HAVE BEEN TRACKING BY QUARTER TO THIS YEAR.
AND WE'LL GO THROUGH THOSE IN A MINUTE.
SO ON THE REVENUE SIDE, UM, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY, UH, AS MENTIONED LAST, OH, SORRY ABOUT THAT.
AS MENTIONED LAST MONTH, UH, WE'VE HAD, UH, A COUPLE OF ONE-TIME ITEMS IN REVENUE, UH, UH, THIS YEAR.
UM, ONE OF THOSE IS REALLY RELATED TO THE, UH, BUSINESS LICENSE REVENUES FOR, UH, 2024 THAT WERE RECEIVED IN 25, WHICH IS IMPACTING OUR REVENUE GROWTH FOR THIS YEAR COMPARED TO 2025.
IF, IF YOU LOOK AT, UH, NORMALIZING OUT THAT REVENUE SWING, UM, WE ARE RUNNING AROUND 400, FOUR POINT HALF PERCENT.
UH, FROM A REVENUE GROWTH PERSPECTIVE, YOU SHOW 1.7% AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SLIDE.
UM, THERE'S ALSO AN, UH, PAVING GRANT THAT WAS RECEIVED FROM BEAUFORT COUNTY THIS YEAR OF $600,000.
THAT'S IMPACTING, UH, OUR GROWTH FOR THIS YEAR AS WELL COMPARED TO LAST YEAR.
UM, AND THEN YOU'LL SEE IN THE FULL FISCAL YEAR BUDGET WHEN WE GET TO THE SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS ON THE RIGHT, UH, THERE IS NO BUDGET THERE.
UM, WE NEED TO, SO IT'S, SO WHEN WE GET INTO THE QUARTERLY SLIDES, YOU'LL SEE PROJECTIONS FOR SOME OF THESE SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS BECAUSE WE NEED THAT TO DO OUR WALK.
AND SO, UM, BUT THAT'S, WE KIND OF LAID IT OUT THIS WAY SO YOU CAN KIND OF SEE SOME AREAS THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, WE DON'T HAVE A BUDGET FOR THAT WE WILL HAVE GOING FORWARD IN THE FUTURE, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
UM, BUT I TRIED TO HIT THE HIGHLIGHTS ON THE REVENUE.
OVERALL, WE'RE ABOUT FOUR AND A 5% GROWTH, UH, COMPARED TO LAST YEAR.
IF YOU TAKE OUT A COUPLE OF THE ONE-TIME ITEMS. AND I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS ON THE REVENUE SIDE
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FOR RIGHT NOW.UH, WELL, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR LISTENING AND MAKING MODIFICATIONS.
UM, I ALSO APPRECIATE THAT YOU HAVE PUT NOTES, UH, IN THERE, UH, ESPECIALLY FOR THE, UH, ONE TIME KIND OF ADJUSTMENTS BECAUSE AS I LOOK AT THE NUMBERS, I'M ALWAYS LIKE, OKAY, NOW WHAT WAS THAT ONE TIME THING AND HOW MUCH WAS THAT WORTH? SO HAVING THAT ALL HERE MAKES IT VERY EASY FOR US TO CONSUME.
AND, AND I'M PLEASED TO SEE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE ADJUSTED REVENUE IS AT 4.5%.
AND THEN THAT GETS TO MY COMMENT ABOUT THE HEALTH OF THE, OF THE TOWN, UM, AND HAVING GOOD REVENUE GROWTH IS THAT YOU DO MAKE A COMMENT ABOUT TIFF REVENUE, RECLASSING OF INTEREST, UH, FOR $145,000.
SO I JUST, IF YOU COULD COVER WHAT THAT IS, THAT WAS A, UM, UH, IT, A RESERVE CLASSIFICATION THAT WAS RECLASSED TO THE TIF SPECIAL REVENUE FUND OUT OF THE ACCOUNT THAT IT WAS IN, UH, WHICH WAS UNDER, UH, THE, UM, INVESTMENT INCOME.
IT WAS JUST A RECLASS WITHIN THE YEAR, UM, BUT DIDN'T REALLY CHANGE THE NUMBER AS A WHOLE, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR PLANNING ON PUTTING TOGETHER A BUDGET FOR THE SPECIAL FUNDS.
UM, I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHY WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT BEFORE, UH, BECAUSE IT PLAYS SUCH A KEY COMPONENT TO OUR OVERALL, UM, FINANCIALS, UH, AS WE PLAN OUT HOW MUCH WE'LL BE TRANSFERRING, ET CETERA.
SO THANK YOU FOR, UM, PUTTING THAT ON YOUR LIST OF THINGS TO GET ACCOMPLISHED.
UH, ONE OTHER ITEM I WANTED TO MENTION IS, UH, WE DO HAVE THE TIFF SPEAKING OF THAT, THAT IS GOING AWAY.
SO YOU'RE GONNA HAVE THAT REDUCTION HAPPENING, WHICH YOU'LL SEE IN THE, IN THE QUARTERLY REVENUE CHARTS AS WELL.
ANY QUESTIONS ON THE REVENUE SIDE? I'M GOOD.
I LIKE THE FOUR POINT A HALF PERCENT.
OKAY, GOING TO THE NEXT SLIDE, WHICH IS ON AN EXPENSE SNAPSHOT.
UH, BASICALLY LOOKING AT THE SAME WAY, WE HAD A COUPLE OF ONE ONE-TIME EVENTS ON THE SPEND, AND THEY DIDN'T REALLY IMPACT THE FULL YEAR BUDGET, BUT THEY WERE A TIMING.
ONE IS THE, UH, LAND PURCHASE FOR THE GO GEECHEE, UH, FUND, WHICH WAS ABOUT $761,000, WHICH IS AN EXPENSE THAT DID OCCUR IN 2026 VERSUS 25.
ONCE AGAIN, THAT WAS BUDGETED, UH, FOR THE YEAR.
IT JUST, UM, AND SO IT'S NOT A BUDGET ISSUE, IT'S JUST A, WHEN YOU LOOK YEAR OVER YEAR, WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT EXPENSE LAST YEAR.
AND THEN THE OTHER ONE IS PAYING OFF SOME BEACH BONDS EARLIER, UM, WHICH DID IMPACT, YOU KNOW, THE YEAR OVER YEAR PERSPECTIVE OUTTA A BUDGET PERSPECTIVE.
BUT ONCE AGAIN, IT DOESN'T IMPACT THE FULL YEAR, UH, AS A RISK PERSPECTIVE.
SO IF YOU TOOK THOSE TWO OUT, THAT NINE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS REALLY IS ABOUT A $1 MILLION REVENUE OR EXPENSE GROWTH AND IS A, AND THAT'S ABOUT 4.2% ON A NORMALIZED BASIS.
AND SO, UH, THERE ARE PERSONNEL INCREASES WHEN WE LOOK AT 25 VERSUS 26.
UM, BUT IF YOU LOOK AT HOW WE ARE LOOKING TO THE PERCENT OF THE ANNUAL BUDGET, IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THERE'S REALLY ANY ALARM FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE ARE GONNA BE DOING IN THE BUDGETING PROCESS IS BUDGETING BY MONTH.
SO WE CAN, AS WE START TO LOOK AT THE FUTURE, WHEN WE START TO DO REPORTING, WE CAN DO YEAR TO DATE VERSUS BUDGET ON, ON ACTUAL EXPENSES AS WELL.
THAT'LL KIND OF HELP VERSUS JUST COMPARING TO THE FULL YEAR.
ANY QUESTIONS ON EXPENSE? I HAVE TO ASK THIS
SO, UM, IN YOUR NOTES AND COMMENTS, I, I, I'M WITH MS. HUNTER.
I APPRECIATE THESE NOTES AND COMMENTS.
THEY TELL US THE STORY OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED, PARTICULARLY WITH REGARD TO A CERTAIN INCREASE OR DECREASE, BUT I HAVE TO ASK THE INCREASE IN PERSONNEL RELATED TO AN ATM POSITION.
I, I THINK THAT'S WHEN I GO TO GET CASH AT THE BANK.
SO
SORRY ABOUT THE OTHER KIND OF CASH.
GO GET THE CASH FROM I GOT IT NOW.
I, I THOUGHT IT WAS SOME SORT OF FINANCIAL CODE I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND, BUT I I GOT IT NOW.
THERE WAS A REQUEST LAST MONTH ABOUT THAT, MAYBE $157,000 WHEN THE PALMETTO DISCUSSION WAS HAPPENING.
WE DON'T HAVE THAT WOULD COME OUT OF FUND BALANCE.
JUST, YOU HAD ASKED THAT QUESTION, I THINK LAST MONTH ON TEAMS. YES.
SO I JUST WANTED TO FOLLOW UP WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT EXPENSE ON THAT.
AND IT'D BE ADEQUATE FUND BALANCE BASED ON THE, OUR RECENTLY ADOPTED POLICY ABOUT FUND BALANCES TO COVER THAT AMOUNT IF WE CHOOSE TO DO SO.
UH, CIP, UM, WITH RELATION TO CIP, THIS
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COMMITTED NUMBER IS, UM, GONNA BE THE TOTAL IS GONNA BE OUR ACTUAL SPEND PLUS OUR COMMITTED, WHAT WE PLAN TO SPEND SO FAR.UM, WE DO HAVE BUDGET AMENDMENTS THAT ARE COMING UP IN THE MONTH OF JANUARY.
SOME OF THOSE BUDGET AMENDMENTS WILL BE HITTING OUR CIP WHEN WE GO THROUGH THIS.
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THIS FROM MONTH TO NOW, IT'LL, THE AMOUNT WILL GO UP A LITTLE BIT FROM ANY BUDGET AMENDMENTS, AND WE'LL BREAK THAT OUT WHEN WE SEE THE FUTURE CHART ON THAT.
BUT FROM A BEACH PERSPECTIVE, WE'RE AT ABOUT, AT THE TOTAL AT THE BOTTOM, WE'RE AT ABOUT 90%.
SO VERY WELL TRACKING ON THAT.
ALL OF THE OTHER PROJECTS WE'RE AT 64% SO FAR FROM A, AND THIS IS THROUGH, UM, OCTOBER 30TH.
UH, I DID, UH, WE LOOKED ABOUT A WEEK AGO TO SEE HOW WE WERE TRACKING SO FAR THROUGH THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER.
AND WE HAD PROBABLY ABOUT ONE AND A HALF MILLION MORE.
IF WE WERE DOING A SNAPSHOT OF TODAY VERSUS OCTOBER 30TH, WE'D HAVE ABOUT ONE AND A HALF MILLION MORE OF SPEND VERSUS, VERSUS THE 62.6 MILLION.
UH, BUT OTHER THAN THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE TRACKING THESE AND WE'RE, WE'RE PLANNING OUT THE, THE, UH, 27 BUDGETING.
WE'RE ALREADY STARTING THE CIP DISCUSSIONS FOR 27.
AND, UM, BUT YOU'RE GONNA SEE AS, AS A PART OF THE BUDGET AMENDMENT PACKAGE, SOME OF THIS WILL BE IMPACTED BY THAT AS WELL.
I DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON ANY PARTICULAR PROJECT, BUT, UH, OPEN TO ANY, ANYTHING FROM THAT.
I WASN'T GONNA GO THROUGH EVERY PROJECT, BUT YOU'VE GOT 'EM HERE.
UM, YOU MENTIONED BUDGET AMENDMENT COMING IN JANUARY.
CAN YOU SPEAK TO WHAT THE THOUGHT PROCESS IS BEHIND, UH, WHAT'S GOING TO BE INCLUDED? UH, YEAH.
ONE WOULD BE THE POTENTIAL, UH, FIRE AND RESCUE, THAT'S GONNA BE PART OF THE DISCUSSION LATER, UH, THIS AFTERNOON.
UM, OTHER ONES WOULD BE, UH, ROLLOVERS FROM PROJECTS THAT DIDN'T GET COMPLETE IN 2025 FISCAL YEAR.
THAT WOULD BE ROLLING INTO 26 THO AND THERE'S GONNA BE OTHERS.
BUT THOSE, THOSE WOULD BE THE TWO PRIMARY COMPONENTS, I WOULD SAY.
I, I KNOW I ASK ABOUT FINANCIAL REPORTS ON WHERE WE ARE ON CIP PROJECTS, SO I APPRECIATE THAT.
UM, SO BE TREE NOURISHMENT, UM, I SEE ACTUALS A LITTLE OVER 5 MILLION, ALMOST 5.2 MILLION.
COMMITTED 38, ALMOST 38.8 MILLION FOR TOTAL OF 43.9 MILLION PLUS.
UM, AND THE BUDGET IS 47.7 MILLION.
AND, AND I GUESS WE'RE CLOSE TO THE TIME WHERE WE'RE CLOSING ON THE BONDS APPROVED ON THE BEERE NOURISHMENT.
SO MY QUESTION IS OF THE, THE BALANCE THAT'S NOT COM NOT ACTUALLY SPENT OR COMMITTED, UM, THERE'S A DIFFERENCE HERE, 8% OF THE BUDGET.
SO WHAT IS, WHAT IS LEFT, WHAT IS FORECAST TO BE LEFT FROM? WHAT'S ACTUAL AND WHAT'S COMMITTED AS IN SIGNED CONTRACTS WITH THE TWO CONTRACTORS THAT WE HAVE WORKING ON THE PROJECT? I, I'LL HAVE TO, I DON'T KNOW, MARK, IF I'LL HAVE TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT, UH, WITH THE, WITH, I'LL GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT ANSWER.
I WOULD THINK THEY'RE GONNA SPEND ALL OF IT, BUT I'LL, I CAN FIND THAT OUT FOR YOU.
YEAH, I JUST WONDERED WHY IT WASN'T IN THE COMMITTED COLUMN FOR THE TOTAL BUDGET.
THEY JUST DIDN'T HAVE ALL THE POS YET FOR THAT, FOR THAT PIECE.
BUT I'LL, I'LL FIND OUT FROM THEM.
UM, AND THEN I SEE UNDER PARK DEVELOPMENT CROSSINGS PARK, UM, THE BUDGET IS A MILLION, BUT WE'VE ALREADY SPENT ONE POINT, UH, WE ALREADY HAVE ACTUALLY SPENT AND COMMITTED, UM, 1.36 MILLION, UM, THAT ONE IN MID ISLAND TRACK, UM, OR ABOVE, UH, AT LEAST WITH ACTUALLY AND COMMITTED OR ABOVE THE BUDGET AMOUNT.
AND I'M WONDERING WHAT'S GOING ON THERE.
I THINK YOU'LL SEE THAT AS A PART OF THE BUDGET AMENDMENT.
THAT'LL, THAT'LL CORRECT THAT.
UM, AND THEN LAND ACQUISITION, I THINK YOU'VE ADDRESSED THAT, UM, WITH REGARD TO FIR AND RESCUE AND PROBABLY SOME OTHER LAND PURCHASES THAT WE HAVE MADE THAT WEREN'T INCLUDED IN THE ORIGINAL BUDGET NUMBERS.
UM, I, I THINK IT'D BE GOOD TO HAVE A REPORT FROM THE TOWN MANAGER ABOUT THE FOUR OFFICE WAY RENOVATIONS, WHAT'S BEEN DONE AND WHAT'S COMING ALONG.
UM, SO A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ABOUT THAT PARTICULAR CAPITAL PROJECT AS WELL.
FOR OFFICE, WE, FOR OFFICE WE, OKAY.
IT'S UNDER THE FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS.
BUT OVERALL, WE'RE AT 81% OF THE TOTAL BUDGET, SO WE'RE STILL UNDER BUDGET, BUT JUST WITHIN CERTAIN LINE LINE ITEMS, WE'RE ALREADY OVER THE BUDGET AMOUNT AND SOME EXPLANATION OF THOSE.
PLACEHOLDERS FOR FUND BALANCE WALK, WE TALKED ABOUT THOSE.
QUITE A FEW OF THESE, BUT THEY HELP KIND
[00:15:01]
OF MAYBE EXPLAIN WHERE WE ARE IN THE TREND ON ITEMS. THE FIRST ONE IS OUR PROPERTY TAXES FOR THE GENERAL FUND.UM, WE ARE TRACKING WELL WITH THAT SO FAR, WHAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE HERE THOUGH IS IN THE TOTAL NUMBER AT FOR 26.
THAT'S THE ANNUAL BUDGET NUMBER.
BUT SINCE WE DIDN'T BUDGET BY MONTH, YOU DON'T SEE ANYTHING.
YOU DON'T SEE ANYTHING IN THIRD AND FOURTH QUARTER ZERO.
'CAUSE WE HAVEN'T COLLECTED ANYTHING YET.
SO IN THE SECOND QUARTER YOU SEE A NUMBER THERE FOR TAXES, THAT'S JUST ONE MONTH.
SO JUST AS THAT FLOWS THROUGH, THAT'S WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
BUT THEN YOU HAVE THE ANNUAL NUMBERS JUST TO KIND OF GIVE A HISTORICAL VIEW.
AND THIS SHOWS OUR PROPERTY TAX GROWING EVERY YEAR, BUT THEN WE HAVE OUR, DUE OUR BUDGET OF ABOUT 17.9 MILLION FOR 2026.
I DO THINK WE'LL PROBABLY HAVE SOME UPSIDE WHEN WE GO LOOK AND DO THE PROJECTION FOR THE YEAR WITH, RELATED TO THIS.
BUT, UH, ANY QUESTIONS ON TAXES? UH, NOT PARTICULARLY JUST ON THIS CHART.
UH, ALTHOUGH I DO APPRECIATE THE CHART, BUT I KNOW RAW QUESTION.
SO, UH, WE'RE THROUGH THE FIRST QUARTER FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR, SO I KNOW YOU CAN COMPARE IT QUARTER OVER QUARTER, YEAR BY YEAR.
UM, BUT FOR QUARTER TWO, WE'RE ONLY ONE MONTH, AS I UNDERSTAND IN THE REPORTED NUMBERS, THAT IS THROUGH OCTOBER.
UM, SO I'M, I'M GUESSING THAT'S, UM, UH, THAT FIRST QUARTER IS JULY, AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER.
SO SECOND QUARTER, WE ONLY HAVE OCTOBER, I'M GUESSING.
SO MY QUESTION IS, ARE YOU COMPARING QUARTER TWO OCTOBER TO OCTOBER EACH YEAR, OR IS THAT A FULL QUARTER, QUARTER TWO FOR EVERY YEAR UNTIL 2026.
IT'S FULL QUARTER AND PRIOR YEARS AND JUST HAS THE MONTH OF OCTOBER IN 26.
WHEN WE GET TO PROJECTING MORE IN THAT AND, UH, MORE TO THIS LEVEL, WE'LL PUT THE NUMBERS IN THERE THAT WE SEE WHAT WE THINK WILL HAPPEN TO GIVE YOU A BETTER IDEA.
BUT RIGHT NOW THAT'S JUST THE ONE MONTH.
SO THE PRIOR QUARTERS IS THREE MONTHS.
THIS IS JUST THE ONE MONTH IN THIS PRESENTATION, AND THEN YOU HAVE THE ANNUAL COMPARISON AT THE BOTTOM.
THAT'D BE GOOD TO ADD A NOTE ABOUT THAT JUST TO MAKE SURE IT, IT MAKES IT A LITTLE BIT HARD TO COMPARE.
QUARTER TWO, UM, YEAR BY YEAR.
I MEAN, YOU CAN COMPARE PREVIOUS YEARS, BUT NOT THE CURRENT YEAR.
UM, SO IT GIVES US A LITTLE BIT OF INFORMATION, BUT NOT MUCH OKAY.
I I THINK A NOTE WOULD BE GOOD JUST SO THAT, UH, IF THE PUBLIC PULLS THIS UP, THEY DON'T THINK THAT THAT'S A FULL QUARTER OF INFORMATION.
AND THERE'S BEEN, UH, SOME VARIABILITY IN THIS ONE FROM AN, FROM A TIMING PERSPECTIVE OF A COUPLE OF THINGS.
ONE IS THE MUNICIPAL ASSOCIATION'S, UH, REVENUE THAT I, I SPOKE ABOUT ON THE FIRST REVENUE SLIDE, UM, WHICH DID IMPACT 24 AND 25.
WHEN YOU DO LOOK AT THE FIRST QUARTER, THOSE ARE LARGE NUMBERS THAT WOULD'VE GONE IN A PRIOR YEAR ON THE FOURTH QUARTER.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAD A, UM, UH, UH, AIRBNB, UH, PAYMENT THAT DID COME THROUGH ONE AND A HALF MILLION IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 25 FROM AN AIRBNB SETTLEMENT, WHICH MADE THAT NUMBER HIGHER.
IF I NORMALIZE THOSE OUT, UM, YOU KNOW, 25 WOULD BE AROUND 14.8 MILLION VERSUS OUR UPS VERSUS OUR BUDGET OF THIS YEAR FOR ABOUT 13.6 MILLION.
SO WE, I THINK HAVE PROBABLY DO HAVE SOME UPSIDE, BUT THIS IS A CONSERVATIVE VIEW FROM A BUDGET PERSPECTIVE.
AND, UM, SO, AND THEN 24 WOULD BE ABOUT 14.7 MILLION, WHICH IS WHAT THIS, WHAT THIS SHOWS.
SO I, I THINK, YOU KNOW, GOING, LOOKING AT, UM, FROM A TRENDING PERSPECTIVE, UH, WE WE'RE TRACKING, WELL, I KNOW WE HAVE THE OCTOBER ISSUE, IT'S GONNA BE THE SAME ON ALL OF THESE SLIDES, BUT, UM, UH, JUST FROM A TRACKING PERSPECTIVE OF THIS ONE, WITH THE TIMING OF THOSE PAYMENTS, IT DID MAKE THE FIRST QUARTER LOOK RATHER LARGE COMPARED TO 26.
BUT IF YOU TAKE THAT OUT, WE'RE TRACKING ABOUT ON ON PAR.
ON PERMIT REVENUES, THERE ARE NO REALLY A**L ANOMALIES TO GO THROUGH HERE OTHER THAN, UM, WE ARE TRACKING STRONG IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 26 COMPARED TO PRIOR QUARTERS.
UM, 47% OF THE ANNUAL NUMBER WAS ALREADY MADE IN THE FIRST QUARTER.
UM, SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR ANNUAL PERMIT REVENUES OF PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, 2.3 AND 2.5 MILLION, OUR BUDGET OF 1.8 MILLION THIS YEAR, WE'RE TRACKING WELL, TO EXCEED THAT NUMBER, I WOULD SAY, CAN I ASK A, A QUESTION ABOUT THAT ONE? YES.
[00:20:01]
DO WE KNOW WHY WE, SO IT'S, IT'S VOLUME.I MEAN, I, I ASKED THAT QUESTION.
THERE'S A LOT OF VOLUME HAPPENING RIGHT NOW.
AND I DON'T RECALL WHY THE BUDGET WAS ONLY 1.8 MILLION COMPARED TO OVER 2 MILLION TO TWO PREVIOUS YEARS.
YOU PROBABLY DON'T KNOW YOU
I'LL, I DON'T, I WASN'T, WASN'T HERE FOR PART OF THAT EITHER.
PROBABLY A TREND WHEN YOU, A LOT OF THE BUDGETS THOUGH ARE, ARE RUNNING A LITTLE BIT LOWER MM-HMM.
AND THAT'S PROBABLY JUST TAKING A CONSERVATIVE VIEW IS WHAT I WOULD SAY FROM A REVENUE PERSPECTIVE ON THE BUDGET.
CAN YOU GET BACK TO US ON THAT MR. BIRD? AS FAR AS THE VOLUME IS CONCERNED? UM, MY MEMORY IS ALWAYS FUZZY, BUT I THINK I REMEMBER DURING THE LAST BUDGET EXERCISE THAT THE TOWN MANAGER HAD DISCUSSIONS WITH US ABOUT POTENTIALLY ADDING A NEW PERMIT FOR SOME, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS.
BUT SOMETHING THAT WE WERE NOT CHARGING FOR ON THE CONSTRUCTION SIDE IN THE PAST OKAY.
THAT HE FELT NEEDED TO BE DONE.
SO I'M JUST CURIOUS TO KNOW IF THAT'S COME INTO PLAY AND IF THAT, UM, IS PART OF THE, THE INCREASE NUMBER.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WHICH IS OUR STATE SHARED REVENUE, THAT'S TRACKING AS NORMAL AND THE BUDGET IS IN LINE WITH HOW WE'VE BEEN TRACKING, UH, IN PRIOR YEARS.
NO, NOTHING REALLY ON THAT REVENUE ITEM.
UM, ONE THING TO NOTE ON EMS, WE'RE JUST TRACKING FROM A FIRST QUARTER PERSPECTIVE PERSPECTIVE, UH, RIGHT IN LINE, UH, WE MIGHT HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF DIP IN THE SECOND QUARTER DUE TO THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN THAT DID OCCUR.
AND UM, YOU KNOW, IT DEPENDS ON HOW LONG IT'S GONNA TAKE TO GET THAT BACK ON TRACK.
SO, UM, WE MIGHT SEE A LITTLE BIT OF DIP IN THE SECOND QUARTER THAT WOULD COME BACK IN THE THIRD QUARTER.
SO, WE'LL, WE'RE KIND OF WORKING THROUGH THAT RIGHT NOW.
BUT OTHER THAN THAT, LOOKING AT THIS FROM A BUDGET PERSPECTIVE, HERE'S ANOTHER ITEM WHERE WE BUDGETED 2 MILLION LAST LAST YEAR WAS 2.6 I, I THINK IT'S PROBABLY HARD TO PREDICT WHAT THIS ONE MIGHT BE.
SO I THINK CONSERVATIVE IS THE WAY TO GO ON THIS ONE, BUT THAT'S WHAT THAT'S TRACKING FROM RIGHT NOW.
AND THEN, UH, FRANCHISE FEES, UH, THOSE ARE, UM, ONCE AGAIN, WE HAD, UH, ONE ADJUSTMENT FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 25, WHICH WAS FOR THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 24.
UM, THAT'S WHY YOU HAD, UH, 200,000, UH, IN 25 FROM A COMPARABLE PERSPECTIVE.
BUT OTHER THAN THAT, UH, FROM AN ANNUAL PERSPECTIVE ON FRANCHISE FEES, AND I KNOW IT'S RELATIVELY EARLY ON IN THE PROCESS, BUT, UH, NOTHING REALLY ALARMING YET FROM THAT ONE.
LOCAL ATEX REVENUE FOR THE GENERAL FUND.
UM, ONCE AGAIN, WE HAVE THE AIRBNB SETTLEMENT AND THIS ONE AS WELL IN 2025, THAT DID MAKE THE NUMBER HIGHER.
IF YOU DID TAKE THAT OUT, WE WOULD'VE BE AT AROUND 7.3 MILLION OF 25 VERSUS 24 VERSUS A BUDGET THIS YEAR OF 6.8.
SO I THINK WE'RE, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THERE'S, IT COULD BE SOME TRENDING THAT, UH, MAYBE FOR SOME OF THE VOLUME OF ROOMS, ET CETERA.
SO WE'LL KIND OF SEE HOW THAT IMPACTS THIS GOING FORWARD.
BUT FROM A BUDGET, I THINK WE'RE OKAY.
UM, A LOT OF TOWN COUNCIL, I'LL JUST PUT IT THIS WAY.
A LOT OF TOWN COUNCIL MEMBERS KNOW WHEN CERTAIN REVENUE COMES IN, FOR INSTANCE, PROPERTY TAXES, WE DON'T PAY OUR PROPERTY TAXES TILL DEC WELL THEY'RE DUE EARLIER, BUT THEY'RE USUALLY PAID IN IN DECEMBER AND UP TO THE, UH, DEADLINE IN JANUARY.
SO WE KNOW DURING THOSE QUARTERS THERE'S GONNA BE MORE INCOME FROM PROPERTY TAXES.
I THINK IT'D BE HELPFUL TO PUT A NOTE ABOUT WHEN THE BULK OF THOSE CERTAIN FUNDS THAT COME AT DIFFERENT TIMES OF THE YEAR COME IN.
SO THAT, FOR INSTANCE, IF WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, THE REVENUE STREAM DURING A CERTAIN QUARTER, LIKE THE FIRST QUARTER OF THE YEAR, THAT'S NOT WHEN A PROPERTY TAXES ARE BEING PAID OR WINNER STATE AND LOCAL AT TAX MONEY'S COMING IN.
SO THAT, THAT HELPS US TO SEE THE PICTURE AND WILL HELP THE PUBLIC TO KNOW THEY WON'T GET ALARMED WHEN THEY'RE GOING LIKE, WOW, YOU DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY
THAT'S BECAUSE PROPERTY TAXES AREN'T GENERALLY PAID.
WE DON'T USUALLY SEE THEM UNTIL I GUESS THE THIRD QUARTER OF THE YEAR.
UM, AND, AND UH, THERE'S TALK IN THE COMMUNITY ABOUT HOW AT TAX NUMBERS ARE DOWN THIS YEAR.
AND SO IT'D BE IMPORTANT FOR US TO KNOW WHEN THOSE ARE DOWN.
[00:25:01]
YOU KNOW, WHICH MONTHS DO WE GET THOSE FUNDS FROM THE STATE.UM, AND TO BE ABLE TO COMPARE YEAR OVER YEAR.
AND IF YOU LOOK AT QUARTER TWO AND THIS ONE VERY STRONG FOR ONE MONTH, RIGHT.
FIRST QUARTER WAS BETTER THAN LAST YEAR'S FIRST QUARTER AS WELL.
AND THEN IF YOU LOOK AT THE FOURTH QUARTER FOR 2025, THAT'S WHEN THE BULK OF THE MONEY CAME IN.
AND, AND THEN YOU LOOK AT FOURTH QUARTER FOR PREVIOUS YEARS, THERE'S A BUMP IN QUARTER TWO IT APPEARS, AND THEN A BUMP IN QUARTER FOUR.
EXPLAINING WHEN, WHY THOSE BUMPS OCCUR IN THOSE CERTAIN QUARTERS.
ON OUR DEBT SERVICE FUND AS WELL FROM A PROPERTY TAX PERSPECTIVE, UM, ONCE AGAIN, WE'RE TRACKING IN LINE WITH PRIOR YEARS.
I KNOW IT'S EARLY ON, BUT UH, IT LOOKS LIKE FROM A BUDGET PERSPECTIVE, WE ARE DOING WE'LL.
WE'LL BE FINE FROM THE PROJECTION WITH THAT.
IT'S 6 MILLION VERSUS PRIOR COUPLE YEARS OF 6.8 MILLION AND 6.3.
OUR NEXT ONE IS OUR TIFF OR TAX INCREMENT FUND.
AND THIS JUST SHOWS HOW THAT IS BASICALLY GOING DOWN TO ZERO AND 26 AND SCALING OFF.
UH, WE DID HAVE A NEGATIVE NUMBER IN QUARTER FOUR OF 2025 'CAUSE WE OVER COLLECTED IT HAD TO REIMBURSE THE COUNTY AND THAT'S WHY THERE'S A NEGATIVE THERE.
UM, BUT OTHER THAN THAT, UM, THIS IS JUST KIND SHOWING THE IMPACT TO THE REVENUE FROM THAT, FROM THIS REVENUE STREAM.
AND THEN WE HAVE OUR STATE AT TAX REVENUE.
AND ONCE AGAIN, FROM A TIMING PERSPECTIVE, UM, ZERO 0% HISTORICALLY IN THE FIRST QUARTER, AND THEN OUR FIRST SECOND QUARTER'S RIGHT IN LINE WITH PRIOR QUARTERS.
AND WE EXPECT THAT TO CONTINUE TO BE IN LINE.
THIS WAS ONE OF THOSE FUNDS THAT IN THE SPECIAL REVENUE WHERE THERE'S NOT A BUDGET.
SO THIS IS A, THAT 13.1 IS A PROJECTION JUST TO HAVE A GRAPHICAL VIEW.
UM, AND THAT'S REALLY JUST SO YOU KNOW, THE AVERAGE OF THE PRIOR THREE YEARS FOR NOW.
UN UNTIL WE KIND OF GET OUR ARMS AROUND PROJECTING A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY.
BUT THAT'S WHERE THAT DOLLAR AMOUNT CAME FROM.
ON YOUR FIRST CHART ON REVENUE, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE SEEN A REVENUE NUMBER THERE 'CAUSE WE WERE LOOKING AT A BUDGET NUMBER.
BUT THAT'S A, THAT'S A PROJECTION.
SORRY, WHILE YOU'RE ON THAT ONE QUARTER TWO AND UNDERSTAND THIS IS ONLY THROUGH OCTOBER FOR 2026.
SO OUR ALREADY AT ALMOST 5.2 MILLION.
SO IS THAT WHEN WE RE WE RECEIVED THOSE? YEAH.
WE JUST, THAT'S THE TIMING OF THE PAYMENT.
I THINK ONCE WE BREAK THIS OUT BY MONTH AND LOOK AT THESE IN A DIFFERENT WAY, YOU'LL, WE'LL KIND OF SEE THESE, HOW THEY FLOW ON A MONTHLY BASIS.
WELL, WE'RE PROBABLY NOT GONNA ANTICIPATE ADDITIONAL PAYMENTS NO.
AND SO, AND SHOW 0, 0 0 5 0 0.
AND SO FOR, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT LOCAL LATEX.
THE FIRST QUARTER WAS, UH, ABOVE THE PRIOR YEAR.
THIS ONE IS SLIGHTLY BELOW, BELOW THE PRIOR YEAR BY 1.8%.
SO WE ARE SEEING A LITTLE BIT OF A DIP.
OUR REAL ESTATE TRANSFER FEE REVENUE, THIS IS RUNNING REALLY STRONG.
THIS IS ONE, WE ONCE AGAIN DID A PROJECTION AMOUNT, BUT THIS PROJECTION I THINK IS A BIT CONSERVATIVE CONSIDERING WE HIT 44% OF THAT PROJECTED AMOUNT IN THE FIRST QUARTER.
UM, WHICH IS MUCH HIGHER THAN PRIOR QUARTERS.
IF YOU LOOK HISTORICALLY AT THE FIRST QUARTER FOR REAL ESTATE TRANSFER FEES.
UM, I THINK SO FAR IN LOOKING AT NOVEMBER, IT WAS PRETTY, UH, IT'S, IT'S SLOWING DOWN I WOULD SAY.
SO THE FIRST QUARTER WAS A BIG, BIG QUARTER AND SO, UM, I THINK THE 5 MILLION TOOK A GOOD CONSERVATIVE NUMBER TO HAVE.
BUT JUST WITH WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FIRST, EVEN IF WE HIT THE BUDGET AND THE PRIOR YEARS AND THE THIRD AND THE FOURTH, WE PROBABLY WOULD HAVE HIGHER THAN 5 MILLION BY THE END OF THIS YEAR ON THIS ONE.
UM, AS WE CONTINUE TO GET BETTER AT, UH, COMPARISONS, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS NUMBER IS BASED ON, UH, ON VOLUME BUT IN TWO DIFFERENT WAYS BECAUSE IT COULD BE RELATED TO THE PRICE OH YEAH.
AND IT COULD BE THE QUANTITY OF HOMES THAT ARE SELLING.
SO, YOU KNOW, AS WE GET BETTER AT THIS, I JUST THINK WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE COMPARE IN THAT FASHION.
HOSPITALITY, HOSPITALITY, TAX REVENUE, EXCUSE ME.
UM, FIRST QUARTER OF THIS YEAR RUNNING A LITTLE BIT STRONGER THAN THE PRIOR TWO QUARTER PRIOR YEARS.
[00:30:01]
UM, AND ONCE AGAIN, SO FAR IN THE SECOND QUARTER, A STRONG MONTH OF 1.98 MILLION COMPARED TO THE FULL QUARTERS OF THE PRIOR YEAR.AND ONCE AGAIN, THE TEN FIVE IS THE AVERAGE OF THE THREE.
THIS IS A PROJECTED AMOUNT THAT, YOU KNOW, AT THE RATE RATE WE'RE GOING, THIS PROBABLY WILL BE HIGHER THAN THAT.
BUT THIS IS KIND OF A SNAPSHOT OF WHERE WE'RE LOOKING NOW.
I'D SAY THIS IS LOOKING, LOOKING WELL AND OUR BEACH PRESERVATION FEE, UH, SAME TYPE OF A FLOW, UH, STRONG FIRST QUARTER AS YOU WOULD EXPECT FROM PRIOR SLIDE ON, UH, HOSPITALITY AND THEN ALSO LOOKING, UM, OR ACCOMMODATION.
THEN LOOKING AT QUARTER TWO AS WELL.
SO STRONG START TO THE YEAR ON BEACH PRESERVATION.
AND, UM, IF YOU LOOK AT LAST YEAR WE HAD 17.3 MILLION, BUT THERE WAS 2.6 MILLION OF THE AIRBNB SETTLEMENT.
SO IF YOU TAKE THAT OUT, WE WERE AROUND 14.7 MILLION LAST YEAR, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, OUR PROJECTION HERE IS ABOUT 14.2 MILLION.
PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT UPSIDE IN THAT WOULD BE MY GUESS AT THIS POINT.
MUST TURN IT OFF INSTEAD OF ON.
UM, SO FOR BEACH PRESERVATION, WE HAVE THE, THE NEW BOND ISSUE ON BEACH PRESERVATIONS MM-HMM
AND THEN WE HAD FORECAST THAT OUT OVER THE PAYBACK TIME PERIOD.
WE HAVE ONE BIG PAYBACK COMING.
UM, UH, WELL WE, WE HAD ONE BIG PAY BACK ALREADY FOR THE EXISTING BONDS, SO I THINK, UH, DURING THE FIRST YEAR IT'D BE GOOD TO SEE HOW WE LIVED OUT THAT CHART.
UM, IN OTHER WORDS, UM, OUR, OUR REVENUE STREAM IS GREATER THAN WHAT WE ANTICIPATED FOR THE PAYBACK OF THAT BOND ISSUE.
SO IT'D BE GOOD TO SEE AS WE GET THROUGH THE YEAR, ESPECIALLY AT, AT THE END OF THE QUARTER OR WHEN WE PREPARE FOR OUR BUDGET FOR NEXT YEAR WHERE WE ARE WITH REGARD TO THE ACTUAL INCOME STREAM, THE REVENUE STREAM COMPARED TO WHAT OUR PROJECTED PAYOUT WOULD BE ON THOSE BONDS LINKING THOSE TWO.
WOULD YOU WANT THAT IN THE PACKAGE OR JUST, UH, JUST TO HAVE THAT AS FAR AS THE BUDGET GOES? UM, I'M GONNA LOOK TO MS. TANNER TO SEE IF SHE HAS AN IDEA OF WHAT OUR PREFERENCE MIGHT BE, IF YOU KNOW WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
UM, I THINK WHATEVER, WHATEVER WAY GIVES US THE BEST PICTURE.
UM, UNLESS YOU HAVE A SUGGESTION OF HOW TO DO THAT.
YEAH, I, I'D BE, UM, COMFORTABLE WITH IT BEING PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS.
AND OUR ELECTRIC FRANCHISE FEE REVENUE IS, UM, PRETTY MUCH TRACKING RIGHT ALONG AND, UH, OUR PROJECTIONS RIGHT IN LINE WITH THE PRIOR YEARS.
SO REALLY NOTHING I WOULD SAY, UH, FROM A TREND PERSPECTIVE OF THIS ONE.
AND THEN OUR SHORT TERM RENTAL FEE REVENUE IS, UM, WE KNOW IT'S AROUND $1.8 MILLION ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
UM, YOU KNOW, MOST OF THAT ARE HAPPENING WHEN WE HAVE THE RENEWALS IN THE SECOND QUARTER.
UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'LL BE LOOKING AT THAT IMPACT WITH OUR UPCOMING BUDGET AMENDMENT AS WELL, UH, WITH REGARDS TO SOME OF THE, UH, RESTRICTION, UM, NEW, UH, ITEMS WE'RE DOING ON SHORT TERM RENTALS.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT RIGHT NOW IN THE FUTURE.
THIS TOO WILL SHIFT BASED ON OUR COLLECTION.
AND THEN STORM WATER, WHICH, UH, FIRST QUARTER'S BEEN TRACKING ALONG.
AND THEN, UH, ONCE AGAIN, THIS IS JUST OCTOBER.
IT LOOKS REALLY LOW IN THE SECOND QUARTER, BUT WE EXPECT THAT TO PICK BACK UP.
UM, AND, UH, NOTHING REALLY, UH, SO FAR TO FROM THIS ONE OTHER THAN IT'S, UH, WE EXPECT IT TO TRACK AROUND 5.3 MILLION FOR THE YEAR.
AND THAT'S ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE TIMING ISSUES RIGHT.
SO WE WOULD, UH, SEE THE BIG BUMP AS THIS SHOWS IN QUARTER THREE, USUALLY OVER THE YEAR.
SO IT'D BE GOOD TO HAVE A NOTE ABOUT THAT AS WELL.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE ARE SO FAR AS WE GO THROUGH THIS JOURNEY ON OUR FINANCIAL PRESENTATIONS.
BUT, UM, ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR MR. BIRD? NO, BUT THANK YOU.
YOU, YOU'RE DEFINITELY GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AS FAR AS REPORTING TO US.
UM, YOU KNOW, JUST SOME, SOME ADDITIONAL NOTES HERE AND THERE AND OBVIOUSLY, UM, EACH QUARTER'S GONNA TELL A DIFFERENT STORY AS FAR AS RIGHT.
THE AMOUNT OF ACTIVITY THAT IS HAPPENING, BUT, UH, FOR THE MOST PART THAT WE'RE, WE'RE GETTING TO THE POINT WHERE WE CAN UNDERSTAND BETTER AS FAR AS TRENDS ARE CONCERNED AND, UH, BETTER POSITION US AS WE'RE MAKING DECISIONS RELATED TO THE REVENUE SOURCES.
[5.a. Consideration of a Funding Request Supporting the Lowcountry Regional Transportation Authority - Brian Sullivan, Executive Director]
[00:35:03]
WE'LL MOVE ON TO OUR NEW BUSINESS, UH, CONSIDERATION OF THE FUNDING REQUEST SUPPORTING THE LOW COUNTRY REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY.UH, CHAIRMAN AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS, UH, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR TIME.
REALLY APPRECIATE, UH, THE EFFORTS, ESPECIALLY TOWN MANAGER AND HIS STAFF HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL.
UH, SO I WANT TO GIVE CREDIT TO THEM.
FIRST OFF, ALSO WANNA INTRODUCE, UH, CHRISTINE HEPBURN IS HERE.
SHE IS OUR DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION.
SHE'S HERE TO CORRECT ME WHEN I GO ASTRAY WITH THE NUMBERS.
UM, I HAVE A, UH, POWERPOINT PRESENTATION.
A LOT OF THE SLIDES ARE BASICALLY KIND OF THE SAME FROM THE NOVEMBER 18TH MEETING.
THERE ARE SOME UPDATES IF YOU WOULD OBLIGE.
I CAN MAYBE SKIP AHEAD TO THOSE, THOSE SLIDES AND KIND OF GIVE YOU SOME UPDATES BEFORE WE DIG THROUGH ANY OF THE ADDITIONAL ATTACHMENTS THAT WERE ATTACHED TO THE ITEM.
IF YOU COULD GET TO THE UPDATES, THAT'D BE GREAT.
THESE ARE ALL HERE IN CASE WE NEED TO REFER BACK TO HIM.
UM, WE, WE HAD SOME SORT OF FOLLOW UP REQUESTS FROM THE 18TH MEETING AND, UM, I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE HELPFUL HERE TO DISCUSS EFFORTS THAT WE'VE MADE, UH, EVEN BEFORE THE 18TH, THE NOVEMBER 18TH MEETING.
UM, AND KIND OF JUST CATEGORIZE THOSE BY THINGS THAT ARE VIABLE AND THINGS THAT ARE NOT VIABLE FOR US.
UM, SO THE NOT VIABLES, UM, AND IT'S IN YOUR PACKET AS WELL, A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ON, UH, CALCULATIONS DONE BY STAFF.
UM, AND THERE'S A RISK OF, UH, EITHER RIDERSHIP SLIPPAGE OR UM, UH, BAD PRESS BASICALLY FOR RAISING, UM, THE FARES ON THE FOLKS WHO CAN ESSENTIALLY LEAST AFFORD TO, UH, TAKE THE HIT.
UM, SO WE CONSIDERED THAT NOT VIABLE.
UM, WE HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THE SALE OF ASSETS.
'CAUSE OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE BUSES FOR THE MOST PART, VEHICLE ROLLING STOCK.
THOSE ASSETS ARE OWNED BY THE TAXPAYERS.
UM, WE HAVE TO REMIND OUR DRIVERS ALL THE TIME, THAT'S NOT YOUR BUS, IT'S THE TAXPAYER'S BUS.
UM, AND SO WHEN WE DO DISPOSE OF AN ASSET, THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE DISPOSAL, UM, REVENUE GOES BACK TO EITHER THE FEDERAL OR STATE GOVERNMENT.
SO, BECAUSE THEY BASICALLY PUT UP THE MONEY, THE CAPITAL GRANTS TO DO THAT.
UM, AND THEN LASTLY, ROUTE ELIMINATION.
UM, WE, WE EXPLORED THIS, UH, EXHAUSTIVELY LAST SPRING BECAUSE, UM, IT'S, IT WOULD, YOU WOULD LIKE TO THINK THAT IT'S EASIER TO, TO, UH, ELIMINATE ROUTES THAT ARE LESS PERFORMING, LOWER PERFORMING THAN OTHER ROUTES.
AND, UM, EVERY TIME WE DID IT, EVEN IF WE TRIED TO MERGE 'EM TOGETHER, IT RESULTED IN A DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT.
SO, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, IF, UM, WE LOOKED AT HAMPTON COUNTY ROUTE, THAT IS PERFORMING VERY, VERY WELL, BUT THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT, UH, HASN'T INCREASED THE AMOUNT THAT THEY SUPPORT US WITH.
IT'S ATTEMPTING TO SAY, WELL, LET'S TAKE THAT ROUTE AWAY.
IT'S A DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT.
'CAUSE NOW YOU'RE, YOU'RE IMPACTING THAT MANY MORE RIDERS THAT ARE COMING INTO HILTON HEAD TO WORK EACH DAY.
SO, UM, WE HAVE PRETTY MUCH ELIMINATED THAT, UH, OPTION, UH, FROM OUR QUIVER OF OUR, OUR QUIVER OF EROS.
HOWEVER, THEY'RE ALL VIABLE OPTIONS.
UM, THE REASON WE'RE HERE TODAY TO GET TO, UH, REQUEST SOME ADDITIONAL FUNDING FROM THE TOWN, UM, WE CAN IN QUOTE, BORROW FROM OUR LIMITED RESERVE FUNDS.
UH, WE DO HAVE SOME RESERVE FUNDS, BUT THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE THERE AND THEY'RE, YOU'RE MARKED TO SUPPORT, UH, CURRENT AND FUTURE GRANTS.
AND THEN, UH, ANOTHER ONE THAT'S, IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME CONSUMING, BUT SOMETHING THAT HAS A PRECEDENT IS TO APPROACH MAJOR EMPLOYERS FOR SOME FUNDING SUPPORT.
IT'D BE AT A MUCH SMALLER LEVEL.
UM, THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE WHAT WE CONSIDER SOME VIABLE OPTIONS FOR FOR THIS YEAR.
SO THE SHORT TERM GAP CLOSURE BEFORE YOU LEAVE THAT SLIDE.
YEAH, I THINK THERE'RE PROBABLY GONNA BE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THESE.
UM, SO I, I KNOW I HAVE A COUPLE, BUT I'LL, MS. TURNER, YOU HAD SOMETHING ON THESE SLIDES START, I THOUGHT WE WERE GONNA WAIT UNTIL, WELL, I, I'D LIKE TO HAVE A DISCUSSION HERE TODAY, UM, SO THAT WE CAN GET FEEDBACK ON THE SPOT.
SO THE FIRST ONE, ADDITIONAL MUNICIPAL COUNTY FUNDING.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE NOTE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAD BEEN COMMUNICATING AND YOU PROVIDED SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT ALL THE MUNICIPALITIES THAT, UM, ARE PART OF YOUR SERVICE.
UH, WHERE, HOW MUCH MONEY THEY GAVE IN 2025, HOW MUCH YOU ASKED IN 2026 AND WHAT YOU'LL BE RECEIVING IN 2026.
AND, UH, WHEN I LOOKED AT THAT OF THE SEVEN COMMUNITIES, FIVE INCREASED THEIR SHARE OF FUNDING.
UM, AND THAT INCLUDED HAMPTON BLUFFTON, UH, AND HILTON HEAD.
AND THERE WERE SOME SMALLER, UH, COUNTIES AS WELL.
JASPER AND COLTON, THE ONE THAT STOOD OUT WAS BEAUFORT COUNTY.
UH, BEAUFORT COUNTY PROVIDES, UH, A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THE OVERALL FUNDING.
UH, LAST YEAR THEY GAVE $717,639.
UM, THEY WERE ASKED LIKE EVERYONE ELSE, UH, FOR A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN 2026,
[00:40:01]
AND THEY CHOSE TO LEAVE THEIR FUNDING FLAT.UM, AND SO WHEN I LOOK AT AND COMPARE WHAT THE OTHER COMMUNITIES ARE DOING, IT JUST FELT, UM, YOU KNOW, IT JUST FELT LIKE THEY WERE NOT CONTRIBUTING, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH THEIR, THEIR DECISION TO LEAVE IT FLAT.
SO, YOU KNOW, IF THEY HAD CONTRIBUTED CONSISTENT WITH WHAT, UH, THE OTHER COMMUNITIES DID, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE AS LARGE OF A GAP AS YOU HAVE TODAY.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, I, I LOOK TO OUR COUNTY PARTNERS, UH, FOR, AND I THINK THEY SHOULD STEP UP WITH ADDITIONAL FUNDING AND I KNOW YOU'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS.
UM, BUT THAT WILL NEED TO BE APPROVED BY COUNTY COUNCIL AS WELL.
BUT, UH, AND I, I THINK THEY CAN DO MORE, UM, TO CONTRIBUTE TO THIS OVERALL NEED.
AND OH, I, I'M NOT INTERESTED IN BORROWING FROM LIMITED RESERVES.
THE RESERVES ARE THERE FOR A REASON.
AND, UM, ALTHOUGH THAT CAN FILL A SHORT TERM GAP, I DON'T THINK THAT'S, UH, WISE, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE LONG TERM AND APPROACHING MAJOR EMPLOYERS FOR FUNDING SUPPORT, OF COURSE THAT, YOU KNOW, IT CAN ALWAYS HAPPEN.
I UNDERSTAND THAT IT, UM, YOU KNOW, TAKES SOME TIME.
UH, AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU TALK ABOUT LONG TERM VIABILITY OF OPTIONS.
YOU KNOW, WE, I'VE GOT A SLIDE IN THE FUTURE.
UH, UM, FIRST OF ALL, I AGREE WITH MS. HUNTER ABOUT THE COUNTY.
IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF THEY WOULD PARTICIPATE IN THIS, UH, IN FINDING A SOLUTION.
SO I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO FIND OUT.
DON'T BORROW FROM LIMITED RESERVES.
UM, AND THEN APPROACHING MAJOR EMPLOYERS.
UM, ONE OF THE SLIDES THAT YOU PROVIDED TO US, UM, FOR TODAY IS, UM, HILTON, A KIG BEACH SHUTTLE.
UM, THERE WAS A REDUCTION OF 12,660.
AND MARRIOTT, WW WHATEVER WW STANDS FOR, UM, A COUPLE THOUSAND REDUCTIONS.
SO I, I'D BE INTERESTED TO FIND OUT, 'CAUSE WE'RE LOOKING AT AN OPTION OF APPROACHING MAJOR EMPLOYERS FOR FUNDING SUPPORT AND IT APPEARS AS THOUGH THERE'S TWO AREAS WHERE THAT WAS ACTUALLY REDUCED.
UM, SO CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT? SO THE ASSUMPTION THERE FOR BOTH IS THE SAME ASSUMPTION, IS THAT IF WE WERE TO, UM, REDUCE WEEKEND SERVICE OR ELIMINATE WEEKEND SERVICE AS IS, AS IS BUDGETED, I WON'T SAY PLANNED, UM, AS IS BUDGETED IN FISCAL 26, THEN WE WOULD NOT BE OPERATING ON SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS.
AND SO THERE'D BE FEWER OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE KLIN NEW BEACH SHUTTLE AND, AND OBVIOUSLY FEWER OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE MARRIOTT WORLDWIDE.
UH, THAT'S MARRIOT APPLICATIONS WORLDWIDE, UM, AS A PARTNER.
AND THAT'S THE PRECEDENT I WAS REFERENCING.
UM, THEY'VE DONE THAT FOR SEVERAL, SEVERAL YEARS.
UH, UNDERWRITING ONE OF OUR ROUTES.
IN FACT, SHE REACHED OUT TO ME YESTERDAY FOR NEXT YEAR.
SO, UM, BUT YEAH, THEY, IT'S, IT'S BASICALLY, IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE BUDGETED SERVICE REDUCTION THAT WE'RE WORKING VERY HARD NOT TO DO.
AND SO WHEN YOU LIST NOT VIABLE AND VIABLE, I'M HOPING TO PUT IN THE NOT VIABLE REDUCTION IN SERVICE.
'CAUSE I, I THINK, I THINK OUR COMMITTEE'S GONNA BE PRETTY CLEAR THAT WE DO NOT WANT THAT.
REAL QUICK, SORT OF A SIDE NOTE.
UM, MUCH LIKE MR. BYRD, UM, WE ARE MONITORING, UH, BUDGET TO ACTUAL EVERY MONTH.
IF I COULD DO IT EVERY WEEK, I WOULD.
UM, AND SO AFTER FOUR MONTHS THROUGH OCTOBER 31ST, WE WERE TRENDING RIGHT ON BUDGET.
WE WERE VERY HAPPY ABOUT THAT.
'CAUSE THAT WAS MY BIGGEST FEAR IS THAT WITHIN FOUR MONTHS, WE ALREADY KNOW OUR EXPENSES ARE STARTING TO OUT PACE THE REVENUE.
UM, THANKS TO CHRISTINE'S DILIGENCE, UM, SHE'S, SHE'S SOMETIMES THE BAD COP, IF YOU WILL, IN TERMS OF SPENDING MONEY.
BUT WE'VE DONE A VERY GOOD JOB.
THE OPERATIONS TEAM HAS MINIMIZED OVER TIME, UM, DONE WITHOUT A FEW POSITIONS, UH, FOR SEVERAL MONTHS.
AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE RIGHT ON TARGET.
SO THAT GIVES ME CONFIDENCE COMBINED WITH ANY ADDITIONAL REVENUE FROM LOCAL SOURCES THAT I DON'T THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO THAT IN FISCAL 26.
UM, THE DISCUSSION FOR FISCAL 27, IT'S STILL SORT OF OUT THERE BECAUSE WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT FISCAL 27 LOOKS LIKE YET.
AGAIN, NOBODY WANTS TO DO THAT.
UM, OUR BOARD WAS VERY RELUCTANT TO APPROVE A BUDGET THAT INCLUDED THAT.
UM, AND, AND THE OTHER THING IS, UM, UH, FAIR INCREASES.
I THINK YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT FAIR INCREASES WITH COMMUTERS, UH, IMPACT 75,000 AT BEST.
UM, AND, AND PERSONALLY I DON'T WANNA DO THAT EITHER.
I I DON'T WANNA INCREASE THE FAIRA COMMUTERS BECAUSE THEY'RE THE ONES WHO IN MY VIEW CAN LEAST AFFORD TO HAVE A FAIR INCREASE.
UM, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE ON THE LIST, UM, POSSIBLY INCREASING THE, THE TROLLEY OR THE SHUTTLE FARE.
UM, AND I'M HOPING THAT THAT CAN BE ADDED TO THE LIST AS WELL.
THAT IS UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR FISCAL 27.
[00:45:01]
AT THIS POINT.AND I, UH, CONCUR WITH, UH, COUNCILMAN BRYSON'S, UM, COMMENTS.
YOU KNOW, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO ME IS THE COMMUTER LINE AND MAKING SURE THAT THAT'S VIABLE AND THAT THERE AREN'T ANY CHANGES TO SERVICE BECAUSE IT'S CRITICALLY IMPORTANT TO GET THE EMPLOYEES HERE ON THE ISLAND TO SUPPORT OUR BUSINESSES AND FOR THEIR OWN FINANCIAL WELLBEING.
AND SO AT THIS TIME, I'M NOT COMFORTABLE WITH FAIR INCREASES, UH, FOR THE COMMUTERS AS WELL.
BUT I THINK THERE ARE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES WITH OUR OWN LOCAL SERVICES, UM, THROUGH THE TROLLEY.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
THE, UM, THE CHART THAT LISTS OUT THE, UH, I GUESS THOSE ARE, ARE CONTRIBUTING, I'LL CALL 'EM PARTNERS.
UH, THE CITY OF HARVILLE IS NOT ON THIS LIST.
IS THERE ANY CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM OR IS THERE A REASON WHY THEY'RE NOT ON THE LIST? YEAH, HISTORICALLY THEY'VE NEVER BEEN A FINANCIAL FUNDING PARTNER.
THE, THE WAY THAT WORKS BY THE WAY, UM, AT SOME POINT, UM, THIS TOWN OF HILTON HEAD, I DON'T KNOW WHAT YEAR, UH, PASSED A RESOLUTION THAT BASICALLY SAID, YEAH, WE AGREE FOR LRTA TO REQUEST FEDERAL AND STATE GRANTS ON OUR BEHALF FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.
SO HARDEE BUILDER HAS NOT DONE THAT.
UM, WE HAVE HAD A MEETING WITH CITY STAFF, UM, THAT WE DID THAT A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, VERY PRELIMINARY.
IN FACT, I WAS JUST TALKING TO SOME STAFF, UH, LAST WEEK AGAIN.
UM, I THINK IT'S PROBABLY TIME TO DO THAT.
I SUSPECT ALSO THINKING WAY AHEAD 2030 CENSUS, I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF OUR SMALL URBAN AREA IN SOUTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY EXTENDS INTO JASPER FOR HARDY MILL.
UM, THAT I THINK COULD, IT MAKES SENSE.
IT'S ALL STARTING TO SORT OF BLEND TOGETHER PHYSICALLY.
YOU CAN KIND OF JUST FEEL IT AND SEE IT.
SO, UM, THAT FIRST STEP THOUGH WOULD BE FOR US TO REQUEST THAT RESOLUTION.
UM, IT, IT'S NOT A COMMITMENT OF DOLLARS YET.
IT'S JUST A COMMITMENT THAT WE CAN, UH, INCLUDE THEM IN OUR LOCAL MASTER REQUESTS AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL.
ASIDE FROM THAT, WHEN THERE'S ADDITIONAL LOCAL REVENUES NEEDED, NOT BEYOND GRANT MONIES, UM, THAT DOESN'T REQUIRE THE RESOLUTION.
SO WE COULD EVEN JUST APPROACH THEM.
THEY ARE DEFINITELY INTERESTED IN SOME OF THE TYPES OF SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE.
UM, IT'S A LITTLE BIT LONG TERM, COUPLE YEARS OUT, BUT I THINK THE, TO GET THE BALL ROLLING MAKES A LOT OF SENSE.
SO THERE ARE CURRENTLY SERVICE IN HARVILLE STOPS PICKUPS.
THERE ARE STOPS ON THE COMMUTER RUN THAT, THAT IS THE EXTENT OF SERVICE IN ALL OF JASPER COUNTY FOR THAT MATTER, IS STOPS ON THE DAILY COMMUTERS.
SO THAT PART OF THE TABS BEING PICKED UP THROUGH THE COUNTY BASICALLY.
UM, SO, UH, I KNOW THAT HARDY VILLE HAS A SEAT AT THE, UH, SO LOCO MM-HMM
UH, SO THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY I THINK FOR THIS CONVERSATION TO HAPPEN.
UM, THAT'S WHY IT WAS FAIRLY EASY TO GET THAT MEETING.
FIRST OF ALL, WE HAD, I THINK IT WAS ALL THEIR PLANNERS PLUS, UM, CITY MANAGER.
UM, I'M BRINGING THAT UP BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY WE WILL BE HAVING THIS SAME CONVERSATION HERE SHORTLY CORRECT.
AND IF YOU CAN GIVE US MORE INFORMATION AS FAR AS WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE FOR THE LONG TERM ABSOLUTELY.
THAT BETTER POSITIONS US AS WE MAKE DECISIONS AS FAR AS WHAT OUR CONTRIBUTION IS GOING TO BE.
UM, THE, THE SECOND, UM, PIECE, UM, THE, UH, SECOND HELPINGS ORGANIZATION, NO, AT ONE POINT THEY WERE OFFERING GROCERIES TO COMMUTERS.
IS THAT STILL HAPPENING? IT IS STILL HAPPENING.
UM, IT'LL HAPPEN AGAIN THURSDAY.
UM, EVERY THURSDAY WE, UM, BASICALLY THE, THE VOLUNTEERS FROM SECOND HELPINGS COME TO OUR FACILITY WHERE, WHERE THE COMMUTERS TRANSFER.
UM, AND THEY SET UP A MARKET BASICALLY.
UM, AND WE SUPPORT THAT EFFORT.
WE, WE, UM, COLLECT, UH, DONATIONS FROM THE WEEKLY TRUCKS.
WE CLEAN UP SPACE INSIDE OUR GARAGE.
IT'S LITTLE, LITTLE UNORTHODOX, BUT, UM, IT WORKS.
UM, NUMBER ONE, IT WOULD ONLY WORK, UH, IN A SYSTEM LIKE WHAT WE HAVE WHERE YOU HAVE A SINGLE TRANSFER POINT.
UM, THAT WAY YOU'RE NOT LEAVING ANYBODY OUT PER SE.
UM, BUT YEAH, WE, I THINK WE'RE IN OUR, I FORGOT LOST TRACK, I THINK IT'S OUR EIGHTH YEAR OF THAT PROGRAM.
IT HAPPENS EVERY WEEK EXCEPT HOLIDAY WEEKS.
WELL, I JOINED MY COLLEAGUES AND TAKEN OFF THE FAIR INCREASE TO THE COMMUTERS IF THERE'S ALREADY FOOD INSECURITY GOING ON.
IT DOESN'T MAKE A WHOLE LOT OF SENSE TO ME.
TO START TO ASK FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDS FROM THOSE THAT ARE COMMUTING AND TO THE, UH, TO THE BEAUFORD COUNTY PIECE.
UM, CAN YOU SHARE WITH US AS YOU'VE HAD A CONVERSATION AT THE STAFF LEVEL, UH, I'M CURIOUS TO KNOW.
WELL, WE KNOW THAT IS 65% OF THE COMMUTERS ARE COMING TO HILTON HEAD.
BUT I'M CURIOUS TO KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING IN NORTHERN BEAUFORD COUNTY AS FAR AS FOLKS TRAVELING TO OR FROM.
UM, CAN YOU SHARE ANY DATA ON THAT WITH US? SURE.
[00:50:01]
UH, ALL OF BEAUFORT COUNTY, WE DO WHAT WE CALL COORDINATED SERVICES NORTH AND SOUTH OF ABROAD.UM, THAT IS ESSENTIALLY SORT OF LIKE A PREMIUM DEMAND RESPONSE SERVICE WHERE YOU CAN REQUEST A RIDE A DAY, AT LEAST A DAY IN ADVANCE.
UH, THOSE TRIPS ARE IN VERY HIGH DEMAND WITH A, WITH A VERY LIMITED INVENTORY.
UM, SO I WOULD ARGUE IT'S UNDERFUNDED AS A WHOLE.
UM, MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, BASICALLY AROUND SEVEN TO FIVE ISH, GIVE OR TAKE.
WE KIND OF FLEX ON THAT A LITTLE BIT.
PREDOMINANTLY MEDICAL TRIPS NOW.
UM, THE INTENT AT THE BEGINNING WAS ANYBODY TO, IF YOU WANTED, IF YOU WANTED TO GO TO THE LIBRARY AND DIDN'T HAVE A CAR, UM, SO PEOPLE COULD STILL REQUEST THAT TRIP.
IT'S MOST LIKELY TO BE DENIED.
UM, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO MAKE ROOM FOR THE ME MEDICAL, WE DO A LOT OF MEMORY CARE WITH, UM, MEMORY MATTERS EVERY DAY.
SO, UM, BUT THEY, THERE'S TRIPS.
WE HAVE VEHICLES NORTH OF BROAD AND VEHICLES SOUTH OF BROAD SO THAT THOSE TYPES OF TRIPS OCCUR, OCCUR NORTH OF BROAD MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY.
ALSO, WE HAVE ROUTES THAT I CALL 'EM THE BEAUFORT CIRCULATORS.
I, I BASICALLY BECAUSE OF OUR NORTHERN BEAUFORT TRANSIT MASTER PLAN THAT'S ABOUT TO BE PUBLISHED, WE'RE SORT OF IN THE PROCESS OF WHAT I CALL CLEANING THAT UP.
IT WAS MEANT TO ORIGINALLY TO BE SORT OF A CIRCULATING FIX ROUTE MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, SIMILAR TO WHAT WE DO IN BLUFFTON AND UH, UP IN WALTERBORO.
UM, IT'S KIND OF MORPHED INTO A DEVIATED FIX DROUGHT THING WHERE WE PICK PEOPLE UP AND SCHEDULE TRIPS.
SO, UM, IF WE ARE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH FUNDING IN NORTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY, THAT WILL BE REPLACED ESSENTIALLY WITH FIXED TR DAILY FIXED DROUGHT SERVICE, PROBABLY UP TO SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
AND, UM, AND WITH, UM, MANDATED A DA SERVICE THAT WOULD BE WITHIN THREE QUARTERS OF A MILE OF THOSE ROUTES, THE COORDINATED SERVICES WOULD STILL BE THERE.
UM, MAYBE IN THE FUTURE WE COULD ELIMINATE THOSE.
BUT ANYWAY, THOSE ARE GOING ON RIGHT NOW.
THE COORDINATED OR THE UH, CIRCULATING ROUTES HAPPEN MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY.
AND THEN OF COURSE YOU HAVE COMMUTERS, UH, ST.
HELENA, LADIES ISLAND, BEAUFORT, PORT ROYAL, THAT COMMUTE TO HIL NET.
SO I'M INTERESTED IN THE COMMUTER PIECE.
IS THERE A PERCENTAGE ASSIGNED TO HOW MUCH OF THE OVERALL WE COULD LOOK AT THE ARE COMING FROM THAT? I CAN GET YOU RIDERSHIP FOR THAT ROUTE.
I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE VERY IMPORTANT.
UM, I, I GET THE 65%, BUT WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND BETTER WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE NORTHERN SIDE, YOU KNOW? CORRECT.
UM, BUT WE'VE, WE'VE, WE'VE GOT, UH, SOME RELATIONSHIPS AND COMMUNICATIONS WITH OUR COLLEAGUES AT THE COUNTY, BUT NUMBERS HELP US WITH THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
AND I THINK THAT'S ALL I HAD ON, ON THIS SLIDE.
UM, WE KIND OF ALREADY TALKED THROUGH ALL THIS, UM, ON BEAUFORT COUNTY.
WE DID MEET WITH STAFF, UM, ON, UH, FRIDAY.
UM, IT'S A MEETING WE'VE BEEN WAITING TO GET FOR QUITE SOME TIME, REALLY SINCE THE BUDGET REQUEST, EVEN LAST MAY, UM, WITH, WITH BUFORT COUNTY.
BECAUSE ESSENTIALLY WHAT TRANSPIRED AT THE TIME OF THE BUDGET REQUEST IS WE HAD THE, THE LARGE ASK THAT YOU MENTIONED.
UM, WE KNEW IT WAS PROBABLY NOT GONNA HAPPEN, BUT WE WANTED TO, UM, THIS IS THIS, AGAIN, SIMILAR TO WHAT MR. BIRD WAS SAYING, WE, WHAT I TOOK OVER AS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AGO, I TASKED CHRISTINE AND OUR TEAM WITH BUILDING OUR BUDGET FROM THE GROUND UP BECAUSE I WASN'T CONFIDENT THAT PAST PRACTICE OF SORT OF CARRYING OVER LINE ITEMS WASN'T THE JUST NOT APPROPRIATE.
I WANTED TO TRUST THE NUMBERS 'CAUSE I SUSPECTED WHAT I, WHAT WAS THE OUTCOME, WHICH WAS THAT THE ACTUAL COST OPERATOR SERVICES IS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER AND BECAUSE OF THINGS LIKE, UH, ARPA MONEY, COVID CARES ACT MONEY, UM, WE DIDN'T HAVE A CLEAR PICTURE ON THAT.
SO WE KIND OF FORCED THAT TO HAPPEN.
THAT'S WHERE THE HUGE ASKS CAME FROM BECAUSE WE SAID, THIS IS THE RIP THE BANDAID OFF YEAR.
IT'S GOTTA BE THIS YEAR, OTHERWISE WE'RE INCONSISTENT.
SO, UM, SO WHEN WE MADE THAT PITCH TO BEAVER COUNTY, UM, IT, THEY, THEY REALLY DIDN'T CONSIDER IT, I'LL BE HONEST.
I, AND SO IT WAS JUST, THEY CARRIED OVER THE NUMBER FROM LAST YEAR.
AND THE MOST UNFORTUNATE PIECE OF THAT IS THAT A LITTLE OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND OF, OF MONEY WE WERE ASKING FOR THEM IS REQUIRED FOR US TO COMPLETE THE LOCAL MATCH FOR CAPITAL GRANTS FOR ANY SERVICE THAT WE MIGHT DEVELOP IN NORTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY.
SO WE MADE THE DECISION TO CARVE THAT PIECE OUT OF THEIR, THE AMOUNT THEY CARRIED OVER.
SO EFFECTIVELY THEIR AMOUNT ACTUALLY KIND OF WENT DOWN FOR THE, FOR THE CURRENT SERVICE.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET THAT CONVERSATION TO, TO KIND OF DRILL THROUGH THAT WITH THEM.
UM, IT TOOK WAY TOO LONG, BUT KUDOS TO THEM.
THEY CAME OVER, MET AT OUR PLACE, WE WENT THROUGH IT AND THERE'S ACTIONS.
SO, UM, THEY INTEND TO TAKE SOME SORT OF RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL AS WELL TO FUND FULLY FUND THAT.
SO THEN WE DON'T HAVE TO CARVE IT OFF.
AND AT LEAST IT HELPS US AGAIN, FILL OUR, UH, FISCAL 26 GAP.
UM, IT, IT MAKES IT EVEN WAY MORE POSSIBLE
[00:55:01]
NOT TO REDUCE SERVICE, SORRY ABOUT THE DOUBLE NEGATIVE, BUT, UM, SO HOPEFULLY THAT'LL PASS HERE IN THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS AS WELL.SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THEM ON THAT.
AND OBVIOUSLY WE HAD A, A DIALOGUE ABOUT FISCAL 27 BECAUSE NUMBER ONE, UM, THAT GROWTH IN NORTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY, IT'S GONNA COST MONEY, PERIOD.
AND WE ARE, WE ARE, UH, FULLY FUNDING MATCH FOR EVERY APPROPRIATION WE CAN.
SO THE FEDERAL DOLLARS UNTIL THERE'S A, A NEW CENSUS COUNT OR A NEW APPROPRIATION THAT GOES UP DUE DUE TO THE POPULATION GROWTH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO FIND OTHER SOURCES OF MONEY OR IT'S GONNA HAVE TO WAIT.
SO, UM, WE WILL CONTINUE THAT DIALOGUE EVEN WITH THE HOLIDAYS.
WE'RE GONNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT CONVERSATION KEEPS GOING.
WE'RE ALSO PLANNING TO MEET WITH THE STAFFS OF THE COUNTY, THE CITY OF BEAUFORT AND THE TOWN OF PORT ROYAL, TO GET A FLAVOR ONCE OUR, ONCE THE STUDY IS PUBLISHED UP THERE, AND I KNOW IT DOESN'T DIRECTLY AFFECT HILTON HEAD, BUT IT DOES HAVE RAMIFICATIONS, UM, TO FIGURE OUT THEIR APPETITE, WHAT, WHAT CAN BE PHASED IN, WHAT CAN NOT BE PHASED IN.
AND THERE'S SOME, THERE'S SOME NEW TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE IN THAT PLAN, THE RECOMMENDATIONS THERE THAT WOULD HAVE A DIRECT IMPACT ON HOW WE COULD OPERATE SOUTH OF ABROAD AND I THINK MAKE THINGS MORE EFFICIENT.
SO, SO THAT'S BASICALLY THE, UP TO THE MINUTE ON BEAUFORT COUNTY.
UM, THE REST, ESSENTIALLY, AS MS. TURNER SAID, THERE'S JUST, THERE'S, YOU'RE SQUEEZING BLOOD FROM A, FROM A STONE.
UM, THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON DID INCREASE THEIR AMOUNT SIGNIFICANTLY THIS YEAR.
AND AGAIN, WE'LL BE COMING BACK TO THEM WITH A, WITH ANOTHER ASK THAT'S SIMILAR.
UM, AND THEN WE, WE ELIMINATED CITY OF BUFORT, TOWN OF PORT ROYAL BECAUSE THEY AREN'T, THEY'RE REALLY NOT OPERATING PARTNERS YET.
THEY'RE REALLY JUST HELPING US FUND THE MATCH FOR CAPITAL GRANTS.
'CAUSE WE DON'T KNOW FOR SURE WHAT THAT SERVICE IS GONNA LOOK LIKE.
AND, UH, I APPRECIATE THE UPDATE ON THAT AND THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE JUST PAYING OUR FAIR SHARE AND UNDERSTANDING, UM, HOW OUR FUNDS ARE BEING USED, UH, BECAUSE WE HAVE OUR OWN SERVICES AS WELL AS YOU HAVE THIS BROADER SERVICE.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THE GAP IS ALSO WITH THE BROADER SERVICE.
UM, SO YOU TALKED ABOUT, UH, BEAUFORT COUNTY AND OTHERS COMING INTO YOUR ORGANIZATION TO LEARN MORE, AND I'D LOVE TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
SO I WOULD, I WOULD LOVE TO COME AND, YOU KNOW, OTHERS, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, PERHAPS THE TOWN MANAGER AND OTHERS WOULD LIKE TO COME TO YOUR ORGANIZATION AND REALLY HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SIT DOWN WITH YOUR FINANCIAL DIRECTOR AND, AND UNDERSTAND THE NUMBERS.
UM, WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE IS A, A STOP GAP FOR 26, BUT WE KNOW 27 IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER.
I MEAN, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, YOU KNOW, JANUARY, FEBRUARY, WE'RE GONNA BE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION THAT'S RIGHT.
AGAIN, ABOUT THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
AND I THINK WE ALL NEED TO BE BETTER PREPARED TO UNDERSTAND THE FINANCIALS, UM, AND WHAT THE FUTURE DIRECTION LOOKS LIKE, BECAUSE AS YOU SAID, THIS IS GOING TO BE A LONG TERM ISSUE UNTIL THE CENSUS IS UPDATED.
SO, UH, WE APPRECIATE THAT, UH, OPPORTUNITY.
YOU'RE, YOU'RE INVITED,
IT'S, WE HAD A VERY PRODUCTIVE MEETING LAST YEAR WITH THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON.
I THINK THAT'S WHY THEY INCREASED THEIR AMOUNT.
UM, UH, UH, OBVIOUSLY WE'VE HAD PRODUCTIVE MEETINGS HERE WITH THE TOWN AND, UH, WE'RE STARTING THAT BALL ROLLING FINALLY WITH BEAVER COUNTY.
I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE CRACKING THROUGH AND IT'S AN IMPORTANT NUT TO CRACK.
UM, YOUR CONVERSATIONS WITH THE COUNTY, AND YOU'RE TELLING US AS, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, OF THE 770,000 PLUS THE COUNTY ALLOCATED HAS ALREADY ALLOCATED THAT A HUNDRED THOUSAND OF THAT WAS FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS, UH, BASED ON FEDERAL FUNDING.
SO OUR ORIGINAL ASK WAS ABOUT 1.2 MILLION IN CHANGE AND A, A LITTLE OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND OF THAT WAS THE BEAUFORT COUNTY, BASICALLY UNINCORPORATED BEAUFORT COUNTY'S PORTION OF THE POPULATION IN THE NEW URBAN AREA OF BEAUFORT AND PORT ROYAL.
SO AND SO, IT'S THE PREDOMINANT, UH, NUMBER, IT'S THE LARGEST, UH, POPULATION OF THE THREE.
AND SO THEY HAD A LITTLE OVER A HUNDRED, UH, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, I THINK THE OTHER TWO TOTALED AROUND 50,000 ISH.
UM, AND SO CITY OF BEAUFORT, TOWN OF PORT ROYAL, UH, WE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION THAT JUST MADE IT RIGHT INTO THEIR BUDGET BECAUSE THEY KNOW THE IMPORTANCE OF IT.
WHAT IT DOES IS ALLOW US ONCE THE, ONCE THE PLAN IS FINISHED AND WE KNOW WHAT THE APPETITE IS FOR, FOR PHASING IN SERVICE, WE KNOW WHAT VEHICLES TO BUY TO MAKE AN A FULLY INFORMED DECISION.
UM, BUT WITHOUT THAT EXTRA A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF LEFT HANGING.
SO WE MADE THE DECISION, THEY ALLOWED US TO DIVVY UP THEIR 717,000.
AND SO WE MADE THE DECISION IN ORDER FOR GROWTH, FUTURE GROWTH IN THAT AREA THAT WE CONSIDER TO BE VERY IMPORTANT.
UM, THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF UNMET DEMAND IN NORTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY.
AND, UM, SO WE MADE THAT DECISION KNOWING IT WOULD HURT OUR BUDGET, BUT IN A YEAR WHERE WE REALLY DIDN'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN, BUT WE MADE THAT DECISION, NUMBER ONE BECAUSE THE CITY AND THE TOWN WERE SO IN, UH, ALREADY ON BOARD AND WE FELT LIKE WE OWED IT TO THEM.
NOW, IF THEY DECIDE TO FUND THAT EXTRAORDINARILY, THEN
[01:00:01]
THAT HELPS.IT'S A, IT'S BASICALLY ESSENTIALLY A HIT, A POSITIVE HIT TO OUR REVENUE.
IF THEY FUND AN EXTRA A HUNDRED THOUSAND, THAT'S OFF YOUR 361,000 DEFICIT, CORRECT.
IS THAT RIGHT? YEAH, AS WOULD ANYTHING THAT THE TOWN OF HILTON HAD GRANTS.
SO, UH, OF WHAT THE TOWN HAS ALREADY SAID WE WOULD DO, WHICH IS 350,000, UM, IS ANY OF THAT ALLOCATED TOWARDS A SIMILAR FEDERAL REQUIREMENT? UH, IT IS ALL A, A MAJORITY OF IT IS MEANT FOR MATCH FOR GRANTS THIS YEAR.
THEY ARE, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, CHRISTINA, I BELIEVE THEY'RE ALL OPERATIONS GRANTS.
SO IT'S 50 50 MATCH, UM, FOR THE MAJORITY OF THAT.
THE, THE, THE REST OF IT THOUGH IS THAT DELTA BETWEEN HOW MUCH IT COSTS TO OPERATE OUR LEGACY SERVICE VERSUS, UM, UH, HOW MANY EXHAUSTING OUR GRANTS BASICALLY BOTH FEDERAL, STATE AND THEN THE LOCAL MATCH PORTION.
UM, BUT THERE IS OTHER, UH, FUNDING FOR, EVEN FROM THE ORIGINAL REQUEST OF 5 0 7, THAT WOULD HELP COVER ALL SERVICE, RIGHT.
WE CHOSE NOT TO INCLUDE A CAPITAL, VERY MODEST CAPITAL, UM, ITEMS IN OUR BUDGET FOR OUR EXISTING SERVICE AREAS.
UM, WHICH IS A DANGEROUS THING TO DO IN TRANSIT IS YOU'RE, YOU'RE CONSTANTLY KIND OF LOOKING AT YOUR AGING OF YOUR FLEET.
THINGS HAPPEN THAT YOU DIDN'T EXPECT, THINGS LIKE OF THAT NATURE.
SO WE'RE KEEPING UP, THAT'S ANOTHER GOOD NEWS FOR OUR BUDGET SO THAT WITH THAT RISK WE TOOK IN NOT ASKING FOR CAPITAL.
'CAUSE EVEN THOUGH CAPITAL'S 80 20, IT REDUCES THE AMOUNT OF FEDERAL APPORTIONMENT YOU CAN USE THEN ON OPERATIONS.
AND, AND OF COURSE THOSE ARE 50 50 GRANTS, AND SO WE KIND OF HAD TO MAKE THAT BALANCING ACT CALL AS WE TIGHTENED UP OUR BUDGET.
UM, YEAH, SO, SO IT'S, IT'S NOT, IT'S DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, SO THAT, THAT CARVE OUT FOR BEAUFORT COUNTY'S CONTRIBUTION IS UNIQUE TO THE NORTHERN BEAUFORT AREA.
SO IT'S NOT THE SAME, IN OTHER WORDS, WE DON'T HAVE TO SAY A HUNDRED THOUSAND OF THE 350,000 GOES TO SOME MONEY THAT YOU'RE ALLOCATING TO GET FEDERAL GRANTS.
I I, I'M JUST CURIOUS, AFTER HEARING BEAUFORT COUNTY BEING REDUCED BY A HUNDRED THOUSAND, IF YOU REDUCING HOURS BY A HUNDRED THOUSAND IN THE SAME WAY, SO OKAY.
MY QUESTIONS ON NEXT SLIDES, BUT YEAH, I, I JUST, I JUST WANT TO, I, I JUST, I JUST WANNA MAKE A, UH, A COMMENT BASED ON THE OBSERVATION OF THIS CONVERSATION.
UM, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY, UH, YOUR ORGANIZATION, UM, WHEN IT COMES TO THE TOWN OF HILTON HEAD IS OUR TRANSPORTATION ON, AND WE CAN'T HIDE FROM THAT OR ARGUE ABOUT THAT.
WE DON'T HAVE VANS OR SHUTTLES RUNNING AROUND THE ISLAND WITH THE TOWN EMBLEM ON 'EM.
I THINK WE'VE MADE A DECISION HERE ALONG THE WAY THAT YOU ARE GOING TO BE OUR TRANSPORTATION ARM.
AND AS WE'RE HAVING A DISCUSSION NOW, TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE NUMBERS, UH, MY, MY VERY STRONG RECOMMENDATION, AND I'M GLAD THAT THE TOWN MANAGER IS HERE AS WELL, BECAUSE AS WE START TO GO THROUGH OUR BUDGET EXERCISE, I MEAN, TO ME, YOU ARE MORE THAN AN AFFILIATE AGENCY.
SO IF YOU CAN HAVE CHRISTINA AND DAVE BY WORK TOGETHER TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE'RE GOING AS FAR AS THE BUDGETARY PROCESS IS CONCERNED, THAT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE TO US.
BECAUSE THE LAST THING WE WANT IS FOR YOU TO ASK US FOR X.
AND WE NOT KNOW IF WE CAN AFFORD X OR NOT.
AND, YOU KNOW, AND US TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT ON THE DAAS, IT'S JUST NOT GOOD PRACTICE.
SO WE'VE GOT TO FIGURE OUT A, A VEHICLE, A COMPONENT OF THIS EXERCISE WHERE THOSE TWO FINANCIAL ENTITIES ARE HAVING A CONVERSATION SO THAT THERE'S A TRUE RECOMMENDATION COMING BEFORE THIS BODY TO, TO ACT ON.
SO FISCAL 27 AND BEYOND, UM, ONE THING THAT WE ARE ACTIVELY EXPLORING IS A VEHICLE REGISTRATION FEE.
THIS IS IN OUR CHARTER FROM THE 1970S, AS WELL AS THE CHARTER FOR OTHER RTAS ACROSS THE STATE.
UM, THE COUNTY CFO HAS AGREED TO EXPLORE AND, UM, UH, INTERPRET THE LANGUAGE.
UM, IT MADE IT INTO THE CHARTER, OUR SPECIFIC CHARTER FOR THE LOW COUNTRY REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY AS WELL WORD FOR WORD.
WE'VE NOT PURSUED IT, NOR HAS ANY OTHER RTA PURSUED IT, SO IT COULD BE GROUNDBREAKING, BUT IRONICALLY FROM SOMETHING THAT WAS WRITTEN INTO STATUTE IN THE 1970S.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE OUR ATTORNEY LOOK AT IT AS WELL.
UM, WE WELCOME ANY OPINIONS ON THAT.
UM, THAT'S SOMETHING WHERE YOU WOULD, UM, EXPLORE WITH THE COUNTIES AND THE MUNICIPALITIES WHO, WHO MIGHT BE WILLING TO IMPLEMENT SUCH A FEE.
OBVIOUSLY YOU WOULD DETERMINE WHAT THAT FEE IS.
AND THEN, UM, UH, PASS RESOLUTIONS, AND THEN GET THE APPROVAL OF OUR STATE DELEGATE DELEGATION
[01:05:01]
SO IT DOESN'T HAVE TO GO TO THE FULL STATE HOUSE OR SENATE.IT JUST NEEDS A 51% OF OUR STATE DELEGATES OR LOCAL STATE DELEGATES THAT WOULD BE AFFECTED BY IT TO APPROVE IT.
THAT'S MY INTERPRETATION, NOT AN ATTORNEY
SO, UM, SO WE'LL GET MORE CLARITY ON THAT.
UM, IT'S RIGHT THERE IN THE CHARTER.
IT'S RIGHT THERE IN THE STATE STATUTE.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA EXHAUST UNTIL WE KNOW WE CAN'T DO IT.
UM, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY, I BELIEVE, OF USING STATE A TAX DOLLARS FOR TOURISM RELATED SHUTTLES.
UM, SO IT WOULDN'T WORK FOR COMMUTER.
IN FACT, IT SPECIFICALLY CALLS, CALLS OUT COMMUTER AS AN EXCLUSION.
BUT, UM, IT WOULD WORK FOR THINGS LIKE TROLLEY AND IF WE EVER WANTED TO EXPAND THE SERVICE, THAT MIGHT BE A WAY TO DO IT.
UH, WE TALKED ABOUT THE EMPLOYER PARTNERSHIP, UH, ALREADY, UM, HOT OFF THE PRESS,
AND THEN OUR, OUR PRIVATE MEETING WITH STAFF.
UM, THE COUNTY DOES NOT, IS NOT GOING, GOING INTO THIS TAX REFERENDUM.
THEY ARE NOT CONSIDERING AT THIS POINT, PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AS A PRIORITY, WHICH IS THEIR WAY OF SAYING BASICALLY IT'S PROBABLY NOT GONNA BE INCLUDED IN THE, IN THE PROJECTS THAT ARE PUT FORTH TO THE VOTER.
SO, UM, THAT'S A, A VERY DISAPPOINTING DECISION, DECISION ON OUR PART.
UM, AND, AND YOU, YOU KNOW, I'M A PRETTY BIG BELIEVER THAT YOU CAN'T JUST PAVE YOUR WAY OUT OF CONGESTION.
SO, UH, WE WILL CONTINUE TO PURSUE THAT OUTSIDE OF THAT STATEMENT ON FRIDAY, UM, BY, BY WORKING WITH THE COMMITTEE WHEN IT MEETS, JUST SO THAT THEY, THEY KNOW THE RAMIFICATIONS OF THAT DECISION.
UM, I ALSO BELIEVE WHOLEHEARTEDLY THAT IT WOULD HELP PASS IT.
NOW AGAIN, I'M BIASED, BUT I THINK IT WOULD ACTUALLY BE SOMETHING THAT THE VOTER MIGHT SAY, HEY, THAT'S PROBABLY A GOOD IDEA, INSTEAD OF SOME OF THE OTHER STUFF THAT WAS INCLUDED IN THE 20 24 1.
IT DEFINITELY DOES NOT LOOK POSITIVE.
MR. SULLIVAN, DO YOU, DO YOU HAVE A SLIDE THAT HAS THE, THE NEW RECOMMENDATION AS FAR AS STACKING FUNDS AND OUR NEW REQUEST TO US RIGHT HERE.
UM, SO YEAH, SO OUR OFFICIAL REQUEST TODAY IS AN ADDITIONAL 1 57 0 5 1, WHICH ODD NUMBER, BUT IT BASICALLY WOULD INCREASE THE, FROM THE 350 THAT WAS GRANTED WITH THE AFFILIATED AGENCY PROCESS BACK IN THE SPRING, INCREASE IT UP TO OUR ORIGINAL ASK OF 5 0 7 0 5 1.
UM, THAT ELIMINATES 44% OF OUR FISCAL 26 FUNDING GAP.
AND IF YOU COUPLE THAT ALONGSIDE TIGHT BUDGET ADHERENCE AND POTENTIAL MONEY FROM THE COUNTY, UM, WE'RE IN REALLY, REALLY GOOD SHAPE GOING INTO FISCAL 27.
WE FEEL VERY CONFIDENT THAT SURFACE REDUCTION IS OFF THE TABLE, AT LEAST FOR FISCAL 26.
UM, AND OF COURSE OUR GOAL IS NOT TO HAVE IT IN THERE FOR FISCAL 27 EITHER.
SO, UM, SO, BUT IT'LL SET THE STAGE FOR A MUCH BRIGHTER CONVERSATION GOING INTO THAT, THOSE BUDGET DISCUSSIONS.
UM, IF WE WERE LOOKING AT CHARGING FOR THE TROLLEY SERVICE, UM, WOULD WE BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT SOMETHING, UH, IN ORDER TO REDUCE THIS $157,000? ASK? I SUPPOSE WE COULD DO THAT BECAUSE YOU WOULD HAVE HAVE RIDERSHIP, SO FARES FROM APRIL, MAY, AND JUNE THAT WOULD IMPACT FISCAL 26 REVENUES.
UM, SO FIGURE ESSENTIALLY ABOUT A HALF OF WHAT WE ESTIMATED OR A HALF OF THE RIDERSHIP.
SO SOMEWHERE HALF OF 35,000, UM, WOULD BE A POSITIVE, UM, PICKUP.
WE COULD EITHER DO THAT BY REDUCING THE AMOUNT WE'RE REQUESTING, OR YOU, YOU CAN OBVIOUSLY REDUCE THE AMOUNT YOU WANNA, UM, AWARD.
UM, OR WE COULD DO IT AS A REBATE ONCE WE KNOW WHAT THE RIDERSHIP IS, IF YOU WANTED TO DO IT THAT WAY.
I, I, I GUESS OUR PREFERENCE PROBABLY CHRISTINE, WOULD BE TO REDUCE THIS AMOUNT.
I HAD ESTIMATE, AGAIN, IT'S AN ESTIMATE.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE RIDERSHIP IS UNTIL IT HAPPENS, BUT, UM, YOU HAVE TO ANNOUNCE TOO, HOW LONG IS THAT? YEAH, YEAH.
SO THERE WOULD BE A PUBLIC PROCESS AT LEAST 30 DAYS.
THAT WAS ONE OF THE SOLUTIONS I WAS LOOKING TO AS WELL.
UH, NOT THE COMMUTER AFFAIRS BE CLEAR, BUT THE, THE SHUTTLE OR THE TROLLEY, WHATEVER WE CALL THAT SERVICE TO INCREASE THAT.
AND, AND I SAW ABOUT THREE 5,000 PER YEAR.
I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WOULD BE LESS THAN THAT FOR THE REMAINING PART OF THE FISCAL YEAR.
AND IT SOUNDS LIKE THE MOST OF THOSE COLLECTIONS WOULD BE APRIL THROUGH JUNE.
UM, AND I LIKE DOING IT BY REDUCING THE REQUEST BY WHATEVER NUMBER THAT MIGHT BE, WHETHER IT'S 17 FIVE OR WHATEVER THE NUMBER WOULD BE, UM, TO REDUCE THAT REQUEST, LEAVING US TO THINK ABOUT THE DELTA BETWEEN THE 1 57 AND 17 FIVE.
I'M NOT QUICK ENOUGH TO DO THAT IN MY HEAD, BUT IT'S A LITTLE OVER A HUNDRED, A HUNDRED FIFTEEN, A HUNDRED TWENTY, A HUNDRED TWENTY SOMETHING THOUSAND 101.
[01:10:01]
THANK YOU.I GAVE THEM MORE TIME TO THINK ABOUT IT WHILE MUMBLING UP HERE.
DO I HAVE A
WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE HERE ASKING FOR MONEY, RIGHT.
IT'S LIKE I SAID LAST TIME, I HATE DOING THIS.
BUT SO, UM, I I, THAT COMES OUT WRONG.
BUT ANYWAY, IT'S, I FEEL IT'S MY NE MY DUTY ON BEHALF OF THE RIDERSHIP.
AND THEN ALSO TO A CERTAIN EXTENT ON OUR PARTNERS, BECAUSE IF WE SAT ON OUR HANDS AND DID NOTHING, UM, WE'D BE TALKING ABOUT A PUBLIC OUTREACH EFFORT THAT COULD GET, YOU KNOW, CONTROVERSIAL 'CAUSE YOU'RE REDUCING SERVICE FOR THE FOLKS THAT OBVIOUSLY WE DON'T EVEN WANNA RAISE A FAIR ON.
SO, UM, AND, AND HAVING AN EFFECT ON OTHER SERVICES AS WELL.
SO WE CLEARLY DO NOT WANT TO DO THAT.
UM, AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE GOING THROUGH THESE EFFORTS.
SO YEAH, I DON'T LIKE THAT I'M HERE, UH, BEGGING, UH, AND WE, HOPEFULLY WE CAN AVOID THAT GOING FORWARD, AS YOU'VE ALL MENTIONED.
BUT, UM, I THINK IT WAS A NECESSARY STEP.
SO I'M THINKING THERE ARE PIECES WE'RE THINKING ABOUT NOW AND THAT IS INCREASING THE TOWN'S, UM, PARTICIPATION, I'LL SAY IT THAT WAY, WITH NO REDUCTION IN THE COMMUTER SERVICE.
ABSOLUTELY NO REDUCTION IN THE SERVICE
UM, LOOKING AT AN INCREASE IN THE TROLLEY FARES, UM, WITH WHATEVER NUMBER THAT MIGHT BE OF, AS I UNDERSTAND IT NOW, IT'S A DOLLAR PER FARE.
CORRECT? UH, WHEREVER YOU'RE GOING, YOU PAY A DOLLAR, BUT THE TOWN REIMBURSES THAT 35,000 PER YEAR, CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT.
SO WE WOULD KEEP THE 35,000 THAT THE TOWN IS PROVIDING THROUGH THAT SERVICE, AND THEN THERE WOULD BE AN INCREASE THAT THE PERSON TRAVELING ON THE TROLLEY SYSTEM WOULD PERHAPS PAY ANOTHER DOLLAR.
SO THEY'D BE PAYING $2 AND THE TOWN WOULD BE PROVIDING A REIMBURSEMENT OF $1 PER FAIR.
WE, WE COULD WORK IT HOWEVER WE WANNA WORK IT.
WE, AND BASICALLY THAT FAIR DECISION.
UM, THE, UH, WHEN I WENT THROUGH OUR AFFILIATED AGENCY REQUEST THIS YEAR AS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, I MADE THE DECISION TO PUT THAT IN THERE AS A LINE ITEM.
WE HAD NOT DONE THAT IN THE PAST.
AND, AND THE FULL HISTORY ON THAT WAS THE COVID YEAR, 2020, UH, TOWN STAFF AND MAYBE COUNCIL, BUT TOWN STAFF, I KNOW IT REQUESTED, CAN YOU MAKE IT FREE TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO RIDE IT MM-HMM
BECAUSE WE WERE LOOKING AT EVERYTHING WE COULD, IT WAS ALREADY DELAYED.
AND SO WE WERE LIKE, WELL, SURE.
AND WE, WE CARE MORE ABOUT THE RIDERSHIP TO BE HONEST THAN WE DO THE FAIR.
UM, OBVIOUSLY WE WANT THE FAIRES, BUT SO IT WAS FREE IN 2020.
THE TOWN REQUESTED THAT WE CONTINUE IT FREE IN 2021.
UH, RIDERSHIP WAS OFF THE CHARTS IN 2021.
IT WAS EXCELLENT, BUT IT CONTINUED TO BE FREE.
SO, AND WE ATTRIBUTED SOME OF THAT TO HIGH OCCUPANCY, BUT ALSO TO THE FACT THAT THE FAIR WAS STILL ZERO WHEN PEOPLE BOARDED.
SO, UM, WE CAN DO IT HOWEVER YOU WANT, THAT THAT DECISION BY THE WAY, IS ALWAYS MADE IN CONSULTATION WITH AT LEAST STAFF AND IF WE NEED TO TO COUNSEL BECAUSE IT, IT, IT IMPACTS THE PEOPLE THAT VISIT HERE.
DOES IT HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT? WE DON'T WANT THAT.
SO I'M A BIG BELIEVER THAT SOMETHING SHOULD HAVE VALUE.
SO WHEN YOU, WHEN IT'S ALWAYS FREE, YOU KIND OF REDUCE THE VALUE OF THAT SERVICE IN YOUR MIND, PERHAPS.
UM, THE OTHER THING YOU CAN DO IS YOU COULD DO PROMOTIONAL EVENTS, YOU CAN GIVE AWAY TICKETS, YOU CAN, YOU KNOW, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS THAT HELP INCREASE RIDERSHIP.
SO IT WOULD BE, WE WOULD DO IT CAREFULLY, OF COURSE, HOWEVER WE DID IT, WHETHER IT'S STAYED A DOLLAR, WHETHER IT WENT UP.
BUT THERE ARE DEFINITELY WAYS TO DO IT.
WE EVEN, IT'S VERY ARTIFICIAL, VERY INFORMAL.
WE HAVE A SURVEY ON THE BRIEF CHARLIE WEBSITE AND ONE OF THE QUESTIONS IS, WOULD YOU PAY A DOLLAR FOR IT? AND I WOULD SAY IT'S ABOUT 70% SAY YES, SURE, WHY NOT? SO I THINK WE WOULD SEE A A, A PRETTY, PRETTY GOOD REACTION FROM THE PUBLIC.
AND, AND I THINK THE OTHER PIECE THAT'S IMPORTANT TO US, UM, AS ARNIE MENTIONED, IS NO CHANGE IN SERVICE LEVELS.
UM, SO I THINK THERE'S, UH, AN ISSUE WITH REGARD TO WHEN ADDITIONAL FUNDING WOULD BE PROVIDED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU DON'T REDUCE THE FUNDING LEVELS AFTER WE GIVE YOU MORE MONEY.
UM, SO I, I WOULD ASK OUR FINANCE DIRECTOR, UM, THE QUESTION ABOUT THE TIMING OF WHEN DO WE PROVIDE FUNDING TO THE LRTA, UH, FOR THE AMOUNT THAT WE THE TOWN COUNCIL HAS APPROVED DURING THE YEAR? BECAUSE I THINK ANY ADDITIONAL FUNDING SHOULD BE TIED TO THAT TIMING.
AND I, WE AGREE IF, IF FOLLOW THAT SAME SCHEDULE, CHRISTINE, YOU MIGHT KNOW OFFHAND ANY QUARTERLY.
IT'S QUARTERLY, IT'S PAID QUARTERLY.
SO, AND HAVING THE COMMITMENT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN HAVING THE ACTUAL DOLLARS IN THE BANK.
YEAH, I CAN COMMIT TO YOU THAT IF YOU, IF YOU DO OFFER ANY AMOUNT SIMILAR TO WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, WE WILL NOT REDUCE SERVICE IN FISCAL 26.
I FEEL PRETTY COMFORTABLE ABOUT THE COUNTY AND I FEEL VERY COMFORTABLE ABOUT HOW WE'RE
[01:15:01]
MANAGING OUR BUDGET.UM, IT, IT WAS A LITTLE TOUCH AND GO WHEN WE FIRST APPROVED THE BUDGET BACK IN AUGUST AND WE WERE CONCERNED.
UM, BUT I FEEL VERY CONFIDENT THAT THAT CAN BE AT, AT THE VERY LEAST PUSHED OFF INTO OUR DISCUSSIONS FOR FISCAL 27.
AND AGAIN, NONE OF US WANNA TALK ABOUT IT.
SO, WE'LL, WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT WE, UM, UH, BUILD, BUILD BASICALLY BUILD THE FISCAL 27 BUDGET FROM THE GROUND UP TO AVOID THAT.
AND I JUST WANNA MAKE A COMMENT ABOUT THE DOLLAR FOR THE TROLLEY.
UM, THAT IS A CHANGE, BUT I ALSO SEE IT AS AN OPPORTUNITY, UH, BECAUSE WHAT IT CAN DO IS, UH, PROVIDE FUNDING AND PERHAPS, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THE FUTURE COULD PROVIDE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND SERVICE.
AND IT COULD BE THAT MAYBE THERE'S SOME COOPERATION FROM LOCAL MERCHANT GROUPS TO PROVIDE SOME SORT OF, UH, COUPON OR SOMETHING THAT PAYS FOR THE FAIR.
I MEAN I'VE SEEN THAT DONE IN A LOT OF OTHER JURISDICTIONS IN OTHER STATES, UM, THAT THAT'S A, AN INCENTIVE TO COME AND SHOP WHERE YOU ARE TO TAKE THE TROLLEY THERE.
YOU KNOW, IT HAS VALUE, SOME SORT OF, IT HAS MORE VALUE YEAH.
ADDS MORE VALUE TO THAT EXPERIENCE AND IT ALSO HELPS FOLKS GOING FROM PLACE TO PLACE.
UM, AND, AND TAKING THE CARS OFF THE ROAD AS WELL.
UM, A A COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS ABOUT THAT, UM, UH, ASKING OUR FINANCE DIRECTOR IF, IF WE HAVE A HUNDRED THOUSAND PLUS TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE AN ADDITION TO WHAT WE'VE ALREADY SAID, WE WOULD PROVIDE IT, WOULD IT, IT WOULD COME OUT A FUN BALANCE.
BUT WE COULD, WE COULD DO THAT AND STILL KEEP WITHIN OUR POLICY ABOUT FUND BALANCES.
AND THEN THE LAST PIECE I THINK IS THE FUTURE.
YOU'VE ALREADY HINTED AT THAT.
UM, AND BECAUSE OUR BUDGET PROCESSES, UH, OUR BUDGET PROCESS STARTS WITH STAFF AFTER THE FIRST OF THE YEAR,
NOT NEXT SPRING WHEN WE GO TO AFFILIATED AGENCIES OR LATER IN THE SPRING WHEN WE GO TO WHATEVER TIME THAT IS.
AND WHEN WE GET TO THE BUDGET PROCESS, THE TIME TO START THOSE CONVERSATIONS IS WHATEVER, 1ST OF JANUARY DATE OUR TOWN STAFF AND YOUR STAFF CAN MEET TOGETHER.
WE WE'LL BE DEVELOPING THE NUMBERS TO SUPPORT OUR AFFILIATED AGENCY GRANT IN JANUARY.
SO YEAH, THE TIMING IS NOW ESSENTIALLY, AND I SEE OUR TOWN STAFF OVER THERE NODDING THEIR HEADS IN AGREEMENT.
I GUESS THAT WAS A JOKE, BY THE WAY.
HEY BRIAN, I I THINK WE, WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO MORPH THIS CONVERSATION 'CAUSE THE CONDITIONS HAVE CHANGED AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO CHANGE.
AND AS I CAN APPRECIATE, UH, FOR PLACES LIKE HARDY V BECOMING A PART OF THE CONVERSATION, I MEAN, LET'S BE HONEST, THEY'VE GOT A PERSONAL INTEREST IN THIS.
UM, IT MAKES MORE SENSE FOR SOMEBODY FROM ESTO TO GET OFF THE BUS THERE FOR THEM THAN GET OFF THE BUS HERE.
AND AS WE CONTINUE TO THINK OF HILTON HEAD, UM, WHEN IT COMES TO TRANSPORTATION, YOU KNOW, GETTING OUR WORKERS TO AND FRO, UM, OUR NEW, UH, AREAS NORTH POINT DEVELOPMENT AS AN EXAMPLE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND BETTER HOW WE CAN INVEST HERE ON HILTON HEAD.
ALRIGHT? AND SURE IF WE, UM, WE PICK UP A DOLLAR FROM PASSENGERS, THAT'S A WAY TO HELP FUND IT.
BUT WE'VE GOTTA ELEVATE THAT CONVERSATION BECAUSE THE CONDITIONS ARE DIFFERENT.
YOU'RE PREACHING TO THE CHOIR.
UM, WITH THAT, YOU KNOW, I I I'D WANT TO ASK, UM, YOU DON'T HAVE TO GET GIVE THE ANSWER TODAY, BUT I AM CURIOUS AS TO THE BOARD MAKEUP AND IF THERE'S REPRESENTATION FROM EACH OF THE CONTRIBUTORS, HOW THAT WORKS, HOW FOLKS ARE APPOINTED.
UM, 'CAUSE I FEEL VERY STRONGLY THAT WE'VE GOT TO HAVE SOMEONE THAT HAS HILTON HEAD'S BEST INTEREST
AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S THE CASE AT THE MOMENT.
I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT IT WAS A LITTLE ODD.
SO IT, WELL, IT'S NOT REALLY ODD.
THE, UM, AND THIS IS A CONSTRUCT THAT'S DECADES OLD.
UM, IT'S CONT IT'S ENTIRELY MADE UP OF APPOINTED OFFICIALS FROM THE FIVE COUNTIES.
SO BEAUFORT COUNTY BECAUSE, AND THIS IS BASED BASICALLY ON POPULATION AT THE TIME THAT THE CHARTER WAS WRITTEN.
UM, THERE'S THREE REPRESENTATIVES THAT ARE NAMED BY BEAUFORT COUNTY COUNCIL.
THERE'S TWO REPRESENTATIVES FOR COLTON COUNTY THAT ARE NAMED BY COLTON COUNTY COUNCIL, AND THEN ONE EACH FOR ALLENDALE HAMPTON AND JASPER.
AND I THINK WHAT YOU'RE INDICATING AS WELL IS THE, THE AMOUNT OF SKIN IN THE GAME THAT THE TOWN OF HILTON HAD NOW THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON AND ARGUABLY THE CITY OF BUFORD, HOPEFULLY IN TOWN OF PORT ROYAL, THEY MAY WISH TO REQUEST REPRESENTATION ON OUR BOARD.
NOW, I DON'T WANT A BIGGER BOARD.
I COULD, I WOULD LOVE TO MAKE IT SMALLER, BUT, UM, UH, THERE'S NO REASON WE COULDN'T GO BACK AND WORK WITH THE STATE TO ADJUST OUR CHARTER TO CHANGE THE MAKEUP OF OUR BOARD.
IT'S A, IT'S A BIG ASK, SO IT'S, IT'LL
[01:20:01]
TAKE SOME TIME.I'VE GOT ANOTHER THOUGHT AND UM, I'M HOPING THAT SOMEBODY FROM STAFF CAN JOT THIS DOWN, BUT I, I'M CURIOUS IF THERE'S ANY OPPORTUNITY FOR THE TOWN COUNCIL BY WAY OF SOME TYPE OF AGREEMENT.
WOULD BEFORD COUNTY HAVE ION FROM HILTON DEAD WITHIN THAT THREE MEMBER APPOINTMENT? I THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT PIECE FOR US TO, TO DISCUSS WITH THEM.
WHEN I FIRST GOT DOWN HERE, THERE WAS NOT A REP, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, THAT LIVED, THAT WAS A RESIDENT OF HILTON HEALTH.
UH, WE DO HAVE ONE NOW, TECHNICALLY TWO, ONE LIVES IN MOSS CREEK.
BUT, UM, WE DO HAVE A RESIDENT, AND I KNOW IT'S SORT OF AN UNWRITTEN RULE.
THE COUNTY, THEY ALWAYS TRY TO DO THAT.
OUR LIAISON WITH COUNTY COUNCIL IS COUNCILMAN RES AS WELL, WHO LIVES IN HILTON HEAD.
UM, SO THERE IS, I WOULD ARGUE THERE IS REPRESENTATION.
UM, BUT AGAIN, THE, THE, THE DELEGATION, THE NAMING OF THOSE POSITIONS GOES THROUGH THE COUNTY.
WE'RE ABOUT TO GO THROUGH A NEW CYCLE.
WE HAVE TWO TERMS THAT ARE EXPIRING.
ONE'S A RENEWAL AND ONE IS A NEW TO FILL A SEAT IN.
HAMPTON COUNTY IS A LIAISON, UH, IN THE SAME CAPACITY AS A EX-OFFICIO, AS, UH, ATTENDING BOARD MEETINGS AND SUCH.
HE'S NOT, HE'S A NON-VOTING MEMBER.
HE ATTENDS AS MANY AS HE CAN BE AT, AND HE DOES, UM, WE, AND I LIAISE WITH HIM ON ISSUES AND TOPICS.
OBVIOUSLY AS SOON AS WE PUBLISHED OUR BUDGET, HE WAS MY FIRST PHONE CALL.
UM, AND HE KNEW IT WAS COMING.
UM, AND THEN HE HELPED PAVE THE WAY FOR US EVENTUALLY TO GET THAT MEETING THAT WE HAD ON FRIDAY.
UH, I'M LOOKING OVER AT OUR COLLEAGUES THAT HAVE JOINED US TODAY, MR. ALFRED AND MR. A DEAMON, UM, TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY, UH, COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS TO THIS CONVERSATION.
UM, AND, AND BRIAN, AGAIN, WE APPRECIATE YOU STANDING IN THE BARREL.
WHEN THE WATER CONTINUES TO RISE TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS.
UM, BUT I THINK WE, WE DO HAVE OPPORTUNITY, UM, TO, TO GET TO A BETTER PLACE HERE.
UM, SO IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THERE'S AN AMOUNT ON THE TABLE, BUT I THINK WE DO HAVE SOME DIRECTION AS FAR AS HOW WE CAN GET THERE.
UM, SO I'M NOT SURE THAT WE NEED TO TAKE ANY ACTION AT THIS POINT, BUT IF YOU ARE CLEAR WITH WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR, UM, I THINK IT'S GOOD FOR US TO LET YOU GO BACK, WORK A LITTLE BIT MORE AND THEN COME BACK TO US.
YEAH, WE'LL KIND OF, WE WILL DRAW THAT OUT BASICALLY WHAT THAT, BECAUSE IT'S COMPLICATED, WELL, A LITTLE COMPLICATED, BUT WE'LL GET THAT, WE'LL TRY TO GET THAT DONE THIS WEEK.
I KNOW THE HOLIDAYS START TO KINDA REALLY KICK IN NEXT WEEK, SO, OKAY.
AND WE'LL RESCHEDULE THOSE ACCORDINGLY.
AND I, I THINK IT'D BE GOOD TO SEE THE LIST OF THOSE BOARD MEMBERS, WHICH COUNTIES ARE
AND, AND MAYBE ALSO SEND US A COPY OF THAT CHARTER.
AND THEN WE'LL SCHEDULE SOMETHING IN JANUARY, UH, TO GO THROUGH YOUR, UH, FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE SO THAT WE CAN BE, BE BETTER, BETTER PREPARED TO, UH, REPRESENT YOU AS WELL.
HOPEFULLY WE'LL HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE COLOR TOO FROM THE COUNTY.
AND, AND THE TOWN STAFF CAN TELL US WHEN YOUR MEETING IS GONNA BE TO TALK ABOUT THE BUDGET IN JANUARY.
I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU GUYS, AGAIN, KUDOS TO STAFF.
UH, TOWN MANAGER AND HIS TEAM HAVE DONE A FANTASTIC JOB ADVOCATING FOR THE, FOR US, BUT REALLY FOR THE PASSENGERS.
SO WE APPRECIATE IT AND THE BUSINESSES THAT ARE AFFECTED BY IT.
SORRY MR. CHAIR, ONE LAST BIT OF DATA WOULD BE HELPFUL TO KNOW AND THAT IS THE, THE RIDERSHIP NUMBERS AND WHERE THEY'RE COMING FROM.
AND WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO NORTH OF THE BROAD AS WELL.
THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH, CHRISTINA FOR THE HOLIDAYS AS WELL.
UM, UM, ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS PARTICULAR ITEM? YES, YES.
UM, MR. WILLIAMS, BUT HE STEPPED OUT.
SO MS. RACK, THANK YOU CHAIRMAN, AND I THINK THAT THIS IS AN AWESOME CONVERSATION.
HEATHER, WRATH FOR THE RECORD.
FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE TRANSPORTATION ASPECT, UM, WITH RIDERSHIP AND OUR WORKFORCE.
UM, I THINK THAT BRIAN HAS TOUCHED ON THIS SUBJECT, BUT PROFESSIONALLY I DO KNOW THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT, UM, THE RE REAUTHORIZATION OF THE SURFACE TRANSPORTATION ACT WITH, UM, SECRETARY DUFFY.
AND THERE HAS BEEN LOTS OF CONVERSATIONS WITHIN THAT THAT, UM, WILL BRING CHALLENGES TO THE TRANSPORTATION WORLD, UM, AND COMMUTER SHUTTLES MOVING FORWARD.
UM, IT, IT IS BEING DONE TO IMPACT SOME OF THE LARGER CITIES, BUT WE'RE GOING
[01:25:01]
TO BE SEEING A LOT MORE ISSUES AROUND OUR RURAL, UM, TRANSPORTATION IN OUR RURAL COMMUNITIES.UM, BRIAN AND I CAN SPEAK TO YOU ALL ON THAT OFF THE RECORD, BUT I DO WANT YOU ALL TO BE AWARE OF THAT.
UM, TAKING OFF MY CONSULTING HAT AND PUTTING ON MY RESIDENT HAT, I DO WANNA LET YOU ALL KNOW A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY AROUND, UM, THE TROLLEY SERVICE ON HILTON HAT.
UM, THIS WAS BIRTHED OUT OF THE CIRCLE TO CIRCLE, UM, UH, PROJECT THAT WE DID AT THE TOWN OF HILTON HAT ISLAND AND GAIL QUICK, AND I ACTUALLY TOOK ON THE TROLLEY SERVICE AS KIND OF OUR PET PROJECT.
IF Y'ALL DIDN'T KNOW GAIL, SHE WAS A LIFETIME RESIDENT OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND.
UM, SHE WORKED FOR TECHNICAL COLLEGE OF THE LOW COUNTRY AND USCB.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID IN BIRTHING THIS AND BRINGING IT TO COUNCIL, I BELIEVE IN 2014, AND I STILL HAVE OUR POWERPOINTS AND ALL OF THAT GOOD STUFF, WAS THAT IT WAS MEANT TO BE FOR RESIDENTS.
AND I REALLY WANT YOU ALL TO HEAR THAT BECAUSE WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME ON THE TROLLEY SERVICE TALKING ABOUT MOVING, UM, TOURISTS AROUND THE ISLAND AND VISITORS AROUND THE ISLAND.
AND I DO BELIEVE THAT THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
BUT IF YOU GO BACK AND YOU LOOK AT GAIL AND I'S WORKING DOCUMENTS THAT WE GOT TO COUNCIL AND GOT APPROVED BY COUNCIL, IT WAS FOR RESIDENTS TO KEEP RESIDENTS IN PLACE WAS THE NUMBER ONE GOAL.
WE WANTED THEM TO BE ABLE TO STAY IN THEIR HOMES.
SO AS WE MOVE FORWARD AND WE'RE LOOKING AT REAUTHORIZATION AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, WE'RE LOOKING AT FEDERAL FUNDS BEING CUT, WE'RE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, SOME CIRCULATION OF DOLLARS AND CONTRIBUTIONS.
I THINK THAT IT'S A REALLY GREAT TIME FOR US TO RECALIBRATE WHAT WE'RE DOING AND HOW WE'RE DOING IT AND HOW WE'RE ACTUALLY SERVING THE RESIDENTS.
I KNOW THE FOLKS AT PALMETTO BAY HAVE COME TO YOU ALL, THEY WANT A ROUTE STOP.
UM, I MEAN SHIPYARD WAS ONE OF THE ORIGINAL FIRST REQUESTS SHIPYARD, UM, WANTED, WANTED A ROUTE STOP.
SO I JUST, I'M TELLING YOU ALL OF THAT.
SO HOPEFULLY AGAIN, WE CAN DO A LITTLE BIT OF A RECALIBRATION AS WE GO INTO 26, 27 AND THEN 28.
BASED ON THAT, I THINK IT WOULD BE GOOD TO GET DATA, UH, IN REGARDS TO THE TROLLEY ON VISITORS VERSUS RESIDENTS.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE THAT INFORMATION OR COULD BE SOMETHING THAT IT'S, YOU COULD COLLECT IN THE FUTURE.
WE, UM, WE, WE DON'T COLLECT DEMOGRAPHIC DATA ON THE RIDERSHIP FOR REALLY FOR ANYTHING.
UM, OTHER THAN WHERE THEY GET ON WHERE THEY GET OFF AND WHAT THE TOTAL RIDERSHIP IS.
UM, BASED ON, UH, OBSERVATION BY DRIVER STAFF, WE ALWAYS ESTIMATED SOMEWHERE AROUND 70, 75% VISITOR.
UM, AND, AND THAT'S NOT A COINCIDENCE.
IT'S, IT'S SORT OF DESIGNED RIGHT NOW.
THE ROUTING IS REALLY DESIGNED TO APPEAL TO THE VISITOR.
AND, AND THAT'S AGAIN, HEATHER'S RIGHT? IT, IT WAS REALLY KINDA MEANT TO BE BOTH.
UM, AND WE FOCUSED VERY STRONGLY AT THE VERY BEGINNING BECAUSE IT WAS, AND I WAS THE MARKETING DIRECTOR AT THE TIME, UM, HOW DO WE DEVELOP THAT AUDIENCE, UM, WITH LIMITED MARKETING FUNDS.
AND SO SOCIAL MEDIA BECAME THE WAY AND UM, OUR FOLLOWING IS ALMOST 80% OUTSIDE OF THIS AREA.
UM, THAT CAN BE RECALIBRATED TOO, TO USE HEATHER'S WORD, UM, TO, TO, AND, AND AGAIN, IF WE ADJUST THE ROUTES, FOR EXAMPLE, LIKE PALMETTO BAY THAT HEATHER MENTIONED, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE RESIDENTS THERE WRITING THAT.
SO THAT PERCENTAGE IS GONNA GO UP.
AGAIN, APPRECIATE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE CONTINUED CONVERSATION.
DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENT ITEMS? NONE.
ALL RIGHT, THEN WE ARE MOVING TO Y'ALL.
THANK YOU ALL, UH, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC AND OBVIOUSLY COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND OUR FELLOW COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR THE DISCUSSION TODAY.