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CLOSED CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY BUFORT COUNTY.
[1. CALL TO ORDER: Alice Howard, Chair]
I'D LIKE TO CALL THE COUNTY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSHOP FOR MAY 5TH TO ORDER.PLEASE RISE FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE, THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INVISIBLE WITH LIBERTY.
MS. BROCK, THIS MEETING WAS ADVERTISED IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE SOUTH CAROLINA FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT, CORRECT? YES, MA'AM.
[4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA]
I'D LIKE TO ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA.I HAVE A MOTION BY COUNCILMAN PASSMAN.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND THAT.
WE HAVE TWO OF OUR MEMBERS ONLINE TODAY.
COUNCILMAN MCKELLEN AND COUNCILMAN RE.
DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT? NO, MA'AM.
[6. FY 2027 FIRE DISTRICT BUDGET REQUEST PRESENTATIONS]
ON THE AGENDA IS OUR FY 27 FIRE DISTRICT BUDGET REQUEST PRESENTERS.AND THE FIRST ONE IS DUSKY ISLAND BUDGET PRESENTATION.
IS THERE A REASON ALL THE CHIEFS ARE SITTING WAY BACK? YEAH, SO, SO WE DON'T HAVE ANY DISTRACTION PAY ATTENTION.
I DON'T WANNA SEE MY BALD SPOT ON THE CAMERA FOR THE
HOW Y'ALL DOING MADAM CHAIRMAN? MORNING.
UM, WE'RE GOING TO GO OVER OUR BUDGET THIS YEAR.
UM, SINCE FFY 2023, THE DFU ISLAND FIRE DISTRICT HAS REMAINED FOCUSED ON STRENGTHENING OPERATIONAL READINESS, IMPROVING WORKFORCE STABILITY, ENSURING LONG-TERM FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY.
THROUGH STR STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS IN APPARATUS, EQUIPMENT, PERSONNEL, AND TRAINING, THE DISTRICT HAS POSITIONED ITSELF TO MEET THE GROWING DEMANDS OF THE COMMUNITY AMONG MAINTAINING A HIGH LEVEL OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICE.
THE FY 27 BUDGET REPRESENTS A CONTINUATION OF THAT PROCESS WHILE TRANSIT TRANSITIONING TO A PHASE OF SUSTAINABILITY THAT THIS BUDGET MAINTAINS THE CURRENT MILLAGE RATE AND IS ALIGNED DIRECTLY WITH REVENUE GROWTH DRIVEN BY INCREASE OF PROPERTY VALUES.
AS A RESULT, THE DISTRICT IS ABLE TO SUPPORT OPERATIONAL NEEDS WITHOUT INCREASING THE TAX BASE.
OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, THE DISTRICTS HAS EXPERIENCED SIGNIFICANT, SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN CALL VOLUME AND SERVICE DEMAND.
THIS TREND CONTINUES INTO THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, PLACING ADDITIONAL PRESSURE ON PERSONNEL, EQUIPMENT AND OPERATIONAL RESOURCES.
THE FY 27 BUDGET ADDRESSES THESE DEMANDS THROUGH TARGETED INVESTMENTS IN OPERATIONS, WORKFORCE SUPPORT AND TRAINING.
SPECIAL EMPHASIS HAS BEEN PLACED ON MAINTAINING A STABLE AND COMPETITIVE WORKFORCE.
THE DISTRICT CONTINUES TO IMPLEMENT A STRUCTURED STEP PAY PROGRAM WHILE ALSO ENHANCING ITS BENEFITS PACKAGE TO IMPROVE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION.
ADDITIONALLY, THE EXPANSION OF THE VOLUNTEER PROGRAM AND DEVELOPMENT OF IN-HOUSE TRAINING CAPABILITIES FURTHER STRENGTHENS THE THE DISTRICT'S ABILITY TO MEET CURRENT AND FUTURE OPERATIONAL NEEDS.
THE FY 27 BUDGET IS NOT SIMPLY AN INCREASE TO STRATEGIC PLAN DESIGNED TO SUSTAIN PROGRESS SUPPORT PERSONNEL AND INSURED OF FUKE ISLAND FIRE DISTRICT REMAINS PREPARED TO SERVE ITS COMMUNITY EFFECTIVELY.
SO BASICALLY WE ARE NOT RAISING ANY TAXES, WE'RE JUST KEEPING UP WITH GROWTH.
ANY QUESTIONS I HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? YES.
WHAT IS THE STARTING SALARY FOR YOUR FIREMAN? OUR STARTING SALARY FOR SOMEBODY OFF THE STREET, UH, WITH NO TRAINING IS AROUND 46.
SO, UM, WHAT PERCENT COLA ARE YOU GIVING THIS YEAR? OR ARE YOU GIVING A FLAT? WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE BASED ON A MERIT SYSTEM.
SO EVERYBODY, THERE'S IN OUR STEP PROGRAM, IT DEPENDS ON HOW MANY CLASSES THEY ATTENDED AND OUR, OUR TRAINING MATRIX, SO A MINIMUM OF 3% ACROSS THE BOARD FOR OKAY, SO THERE'S 3% LIKE STEPS BETWEEN YOUR STEPS? YES.
IT'S UP TO 5% IF THEY GET A PROMOTION INTO A DIFFERENT CATEGORY FROM FIREFIGHTER TO, UM, ENGINEER TO SENIOR FIREFIGHTER OFFICER, ET CETERA.
AND DO THEY MOVE UP IN JULY? NO, THEY,
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WE DO OURS BASED ON, UM, ANNIVERSARY DATE.AND DO YOU GIVE ANY BONUSES? UM, NO.
AND DO YOU HAVE ANY CURRENT OPENINGS? NO, WE ARE FULL.
NOT THAT I WANT A JOB, I'M JUST ASKING.
AND WHAT ARE YOUR EQUIPMENT NEEDS? YOU HAVE PROJECTED NEEDS AND HOW WILL YOU FUND THEM? I DO, WELL, WE JUST PURCHASED TWO ENGINES, UM, LAST 2025.
UM, THAT'S WHAT YOU SEE IN OUR DEBT SERVICE.
UM, OUR LADDER TRUCK IS OVER 25 YEARS OLD.
UH, HOWEVER, UM, IT'S IN IT'S GOOD SHAPE.
UM, IT COSTS MORE MONEY TO REPAIR NOW BECAUSE OF THE YEAR, HOWEVER, THE PRICE OF LADDER TRUCKS ARE $2.1 MILLION ON THE AVERAGE AND UNDER DEBT SERVICE FOR US, WE'RE ONLY ALLOWED TO BORROW 8%, UM, OF OUR TOTAL ASSESSED VALUE.
SO THAT PUTS US IN A PREDICAMENT ON REPLACING APPARATUS.
SO STRATEGICALLY, I'M LOOKING AT OTHER ALTERNATIVES AS, UM, POSSIBLE REFURBISHED ON TRUCKS.
I'M IN THAT INVESTMENT NOW ON MY LONG TERM STRATEGY.
UM, IT WILL SAVE A LOT OF MONEY, BUT WE'RE LIMITED ON HOW MUCH WE CAN BORROW.
SO WHAT'S IT COST TO MOVE A LADDER TRUCK TO DUSKY? FUNNY THAT YOU ASKED THAT.
IT'S JUST GOT ONTO BARGE YESTERDAY AND JUST THE COST OF GETTING IT OVER IS $1,200.
OH, THAT'S LESS THAN I THOUGHT.
I THOUGHT YOU WERE SAYING 12,000.
THAT $1,200 TO MOVE THE EQUIPMENT, IT'S BASED ON SQUARE FOOTAGE FOR THE BARGE CHARGE.
SO OPERATIONALLY, WHEN YOU LOOK AT STUFF OPERATIONALLY ON DUSKY LOGISTICS IS OUR, IS IS NOT OUR FRIEND TO GET STUFF ON AND OFF THE AT ISLAND.
UM, WE DO ALL OF OUR MAINTENANCE IN-HOUSE BASICS FE THINGS WITH PUMPS OR LADDERS WE SEND OVER AND BLUFF AND JUST HELPED US OUT WITH OUR LADDER TRUCK NEEDED SOME REPAIR THIS PAST WEEK AND THEY WAS ABLE TO FIT US IN AND HELP US TREMENDOUSLY.
ANY OTHER, YOU SENT IT TO BLUFFTON.
SO YOU HAD TO PAY 1200 TO SHIP IT OVER THERE? YEAH.
THEN I HAVE TO PAY OVERTIME FOR SOMEBODY TO HELP ME DRIVE IT OVER THERE.
IT'S, IT WAS JUST A NIGHTMARE.
BUT THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT WE DO.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? QUESTIONS? NONE.
AND NEXT IS, UH, SHELDON FIRE DISTRICT.
GOOD MORNING CHAIRMAN COUNCIL, MORNING STAFF, COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR.
THE SHELDON FIRE DISTRICT'S BUDGET THIS YEAR IS ALL ABOUT SALARY ADJUSTMENTS.
UM, MY OPERATIONS ONLY WENT UP $20,000 THIS YEAR, BUT MY SALARIES WENT UP PRETTY HIGH.
UM, TO BASICALLY GOLD MY FIGURES REAL QUICK, THE SALARIES THIS YEAR WOULD BE 1,334,334.
BENEFITS WOULD BE 688,000 1 1 6.
UH, PURCHASE SERVICES WOULD BE 289,000 4 9 4 SUPPLIES 6,000 FOR A TOTAL BUDGET OF $2,317,944.
NOW HOW AM I EXPECTED TO GET THERE? WELL, FIRST OF ALL, I'M GONNA NEED A 1.1 MILLION INCREASE.
THAT'S WHAT THIS THE CAP ALLOWS US TO DO.
ALSO, I'M WANTING TO USE $86,634 OF MY FUND BALANCE.
I DON'T LIKE TO DO THAT FOR OPERATIONS BECAUSE OPERATIONS IS A REOCCURRING COST.
BUT BASED ON WHAT WE'VE BEEN GETTING MILLAGE WISE, WE'VE BEEN AVERAGING SEVEN, EIGHT, SOMETIMES 9% OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS.
NEXT YEAR WE WOULD EVEN BACK OUT.
ANOTHER REASON I GET A LITTLE BIT OVER A MILLION DOLLARS IN, UM, FUND BALANCE.
AND I WANT TO USE SOME OF THAT MONEY 'CAUSE I HAVE TO PURCHASE TWO NEW VEHICLES NEXT YEAR IF I PUMP HER IN THE TANKER.
UH, TO LET YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW MY STARTING SALARY IS $40,000 A YEAR.
IF Y'ALL PROVE MY BUDGET THIS YEAR, IT GOES UP TO $47,000 A YEAR, WHICH MAKES US COMPETITIVE WITH THE OTHER DISTRICTS.
OVER THE LAST YEAR, I'VE LOST NINE FIREFIGHTERS, EIGHT OF THEM BECAUSE OF PROBABLY PAY ONE OF 'EM LEFT FOR ANOTHER REASON.
OH, ABOUT WHAT I TOLD YOUR OTHER REASON.
IF Y'ALL GOT ANY QUESTIONS, I'D ANSWER 'EM.
I MEAN, TRY TO ANSWER 'EM THE BEST WAY I CAN.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? YOU ANSWERED MINE ALREADY.
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THE SAME QUESTION.UM, SO YOU DON'T GIVE BONUSES? YES I DO.
OH, YOU DO GIVE BONUS TO THEIR EMT.
THEY GET A BONUS IF THEY'RE, UM, ON THE, WELL IT WAS ON THE HAZMAT TEAM.
YOU MEAN EXTRA PAY, NOT A BONUS, RIGHT? IT'D BE EXTRA PAY.
AND UM, I GOT ONE GUY THAT RUNS MY VOLUNTEER PROGRAM AND I PAY HIM $3,000 A EXTRA A YEAR TO RUN THAT PROGRAM.
HOW MANY OPENINGS DO YOU HAVE RIGHT NOW? 1 0 1.
SO THEY GET, IT'S NOT A BONUS.
THEY'RE GETTING EXTRA PAY FOR EXTRA QUALIFICATIONS BASICALLY.
AND YOU, THEY, AS THEY GO UP, THAT'S A BIG DIFFERENCE.
THEY USUALLY GET, IT'S ABOUT A 5% AND YOU KNOW, PRETTY MUCH EVERYBODY, AND I CAN SPEAK FOR NORTH OF ABROAD, WE'RE PRETTY MUCH IN LINE AS FAR AS HOW THEY PROMOTE OUR, OUR PROMOTION PROCESS IS PRETTY STRENUOUS.
THERE'S SO MANY CLASSES THEY GOTTA TAKE BECAUSE WE USE THE FIRE ACADEMY A LOT.
AND, AND THE THING IS, THEY HAVE, IF YOU WANT TO TAKE A CLASS, YOU GOTTA HAVE THIS CLASS BEFORE YOU TAKE THAT CLASS.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF CLASSES TO TAKE TO MOVE UP AND RANK AND THESE GUYS WORK HARD TO DO THAT.
BUT I ASKED THE COUNCIL TO PLEASE CONSIDER MY BUDGET AND HOW IMPORTANT THIS PAY IS CAN BE US.
UH, CHIEF, I APPRECIATE YOUR AGGRESSIVENESS IN GETTING YOUR SALARY UP AND I WILL SUPPORT YOU.
THIS IS MY 37TH BUDGET WITH Y'ALL.
NO, I THINK IT'S, AND YOU KNOW, I WILL TELL YOU NOW, MY MILLAGE RATE RIGHT NOW IS WHAT IT WAS 10 YEARS AGO.
CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? NOW IT'S WENT UP AND DOWN, BUT WE'VE ALWAYS LEVELED OUT AND I BELIEVE Y'ALL PROVED MY ONE POINT 0.1 MILL INCREASE.
THE BUDGET WILL LEVEL BACK OUT NEXT YEAR AS FAR AS OPERATIONS.
IF WE GET THE SIX OR 7% GROWTH WE'VE BEEN GETTING IN A MILL.
WE'VE WORKED WITH OUR, WITH OUR BUDGET PEOPLE ON FIGURING THAT OUT, I'M SURE, HAVEN'T YOU? OH, PINK'S GREAT.
ANYTIME YOU CALL HER, IF SHE'S NOT BUSY, SHE'LL GET BACK AS QUICK AS SHE CAN.
APPRECIATE YOUR FULL EXPLANATION.
AND LIKE I TOLD ALL OF Y'ALL BEFORE YOU WELCOME TO COME VISIT MY FIRE STATIONS AND SEE THE EQUIPMENT GOT AND STUFF WE GOT.
I THINK YOU'D BE PRETTY IMPRESSED WITH IT.
UM, FOR MOMENT, MARK AUSTIN WAS ON, BUT NOW HE'S OFF.
IS THAT CORRECT? HE'S STILL ON.
I JUST DIDN'T SEE HIS PICTURE, SO.
ALRIGHT, NEXT IS LADIES ISLAND, ST.
HELENA FIRE DISTRICT PRESENTATION.
MADAM CHAIR, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL.
UH, GOOD MORNING LADIES ISLAND.
HILL FIRE DISTRICT IS PRESENTING A BUDGET THIS YEAR OF THE SAME MILL RATE AS THE LAST FOUR YEARS.
42.7 USING THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE ONE PAGER THAT YOU JUST PUT UP.
UH, WE ARE 40 MILLS FOR OPERATION.
OUR MILL VALUE HAS GONE TO 232,000 0 8 5.
THAT'S A $14,000 INCREASE FROM LAST YEAR.
AVALOR TAXES WILL BRING IN 9,283,400.
WE ARE PLEDGING $500,000 FROM OUR CONTRACT REVENUE.
THAT'S A UP BY A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS FROM LAST YEAR.
SO TOTAL REVENUE WILL BE 9,783,400.
OUR BIGGEST, UM, INCREASE IS IN SALARIES.
WE HAVE INCREASED OUR ENTRY LEVEL SALARY BY $5,000, TAKING US TO 49,484.
IT'S NOT QUITE AT THAT $50,000 MARK, BUT IT'S CLOSE, WHICH I HAVE TO TELL YOU IS A MOVING TARGET CONSTANTLY GOING UP.
YOU SEE, UH, OTHER EMERGENCY SERVICES HERE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY GETTING TO THE 60,000 AND OVER RANGE.
IF I COULD DO THAT TODAY, I WOULD ABSOLUTELY DO THAT.
UH, OUR EXPENSES TOTAL WOULD BE 9,699,000 0 9 1.
THAT WILL PUT 84,309 INTO FUND BALANCE.
OUR FUND BALANCE AT THE END OF FISCAL YEAR FY 27 WILL BE 2,994,473.
OUR STAFFING REMAINS THE SAME AT 69.
OUR DEBT WILL GO UP THIS YEAR TO 843,837.
FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS, WE'VE BEEN PAYING INTEREST ONLY
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ON OUR LOAN FOR THE FIVE NEW FIRE APPARATUS THAT WILL ARRIVE THIS AUGUST.I AM ASKING IF WE COULD USE DEBT RESERVE FUND BALANCE TO GET TO THAT 843,837.
I'VE SPOKEN WITH PINKY AND SHE SAID THAT'S APPROPRIATE USE OF THAT FUND BALANCE.
THAT FUND BALANCE AND DEBT SERVICE RIGHT NOW IS AT 919,849.
WE'RE ASKING TO USE 217 208 OF THAT DEBT RESERVE FUND BALANCE, LEAVING A BALANCE IN THAT ACCOUNT OF 702 641, WHICH IS ROUGHLY 83% OF WHAT IT, OUR PAYMENT WILL BE NEXT YEAR.
THE AUDIT FOR 2025, WE BROUGHT IN A ADDITIONAL $120,000 IN THE DEBT RESERVE.
SO I'M VERY COMFORTABLE IF YOU ALLOW US TO USE THAT, THAT IT'LL BALANCE OUT AND WE'LL HOPEFULLY NOT HAVE TO RAISE MILL RATE NEXT YEAR.
IT'S BEEN THE SAME FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS.
ANY QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS? NO, GO AHEAD WITH YOUR QUESTIONS.
IT WOULDN'T BE FAIR IF I DIDN'T ASK YOU AND I ASKED THE OTHERS.
AND I SEE BLUFFTON SITTING IN THE BACK LAUGHING 'CAUSE THEY'RE GONNA BE NEXT.
UM, SO YOU'RE RAISING YOUR BASE PAY, THAT'S GREAT.
AND WHAT'S YOUR COLA THIS YEAR? FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD THERE? SO THAT WE ARE JUST DOING A SALARY ADJUSTMENT OF 5,000 FOR THE BASE, WHICH ARE ESCALATING LONGEVITY AND PROMOTIONAL SCALE GIVES THAT ACROSS THE BOARD.
AND YOU DO THAT IN JULY OR JANUARY? WE WILL DO THAT IN JULY.
YOU HAVE ANY OPENINGS? I HAVE THREE OPENINGS AND HOPE TO HAVE THEM FILLED SOON.
ANYONE ONLINE HAVE QUESTIONS? NO.
THAT'S WE'RE NOT, DIDN'T ASK BONUS.
BONUS IS NOT AN APPROPRIATE WORD.
IT IS AN INCENTIVE FOR E-M-T-E-M-T ADVANCED AND PARAMEDIC.
I DON'T YOU JUST HAVE YOU ASK ALL MY QUESTIONS.
WELL, I READ ALL YOUR WROTE, WRITTEN ALL YOUR QUESTIONS DOWN IN THE BACK SO I CAN PREPARED FOR I KNOW, BUT I'M NOT GONNA PUSH YOU FOR ANY MORE QUESTIONS.
ALL RIGHT, NEXT IS BLUFFTON TOWNSHIP FIRE DISTRICT.
WE WILL BE GENTLE BECAUSE YOU'RE SORT OF NEW.
WELL, THANK YOU, UH, MADAM CHAIR AND, AND MEMBERS OF COUNCIL THANK YOU THIS MORNING.
UH, WE WOULD LIKE TO PRESENT OUR FY 27 BUDGET TO YOU.
UH, WE ARE ANTICIPATING NO INCREASE IN OUR MILLAGE, SO NO INCREASE ON FIRE SERVICE TAXES, UH, BASED ON THE PROJECTED GROWTH.
SO ABOUT A 7.33% INCREASE, UH, IN OUR OVERALL BUDGET, JUST BASED ON INCREASE IN VALUES.
OUR VALUES PROJECTED THIS YEAR IS 1.159 MILLION PER MILL.
SO LEAVING OUR MILLAGE WHERE IT WAS, UH, WITH THE TOTAL ANNUAL BUDGET PROJECTED AT $28.887 MILLION FOR OUR OPERATING BUDGET.
UM, OUR STARTING PAY, JUST SINCE THAT'S BEEN THE, UH, THE QUESTION WE'RE AT 52,800 FOR STARTING PAY.
UH, WE CURRENTLY HAVE THREE VACANCIES.
THEY ARE POSTED AND I THINK AS OF THIS MORNING WE HAD ABOUT 25 APPLICANTS.
UH, WE POSTED, UH, FRIDAY, MAY, MAY 1ST
UM, FOR THOSE THREE, WE ARE ANTICIPATING ADDING ONE POSITION ACTUALLY TO OUR MAINTENANCE DIVISION THIS YEAR.
UH, ONE ADDITIONAL MECHANIC, UH, JUST TO HELP OUT WITH MAINTENANCE AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UH, WE ARE SHIFTING, UM, AGAIN, OUR FUND BALANCE IS, IS FULLY FUNDED WITH, UH, OUR 30%.
UH, SO WE ARE SHIFTING AND PRIORITIZING CAPITAL, UH, SOME CAPITAL ITEMS AS WE MOVE INTO A, UH, MORE ROBUST CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN GOING FORWARD.
ANY QUESTIONS? WHAT'S IN THAT CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN? WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT? SO RIGHT NOW, LOOKING AT ALL OF OUR FACILITIES, UM, AND FACILITIES MAINTENANCE, UM, AGAIN, SOME OF THE, YOU KNOW, STATIONS, UH, LOOKING AT EVERYTHING FROM ROOFS TO GENERATORS TO, YOU KNOW, THE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS WITH THE STATIONS.
JUST, JUST MAINTENANCE AND UPKEEP.
AND IF YOU COULD JUST REMIND THE REST OF THE COUNCIL, HOW MANY FACILITIES DO YOU HAVE? SO THERE'S NINE FIRE STATION TO 10TH, ONE GROUNDBREAKING IN A COUPLE WEEKS FOR THE 10TH ONE THERE IN SUN CITY.
UH, PLUS OUR MAINTENANCE AND TRAINING FACILITY.
AND, AND WHAT'S YOUR COLA THIS YEAR? SO WE'RE ANTICIPATING A 2% COLA IN JANUARY AND THEN, UH, WE DO A MARRIED INCREASE IN JULY.
HOW, HOW MANY LADDER TRUCKS DO YOU HAVE? UH, TWO.
TWO FRONTLINE, AND ONE RESERVE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YES MA'AM.
PAULA, DID YOU HAVE QUESTIONS? NO, I DON'T HAVE ANY.
UH, MS. TABER, DID YOU WANT STIPENDS OR DID YOU UH,
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YEAH, I WAS WAITING TILL ANYONE ELSE ASKED.SO WE DO OFFER STIPENDS FOR PARAMEDICS AS WELL AS FOR OUR SPECIAL OPERATIONS TEAMS. SO THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT GET, UH, SPECIAL OPERATIONS TEAMS GET A THOUSAND DOLLARS, PARAMEDICS GET $5,000.
AND THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS, WHAT DOES THAT ENTAIL? SO THAT'S EITHER OUR HAZMAT TEAM.
OUR, UH, RESCUE TEAM, UH, WHICH WORKS WITH, UH, TASK FORCE FOUR, THE STATE, UH, REGIONAL RESPONSE TEAM OR OUR WILDLAND TEAM.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST, CHIEF ROUNDTREE.
SO YOU KNOW ALL THE QUESTIONS ALREADY.
I HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS FOR THAT, THAT, ANYWAY, SO WE'LL SEE HOW IT GOES.
THIS BUDGET DOES INCLUDE A PAYROLL ADJUSTMENT AS WE WORK TOWARDS THE $50,000 BASE PAY FOR OUR STARTING FIREFIGHTERS.
THIS ADJUSTMENT IS GONNA PUT US FOR A STARTING FIREFIGHTER AT 47.
AND IT IS AN OVERALL 4% IS WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
UH, WE DO HAVE ONE SOMEWHAT UNKNOWN.
WE'RE WE'RE LOOKING AT THE POTENTIAL OF CHANGING OUR, UH, WORKERS' COMP COVERAGE AND WE'RE GETTING A QUOTE STILL FROM THE STATE.
OUR OTHER COMPANY IS MAY NOT BE ABLE TO PROVIDE.
SO WE HAVE A REALLY GOOD EXPERIENCE MODIFIER 0.81.
SO WE'RE HOPING, HOPING FOR A GOOD, GOOD NUMBERS.
OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN INCLUDES THE USE OF IMPACT FEES, DEBT SERVICE FUNDS, AND PRIOR CONTRACT FUNDS.
WE, AND WE WANT TO PUT, UH, UTILIZING DEBT SERVICE FUNDS A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS TOWARDS THE, THE TWO TRUCKS THAT WE HAVE ON CONTRACT.
WE HAVE TWO TRUCKS, IF, IF YOU REMEMBER, THEY TAKE ABOUT FOUR YEARS TO BUILD 47 TO 50 MONTHS NOW.
SO WE HAVE A 28 TRUCK OR A SCHEDULED, A TRUCK SCHEDULED FOR 2028 AND WE HAVE A TRUCK SCHEDULED FOR 2029.
WE TAKE DELIVERY OF WHAT WE CALL THE 26 TRUCK NEXT MONTH IN JULY.
WE HAD SUCCESSFULLY TAKEN THAT TRUCK DOWN ABOUT $500,000 AS FAR AS THE AMOUNT FINANCE.
SO WE'RE PRETTY HAPPY WITH THAT BY MAKING THESE DOWN PAYMENTS.
SO WE, AGAIN, WE'RE ASKING TO USE A HUNDRED THOUSAND FROM OUR DEBT SERVICE FUND AND 200,000 FROM OUR, FROM OUR IMPACT FEES.
THAT WILL BE SPREAD OUT OVER THE, THE TWO REMAINING CONTRACTS THAT WE HAVE.
THE, UH, OTHER CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS ARE GONNA COME FROM OUR PRIOR CONTRACT MONEY THAT WE HAVE, UH, THAT WE RECEIVED FROM THE CITY OF BEAUFORT AND TOWN OF PORT ROYAL.
THROUGH THE YEARS THAT WE'VE BEEN SAVING AND BUILDING.
UH, THE 28 TRUCK IS GONNA REPLACE A, UH, TRUCK THAT IS 13 YEARS OLD AND THE 30 TRUCK IS GONNA REPLACE THE TRUCK THAT IS 15 YEARS OLD.
UH, WE ARE ALSO GOING TO BE FUNCTIONING WITH ONE LESS EMPLOYEE THIS YEAR DUE TO THE ENDING OF A FEDERAL OPIOID GRANT THAT, THAT WE WERE NOT RENEWED FOR.
BUT OTHER THAN THAT, THERE'S NOT ANY MAJOR CHANGES.
THE MAJORITY OF OUR FUNDS ARE GOING TOWARDS THE PERSONNEL QUESTIONS.
I NOTICED, UM, A LOT OF BRUSH FIRES AND Y'ALL ARE RESPONDING TO, IS THERE, IS THAT UNUSUAL FOR THIS YEAR OR THE DROUGHT DID NOT HELP, OBVIOUSLY, AND THE RAIN HAS PRETTY MUCH BROUGHT IT TO A SCREECHING HALT SO FAR, BUT IF WE DON'T GET SOME CONTINUOUS RAIN, WE'RE GONNA BE RIGHT BACK IN IT.
BUT YEAH, WE HAD 28 IN ONE DAY AND THE PROBLEM WAS OBVIOUSLY EVERYTHING IS DRY, BUT, UH, PEOPLE WERE NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO THE RED FLAG FOR THE NO BURN.
AND, UH, IS, IS QUITE HONESTLY, I, I MEAN IT'S A, ON A PERSONAL NOTE, I THINK WE SHOULD REVISIT THE BURNING ORDINANCE TO MAYBE MAKE IT A LITTLE MORE, UM, TAKE A BIGGER YEAH, I AGREE.
PEOPLE, PEOPLE ARE GONNA BURN.
NOBODY'S REALLY PAYING ATTENTION TO IT.
AND, AND YEAH, 28 IN ONE DAY WAS PRETTY TAXING ON THE, ON THE FIREFIGHTERS PEOPLE AND UNINCORPORATED PART OF MY DISTRICT WOULD AGREE WITH YOU ON THAT.
AND THAT'S A WAY OF LIFE FOR SOME PEOPLE.
THEY BURN ALL THE TIME AND, AND, BUT WHEN THERE'S A RED FLAG, IT'S OOF.
I THOUGHT I SAW ONE TIME ON FACEBOOK WHO DID 47 IN A WEEKEND.
THEY, THEY, UH, THEY WENT HOME TIRED.
'CAUSE THEY WORK, UH, THEY WORK 48 HOURS.
UM, CHIEF YOU SAID, UH, THE LEAD TIME AT GETTING EQUIPMENT IS NOW UP TO FOUR YEARS.
WHO ARE THE MAJOR, UH, PLAYERS IN EQUIPMENT? UH, THEY HAVE, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GUYS HAD SEEN SOME OF THE CONGRESSIONAL, UH, REPORTS THAT ARE OUT THERE, BUT THERE IS, THERE IS ONE.
UH, I PURCHAS THE, I BUY MY EQUIPMENT FROM PIERCE MANUFACTURING.
[00:25:01]
OUT THERE, BUT THERE IS, UM, EMERGENCY ONE AND, UH, HELP ME OUT GUYS.WHAT ARE SOME OF THE OTHERS THAT ARE IN THERE? KME ROSE.
YEAH, THEY, AND IT, AND FERRARA, RIGHT? THERE WAS LIKE FIVE OF 'EM THAT JUST MERGED INTO ONE.
SO, AND, UM, SO THERE'S NOT A T THERE'S CHOICES, BUT, UH, THE BIG THING FOR US PERSONALLY IS THAT, UH, UH, AS FAR AS OUR MAINTENANCE GOES, TRYING TO KEEP THE, THE TRUCKS THE SAME AS WE GO ALONG, BUT THERE'S, THERE'S, WE, UH, WE ARE PART OF THE, UH, HGAC, THE HOUSTON GALVESTON, UH, PURCHASING PERMIT, AND WE UTILIZE THAT WHEN WE BUY THE TRUCKS, SO.
ANY QUESTIONS FROM ANYONE ONLINE? UH, YES.
COUNCILMAN MCALLEN OR TOM? I'M SORRY.
UH, CHIEF, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
ALL THE CHIEFS AND ALL THE PRESENTATIONS WERE WONDERFUL THAT ONE DAY OF 28 VIOLATIONS, HOW MANY, UM, VIOLATIONS WERE ISSUED THAT DAY? UH, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THE, THE PROBLEM IS THE FORESTRY TICKET FOR THAT IS A LOT HEFTIER THAN WHAT OUR COUNTY ORDINANCE IS.
AND WE ONLY HAVE TWO PEOPLE, TWO PLACES TO GO WHEN WE WANT THE COUNTY ORDINANCE TO BE ENFORCED.
IT'S GOTTA HAPPEN THROUGH THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE OR IT'S GOTTA HAPPEN THROUGH CODES.
UM, SO WE TRIED PRIMARILY TO GO THROUGH SOUTH CAROLINA FORESTRY.
THEIR TICKET IS A LOT MORE SUBSTANTIAL.
THE PROBLEM IS, IS THAT EVERYBODY IN THE COUNTIES, OUR, OUR FOREST RANGER WAS, UH, MOSTLY IN HAMPTON AND SOME OF THE OTHER MORE RURAL COUNTIES.
SO THERE I, TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE, THERE WAS NONE THAT WERE ISSUED.
THERE WASN'T ALL 28 BEING, UH, ILLEGAL.
THERE WERE SOME OTHER ISSUES THAT WE HAD.
IT WAS A BUSY DAY, BUT, UH, THERE WERE SEVERAL OF 'EM THAT WERE, UH, THAT, THAT WE COULD ATTRIBUTE BACK TO SOMEBODY ILLEGALLY BURNING, BUT NOT, NOT SO MUCH 28, BUT, BUT NO, NO, NO.
CHIEF YOU MENTIONED SOMETHING ABOUT RAISING THAT FINE.
I, I WHY WOULD WE RAISE THE FINE IF WE CAN'T ISSUE A CITATION? MY QUESTION IS THIS, HOW CAN THE COUNTY, HOW CAN OUR STAFF HELP YOU ACTUALLY ENFORCE THAT AND THEN MAYBE DOWN THE ROAD TALK ABOUT INCREASING IT, BUT WHY INCREASE IT WHEN WE DON'T ENFORCE IT? RIGHT NOW IT'S $50.
AND THE ONE TIME THAT I WENT TO COURT OR THAT WE WENT TO COURT, UM, WITH, UH, WITH SOMEONE THAT WAS CHARGED, THE JUDGE PUT THE $50 TO THE SIDE AND RELEASED HIM ON.
OR THIS MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO BRING UP IN DAVID'S COMMITTEE.
LOOK AT THE WHOLE, OR ADMINIS WITH THE WHOLE ORDINANCE.
BUT, UM, COUNCILMAN RES, TO YOUR POINT, I HAVE COMPLAINTS IN MY DISTRICT OFTEN, UM, ABOUT NEIGHBORS.
AND I KNOW ON LADIES ISLAND, THEY DO TOO.
WE HAVE RECEIVED HELP IN THE PAST FROM CODES ENFORCEMENT MM-HMM
WHEN WE HAD, UH, SOMEBODY THAT WAS HABITUAL.
HABITUAL CODES HAS BEEN VERY GOOD ABOUT TRYING TO KEEP UP ON THOSE PEOPLE THAT WE'RE CONSTANTLY GOING TO MM-HMM
BUT, UH, IT, IT, IT NEEDS A LITTLE BIT OF A BITE.
I THINK CHIEF JONES SAID THE STATE TICKET IS 404 400.
WELL, LISTEN, WHATEVER I'D SAY LET'S GET TOGETHER SOMEHOW AND LET THE COUNTY COUNCILMAN RE WE HOLD ON.
CAN YOU CHIEF COME UP FRONT SO WE CAN'T HEAR YOU BACK THERE.
CHIEF COME UP TO THE MICROPHONE SO THAT COUNCILMAN RES AND THE OTHERS CAN HEAR YOU.
I HATE TO NO, YOU GO RIGHT AHEAD.
ONE OF THE PROBLEM IS PEOPLE DON'T NOTICE VERNA MM-HMM
I CALLED THE STATE FORESTER AND I SAID, LOOK, WHY DON'T YOU CALL SLED AND PUT IT OUT ON AN AMBER ALERT SYSTEM? EVERYBODY'S GOT A PHONE, THEY'LL HEAR IT.
BUT SLED SAID IT DIDN'T MEET THE CRITERIA TO PUT IT ON THEIR SYSTEM.
BUT I KNOW STATE FOREST'S WORKING ON THAT.
BUT THAT'S OUR BIGGEST THING WE RUN INTO IS THE PEOPLE THEY JUST DON'T KNOW.
YOU KNOW, AND AFTER WE POST IT ON FACEBOOK, YOU ALL POST IT ON FACEBOOK.
SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT PUTS IT ON, THEY PUT IT OUT.
IT'S, THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS RURAL COMMUNITIES JUST DON'T KNOW THERE'S A BURNING BAN.
AND SO WHAT WE END UP DOING IS EDUCATING INSTEAD OF FIGHTING.
SO THAT'S ABOUT 400 SOMETHING DOLLARS.
AND, AND THEY WERE ISSUING A BUNCH OF, I I WOULD SUBMIT TO YOU THAT, GOING BACK TO THE ORDINANCE, I THINK 2011, WE MAY HAVE INCORPORATED THAT ORDINANCE.
UM, I WOULD ALSO SUBMIT TO YOU THAT, UM, WE NEED TO LOOK HARD AT BURNING AROUND SCHOOLS.
YOU GOT ATHLETIC PROGRAMS GOING ON IN THE AFTERNOON.
GUY AROUND THE CORNER IS BURNING.
WELL, I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, BUT WE NEED TO BOAT MANAGEMENT LOOK AT THAT AND SAY MAYBE, MAYBE
[00:30:01]
IN THIS AREA YOU JUST CAN'T BURN UNLESS YOU BURN ON THE WEEKENDS WHERE THERE'S NO SPORTING ACTIVITY.WELL, WE, I THINK WE WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE ALL OF YOUR INPUT.
UM, AND AT COMMUNITY SERVICES AND SAFETY COMMITTEE, UM, THIS WOULD BE A GOOD POINT OF DISCUSSION.
UM, WHILE, BECAUSE IT'S BEEN AN ONGOING PROBLEM.
HAPPY TO GET YOU ON THE AGENDA CHAIRMAN.
AND, AND WE ALL RECEIVE COMPLAINTS.
UM, AND THE, THOSE THAT ARE COMPLAINING KNOW THE ORDINANCE AS WELL AS WE DO.
'CAUSE WE DISTRIBUTE COPIES BY FLYER.
THEY KNOW IT AS WELL AS WE DO.
TIF, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU ARRIVE AND THEY'RE JUST, THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND.
THEY DON'T, THEY DIDN'T KNOW THAT THERE WAS A, SO FIRST OF ALL, A FORESTRY PUTS OUT A RED FLAG THAT MEANS NO BURNING OF RED COUNTY.
AND THEN WHEN THEY ESCALATE IT TO NO BURNING, IT'S EVEN MORE INTENSE.
BUT OUR PEOPLE JUST DON'T KNOW.
BUT THE STATE FOREST'S BEEN, IS ISSUED THAT SENATOR, THE GOVERNOR TOO.
DO YOU NOTICE THAT CHIEF UH, CHIEFS, JUST ONE MORE THOUGHT I HAVE.
WE HAVE A ROCKSTAR IN HANNAH NICHOLS THAT DOES AN AWFUL LOT OF, UM, GOOD COMMUNICATION TO THE COUNTY IF WE PUT TOGETHER SOMETHING COORDINATED.
AND I I PROMISE YOU, WE GET A LOT OF GOOD FEEDBACK FROM HER CORRESPONDENCE AND COMMUNICATIONS WITH OUR COMMUNITY THAT I THINK IS MORE THAN HALF OUR BATTLE RIGHT THERE.
WE NEED TO GET OUT TO THE PEOPLE THROUGH OUR ROCKSTAR.
MAKE SENSE? ALSO, PEOPLE NEED TO LEARN.
GARBAGE IS THE BIGGEST COMPLAINT.
AND YOUR BIGGEST COMPLAINT IN YOUR AREA.
YOU KNOW, PEOPLE, SOME PEOPLE DON'T USE THE SOCIAL MEDIA.
SO I WAS THINKING LIKE THE RED FLAG IS, IS AN OBVIOUS THING.
AND MAYBE WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING SYMBOLIC BECAUSE IF YOU'RE NOT USING SOCIAL MEDIA, YOU DON'T CARE HOW MUCH WE PUT OUT.
WELL, AND, AND WE AS FIRE SERVICE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT STRATEGICALLY THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY, YOUR HIGH TRAFFIC AREAS HAVING A SIGN.
THERE GO THAT SAYS WE'RE UNDER RED FLAG.
YOU HAVE TO MAINTAIN THAT AND YOU HAVE TO, TO STAY ON TOP OF IT.
BUT YEAH, WE COULD HAVE MENT COUNTY WHERE MOST PEOPLE TRY TRAVEL.
TO ME THAT WOULD BE, 'CAUSE YOU'RE RIGHT, REAL, THEY'RE NOT INTO SOCIAL MEDIA.
THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE JUST, THEY'RE NOT WATCHING THE LOCAL NEWS OR ANY OF THAT.
STRATEGIC PLACES, YOU KNOW, BY, BEFORE GROCERY STORE ENGINES OR WHATEVER AND PEOPLE WILL SEE IT AND, UM, MAYBE ABIDE BY IT.
UM, AND THAT'S A GOOD THOUGHT.
AND THIS IS SOMETHING WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT AT, AT THE COMMITTEE LEVEL.
AND WE, WE'LL LET Y'ALL KNOW WHEN WE BRING IT UP SO YOU CAN COME AND GIVE US SOME INPUT TOO.
DAVID GOT MORE WORK FOR YOU THERE.
COUNCILMAN GLOVER? YEAH, MADAM CHAIRMAN.
UH, I'M GOING BACK TO YOUR BUDGET.
SORRY I WENT DOWN THAT RABBIT HOLE.
I THINK IT WAS A GOOD DISCUSSION.
UM, UH, BECAUSE IT IS, UH, A CONCERN IN THE RURAL AREA ABOUT BERNIE IS, UM, SO, UM, IT'D BE GOOD TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION AT COMMITTEE LEVEL.
UM, IS IT INTENTIONAL, UM, THAT YOU HAVE REDUCED YOUR, UM, STAFF? YOU KNOW, LAST YEAR YOU HAD, UM, IN 50 25 YOU BASICALLY HAD 59 AND THEN, UH, YOU GOT TO 54.
SO IS THAT AN INTENTIONAL EFFORT ON YOUR PART TO REDUCE, I WOULD DEFINITELY LOVE TO HAVE MORE FIREFIGHTERS, BUT THE ISSUE HAPPENED LAST YEAR WHERE I HAD LOST 13 PEOPLE.
IF YOU, IF SOME OF Y'ALL REMEMBER I HAD LOST A BUNCH OF FOLKS AND I HAD TO MAKE A PAYROLL ADJUSTMENT OR, UH, A PAYSCALE ADJUSTMENT AND LAST.
SO THE REDUCTION, IS IT HURTING YOUR EFFORT AT THIS TIME? NO, SIR.
WE'RE STILL, WE'RE STILL IN GOOD SHAPE.
OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, THREE, THREE FIREFIGHTERS ON A TRUCK OR FOUR FIREFIGHTERS ON A TRUCK IS BETTER.
I HAVE SOME DAYS WHERE I HAVE TWO, BUT, UM, IT WOULD BE GREAT IF WE COULD HAVE MORE, IF EVERYBODY IS AT WORK.
I HAVE THREE ON EVERY TRUCK AND FIVE STATIONS.
I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE MORE, BUT WE, WE ARE MAKING IT WORK WITH WHAT WE HAVE.
WE'RE STILL FUNCTIONING WITHIN THE GUIDELINES AND WITHIN THE RULES.
WELL, AT RISK, MY CONCERN IS MAKING SURE THAT, UM, YOU NOT BEING, UM, COMPROMISED ON YOUR EFFORTS.
I WOULD, UM, AS SOON AS OUR, I MEAN IF WE HAD THE, THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO MORE, WE MOST CERTAINLY WOULD.
BUT WE, WE USED THOSE, UH, WE HAD, WE WENT DOWN ABOUT SIX PEOPLE, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN THAT YEAR, TRYING TO BRING EVERYBODY ELSE'S SALARIES UP SO I COULD KEEP THE ONES I HAD.
I DID LOSE, I GOT ONE GUY THAT'S RETIRING ON THE 17TH OF THIS MONTH AND I HAVE ANOTHER WHO'S ACCEPTED A POSITION WITH THE MARINE CORPS STATION FIRE DEPARTMENT.
SO I'LL HAVE TWO OPENINGS THAT WE'LL HAVE TO FILL.
BUT ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR CHIEF? JUST, JUST ONE LAST ONE FROM THIS COUNCILMAN RIGHT HERE? YES.
UH, PLEASE UNDERSTAND THERE'S MORE FORMS OF COMMUNICATION THAN SOCIAL MEDIA.
WE CAN GO TO OUR COMMUNITY CENTERS,
[00:35:01]
UM, AND, AND POST OFFICES AND, AND DO THAT AS WELL.I MEAN, A LOT OF PEOPLE GO TO COMMUNITY CENTERS AND POST OFFICE, SO THERE'S MANY FORMS OF COMMUNICATION.
THANK Y'ALL FOR COMING THIS MORNING AND FOR THE OUTSTANDING CHAIRMAN, PRESENTATIONS.
BEFORE, BEFORE, UH, THE CHIEF'S, UH, LEAVE.
LET ME, I WANNA RAISE A QUESTION, UM, THAT MR. DAWSON, UM, BASICALLY, UH, TALKED ABOUT YESTERDAY.
UM, AND THAT THE QUESTION DEALT WITH SALARY, UH, ACROSS THE BOARD FOR OUR FIGHTER FIREFIGHTERS.
AND, UM, IS THERE ANY WAY THAT YOU, AS CHIEFS COULD GET TOGETHER AND COME UP WITH A, WITH A, UM, SALARY THAT A RANGE THAT WILL BE SUFFICIENT FOR YOUR, YOUR AREA, BUT MAKING, KEEPING IN MIND THAT, UM, PEOPLE ARE MOVING FROM ONE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO ANOTHER BECAUSE OF SALARY AND IF YOU COULD GET TOGETHER AND SAY, YOU KNOW, LET'S KEEP OUR BEGINNING FIREFIGHTERS IN A RANGE OF X AMOUNT OF DOLLARS.
UM, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT CAN HAPPEN? UH, YOU KNOW, THE, UM, IT WOULD HELP, UM, THE MOVEMENT OF FIREFIGHTERS, YOU KNOW, FROM ONE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO ANOTHER.
UM, AND SO YOU CAN GET MORE STABILITY.
AND THAT I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE, WE TALKING ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF HAVING ONE, UH, FIRE DEPARTMENT FOR THE COUNTY.
THAT THAT'S, THAT'S, THAT'S GONNA BE A, A TOUGH, UM, BATTLE, YOU KNOW, FOR COUNCIL TO HANDLE.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW YOUR AREAS AND YOU KNOW WHAT YOU NEED AND YOU KNOW, YOUR SALARIES, UM, AND YOU CAN ONLY AFFORD TO PAY X AMOUNT OF DOLLARS.
BUT IF YOU ALL GOT TOGETHER TO COME UP WITH A RANGE, YOU KNOW, TO SAY, HEY, LET'S STAY WITHIN THIS RANGE.
WE PROBABLY GET A LESS MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE AND STUFF.
NOW YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO COMPETE WITH, UM, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
SO I KNOW THAT OFF, OFF, OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD AND STUFF, BUT YOU KNOW, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ONLY HAS X AMOUNT OF POSITIONS.
SO, BUT IF YOU GET FIVE FIGHTERS MOVING FROM BLUFFTON TO LADIES ISLAND BECAUSE OF SALARY CHANGES, I THINK YOU CAN ACTUALLY, UM, KIND OF MINIMIZE THAT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE BY HAVING SORT OF A RANGE THAT YOU ALL WORK WITHIN.
CHIEF KLEIN GONNA ADDRESS THAT.
YOU WANNA, YOU WANNA ADDRESS THAT? THANK YOU, SIR.
AND I GUESS TOGETHER OUR GOAL WAS 50,000.
AND, AND WE'RE ALL VERY CLOSE TO THAT.
BUT AS I SAID EARLIER, IT'S A MOVING TARGET.
UM, BECAUSE THOUGH WE ARE ALL PRETTY MUCH THERE IN BLUFFTON, ISS A LITTLE BIT AHEAD BECAUSE THEY CAN FINANCIALLY.
UH, AND SO, YOU KNOW, SHELDON MADE A HUGE STEP THIS YEAR COMING UP TO GETTING CLOSE TO THAT 50.
WE MADE A BIG STEP IN THE $5,000.
UM, BUT I ALSO SAY THAT I FAILED YOU LAST YEAR THIS TIME I LOOKED AT YOU AND SAID THAT WE'D GET TOGETHER AND WE WOULD PUT TOGETHER A, UM, SALARY PLAN.
WE'VE KIND OF BEEN USING IT FOR A VERY LONG TIME.
UM, WE KIND OF AGREED THAT 50,000 WAS THE MARK AND WE'RE ALL TRYING TO GET THERE.
UM, HOW DO WE, YOU KNOW, SO BLUFFTON MOVED UP A LITTLE BIT TO 52 SOMETHING THIS YEAR.
BLUFFTON MOVE UP A LITTLE BIT.
AND, AND, AND I GET IT, THEY'RE COMPETING WITH HILTON HEAD AND THEY HAVE TO, UH, YOU'RE RIGHT.
AND I DON'T BEGRUDGE THEM A PENNY.
I WISH THEY WERE MORE COM EQUAL TO WHAT THE LOCAL FIRE SERVICE WAS, BUT THAT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN.
SO AGAIN, I THINK I MAY HAVE FAILED YOU.
AND WHEN I TOLD YOU THAT WE WOULD GET TOGETHER AND DO A SALARY PLAN, I WAS KIND OF HOPING THAT WAS GONNA BE PART OF THE FINANCIAL AND THE FUNDING THAT WE WERE GONNA LOOK AT, AT AS FIRE CHIEFS.
AND, AND I, AND I'M NOT POKING AT ANYBODY, BUT I'LL HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT IT'S UNFORTUNATE THAT WE DID NOT GET THAT FULL CHANCE, UH, TO LOOK AT THE FUNDING OF CONSOLIDATING SERVICES OR, UM, JOHN AND I, JOHN MET WITH THE FIRE CHIEFS, JOHN, THE ASSISTANT COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, ROBINSON, UM, THERE WAS A GROUP OF FIRE CHIEFS THAT STEPPED FORWARD AND SAID, I'D LIKE TO BE PART OF THE FUNDING PACKAGE.
UH, WE MET ONCE, BUT WE NEVER GOT THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH THE CFO.
AND I WAS REALLY HOPING FOR THAT TO KIND OF LOOK AT DIFFERENT OPTIONS AND SO FORTH.
I UNDERSTAND YESTERDAY THAT, YOU KNOW, WATCHING YOUR, I AM A COUNTY COUNCIL, JUNK COUNTY
[00:40:01]
COUNCIL JUNKIE.I WATCH EVERY MEETING THAT YOU HAVE AND, AND JOHN PRESENTED IN, IN ADMINISTRATION AND I DON'T BEGRUDGE THEM.
THEY'VE MADE A DECISION TO, TO LOOK AT A CONSULTANT.
UH, I JUST FEEL THAT IT'S UNFORTUNATE WE DIDN'T GET THAT FULL CHANCE TO LOOK AT THE FUNDING OPTIONS.
UH, I THINK WE HAVE THE EXPERTISE, I DON'T KNOW WHAT WAS MET BY BANDWIDTH, UM, BUT I THINK WE HAVE THE EXPERTISE TO, TO LOOK AT THAT.
BUT THE DECISION'S BEEN MADE AND THEY'RE GOING FORWARD WITH LOOKING AT TISHLER BI THINK IS THE CONSULTANT FOR THAT.
UM, AGAIN, I THINK IT'S UNFORTUNATE WE DIDN'T GET THE FULL CHANCE TO LOOK AT THAT.
I THOUGHT OUR LAST CONVERSATION LITERALLY A YEAR AGO WAS THAT THE CHIEFS WOULD TO GET TOGETHER WITH OUR A CA AND THE CFO AND LOOK AT RETURN ON INVESTMENT AND LOOK AT EQUITY AND ALL OF THAT.
AND SO MY UNDERSTANDING WAS IT WAS PROGRESSING.
SO NOW WE'RE AT A DIFFERENT PLACE.
APPRECIATE YOUR FRANKNESS AND THE INFORMATION.
UM, IF THERE'S NO OTHER INFORMATION, ANYTHING ELSE? QUESTIONS FOR THE FIRE DISTRICTS? ALRIGHT.
THANK Y'ALL AGAIN FOR COMING THIS MORNING AND PRESENTING.
WE APPRECIATE IT AND STAY TUNED ABOUT THE, UM, BURNING.
WE'LL LOOK FOR THAT AT THE COMMITTEE MEETING, UM, SOON TO HAVE SOME DISCUSSIONS AND WE'LL NEED YOUR INPUT AND EXPERTISE ON THAT.
IS FANTASTIC TO WORK WITH NUMBERS EARLY
[7. CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER UPDATE]
THE AGENDA IS OUR, UM, CFO UPDATE, FFY 2027 PROPOSED BUDGET PRESENTATION.UM, WE HAVE NOTEBOOKS TO EVERYONE GET THEIR NOTEBOOK.
THEY HAVE A FEW EXTRAS OVER HERE AND THOSE OF YOU ONLINE, UM, WE'LL NEED, CAN WE SEND THIS TO THEM? IT'S THE SAME AS WHAT'S IN THE BACKUP.
YOU ONLINE ARE OUT OF LUCK, RIGHT? ALL YOURS.
WE HAD SOME DELAYS IN GETTING, UH, ASSESSMENT VALUES, BUT WE SEEMED TO DO PRETTY GOOD.
OH, HOW ABOUT THAT WOULD HELP IF WE TURN IT ON.
SO A QUICK OVERVIEW OF YOUR, UH, FISCAL YEAR 2027 PROPOSED BUDGET, UM, PER YOUR DIRECTION.
WE IMPLEMENTED A MERIT, WE DID THE STEP PLAN IN CURRENT YEAR AND THEN WE IMPLEMENTED A 2% MERIT PROGRAM WITH A 1% COLA, SO TOTAL OF 3%.
WE ALSO IMPLEMENTED THE RETIREE GAP INSURANCE THAT YOU GUYS WANTED US TO INCLUDE.
THE NUMBER AFTER WE WERE CRUNCHING NUMBERS TO GET THE GENERAL FUND BALANCE FOR NEW PERSONNEL REQUESTS WENT FROM 35 DOWN TO 29.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE CAPITAL EQUIPMENT REQUEST, UM, TOTALING JUST SHY OF $5 MILLION AFTER WE CUT 4.8 MILLION.
SO, UM, THAT WAS GENERAL FUND ONLY.
AND THEN WE ALSO IMPLEMENTED A FOUR YEAR CIP PLAN.
THE REASON WE DID A FOUR YEAR CIP IS BECAUSE WE HAD A LOT OF OUTSTANDING PROJECTS THAT WERE JUST KIND OF NOT COMPLETED AND WE JUST NEEDED TO CLEAN UP SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT ARE SITTING OUT THERE.
SO FISCAL YEAR 27, WE ONLY, UM, IMPLEMENTED THE PROJECTS THAT WERE OF RANKING OF A AND ABOVE, ASIDE FROM A FEW THAT WERE IMPORTANT TO THE, THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT.
AND SO, UH, 20 SEVEN'S GONNA BE KIND OF A CLEANUP YEAR FOR SOME OF THE OLDER PROJECTS THAT ARE SITTING OUT THERE, UM, THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET TO THE END.
AND AS MUCH AS I WANTED TO REDUCE MILLAGE, UM, UNFORTUNATELY IN ORDER TO BALANCE WITH ALL THE NEW PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED, UM, WE WERE ABLE TO REMAIN MILL NEUTRAL AT 59.5.
SO THE VALUE OF A MILL, UM, THIS YEAR'S ESTIMATED VALUE OF A MILL IS 3 MILLION 1 78 83.
THAT'S ABOUT 6% INCREASE, UM, OVER LAST YEAR'S 6.6, UH, TOTAL INCREASE OF $11.7 MILLION IN ESTIMATED TAX REVENUE.
THIS IS THE ADJUSTMENTS FOR RECOMMENDED MILLAGE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2027.
UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE ARE REDUCING, UH, SOME OF OUR DEBT, PAYING OFF SOME OF OUR CALLABLE BONDS EARLY.
UH, IN ORDER TO REMAIN MILL NEUTRAL, MILL RATE NEUTRAL, WE HAD TO URATE THOSE MILLS THAT WE WERE REDUCING OVER TO OPERATIONS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE COUNTY OPERATIONS.
BUT THE OTHER AREAS WHERE WE REDUCED,
[00:45:01]
UM, WE ALSO TOOK THREE MILLS FROM THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUND AND MOVED IT TO OPERATIONS AS WELL.UM, ALONG WITH THE MILLAGE IN THE, UH, PURCHASE OF REAL PROPERTY DEBT AND DEBT SERVICE.
SO YOUR COUNTY OPERATIONS WILL BE 51.1.
OTHER THAN THAT, THERE'S NO OTHER CHANGES TO ANY OF THE OTHER MILL RATES FOR THE OUTSIDE ENTITIES.
SO THIS IS YOUR GENERAL FUND REVENUES.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE OVERALL, WE WILL HAVE A LITTLE OVER $4 MILLION INCREASE TO THE GENERAL FUND.
UM, ANYTHING PARTICULAR THAT STANDS OUT THAT ANYBODY HAS QUESTIONS, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO INTERRUPT.
UM, THE TRANSFERS IN IS JUST, UM, THE SIX MONTHS WORTH OF ARPA INTEREST THAT WE ANTICIPATE TO COME IN BEFORE 1231, UH, 2026.
AND THEN OUR STATE A TAX ALLOCATION PER ORDINANCE.
ANY QUESTIONS ON THE REVENUES? ANY QUESTIONS SO FAR? NONE.
MOVING ON TO THE GENERAL FUND EXPENSES.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'VE SEPARATED OUT BY FUNCTION OF GOVERNMENT.
UM, THE TRANSFERS OUT HERE ARE YOUR TRANSFERS OUT TO THE FLEET, GARAGE, ISF, UH, DISABILITIES AND SPECIAL NEEDS.
UM, ALCOHOL AND DRUG NEXUS CARE, SORRY.
AND THE PUBLIC DEFENDER, THAT IS A TOTAL OF ALL FOUR THAT TRANSFER OUT TO THE ISF AND THE SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS.
THAT IS THE COUNTY'S CONTRIBUTION TO THOSE PROGRAMS. THERE'S A SUMMARY OF OUR NEW POSITION REQUEST.
THE NUMBER IN PARENTHESES IS THE AMOUNT OF POSITIONS PER, UM, DEPARTMENT.
SO PROBATE HAS ONE, BROADCASTING HAS ONE, ENGINEERING HAS THREE, SO FORTH.
UM, TOTAL FOR GENERAL FUND, IT WILL BE $1.3 MILLION.
CAN I ASK A QUESTION ON THAT PLEASE? YEAH, SURE.
SO WE'RE GOING TO ADD THREE IN ENGINEERING.
IS THAT ANTICIPATING THE REFERENDUM PASSING OR WHY ARE WE ADDING THREE IN ENGINEERING EXISTING WORKLOAD? I, I THINK THEY NEED IT.
I THINK THEY NEED THE HELP IN THAT, THAT DEPARTMENT WANNA HEAR HIM SAY THAT WE'RE TRYING TO REDUCE SOME OF THE CONSTANT, UM, USE OF, OF CONSULTANTS.
AND SO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO TARGET IS WITH THE DESIGN ENGINEER TO DO SOME PRELIMINARY, SOME SMALLER PROJECT DESIGN AS WELL AS SURVEY.
THOSE ARE THE TWO PARTS THAT WE THINK WE CAN ACT, TAKE AN ACTIONABLE STEP ON, AND THEN SHOULD A REFERENDUM PASS, WE ALSO GOT MORE BANDWIDTH TO, TO MANAGE THE PROGRAM WITHOUT HIRING A PROGRAM MANAGER THAN WE DID IN YOURS PAST.
I HAVE A QUESTION AND IF YOU DON'T, I, I THINK I KNOW THE ANSWER AROUND, BUT JUST IN GENERAL, CONSULTANTS, HOW MUCH OVERHEAD ARE YOU PAYING FOR LIKE A CONSULTANT ENGINEER VERSUS AN IN-HOUSE PERSON? PERCENTAGE WISE? WHICH THE NORMAL PERCENTAGE FOR A CONSULTANT, IT'S, I KNOW IT'S ENORMOUS, BUT YEAH, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW IF I HAVE A CLEAR NUMBER, BUT YEAH, I MEAN, WELL JUST A PERCENTAGE.
SO IF, IF, UH, EMPLOYEE COSTS A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, UM, A CONSULTANT, SOME, SOMETIMES A CONSULTANT JUST TO DO A PROJECT IS A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS A SMALL PROJECT.
SO THE SAVINGS IS PRETTY SIGNIFICANT.
JUST IF, IF THEY CAN DO ONE OR TWO PROJECTS A YEAR THAT THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS IN SALARY JUST IN THAT.
AND, UM, ARE YOU, AND ARE YOU THINKING OF, UM, NOT THESE THREE POSITIONS? WOULD SOME OF 'EM BE LIKE A TECH ENGINEER? YEAH, SO WE HAVE A DESIGN ENGINEER, A TECH, AND THEN A SURVEY.
I, I'LL JUST SAY THERE WAS THAT ONE MEETING RECENTLY WHERE WE APPROVED ABOUT $1.5 MILLION THAT WENT TO JUST TO FINISH THE PROJECT.
I MEAN, THAT'S ONE AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS TO CONSULTANTS IN ONE MEETING.
AND WE WILL STILL HAVE THIS ONE GET, WE'LL STILL HAVE EM, BUT IT'LL BE OUR FIRST BITE AT TRYING TO TAKE OVER SOME OF THAT.
YOU JUST, YOU JUST NEED THE HELP.
I THINK IT'LL SAVE A BUNCH OF MONEY IN THE LONG RUN.
I WOULD LIKE US TO MEET, TO TAKE BACK SOME OF THE MONEY WE GIVE THE STATE FOR THIS, YOU KNOW, ON THE BRIDGE.
ANYBODY ONLINE HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE NEW POSITION REQUESTS? YES SIR.
I JUST WANNA MAKE ONE POINT CLEAR.
THIS IS WHAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING.
THIS IS NOT ALL OF THE NEW POSITION REQUESTS.
THAT WERE NOT, THAT WERE NOT RECOMMENDING THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.
WE HAVE NOT INCLUDED THOSE IN YOUR BOOKS, BUT WE CAN, IF YOU ALL WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE ENTIRETY OF ALL THE NEW POSITION REQUESTS WE GOT.
WHAT'S THE, SO IT'S A CONSENSUS OF COUNT.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THAT TOO? I, I'D LIKE TO, YEAH.
I THINK THAT'D BE USEFUL TO SEE.
AND WE'LL SHOW YOU WHAT WE RECOMMENDED AND WHAT WE ACTUALLY SAW.
'CAUSE YOU OBVIOUSLY OUR TARGET WAS TO BE MILL NEUTRAL, SO NOT EVERYTHING GOT RECOMMENDED BY ADMINISTRATION.
WELL, SO YOU'LL PROVIDE THAT TO US, UM, SEPARATELY THE REQUEST.
WE, I THINK WE CAN ADD THAT AS PART OF THE AGENDA PACK.
[00:50:01]
AND INCLUDE THE RATIONALE FROM THE DEPARTMENT THAT LIKE WHY DO YOU NEED 10 MORE IN THIS DEPARTMENT? YEAH.THE PARTS AND REC ARE SOME OF THOSE PART-TIME TIME I FIGURED, I FIGURED PART-TIME.
THERE'S PARK REC AIDS AND WATER SAFETY AND TRUCK INSTRUCTORS.
ONE OF THOSE WAS PART-TIME OR THE CONVENIENCE CENTER.
SO JUST TO BE CLEAR, EVERYTHING IN THIS PRESENTATION IS A PART OF THE ADMINISTRATOR'S RECOMMENDED BUDGET, NOT WHAT WAS ALL SUBMITTED BECAUSE REQUEST, WE GOT A LOT MORE SUBMITTED THAN WHAT WE COULD AFFORD.
SO OBVIOUSLY WE HAD TO MAKE SOME DECISIONS TO BE ABLE TO BALANCE THE BUDGET.
SO THESE ARE GENERAL FUND ONLY AND THEN THESE ARE SOME OF YOUR OTHER FUNDS.
AIRPORTS HAS ONE NEW POSITION, FLEET HAS THREE AND STORMWATER HAS FOUR TOTALING 585.
UM, VEHICLE AND EQUIPMENT FOR GENERAL FUND.
UM, TOTAL OF, UM, VEHICLES PER DEPARTMENT, AS YOU CAN SEE IS LISTED HERE.
THE GRAND TOTAL IS 4.7 FOR THE GENERAL FUND, 4.7 MILLION AND EQUIPMENT IS 461,000.
SO JUST A LITTLE OVER $5 MILLION.
AND THEN THESE ARE YOUR OTHER FUNDS.
UM, PUBLIC DEFENDERS, A SPECIAL REVENUE FUND, UH, BCSO 2 2 8 0 IS THE HILTON HEAD LAW ENFORCEMENT, SPECIAL REVENUE FUND.
DSN, STORMWATER, HILTON HEAD AIRPORT, AND, UH, LADIES ISLAND AIRPORT.
JUST ONE COMMENT AGAIN ON THE VEHICLE AND EQUIPMENT, THESE ARE WHAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING.
THERE WERE A LOT MORE REQUESTS THAT WE'RE NOT RECOMMENDING AND WE CUT ABOUT $4.8 MILLION IN VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT.
AND I WAS GONNA ASK ON, IF YOU GO BACK ONE SLIDE ON EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE, 1.83 MILLION.
I MEAN, ARE THESE VEHICLES THAT ARE ESSENTIAL TO BUY OR ARE THEY, ARE THEY NEEDS OR WANTS IS MY QUESTION? THEY'RE THEY'RE REPLACEMENTS FOR THREE, UH, AMBULANCES AND THEY NEED TO BE REPLACED OR THEY WANT TO BE REPLACED BECAUSE AGAIN, I'M IN THE NEEDS AND WANTS.
I JUST TO COMMENT, WE HAVE CRITERIA WE LOOKED AT IN TERMS OF MILEAGE AND AGE AND SO FORTH.
SO AS I RECALL, THOSE WERE MET TO ALL THE CRITERIA FOR REPLACEMENT AND PUT ALL THAT PINKY WEIGH IN ON IT.
THE, UM, THE INFORMATION WE RECEIVED FROM FLEET WAS THAT THEY'RE DUE FOR REPLACEMENT IN 2026.
SO REALLY WE'RE WAITING YEAR BEHIND.
ONE OF 'EM IS 2024, THE OTHER TWO IS 2026, BUT WE'RE NOT ABLE TO REPLACE 'EM UNTIL NEXT YEAR.
I THINK COUNCILMAN PASSMAN HAD A QUESTION YES.
ON THE PUBLIC DEFENDER, IS THAT ADDITIONAL VEHICLES CORRECT? YES.
WHAT DO THOSE FOR? WHY DOES HE NEED THOSE? UM, SHE HAS REQUESTED FOUR, FIVE NEW VEHICLES FOR, UM, FOR HER OFFICE.
THREE BRONCOS AND TWO FORD EXPLORERS.
AND ONE POINT ON THAT, THAT'S COMING OUT OF HER FUND BALANCE FOR HER ACCOUNT, NOT OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND.
AND COUNCILMAN
UM, WE DID DO I THINK 40 SOMETHING LAST YEAR AND THIS YEAR IS 34.
NEW VEHICLE OR REPLACEMENT VEHICLES? LIKE SAME THING, SAME CRITERIA FOR YEAH, THEY PUT, I I THINK A LOT OF THESE THEY PUT MILEAGE ON.
WHILE A LOT IT'S MORE MILEAGE DRIVEN FOR THE SHERIFF THAN IT IS AGE.
SOME OF OUR VEHICLES ARE MORE AGE DRIVEN.
WE DO HAVE, WE'VE GOT A SPREADSHEET I BELIEVE THAT HAS ALL THAT.
IF Y'ALL ARE INTERESTED IN THAT AS WELL, THAT'S FINE.
AND, BUT DO THEY, UM, ARE THESE THE TAKE HOME VEHICLES THAT THEY PARK IN THE COMMUNITIES AT THEIR HOUSE OR, OR MM-HMM
I DO BELIEVE THEY TAKE THEIR VEHICLES HOME.
I THINK LAST YEAR, IF I REMEMBER IT WAS LAST YEAR OR THE YEAR BEFORE, THERE WAS A BUNCH OF NEW VEHICLES FOR THE SHERIFF AND I ASKED ABOUT WHY DO SROS HAVE TO HAVE A VEHICLE? THEY WERE FOR A LOT OF THE SROS AND WE GOT THE EXPLANATION, BUT 'CAUSE I SAID, WHY WOULD YOU PUT A VEHICLE EVERY DAY, ALL DAY AT A SCHOOL? REMEMBER THAT? YEAH.
I THINK THAT'S WHERE SOME OF THOSE WERE.
ANY QUESTIONS ONLINE? I CAN'T SEE THEM.
FOR FISCAL YEAR 27, AS I MENTIONED, WE HAVE A, WE'RE IMPLEMENTING A FOUR YEAR CIP PLAN TO GET OUR PROJECTS CLEANED UP, UM, AND KIND OF GET SOME OF THEM TO THE FINISH LINE.
UM, AS YOU, AS I NOTED ON THE MILLAGE, UH, RECOMMENDED MILLAGE SPREADSHEET WE'RE REDUCING, UH, THE MILLAGE GOING INTO THIS FUND FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
AFTER, UH, SOME OF THAT CORRECTIONS AND FROM FISCAL YEAR 25, WE REALIZED THAT THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT FUND BALANCE
[00:55:01]
LEFT OVER IN THIS FUND.SO WE'RE ONLY FUNDING IT 0.2 MILS, UH, FOR THE CIP FUND.
AND THEN THE PRIOR YEAR FUND BALANCE OF 9.7, UH, FOR THE PROJECTS WE ALSO HAVE A PROJECT LIST.
UM, IT'S ALSO IN YOUR BACKUP AND IN YOUR BINDERS AS WELL OF ALL THE PROJECTS THAT RANKED A AND THE FEW THAT WERE, UH, NECESSITIES FOR THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT THAT WERE BS TO INCLUDE THE HELICOPTER HANGER.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THESE? AND WE HAVE FRANK AND JARED HERE, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, ANY SPECIFICS ABOUT ANY OF THE PROJECTS ON THAT PROJECT LIST? ANY QUESTIONS? NO.
HERE'S YOUR SUMMARY OF YOUR ENTERPRISE, UH, ENTERPRISE FUNDS, YOUR GARAGE INTERNAL SERVICE FUND, YOUR BUDGET THERE IS $9.4 MILLION.
HILTON HEAD AIRPORT IS 7.8 MILLION AND STORMWATER IS 17.1.
DETAILS ARE OBVIOUSLY IN YOUR BINDERS, IN YOUR BACKUP FOR EVERY LINE ITEM.
ANY QUESTIONS? UH, DID WE EVER COME UP WITH A PLAN FOR THE, THE SITE PREP AND THE HANGERS FOR BEAUFORT EXECUTIVE? I DO BELIEVE THIS SITE PREP IS CURRENTLY UNDERWAY, RIGHT? YES.
I THINK, I THINK WE FUNDED THE YES.
THE ACTUAL GROUND LEVEL, BUT NOT THE ELEVATION FOR THE, FOR THE HANGAR.
THE SITE, THE VERTICAL IS STILL NOT APPROVED, RIGHT? YEAH, BUT THERE'S ONE HANGER IT WORKS NEAR IN COMPLETION.
UM, THE, THERE WAS FOUR HANGERS.
ONE OF THEM IS COMMERCIAL BOX HANGER.
UM, THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE ALLOCATING THEIR ARPA FUNDS FOR.
SO THERE'S A BID OUT RFP OUT RIGHT NOW FOR THE COMMERCIAL HANGER BOX HANGER.
SO, UM, THAT'S THE ONLY ONE THAT'S AVAILABLE.
I, I KNOW THERE WERE SOME, SOME ISSUES TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHETHER WE DO AVALOR HYBRID KIND OF APPROACH THERE FOR, FOR FUNDING.
UH, I KNOW THEY'RE AN ENTERPRISE FUND, BUT HAD WE TALKED TO THE SHERIFF ABOUT THE, ABOUT LEASING AND THE MOSQUITO CONTROL, I KNOW WE WEREN'T TRYING TO ACTUALLY GET THEM TO, TO LEASE, BUT I THINK THAT HAMPERS THEIR ABILITY TO GENERATE AND BE A TRUE ENTERPRISE FUND MOSQUITO CONTROL.
WE'VE, WE'VE INCORPORATED THAT.
UM, I'M NOT SURE ON THE LEASE IF THAT'S INCORPORATED.
I THINK WITH THE SHERIFF THERE'S STILL SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT OWNERSHIP OF THE HANGAR ITSELF BECAUSE ORIGINALLY IT WAS A LADIES ISLAND FIRE DEPARTMENT FACILITY.
AND SO WE'RE STILL TRYING TO WORK THROUGH ALL THAT IN TERMS OF WHO ACTUALLY OWNS THE FACILITY.
JUST KNOW IF WE CAN FIGURE THAT OUT AND GET THE EXTRA HANGAR SPACE IN THERE, WE CAN ACTUALLY BRING, MAKE THAT A, A FUNCTIONING ENTERPRISE FUND AND GET ENOUGH REVENUES TO MAKE THEMSELVES SUSTAINING.
SO I THINK THEIR GOAL IS TO SPEND DOWN THE ARPA FUNDS BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR AND BUILD THE ONE, I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU CALL IT, HANGER TRANS TRANSIENT.
SO THIS IS THE, THE OVERNIGHT, YEP, I GOT IT.
THE OTHER ONES ARE TEE HANGERS THAT ARE, THEY'RE THERE, BUT THEY DON'T PRODUCE AS MUCH REVENUE AS THE OVERNIGHT HANGER WOULD.
SO IT SOUNDS LIKE THAT ONCE THE HANGER'S BUILT, THE REVENUE WILL START GENERATING ON THAT, RIGHT? YEAH, I HOPE SO.
I'M NOT AN AIRPORT PROFESSIONAL.
SO
THEY HAVE COME TO US SEVERAL TIMES LAST YEAR.
AND THEY WOULD LIKE US TO USE FUND BALANCE TO THE TUNE OF 4 MILLION TO BUILD HANGERS.
MY OBJECTION IS IT'S AN ENTERPRISE FUND THAT WILL NOT REALLY BENEFIT THE GENERAL PUBLIC AND THEY SHOULD COME UP WITH THE MONEY TO BUILD THE HANGERS AND THAT'S WHERE THEY'RE STUCK.
AND I GUESS I HATE TO HARP ON THIS, BUT SINCE WE'RE HERE, DID WE EVER FIGURE OUT THAT UNSECURED, UNDOCUMENTED LOAN THAT WAS OUT THERE? UNSTRUCTURED LOAN? YEAH, UNSTRUCTURED LOAN.
RIGHT? THERE'S STILL A OUTSTANDING BALANCE ON THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE AIRPORT TO THE TUNE OF LIKE $700,000.
UM, THEY JUST DON'T GENERATE ENOUGH REVENUE FOR IT TO ACTUALLY GET PAID BACK.
UM, WE SPOKE TO THE AUDITOR DURING THE AUDIT THIS PAST YEAR ABOUT ANY KIND OF DOCUMENTATION, BUT I DON'T THINK THERE REALLY EVER WAS.
IT WAS JUST A LOAN IN OUR FUND LOAN TO THE AIRPORT.
SO YEAH, WE NEED TO, SORRY TO BRING THAT UP, BUT I, YOU KNOW, ONCE WE START GENERATING SOME REVENUE, UM, AT THE EXECUTIVE AIRPORT, THEN YOU CAN, OR YOU AS A COUNCIL CAN VOTE TO WRITE OFF THAT BALANCE.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S AN OPTION TOO, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY IT WAS YEARS OLD.
AND IS THAT DING, I WANNA SAY DECADES OLD.
IS IS THAT SHOWING UP ON THE AL IS THAT DINGING US? NO.
THEY FACTOR IT IN BECAUSE IT WAS ON, ON THE BOOKS FOR SO LONG, BUT WE'RE JUST NOT ABLE TO PAY THE GENERAL FUND BACK FROM THAT LOAN.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YES, SIR.
THERE IS A ACCOUNTING PRACTICE CALLED BAD DEBT NEXT STEPS OR, ALRIGHT, SO THAT ON THE SCREEN IS YOUR, UM, CIP PROJECT
[01:00:01]
LIST.ANY QUESTIONS ON ANY OF THESE PROJECTS? WE DO HAVE JARED AND FRANK HERE.
YOU'LL NOTICE AT THE BOTTOM, THE HANGAR, THE HELICOPTER GOT MOVED INTO CURRENT YEAR BASED ON THE ORDINANCE THAT'S COMING TO YOU GUYS ON MONDAY.
UM, AND THEN THAT IS THE COST.
IT IS HIGHER THAN WHAT WAS PRESENTED, UM, HERE A COUPLE WEEKS AGO, I THINK.
UM, SO THAT IS THE ONLY DIFFERENCE FOR ASIDE FROM THE OTHER PROJECTS.
ANY QUESTIONS? THIS IS REALLY A QUESTION FOR, UH, MR. MOORE.
THE LADIES ISLAND DRIVE, REEBOK ROAD INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENTS.
THE FOR SALE SIGN IS STILL UP PART THAT I ACTUALLY NOTICED THAT THIS MORNING DRIVING IN.
SO I THINK WE CAN, UH, THAT'S THE FORMER PARKER SITE THAT WE BOUGHT.
WE'VE CLOSED ON THAT PROPERTY.
RIGHT? I DON'T THINK WE'VE, WE HAVEN'T CLOSED ON IT.
WELL, I GET QUESTIONS ABOUT WHY IS THE SIGN STILL UP
WE'RE WORKING ON TERMS ABOUT REMEDIATION.
I, I'M SURE THEY WANT TO KEEP THE ADVERTISEMENT OUT THERE.
I'LL KEEP ANSWERING THOSE QUESTIONS THEN.
SECOND, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE CAN'T COME BACK LATER WITH QUESTIONS, RIGHT.
I DO WANNA MAKE NOTE THAT, UH, WE RECEIVED AN, I RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM DSN LAST NIGHT AND THERE WAS A DISCREPANCY IN THEIR SALARIES LINE ITEMS. SO WE ARE GONNA ADJUST THAT BEFORE WE BRING THE BUDGET TO YOU, UM, AT FINANCE COMMITTEE.
UM, JUST BECAME AWARE OF IT YESTERDAY, SO WE'RE GONNA MEET WITH THEM ON WEDNESDAY TO FIGURE OUT WHERE THE DISCREPANCIES ARE AND CORRECT THEM IN THE BUDGET.
SO, WANTED TO GIVE YOU YOUR MAIL BASE ENTITIES FOR FISCAL YEAR 27.
UM, THIS IS BEAUFORT MEMORIAL BEAUFORT, JASPER, UH, COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH, HAMPTON COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH.
UM, THEY'RE REMAINING, UH, EVEN AT 0.4 MILLS, UH, TCL IS BACK TO ITS 1.1 MILLS UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
AND THEN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS AT 0.3 MILLS.
AND JUST TO CLARIFY ON THAT, USCB HAD ASKED FOR 1.4, WE'RE RECOMMENDING 1.1 TO STAY WHERE WE, WE HAVE BEEN IN THE PAST SAME AMOUNT.
YOU CAN SEE, YOU CAN SEE THE COMMENT IN OR THE COLUMN THAT SAYS FISCAL YEAR 27 REQUEST.
THAT IS WHAT THEY HAD REQUESTED VERSUS, UH, ADMINISTRATORS RECOMMENDED, WHICH IS WHAT WE WERE RECOMMEND.
AND I'M GONNA REQUEST AGAIN, WE THINK OUTTA THE BOX.
I AM NOT IN FAVOR OF ASSIGNING MILLAGE TO ANYTHING BECAUSE THE MILLAGE VARIES NOW IT'S BEEN GOING UP, BUT WHAT IF IT DIVES? OKAY, SO WE DON'T KNOW WHERE IT'S GONNA GO.
AND THESE ARE AUTOMATIC INCREASES AND AS THE MILLAGE INCREASES, I BELIEVE WE SHOULD DO, FOR EXAMPLE, AS THE HOSPITAL, A SET VALUE, IT IS NOT TIED TO MILLAGE.
NOW I UNDERSTAND TO PUT IT ON THE TAX BILL, IT'LL HAVE TO BE A POINT, YOU KNOW, A 10TH OF A MILL.
BUT FOR EXAMPLE, THE TAKE ANY ONE OF THESE ON HERE, I MEAN, TO ASSIGN MILLAGE TO ME IS NOT APPROPRIATE.
IT SHOULD BE A, A BALANCE ON AMOUNT WE'RE GONNA GIVE.
AND MAYBE IN THE FUTURE IT'S NOT GONNA BE THERE AS WE WE'RE FACING SOME SERIOUS FINANCIAL ISSUES.
AND MILLAGE TO ME, YOU'RE LOCKED IN.
SO I WOULD SAY, SO FOR EXAMPLE, USCB, BC, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, TECHNICAL COLLEGE OF THE LOW COUNTRY, ALL OF THESE THAT ARE TIED TO A MILL, I WOULD PREFER THEY'RE TIED TO, UH, AN AMOUNT WE'RE GONNA GIVE.
THEY'RE GETTING A 6.63 INCREASE.
AND ON THE OTHER OUTSIDE AGENCIES, YOU ASSIGNED A 5% INCREASE, WHICH I WOULDN'T GIVE.
I'D HAVE EITHER EVEN KEPT IT LEVEL OR DONE 3%.
I THINK YOU'RE REFERRING TO PAGE 1 33 OF WHAT WHAT YOU GOT, WHICH IS THE OUTSIDE AGENCIES.
YOU'RE PROBABLY GONNA GET TO THAT ONE TOO.
SO ON THIS ONE THOUGH, THE ONE THAT'S SHOWING THESE ARE BY MILLAGE, RIGHT? THESE ARE THE ONES THAT ARE ON THE TAX BILLS THAT WE BROKE OUT IN CURRENT YEAR.
SO THIS IS ALL AGENCIES THAT HAVE A MILLAGE ASSIGNED TO THEM.
AND, AND SO, AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE US TO THINK OUT OF THE BOX AND NOT DO IT BY MILLAGE.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, COUNCIL HAD SET THESE MILLAGES IN THE PAST, SO IF THIS IS SOMETHING YOU ALL WANT TO CHANGE GOING FORWARD, WE'RE WE AS ADMINISTRATION JUST BRINGING FORWARD WHAT HAS BEEN APPROVED IN THE PAST, PAST, PAST PRACTICES.
BUT IF THAT'S DEBATE AND DISCUSSION OR YOU NEED INFORMATION FROM STAFF, WE'RE HAPPY TO PROVIDE.
AND I UNDERSTAND IT WAS IN THE PAST, WE HAVE A NEW, WE HAVE A DIFFERENT ELECTORATE AND WE ALSO HAVE A DIFFERENT ECONOMY.
AND I THINK WE HAVE TO BE COGNIZANT OF THAT.
SO THAT'S MY POINT, COUNCILMAN, HOWEVER YOU HAVE A COMMENT.
I, UM, UM, JUST THE OPPOSITE OF, UM, COUNCILMAN, UM, TAB, UH, TABER AT THIS TIME.
UM, I THINK WHEN THE, WHEN THIS WAS DONE, UH, ON COUNCIL, IT WAS DONE SO THAT THESE ENTITIES WILL HAVE AN IDEA
[01:05:01]
OF HOW MUCH INCREASE THEY WILL HAVE.AND THEY, THEY CAME, THEY KEPT COMING BACK A YEAR IN, YEAR IN AND ASKING FOR AN INCREASE.
AND WE BASICALLY SAID, WE'LL ESTABLISH A MILLAGE FOR YOU AND THEN YOU LIVE WITHIN THOSE MEANS.
AND THAT'S WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN DOING.
AND UNDERSTANDING THAT THE MILLAGE WOULD GO UP, UM, THAT'S WHAT WE WERE HOPING FOR BECAUSE THEY KEPT ASKING FOR MORE AND MORE AND WE SAID, WE'LL GIVE YOU A MILLAGE SO YOU CAN WORK ON YOUR BUDGET KNOWING EXACTLY HOW MUCH MONEY YOU'LL GETTING BECAUSE IT'S ALREADY BUILT IN AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO ASK US A REQUEST.
AND IT HAS BEEN WORKING THUS FAR.
NOW, IF COUNCIL WANTS TO CHANGE THAT, NOW THAT'S UP TO COUNCIL.
BUT IT WAS ALMOST DONE FOR THEM TO MANAGE THEMSELVES, UM, IN MAKING THEIR BUDGET PRESENTATION.
UM, AND THEY HAVE COME HERE AND THEY HAVE SHARED WITH US THEIR BUDGET REQUESTS.
UM, AND MOST OF THEM, UH, EXCEPT FOR THIS YEAR, UM, HAS BASICALLY LIVED WITHIN THOSE MEANS.
I LIKE THE APPROACH OF HAVING SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN ACTUALLY WORK ON.
THEY KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY ARE GETTING AND THEY JUST BASICALLY PRESENT TO US THEIR BUDGET AND THEY LIVE WITHIN THOSE MEANS AND STUFF.
I PREFER THEM TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY'RE GETTING BEFORE THEY EVEN COME TO THE DOOR.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? I WOULD SAY THAT UP TO, IT'S COUNCILMAN PASSMAN SCOTT.
I WANTED TO REFUTE WHAT HE SAID.
BUT LET COUNCILMAN PASSMAN GO AND THEN YOU CAN, IT'S NOT ACCURATE.
ARE YOU, UM, WHAT'S NOT ACCURATE NOW? GOING TO PUT IN WHAT THE, UM, FIRE CHIEFS DID TODAY? YES, IT'S IN THERE.
COUNCIL WANTED TO LET THEM PRESENT FIRST.
SO I WAS GONNA SAY THE OUTSIDE THE AGENCY BC UM, U-S-C-B-T-C-L CAME, THEY HAD NO IDEA WHAT A MILL WAS WORTH.
SO THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY, WHAT THEY'RE GETTING.
AND IT WOULDN'T BE ANY DIFFERENT IF WE SAID 1.1 MILL OR $3 MILLION.
THEY HAD NO IDEA WHEN THEY PRESENTED WHAT THE VALUE OF A MILL WAS.
SO THAT ONE DOESN'T HOLD WATER.
I, I'D JUST LIKE TO COMMENT THAT.
I REMEMBER WHEN WE DID THIS, IT WAS TO GIVE SOME CONSISTENCY TO COUNCILMAN GLOVER'S POINT.
UM, I THINK IT'S, I THINK COUNCIL AS A WHOLE NEEDS TO DISCUSS THIS MORE ON HOW WE WANNA APPROACH IT.
UH, IT, WE DIDN'T GIVE THEM ANY MONEY DURING THE RECESSION.
I WASN'T ON COUNCIL THEN, BUT 2008, 2009, THAT TIMEFRAME, THEY WEREN'T GETTING ANYTHING FROM US.
SO IT WAS 20 16, 20, I THINK IT WAS IMPLEMENT IN 2016 WE MET AND DISCUSSED, BUT THAT WAS WHEN THIS DISCUSSION WAS STARTED.
UM, SO TO, TO HAVE A CONSISTENT SOURCE OF MONEY FOR 'EM.
'CAUSE THEY WERE NOT GETTING MONEY.
A LOT OF MONEY FROM OTHER SOURCES ARE.
UM, AND I THINK THE BUFORT MEMORIAL HOSPITAL AND, UM, BUFORT JASPER COMP HELP, IT WAS TO HELP WITH CARE, WHICH DOES COSTS DO GO UP EVERY YEAR.
SO ANY OTHER COMMENTS? I, ONE LAST COMMENT.
WELL, LET ME LET COUNCILMAN BAR MUTE AND THEN YOU CAN, UH, I'M ACTUALLY GONNA SHIFT GEARS FOR A SECOND.
I, I'M CONTINUING TO GET PHONE CALLS REGARDING THE, THE STATE, UM, EXEMPTIONS FOR THE APARTMENT COMPLEX IN PORT ROYAL AND THE, THE ONES THAT ARE PENDING.
IS THERE ANY WAY FOR US TO KNOW WHAT'S COMING FORWARD IN THE PIPELINE BEING EXEMPT, AND THEN WHAT'S THAT GONNA DO TO OUR BUDGET IF THESE EXEMPTIONS COME IN, HOW ARE WE GONNA, HOW ARE WE GONNA MANAGE THAT? THAT PROCESS IS DONE THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE.
WE DON'T GET AN WE, WE DON'T GET A COPY OF THE APPLICATION.
WE GET A REPORT AFTER THEY'VE MADE THEIR DECISION TO ADJUST BASED ON WHATEVER THEIR DECISION IS.
SO CURRENTLY WE DON'T HAVE A WAY OF KNOWING WHAT THEY ARE.
WE ACCOUNTED FOR THE ONES THAT OCCURRED IN 2025 THAT WE NOW KNOW THAT WE HAD TO, UH, ADJUST THE ASSESSMENTS DOWN.
I'VE, I'VE HEARD, AND I CITY OF BUFORD'S, VERY, VERY CONCERNED.
AND I THINK THE SCHOOL BOARD, AND I THINK WE SHOULD BE REALLY CONCERNED TOO, BECAUSE I, I HEARD, UH, YESTERDAY MORNING IT WAS FOUR, THEN BY THE EVENING TIME I HEARD 15 OH MY PENDING APPLICATIONS.
I MEAN THIS THING COULD SNOWBALL IF THE STATE DOESN'T, IF THE STATE LEGISLATURE DOESN'T HAVE, ALL OF US NEED TO CONTACT OUR STATE REPRESENTATIVES IMMEDIATELY AND OFTEN IT'S BEEN OCCURRING IN MANY, IN SEVERAL STATES WHERE THIS HAS HAPPENED AND IT'S IMPACTED REVENUE FORECAST AND BUDGETS.
AND SO TO ME, SOME TRANSPARENCY, TO YOUR POINT, COUNCIL MEMBER BARTOLO ME ON WHAT THE STATE'S PROCESSING WOULD BE HELPFUL TO KNOW WHAT APPLICATIONS ARE OUT THERE AND THE STATE, BECAUSE YOU COULD AT LEAST CONSIDER THIS IS POTENTIALLY HOW IT COULD IMPACT OUR REVENUES FOR NEXT YEAR.
AND I'VE, I'VE HEARD THE STATE REPRESENTATIVE SAYS THERE'S NOT ENOUGH TIME.
UM, BUT I THINK WE SHOULD ALL CONTACT OUR STATE REPRESENTATIVES AND SAY, GET THIS DONE, BECAUSE THEY'LL BE GRANDFATHERED THE WAY IT IS NOW.
SO MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT RIGHT? UM, THE ONES THAT WERE RECENTLY ADJUSTED WERE GRANDFATHERED IN.
BASED ON WHEN THEY SUBMITTED THEIR APPLICATION.
[01:10:01]
YEAH.THAT'S A SEPARATE KIND OF PHILOSOPHICAL THING.
IF I HAVE TO FIGHT TO PROVE MY 4%, WHY IS THAT A GRANDFATHERED ISSUE? BUT THAT'S A SEPARATE ISSUE.
BUT NONETHELESS, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO, TO BE A BETTER PARTNER WITH THE MUNICIPALITIES AS SOON AS WE GET NOTIFICATION? CAN WE LET THE MUNICIPALITIES KNOW? 'CAUSE THIS IS GONNA BE FOR IMPACT EVERYBODY'S BUDGET.
ONCE WE GET THE REPORT FROM DOR, YES, WE CAN DEFINITELY LET WHO, WHICHEVER MUNICIPALITIES IMPACTED LIKE THIS IS, THIS IS GONNA BE AN ISSUE MOVING FORWARD.
I MEAN, THIS COULD BE MILLIONS OUTTA THE BUDGET THAT, YOU KNOW, AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE'LL WORK TO DO OUR PART ON THAT PROCESS.
I MEAN THE TAXPAYER'S GONNA HAVE TO, SOMEBODY'S GONNA HAVE TO ABSORB THAT COST IF WE'RE NOT SCHOOL, SCHOOL DISTRICT.
SCHOOL DISTRICTS DON'T TAKE A HUGE HIT.
WHY WOULDN'T WE SEND SOMETHING FROM COUNCIL TO OUR DELEGATION AS ONE? I MEAN, I'VE ALREADY CALLED, BUT THAT'S ONE.
WHY WOULDN'T WE SEND SOMETHING AS OUR COUNCIL CAN DO? WE CAN DO THAT.
WE COULD HAVE SOMETHING DRAFTED FOR YOU ALL TO CONSIDER IF YOU'D LIKE IT TODAY.
I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ENOUGH TIME TO DO A RESOLUTION, BUT I MEAN WELL WE CAN SEND A LETTER FROM A MONDAY.
I MEAN THIS COULD, IN MY MIND, THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST PRESSING THINGS THAT WE NEED.
AND DO A FULL COURT PRESS AS QUICKLY AS IT CAN.
I MEAN, THE SESSION'S COMING TO AN END SOON.
I MEAN WE GOTTA GET SOMETHING DONE ON THIS.
UH, RESOLUTION LETTER, WHATEVER IT TAKES.
OR COUNSEL, WE CAN WORK TO HAVE SOMETHING READY.
UH, COUNCILMAN GLOVER? NO MA'AM.
ANYONE ELSE? UM, CHAIRMAN OR MR. PASSMAN? THE MILLAGE FOR THE FIRE DISTRICT IS REFLECTED BASED ON WHAT THEY SUBMITTED TO US OVER HERE IN THE FIRST CALL.
SO DIDN'T KNOW THAT WAS BLACKED OUT AT 10 POINT MILLION.
THE, THE AMOUNTS AREN'T THERE, BUT THE MILLAGE THAT THEY'RE CHANGING TO IS THERE.
SO TO TABS POINT, HERE'S YOUR FISCAL YEAR, 2027 OUTSIDE AGENCIES.
UM, THESE ARE ALL THE AGENCIES THAT CAME AND PRESENTED TO YOU IN THE PRE PREVIOUS WORKSHOPS.
AND, UM, THE AMOUNT REQUESTED IS IN FISCAL YEAR 27 REQUEST.
AND THE ADMINISTRATOR'S RECOMMENDED IS THE ONE, THE YELLOW BOX COLUMN.
UM, OVERALL WE DID A 5% INCREASE WITH THE EXCEPTION OF KVCB, WHICH WE INCLUDED THE $40,000 FOR THEIR UPDATED SIGNAGE FOR THE COUNTY.
SO, UM, THAT'S THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THAT.
SO ON THIS PAGE I SAW YOU GAVE 5%.
CORRECT? MY SUGGESTION WOULD NOT BE OVER 3%.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT COLA AT 2%, 1%.
I MEAN, YOU'RE GIVING A 5% INCREASE.
MY BASE SUGGESTION WOULD BE NO INCREASE AT THIS YEAR BECAUSE WE ARE TRYING TO SAVE MONEY AND WITH THE RECOMMENDATION TO PEOPLE THAT DON'T EXPECT, YOU KNOW, THE EXPECTATION IS NOT YOU'RE GONNA ALWAYS GET AN INCREASE.
THE COUNTY IS RESPONSIBLE TO MANAGE OUR BUDGET.
AND THE OTHER ONE IS, UH, SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT.
I HEARD THE OTHER DAY AT SO LOCO ABOUT SCORE.
WE WERE SITTING THERE, I DON'T KNOW, I, MS. HOWARD ASKED, HOW DO YOU INTERSECT? RIGHT? SHE SAID, WE DON'T.
SO I'M WONDERING AGAIN ABOUT REDUNDANCY.
HOW MANY OF THESE AGENCIES ARE REDUNDANT AND WE'RE PUTTING MONEY IN.
WE ONLY PROVIDED A 5% FOR THE ONES THAT ASKED FOR AN INCREASE.
UM, FOUR AGENCIES ON THIS LIST DID NOT ASK FOR AN INCREASE AND REMAINED NEUTRAL.
UM, SO JUST PUTTING THAT OUT THERE THAT WE DID A 5% FOR ONLY THE ONES THAT WANTED, UM, AN INCREASE WITH THE EXCEPTION OF KBCD.
SO WITH THE PALMETTO BREEZE, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A PRETTY STEEP REDUCTION DOWN.
ARE, ARE WE GONNA BE DOING THE SAME THING WE DID THIS YEAR WITH A, WITH A MIDYEAR ALLOCATION? WELL, WE AWARDED 717 AND 26, WE'RE INCREASING IT BY 5% TO RECOMMEND 7 53.
THE, THE REDUCTION FROM THE REQUEST.
BUT ARE WE GONNA HAVE TO COME BACK AND, AND READJUST LIKE WE DID RECENTLY? I WOULD PROBABLY LEAVE THAT TO MARY LOU AND HER FINANCE STAFF.
I WON'T, I WON'T FULLY KNOW, BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE TO.
THE MAJORITY OF COUNCIL VOTED TO DO IT.
ONCE YOU SET THE BUDGET, IT SHOULD REMAIN THE BUDGET AND THEY SHOULD WORK IN THEIR BUDGET JUST LIKE WE HAVE TO DO.
SO COUNCIL, THE MAJORITY OF COUNCIL VOTED TO GIVE THE 81,000, SO REST ASSURED THEY'LL BE BACK ASKING FOR THE EXTRA MONEY.
UM, DID THEY SAY WHAT THE EXTRA MONEY FOR L-L-R-R-T-A WAS FOR IN THIS REQUEST? DO YOU RECALL? YES.
IT WAS IN YOUR BACKUP AT THE, AT THEIR BUDGET PRESENTATION.
I'LL, THAT THEY DETAILED OUT THREE DIFFERENT AREAS THAT THEIR 1.1 EQUAL TO ONE PART OF IT.
THE NORTHERN LIMITATION OF THE TRANSIT IN NORTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY.
UM, JUST SO YOU'RE AWARE IN YOUR BINDERS AND IN YOUR BACKUP,
[01:15:01]
UM, YOU WILL NOTICE, YES.THAT'S VERY SMALL FOR ME HERE, BUT, UM, YOU'LL SEE HERE THAT IT'S FISCAL YEAR 27 IS WHAT WAS REQUESTED.
UM, AND THE ADMINISTRATORS RECOMMENDED AS THE SECOND TO LAST COLUMN.
UM, EVERYTHING IN YELLOW IS WHAT WE RECOMMEND.
BUT SO THE REQUESTED IS 10, BUT WE THINK IT'S GONNA BE HIGHER.
UM, IF YOU GO DOWN TO ACTUAL DEPARTMENTS, ANY CHANGES THAT THE DEPARTMENTS WERE WILLING TO MAKE AND THAT WE RECOMMEND, UH, WILL BE IN YELLOW.
UM, SO IF THERE'S QUESTIONS SPECIFIC, UM, FOR EXAMPLE, RIGHT HERE WITH THE TREASURER'S, UH, BUDGET, WE HAVE WHAT WAS PRESENTED TO YOU, UM, LAST MONDAY.
AND WHAT WE RECOMMEND THE NUMBERS IN THE YELLOW BOXES ARE THE APPROVED POSITIONS THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE ON WITH HR.
SO THAT, THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE THERE.
WE TRY TO PUT AS MUCH NOTES AS POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO KNOW WHAT OUR RECOMMENDATIONS WERE.
AND JUST, JUST TO HIGHLIGHT THAT POINT, UM, THERE WERE TWO ADDITIONAL REQUESTS FROM THAT OFFICE THIS YEAR, BUT THEY HAD ALREADY HAD VACANT POSITIONS THAT THEY HAVEN'T FILLED.
SO WE DID NOT RECOMMEND THOSE TWO POSITIONS BE INCLUDED IN THE BUDGET AS WELL AS ALL THE PERSONNEL LINES INCLUDE ALL THE FUNDED POSITIONS PLUS A 1% COLA AND THE 2% MERIT.
THAT'S ALL BUILT INTO THIS BASED ON CLASS AND COMP IN PARTICULAR TREASURE BASED ON WHAT YOU ALL APPROVED BACK IN MARCH WITH THE UPDATE TO THE CLASS AND COMP.
SO THAT'S THE NUMBER THAT'S IN HERE THAT ADMINISTRATION'S RECOMMENDING.
AND THAT'S FILLING ALL THE POSITIONS THAT ARE VACANT, THAT IS FUNDING ALL OF THE, ALL OF HER CURRENT POSITIONS GOTCHA.
TO INCLUDE THE VACANCIES, BUT NOT THE TWO NEW ONES.
AND IF WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON ANY OF THIS, UM, WE CAN SEND THOSE VIA EMAIL TO Y'ALL.
EMAIL TO US DIRECTLY, DIRECTLY, DIRECTLY WITH ANY QUESTIONS, RIGHT? BECAUSE IT'S A, IT'S A LOT, OBVIOUSLY IT'S A VERY LARGE BINDER AND YOU HAVE FIVE FUNDS TO GO THROUGH.
BUT, UM, SOME OF THEM ARE RESTRICTED FUNDS THAT YOU REALLY CAN'T, YOU KNOW, MODIFY BASED ON DEBT SERVICE, RIGHT.
SPECIAL REVENUE, UM, BUT YOU HAVE YOUR GENERAL FUND AND THEN THE CHANGES THAT WE RECOMMEND IN YELLOW IS BASED ON US BEING ABLE TO BALANCE THE BUDGET.
SO PLEASE DO KEEP IN MIND IF YOU GO BACK TO WHAT THE FISCAL YEAR 27 REQUEST IS, WE WILL HAVE TO ADJUST, POTENTIALLY INCREASE MILLAGE BECAUSE IF YOU ADD UP THE TOTALS OF EVERYTHING THAT WAS REQUESTED, IT DOES NOT BALANCE THE BUDGET.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? SURE DOES.
AND, AND IF ANYONE HAS QUESTIONS, IF YOU WANT TO COPY THE REST OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WITH 'EM, THAT'S FINE TOO.
BUT YOU DON'T, NOT REQUIRED BY ANY MEANS.
IF YOU JUST WANNA ASK, UM, MIKE AND, AND PINKNEY DIRECTLY, THAT'S FINE.
BUT I WOULD ENCOURAGE ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS TO LOOK OVER THIS AGAIN AND AGAIN, AND EMAIL QUESTIONS.
UM, SO WE DON'T COME TO THE LAST MINUTE WITH, OH, BY THE WAY, WE'D LIKE TO RECOMMEND THAT WE HAVE, UM, ANY QUESTIONS OR STUFF DONE BECAUSE WE DO PLAN TO HAVE, UH, FIRST READING OF THE BUDGET ORDINANCE AT THE MAY FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING.
THAT'S OUR DEADLINE TO GET 'EM TO YOU.
AND I WAS JUST GONNA SAY, OUTSIDE OF THE PERSONNEL LINES, THOSE YELLOW HIGHLIGHTS OR WHERE WE HAVE GONE IN AND LOOKED AT HISTORICAL SPENDING OVER THE PAST TWO TO THREE YEARS HAVE, HAVE MADE ADJUSTMENTS TO THOSE LINES, UM, OUTSIDE THE PERSONNEL LINES.
ANY, AGAIN, IT WILL BE IN YELLOW AND THERE'LL LIKELY BE A NOTE NEXT TO IT IF THERE, IF THERE WAS ANYTHING SIGNIFICANT PERSON COUNCIL GLOVER COMMENT THAT I, I STARTED TO ASK THE TREASURER AT THE TIME, UM, WHY THE, UM, BANK FEES WAS $300,000 AND SHE HADN'T EVEN GOTTEN TO THAT 300,000 OVER A THREE, FOUR YEARS PERIOD.
SO I SEE Y'ALL MAKING ADJUSTMENT THERE.
UM, GENERALLY WE'VE NOTICED THAT THERE'S, AND YOU CAN SEE WHENEVER WE DO A FINANCE REPORT IN THE TRANSFERS, WE WERE NOTICING THAT TRANSFERS WERE OCCURRING FROM THE CREDIT CARD FEES TO THE POSTAGE LINE ITEM.
GO UP JUST A LITTLE BIT, SARAH, SO WE CAN SHOW, IF YOU'LL NOTICE, WE ADJUSTED IT TO THE TOP WHERE, UM, POSTAGES ACTUALLY, SORRY, THAT'S HARD TO SEE.
SO IN AN EFFORT TO, IT'S, IT'S IN YELLOW WHERE IT SAYS INCREASE DUE TO ACTUAL EXPENDITURES.
SO WE TOOK, WE REDUCED THE CREDIT CARD FEES AND ADJUSTED THE POSTAGE UP TO WHERE THE TRANSFERS WERE MOVING TO.
AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, THE FIRST TWO COLUMNS ARE HISTORICAL, ACTUAL EXPENDITURES.
AND THIS, THESE WERE ALL PART OF THE ADJUSTMENTS WE NEEDED TO GET TO REMAIN MILL NEUTRAL AS YOU ALL HAD REQUESTED US TO DO.
SO I WANNA JUST MAKE A COMMENT ABOUT MILL NEUTRAL.
THIS CAME UP AT A PUBLIC MEETING.
SEVERAL OF US WERE AT, DAVID WAS THERE.
WE DO SAY MILL NEUTRAL, WHICH MEANS THE MILLAGE ISN'T GOING UP THE MILL
[01:20:01]
RATE.HOWEVER, WE DO NEED TO CLARIFY FOR PEOPLE, AND YOU DID IN THE BEGINNING, THE VALUE OF A MILL HAS INCREASED.
SO THE BUDGET, THE AMOUNT IN THE BUDGET FROM 59.5 MILLS IS GREATER THAN IT WAS LAST YEAR.
SO THAT CAME UP AS A QUESTION FROM AN ELECTED OFFICIAL.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY MILL NEUTRAL? AND I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY WHAT THAT MEANS.
IT'S THE OVERALL MILLAGE RATE MILL.
THAT'S WHY IF YOU'LL SEE IN THE PRESENTATION IT SAYS MILL RATE NEUTRAL.
THE VALUE INCREASES THE AMOUNT BECAUSE ASSESSMENTS ARE UP.
ANY OTHER, ANY QUESTIONS FROM ANYONE ONLINE? OKAY.
EVERYBODY'S THERE? ANY OTHER COMMENTS, MR. MOORE? I WAS JUST GONNA MAKE A FEW COMMENTS.
UM, THE, UH, IF YOU LOOK ON PAGE 49, WE, WE HAVE INCLUDED THE GRANTS THAT WERE INCLUDED AS PART OF, UM, THE, THE HUMAN SERVICES, THE 398,000.
I JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT'S IN HERE STILL FOR YOU ALL'S CONSIDERATION.
I DON'T HAVE, I DON'T HAVE PAGE NUMBERS.
ON YOUR, UM, IT COMMUNITY SERVICES GRANTS THAT I, IT'S UNDER PUBLIC WELFARE.
AND I'LL REITERATE MY CONCERN THAT THAT SHOULD NOT BE PART OF OUR BUDGET.
THAT'S WHY I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT IT IS WE INCLUDED IT.
I'M SORRY, I WAS NOT GONNA BRING IT UP, BUT I'VE ALREADY SPOKEN TO THAT.
I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD SPEND $400,000 OF TAX MONEY GIVING IT TO OUTSIDE GROUPS AND ESPECIALLY SOME OF THOSE.
AND THEN IN TERMS OF THE, UM, HEALTHCARE COVERAGE, UM, THERE'S A $700,000 INCREASE FROM THE GENERAL FUND CONTRIBUTION, BUT WE'VE ALSO, UH, THERE'LL BE SOME, UM, RATE ADJUSTMENTS FOR OUR EMPLOYEES AS WELL FOR THE EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTION AS WELL AS THE EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION THAT WE DISCUSSED EARLIER.
ANY OTHER LAST QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? NO, THE ONLY COMMENT IS, UM, THE LEGISLATORS HAVE JUST TWO DAYS LEFT.
THERE'S A BILL FROM THE SENATE.
AND THEY'RE DESPERATELY TRYING TO GET SOMETHING DONE BECAUSE THEY KNOW WHAT A PROBLEM THIS PROPERTY TAX IS.
WHETHER IT'S GONNA HAPPEN OR NOT, REMAINS TO BE SEEN.
THAT'S THE SENATE BILL GOING TO THE HOUSE.
AND MR. MOORE, I THINK WE CAN GET SOMETHING.
JUST WANNA SAY, UH, THANK YOU TO PINKY.
UM, YOU'VE DONE A GREAT JOB AS USUAL, UM, PUTTING THIS TOGETHER, MAKING IT ACTUALLY VERY, VERY SIMPLE TO LOOK AT AND VERY LEGIBLE.
AND AGAIN, MIKE, UM, MR. MOORE, UM, FOR, FOR, FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE AGAIN.
'CAUSE UM, THIS HAS BEEN A VERY, VERY SMOOTH PROCESS.
IT'S VERY, VERY UNDERSTANDABLE OF EXACTLY WHERE WE'RE GOING.
UM, I, I WAS TALKING RECENTLY TO SOMEBODY WHERE I REMEMBER WHEN I FIRST GOT HERE, EVERYTHING WAS IN A BIG BOOK AND YOU COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING.
AND IT WAS IN, IT WAS LIKE FOUR INCHES DEEP.
AND, UM, SO AGAIN, UM, YOU'VE DONE A GREAT JOB.
SO THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK AND YOUR STAFF.
AND IF THERE'S ANY FEEDBACK IN TERMS OF ANYTHING ELSE YOU SEE THAT YOU'D LIKE TO SEE IMPROVE, WE'LL CERTAINLY TAKE THAT ON AS WELL.
AS FAR AS THE PRESENTATION FOR GOING FORWARD, WE DEFINITELY HAVE A DEADLINE TO GET OUR COMMENTS AND OTHER QUESTIONS TO YOU.
IT WILL BE AT THE FINANCE COMMITTEE.
WE'LL BE, WE'RE GONNA BE THEN MM-HMM
I'D ALSO LIKE TO THANK OUR VERY NEW BUDGET MANAGER WHO, UH, JUMPED IN NEEDY THIS YEAR, COURTNEY.
UH, AND THANKS TO THE DEPARTMENT HEADS AND THE ACAS FOR WORKING WITH US TO ACCOMPLISH A BALANCED BUDGET.
SO, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE THEIR HARD WORK PUT INTO THIS AS WELL.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS OR? I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU TO PICKNEY FOR A GREAT JOB.
AND WE'RE GONNA WORK ON GETTING THAT RESOLUTION, UM, AS SOON AS WE CAN.
IS THAT THE RIGHT WAY TO DO IT? AND I CAN TALK TO YOU, I THINK, AND SPEAKING WITH BRIAN, PROBABLY THE BEST THING TO DO IS GET YOU ALL A LETTER.
AND THEN I THINK YOU COULD SIGN IT AS CHAIR.
AND, AND IT COULD BE SENT, BUT IT WOULD EXPRESS COUNSEL'S, UH, YOU KNOW, POSITION ON THIS AND CALLS WILL HELP TOO, BUT YOU'RE RIGHT.
[01:25:05]
YOU'RE WATCHING BC TV.THIS IS LARRY ROWLAND AND THIS IS A BEAUFORT COUNTY MOMENT.
ONE OF THE EXCITING ASPECTS OF COLON, THE COLONIAL SEA ISLANDS WAS THE ARRIVAL OF NUMEROUS FREEBOOTERS AND PIRATES IN THIS AREA.
THE PIRACY IN THE CARIBBEAN WAS ESSENTIALLY ENDED IN 1713 WITH A TREATY BETWEEN SPAIN AND ENGLAND.
BUT THE PIRATES WHO, UH, HAD INFESTED THE SPANISH MAINE FOR A HUNDRED YEARS MOVED NORTH.
MANY MOVED INTO THE BAHAMAS, MANY MOVED INTO THE SEA ISLANDS OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA COAST AND INTO THE OUTER BANKS OF NORTH CAROLINA IN THIS AREA.
THE COMMON PIRATE HANGOUT WAS THE COAST OF NORTH CAROLINA, WHICH WAS LESS POPULATED IN, LESS DEFENDED THAN NEITHER EITHER THE SEA ISLANDS OR THE NORTH COAST OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
SO IN 1719, SOUTH CAROLINA SENT A FLEET TO NORTH CAROLINA, WHICH CAPTURED STEED BONNET AND SANK HIS VESSEL, DROVE BLACKBEARD NORTH INTO BEAUFORT, NORTH CAROLINA, WHERE VIRGINIANS CAPTURED HIS VESSEL AND KILLED BLACKBEARD.
AND HIS VESSEL, QUEEN ANNE'S REVENGE IS BEING ARCHEOLOGICALLY RECOVERED OFF OF BEAUFORT, NORTH CAROLINA AS WE SPEAK, UH, SOUTH OF CHARLESTON.
THIS PLACE BECAME A VERY ACTIVE CENTER FOR A PRIVATE TIER WAR IN THE 1730S AND 1740S.
IT WAS ESSENTIALLY A CONTEST BETWEEN THE SPANISH AND ST.
AUGUSTINE AND THE ENGLISH IN CHARLESTON.
DURING THE 1740S, SPANISH PRIVATEERS INFESTED THIS COAST AND VIRTUALLY STOPPED THE MARITIME TRADE FROM PORT ROYAL NEAR BEAUFORT AND FROM CHARLESTON, HARVARD.
THE MOST NOTABLE OF THOSE SPANISH PRIVATEERS WAS FRANCISCO LORENZO.
HE CAPTURED MANY SOUTH CAROLINIANS IN HIS VOYAGES, CAPTURED 56 ENGLISH VESSELS OFF THE COAST OF SOUTH CAROLINA IN THE SINGLE YEAR OF 1741.
BUT ALL OF HIS PRISONERS, HE TREATED WELL WHEN HE WAS FINALLY CAPTURED BY SOUTH CAROLINA NAVAL FORCES IN LATE 1741, HE WAS TAKEN TO CHARLESTON AND THE POPULATION ASSEMBLED AND CHEERED HIM WHEN HE CAME ASHORE BECAUSE HE HAD BEEN SUCH AN HONORABLE PIRATE.
IF THERE IS SUCH A THING, OTHER PIRATES, FRENCH AND SPANISH CONTINUED TO INVEST THE COAST FROM 1742 TO 1744.
AND THEN AGAIN FROM 1748 TO 1751.
THE LAST SPANISH PIRATE, DON JULIAN VEGA, UH, WAS HERE AS LATE AS 1760, AND HE WAS CAPTURED BY SPANISH GARDA COSTAS, NOT ENGLISH COAST GUARDS.
DURING THAT TIME, THE IANS AND THE CHARLESTONIANS BUILT TWO INLAND GALLEYS ROAD GALLEYS WITH HEAVY GUNS THAT COULD PROTECT THE INLAND WATERS FROM THE SPANISH AND FRENCH FREE BOOMERS.
BUT BETWEEN 1739, WHICH IS THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR OF JENKINS EAR AND 1763, WHICH WAS THE TREATY OF PARIS THAT ENDED THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR, THIS WAS AN ACTIVE AREA FOR PRIVATEERS AND PIRATES AND THEIR COUNTER FORCES, THE GALLEYS OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND GEORGIA.
THIS HAS BEEN A BEAUFORT COUNTY MOMENT.
TO SEE MORE BUFORT COUNTY MOMENTS GO TO THE BUFORT COUNTY LIBRARY HOMEPAGE AND CLICK ON THE LOCAL HISTORY TAB.