I'd like to call to order the special city commission meeting for setting the tentative millage rate for July 27th, 2026. Uh Mr. Bone, open up to public comment, please. >> We have John Olson. >> [cough] >> Uh can we can we please roll roll the
video? >> These are rebuilds. I bring it to Joe. >> That's me. >> And you know what he's rebuilding a lot more of these days? >> Four-cylinder engines. >> Small engines work a lot harder than big engines. So, if you have a small car, it's even more important to take care of
it right. Change the oil regularly and put in a new Fram oil filter when you're supposed to. A Fram filter doesn't cost much. >> I do. >> But the choice is yours. You can pay me now or pay me later. >> Qua-
Apologize for the quality. The video, Mayor and Commissioners, this video represents our city as operated for many years. When routine maintenance is ignored, you eventually pay before complete engine overhaul. That is where the city of Apopka finds itself today.
The consequences are all around us. Flooding, traffic congestion, children walking to school in ditches, water sewer reclaimed water pressure issues, $13 million for a pump station that was done when it was identified years ago would have been half that cost, loss of
CRA funding. We are under funded in $29.6 million in our pensions, and we have multiple interim leaders wearing two or three hats. Today, identified capital We've identified capital needs of over $70 million for fire stations, Golden
Gem mitigation, water mains, vehicles, and essential equipment. This brings me to three questions. One, how much of our budget is committed to state and federal mandates? Two, how much support for normal general fund operations? And
three, can any millage increase be dedicated exclusively for infrastructure? I recommend we approach this just like it's the start of the NFL season. Training camp opened today. Approving a tentative 0.75 mills rate is not the final score. It is simply the
first day of training camp. Before final adoption, for transparency, meet together as a commission with each department head going over their budgets, going over what their they how their performance been prior, examine turnover and vacancies, justify
every new position, and challenge every significant budget request. Recommend that you consider August 7th, 14th, and 21st as target dates as I call it for roster cuts or budget cuts. So, it brings us to victory in September.
If we expect our employees to meet our expectations, we must provide them with staffing, equipment, and resources to succeed. The need to consider millage increase today is the result of many years of approving growth without making
infrastructural investments to support it. We are all share responsibility in moving forward. We did not get here overnight. We are not going to get out of here overnight. It will take disciplined budgeting, accurate forecasting, sound fiscal
management, patience, and accountability. If we commit to these principles, I believe Popca can become the great city that we all know it can be. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Wilson. >> Thank you. >> Okay. >> We have Melody? >> Good evening.
>> Good evening. >> Hopefully it won't be good morning, too. Um I appreciate all the effort that um has been put into by the commissioners to try and work on the budget. And I see them out there talking about it. Um
The main thing is is that we can't compromise services because of budget. We've got to get rid of the frills. And if we get rid of the frills, the the things that somebody else could be handling, a private company could be
handling the shows at the amphitheater. Um and even the vice mayor of Orange County said, "And look at the amphitheater in Apopka. We need to have class places like this to use." But we don't have to pay for them. And
we don't have to have all of our employees working on it. You could let a vendor come in and put on a show, and another vendor come in and put on a show, and not be on the onus of the city. Um the uh
mainly get rid of the frills. That's my biggest point. Um and I've seen some in the budget. But we also need that's a request by the citizens is a blocking off between the sections
based on the referendum. Where are the the things that are frivolous or that they won't allow once the referendum passes colored or marked or sectionized in the
budget. Because they can't tell like in the rec department what is a frivolity that's not going to be covered but because it's not environmental. So those are the kind of things they've asked for. I have something here that I
wanted to do um before the 4th of July but I was not available in person. I have something from that I want to give the city. I know I can't give individuals the city. Um it's the Constitution
with gold around it and um it's the sesquicentennially tennially I can never pronounce that word is on it and then on the back is the 250 years. And find a place to hang this in the city or
display it in some manner. Thank you. >> Thank you Dr. Olmstead. >> You are done. We'll get a picture. >> Absolutely. >> Thank you Dr. >> Thank you. >> Lira Bell 2308 Blue Meadows Court. Uh
I I want to clear something up right quick. Uh I want it's something out there in the atmosphere that I'm with someone. I'm with no one on that diocese, no one.
At one point of time I have helped elect every last one of you except Commissioner Anderson. I never helped her. I'm a I'm a passionate person about what I believe in. And sometime I might say some stuff
kind of harsh and I said something harsh to Commissioner Anderson for that, I apologize. Uh with this city as Rod Olson just said, you're going to pay on the front end or the back end. It's something that we need to start doing up front that we
ain't did in in in the past. First of all, all these new positions, we need to scrap that. We need to get us a city administrator. We got to elected a strong mayor.
Not just me, everybody in the city of Apopka. Then we need to get this mayor and the new city administrator, we need to have the mayor to meet with his department head once a week. To show the vision that he said to the
citizen that what need to happen, it need to happen. We need communication from the mayor through the city administrator down to the department head. There's an old saying there, if the
department head can't crap, they need to get up off the stump. You need to get rid of it. This is where we need to start. Now, for my for the middle state, I just waiting till that happen. Now,
uh I've been here since 1968 and it's a shame that it's some people just been here 8, 9, 10 years. They come in influences. And they want to come in and they want to have their way.
Like they said, uh down south, don't bring your north crap down here. Well, don't bring your west mess stuff over here. Uh you won't roll up the welcome carpet behind you and come here and run nothing but your mouth.
>> [clears throat] >> Thank you, Mr. Bell. >> Thank sir. So, that's all the >> Uh good evening, everyone. Uh Sylvester Hall. Uh I'm kind of troubled by what I see cuz I've been kind of sit sit back
watching everything transpire and see which direction we're going to go and see which direction each one of the members up here go. And the the more I look, the more I see the same. The more I look, the more I see the
same. I still see the peanut gallery come up here and offering advice, and I still I see that you're very courtesy. The only difference is nothing ever happened. And that's the same thing Brian was doing even though he was uh very
ignorant to the fact. Uh I want to point out some things that when we say when I come up here and I say, "Hey, look. If you look at what Mr. Bell just said, what Rod just said, Rod Olsen just said, when you look at those things, those things are so simple
when it comes to leadership, when it's coming to decision-making and prioritizing what's important for the city. Now, some of you don't some of you don't know because some of you I don't know how long how long you've been coming to these city council meetings, but I've
been coming for this going on 6 years religiously coming here overseeing what's being what's going on in the city. And [clears throat] when we say we don't have the money to pay for audit, this is something that the mayor and I had a sidebar. Uh he forget
when Brian had so much of his money into his his his friend's bank and we took that out and reinvested it. It saved the city almost a million dollars. So, if you multiply that by four, you already paid for the audit right there. Now, if we find that, how much other
stuff we'll find when we do our audit? And so, when I look at all the things that was happening, our chief financial officer, I think we went through three or four of those in a short four-year period. And we don't see we need to stop, hit the brakes, and look at where we at.
Uh our city administrator, uh Mr. Williams, I told you it's nothing personal, but we went to went through uh three of those in a short period of time, and we still have him as a interim uh for going over a year. And I look at how we prioritize
uh the new positions that we're we're getting now. And if you combine the {quote} {unquote} proposed salaries, it's almost two million dollars in a four-year time. What can we do with that money? And I look at when you say when Radosum was talking about, you know, where we at
with with maintenance. Uh we had a slide up we was going through. We needed uh I think almost about a uh if I'm not mistaken about three million dollars to for one of the lift station for the repairs. I put in a public record uh request to see how many
lift station we have. We have 170. I asked for what the maintenance was being on done on them, when when when how and where. I got one little sheet back saying, "Yes, the maintenance is done and we have 170 of them." So, what I'm saying when I'm looking at we're not serious about moving forward.
We want more money, but we're not serious about where we at and coming to the conclusion of where we at and where we need to go. That's the problem that you have with the public. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Holmes. >> Diane Robinson Yes.
>> Mayor Nesta and commissioners, we are here to express as residents of Apopka and who appreciates and the Apopka Women's Club who appreciates all that makes Apopka a wonderful place to live. We are concerned about the possibilities of reducing funding for recreation programs, nonprofit organizations,
community clubs, parades, concerts, and other events that bring our community together. These programs are more than entertainment. They strengthen families, provide positive opportunities for our youth and seniors, encourage volunteerism, and create the sense of community that makes Apopka special.
Nonprofit organizations and civic clubs contribute countless volunteer hours and services that would otherwise cost the city much more to provide. If the reason for these reductions is to avoid a tax increase, we respectfully ask that every alternative be considered
before cutting programs. We have um investments in recreation and community organizations are investments in the quality of life in our city. We hope you, all of you, will continue to support the valuable programs and work with our community to find
solutions that preserve them. Thank you for your service to Apopka and for considering the concerns of our residents and the Apopka Women's Club and many more who value the partnerships between our city and its nonprofit organizations. Thank you. >> Thank you, Ms. Harrison.
>> Thank you. Todd Bankston >> Todd Bankston, Stormy Court. Um I watch every meeting, all the meetings that we have is at home on YouTube. It's a service that I very much enjoy. After working all day, it's easier to do that. And I appreciate everyone's effort
effort and certainly appreciate the efforts of all the commissioners and all the department heads to work on the budget. Hard to work on it, to want to cut it, to keep it as low as possible. I don't want tax increases. I don't want to pay more money, but I do want a city
to move forward. I just feel like we have to do something to make it a little bit better, to move forward, to be able to keep the promises that everyone ran on, those of you that just recently ran. So, I don't have a problem with a small increase.
And then we work on it and we may we hopefully we bring it down. May we stay where we're at. Maybe it's just a small increase. But, I'm not opposed to an increase to my tax bill. I want the city to take a step forward. Just a little bit. Let's do We have to
keep moving the ball forward. So, that's my story about the taxes. As for communications, I heard Leroy say something about communication. I've stayed in contact with a lot of city employees and some department heads. They are very
enthused about the way the mayor is doing things and getting out and talking to people. That is happening. I hear a lot of positives about he's going down, and he's talking to people, things are happening. Not necessarily the promises are being made or things are happening today, but he's listening and that's a big thing
that they wanted. So, I'm very happy to hear that. Other than that, let's keep taxes as low as possible, but if we got to move, we got to move. And if we're looking at the cutting, I want to be on the record. I'm not I didn't want it before and I don't want it now. Can't we walk? I
don't see the positive of that. I don't see we're getting the bang for our buck out of it. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Bengston. Uh that was all the residents that submitted a card. Is there anybody that has not submitted a card that would like to speak right now? Please.
Good evening. How's everybody doing today? >> Good evening. >> Good. Uh my name is Emilio Perales. I live at 10:47 Lovell Lane, right across the street from the new development Wellington Park. Um I'm going to keep it very brief tonight because uh after what I saw at
the meeting the other night, uh I felt a little slighted. Uh I know that you guys are up there doing the best you can with everything that you have, but I do want to bring up a couple of things. Okay? Number one,
you guys are voting to raise taxes, and I know that it would pass this here, you're going to put it on the going to put it on the ballot, you know, for the for the whole uh Orange County, and I just feel like 32% is way too harsh on
the citizens of Apopka. Okay? Uh if we can do this incrementally, you know, uh in steps, I think it would be better so that we can better prepare ourselves, our budgets, you know, the things that we have to do, because we all have problems, you know,
we all have health issues, we all have bills that we have to pay, and quite honestly, my biggest concern is the elderly losing their homes. I mean, let's be real, okay? Some of us
have made great investments in our lifetime, some of them you know, we haven't, and we live day to day, okay? In the Great Recession, 2008, I lost $20,000. I was had I had a job that, you know, I worked for Dade County schools, okay? I made some investments.
Next thing I know, I'm losing my tail, okay? Nothing I can do about it except speak up and talk to the people in office. Didn't help. There were people that were handling all these funds, and um they were ripping you off.
I don't know if you guys know it, but it happens. Every day, there's a scammer out there. And you know what? I don't even pick up my phone. It says "Potential scam." Because it's a waste of my time. I've got better things to do.
Okay? And the best thing that I can do right now is wish you guys well, that you make the right decisions, you unified decisions, and do right by the city of Apopka. Okay? I respect all of you. I got to
meet all of you guys when you were campaigning. You guys campaigned for a lot of things. I want to see We want to see all the promises that you guys made come to fruition. And I know it's very difficult because, you know, you want to please everybody, but you can't please everybody in this world. So, we have to
learn how to, you know, >> [snorts] >> pick and choose and make the right decisions. And I think that uh you guys need to take a good look in the mirror of the things you say about certain people on this board. Ms. Anderson does not deserve the
treatment that she's getting. And you guys are going to vote anyway, and by Friday, I guess you'll know. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Brown. Anyone else in the public wish to speak? >> Matthew Hutchinson, 1262 and 72 East Minneola Street, 1. First of all, I want to thank you for doing this. Like, you
don't have to have these meetings, these special meetings to hear us. And so, I think if I come here, I'm probably going to end up speaking. I can't help but do it. But, when I left last week, you know, or um on uh the previous meeting, I had indicated how much they've gone
up. I think the consensus is for a lot of people, you got to do something. You got to go up. There's a deficit. And but we don't want to bear the whole thing. So, there's got to be a compromise and I just like want to echo that. I started looking and actually my taxes for [snorts] the city went down. That's just
That's the previous The predecessor went down on the millage. And so, I was like, "Okay, I'm shocked." That for the city anyways, now it all balances out the county, it still went up substantially. But, I want to say, "Look, Popka's got a lot
going on for it. We have the two beautiful springs here that people eco tourism is incredible. You got the bird watching and eco trail out there. It's an incredible place and we're kind of at a crossroads. You all volunteered to do Well, you didn't volunteer, but you ran
to do this and I'm I'm here to support every single one of you. I think where the disconnect is is if you go up with the millage, what are you going to attack? Like I keep hearing pipes. We need new pipes. So, if that's the case, then I want to know that that money's going to the pipes. I don't I don't want
recreation to get canceled or cut back. I don't want the Christmas Christmas parade to go away and all those things that make the community what they are. So, I will say also that I'm starting to see some stuff. Like I know the lights The lights The buttons are coming. So, you can cross that one off the list I
gave you right after you guys got elected. So, I see stuff happening and I know where you're at. I'm willing to help. So, but from my perspective, we should The citizens should bear some responsibility for this. That's why we moved here. You guys should bear some responsibility
too by meeting in the middle. So, I think I think in the previous meeting there was a vote to meet in the middle and nothing happened. That would be what I would do and I would I'm in favor of what Rod was talking about is maybe just waiting. I don't know if the state has stipulation for you guys, but if we can go another couple of meetings, if we can
get to August and of September and and then say outline what you guys are going to spend the increases on. And I also want to appreciate you, Mr. Mayor, for your post today about Trooper Steve. I said the other day I like Trooper Steve. He's a nice guy.
I wish I had his salary. But um I so so anyways, I'm happy because I think the city needs a guy like that to go and communicate a lot of stuff so you can keep working. But I think maybe the spit maybe he should have been hired after the millage was you know where the
money was there cuz the optics are there. You see what I mean? Like okay, we're going to spend $180,000 on it and then we're going up on taxes. That didn't sit well. I'll look forward to meeting him and Trooper Steve at some point and looking forward to having him work for you. So I thought you did a good job on that.
Anyways, maybe meet in the middle, okay? >> Thank you, Mr. Hutchinson. >> Thank you, sir. >> Anyone else from the public wish to speak right now? >> Excuse me, Mr. Mayor. >> Yes. >> Um may I be granted one more minute or something that I I wanted to say? >> We will have an additional public comment period before the final vote.
All right, I'll close public comment. Mr. Chairman, uh oh, excuse me. No, we need to approve minutes from last meeting. Uh did anybody have any changes, review them, any questions? If not, I'll look for a motion to approve the uh meeting minutes for July
27th, 2026. >> So moved. >> Uh moved by Commissioner Ruth, seconded by Commissioner Barron. All those in favor say aye. What? >> Sorry, he didn't look at me. I was like >> [laughter] >> All those in favor say aye. >> Aye. >> All opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Excuse me, Mr. Chairman.
>> No problem. >> Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Commissioners. >> Good evening. >> As you know, we're here to um set the the tentative millage rate for FY 2026-2027. Um
We can go here back to the recommendation at this time is the rollback rate millage rate at 4.2510 and the proposed millage rate is 4.6761. >> Thank you. Uh if I may before we dive deep into this,
just reminder that there does have to be three different motions tonight. So, I want to make sure the first motion I have to read a statement. And I'll want to get an indication of where somebody may motion something so that I can read the proper statement. The first motion will just be to set the rollback military. It has nothing to do
with anything else. It just we statutorily have to set that. The second one will actually be to approve or set the proposed operating military rate. And then the third will be to set the meeting date for the budget itself, the tentative budget meeting. That doesn't mean we can't have more
than that. It just statutorily we have to go in this order. So, I just want to make sure as we navigate this that you understand what we need to accomplish here. So, and I ask as we have some discussions, um keep your comments as concise as possible.
Um we don't want to belabor this more than we have to. It's definitely taken time and the information really hasn't changed much. So, does anybody have any comments right now? >> I would just like to to open
the discussion to if we're going to make an investment in the in in the future of Apopka, and I think that we've got a board that's ready to take a deep dive and really look under the hood and you know, I would hope that during the tram that we could really have some deep
dives in some of the issues that you know, they're they're opening up every day. We're seeing these uh deficiencies. I mean, they're present. The transparency's fantastic. I mean, we can we can actually connect the dots and
start ask very pointed questions. I know I have. Um but uh what I don't want to do is belabor the meeting and you know, we go line to line to line to line to line. Is there a consensus where we can get to
um a point that we could then have a discussion as far as the trim outside of doing a lot of um You know, I like the 0.75. I I wanted a
I think it really give us a the opportunity to make some major improvements to our infrastructure. You know, I too with the with the people here, the the speakers are fantastic. We need to take a deep
dive at our infrastructure, our traffic, our water, our you know, the maintenance hasn't been done. But, you know, if you look at at the bigger scope of it, is our overtime is is we're backfilling our
our our people are are working 110% and uh we're backfilling that with contractors that are that are an additional cost that's because we can't, you know, uh backfill it with the overtime. Um but, you know, there has to be a conversation
where we can get to a point today with a number that we can all work with. And uh you know, I know where I want to be. And what I'd like to see is is there a consensus you know, I don't want to go 0.74, 0.73, point you know, is there can
we not belabor this and figure out where as a group we can find common ground? >> Any additional comments? >> I'm I'm up for finding common ground. Like definitely to where we can at least
come to an agreement a number we're all we're all good comfortable with and and like I said in my in our previous meeting, we're either going to pay now or we're going to pay later. But, we cannot continue doing exactly what we're
doing and expecting a different result. So, I'm open. >> Thank you. Any additional comments, questions? >> Just a common ground so that we can all agree. >> Kim, um
Radley, you you had a chart here that gives us an idea of where our surrounding I mean, you know, one of the things that we all do um and the biggest complaint I get is I have to go to Winter Garden. I go to uh Winter Park. I go to Maitland. I go to Altamonte. I go
to Sanford. Everywhere we go, we we have to leave to go to other places to do activities. But, on the board here, you can see what our sister uh sites are doing. These are sites where everybody in this room goes to.
Um we're at the bottom of the We're at the bottom of All our peers are above us. We're all We're at the bottom. Uh the reason we can't get the infra The reason we can't get the amenities that everybody's looking is because the
the resources we need to get us there, we can't do. We're a bedroom community. And a bedroom community only Um Winter Garden, you know, is one of my favorite hangouts is 4.85. Um
Mount Dora or Maitland is is 5.0. Orlando 6.7. Um I mean, you can go through this list. I I'm sure Mount Dora is 6.3. Uh every one of these places are where everybody [snorts] in this room goes to.
Uh the reason they they have things and we've been kind of unfortunate, we've been behind the curve is we need to make an investment in our community. And this I I think if we could if we could start now uh uh building for the future, we we too
then could be with our peers and have the amenities that they have. I mean Does anybody got any questions you know on the dais? I mean >> Well, I know at the beginning of our conversation our first meeting miss
Blanche you shared with us a list of all the millage. >> Yes. >> Across the board and including just in case including the city of Orlando that are the second and I said it during our meeting where the second largest city
in comparison to Orlando and Orlando is a 6. >> Yes, it's in the sixes. Yes. >> And we are at 4.4. >> Yes. >> Five I think give and take. So
I was I'm open and I'm still open to the 0.75 because of the fact that we need to find that happy medium right to be able to work just like mayor heads projected and shared with all of us that we will
work our way down from there. It's just a matter of coming to an agreement so then we can all collectively meet and then work on what needs to be removed that is not necessity but work on the things that are needed.
That's the most important part and I said it or not during our last meeting as well. We got to focus on our infrastructure. We've got Golden Gem Pond that needs up and you know become up and running along with other things.
Our downtown we need a downtown even though that's not part of the infrastructure but still we should be able to start investing in our city. That is a necessity. That is something that we all ask for in various
capacities and I think it's time that we come to an agreement in terms of where we are all comfortable with, be able to work on our budget and move forward with it. >> So, I definitely respect everyone's position regarding their stance on this
massive tax increase. Um and I'd see this surround this surrounding village comparison, um it's missing it's missing Windermere Winona Park, which is actually lower than ours as well. So, that's not really a true accurate um indication of kind of different cities. It's just selected
cities that was actually put on that graph on that um to to be seen. But, let's just be clear on this. Georgia has a state tax. Does that mean Florida needs a state tax? Because other cities are charging a high higher millage rate does not mean the city of Apopka has to do it. Um I'm very very um
strong on my position regarding essential services. I do not want to see any decrease to the services provided to the city. My concern, and I've stated this before, is that with these new excessive positions
that with the new tax reform that is possibly going to happen, that if we hire millions and millions of dollars in new positions that we do not need and it has not been demonstrated there has not been demonstrated all these positions are needed or how these positions would
support our current essential needs. And my concern is these positions could potentially have us be able to cut firefighters, cut police officers. And I'm not willing to vote on anything that would jeopardize our current firefighters, our current um
law enforcement officers to potentially be without jobs because we are hiring positions at $350,000. And let's be clear on that. If we hire a chief of staff at $350,000 plus 40% that doesn't include the benefits and the retirement the
retirement. I'm going to give an example. So, let's let's just I'm going to give an example. So, and I do, you know, appreciate the mayor for his um actual um uh press release regarding the public information office um that he created.
Um my concern in regard to this transparency is that $500,000 was decided on a budget that the council or the community did not have a decision on. I mean, according to his statement, with
all due respect, mayor, you said, "I decided we needed a public information officer." I think that before we spend 500 almost $500,000 of taxpayers' dollars, that we have a conversation. I'm going to give you I'm going to I'm going to read from the budget right now that everyone is asking
me and is pressuring me to accept and vote for. So, we have the public information officer um salary, wages, and fringe benefits at $195,000 that's in this budget. We also have for $13,755,
the FICA taxes city matching. Another city retirement contribution at $34,721. Life and health insurance at $30,728. Um another This is all the office that we we did not have any say in this.
Another $74,000 for printing services. Um another $10,000. So, this is over $439,000 that is going to be added that is currently being proposed in this preliminary budget request for a new department that the council didn't talk
about. So, how do we justify spending almost $500,000? And I just don't see this as essential services. Now, if you can tell me that we can take this $438,000 that's in this budget, and you can say we're going to pave this road, we're going to extend this pipe, this goes to
this project, this capital project, it makes sense to me. Everyone is saying infrastructure, infrastructure. I've asked for a list of the capital projects. I still have not received that list of capital projects. I do thank the Apopka chief for providing
the list of what is essential and kind of what's going on in her department, but outside of that, I haven't really received anything else. So, I don't know what's essential and and what's not. So, I don't know how we are asking the taxpayers to essentially write us a blank check for 0.75 and we're going to
kind of figure out where we go with that. I I I just can't commit to that. I can't commit to a blank check. And my thing is if we can't cut it now, then how do we How are we going to cut it later? I mean we I mean I went met with the department head for 2 days, sat with each member of department head for 2 days, and went through the line by
line budget. If I could do that in 2 days, then I'm pretty sure the American citizen can go with do it for 2 days and cut prior to this meeting. So, I'm still not I'm 100% not in support of a 0.75% millage rate increase when we don't know where that's going and just hope and pray that they reduce it down. I'm just not willing to do that. We need
transparency and that's not transparency. We're asking the taxpayers to trust us with a blank check, and I'm just not willing to do that. >> Thank you for your comment. >> [applause] [cheering] >> Sure. Keep it general, please. No, but
uh correct me if I'm wrong. Is it everything that was discussed by uh Commissioner Anderson, which I appreciate her concerns, but can't can't we have a deep dive into that when we do the trim? >> The actual budget process? >> Yeah. >> Correct.
>> We're in the trim right now. >> We're doing the trim now, the proposed budget >> Mhm. >> process. Statutorily required in this order. >> Mhm. >> I didn't put out that we do the trim notice and then budget. Statutorily we have to do it in this in this manner. >> But we can discuss it in
>> get another kick at >> And then September 3rd meeting. >> Yes, so September 3rd couple of weeks we can really uh with I'm hoping with Commissioner Anderson's support we can really go to town with stuff like that because I too see it.
Um you know, I I want those funds to deferred from there over and other areas where I you know, or give me a reason why they need to stay there and not go here. >> Okay. >> Um because some of our some of our
deficiencies are are breathtaking. >> Any additional comments? >> No, I think the great thing about is with the new proposed rate you guys actually don't need my vote. So you probably have your four and one, but I'm just not willing to go go that high without knowing I'm just not willing to do that without I don't believe in blank checks. I believe in transparency and I
just think that we had enough time to show the show the to prove to the public that we need that increase and I don't think we've done that. So I just can't support it. I just can't support it right now. But you guys have the four you have your vote for the one sounds like it to me. >> Okay. Thank you. >> can't vote to raise your taxes.
>> No additional comments? And I do want to say a couple final comments there and then we'll open it back up to the public for any brief final comments and then we'll make a motion from there. One thing that I did change right as soon as I came in sworn in April 28th and started the budget process
immediately that week. Shortly thereafter we had the 6-hour longest meeting ever that we've had since I've been elected with every department head to present their wish list. From there it was provided to the commission in May
a very detailed line by line by line of every single item that was the wish list, need list, all of it. From there staff met for many many hours myself included many days in a row to trim and cut and say okay, is this
truly needed? Was this pushed off from last year the year before? Okay, let's add it in now because it's only going to get more expensive down the road. So from there we also did an additional reduction >> Exactly. >> and presented that to the commission as well. Made sure that that you guys have
seen every level of that as well as um uh anything that was taken away was exactly what was taken away. So, this commission has ever been more transparent about the budget process than it has been this year. And the time to do it started months ago. Um the the
time that was put in could have started months ago. So, this has been transparent. It has been out there. Nothing's been hiding. And I will tell you too, specific to uh infrastructure I I'll speak specific to sidewalks, cuz that's what really gets
the biggest one that gets paid out of uh directly out of the millage rate dollar for dollar, is that I can buy concrete all day, but if I don't have the staff members there to lay it properly and and form it and get it where it needs to be and main maintenance-wise have it, uh
we'll never have it done. We'll never be able to provide what the residents are asking for. We can cut staff that have been requested and haven't been caught up with and still buy infrastructure improvements, but we won't actually still get there. So, it makes us feel good in the beginning, but it really hurts us in the end. So, uh with that, I will open up to public
comment. Does anybody have any final comments from the public that wish to speak? >> Ron Olson. I didn't rate I I'm glad that we're having these discussions. They're important. I think when we look at and we have to unfortunately live with the sunshine laws, it means that you are taking the
time individually with each department head, meeting five times with that. This is where we need to make this public. That way everyone's look at the same document, hearing the same answer. If If Miss Anderson Commissioner Anderson asked a question,
that's something that one of your others haven't thought about, then you all have that answer. It's not a matter of you're coming up here with five different pieces of information. That's what you're doing now. You need to go line by line. What do we have? What do you have in positions? Explain to me, Rod, why
you you have you have four positions that are vacant right now. They've been vacant for the last 3 months. Why? Why do we have the turnover in your department? One department has 130%. Explain line by line with the budget what we do and that we all have the same information. You hear it the same time,
and you're not working from five different pieces of paper, which is what you're doing now. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Wilson. >> Mr. Wyche, go ahead. Todd Todd just mentioned uh the mayor is meeting with the department heads.
That's great. The mayor need to meet with all the department heads together at one time. You can You can put five people out there on the street. Five people can see the same wreck. And when you ask them what happened, you're going to get five different
answers. I love sitting back looking at the police department and the and the fire department. >> [clears throat] >> We can start cut We can start cutting right there. You got police officer I see two back there now. We got one
sitting here, one out front. I see police officer they work hard. They work hard all week long. Then they come in you have five sitting back here at one time. We still paying them. The fire department. And
we got three sitting back there. We We got three sitting back there now. And we got the head of them back there. We got We got a great chief. He got a pretty good salary. He's been working all week long. But now we still got to pay him to come set up in here. We can have one We can have one
We can have one >> Don't say nothing. >> And one sit here. Secondly, yes, we got here. It's not our fault. This been chronic for a long time. This been even back when Mayor Land was.
When we had a mayor we had we didn't have a city administrator. What did they do? You was here, Ruth. What did they do? They took the fire chief and the public works man.
And they took him and put both of them as partnership as the city manager. That's when the crap started going downhill. Now, for us to fix it, how we fix it? Not at I don't see Commissioner Anderson
trying to hold up nothing. And just like I say, we probably need to raise something. One of God name raising that that all. But the way Trooper Steve came and you you
heard it from Commissioner Anderson and my friend back there, we didn't know what happened. Transparency. If we hadn't seen this up front, you know, maybe people could digest it a little
bit better. But mine I would just like to say straight up from now on out, if you going to do something, do it up front in the front of people, then people would trust you more. I I see that Commissioner Anderson feel
that she said this now. If I can't trust you on that, how you expect me to trust you on this? Just my opinion. >> Thank you, Mr. Bell. >> Thank you, sir. >> In the last meeting, um we had someone say that they would vote for for for 0.5.
And I'm this is a serious question. This is not a jab or a jibe or anything. Um the motion could have been made to set it at 0.5. Are you still willing to do it at 0.5? >> I'm only willing to do it at 0.5 if I
know that this is going to go to central services, not with these excessive positions. Absolutely not. I'm not willing to write a blank check. I got to know what I'm voting on. I don't know what I'm voting on. So, I can't do that. >> Well, we had the whole budget presented to us in the past and y'all discussed
it. Um but you did say you'd vote for 0.5. So, I'm just questioning if we're if you know, anybody can make any motion. It doesn't have to be for what the staff recommends. It can still be um at 0.5.
Um and that's just my my comment and and it's not a jibe or a jab. I just heard it, you know, I heard it at the meeting. >> Yeah, and I don't have a fixed mindset. I listen to all the residents. I study. I'm I I I'm always learning. And when I learn new information, I discover
something new with new information, I'll change my mind. And I had to when I realized that there was a lot of things that I felt that wasn't done um with um transparency. It wasn't done in the best interest that I feel for the residents and it was self-serving. Then
absolutely, I'll change my mind. >> I'm on a fixed income. I I know I and I've got all my expenses going up. So, every penny hurts. But if I don't know that I can get the services I need out of the city and the
roads can be repaired and all the essentials which need to be marked on that budget. What's an essential and what's not? Um if there's a vow by the commissioners and the the department heads that
they're going to do heavy cutting and make it reasonable, um you can't expect it now because this is not the stage in which you do it. Um this is just setting a cap. And it can come down and the mayor said
he wants it to come down below the 0.5. He wants it very low. But if you don't set that high cap maximum, it can't come it can't go up if it's needed. But I don't think anybody up here wants it to go up. I'm seeing head shaking. I don't
think you're going to be hurt if you set it at 0.5. I think you're being heard. I'm respecting what you're saying, but I think that it's high that setting it at 0.5 now and being able to bring it down, those
other percentages are going to work out because I see people cutting already. Just my opinion. >> Okay. >> Thank you, Dr. Olmstead. >> I'll be back just going to wait for it. Just want give an opinion on something my buddy
said. We get a lot of good good bad. I don't disagree with meeting all the department heads together or separately. Sometimes when you meet separately, you can get a better clear answer of what someone doesn't want to say in the presence of somebody else. So I don't have a problem with that. As far as the
department heads, the fire department, the police department, salaries, whether it's a 6-hour meeting or a 45-minute meeting, they get paid the same at the end of the week. That's all salary. Um services, essential services. You see in the chart of where we
are compared to other cities. Half of those other cities don't even do what we provide. For example, fire department with EMS transport. We provide We got a big bang for our buck here in this city. >> [snorts] >> And another one is our garbage. Our sanitation is unbelievable in the city.
I pray we never have to cut that. I hear that from more people and more of my neighbors, they can't believe how good a garbage service or sanitation, whatever the proper word is, service that we have in this city. So, we got some real good things, but all those just keep costing a little bit more. The garbage trucks cost more and God knows the fire trucks
cost more and the people cost more. So, I get that we got to do a little bit. I get that. But, please as I said before, can we all out. Garbage, fire, police, essential services, just they got to go up a little bit. But, but I
Commissioner, I appreciate everything you're saying and doing. I don't I have a problem with that at all. I appreciate the effort from everyone, but especially you. >> Thank you, Mr. Bengston. >> After the last meeting, I went home and um contemplated and thought about
everything that went on. And I know there's so much that I need to say that everybody, the public and the commissioners. So, I broke it down and I wanted to ask each and every one of yous
a question that most concerned me. But, I don't have the time to do that because I only have 3 minutes. So, I'm just going to put it all together. Okay, the first thing I want to put some uh light on the subject.
Okay, um everybody knows that I'm from Miami. And the greatest story that I know is about a baseball player that gave a team a blank check. We're talking about Andre Dawson. I won't get into the whole story
because I'll use all my time. But, if you want to know the story, ask me after the meeting about Andre Dawson signing a blank check, and the next year he proved they thought he was washed up because he was an older player. Okay? And he went and he had an MVP season, and he signed
for $500,000. He says, "Here's your check." He says, "It's blank." And he went on to become an MVP. Well, now you guys, okay, are talking about a blank check. You know what? You have to You can't give a blank check. You're the administrators of this
of this town. Of this city, excuse me. So, you guys really need to sit down and not just throw these words out there. Dig deep into your heart and say, "Hey, this is what the city needs and this is what we're going to try to accomplish." Forget about the bickering here, there,
and that, and let's just get it done. Okay? The other thing I wanted to say was I had a question for each one of you. As I said, I don't have time to do that. I can't do it in a minute. Uh but, we talked about a catastrophe fund, okay? As everybody know, um I work
for the county, and we had a safety team and a catastrophe team, and we went out to all the cities whenever the hurricane came, and we had a caravan of We even came when the three hurricanes came, and they offered everybody overtime, and they went ahead and they signed up. I'm
not the one to sign up for that because I went through Hurricane Andrew, and I stayed home holding a board to my window. I said so that they Andrew wouldn't blow my home away. Down in Pinecrest. So, with that being said, if we have a catastrophe, and and we have an action
plan in place, who controls the the budget on that and the payroll, okay? Because we had a situation where people were actually signing up. FEMA steps in, and they pay for it, but they have the city has to get reimbursed
for that. So, I would like to know who is in charge of handling that? Is it the mayor by himself because he is strong mayor or is it the accounting department or how does that work? Okay? Um my time is up, but I do have more
questions. So, if you want to ask me questions in private, I'm more than willing to work with you guys because I believe in this town, in the city, okay? And I'm not going anywhere. I'm This is my This is my last hurrah, okay? If the Lord gives me another 10 years,
15 years, more power to me. But tomorrow I go out there and crazy drunk driver comes or somebody slams into me, I'm gone. It says I leave my family with nothing except the money that I made on that money that I still have saved, which is getting spent faster than I can make it. Thank you. >> Ellis.
Any additional public comments at this time? >> It's Sylvester Hall. I want to remind everybody that sitting here we forget that we hold all the power. The citizen of the city hold all the power. We have given that power away.
We pay our tax dollars. We pay our tax dollars. And we want in return a five-star city to live in. Every organization when you go there if you pay your money, it's a five-star, you want five-star service.
And so it start with the city. We want the same thing. And what's what's really bothering me and it's frustrating because when you say communication Now the way Commissioner Anderson just laid it out what the city would be
totally on the hook for without one hire I don't think nobody in this room understood it there. until she brought it out. So, when we say we're communicating with the city, I know we're not. She just brought it out for all you to understand, but that's my frustration
when I come up here. And when I get at home, my wife beat me up. Because she say, you get too emotional. Well, it's hard not to be emotional when you when you understand that there's it's an easy fix. This is about leadership. This is about decision-making, and this
is about prioritizing what's right for the city. And if we do that, this job is clueless because you got the funds to do what you supposed to do. The only reason we're in the position that we in now because it's been mismanaged. by leadership
And if we don't stop and say, "Okay, where we at?" Hit brakes. Where we at? Because if you call me to to come get you, I would never find you if I don't know where you at. Never. And if you trying to move the city forward and you don't know where it's
at, you'll never get it to the destination it needs to be. And these are the things that frustrate me. That help me when I come home, I fall on the floor and I be exhausted because I I feel for the city.
And everybody is a leader in one form or another. And it's up to us to come out and keep voicing our opinion and speaking. Because it's a shame less than 10 people
come to these meetings. I'm not talking about the ones that here for their own agendas, but just to oversee what is being done with our taxpayers' money. Less than 10 people meeting come, and that's sad. And then as a people, we wonder why
we're in the situation. And we wonder how why things won't get better. They won't get better because we don't sit up and demand to get better. When you go to the store and you pay for something, you want what you paid for. When you paying your taxpayer money, you
want what you paid for. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Hall. >> Thank you, sir. >> Rogers back to 7th and Main Street. I guess for me it's just kind of hearing everybody talk. People are frustrated from several point is if you look at the different administration changes, there has been bad investment in each one of
We can start with Mayor Land when they bought the land down there around uh Dove Trail. That was what, $10 million? Then under Kilpatrick, I think we messed up with some type of infrastructure for the uh public
services. Then if you look at Mayor Nelson, the whole Cap We Wa, as well as the the sinkhole we had open up that's causing like $10 million now. So, when people speaking, it's not that they don't want to see it increase, but there again, there has
been bad investment. So, when we compare other cities, I'd say cities made better investments than we did. That's just what That's the reality is. Now, it's great that you have the ability as a government to continually increase the revenue because we know that there has
been significant um expansion in real estate market. We had all these billions of dollars come onto the tax roll, so where you know you can go and extract those dollars, but everybody in here don't got the ability to just go and say, "Okay, you know what? Um hopefully my investments do 32% this year."
You know, if you was in the market yesterday, you got crushed. So, things that we feel that you guys need to be more prudent on, um I believe that's what the community is speaking out on. And we kind of are thankful that Commissioner Anderson has brought that to our attention.
So, my thing is if you kind of trying to meet in the middle, if those are the things that she's adamant about, and you feel things you're adamant about as far as what you feeling for your apartment, you still have to come to some type of agreement, but we still need to see at the end of the day where do our money go? Because we clearly see sometimes we
don't see no new roads. We don't see any new sidewalks. I know I brought to commission probably about four or five years about sidewalks around uh Dream Lake Elementary. It still hasn't happened. So, at some point people just for me I get tired of coming to talk to you about it cuz I always say they ain't going to
do nothing about it anyways. It sounds good me telling you, but where is the action? Because on our end we have to implement to find money to go to put towards taxes. You know, you get your water bill is $200 like for water? $75 for reclaimed water?
Be $30 for It is like It's water. We use the water. We give it back to you. You sell it back to us. Like So, at some point like it's kind of upsetting to like this is crazy. This madness. If you look at your water bill, if you look at your cell phone bill,
internet bill, you got municipal taxes on it. Where do that go? So, sometimes people have really questions, but we never really get a true answer. Like where is the money going? And then you say infrastructure. Infrastructure is a big statement. Well, if that's infrastructure, tell me specifically what you're going to do. Like I said before, put it in the
public. Okay, we're going to allocate $4.5 million for this street. Everybody see it. When it's completed, you done you talk about it. Hey, cut a ribbon. I don't know, but just I think that's the frustration for everybody I'm here. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Record. >> Thank you, sir.
>> [applause] >> Anyone else from the public wish to speak? All right, I'll close public comment. Any final comments from the dais? >> So, I I just have uh just one final just just a question. So, regards to and I've been asking this question. So, I know um and I thank you, Mayor,
for your your statement, but um you mentioned about the about the roads and and sidewalks and things like that. What How much money is in this budget is right [clears throat] now budgeted for sidewalks and roads? >> For the maintenance? >> For the For You can break it down for roads.
>> Okay. For the maintenance, we added the general fund, the one that we're [clears throat] talking about tonight. We transferred about 6.2 6.7 million. >> For the maintenance of roads? >> Maintenance and repair of sidewalks and roads. >> Okay. Can you break that down cuz we usually when they say that, that's a general statement and that is not all
that doesn't go to really the roads. Can you kind of break that down? >> Okay. >> And what percentage of the roads so people can see? >> In regards to the roads, um We're looking at like a change of about 8.9 million. >> Which which um side I'm on >> I'm on this sheet right here. If you
Yeah, cuz I didn't >> It's okay. Which which um >> 101 >> 101 fund? >> Yes. >> Okay, I'm here now. Which department? >> Streets improvement fund. >> Okay. >> Okay. So, we got about 9.4
invested in streets. Of that 9.4 revenue coming in, about 6.2 comes from the general fund. 6.2 6.7 >> So, which which roads cuz I think that was one of the questions. They want to know which roads so we're going to be doing which roads will be paved with?
>> I think what typically happens, uh Mr. Michael Ortiz comes back with a presentation and say this is how I'm going to spend this money on which road, you know, which uh priority. And that represents about 2 million of that budget. And he comes back after the budget is approved and he gives that presentation
identifying >> or >> 2 million for roads improvement typically. >> So, 2 million for road improvement. So, out of this budget so I would I just I'm saying it so you guys can understand the breakdown. >> There's But you got salaries or wages and then you got sidewalk repairs. >> So, we're saying infrastructure infrastructure, but you're talking about
only 2 million dollars out the budget for roads. >> So, but it's coming 6 million. >> is still not a lot. But we we You know what I'm saying? That's not a lot. So, you're sitting here scaring the scaring everybody saying we're going to have bad roads. But you see how much in the budget We're not We're not saying
$50 million to roads. We're talking about $6 million to roads. I just want the public to kind of understand what that looks like. >> But that money comes from the general fund and gas tax revenue. >> And I understand to to a tax revenue. So, exactly. The whole point I'm trying to make is we got to break it down to the public. They want to understand where their money is going. So, only $6
million is >> Is that accurate? >> Right now, it's coming from >> fund. >> general fund it's been budgeted for roads. >> For the streets fund. >> From the streets fund. But either way it go, it's just saying we sending this massive tax increase. It's not going to roads. That's what I want you guys to know. It's just not going to roads.
That's all I have to say. I just think it's just important to be transparent and and stop with the with with the pretties and the fussies. People are frustrated. They want to know where their money is going. Because people we have to budget. I'm going to speak for myself. Someone that's going through divorce, right? Well, my life has changed drastically.
Drastically. I have to budget every dollar now. People that are losing their jobs. People that have trying to put food on their tables. Educators, teachers, they're not making a lot of money. I'm I'm getting the call Maybe no one's getting the calls. I'm getting the calls. I'm getting the emails. I come
from social services where I sit with I used to sit with families and I would go through their budget and they they would have to cut off essential stuff. So, if they can cut essential stuff, I'm just saying I just I just I used to see people sit and cry in my office because they could not afford stuff. And when I
hear people say, "Oh, it's just $200." That's a lot of money for some people. And God bless us who who have $200 extra. But everybody doesn't have it. So, we talking about spending people money and raising their taxes, we need to be physically responsible with it and we need to let them know what they're
spending their spending their money on. I'm just saying I'm I'm just really really adamant about that. And this whole this whole pony show about infrastructure and we only got $6 million dedicated on the budget, it's just like it's just smoke and mirrors. But we have like millions of dollars dedicated like these salaries. A $350,000 salary, who is in the audience
making 350? Oh, no one. So why would they want to make work extra jobs to pay for someone's salaries? I mean, I I wouldn't want to work an extra job and pay $350,000 for salaries. It just really really bothers me because yes, I understand the working person because I was the working person making $30,000 a
year, and it was hard for me. So I'm speaking for the ones who do, who's making $30,000 a year. Even the ones making $100,000 a year, they don't want to spend their extra money on on on salaries and and things. I I just I don't know. This is really frustrating to me. I'm very passionate about it because I'm very frustrated, and I feel like as a council, we need to listen to
what the community is saying to us. We make all these campaign promises, we say all this nice stuff, they vote for us, they they they donate to our campaigns, and we get in these seats, we forget but we we forget what we talked about. >> [laughter] >> And I'm just saying, let's think about the residents. We make When you guys are voting tonight, think about when you was
knocking on the doors, think about recent debates, when you said you're going to put the residents first. It is time for us to show the residents what that means. That's all I have to say, and I'm and I'm I'm done with that. >> Thank you for your comments. Any additional comments at all?
Any additional? All right, I'll I'll have a couple final comments then, and then I will be making a motion from there. Um Some of the things to say that this hasn't been transparent, it's been available to the public and to the commission for months to deep dive in.
If you have a specific question about anything that I've said as per your speech simply both to the public and to the commission, ask it. >> [laughter] >> I try to interpret needs as much as I can, but if you're not going to ask the question, I don't know what information you need from me. Uh What's interesting as well is that I was at that time as a commissioner the only
one that voted against a 14.4% water rate increase uh when people were literally saying they couldn't flush toilets. So to say that this is dog and pony, that I don't understand, or things of that nature, I take this all into account. And then to also say that this is all coming at the end,
again, I provided this months ago, and a commissioner chose to wait a week before this last week's meeting to actually go through the budget when it was provided months ago. So, it may seem late, but this is not the It's not the way that it used to be. We're doing
it differently now, and it's been more transparent. Additionally, the process prescribed for this is statutorily required. There actually doesn't have to be a budget before this at all. The budget can come after the millage rate is set without anything provided at all. Just
because it's been done one way in the past doesn't mean it's required to do it now. What we did for transparency's sake is start as early as possible. As soon as I got into office, I made sure the commissioners and the public had every line item of every wish list, including my own office. So, to
sensationalize a wish list and say that this is out of control, every department did what they did, and then we cut down from there. Additionally, there's a comment of 350,000 plus benefits. Everything that was in there was already included in the benefits, and trust me, we're cutting so much more
than just that position. Even at the 0.75, which I know politically that's not going to go forward. So, there's so much more to this, and I can appreciate the passion. And again, I'm We all live in this city. We all pay the taxes, so I
I'm impacted by the same exact thing here. One household income. And as a mayor, just FYI, I get paid a substantial amount less than what I did previously. And not to take a total left turn here, but at the same time, I would hope that the news would report properly that
any rate that has been talked about was never 30 plus percent. So, I value media to do their research as well, and not scare our residents. The highest highest that's ever been discussed was 22% at these specific budget meetings. So, let's make sure we're getting those
correct now. And these aren't scare tactics. It's the reality of where we're at. We probably should not have reduced the military rate last year. I think that was very bad timing to set us up for failure this year. And that's where we're at right now. It's almost just getting it back to where it was last year. That's the whole
point of this. It's almost recovery at this point. So, I can appreciate residents I hear you. I'm taking copious notes. Don't think this just goes away that I do take this into account. When we do our budget meetings, we take that into account. And there was a point that was made too for the for all of us to
have a meeting all with department heads. What I want and the other point was made, I want the commissioners to be able to have very in-depth conversations with the department heads and neither side feel that they're being judged for that question or that I'm influencing it or anybody's influencing it. They can have
those direct conversations. And thankfully that I it appears that those have been happening. And again, this process is statutorily statutorily required in this way. I don't agree with it, but I have to follow it. So, I will do my best and I'll continue to do my best and I've
done a great job at it to make sure we're as transparent as possible to tell the story of what's going on with taxpayer dollars. One thing we've never done before that we just implemented this month was getting tracker updates on all of our projects from every department that we're spending money on. So, they'll be sending out Each
department is going to give you be giving updates, timelines. Are we on track? Are we not on track? Of every project and every dime that we're spending on special projects. The next one's going to be coming out and they're due the first of the month. Again, we just started so you're not going to see every one of theirs right now, but first of the month they're due. So, department
heads also have to be adjusting during this process. So, you're going to see so much more information than you already have. So, I appreciate staff for being adaptable to what has been going on in the changes since I've been in office. And again, this could have been more transparent. Uh will we adapt next year? Absolutely,
that's the goal. October 1, we're going to start this process all over again. We're going to get it right. We're going to make sure that questions are answered properly. I understand that there's discomfort to this, but at the same time let me know how you want the information out there. It's out there, but I can do it in a different format, different manner. To say that it's not out there
is misleading cuz it absolutely was. So, with that, I will read uh this uh truth in millage compliance statement that is statutorily required. Um I'll be making the motion um all the way down unless somebody else would like to make a motion. >> Thank you.
>> I'd I'd I'd like to uh throw a uh olive branch to Commissioner Anderson and and cuz she brought up some some interesting subjects that I too had discussions with department heads. I will assist you and help you bird dog those
because you you you touched on a couple of the departments that I I was already looking into. There's not a playbook here. We don't know how to work together. Uh and when I say that as a commissioner, we're all new commissioners with one another. There you know, I have a personal relationship
with a lot of the people. I know to go I know who to go and talk to. There's not a playbook that tells you how to do this. Um but but if if we can meet in the middle and we can come up to that uh 0.50 and work together, I promise you I'll bird dog it with you.
I'll work with you, but I think we need that kind of uh cohesive um uh camaraderie here on the dais where we as a team we can be the eyes the public's looking for. Um
I'd like to make a motion of 0.50. >> Okay. I got to read a specific statement with that then. >> Well, the only reason I said that I heard that there was a willingness maybe to work with somebody if we could get the transparency we're looking for. You got it?
>> Yes. All right. It's a long statement I got to read with that. So, I know it seems like I it's all right. So, in accordance with the truth in millage trim compliance requirement as set forth in chapter 200 of Florida statutes, the city must set the proposed millage rate and advise the property
appraiser of the proposed millage rate, rollback rate, date, time, and place of the tentative budget hearing. The statutes require separate motions. The operating millage rate used in preparation of the preliminary budget of 4.9376
is 16.15% higher than the rollback rate of 4.2510. A mill is the tax rate for each $1,000 of taxable property value. The tentative budget hearing is scheduled for Thursday, September 3rd, 2026 at 5:15 in
the city commission chambers. The first motion I'm asking for is to set the rollback millage rate for 2026 tax year as 4.2510. Do I have a motion for that? >> So moved. >> Uh moved by Commissioner Barron, second
by Commissioner Ruth. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> All opposed? >> Nay. >> All right. Passes 4 to 1 with Commissioner Anderson in opposition of the rollback rate. Uh motion two, I'll ask for a motion to
set the proposed operating millage rate for the 2026 tax year at 4.9376 mills. >> Motion. >> Uh motion by Commissioner Barron. >> Second. >> Second by Commissioner Ruth. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> All opposed?
>> Nay. >> Motion does not pass. Uh and it was voted 4 to 1 with Commissioner Anderson in opposition. So, what we'll do right now, um I'm going to reread this statement, we'll jump back to motion two, and then go to motion three. In accordance with truth
and millage trim compliance requirements as set forth in chapter 200 of Florida statutes, the city must set the proposed millage rate and advise the property appraiser of the proposed millage rate, rollback rate, date, time, and place of the tentative budget hearing. The statutes require separate motions, the operating millage rate used in
preparation of the preliminary budget of 4.6761 is 10% higher than the rollback rate of 4.2510. A mill is the tax rate for each $1,000 of taxable property value. The tentative budget hearing is scheduled for Thursday, September 3rd, 2026 at 5:15 in
the city commission chambers. I am actually going to motion to set the proposed operating millage rate for the 2026 tax year at 4.6761 mills, and I'll look for a second. Second by motion by Mayor Nesta, second by
Commissioner Ruth. All those in favor say I. I. All opposed? Motion passes 4 to 1, Commissioner Anderson in opposition. Motion three ask for a motion to set the date, time, and place for the public hearing on the tentative budget for fiscal year 2026-2027
as Wednesday, September 3rd, 2026 at 5:15 p.m. in the city hall commission chamber. I'm looking for a motion. >> So moved. >> Moved by Commissioner Barron. Second by Commissioner Ruth. All those in favor say I. >> I. >> I. All opposed? Motion carries unanimously.
Uh Any final comments? All right, we got some more to do. Thank you, team. >> Thank you. >> We're adjourned. >> Thank you. >> Mhm.