##VIDEO ID:TqrWvbubStg## [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] good afternoon the meeting of the County Board of Commissioners is called to order come on in in compliance with the open public meetings Act of the state of New Jersey adequate notice of this meeting of the Atlanta County Board of Commissioners was provided in the following manner published in the Press of Atlantic City and mailed to the Hamilton Gazette and has been posted on the bulletin boards in the county office building in Atlantic City The Still Water building in Northfield and the county clerk's office in M Landing an opening prayer please bow your heads lead us oh God that we may be leaders of our community and continue to guide us in the decisions we make for the service of others amen amen at this moment I would ask for a moment of silence for Mr Gus Haron and Mr Charles Cannon please thank you please face the flag salute flag United States of America the rep stands indivisible with liy and justice for all roll call please bertino here Burns here Cory G here Kar here Parker present rizley here ruu here da here Commissioners have had an opportunity to review the minutes from December 17th 20125 I'll now entertain a motion to adopt the December 17th 2025 minutes as presented moved second call the RO please Martino here Burns yes horsey G yes Kar yes Parker yes rizley yes rafio yes da yes missioners have had an opportunity to review the minutes from January 7th 2025 I will entertain a motion to adopt the January January 7th 2025 minutes so as presented second sorry call roll please bertino yes Burns yes corsey yes Kern yes Parker yes grizzley yes rafio yes D yes anyone attending in person who would like to speak regarding an agenda item or at public comment please come to the podium speak into the microphone state your name and the town where you reside you'll be provided up to three minutes to speak if you are attending virtually and like to speak please raise your hand during the agenda item or at public comment at the end I will call upon your name and the request to unmute will be sent please state your name in the town you reside you'll be provided up to 3 minutes to speak we now have a presentation the Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr Community Spirit Award presented by Atlanta County Executive Dennis levenson thank you know this is awarded every year in honor of Dr Martin Luther King and you didn't go into his history we all know it and the respected this year we've chosen former Freeholder Charles Garrett and his wife Augusta the award commemorates Dr King's birthday and recognizes outstanding residents who exemplify his principles to involvement in the community and their efforts to improve the lives of their fellow citizens charie and Augusta have each contributed in their own right charie is a lifelong resident of Atlantic City and the United States Army veteran who has always reminded me while he was slashing through the rice fields of Vietnam I was in [Laughter] college there was an episode of Taxi and uh forget his name was Kowski or what was his the nut on the show Kowski and he turned to Tony Danza and Tony Danza said you know while you were in college running around with women smoking dope getting high and carrying on I was over in Vietnam fighting for our freedom what have you got to say asking at him and said thank you and thank you Char's a lifelong resident of Atlantic City and the United States Army veteran 2007 he began his first of two terms as a County Freeholder he serves as Secretary of the Atlanta County Veterans Museum Foundation founding member of the africanamerican Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey Board member of mainland chapter of NAACP and Venice Park civic association among other service organizations and like myself and Cory Charly married up Augusta Garrett was born in Louisiana by the way it is 20 degrees in New Orleans with snow last year she was honored with the fanny Lou HR award as an inspirational figure for civil rights serves as president of the Venice Park civic association she's secretary and treasur for the Atlantic City Public Library and participates in many Community Services she has many activities as a member of Zeta by Beta so sorority so with that come on up here what you may not know I see Paul deato in the back Paul demato claimed success for everything you did in high school open really really and by the way turn around and look at Andrew Parker I said to Andrew Parker you know Charlie Garrett he set records like you wouldn't believe probably more or as many as you did you know what he said he's a lot bigger than me though look what I big surprise come with small pack nobody hit the line like Charlie G and that was as a sophomore I was a senior congratulations you deserve thank you so much [Applause] yeah this award is is I'm not going to say a whole lot but it's it's really humbling um uh Martin Luther King Martin Luther King was one one of my heroes okay you know I ironically he got killed when I was in Vietnam and it was uh is something I've carried with me you know all my life and tried to mimic you know who he was in the way I treat people and the way I conduct myself I haven't been successful obviously but I can say that uh the long and short of it is we it in he had a quote we cannot all do we cannot all do great great things but we can do small things that have a great impact and that's something that I think you know if you turn and look to each other in this room we all can do small things you know we don't have to do great things and this this this this award I've always thought that Dennis levenson being older than being everything he's he's he's he's always conducted himself with wisdom he's a wise he's a wise politician he's a wise man uh and I I I'll finish by saying this it was a quote from M Nelson Mandela when when when wise men remain silent fools multiply I'll say it again when wise men remain silent fools multiply thank you Dennis I appreciate thank you for all [Applause] you Mr and Mrs Garrett thank you so much for for everything that you have done and and continue to do for our community um definitely an honor welld deserved so thank you again thank thank you Mr chairman and congratulations thank you sir it's great to see you again I didn't realize you feels a little strange sitting on on this side feels strange sitting here you know congratulations means that means a lot coming for you thank you I appreciate that thank con thank you oh wise man there there's some of that wisdom there's thatd congratulations on the budget you thank everybody for coming you read your speech last night still reads them right at this time we'll have the Atlanta County 2025 budget message by Atlanta County Executive Dennis levenson good afternoon Commissioners and guests and a warm welcome to our newest commissioner at large Michael ruu and the board's new legislative Council Ken Warren I don't know Ken very well but I know Michael's family his father and I were Pals in high school uh his grandparents and my parents uh Bill and B went with Bill and our tennis every other uh Friday night to our sais they were dear friends and Michael's grandfather was the mayor of Atlantic City and the least of his uh relatives Sonny Mulla is his first cousin KY you all right it's early I join you today to present the 2025 executive budget message this message will provide a summary of the state of Atlanta County and the current projections for our 2025 County budget the actual budget will not be introduced until after the governor's annual budget message by law the governor must deliver his budget message to the state legislature on or before the 4th Tuesday in February now not going to waste your time reading about the windmills because uh hopefully they are yesterday's news and I was kind of taken aback when our congressmen switch parties from Democrats the Republican and said that uh he is Donald Trump his undying support well it looks like it's mutual Donald Trump is obviously listening very intently to our Congressman brought the president of the United States or president-elect to Wildwood New Jersey when he started talking against the windmills from listening to the speech yesterday seems that uh they're a thing at the past we'll see what happens I suggest uh know put them on land our windmills here in Atlantic County are the first onshore wind fill uh wind farm in the country and we've saved how much Matt so far $7.4 million wind does work that's going to be on land we are also awaiting yet another decision in our Casino pilot lawsuit that challenged the state's 2023 Casino pilot Amendment the amendment negated the 2018 court ordered consent agreement that Governor Murphy and I agreed to with that agreement came $30 million of money wasn't a gift it was ow to us and it cost the taxpayers 300,000 to get that 300 that 30 million well worth it I'm sure you'll agree we suing them again because uh agreements should be binding especially when the governor of the state of New Jersey makes that agreement and shakes hands and agrees that it will occur three Superior Court judges ruled in our favor that the consent agreement was binding each time a decision was made the state appealed now if you and I lose a court case we if we have the money will appeal and then of course we don't have any more money because it's cost a fortune to go to court and of course to appeal State using your money for each one of these appeals ladies and gentlemen your money we won each and every appeal and then they decided to be cute and send it to a three judge tribunal who decided they were going to punt send it back down to a lower court that's where they are that's where we are short fif $14 million in count last time we didn't collect the fees that it cost us in court we're approaching a million dollars now and uh hopefully things go the way they should be and honestly we will recoup that also this time now it is an unfort circumstance where we are mind you no one from this now follow this I skipped over this the state appeal last October the state appell division vacated the prior decisions not because it disagree with the rulings but rather because it questioned the process that relied on certified legal affidavits now that may sound reasonable except they wouldn't accept sworn testimony mind you no one from the state Ever Raised the concern in any prior proceeding not just ours any proceeding furthermore 99% of all cases except the certified legal affidavits if you feel like you're getting hosed taxpayers you are they seem to find every excuse they possibly can not to give us the money that was agreed upon and uh accepted by all so if all the taxpayers in New Jersey benefit from the casinos which everyone agreed they do why are the taxpayers of Atlantic County the only ones to Bear the burden of the pilot legislation we are the second poorest county in the state behind only Cumberland used to be Atlantic Salem and then Cumberland on the bottom now we're right up from Cumberland Atlanta County taxpayers are owed approximately 14.1 million and that is what we expect to receive the original pilot will sunset in 2026 but don't be fooled I'm thinking that this will all end they're in the process right now of coming up with a new pilot we have four senators and eight assembly people that represent this County not like the old days one Senator Per County now they have cut it out as far as population is concerned we need people to fight for us in this County for the money that we deserve I've asked I've sent letters nothing but crickets not even a response maybe we'll try this is our money now the casinos got a pilot and I don't want to sound condescending but a pilot is payment Li of taxes which means they're not paying their fair share now why aren't they because they cried the Blues because of covid they lost money well who didn't who in business didn't lose money who didn't close down it was a tragic situation but only the casinos are benefiting I spoke to a dear friend of mine who is the pre president of one of the casinos and he said then we have to pay more taxes we're not going to survive I don't want that to happen I agreed to compromise I have asked the state of New Jersey on many occasions the three ofet court judges made the same comment can't you sit down with Atlanta County the only thing they asked and see if you can come to a conclusion holy cow the Hamas and the Jews are sitting down we can't sit down the governor and the county executive not one single word ignored the courts and did nothing but appeal so I don't know what we're all going to do about it I see our Senator back there maybe uh you can come up with some type of legislation in behalf of the the county of of Atlantic and the taxpayers right now it doesn't seem to be any movement Commissioners have most certainly done their part in this we're in it alone and that's unfortunate taxpayers would stand to benefit from something I've been requesting for decades countywide tax assessment before I start tell you why no one has worked harder to get this done than John rizley we sat down we met with everybody we did everything we possibly could do but it was like hurting cats didn't occur I would like to revisit this idea for Atlanta County in 2025 with the full cooperation and support of the Board of Commissioners as hard as we work to reduce County taxes our efforts and the cost saving to taxpayers is often offset by artificial increases in Municipal property values due to the lack of any regimented revaluation or reassessment process last year we reduced the County taxes by 5 cents per 100 but many taxpayers failed to realize that savings because their tax bill reflected an increase based on an inflated property value on their County tax bill I go on the radio the Commissioners go on the radio and they're not we're not called Liars but we're questioned you said the property taxes went down 5 cents in the county mine went up not the truth it is the truth and here's why I'm using Margate as an example because our newest commissioner is from Margate and uh I think it was fitting especially in the position Margate is in this present time Margate for example is only slightly above 50% assess value that means a $1 million municipally assessed home is taxed like it's a $2 million property on the county tax role now follow that you got an assessment of a million dollars but you're paying as if your property is worth $2 million further below 100% the higher the value of the property $1 million property is 50% of 2 million that's why they're in the circumstances they're in I'm sure I'm talking to everybody in the room very few towns are as close to 100% like they should be so you're paying more on your taxes than you should be it is the obligation and is the law that you should be as close to 100% of your value Rizzle and I went through this continually from town to town and uh some listened some didn't and if we did have a 100% assessment we would all be paying our fair share instead of some paying more and some paying less Terry Pendergrass is here right now and uh she is no one knows more about it in this County than Terry and Commissioners if you want to I won't take your time up today bring ter carry in and have her explain exactly what the value of a revaluation would be with the assessment at close to 100% in other words it's done each time you take a little town like Corbin City if they sell a house for it's pretty expensive there maybe six seven 800,000 everybody's taxes go up the value goes up you're living next door to somebody you just built your house it's brand new house you have actual value the guy next to you has been living there for 40 years p with an old assessment you're paying more than him he's not meeting his fair share and that can be solved with people of Goodwill that will stand up and make things occur as County Executive all I can do is suggest and the municipalities uh it's up to them to decide whether they want to do the right thing or stay exactly where they are now when the state tells them you got to do this they all promise we're going to do it and of course it goes away there's 565 counties in this uh uh state so obviously you can't continue to press just one so the county has no say in these State and Municipal formulas it is imperative that all towns be at or close to 100% so taxes are based on true property values countywide tax assessment could ensure consistent Property Tax Administration and valuation few years ago the town of hamton raised taxes but they blamed it on the county and they gave my personal phone number to call me and all I could do is explain to where it is and you know we're uh we're in the weeds when you start explaining it very kind of them too Jimmy when you see him sure you thank you for that I appreciate it we have a similar situation with the central Municipal Court of Atlanta County 10 Towns are currently members leaving 13 that are not with the 2025 proposed Court budget these 10 member towns will enjoy a savings of 1.2 million or 45% compared to what they were paying before before they joined the consolidated Municipal Court you're paying too much money now there are towns are very satisfied with it we get a lot of complaints from the city of V ventner that well this is not right this is not right the city of ventner was paying $400,000 in court costs before they joined our court they're now paying $200,000 pretty substantial Savings of 50% that are taxpayers I want them to stay in and I want others to come in also it's difficult to understand how non-member towns can argue against joining the central Municipal Court if they are truly interested in reducing costs and saving money to their residents I'm going to give you their excuse New Jersey is a home rule state we want to put our own judge in our own prosecutors in our own administrate staff in we don't want to join and the taxpayers don't necessarily complain because they don't know now margate's not in three quarters that the town is empty they can't even vote there live out of town or they're on vacation whatever it may be and they pay the taxes that come in they may complain and get a small reduction if if they can but it is not fair it's not fair that some pay more than they should have but unless this gets done you know it seems to me only the elected officials love their judge and love their prosecutor guy on the street doesn't even know who it is home Ru was archaic something left over from the stage co-chair we welcome conversation with any town that is interested Atlanta county is once again leading the way with the first court of its kind that has also been successful in reducing recidivism among its defendants and when to ask you a question your mind eye in the court system that we have how many people have fallen back recidivism can you answer that Jerry yes I can zero zero 100% success see if the towns at aren in can say that the individuals who come before our judges are referred to Social Service supports to address issues such is domestic violence substance abuse mental illness in this way there are secondary savings for our taxpayers individuals can be treated for problems before they escalate and reach the Superior Court these interventions are saving lives and saving costs I'm sure we all watch the news not as intently as others but when we do we most certainly turn it on when there's a horrendous killing and in a school or a problem somewhere and you hear the parents saying we've been begging we have been begging the system to help us we knew it was a mental case we knew there was problems we couldn't get any help now you're getting help it's One-Stop shopping when these people come in we have a whole social group in our Municipal Court that will treat them save their lives save other people's lives it is imperative Mark Sanson is here now and he was the one that really put together the social end of this I decided that we'll have a municipal court to save money he came to me and said you know we can also save lives and improve the quality of life throughout all Vala County that's what we have now it is important I'm pleased to report our proposal to trans I our meow viw nursing home facility to a veterans home that has been well received by the way we have a new commissioner who will be taking over the uh veterans Bureau that we have here in Atlanta County at June Burns and I know she is very much concerned working towards turning Meadow View into a Veterans Hospital like other long-term care facilities it is difficult to attract and maintain staff Atlanta county is one of only three remaining County run nursing homes in the state when I became County Executive there was 21 we're down to three and we're bleeding money I spoke to each and every one of our employees nursing staff write down to the people that change adult diapers and let them know didn't Blindside them they didn't read about it in the paper I told each and every one I will not sell this facility unless the buyer whether it's the VA or private guarantee two years of employment for you and two years of medical for you and your family won't be sold I made that decision and I will stand it nobody got blindsided no press conference was called to Blindside these individuals that work as desperately hard as they do unlike something that happened in this County with our acua and the hardworking people think about this as you were warm today they're hanging on the back of a trash truck at 7:00 in the morning when it was 12 degrees and I guess it's time for AA Copa from me I want to make this clear the paper read clearly when the senator made a speech about privatizing County formed it County will dissolve it headline ACA landfill owner has GOP calling for privatization this started out with me talking to Andrew Parker who told me off in no uncertain terms fact it was on speaker and uh one of my staff members said I haven't heard language like that since I threw my first husband out but it's true he was mad I didn't know every Freeholder every commissioner that came there that day did not know what the speech was about they were told we are going to the acua to support Moren ker who is getting blasted in this election that's why they thought they were there every one of them told me they didn't know the exception of June Burns by the way June Burns called the president of the ACA directly and apologized I didn't know that was the speech these individuals that pick up trash are as valuable to this society as your EMTs as anybody stop and think for a moment if it's not picked up stop and think for a moment what happened in New York with the garbage strike with the rats all over the city stop and think of that if you're old enough that garbage scow that went all around the world trying to find a place to dump it these are people that pick up trash they're not trash they deserve our thanks our appreciation and I want to tell you our love for what they do think of yourself think of yourself this morning having to get up and put on your whatever you put on and hang at the back of that trash truck then think in the middle of July or August when it's 110 degrees and you're out there with garbage people complain about the smell sure they did what they smell every day whether you close the dump privatizers do whatever you want to do it's still going to smell it's a dump and if you think people care and then complain afterward EHT has okay 660 homes on westcot road which are closer to the dump and the airport than the apartments that are complaining now if it is so bad why in the world would you build 660 homes you have an answer for that Marvin no by the way drive down West CO it's one way you want to turn around you got to make the U-turn school buses everything else going in there so don't complain about the stink when you're going to add to it for people that are going to be complaining about a stink my goodness what a revelation Atlanta County Dump smell oh gee bathroom smell that's why we have a can of deodorizer in there lots of things smell right now what smells is the treatment of these individuals with no regard how to read in the paper prior to Thanksgiving and Christmas now maybe incorrect GOP calling for private ation every single commissioner here the last one person I talked to was rich days and they had no idea we thought we were going there to help Moren we did not know what the senator was going to say he didn't speak for us and the I know the comments I made on the radio Commissioners how Furious I was with you I assumed that if you were standing behind somebody giving a speech you agreed with it my assumption was wrong and uh I should have given you more credit I know each one of you and I know how decent you are that was my fault and you have my sincere apology before I shoot my mouth off again I'll make sure I speak to you and also of interest is our discussion with the dasis of Camden We are continuing looking to construct a senior housing complex right next to Meadow View nursing home it's an ideal place we have our veteran services there Office of Aging we have disabled there we have public health there it would be great and speaking to the bishop he wants to come here but we had a snafu that land that we have is a burial ground from the old days in Atlantic City for Indigent they were all moved over there and planted and there is a lady in Northfield and by the way a sincere person now she gets a lot of flak because how dare you put a building above these individuals they have worth there are people that think people have worth that are inent Indigent and dead something to think about and we did everything we could with the dasis we put sonar in there to see if we found any bodies and to make sure we did not desecrate their remains set us back cost us more money but we now feel secure that that land right over here is uh now where we're we going to be building the uh this uh hospital really which is needed uh that everything would be all right and I am not uh I know she ran for office this time and nobody seemed to care we did we made sure that respect was afforded to these people who had a tough enough life dying indent we are also progressing uh with the construction of the second building as the national a Aerospace research and Technology Park the building will include space for Aerospace Innovation Center one of the five State strategic Innovation centers provide research space and connectivity to the faa's advanced era space data and system t uh Labs 14.3 million construction project now during the past year the NP NP welcome threee new tenants to the building that be building one applied research Associates Inc that's a globally recognized Corporation for advanced research and Technology we also have quaison Inc that's a virginia-based Information Technology firm Virginia has their own Aerospace they're coming here and all also signature science signature science is works with the really DNA technology that we can use within the field itself and uh they feel that there's a place for them here in aviation and the new Federal Aviation Administration uh now we have there the National Institute of Aerospace wart and the Federal Aviation Administration and also NASA and General Dynamics here in Atlanta County good solid jobs for everybody for aund and so years people talked about we have to diversify our economy we did it the Commissioners and I put this together without any asking for help because we did ask for help and didn't get any we did it ourselves we put our political careers on the line who's going to come to Atlanta County with the comments that were made we were question who are your tenants well we don't have any yet who are your perspective tenants funny you ask that we don't have any of them either was a build it and they will come and we put ourselves our political Futures which we love what we're doing on the line also 20 million of your money but it worked out and worked out extraordinarily well we're now building a second building that's how well it's doing right now we continue to work with the industrial reality uh company LLC one of the largest industrial real estate developers in the country to promote the development of 400 Acres of Atlantic City International Airport for use for Air Cargo imagine what that's going to mean to us along with whatever is going on over there at the racetrack with with Amazon we got a lot happening right now and it would be a cargo hub and aircraft maintenance and repair facility this will provide yet another opportunity to expand our Economic Development impact and hundreds of short-term construction jobs and many more longterm jobs I met with local developer Leo schauffer who is moving forward with his plans to construct a four-story 111 room Hotel adjacent to the ntp with multiple restaurants 24,000 square feet of convention center and additional hotels in later phases that wouldn't be happening without the are Aviation Park so it's happening all and in all due respect to Atlantic City this county is not Atlantic City Centric Center of this county is Hamilton Egg Harbor Township Galloway and that's where concentration will be Atlantic City we have no say over state of New Jersey has complete until total control over the city itself and obviously if they don't meet their obligations thus with the 14 million they owe us oh well it's another story going to right now we're working with partners and establishing relationships across the state and the nation the hard work is paying off last July we welcome Beta Technologies to Atlantic City International Airport for a demonstration of all electric air aircraft and zero emissions capabilities the could have gone anywhere but chose to come here to share its potential to revolutionize sustainable Aviation they came here they could have gone anywhere and if you think it's easy getting corporations to come to New Jersey with the taxes that we have when they can go to North Carolina pay basically nothing Florida they came here that means something and there's nothing that the Commissioners and I are prouder of than this Aviation Park and we did it alone we are building a new industry creating new jobs attracting new businesses and diversifying our economy it was just nine years ago that we introduced our economic development plan we have made great strides and enjoyed extraordinary success despite the Skeptics and the naysayers we have established a foundation on which to build a better Atlanta County our foundation remains financially secure as confir confirmed by standard and pors and Moody's investors don't ever take the word of a politician have to have proof with our consistent top Tier credit ratings and 25th consecutive perfect audit we are possibly the only ones in the country that can say this your town or wherever may have the same audit Auditors year after year after year when I became County Executive we switch them every three years so they'll check the other guys's work you all know how much better we did in school when we checked their own papers so that is something that we do hang our hat on are extremely proud my staff keeps telling me you not stop saying it they're eventually going to find a error in the audit well they haven't yet so I'm going to still say it our conservative fiscal policies have served this well but we are continually challenged by Rising costs and increasing demands for services one example is the cost of participation in state health benefits program you think we're getting hos with the pilot listen to this one in 2023 local governments were hit with an unexpected Ed an unprecedented 24% increase in premium costs now all of our employees pay in of course we make up the balance a family of four costs the county taxpayers close to $40,000 along with their salaries that's impressive by so many people ask me then let's give me a job all I need is benefits for my family that's what they want they care well the state doesn't they hit us for 24% of County employees and Municipal Employees yet the state succumb to the unions up in Trenton and only increase theirs by 3% again they increased Ours by 24% but theirs by 3% you see any fairness there so in 2024 we were dealt an additional 7% these increases not only impact our employees who must make up larger call share contributions but also our taxpayers for two solid years we've worked on this project we've been working tirelessly to find a better option the plan we developed in 2023 based on a Model previously accepted by the state was then rejected in the 11th hour after months of discussion when to talk about her and cats we have 23 bargaining units in this County all 23 had to agree and we promised them that uh this was a good plan and we can get it through and they agreed in the 11th Hour the state of New Jersey told us you can't do it ask me why don't bother asking me why we don't know they could have told us in the beginning we could have saved a lot of aggravation we're exploring several other options we have presented a plan that is currently being vetted by Union management if all unions find it acceptable we will proceed otherwise we will continue to look for Alternatives remember plan has to be as good or better another impact in our budget is the end of the American Rescue plan as of December 31st as you will recall the federal government developed a plan in response to covid P pandemic funding was made available for a broad spectrum of services you really had your choice some places uh put their money into uh more purses for horse racing others bought a ski resort and another put $10 million into diversity education well but politics we here in Atlanta County did the right thing collaborating with the Commissioners he said what needs to be done well very unglamorous Atlanta County was able to fund several projects including HVAC replacements in the county office building civil courthouse and the county jail and completion of the HV vac projects at meow viiew and the historic criminal Courthouse we were also able to provide matching funds for the State Library construction board to replace their HVAC systems in several County Libraries Additionally the funding helped us accomplish a number of drainage projects and fund a $7 million cap on the acua landfill to help mitigate odors anybody that tells you we're not doing our part that's what we put our money into nothing political there it was the right thing to do and not one single commissioner bu up a pet project that they wanted they all agreed cleaning clean air and we might as well do it we have to do it anywhere HVAC that's what we did with our money we didn't increase the purses on horse racing some of the existing construction projects will make use of ARP funding through December 31st to 26 however no ARP funds can be budgeted in 2025 or Beyond as a result there will be a loss of one of of $3.8 million now in ARP funds we have to replace that loss Revenue with a high degree of inflation and limited economic growth replacement revenues in 2025 is difficult to generate the general revenues start at 54,600 th000 salary and wages are up 3% to help contain costs we have decided to freeze all vacancies for at least a half a year the hiring process continues to be a challenge particularly in the health care field as a direct consequence of the covid p pmic we're recommending the use of 800,000 from salary and wage for hiring of contract nurses at meadow viw got to get done everybody they're doing things for our loved ones that we don't do for our for them they're angels of Mercy they truly are and the way we are right now bleeding money we have 180 beds we only have 80 of them filled and of course that means our revenue is less other expenses have generated a 6.6 increase the county jail for example has proposed increases of 1.6 million in Social and Medical Services inmate supplies food and more the cost of extraditions has increased get this by 96,000 before covid transports occurred by car with some prisoners being housed overnight in the local jails no longer can do that since covid many transports now occur by airplane by the way just like anybody else we have to buy the tickets at the right time although we don't know when and we're getting hosed over there also we have to pay for airline tickets additional expenses include the department of planning's update of the solid waste plan at a cost of 100,000 the superintendent of Elections has requested an increase of 300,000 for coding and culations of election results a new security contract for Public Safety will increase by 182,000 despite these increases in the loss of the funding we believe we can still find a few more cuts that should help us reduce the county general purpose tax yet again this year we expect to introduce our 2025 County Budget on March 4th with the librar and public health taxes remaining level and a decrease of the general purpose tax we plan to use over $19 million of surplus this year or approximately 50% now somebody may say well now why you holding this Surplus why don't you use it and lower our taxes well there was a city uh here in our County that would lower it every time the big mahoff would run it would go down8 cents following year it went up 21 cents we're keeping it pretty steady with the information available at the time the county tax levy would be 188 M 600,000 and the general purpose tax would be reduced by one to almost two cents that of course you're around 100% assessment as I said earlier final numbers will be determined after all Municipal values are submitted to the Atlanta County Board of Taxation the preparation of our annual budg budget is an extraordinary team effort that requires extensive time and attention by fiscal staff by our fiscal staff throughout County government and in cooperation with the commissioner of budget task force direction of those efforts start at the top with County Administrator Jerry del raso County Treasurer Bonnie lindow administrative services department head uh Tommy Robbins and budget manager Julie shy we are fortunate to have Services of these knowledgeable and dedicated individuals and something I do want to point out when I write the budget message I give it to Linda to type up continually leaves her name out is's as valuable an employee to this County as anyone we have much to look forward to in the coming year as long as we remember who we serve and continue to do what is best for our residents I'm confident that we can meet any Challenge and continue to be recognized as the best run county in the state of New Jersey that's both sides of the aisle believe that and have said it out loud including The Independents why are we successful in elections because we do the job thank you and may God bless you all any questions if you like that's good can it still make the early bird py well thank you very much and Commissioners as always thank you for very much for your continu cooperation it's deeply appreciated thank you well I think at this time since I do see some AC employees in the back and uh I know the employees have been mentioned at Landfield has been mentioned I'll I'll entertain a motion to move resolution 51 to the top of the agenda second roll call patino yes Birds yes corsey yes G yes Kar yes Parker yes grizzley yes Rio yes St yes resolution 51 resolution supporting the Atlanta County Utility Authority sponsor Ernest D Cory Mr chair yeah yeah any commissioner Comm Mr corsy Mr chairman if for the record can the clerk read the resolution into the records please I need a move need a motion to yeah on a second did you make a motion second for a second motion second haven't heard a motion in a second um thir whereas environmental sustainability and resource conservation are critical to the health and prosperity of our community and whereas recycling reduces waste conserves natural resources minimizes pollution and extends the life of the landfills and whereas the Atlanta County Board of Commissioners recognizes the need for a coordinated efficient and effective approach to managing recyclable materials and whereas the Atlanta County Utilities Authority provides centralized leadership resources and programs to Advance Recycling efforts and to and ensure compliance with state and federal regulations and whereas aca's proactive approach to waste disposal has helped streamline Waste Management processes reduce en environmental impact and ensure that waste is disposed of responsibly and efficiently and whereas the acua facilitates Partnerships promotes public awareness and supports Innovative Recycling Technologies and strategies and whereas the Board of Commissioners appreciates and has deep respect of all ACA employees including the members of local 68 and whereas as specifically stated in public session on December 17th 2024 the Board of Commissioners has not discussed nor supported the privatization and dissolution of the acua in its exploration to resolve odor complaints recently raised by constituents and whereas the Board of Commissioners take Serious any complaints that are received regarding issues that affect the safety Health Andor welfare of the public and whereas the Board of Commissioners has a responsibility to the residents of Atlanta County to investigate and explore any and all options to resolve end or mitigate said issues now therefore be resolved by the Board of County Board of Commissioners of Atlanta County that the board does hereby support the Atlanta County Utilities Authority and promotes recycling initiatives all right Tara thank you are there any commissioner comments Mr chairman if I may uh F first of all let me just thank my colleagues certainly for second it and bringing it to the top of the agenda let me be very clear um as most of us know this has been an issue that's been going on for a few weeks uh whether it's in the newspaper whether it's on the radio whether employees Etc and so on the 17th of uh last month I was not here I was in the beginning of the meeting and I know that there was a request by the county executive to pass a resolution which did not happen but I said most of my colleagues or some of my colleagues had indicated they didn't have a problem supporting the employees of the uh acua however as it continued on on the radio you know crazy as I am I mean I'm a little crazy every now and then um I thought it was probably the best thing just put up resolution showing that the employees of the acua and the unions of 68 that we collectively as a body perhaps uh support them and their families and the reason I wanted to bring this resolution up is because the back and forth he said that she said did this said it's doesn't do any good for the employees at acua right they want to feel just as comfortable as all of us whether we elected officials appointed officials or want to be an official at the end of the day they want to know when their next paycheck is coming for coming from are they going to pay their bills are they going to be able to put their kids through colle to buy a car and pay the insurance Etc and so they want some insurance just like we have and so what happens is when politics get in the way of Common Sense uh it's unfortunate we can't govern the interesting part about it is that we can agree to disagree but at the end of the day donq the public don't give a rat ta if you're a Republican and a Democrat are independent they want to know do you support their positions in terms where they work now we can argue the case that if it was privatized maybe the other company would keep them we don't know that I will I will venture to say to our Senator and to our County Executive and to my members on this board acua is an entity of Atlanta County government not the federal not the state nobody else and so we must hold them when I say them talking about AC a acua and its board and his executive accountable just like people hold us accountable and so at the end of the day folks w't be able to go home and lay their head down not woring where their next paychecks comeing you know not too too long ago most of us if not all of us and I can point out a couple folks in this room that do have that problem probably was living paycheck to paycheck one step away from the rescue mission and so none of us are better than any of us right and so what happens is at the end of the day folks want some kind of security and so while we may not agree on the way or the method that have taken to get to where we are today they are still families out there to want to know where where they stand and as elected officials we have a responsibility and an obligation to make sure that our residents and our taxpayers are filled comfortable and safe it's one thing to run for office and ask for my vote but when the meets the road where the hell are you you go riding go hiding you know it depends on what side of the aisle you get the pressure from if you're going to make a decision and so I thought it not robbery and again I say to my colleagu it's not about pointing the fing let's just do the right thing the right thing is just pass the resolution give them some some comfort level yeah we hear them we have their backs they have a job and I couldn't agree with the county executive M har Hardley when you look at whether it's uh gold medal whether it's acua hanging off the back of the trash truck picking up our trash in the cold the snow the Sleep the hell the rain Etc we home looking at our Windows probably waving our hands or going to work somewhere but we're not on the back of the truck I can speak from experience I come from a TW a family of 12 my dad had a trash business I rode on the back of a trash truck I came off the back of a trash truck got involved in politics and so it's not where you start it's where you finished and at the end of the day you know we need to put this whole situation to rest all right and when I say put it to rest where those Folks at the acua will feel some comfort of knowing that the elected officials hear them I wasn't invited to the press conference on the lawn at acua and and I probably know why I missed you you missed it I wouldn't invited I missed you you missed me yes I'm glad somebody missed me um I know but the funny part about it is is that should have been should listen we not I got the mic bro got the m and and so what happens is is that I'm tired of seeing it in the paper tired of hearing it on the radio uh again the senator the county executive and anybody else sit down in the room and have a conversation call each other a bunch of names if you want to but at the end of the day we still have a responsibility to our residents of Atlanta County and therefore I'm asking my colleagues he for unanimously vote on resolution 51 Mr chairman I reserve the balance of my time in the time left um are there any other commissioner comments Martino yeah Mr chairman thank you um with respect to this issue um I think I was very clear last time we had discussion many of the issues that are in here are what we already discussed uh Commissioners there's never been a discussion at the commissioner level as you guys are aware we operate under a solid waste management plan which we approved as Commissioners and we have to meet the requirements of it so if it satisfies some people to codify this thing I have no problem doing that as well because it's simply what we've all stated in the past it's how we operate it's not that big a deal but if it satisfies some people the only thing I would suggest and say is I've discussed with Matt once again on Saturday when you're called um if there's a cons a concern from our constituents on whatever the issue is we're coming to you guys and I'm not looking to see if it's okay with somebody we're coming to tell you what we hear from our constituents because that's our job and I know you know that and I appreciate what you guys always do but I want it on the record as we've discussed I'm not apologizing for coming out there I'm not apologizing for calling the meeting I called the meeting because I felt it was that important and that's what I'll do again if I think it's necessary but I do appreciate the ACA I appreciate the Commissioners the Ser on the board we all know in public service they're not going to have everybody tell you you're doing a great job or they even recognize what you're doing uh I appreciate what you guys do I'm in the industry I've been on the trash trucks so I know what you're talking about commissioner um and and that's that hopefully this will get put to to to bed it's not this big a deal as it is we're doing our jobs both of us as long as we both do that we should all be fine thank you any additional comments are there any comments from the public I don't anything prepared um Mata AUA I just want to thank commissioner Cory for for putting this to vote and also for your comments commissioner bertino as well so the staff behind me represent you know not just the guys on the back of the trucks but the guys that are going in tonight at 7:00 make sure the trash gets up to the land Phil it's going be cold tonight um so this this resolution I don't see a downside I know there's been controversy but I don't see downside inness um and it's not for me it's for the people behind me and the people that that they represent that are doing that work every single day so um again I just I see no downside to this and I just appreciate everybody's support uh the the public comments uh and then certainly that this resolution is is on the agenda today so thank you thank you any chair yep yes sir on that on that point there was the the downside that the downside it was based in nothing that was true so we gotta we got to put that out there for the public as you heard all of the commissioner say we've continued to say you even heard our executive now say he spoke to each of us individually there wasn't a single commissioner that made that statement it was never based in fact so we you were asking us to to to pass a resolution based on nothing so we're going to talk about downside that's one that's one now everything that commissioner Cory said everything that uh commissioner bertino said everything that we have all said in the past still stands true we have always supported the acua you know this I've been at your meetings I've been out there I've taken every tour I could possibly take of your facilities never said a negative thing about the acua I've never come down on acua it was always a yes anytime you ask for anything we have never come against you guys never so where the whole privatization came from listen it didn't come from us so for us to pass a resolution based on something we never said seems a little you know I don't know what's the word you want to use strange best yes it's absolutely so that's the reason that it didn't pass the first time it wasn't that we were against the acua it was it it was based on nothing true okay so that's that's put that out there I think the record needs to reflect that we didn't have any problem passing a resolution to support we don't we have we had no problem supporting the ACA and the employees we had a problem passing a resolution based on something that wasn't true and then to go out on the radio and to have this discussion instead of coming to us you have my number I never got a phone call I was liaison to the ACA I never got a phone call I got phone calls for everything else I never got a phone call about this I'm hearing about it on the radio like everybody else and then I'm getting calls you know I'm having phone calls where people like like like the executive said where you know there's four letter words being thrown all over the because everybody's upset because it wasn't ever true so I'm you know I take I take offense to being accused of something that I didn't do all right I take serious offense to that and and I would apologize on the record there was some definite uh language that was used in the conversation between the two of us and it's because of the passion that I have in this situation it was not true I'm not gonna I'm not going to confess to something that's not true you're never going to get me to do that it's not going to happen you understand what I'm trying to say it's never going to happen and that's what was being asked of this commissioner's board to con to to to to resolve something that never existed but if this gives the people hope if this gives our employees hope or or or or some sort of piece to know that we're not going to dissolve or privatize the acua we never were it was never a conversation so but if this helps I'm glad to have done it just like I was glad to have if I now and I'll stop it here I was glad to have when commissioner corsy put the resolution up I put in some of the whereases into here which everybody seems to be okay with all right and I'm the one who put up the second as you all heard let the record reflect I don't have a problem giving peace to the ACA but it never was true so let the record reflect that all right thank you and I I did open it up to the public is there any other public comment at this time first of all it may not be true we all watch TV you see the president the governor whoever it may be at a microphone we assume that everybody standing behind them agrees nobody ever accused in fact I apologize for you accusing until you all called and said a mopa I didn't know about it uh we thought we were going there to to support Moren we didn't know so it was said it was said to dissolve and to privatize I read you right from there it's not like this came out of the air yall were standing there hey Mr Senator uh we're not here for that reason we're here to support our colleague Morin Curr so let's be clear on this one can assume and I guess you shouldn't assume you are all standing there listening to privatization dissolution you formed it you can dissolve it which by the way you can't dissolve it so he's wrong on that one the bottom line here is one would assume if you're there you're in agreement and uh the accusation that uh you all were in support I agree now after you spoke to me you're not in support of it fine but unless the people you read the paper that's what you see there they didn't hear somebody say gee we was we support it you got to be in a Freeholder meeting which by the way is not a night out this is not something people want to G I got to go over to commission meeting so they should but they don't that's what it comes down to it comes down to the fact that you're all standing five Commissioners which is a quarum standing behind the senator saying we're going to privatize this we're going to dissolve it and the headline is GOP want to dissolve the acua not making this up you guys were jackpotted you didn't know and I agree with you you didn't know next time are you sure we're just going there to support Morin because I would have been there to support Moren had I known about it it don't get any better in Moren but that didn't seem to be what the conversation was the conversation was we're going to profitize and dissolve it so let's be straight here and you know what you Commissioners didn't have to call me but you knew we got jackpotted and as I said June Burns was standing there and she felt the right thing to do was to call Matt I'm not calling Benny Matt's the president of that I want him to know from me I didn't know that I was there to support June uh to support Morin period so that's why we are where we are these individuals have work and just even assume that we're knocking AP part it doesn't matter the resolution it may not matter to you all it matters to them and that's what it comes down to may not have mattered that you know when I did the thing with the with metal viiew they could have read it in the paper they didn't every single employee with was told face to face and it will not be sold unless you are protected for 2 years now that's how it should be done I didn't call you all for a press conference by the way we're here to support the the flag of the United States well everybody would come for that one for sure and you all came for morine and you should have but she was accused of something she was not responsible for and that should have been exactly what it was absolutely and I blame nobody except the person that brought you there under false pretense let's call as fade as fade right now and understand that's what occurred there is no two ways about and I appreciate your time your concern and for sure your support through the years most certainly you'll have M all right thank you is there any other public comment I do want to remind the public that we do have long agenda so if you can keep your comments to to three minutes moving forward any any other public comment on this resolution anybody on online I I do want to just State again um no member to my knowledge of this board has said any derogatory comment toward any acoa employee or any County employee for that matter you know that keeps throwing being thrown out there and that that's has never been mentioned not even by anybody at that press conference um Talk about any employee of the acua um we appreciate what you do it clearly states that in this resolution it also clearly states that we will continue to investigate any concerns that constituents bring to us you know when I'm out in Galloway and then unsolicited somebody asks me hey what's going on over I haven't spelled it recently but I never did before I'm gonna follow up on that concern and that's not going to stop um so hopefully some of the the back and forth you know dragging other people Commissioners into this will stop I hope after this and I hope that the employees know that they have the support once and for all even though you never did not have our support but that you have our support um moving forward any other comments no Mr chair yes yeah I very well said just just want to also say we did the the the executive mentioned the 7even million that we also spent I think that says we we support the ACA as well um I just want to ask you know these members are not our employees Matt they're yours so as we pass a resolution at your request to to offer them piece of mine I'm hoping that the officers and the board of the acua will send a letter to the employees giving them peace of mind because you're the ones who pay the bill you're the one who negotiate their contracts not us so as much as you want peace of mind from us we'll give it you're the ones are the ones who ultimately have to give it but that's my request back thanks there any additional comments all right chairman for the record if you wait another two seconds I'm gonna go on for another 40 CH please call the rooll fortina yes Burns yes Cory yes G yes Kar yes Parker yes rizley yes ruffel yes St yes we bring us back to Ordinance one I guess we'll take a anybody like to to leave it this time I guess we'll take a 30 second two second pause e ordinance number seven adopted on April 21st 1998 which added permitted purposes for which monies in the Atlantic County open space Recreation and farmland and historic preservation trust fund can be utilized first reading any sorry second any commissioner comments as this is the first reading do be no public comment at this time terara please call the rooll bertino yes Burns yes fory yes G yes K yes Parker yes grizzley yes R yes St yes resolution 13 for an application and acceptance from the United States Department of Justice through the state of New Jersey Department of Law and public safety for the Edward burn Memorial Justice Grant amount not to exceed $1 5,858 second any commissioner comments coms from the public roll call bertino yes Burns yes Cory yes G yes Kar yes Parker yes grizley yes rfu yes pleas yes resolution 14 Grant application and acceptance from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs through the local efficiency achievement program implementation grant for the web hosting and Design Services for ious municipalities and the Atlantic County Improvement Authority amount not to exceed $3,897 SM second Andy commission or comments com from the public roll call patino yes Burns yes Cory yes G yes K yes Parker yes grizzley yes R yes St yes resolution 15 Grant application and acceptance from the New Jersey Department of Human Services Division of Aging Services for the fiscal year 2025 older Americans act area plan contract Grant amount not to exceed 1,992 982 second any commissioner comments from the public call the rooll fortino yes Burns Cory G yes Kar yes Parker yes grizzley yes Rio yes St yes resolution 16 Grant application and acceptance from the new J state of New Jersey Department of Transportation for the transportation accessibility and Mobility Program for the creation of the Atlantic County Community Express shuttle service amount not to exceed $400,000 second any commissioner comments comments from the public roll call patino yes Burns Cory G yes Kar yes Parker yes Grizzly yes Rio yes da resolution 17 Grant application and acceptance from the New Jersey Department of Transportation for the fiscal year 25 local bridge fund program for up to five Bridge projects amount not to exceed 2,192 1837 second any commissioner comments comments from the public roll call bertino yes FS Cory G yes Kar yes Parker yes grizzley yes R yes St yes resolution 18 Grant application and acceptance from the Federal Highway administ ation for funding through the bridge investment program grant for The jobes Point bridge replacement project funded amount $784,000 County cash match $196,000 second any commissioner comments comments from the public call the role Martino yes Burns yes Cory G yes Kar yes Parker yes grizzley yes ra yes da yes resolution 19 amending resolution number 438 adopted on August 20th 2024 a Professional Services agreement with various vendors to provide temporary nursing staffing for metaview nursing and rehabilitation center and Public Health Net increase $500,000 second any commissioner comments comments from the public call the RO patino yes Burns yes Cory G yes K yes Parker yes grizzley yes yes yes resolution 20 Professional Services agreement with various vendors to provide temporary nursing staffing for meav viw nursing and rehabilitation center in Atlanta County Public Health amount not to exceed $2,200,000 move second any commissioner comments comments from the public all the rooll patino yes Burns yes Cory G Kern Parker grizzley yes Rio yes yes resolution 21 Professional Services agreement authorizing the county law Department to establish a pool of various law firms for the provision of Legal Services amount not to exceed $600,000 second any commissioner comment th from the public please call the rotino yes Burns Cory G yes Kar yes Parker yes grizzley yes ruu yes St yes resolution 22 competitive contract with Partners Pharmacy for the provision of pharmaceutical services to metaview nursing and rehabilitation center amount not to exceed $ 37,3 1428 second any commissioner comments comments from the public I call the fortino yes Burns Cory G yes Kar yes Parker yes grizle yes Rio yes da yes resolution 23 competitive contract subgrant agreements with various providers for older Americans act area plan Services fiscal year 2025 at 50% funding amount not to exceed $272,900 move second any commissioner comments comments from the public call the r patino yes Burns yes G yes K yes Parker yes grizzley yes Rio yes St yes resolution 24 competitive contract subgrant agreements with various providers for older Americans act area plan Services fiscal year 2025 at 100% funding amount not to exceed $390,000 he o sorry jumping ahead any comments comments from the public H the RO bertino yes Burns yes Forsey G yes Kar yes Parker yes grizzley yes R yes yes resolution 25 big contract with JDJ pets Incorporated doing business as Pets Plus to furnish and deliver animal food for the Atlanta County Animal Shelter amount not to exceed $3,357 move second any commissioner comments comments from the public all the RO fortino yes Burns yes fory G yes Kar yes Parker yes rizzly yes R yes T yes resolution 26 big contract with Kelly Winthrop limit limited liability company for deer carcass removal and Disposal amount not to exceed $50,400 any commissioner comments just want to add that these deer carcasses can be reported online as well I've done it a couple times actually and you see a confirmation always on social media we people talk about putting balloons on the deer the flags and but it's easily done at phone call or just submit a form online and they'll be right there so any comments from the public call the rooll fortino yes Burns Cory G yes Kar yes Parker yes grizzley yes ruio yes da yes resol resolution 27 big contract with Jay Fletcher creamer and Son Incorporated for on call maintenance for beam guide Rail and attenuator repairs amount not to exceed $79,700 any commissioner comments comments from the public please call the role bertino yes Burns yes Cory G yes Kar yes Parker yes rizley yes ruu yes days yes resolution 28 big contract with elder pest control for the integrated Pest Management program amount not to exceed $18,400 move second any commissioner comments comments from the public okay how you doing um Kevin pton from Atlant County from maze Landon um just had a curious question about how you guys make the bids for these how the bids are accepted for um this contract um I'm currently with the current company um TR County PES control um I see Elder putting um a bid I was wondering is any consideration for their established relationship with the PES control company and their employees of Atlanta County not just the the main person in control but control of all the buildings and how we deal with them in the relationship with them I was wondering if there's any consideration for that when these bids are put in or is it just the bond price sure J Jared you have any other details for that P is on she could she could explain but normally PR lowest respons yeah right that happens happens to that company happens time but it doesn't happen every year no but she's she's on just so you know me she she'll explain to how many years she's allowed okay she may be allowed two years so you have first year you may have M con is our County puring B you there I am Jerry um the bid is based on a two-year bid uh and it is the lowest responsible and responsible bidder um Tri County was one of the vendors that bid but they were not the lowest price um Elder Pest Control uh bid at $108,000 uh and Tri County did $1 139 so it's it's a basically a low bid scenario and we make sure that all the documentation obviously is correct so it isn't a one-year bid it is a two-year bid that we do so every two years we'll put this out and we do have options in there okay okay thank you very much for the explanation appreciate it right thank you thank you you anybody else public comment uh CH please call the role Cino yes Burns yes Cory G yes Kar yes Parker yes rizley yes Ru yes de yes resolution 29 big contract with action uniforms to furnish and deliver uniforms for the Sheriff's Office amount not to exceed $19,500 second commissioner comments anyone from the public call the RO bertino yes Burns Cory G Kar Parker yes grizzley yes ra yes da yes resolution 30 big contract with us Corrections limited liability company for prison or Transport Services amount not to exceed $150,000 second any commissioner comments comments from the public all the RO patino yes Burns corsey G Kar yes Parker yes grizley yes rafio yes da yes resolution 31 big contract with arak Paving Company Incorporated for the resurfacing of California Avenue County Route 663 amount not to exceed $9 $93,900 second any commissioner comments comments from the public call the all bertino Burns Cory G Kar Parker rizzly yes R yes St yes resolution 32 big contract with arak paven company for the resurfacing of Ohio Avenue County Route 630 not to exceed $657,000 second any commissioner comments comments from the public call the role bertino yes Burns Cory G Kar yes Parker yes grizzley yes raew yes de yes resolution 33 lease agreement with halasa Incorporated for the use of facilities to conduct the 48h hour intoxicated driver Resource Center programs amount not to exceed $ 32,2 second any commissioner comments comments from the public all right call the rooll please patino yes Burns corsey G Kar Parker yes rizley yes rafio yes St yes resolution 34 amending resolution number 468 adopted on September 3rd 2024 Elise agreement with B&B parking doing business as Parkplace parking to increase the number of leased parking spaces at 126 North Pennsylvania Avenue in Atlantic City net increase $262,800 second any commissioner comments from the public all the RO patino yes FS corsey G yes Kar yes Parker grizzley yes ra yes St yes resolution 35 renewal intergovernmental sub subgrant agreements with the Atlantic County Office on Aging with funding through the older Americans act for fiscal year 2024 amount not to exceed 1,363 211 second any commissioner comments comments from the public call the rooll bertino yes Burns yes corsey G Kar Parker yes grizzley yes BR yes St yes resolution 36 renewal intergovernmental subgrant agreements with the Atlantic County Area Agency on Aging with the Atlantic County division of intergenerational services with funding through the older Americans act fiscal year 2024 amount not to exceed 1,462 395 any commissioner comments comments from the public call the role fortino yes Burns Cory G Kar Parker grizzley Rio St yes resolution 37 amending resolution numbers 703 and 704 adopted on December 19 2023 to amend and increase the subgrant agreements for older for Americans act area plan Services fiscal year 2024 net increase 9657 Mo a second any commissioner comments comments from the public call the rooll patino Burns Cory G yes K Parker grizzley yes Ru yes da yes resolution 38 renewal shared services agreement with the Atlanta County Special Services school district and Atlanta County Vocational School District to provide class three special Law Enforcement Officers to serve as armed security officers Revenue generating second any commissioner comments com from the public call the rooll bertino yes FS yes Cory yes G Kar yes Parker yes rley yes R yes da yes resolution 39 business associate agreement between the New Jersey Department of Human Services Division of Aging Services and the Atlanta County Area Agency on Aging Office on Aging to be included with the 2025 area plan second any commissioner comments anyone from the public I call the role Batino yes Burns Cory shadow yes K Parker grizzley yes R Stace yes resolution 40 resolution to comply with the New Jersey Department of Human Services requirement for a standardized board resolution to be filed with a 2025 area plan by the Atlantic County Area Agency on Aging Office on Aging second seconded any commissioner comments comments from the public call the RO fortino yes Burns corsey G yes Kar yes Parker yes yes R yes St yes resolution 41 alternate method contract with Point click care Technologies Incorporated to provide proprietary billing and electronic medical record software for meew nursing and rehabilitation center amount not to exceed $ 78,500 yes resolution 42 alternate method contract with Capital Health to provide medical services rendered to the inmate population at the Atlanta County Justice Facility amount not to exceed $49,000 second any commissioner comments anyone from the public call the RO fortino yes FS Cory G yes Kar yes Parker yes grizzley yes Ru yes resolution 43 alternate method contract with landed care to provide for the provision ision of Psychiatry services to youth at harborfield Juvenile Detention Center amount not to exceed $15,000 move second any commissioner comments anyone for the public I call the roll fortino yes Burns yes Cory yes G yes Kar yes Parker yes grizzley yes Rio yes St yes um I'll entertain a motion to combine and adopt resolutions 44 through 50 appointment second all those in favor yes sir do you have a note or thank you got you got a hot date I think um so we've received copies of written communication petitions are there any commissioner comments chairman thank you just one the a development committee did have its reorganization last week uh board is set to do business uh on the agricultural side uh there are some challenges that we're going to continue to be facing uh with water um permitting and some some of those issues as well I'll keep the board informed I also want to thank the board uh Commissioners board for their support in the past uh for personnel we had some retirements there I know we just lost Rick van crank and Rick is going to be a huge loss as anybody in the agriculture that's worked with agriculture in the last 20 plus years uh he's been an invaluable resource I kind of tried talking him out of it many times I couldn't couldn't get him to go for it but uh we're going to miss him and gonna be looking for some support from Ruckers and stuff along the lines of uh trying to replace people and this board's always showed it's uh commitment to agriculture where if there were shortfalls we have to make it up you guys have been very supportive for it as we go forward through the budget process but thank you thank you any other commissioner comments any reports for special Committees of the board chairman yes commissioner rley just very briefly on on the budget we had a budget meeting recently and U we administration's working on the budget very diligently uh we're not where we need to be as of yet um we're not within cap yet but we're getting closer one thing we want to avoid as the county is invading the cap bank so still working to trim the numbers down further and Administration has been great with uh all the information forth coming any question we ask of course is answered and U it's diligently moving along thank you thank you chairman yes I had my first meeting with the veterans advisory Council um they welcomed me at their dinner meeting I get dinner on this one I miss and I miss that and I miss that usually usually I got a buy dinner again I let them know I'm not a veteran but my father is and my mother and father are at that Veteran Cemetery and I'm proud of the fact that I have a great relationship with our legislative team so I can relay anything that's going on in the state level to our committee so thank you for your support great to hear thank you any other comments any unfinished business any new business I public comment Senator I need to say this legal legal statement I guess whatever it's the cya anyone attending in person I would like to speak now at public comment please come to the podium speak into the microphone state your name and the town you reside if you're attending virtually and would like to make a public comment please raise your hand I will call upon your name and a request to unmute will be sent please state your name of the town you reside be provided up to three minutes to speak ther thank you Mr chairman I apologize I had to run to another meeting so I didn't get to hear the whole conversation but sounded to me like there was some revisionist history that was uh that was talked about this evening I just want to be clear about what occurred with the press conference in Atlanta County Utilities Authority you guys were there no maren karna was unfairly attacked for an issue that is the aca's issue is an odor issue that has impacted residents in the city of absin P of Galloway city of pleas Ville and other communities in this region commissioner bertino if I'm incorrect tell me but I'm told that you told the acua that they needed to step up acknowledge the problem deal with the problem and make sure everybody knew that it was not commissioner Kern's issue yeah I spoke up if I can I don't like it but yeah I did reach out to the to Matt and stuff we had a discussion on uh some of the Public's perspective that they believe Commissioners handle a day-to-day operations or that as chair of the committee um commissioner Kern at the time had some kind of oversight or could make adjustments there um and I asked them to reach out um to see what he could do as far as notifying the public which he continually has done uh on his own but I wasn't satisfied with the answer so I chose an alternate course as I said earlier I'll do it again if I think it's necessary okay and that is my point because that's what I was told is that Morin was being unfairly attacked it was an AC problem it was not a we problem we did the press conference to say acua this is your problem these horrendous oders and cab sein need to be dealt with and guess what we are the elected officials and if necessary if you're not going to do the job we entrusted you to do we're going to find another way to do it and I went through all kinds of alternatives to deal with that and those of you who were there heard that it was if the acua did not do the job and by the way as all of you know we're elected by the people we're responsive to the people if there is a county entity or a county Authority that is not doing the job that they are entrusted and told to do then we have to look at every alternative that's what the purpose of the press conference was uh this whole thing about anything else was is totally manufactured this was about making sure entities that should have been doing the job are held accountable that's it so hopefully we're done on this topic I just wanted to make uh you make sure everybody understands the purpose of why that Press Conference was held and why uh we were talking about it and why it is so important to make sure that all these entities do their job so thank you very much I hope we're on to the next topic because we have much much more important things to do thank you Senator and it's good to hear you say that I it wasn't my intention to move it up and I apologize didn't know you had to leave but because it was mentioned during the budget address and there were so many employees sitting the back um we decided to move it up so I'm glad you were able to to make it back um and I I think commissioner Parker was pretty clear um and and commissioner Martine when others who spoke that um a lot of the information that was being put out there was was not accurate yeah um and and like I said I'm re I'm repeating myself but uh no one including yourself had ever disparaged any acoa or County employee so I made that clear as well that is correct chairman and just be clear this was never about any Rank and follow at the AC not from any commissioner not from the legislative delegation not from anybody we understand the important job that they do and we would never disparage any County Employees this was about just making sure they are held accountable to do the job that the ACA must do so look forward to them dealing with the situation Aban obviously still needs to be uh dealt with but again thank you uh thank you and we'll can stay on it and continue to get the work done thank appreciate that thank you Senator are there any other public comments motion to close public comment move move to close second um any comments for the good of the order go birds all right I'll entertain a motion to adjourn move second second right all in favor I all right we're good thank you [Music] [Music]