March 10th I'm going to call the budget Workshop meeting of March 10th 2025 to order at 7 pm um can we all stand for the Pledge of Allegiance please I pledge Alle pled allegiance to
the flag of the United States of America to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with and justice for all okay thank you um
yansy can you please read the statement regarding the open public meetings act this budget Workshop meeting was called pursuant to the provisions of the open public meetings law notice of this meeting was published in the record on February 11th 2025 in addition a copy of
the notice was posted on the city's website the bulletin board in the municipal building filed in the office of the mun municipal clerk on a forementioned date notice on The Bu bulletin board has remained continuously posted please take notice that in accordance with the open public meetings Act njsa 10 col
4-6 at seek and local Finance notice 2020-21 establishing standard protocols the city council of the city of Anglewood adopted resolution number 083 A- 02- 05-25-18 budget Workshop meetings for 2025 to be held remotely via Zoom
members of the publish who who wish to participate in the meeting May do so by calling or clicking on the link below at 7M or by dialing 6465588656 please see link on our website webinar ID is 9692
53655 and the passcode is 53956 4 individuals will be able to fully participate in the meeting including providing public comment public comments may be submitted by 3M on the date of the meeting either through Written Letter or email to meetings city of angal with.org all
written comments shall be read during the public forum portion of the meeting and shall be subject to the same time limitations for public speaking duplicative comment shall be noted for the record and summarized the agenda for the meeting can be found on the city's website at www.cityofinglewood.org
a separate meeting will be used to close session is required proper notice having been given the municipal clerk is directed to include the statement in the minutes of this meeting thank you can we have a roll call please councilwoman David
present councilman Rosen here councilman toer is absent with prior notice councilman Wilson I don't see no I don't see him yet uh council
president wasowski present Mayor Michael Wilds is also present city manager also president of city manager robertus Hoffman Deputy city manager John burner and CFO Michael calman thank you um I just want to ask
uh from from the Municipal Court who's going we're just going to have one person presenting um I'm trying to see someone else I think this is debban it doesn't have her name but I think this is her let me see Dean she's calling me she's calling me now yeah hello what's
oh yeah she keeps asking to be l in okay because it doesn't have her name on here it says owner okay hold on one second hold on um okay there you go okay so in the in the meantime um Mr calman why don't you give us an overview please okay the
salaries uh went up up 2% $99,000 and and the overtime went down $12,500 which is 71% and other expenses went up 52.7% which is 87,500 mostly to do with
interpreting costs and the extra sessions that the uh Court need and they could explain further if you have any more questions okay um why don't we get um I see that councilman Wilson is connecting to
audio oh uh good evening Mr Wilson okay we'll go back um we can start the presentation now can you hear me judge we can hear you thank you Doctor all right um is debban in yet because she may help me a
little bit here on she's here she just needs to unmute I don't know if she has a camera that are you going to go on camera yes I'm here but there's something now I can't get in with the camera I'm looking I don't understand I mean I've been on all evening okay I'm glad you let me in now
did you hit yeah because I didn't see your name did you see V video all right all right good evening mayor and Council thank you for letting me appear to tell you about our
court uh the court is a function of the various departments in the city that give us criminal traffic tickets code enforcement parking matters as well as the private citizen
complaints um we are a function of what they send us the more they send the more we work um we work very hard I'm called almost every night through the early mornings for criminal uh probable cause decisions
disorderly persons cause probable cause to hear temporary restraining orders which usually take uh an hour if there's an interpreter which often times there are um bail we do blood draw and other
search warrants which uh has to be done have to be done in person so that means you I go to the courthouse even if it's in the middle of the night um we have been working hard we disposed about 14,45 cases this year
um our Revenue went up by about 880,000 this year our expenses as uh the controller indicated went up largely as a result of the need exorbitant need of interpreters we have Spanish we have
Turkish we have Korean we even have Creole and we had another one called erdo I didn't even know what that was but we have to get we're mandated by the AOC the administrative office of the courts to have those
uh interpreters we have to have them um so that's generates quite a bit of money uh in terms of expenses but we're mandated to do it um with regard to the revenue our hands are still tied um as
to being being able to suspend driver's licenses or to issue bench warrants for non-payment of fines or penalties since covid the state enacted a statute it's not an an administrative office of the Court directive
um that says that we cannot submit you know we can't issue a bench warant if they don't pay Their fines I can't tell the DMV to suspend their licenses and I I would really welcome uh the mayor and councel if they have any
uh lobbying power or influence with the state legislature to try and undo that statute um also they they blocked the state blocked the collections we have a private collection service which the state has blocked everybody so we have
deban can tell you but I think we probably have close or more than a million dollars in uncollected fines that we can't do anything about uh that would be great thing if I could put out bench warrants for these people who are are you know flouting the Court's
Authority and not paying their money and they all know about it that they can't do anything um so we can't even and we can't take them out of Collections and try to bring them in again once they're in collection they're in collections and they've Frozen the collections so there's nothing I can do with parking tickets if
I get two parking tickets on two separate days I can actually put a bench warrant out and the Motor Vehicle Commission is now suspending registrations for scoff laws so that's a little bit of help um but collections
are are difficult ever since covid and the court can't undo it because it's a legislatively done thing um we largely sit as as an Arbiter with regard to our residents we we evaluate and make decisions on compliance and enforcement
matters that are brought To Us by the various City uh department heads and and some citizens as well um I really try to achieve compliance of our city codes and ordinances uh I don't really want to
fine and penalize especially if the I understand that there are Financial constraints that may affect the the resident's ability to actually upgrade or maintain their property up to code so I try to be reasonable and give them
time to do so uh and normally that works um so I try to do that and I extend myself so that they can get it done but being reasonable um we work hard everyone in the court um especially on court days um
our court sessions are are jam-packed and we sometimes stay after five and the staff will stay right with me until we finish the court calendar um they don't get overtime or anything for that [Music]
um interpreting again the DWI also the state legislature when they Chang the statutes they determine that if you get your ignition interlock device which is virtually mandated in
every DWI before they come to court and all the attorneys the defense bar is telling them get your get your uh inter device placed on your vehicle and get your temporary license or your restricted license you don't have to pay
fines so $250 is the minimum fine a th000 is the maximum fine you know you multiply that by hundred or so DWI that we do a year that's a lot of money that we're not getting but of course the state legislator made sure
they kept their four State uh their state four state mandated C charges and but we don't get any money on that we get $33 in court cost on each D DWI that the attorneys have their CH their defendants take care of so we can't do
anything with that so we're losing money on the DWI because the defense bars telling their attorneys their clients go get the ignition interlock device placed on bring it to court and then they don't have to pay your fines um so that's not helpful um we
have some new Young uh clerks in the in the court who are really promising talented smart Debian has been training them nonstop um we've had some problems in
the past where we train them we they work with us and then they move on to another court and get more money um I'm hoping that that Trend goes away but we're um we need some help on that um they
have to we have to stay competitive and so I'm hoping that that's taken into consideration and of course we have a very experienced court administrator and Deputy who make my job so much easier because they are so knowledgeable so
talented and so helpful um so that's all I really have to say if there are any questions for Debian or myself be happy to answer them okay thank you for the presentation
uh anyone uh from the governing body who wishes to make a comment or ask a question please raise your hand okay mayor yes hi judge how are you thank you so much uh for your you service your professionalism I have to
say that you and the prosecutor are two professionals that I never speak to for ethical reasons and this is the only chance that I have to kind of put forward something um you artfully discussed uh Financial constraints that
some individuals will have um there are people with means somehow who also come into the vector as it were there's a resident that called me he lives in one house he's building another house he didn't even know that there's a sidewalk
in front of the house that he's building and then the police fine him for not shoveling toet a sidewalk um I is this something that from a policy point of view we ought to uh be thoughtful of if
there's a construction site should the police try to track down the owner or is it just smart to for them to leave a ticket principally I'd like to have your take from a code enforcement and from a policy consideration well policy considerations are I have to worry about
the Health and Welfare of the residents who are going to Traverse That Sidewalk when it gets stomped down and freezes and refreezes and it's it's bumpy and whatever right the developer or the Builder knows there's a sidewalk there knows it has to
be shoveled and before they get to me they're given one or two warnings and when they get to me I've already known that the Cod supervisor dolphy or one of the other ones have already told them hey look shovel this or you're gonna get a ticket and again shovel it or you're
gonna get a ticket and then they get to me and I'm like well you know three strikes you're out get it done otherwise so the own so the owners not empathetic because he's got a worker on site who may be less sensitive
and there' have been warnings exacted and everything so I I appreciate that um I can imagine that there are things that you would suggest that we ought to do you and I spoke some time back about going into the schools and speaking to
the kids about DUIs and preventing crimes from happening for the same kind of just notification purposes and everything so I'd be happy to join you if you're up for it still I contacted Sergeant Restrepo who is the juvenile
officer and if uh I will contact Chief G and if he appro approves the the program we'll get in touch with the High School principles and administrators over there and see if we can work something out I've got a wonderful uh film and I
actually starve in and uh it's it's quite good good so I would like to do that yeah I would like uh to join you in another life I was a federal prosecutor so I'm kind of partial to getting the kids uh on the right side um early on
with a lot of choices and so forth so thank you again judge um I've heard no complaints at all and I just want to thank you again for your service thank you so much mayor pleasure councilwoman
David hi judge um thank you for everything you do which is greatly appreciated um yeah judge lety my question to you are we still doing Zoom with a lot of our um you know uh summons tickets or
appearances we still doing zoom and we are we are H okay I would say probably 75% uh of our tickets and whatnot are done via Zoom uh if a complicated case
or a DWI or any matters that would are called by the uh US government as consequences of magnitude which means they have a possibility of jail a possibility of losing their license or a fine of $800
or more I bring them in in person I like to see those trials especially if there are complex ones um because I mean I have to evaluate their credibility I like to see you know their hand movements how they answer questions uh
if they are candid if they are avoiding the questions uh I like that because with a zoom you know someone could be standing in front of my camera right now telling me what to say and I don't know that so I like that uh if I can but yeah
the administrative office of the court has said that Zoom is here to stay um but I have been given discretion so I can bring people in um sometimes I will bring in a recal trenant uh defendant
who has made four non- appearances I said all right good you have Disturbed the court you've disobeyed the court notices uh we have had um to pay any Turkish interpreter to be
here today and you didn't show up for four times and we had to get that interpreter each time I think you're going to come into court and I will do that occasionally um just to sort of you know Co them into doing what they're supposed to do but everybody out there seems to
think that you know they know the court doesn't have a lot of teeth like we did before covid and you know I can't do anything I I would hope that someone has some State senator's ear who could say Hey you know we're losing money and a
lot of money um maybe you could change that law I I see no reason for it it worked for since 1947 since the Constitution of the Jersey was entered and then I understand Co made it
difficult and people were uh hibernating in their houses and staying away uh but I think that's over now but you know I'm not the governor I'm not the mayor I'm not a legislator slator all I can do is hope that somebody does something but if
you guys can help it would be great and J lety do you think that if we mandate some of these hearings in person it would cost the taxpayers less of the keep rescheduling rescheduling and be hiring these translators and everything would it be cost effective to have them
come in person more than doing these Zoom meetings that's my ask the zoom meetings if the people do what they're supposed to do are fine uh we try to avoid uh having to have the expense of
security in the courtroom we would need one or two sometimes three police officers in the courtroom if we have in-person matters especially if they're going to be testifying as well we try to get them to act as our security as well
as a uh States witness um I like in person that's my personal preference but um I'm Bound by what the AOC tells me to do right thank you thank you so much
anybody else from the governing body have councilman Rosen SW hi thank you and thank you for the presentation judge thank you councilman um so I you know part of the reason you know we have
fines for misbehavior is is a disincentive and so if you're having great difficulty collecting them you know what you talked about some of the tools you might be able to use um is there anything else that could be helpful is there anything the council
can do to you know uh we're not the state legislature um but is there anything the council can do to help you with a collection of fees so we have disincentives to to some of this Behavior probably not you are in the
same situation I am I'm Bound by the Supreme Court and there's so much I can do as a matter of fact we get a directive almost every week and one of the more recent one says that I must offer every defendant a time payment order if they are unable to pay Their
fines in full so my first question after I find them guilty or they plead guilty I say um do you have a credit card and when they answer yes I said oh then you have the financial ability to pay your fines well I don't want to pay it I want
a time payment order I said no you can take the time payment and you can pay take all the time you want and pay all the interest you want on your credit card but every time I go to the gas station and ow the $20 worth of regular they don't say come back next Thursday
and set give me some money and if I don't come back I've got to chase them so so I try to do that um because if they have that they have the financial ability and some of them tell me you know I have maxed out my credit card limit and I go okay come in tomorrow
morning bring your last credit card and I want to see your limit and then all of a sudden oh I can pay a judge now I try to be a step ahead of them sometimes I am sometimes I'm not all right thank you very much judge thank
you okay anybody anybody else from the governing body have any questions okay um I I have a couple questions um judge yes so so you said
that you have $1 million of uncollected fines yes and um um of those $1 million of uncollected find since covid uh how many how how how many uncollected fines do you have for 20 20 24 please no
that's the whole total that's not since covid that's before covid all those fines added up over the years that's not 2020 this is before that so it's a total of that now okay so what are the uncollected fines for
2024 please they didn't give us that breakdown because there is no collection agency anymore we could run the total it runs total it doesn't runs separately by year it runs one big file the AOC sent us the report monthly and it runs
monthly not by it shows the whole Court how much the total is that's so is there any way to look at the the total at the end of 2023 and the total at the end of 2024 yeah when we run the total at the end of each month so I could give you
the total December 2024 the end of the year when they run the sheet I could tell you that okay and then and then we'll subtract that from the total of 2023 so we can see what the total uh uncollected fines were for 2024 is there could you get that to Mr
Hoffman and yeah I'll give it to him okay so so let's get the uncollected for 2024 let's take a a look at what that number is for the one year um I had asked Mr Hoffman so this is I guess more of a Mr Hoffman question um in terms of
comp comparison of our court to our surrounding courts how how what is our percentage compared to our our neighbors in terms of our um re our revenues to our expenses I don't have that information
we haven't finished Gathering it okay so so if you don't mind if you could just send that to the council as well um is there is there any way judge that you could see that we would benefit for some kind kind of shared service with the
court system because the current numbers are really not sustainable well the expenses have gone up they're not they're not going to go away largely is the uh the interpretation Services um we
have Karen figuroa who we have in um we've got like 16 17 courts a week um she's probably in for 10 or 12 of them each week interpreting and she's very good
um but shared services it's not going to work for Englewood because we are like the top 10 courts is 72 municipality with the top 10 we in the top 10 so and that's a lot of work and most of the courts have court you know maybe twice a
week twice a month we do 16 or 17 a month plus whenever we need to do extras all coming on Monday or Friday and we'll do DWI or something like that unless they're going to double my salary and double the stop salary that's it so so
what you're saying making up saying that we're too busy to to do a shared service I'm saying it's a lot of work there in the court to do a lot of work you have the E is you don't understand when you see one DWI ticket and the repetitive
work on one ticket you'll be like if you were sitting there you would just scream so I'm saying think about thousands of tickets that comes in and then a parking ticket everybody wants a trial and a $30
ticket okay they say it's not the the fine it's the principal so they plan a court date we schedule them they want a trial we got to bring the per the parking enforcement officer in or the police officer in then we bring them in
and then they don't show up then we give them an FTA then they call the next day cursing us and then we have to put it back on the calendar again for another time it up to three ftas and the fines before if they don't show up then the
fines go up to $10 and now they are suspending licenses only on parking tickets so if you don't show up it goes to FTA it go to pus to desus to close out to DMV that's how it's done so when you come and see at see the desk come
and see the work and see how it's done it's a lot of work sitting there and doing all that stuff and a lot of it is repetitive yes but then we deal with the jails we deal with probation we deal with the prisons we deal with the attorneys we deal with the people
cursing us out at the window because they think it's our fault we deal with everything in there we customer service is number one we answer the food we do everything it's a Non-Stop thing okay um and M Mr calman um um on the on
one of the spreadsheets you gave me the um expenses projected for 2025 are you Mr calman can you hear me yeah I'm here there was there was a number of 253 500 I'm just confirming that number it's
it's on a spread sheet that you sent me for for yes 253 500 yes so we're projecting then just to understand that um this year right this year I think in
actuality it was 166,000 but for next year projecting 253 500 it it was 166 and then we made transfers so the modified budget was 21 with transfers by the end of the year we
ended up budgeting 201,000 at the end of 24 so so we B so we actually the actuality was over 200,000 yeah because we transferred if you see in the summary appropriation summary like it shows 166
is adopted and then modified as 2011 okay and then for next year we we put that number at 253 because we expect our our uh interpretive fees to go up by $50,000 WN could answer that better I mean yes because of all the
interpretation is a lot of it and it is required right no no one's doubting that it is oh I'm I'm just this is a budget hearing I'm just I'm looking at the numbers nobody's questioning the work or or any of that we're just looking at the
numbers oh okay the budget hearing okay all right that's all I have um Mr Hoffman did you have a question yes uh thank you council president I had a um just a a question and and then a comment um judge you were
um you were being being polite you would ask the council um if if they could help uh my terminology is Lobby state legislators to change the law so that it's easier to issue bench warrants could you just um just discuss that one
one more a minute please and just what would what would be what would be um- re ired this is a this is a state law so that the Municipal Court judges would be able to issue bench warrants they wouldn't have to go through the administrative office of the court is
that what the request is we would we would be able to do that at our own discretion right now if we want to issue a a bench warrant for nonappearance I have to fill out a form for each and every one I have to wait for them to have at least two nonanes with no mail
return then I have to send that request down to judge Galina who will then approve it or disapprove it before we get a bench warrant I would be happy if I could get that for nonpayment for failures to appear we schedule the cases and they don't come in because they know
we can't do anything so the non-payment we could generate a lot of income if I could have some teeth into the the orders that I put out so if the Slate State Legislature is the only one that can change that law you know the court is hamstrung because I've gone to judge
enena I've gone to judge cuno who's our assignment judge and I've asked them is it going to happen and they're like no not unless somebody you know in the state legislature or the governor wants to do it so I'm hoping that there are some I I can't get involved politically
at all but I'm hoping that some of our councilman U or our mayor may have some input that they could Lobby a little bit and see if that could be undone that would be so helpful okay no thank you we'll we can
follow up offline and then members of the governing body I wanted to thank uh judge lety because during 2024 he was uh kind enough to agree to hold um hold some question and answer session uh question and answer session with us over
here in City Hall just to talk about um the uh the proper ways to to fill to have reports filled out so that um when when you know Property Maintenance has to go to court uh that uh every
Everything is Everything is in order and there's no delays on the side of the city so um you know just thankful for I'm just thankful that the judge did that to to give us a a refresher course on on what needs to be done so thank you
thank you so much Mr hofman so so just before before we end the hearing I just want to just I want to thank you for the presentation I just want to go back to just a few points point so uh one is Will um Mr Hoffman will need to we'll
need to get the council the list for 20124 of uncollected Revenue so we understand um the scale of the issue which will help us when we contact legislators and I guess um next year you know when we have the presentation if
we're still in the same boat maybe that that could be something that we can get in the presentation the uncollected uh revenues for 2025 if you know if we're still in that situation the second piece of information that we need so that we
could Lobby legislators is we really have to have an idea of what our neighbors are like you know what their numbers are looking like too so that's another piece of information Mr Hoffman that the council needs and then we can work with our neighbors and surrounding
municipalities in this effort to Lobby the legislators so um so with that I'm I'm going to end the public hearing or I'm going to end the budget hearing uh for the court and thank you so much for
coming in for the presentation I got a I got a quick question go ahead it was stated that we're in the top 10 um not sure what that meant okay you could go ahead judge we are the
top 10 busiest in the top 10 I think we're probably in the top six or five uh busiest courts in the county out of the 72 different courts that are out there looking at our our neighbors uh you've got angle with Cliffs who maybe sits once a month uh they don't have anywhere
near the volume that we do in our court um so yeah we are one of the most is that du to our code enforcement Police Department I'm sorry is that due to a code enforcement SL Police Department
all of the different departments we are a function we are reactionary to what we bring in or what is brought to us I get it the police department write 500 tickets we do 500 tickets if they bring in 600 we do 600 we just don't
stop yeah so it' be a little difficult for us to get a a fair comparison if we're in a top 10 and our neighbors are 20 or 30 or 40 exactly okay thank you thank you right and and that's why U Mr hoffen when we do get
the data if we can look at the ratios that's what we're looking at uh ratios over time and all the all the um surrounding towns that will give us a lot of information so again thank you so much for the presentation I'm going to end the budget hearing uh yansy um we
could I'm just going to wish you a good night and um Yan if we can bring in uh I guess let me see who's presenting for the library today it says angood Library I think I think it might be Kate let me try and see who it is okay thank you
thank you everyone thank you doctor thank you mayor he bye bye thank you okay bye bye hi judge Kate is that you it is we I was here the whole time um I'm joined with our board president n
nasia as well she's here hi good evening um before you get started I'm going to ask Mr calman to say a few words sure very few words because there's not much to say except uh we give them the minimal third of the mill which this
year comes out to 2,239 431 which is an increase of $123,000 over last year but this is St a state formula that we have no control of thank you um let's start the
presentation now thank you hi yansy can I share my screen please do I have the capability to do so you're on mute I'm sorry yeah with webinar you can just hit the share button in the corner it's a green
arrow should be at the bottom of your screen oh got it thank you for that help okay and I let me move the box out of the way and present okay can everyone
see yes okay very good thank you so much hi everyone thank you for um allowing us for this time hope everyone's having a good evening um so this is the angleo public library 2025 budget presentation just a little bit about us um the
library uh offers many services besides books movies Audi books playways and CDs um we also circulate um things that are launchpads that are for kids that are video screens for um them to read along with uh magazines and newspapers we
circulate hotspots we are fine free fine Free Library which is um very common these days amongst the 78 other libraries within buckles we have 20 computers for public use um we are one of the homes for local history we work
very closely with the Historical Society um patrons can come and here and scan copy print and facts as well as use our free Wi-Fi we also offer free notary services which are greatly used Museum
passes for adult card holders in good standing we have our art gallery which hosts um numerous artists through throughout the year and they also have receptions um sharing their art with um everyone in Anglewood and we also offer lots of
programming [Music] um next okay um we also offer some more online services LinkedIn learning formerly known as Linda prinda linda.com um online educational site featuring thousands of videos and
courses um and video tutorials hoopla can and canopy Libby are all pretty much the same that offer Digital Media Services for allowing all patrons with a library card to borrow books movies music um ebooks comics and TV shows to
enjoy um and canopy especially has documentaries foreign films think Netflix but all for free with your library card we are a part of buckles which gives um all of angle Wood's patrons if we don't have it here in house we can
quickly get it for you because we also have our own delivery service that delivers daily so it allows all of our patrons to have access to over 5 million catalog items access to 78 other libraries um ease of use of getting
those books is is again very very quickly with our own inter Library loan and delivery service over 20,000 multilingual items from uh various languages throughout the world if um our library doesn't have it we can get it
from another library for our patrons um we promote literacy uh education and personal enjoyment and um it's definitely an added Val value to each community that is a part of buckles there have been cities and towns that
have um become independent libraries and weren't a part of buckles so they don't have the reciprocal borrowing or any of the other access to databases and other wonderful things that are part of the consortia and within a year or two they have rejoin buckles um because it is
just makes it more worth their while and also um it gives access for Library staff for continuous professional development through all of the different committees and um webinars and lectures that buckles themselves puts forth
together for Library staff for the betterment of us all um just a few stats that we would like to brag about for 2024 um circulation went up 14% from 2023 so
we're very pleased with that we have circulated over um we have circulated 1,900 1,95 840,000 items um we are open 64 hours a week seven days a week Third only to police
and fire in the city of Anglewood um nearly 11,000 computer sessions were used little over 13,000 reference interactions so people coming to us seeking all kinds of information um up in our reference Department um we did
243 notaries Museum passes circulated 465 times hotpots which the mobile Wi-Fi 233 times card holders are about 11 a little over 11,000 Patron visits 171,000 and we did over one uh
1,446 programs um in 2024 with um nearly 177,000 people in attendance in our in our a whole year of 2024 so with our programming and Community engagement um we do it for adults teens and childrens this past
year was the first year we did the tiny art project which uh was a um group project where we gave out uh um canvases and people created their own art on it and we displayed it in our gallery and it was really great for
people loved coming to see their own art here um we have crafts to go and of course always urging children um with our uh CH children's team going to the schools or having school visits here urging children to get library cards
because if you start them young they will be repeat customers and come back often these are just some of the few programs that we offer here at the library of those that was um like 1400 programs that we did last year from knitting and crocheting to um
uh um lectures on pop culture to um author visits our own book clubs our wonderful it'll be this year the 13th annual Jazz Under the Stars which is fantastic and always very well attended at on our front Plaza um as well as
French conversation group um just it it's just so great to have uh you know people come and practice their here and we have also partnered um with the Bergen pack various times where they had given us some tickets and we had a raffle for our patrons so that Drew
patrons in a lot we also offer ESL classes those are grant-funded um ESL online and in person um a weekly favorite for um our community is coffee with the mayor which we have every Friday we have philosophy dialogue and
another part of the coming you know being a part uh communing with the um the whole Community we are a polling place so we're very proud of that and we are a heating and cooling center when you know our AGB is all all working as
it should um but you know we are proud to be able to do that and to service the people of our community um our full-time staff uh you know and part-time as well but more so the full-time of our Librarians we uh encourage professional
development and they're encouraged to partake in training courses throughout the year uh webinars classes committee meetings um just to make sure that everyone is up to date and knowledgeable of all of the things that are out there for um Librarians again we get these
through buckles njla ala and the Public Library Association and we also have um plans underway for a staff development day for in-house training with speakers again to better better prepare the staff and keep them knowledgeable in
all things Library um some challenges that aren't new and I'm sure most of you have heard before um the HVAC uh whereas we're slated this year for the heat portion of our HVAC to be updated thanks to the psng direct installation program
this year in 2025 the air conditioning will still pose a problem during the warmer months as a designated heating and cooling center um as well as the comfort of the staff and patrons this could pose many issues so that's something we're going to be looking at for this year going forward and another
perennial problem which has gotten better but not always you know maybe it's just because the winter and people aren't out um visiting our our local restaurants and shops as much but parking um available parking for staff and patrons it's not new but it's a
persistent issue our shared lot is misused um daily uh also Paving would might be um Ben official uh the wear and tear just through the winter we have noticed a few different potholes and and
um you know some different areas that broken you know uh busted up up curbs or the parking when you pull into the spots the I'm sorry I don't know what they're called but like the parking stops um some of those could also use some
replacing so looking forward some great things that we're looking forward to this year which you know we had brought up last year but now was the time since we successfully went to bid and we've started our pre-construction meetings with our cpf grant um so we received the
cpf grant the end of 2023 um put into practice and moving forward in 24 and it will be making much needed upgrades and improvements to the library for all of the community to use this includes ADA Compliant bathrooms on the main level um
quiet study space um which the library currently does not have as well as many other upgrades um to our space uh we would like to increase patronage um we know we can't do that during um a construction but we're going
to hit the ground running with uh after that is all done to try to increase our patronage because only 32% of Anglewood has a library card um and we're hoping in 2025 and Beyond working towards increasing that number which will of course up our circulation our program
attendance and and uh just overall use of the library and better we would then be able to better serve the community by hearing those voices of those people who are not here to be able to offer programs um for them services for them
and would like to work with work do more work with Community Partnerships strengthening the relationships we have already have a really good relationship with the schools but we would like it to be even stronger um you know we would love every kid going into kindergarten to already have a library card so
strengthen relationships between schools Community organizations retail outlets for a more unified Anglewood how can we all help each other we're all here in this wonderful place um and we should be able to help each other out um as needed
and not just by sharing our parking lot um some potential budget increases um with the increase of everything that we have had going on um that there could be a need for part-time par professional and our circulation desk are in the children's Department this will also
alleviate the staff s shortages on the weekends some more improvements with the pending renovation of the cpf grant the library will be in need of updating its staff room or Technical Services room where all of our items are processed and on the lower level um the windows and
doors and of course um the HVAC system um and as well as materials and programming while circulation numbers grow the demand for materials is high high demand materials can be purchased in multiples instead of just buying one copy of the new bestseller um
programming can also be increased reaching a wider audience suiting a variety of interests um and this is where we're located 31 angle street but I'm sure you guys all know that um this is all of the places where we're represented online and these are our hours and thank you
for your time and please come and check us out thank you so much okay thank you very much for for that comprehensive presentation yansy can we shut or can we shut down the slideshow please hey
you're gonna have to unshare okay um when I click on it it just says to share again can someone assist me in um do I just go back to this nope I apologize oh stop share I'm sorry thank
you great um if anyone on the governing body has has a comment or question um I'll start with councilwoman David and then after councilwoman David finishes uh the mayor go ahead coun um that was a wonderful
presentation thank you we have a beautiful library and also um you Council Rosen swag thank you for your wife for helping putting this grant together for the up needed um Renovations greatly appreciative of that
um my I have like two questions only yes um it's um do you have any signs up that said staff parking or anything and or you know code enforcement as far as staff parking or maybe we can put something in order that they go in there
and they could put something in a window or something like that or maybe a little sticker that you can see that they're patrons of the library or something like that part two you said that you're um you know you're doing a great job with our um competing with our neighboring
towns and I when I go to my neighboring town in tenly they give the first sheet um free for printing and it only charged 10 cents a copy for that so how come we're charging like 25 cents per copy when
we're trying to increase things when I see a bunch of Englewood kids in tly printing I mean in tenna fly from Englewood printing because the mother said they got to Pint out like 50 pages and it's cheaper and tenna oh um I'm well to answer your first question there
are signs in the parking lot that say it's Reser you know through here and through the upper deck area um since we do share the parking lot with the Renaissance Building um sometimes it's hard to know I know this is a perennial problem and I I don't have an answer for it and I know my predecessors have also
tried to figure this out um but you know bring giving it to everyone the greater mind hiive that maybe um in the future we can come up with something but there are signs that say Anglewood parking only um Anglewood library parking only uh towed at owner's expense um staff
does have like placards you know um but especially since we work in shifts like when our one o00 staff um comes in it's very hard to find parking sometimes um and as for your second um comment
question um I I don't have I I hear you um that's something that I can discuss with my board um but I do know because again this was in place before I started here but I do know not specifically tly that you spoke of um but we are pretty
on par um that is something statistically that uh we share through buckles you know what other libraries are charging and are out there um but that is something we can take into consideration and it's something um I will discuss with my board and we'll go from there no thank you because um that
I they've been doing this for years the first sheet free and every sheet 10 cents I was just there last week okay that like 100 copies double-sided and they're the cheapest and they're like right there our neighboring town right and also I fill you in a parking part
because I remember going to a restaurant um across from your library and I'm looking at them he goes can I have your car keys and he tried to take my car keys and park in the library and I'm like no that's not valet parking and I understand your pain I appreciate it and and the other thing just to just to also
comment um as as has you know uh speaking about like I said we into it further but also the um price of toner and paper have gone up exponentially so that could also play a part in um to the copying thing but we'll we'll discuss it
and I'll I'll um speak with them further about it thank you thank you and you keep up the good work and thank you greatly appreciated Council mayor yes good evening uh two quick comments and then a couple of
questions um first I'm a huge fan of viers Kate anybody who can put up with me for the period of time that you do on a weekly basis with the coffee with the mayor needs a lot more than caffeine um and I know that you're beloved by the board and by everybody who patronizes
the library so we're lucky to have you thank you um I made sure that you had two very strong members Karen Moss Doug Burn's wife who literally spends every night of her life in the library um very ascon in it and Mark Schwarz um who was
a law librarian retired as a lawyer many many years ago became a law librarian and now retired from that so I think you have some you have a very strong uh talented board we do and they both if I may comment they both have been very um helpful uh even in their short time here
already Karen comes with great ideas and marks knowledge um you know and because he has also worked in a library so it's nice to have that part of it as well wonderful and I'm very proud of that I'm also as equally proud of the events that
you have this is again a source of pride in many ways the pride flag is raised something that I I put into the city's Chronicle many years ago when I came back um and it gives people a measure of comfort when it comes to Black History Month in August remember the 400 and a
lot of other wonderful programming that you do I even enjoy uh our former councilman Cobb's uh rendition during Black History Month with David your program director and all that couple of things I wanted to kind of um just bring
to your attention and I did this when I swore in the new members um first I don't like the lot being misused I find it very frustrating myself when I have to come to the library and I got to go
securly around three times um I just don't think it's uh been planned uh properly and it needs an upgrade and I think there has to be something more more formal with that with Sophia the restaurant um and I'm not pleased with
um the the way that this is being executed because there are people that stay late at night and um the library closes at 9:00 as I understand they're in that's past dinner time and I think that patrons who are patronizing the libraries ought to have a preference and
we ought to build that into uh this I'd love to see you and the city manager figure out a a study of this uh and make sure that it's not misused whether it's people coming by to the business building next door to the restaurant or even to the clinic uh next door to the
restaurant which may get a certain amount of pedestrian traffic also very true um I would like to help you raise that 32% library card um statistic so if you want to go on a campaign in the schools um and get library card
applications and everybody's Ruck back and and start doing some videos in social media I'd like to you know sit down with you separate and apart so please follow up with me on that AB absolutely will do thank you the main the main concern that I have for this
governing body would be years back when I I came left I forget it I'm already like in a in a in a Turn Style um angu Cliffs had ended up getting the fort Ang Cliffs went to Fort Lee Fort Lee
increased their Korean uh language and their Asian language uh books and facilities and resources we were making like 200 Grant at the time they're paying fortly 150 Grant um you know I used to be critical
of angu cff because we served them and and provided all these services and they really didn't contribute back but then we ended up in some uh with a loss and I would love to see this come back in some capacity and it doesn't necessarily have to be angu when we talk about shared
services there may be other services that our library um uh presents that the library in Leonia doesn't present or the one in tenek doesn't present or programming and other things that so you know I would also ask uh the city
manager to kind of when you sit down maybe on the parking lot to kind of look at that relationship this is a contractual relationship that we had for up years and then they went on their own to a neighboring town and we kind of
never really worked to get them back um I don't know if angood Cliffs is happy in Fort Lee and I would like to have conversations with them and you and see how it would work and what kind of inventory we would need and are there
budgets out there to get good video and uh book inventory in Korean for the community that would need it from there and so forth right what are your thoughts um you know it's again something that predates me um and from
my knowledge of the matter it was more so of um a political movement from the former mayor of Anglewood Cliffs who made that deal with the mayor of Fort Lee so um again I I don't you know it's something that we can have the
conversation of with um but I don't know if you know now that Fort Lee has them if they'll necessarily let them go um you know on occasion we do have some uh Anglewood Cliff's patrons uh citizens come into the
library um whether it's to see the gallery or for a program and saying how they do miss coming to this space again especially because it's easier to get to than fortly Library um and uh you know um it's a bigger conversation but it's
something that we can definitely look into and you know see if if it's something possibility for the future but again like I said the history might be bigger than just the shared Library I I get that but feel free to put me feel
free to put me in a reconnaissance to reach out to the leaders in all those communities I don't mean any disrespect to Fort Lee but we were there first and I would like to you know figure out again um what we can do to get not just Revenue but make more things efficient
like I said the getting a better library cards the dealing with misuse of the parking um and of course this issue if we can get some more Revenue because the materials are there the pedestrian traffic is robust um and I think it would be nice to kind of mix up again
with another Community absolutely thank you kid for all your hard work thank you councilman Rosen s thank you um talking about library cards some of the uh Gen X people on the call might
remember when Fonzi got his library card that was a a big uptick I don't know if that's still talked about in in Li librarian circles I think it the biggest single day of or single week of library card registrations in American history
that's awesome I didn't know that yeah well let's get Henry winkl to help us he would he is a great advocate for librarians uh libraries and Librarians and he did write um a set of children's books a number of years back um so you never know that's right I don't think he
has the same cache as he did in uh 195 probably yeah so he just he did wi an AM me recently but um uh so you know uh we as you know the council passed uh the correct construction company uh
thank you at this time so when um when do we think you'll be breaking ground on that um we had our very first pre-construction meeting last week and if you know there's many more meetings to have just before we get
there um but we're hoping um in the next you but I they said late April um think in May okay um and again our unique structure lends us to not have to be able to close um when they're working on
different levels or can cordon off certain areas so we'll still be able to be open and and serve our public as we have been um and if Co taught us anything we can run unlimited you know Services by doing curbside pickup for things like that as the weather turns
nicer we can have story time or concerts or lectures out on the front Plaza um so we're we're just sidebar with that um so we're you know Forward Thinking With It um but we don't have a definite date it's something that will be shared as
soon as we do have a definite date um and we were you know assured but of course we're full of will we still be able to be a cooling center during hope hopefully so um like I said we're trying to remain open as much as possible we
know towards the end of the when they're doing the finishes of of painting and putting in the new carpeting on all of the levels um we will just have to close just for Logistics so um maybe for um they said about a week but let's you
know say a week and a half two weeks of possible closure um and again it's something that we will keep everybody um in the community as well as the council and mayor um involved in um but I don't have any definitive answers right now um but as soon as we do as things start to
move um forward um I will gladly share all of that information yeah and also just um to spread the word I mean I I I literally use Libby and or hoopla uh every single day so um not as
be um but uh but they're amazing apps completely free I used to pay money to Audible and now that there's no need to no so maybe we'll have to have some celebrity endorsements by our Council speaking out on well idea of celebrity
uh you got you got bigger Pro you got very big problem all right thank you so much you could do your best FS right you could yay exactly thank you thank you councilman Wilson yes good evening uh thank you for the presentation it was very informative
we just have a couple quick questions sure um did I hear or see or read you said 171 plus patreons unique visits 171,000 right now and and how are we um
ascertaining those numbers door counters at the desk door counters oh okay all right that's good um we have to um sorry sorry to uh interrupt but each year we have to do all libraries um we have a state aid report that we need to put
together for the state of New Jersey we keep statistics on many many many things and all of these things are then dumped into a report and sent down to the State Library down in Trenton and I just turned ours in last week it's not due until the end of March but I I wanted it
and and out of the way so um yeah we have door counters on both of our doors and um we keep statistics on all of that okay and is that number down or up from last year uh it was up okay it was up I think like 20 up by 20 or so thousand
and what do you attribute the upswing to um well we have had an increase in programming um and then also at the end of last year I would have to break it down by month um but I know summer summer was very big for us we have offer
you know our summer reading programs we had um it's in our my report that I share with the board each month when we have our meetings um summer reading was through the roof for teens children and um adults the children's was and how many days a week with with the um was
the reading programs oh well it's for the whole summer um but we offered a lot of programs you know we have programming usually five days a week um and um towards the end of the year with the closure we can attribute some of the numbers maybe that's where's the extra
you know 10,000 or so um tck library is currently closed for renovations and just last week um for but they're home Library if they need to get a library card or do anything like that they have to go to New Milford that's considered that's where their Administration is um
but with a library card with your library card you can go to any of the 70 other libraries and buckles like councilman you can come and get your card here at the Anglewood library but never use it here you could use it if you say you worked in pamis you could just solely use it at that Library um
Again part of the Buckle shared services um but so we may have SE we definitely saw an uptick of patrons from um from Tina coming here with their closure and just about two weeks ago I think it was um Fort Lee Library closed because they
also got um the same Grant but not as much money but the the cpf grant that we got so they're doing some current Renovations so we'll also see an uptick um with patrons from that for people to come pick up
materials that that's great I am a proud card carrying member I appreciate you guys for your service and what you present and hopefully this would be an opportunity to show our neighboring towns that we have the facilities that
they would um would that would entice them to stay with us as well absolutely I think my my last question would be we had on the table some time ago about a mobile Library um are there any thoughts about moving
forward um not anything I know this was discussed with my predecessor when I was an assistant director nothing has moved forth um as of yet but it's not something you know that's completely taken off the table um just a few things
I know that were discussed at the time that you run into um if we have a bookmobile in the sense um there's also you know the maintenance of the vehicle um license licensing and insurance um Staffing uh but you know
again it's not something that's taken off the table but um it's some it's a bigger you know um project um something that also been discussed and again I don't know how all of those things are moving forward but um there was also
talk of um the possibility of having sort of um an Annex at the Liberty school if that you know Pro um uh moves forward um but again nothing is taken off the table these are all you know
kind of wait and see you know sort of things I know it's unfortunate that yes as much as of a walking City we are we're not necessarily near any school so sometimes it is um a hardship for you know kids and teens to get here um so if
bringing then um us to them is you know a different story uh and Al together and can assist bridging that Gap sure it would be great if we move forward to have a hub at Liberty school and if not continue the conversation in
regards to a mobile library or SL trolleys to get um the elderly and the young to to our library because I think it's imperative about the location that as we move forward that we we figure out how to Garner support for you guys and
to to pick up the traffic and let people know how many great um opportunities are available at our library so thank you for allowing me to keep the conversation open in regards to the traveling Library thank you absolutely thank you thank you
and someone else had I remember recall that as well and again that predates my time here but I was told of the trolley that used to to come you know up this way so um again a greater conversation for as I mentioned you know um how can we all help each other and that might be
something for the future thank you absolutely thank you thank you for what you guys do absolutely my pleasure I thank you very much for for that informative presentation I'm gonna say good evening
now um and yansy can we bring Walter in please for the um I see he's for the building and Code Department uh budget presentation thank you all for your time thank you Kate okay
um and before before the presentation starts Mr calman do you want to say a few words um so uh UCC uh salaries when up
$79,000 an increase from 1 mil 1,281 to 1,360 and other expenses went down $15,500 a decrease uh from 188,000 to1 172,500 and if you look uh by the
department sheets there's also a summary of the 2024 code operations that I uh created for you guys so it has the the revenues that they made a million 997 in 2024 and with the salaries and benefits and other expenses and I even took like
the uh elevator fee our elevator cost our electric cost so they lost uh $535,000 last year okay thank you um we're ready for the presentation good evening we have I'm off mute correct
we can hear you okay I just want to make sure good evening mayor and councel I'd like to start off my presentation by expressing my sincere gratitude to the mayor city council and city manager for the collaborative efforts at updating or fee schedule your support ensures our
department can continue to provide quality services while maintaining a fair and sustainable funding structure that properly aligns the cost with the usage with over, 1500 permits and 800 upgrades process is only fair that those
who benefit most from these Services contribute accordingly rather than Shifting the cost burden onto the entire tax base so code enforcement and protecting our community code enforcement is a multifaceted Department comprises
several specialized groups that work collaboratively across overlapping Building Safety Property Maintenance codes and the fundamental fundamental mission of our department to ensure that residents contractors Property Owners adhere to the codes and
regulations correctly and effectively our primary goal is not simply enforcement for enforcement's sake but rather protect the safety of life and property throughout our community by maintaining Vigilant oversight construction standards
property conditions and safety regulations we create a safer more resent angle wood for everyone when codes are properly followed we prevent potential hazards before they emerge preserve property values and
enhance the quality of life for all residents through education consistent application of standards and fair enforcement practices we strive to build a culture of compliance that serves the best interest of our entire Community this proactive approach to
code enforcement ultimately strengthens our neighborhoods protects our City's most valuable assets is people and their homes now for customer service and office improvements and before I start this I
want to thank uh Mr iton chat and and ashra frost for assisting me with this Mega project that we that we're going into with I into the it with uh AE AI coming in and sever
other variations of how to get your permits so for an effort more efficient customer service the city has upgraded the operating system and code enforcement we now handle inspections appointments for construction with online system we expect all contractors
to be using this system residents who find it convenient to stop in or they they can't handle the computer system they can come in for appointments at the front desk just by filling out a simple little form this system allows the inspectors who
made their own appointments previously more time in the field performing more inspections or doing more plan reviews in the office our next step will be accepting inspection appointments for property maintenance housing zoning and resale certificates
online we should be accepting applications of payments for all of our disciplines by the end of the year allowing residents to accomplish Municipal business with our departments in two clicks or less and driven further with AI
assistance again I I really appreciate the it crew that works for the city because I cannot do this by myself this this it's been a mega project as as of this time the division has two full-time
inspectors and working on hiring a third inspector for property maintenance inspectors are tasks in keeping properties neat and in repair we have one Tech assistant that handles the administrative work the inspectors notify Property Owners of
broken windows chipped and peeling paint overgrown Shrubbery High Grass as well as trash and the breze on their property they send out notices describing the violation if the violations aren't corrected the summons is
issued one on the housing side our housing inspectors perform rental inspections on units before new tenants move in ensuring a unit is painted properly floors are free of defects smoke detectors are functioning fire extinguish are charged and ensuring the
units are up to par and safe housing inspectors also investigate complaints of no heat rodent or insect infestation and other complaints of inferior housing property M also responsible for compliance of rental occupany
inspections rent stabilization landlord registration for the City rental occupancy inspections Ensure again new tennants are moving into clean up to units and rent stabilization controls the mid rage buildings so citizens can
afford to continue to live in the city we also have land use which consists of a certified zoning official to reduce submissions for new buildings additions new businesses for use fences driveways and all outside changes or use of land our certified land use
administrator receives and reviews all applications before assist in filing the applications answering many questions along the way making it easier and quicker for the applicant soon they will have ai to rely on much more which will
help move things along more briskly this process starts with the applications a review by the zoning officer for commercial properties an inspection by zoning and possibly the Fire official a review by the construction officially and finally back to the administrative assistant for
assistance amongst some one of the other Shores over there in in zoning and land use we have uh gone back to to administering
the the I'm sorry the uh the vacant property registration which the administration over there in that area covers it helps us track the properties that are vacant and keep them safe by keeping them boarded up an extra eye on them by the
police department so that the vagrants do stay out of them and we also get to collect a small fee which covers our administrative cost now into uniform construction code all employees that work with the review permitting inspections are required to be licensed by the state of New Jersey
Division of Consumer Affairs and follow the uniform construction code New Jersey njac 523 since all of our plan review viers subcode officials have the highest level of licenses which is HHS we're capable
of handling all plan reviews except for a short list that the state reserves the right to review such as brand new schools they they want to keep them under the Hat we do all the additions or all the maintenance work we are considered a class one town by the state
of New Jersey there are five specific subcodes building fire Plumbing electrical and elevator elevator is handled by a third party agency as the elevator elevator sub code normally is very few times have their own elevator
inspectors each subcode is required to have a plan reviewer and inspector technical assistant to the construction official was issued a licensing program two years ago and is required to have continue education the taco not only assist the construction official but
also all the applicants with the permit and inspection process Taco is responsible for handling all permit fees collection of affordable housing fees the tax assessor calculates the fee for each new building and additions on commercial buildings but when the permits are released we are
required to collect the deposit in the full balance before certificate of occupancies are released the city has also mandated a permit fee inspection fee on trains one more item covered by code enforcement a construction official this
is merely a short synopsis to give an overview to the Department's infrastructure and responsibilities looking ahead with the updated fee schedule in place our department is is posed for sustainable operations despite our project by
project approach we anticipate a stud Revenue stream that will provide the necessary foundation for efficient and effective services to be delivered based on careful analyst analysing we are requesting a budget allocation of a,
5565 for salaries and operating expenses to support our mission looking forward we're committed to leveraging Innovation to address the 70% error rate in public submission a challenge that currently creates up to three months of processing
backlog by backlog this issue head-on I'm Sorry by tackling this issue by head-on will not only improve our Department's efficiency but also enhance the experience for the residents and contractors alike the Strategic approach will ensure the construction Department continuous
continues to deliver exceptional service while supporting Anglewood ongoing development Improvement thank you for your continued support as we work to build a better City together thank you does anyone does
anyone from the governing body have any comments or questions okay thank you nobody has any comments so thank you for the presentation oh okay councilman Wilson unmute you're
unmute thank you Walter for sharing um your presentation we appreciate you coming on um did I hear our CFO say that we're at a deficit for 530,000 yeah we well EXC that that deficit
incompasses is the salaries all across the board no I'm sorry could you repeat that please that that deficit is part of is part of covering all the salaries across the board okay the use the uniform construction code does take in money
that covers the uniform construction part of the office the deficit was about $100,000 this year the deficit for the whole office is $500,000 but we have Property Maintenance and we have zoning which we
don't have a you Rec what it was last year Walter we didn't we didn't do a whole takeoff of the same deficit the same size deficit or we didn't do it with across the whole board they concentrate more on the uccc and what
the the UCC brings in and covers on that side of the so we're still in the same range that we've been historically with property maintenance inspectors uh significate of rental inspectors the timekeeper that keeps
time for both halves of I call it both halves of the office but non CC Personnel all right I'm gonna request that you're looking at that half a million dollars is made up for and the quality to workout in the field doing following up on the property
maintenance and zoning issues yeah to to to me just just hearing that number hurts my ears um so I I'm going to have to look at some reports from last year to see to see where we are and and how do we move forward to improve that and and and in
your estimation how do we how do we move forward to to get that number down well one of the items is automation um one of the other items is their collection of fees from the vacant property
we collected $30,000 this year and we only started it halfway through the year um other fees you could go back to raising the fees a little bit on the certificate
issuance of certificates of occupancy or certificates of continued occupancy rental certificates of rental occupancy that we do inspections for I think we could move some of that Walter's um enforcement or like the judge was saying earlier that his hands
are tied on getting some of these fees the that's those are summons fees we don't collect anything from the summons when the Su when they go Property Maintenance goes to court we don't get anything back from the court so we're not subsidized by the court or
by okay I wasn't aware of that thank you for sharing we're we're subsidized by the certificate of rental occupancies when we do an inspection it's a $100 um when we do certificate of
continued occupancy for one family homes it's $150 per maybe we can one of the things we could do is charge for a second inspection if they fail the first inspection can't sustain our our program on that though well there there's a
whole system that we could you know work on that no I understand so I got another question for you um did I hear you say 70% error rate yes that people people drop off their plans and permits so when you have a
construction job there's the contractor there's the building contractor the Electoral contractor it's a plumbing contractor and fire contractor you're talking about on the contractor side not on the city Side no not on the city Side
okayli coming in I get it we can move forward my concern was there was 7 error rate on our side and in regards to excuse me so we have a very minimal error rate okay 100% every day that that 70% just
jump right out at me um and as far as uh bacing houses what's the followup on that um as far as protocol on um on the homeowners conduct to keep that that property safe and not to be a nuisance so if the the
building is is absentee ownership yes sir usually gone into foreclosure a bank owns them but the banks flip them from one person to One bank to another bank for some reason to stay away from the property maintenance summonses because
oh it's gone the house is gone it's gone to the next next lender so what they have to do is register every time they own a home in the city or building that they own this property and once they release that property to another bank
that bank has to register or face a fine so we we ding them each time each time we they register to bank we ding them and and if they don't register we can send out a summons and then we get the summons we
the court collects the summons fee but we get them to pay up and register that empty building when when we have we have the information to go straight to somebody that has to take care of it it's much easier to get it taken care of
okay thank you for that and my last question to you um how difficult is it for us to have a elevator um inspector and are we losing money by Third partying out the the
elect uh the elevator inspections we we could talk about that but I I think uh the reason why we don't do it or towns don't do it they don't have enough they either have too much work for one
elevator person not with then you get involved with an elevator sub code an elevator inspector and you have two people working in the elevators and the pay rate from the city is not quite as well as the pay rate
from the private parties and it's it's across board in the municipalities thank you it is they're very is very hard to find an elevator inspector out of work maybe I'll get my certificate here
you go thank you you're welcome any other comments or questions from the governing body Mr Hoffman did you want to make a comment yes uh thank you council president um
the you know the the interesting thing about the error rate is this is something that um you know that that the construction Department had brought to our attention probably in 2023 and then we were able to quantify it um one of
the things and so you know by by um decreasing that error rate we're going to be able to increase you know uh shrink the shrink the time it takes to review permits and then is issue permits so that'll that'll get rid of part of
that three-month lag but one of the things that Walter didn't talk about is the number of inspections that they have to do on um you know at times so there is there was two outliers that that he and I had been talking about you Walter
you made 23 or the the department made 23 inspections on one property and over 30 on another um just because after the permits were issued there was there were um contractor the contractor was just
not Cooperative or in sync so yeah so th those those are some of the things that the uh that the the all all of the staff deals with in the constru in the Construction office but um on on average for each permit that
that's issued there's there are seven inspections that need to be done if it's for a construction project so um you know just the uh the the as Walter had said the increased fees will help um those that make use of that want that that are making improvements
it'll it'll help cover the cost for the whole office pardon me in instead of just uh you know having it funded by all of the taxpayers in the city so that was the point that I wanted to make so thank you okay thank you um thank you for the presentation good evening um yansy can
we please have Mr VY um on so he can so we can get the engineering presentation started thank you and Mr calman do you want to say a few words before Mr VY starts sure
um I mean engineering is a pretty small Department uh salaries went down from 455,000 to 441,000 and other expens say stay the same at
34,000 and France does best job I have to say that sorry France thank you um Mr V do you want to start your presentation I can't help you Michael how's everyone D um thanks for
allowing me to speak tonight I am I know it's getting late so I'm not gonna take too much time uh just want to provide a broad overview of our of our office and what we do um so as as many of you know um we are
basically a a department of four total employees myself uh Lydia who's the our office manager we have bassim our engineering inspector and Nicole our engineering SL inspector also uh ideally
you know we need one more person to complete the office staff um we're currently interviewing for an assistant engineering position you know preferably it would be someone with a PE but we are open to finding the best fit for our office and uh we are dig we are looking
and as a matter of fact we have a couple interviews coming up uh later this week so it's an ongoing process hopefully we'll be able to to get that all secured and taken taken care of um the assistant engineer uh themselves would be able to
you know obviously help us and project and engineering design uh help facilitate you know escro permits Capital project management uh they be able to help uh help keep the city you know um unasked the obligations they
have to meet whether it be you know with DP requirements uh storm water management guidelines uh help us with our grants um in terms of not only obtaining grants but keeping track with um the grant requirements and and uh and
so forth so the position is crucial uh to help our office function smoothly and effectively going into uh this year our priority is as many of you are not surprised it's flooding and storm
waterer management uh issues um where we're obviously we're also going to deal with our roadways where it just they're just getting beaten up uh by the infrastructure improvements by utility companies and that's going to last for at least another year so we have a ways
to go with that still um we are looking to make improvements on a number of our Parks um where you know and we're going to continue to seek outside resources and funding uh take as much Advantage as we can with grant opportunities to to
tackle some of our infrastructure uh some of the infrastructure issues that we're dealing with um other goals that we have are more internal more off oriented uh and that's to increase our revenue for the year um and to implement
you know methodologies uh to help us increase our efficiencies from day-to-day activity uh our biggest challenge we for this is probably enforcing and monitoring the tree ordinance um our inspections spend
close our inspectors been close to I mean 50% I I would guess more in terms of their time and tree related issues um many of those hours are just you know they're not billable they're just you know time spent just enforcing
the ordinance and that time sort of adds up so that's that's the only concern that I have in terms of you know how we move forward with our office and and get things moving and and get my
my inspectors to do more I don't want to say more engineering related at work but but more efficient in terms of you know um overseeing projects and and getting things moving along those lines um the tree ordinance is just very very timec
consuming we get a lot of calls multiple calls every day whether it' be hey my neighbor is sticking down a tree and we go there we find out they're just pruning or nothing just driving by and someone's taking down three trees and because they're new to the to the city they didn't know they needed a permit so
just it's just a lot but we are we are dealing with it uh one day at a time and trying to trying to make it work trying to find the best way to deal with it and move forward uh in terms of projects last year we uh we oversaw about 20 20 Ro projects um and with the
city manager help I mean we engaged a number of outside agencies uh to help us address a lot of the storm water and flooding issues um we recently completed the installation of the trash racks along over pet Creek uh and that's going to help eliminate many of the debris
that clog our system and our underground covers uh the trash rack on uh on tomman place is already paying dividend it's captured trees Boulders Etc that have otherwise just washed under the the shoppr parking lot so it's already uh
it's already uh working and and helping us out in that aspect um in addition we we work with the DPW and monitor uh countless um you know storm sanitary you know repairs um over the year and that's
something that's that just skips on going our infrastructure is old as many of you know and and things just happen so we'll stay on top of that until we get all of it you know up to Snuff so to speak um uh currently we are overseeing
a number of projects we are almost completed with the uh the first four bathrooms uh at the municipal building we're working with architects now regarding the relocation of uh the city clerk's office um we're replacing the
signals at nicobar and Liberty and at the broad and vosten and we are waiting for materials to come in for the crosswalk um so we can U move forward our crosswalk Improvement project so believe it or not
supply chain is still still an issue that we're dealing with so we're doing that pretty soon we're going to be starting with um there's four coverts um that we have to repair as part of our infrastructure and again storm water management project so
there's four CS that are going to start pretty soon um we're going to be renovating the basement City Hall of the Reconstruction of the Glenwood Road coverts um that hopefully will happen this year hopefully in a couple months we can get that going um we're trying to
get psng on board uh to a acceptable position so we can move forward with the angle Street retaining wall we actually have a meeting with them this Wednesday um out on site um so hopefully we can make some Headway there um getting ready
to put out the McKay park playground um project and that's a playground along William Street um so hopefully that'll go out to bid in the next month or so so we're we're we're busy we're sort of like all over the city um but we're busy um this year
we're going to continue to be aggressive with our roadway repairs U along with work working with the utility companies um to get allways done we're hoping to oversee the completion of 17 roads this year hopefully another 10 with their
utility companies uh we're looking to upgrade to Signal an additional signal at the corner of Dean and Inglewood Avenue um we're going to continue to survey our buildings update them the current guidelines as many of you know our buildings are older and some of them
just don't meet the ADA compliance or energy code standards so we're going to keep working on that uh on a personal note I'm just looking forward to repurposing the former Jael cell space um into sort of a multifunction space um
that'll go a long way in providing space that we need for our staff and and future hires um also um in terms of of our office um we're uh we're probably going to look at obtaining some new
equipment soon or cop and plotter are coming to the end of their useful life so in the near future we're probably going to need to replace them at some point um having the right equipment obviously is is essential to us U working uh functioning properly as an
office um and like I said um we will we'll continue to uh the focus is continue to working um the flood issues throughout the city as as Mr Hoffman mentioned a number of time we're collaborating with NGIT Stevens um
Ruckers and you know studies um we we have taken on the uh Services of Boswell engineering M McDonald and others to try and focus just on the flooding issue in town and how we alleviate it and how we can we can make it better for the for
our residents so we do all that I mean also we also oversee you know right away permits s movement permits obviously the tree permits I mentioned before soil work settlement control permits we provide
Engineering Services whether it be the board of adjustment environmental commission access for all when we're needed and others so even though we're seen as a department that just deals with capital projects it is far from all
that we do um that that is essentially it for us um I mean and I want to say I say this every year but I I I feel like I have to repeat it we do not do this by ourselves we work with uh all the city
departments um whether it be the city clerks the DPW um the building department police fire Recreation Finance obviously the city manager's office and you the the governing body obviously um so we we
can't do any of this by ourselves um and it's uh I think it's crucial for us to work together as a team and I think you know I I am fortunate anyway to to be able to rely on so many department and department heads that are willing to to
work and help push these projects forward and make them successful so thank you very much for the presentation and I'm going to open up uh if anyone on the governing body has any comments or questions please uh raise your
hand okay mayor are you're on mute we can't hear you sorry always once a day I do that um I appreciate your work your diligence uh fr and I I know you're 150 years I even know Ken Albert's cell phone 56975 90 by
heart um and I know that you have the best interest of the city there are some blind spots not because of anything you're doing but because the county takes control over a certain roads particularly the junction of van norand and Grand and going off onto Route four
where cars flip the intersection of um uh Lyon off Grand Avenue also it's seems to be a major uh speeding uh frenzy um and I just feel you know take way too long
sometimes until some some God forbid there's a fatality um and I know all the different authorities that you have to deal with and I and I feel bad when PS and other utilities come in and rip up your good work and make it
more difficult for us to show our residents the progress that we're making what if any medicine do you think we can take or any ordinance that we can do or any collaboration with the county of the State uh to enhance these dangerous Carters of our city um that that one's a
tough one we've been trying to get something done particularly at the intersection of lynon and gr um with the county for quite some time now uh We've suggested a signal Etc um obviously that
is something that we can't just go into their roadway and start installing things we have to get their blessing at some point so that is something we will continue to push and continue to let them know how dangerous that intersection is but
ultimately um you know we may have to reach out um to to get some some outside help um whether it be from our elected officials whatever the case may be to push this forward but that is something that the county is well aware of um the
concern well I shouldn't say the concern the issue that's come up regarding bran and Van noen is you know I was always under the impression that it was a county intersection now they're saying it's a state so there's a little bit of finger pointing between the state and
the county who's ultimately responsible for that intersection but the state is doing the work out there now so I believe they are ultimately the uh the body that we have to gauge regarding the safety at that intersection but it is something that we're on it's something
that we're we're pushing um you know there's a number of County Roads that we are trying to get paved and trying to make some safety improvements on there one being uh Forest Avenue between van oan and Dean is a nightmare if anyone's
driven by there it's a horrible stretch of road so we are pushing to see if the county can can just pave that road and make it somewhat you know well enjoyable to drive on so to
speak finally they're finally gonna do Dean Street so that's something that's hopefully gonna happen this year but but we are we are working with them and we're pushing it right just you know at some point we have to decide really whether or not it's better that we just
apologize and just take the action that's needed um there are people that are reaching out to put institutions where they can get good deals on property and it will invite as a legal invitee a lot of pedestrian
traffic um into very dangerous parts of our city that you know Frankly Speaking once you sit down with them they will agree that something ought to be done um I just don't want to wait for a fatality as an EMT myself without Sal I've re
responded to these uh corners and they continually uh happen um so you know again I would put this on the shoulders of our city manager and and the deputy city manager to see if we
can at least paper uh this or go forward to the different authorities whether it's our state senator or the county executive um because I think it's just simply a matter of time until something goes and the best answer I I can do is I brought it up and I bring it up at
budget meetings and it's not our it's not our authorities so whatever in your circles um France just let me know if there's something else I can do to move it along sounds good we do thank you sir councilman
Wilson yes uh good evening France I pray all as well with you and your family thank you for your presentation uh May are your spot on I too have responded to many um vehicle accidents or those intersections um some due to road some
due to signaling but uh I would like to see the city continue to move forward to improve our roadways for our visitors and of course for our citizens um and prayerfully France uh when you get the capable help that you that you need uh
we can move some of these projects a along um seamless seamlessly um and I don't know if this is something we can initiate and put into the budget but I would like to see some type of
line item where we're identifying uh life expectancy of whether it's flashing signs lights Transformers on the lights um our Parks or equipment um too often
we struggle with this situation where uh um certain things in our city are at DIS disrepair um and it shouldn't seem like a surprise to us um that you know if a roof or something has 25 year life
expectancy and then we're into year 27 chances are that it needs to be replaced and you know you mentioned the parks um you know some of those things are in disrepair the kids at Vincent K tibs that I'm glad to hear you mention
um state regulations won't allow them to play in the swing area because of the dips um and I I don't know if because our patronage is so heavy that uh we are wearing out our equipment sooner than
usual but you know there there're there're parks that have been taped for some time um one in particular is for two years and it it puts the residents at a disadvantage and I hear I hear
complaints all the time that the grandparents that are in Walking area or walking distance aren able to do so because the parks aren't aren't aren open the the entire play area is taped off so I would
like to see us move forward with that and if it if the funding for the assistant uh engineer helps that you know we we almost had one and um I don't I don't know what happened but hopefully
we can move that forward and pull down some of these tapes off our our parks in our areas so thank you anybody else from the governing body have any comments questions okay so
um now let me before before I end this presentation who's doing the uh wrapup which is the next part of our of our um agenda council president the the the wrapup was just um supposed to be a a
recap of the uh of the capital budget and since the since that was since the governing body was uh gracious enough to um introduce and then approve the capital budget um a month earlier we we don't need to do that so we're um we
will be able to go out to bed earlier and um and do more work quicker thank you so um at at this point I'm going to say uh thank you for that for your presentation Mr vely have a good
evening just one thing I I you know just to piggyback on Mr Hoffman's comment um the adopting of the budget is is actually you know more impactful than I don't know if if the governing body realizes I mean it's going to save us a
substantial amount of money just to be able to go out with these projects at a much early stage um we'll get some some some nice numbers on the projects it'll save us you know anywhere from five
seven maybe even more than that in terms of percentages uh on the project so I I just want to again thank the governing body for moving forward with help us a lot thank you very much um and so now
I'm going to open the meeting to the public any member of the public wishing to speak is asked to raise their hand to be placed in Q to be called upon to speak speakers are requested to give their name and have three minutes to
speak a yansy um can you please call up our oh so Diane Jansen is first go ahead please unmute Diane can you hear us yes I can can you hear yes go ahead thank you very
much I don't know where I was uh and I don't know where my husband was but we missed the uh discussion and introduction and the approval of the capital budget when did that occur
that's number one um and number two are many capital items that are in this operating budget uh it seems to overlap number three the bond issue that
you went forward with uh for 10 uh1 million at uh based on the $10.8 million in expenditures how is that overlapping with both the capital budget and this operating budget and
are we uh counting things twice um I do want to uh address the library presentation was fabulous and I would like to say many libraries have morning hours on weekends Saturday and Sunday
and we're at a disadvantage I do know a number of people that even travel up to permont to go to the library on a Saturday or a Sunday uh or or a similar type of Library so that they have
weekend morning hours uh and we're at a disadvantage there um uh also we're doing so many roadways um and and the bond issue again I don't know how this is related to all
the capital projects but it has a lot of road work in it and if we're if the priority for engineering is uh uh uh sewage uh water I should say uh and and decreasing flooding uh should we be
doing all those roads are we going to have to dig up some of those have we identified what we don't will not be uh uh it or what roads are not impacted by flooding and only doing those or are we doing roads that are also impacted by
flooding and then we might have to uh do things related to uh uh uh underground structures okay thank you very much and I uh enjoyed everybody's presentation um I would also like to say a student a
great student project would be for a student to match up uh all the violations that the building department uh is putting summonses on and what is being collected uh by
the um our our our courts uh and uh so that we can look at how much of that uh 500 or 100 uh, is really being covered uh in fines
thank you very much thank you um yansy do you want to bring Mr Diaz in please um so there's two options Mr Diaz sent a a written statement which usually people send when they're not going to be present so I'm not sure do I read his
statement or do we bring him in he doesn't have his hand raised right now ask him what he wants to do okay Mr Diaz please on end is raised so let's bring him in I'm here thank you so you have the option of me either reading
the statement you emailed earlier today or you could speak we can't do both I can read it myself thank you okay go ahead just wanted to show you that my lower hand you can see when I'm on my low hand but when it says raise hand it's the opposite that's why I'm confused did
yeah okay um my question is uh do you have salary SE uh ceilings for each employee or supervisory positions for example uh police officers can make over $100,000 after 5 years of service why
can't we stretch this out to 10 to 15 years of service before he reaches that that Ma that maximum for his level while these figures can be negotiated during contract years with two or 3% increases toward the ceiling yearly performance
reviews can result as bonus for outstanding service employees can submit endof thee achievement for supervisory review we have large B uh budgets I can't see how we can sustain these costs by just taxing residents to death we pay
pay for the health and pensions now and are and after they retire when you add new employees with these escalating cost via taxes I I believe we won't have residents so I pray that that that doesn't happen Okay thank you um I'm now going
to close the public session um Mr Hoffman I know wants to say a few words in response to the questions um thank you Mr Hoffman uh thank you council president good evening and thank you for the questions ladies and gentlemen uh
the there's a question about the capital budget is there any overlap with the operating budget and the uh the answer is no but the operating in the operating budget you must have a 5% down payment for your capital budget so of f so
that's that's the linkage between the operating budget and the capital budget is that the uh the 5% down payment comes out of the operating budget there was also a question about whether we're going to be Paving roads that are going
to have to be uh dug up or that um that will have future future work on them from psng and Folia the answer is no uh the engineer um and myself and others meet with meet
with our utilities utility companies they have a list um that goes out several several years from the city of Roads we intend to pave and then we we we meet and we look at the projects that they're going to do so that we're not Paving a road that they're going to be
digging up U then I guess there was a question about um Sal salary ceilings uh with the police so the contracts for the for the the salaries are based on contracts pardon me the PBA contract is is the
Baseline for that uh the the city does not pay for pensions After People retire we do make a pension contribution so does the employee while they are working and then um then after they retire um that that becomes the defined
the defined payment that they receive after they retire but the city doesn't make contributions um to the pension plan for for people that have already retired so those are the responses to the questions council president thank you very much um I need need a motion to
adjourn the meeting so moved second okay all in favor I have a good night everyone good night everyone good night good night night
everyone