She's got something bad. Look at you. So, Good evening. So when, when the Board of Health meeting, I'd like to call the, uh, special City Council. Budget Reconciliation Meeting to order. Roll call. Madam City Clerk Burns. Here. Fanon? Here. Figgy Here. Harris. Here. Matthews came here. Meow. Here. Morgan Alley. He snapped. KY here. Sullivan. He won't be here. He's Adams. Here. Allie. I'm right here. Bean here. Bey here. Thank you. What I thought we would do tonight
is go around the room and, uh, see what kind of recommendations we have from the counselors, and then we will make a motion to send this to the full committee. Um, so with that in mind, councilor Bean, do you have any recommendations for reductions? Uh, no. I think, you know, the, the process that we had this year was pretty thorough. Um, but the input from other councilors was really good. The budget, the, the, the department heads, uh, pretty much understood, uh, their budget and how it was laid out.
I think the amount of money that was cut, uh, during that process with the mayor, including the schools, um, close to $17 million, I believe. Um, so I, I think they did their due diligence. I think there was a, a, a number of concerns in the beginning, especially when it came to equipment and vehicles. I think we, uh, sent that message out, uh, pretty good. And then when it came down to processes with some of the enterprise funds, um, you know, we made sure that, uh, the communication will be, and I think we should probably quarterly
or monthly make sure that the steeps going between Vicky's office and whatever department that we're discussing, uh, that was the biggest problem this year back. Uh, what did we do? That was like September when we started talking about that. Uh, probably should have found out a little bit earlier than that, but, you know, it is what it is. Uh, but I think everything is in, in, in good shape and I think the poor services still exist within the city and still in some major infrastructure projects are moving forward. So at this point, I have no, uh, cuts to the budget. Thank you Councilor. Councilor Sullivan is absent tonight,
but he did send to me some recommendations and we'll go through these one at a time. The first is a highway department, and that can be found on page 1 52 line item motor equipment operator. There are five physicians here. There are two that are vacant. And what he recommends is that, uh, we cut 24,000 from that line item because that would not eliminate any positions. It would just delay the hiring time process. So I'll make a motion to cut $24,000 from the MEO line
of the highway department. Second motion's been made and seconded. Any discussion? Seeing none. Roll call Madam City clerk Should be Ralph. What? It's 1 52 on the computer or 1 52 on the, Uh, in the hard copy. I don't know what the computer says. Oh, 1 52 on the hard copy. Hard Copy, yes. Okay. Thank You. Yeah, you're welcome. And I don't know if somebody can help me out that's on the computer and help us out. That would be fine. If you have 215 Pages in your document. It's 1 53. That's pretty darn close. 1 52, 1 53. Good. Yeah, it depends on which one. Any further discussion.
If I can just add to that, I know there was some discussion within this department to talk about CDL licensure. Uh, that's been a huge hangup trying to find people with that kind of criteria. They are looking into doing a few things. One is, you know, and it's probably more of a negotiation piece, but maybe bringing that processing in-house. I know other towns and cities have tried to do that. It didn't seem to work. Um, but right now, I know within certain departments, I think we were looking at four or five in the dpw and I forget if it's highway or what it's, but, um, that still becomes,
that's still gonna be plaguing us this whole year, finding people with that particular licensure. Plus it is very expensive. It ranges from anywhere from three, four or $5,000 to get that license. So we probably should address that soon. Um, and, and hopefully the mayor and the HR department and that particular department can actually handle that process. Yeah. Hey, counsel? Uh, No, I just, I guess I agree with the cut. I, I just worry when we're hiring a new director, we're taking a couple positions from him before he even walks through the
door. That would be my only concern. And, and I'd like to add to that is I would, I, I'm opposed to this cut, not because it's a cut, but because I think we owe it to the new DPW director mm-hmm. To see how he's going to move. And with a change of leadership that could possibly expedite the hiring process. So to hamstring a guy walking through the door, I don't think is, is is as fiscally sound as it is. I don't think it's good practice. Great. Burns, Did you have a comment? Yeah, Thank you. I, I was gonna reiterate that, but, um, yeah, I, I believe he starts in the middle
of the month in July. Um, so yeah, I agree with that. I mean, was that cut? Was that, that that wasn't an all year cut, was it? No, no, it's just 25, 20 $4,000 off the line item. Which would mean that it would take, you could still hire one right off the bat, but you'd have to delay the hire of the second one later on. Okay. 'cause I agree with councilor Dean. I mean, we have to do something. CDL, whatever, if we have to mandate it, you know, you, you have to stay four years, five years, whatever, after if to See base work. Well, the department is moving in that direction. They've purchased several trucks that don't require cs. Now,
That, that's also Got to, so there, it, it is an ongoing problem. And, and I'm interested to see how the new director will approach this issue. Well, I, I was at that, I, I, I went to the interviews and I was really impressed with him. And I think we're, we definitely are headed in the right direction. I I, he was very good. And I'm, as I said in the paper, they, they quoted me. It's a home run and I believe it is. So, uh, we'll leave it at that. Thanks Council. Matthew King. Thank you. Um, I thought it was clever last year when we cut some of the unfilled positions. And I do think there was some conversation about an
agreement that if they were filled, we would be willing to pay it out of free cash. So I would be comfortable making this cut with the understanding that if they had somebody that they wanted to hire, we would agree to pay for it out of free cash. Okay. So I hope we can consider that. Uh, as far as free cash, remember we can't initiate any spending that would have to come out of the mayor and we could definitely send him a, a little note that this is what our, our hope and purchase our, what we would like to see. So that's what End up doing anyways, right. Counselor Allen? No, I mean that's what the,
the counselor would, I mean the, uh, the new director would end up doing. Mm-hmm. You just say, I wanna fill this position and can you, you know, take care of it and that sort of thing. I don't think we would have to take an action per se. Um, and you're talking just basically a basic CDL with like air brakes, right? I mean, I, I don't know what the requirements Are. He's not tractor trailer trucks or anything like that. He's, no. Right. So, I mean, I have that kind of license that it shouldn't, you can train people to get that done. That's not that big a deal. Well, and That's what we said is we'd like to see an in-house training. Mm-hmm. That would move people up, give Something to Work for, give 'em a reason to stay.
There was a lot of discussion on that. But let's get back to the $24,000 question here. Alright. Questions on this side, councilor fan. Um, so if this cut was made, could they advertise the position and then find the money somewhere else? Or they have, would have to wait. How many months would they have to wait before they could advertise It? I don't know the exact amount of time that would be required, but I would think they could remember, free cash won't become available to the end of October, beginning of November. So it would be at least that long before we could put somebody on. So that's almost six months, right? July, August, September, October five.
Okay. Counselor Miller, Thank you. So if only three or four months was Cut, right? Then theoretically that could be the amount of money that paid the salary from January to June. Mm-hmm. And we could refill it with free cash in October. So as long as the position were not actively being interviewed or already posted, then that we'd still have that wiggle room and the council could commit to the director that, that, you know, if you find people to fill these positions, we'll give the money back to them.
Right. Yeah. I got a clarifying statement from our personnel director said that, uh, regarding the DPW vacant positions, there are 15 15 8 of which are in the enterprise fund. So those don't really help the bottom line with the taxes. The value of the remaining seven tax funded positions is 358,000. All those positions are filled through an ongoing application process. We accept applications for those positions at any time an applicant wishes to apply. If the positions are not fully funded, it would prevent the department from filling it when an
acceptable applicant is received. This could result in a continued need for contracted vendor services. The city prefers to fill vacant positions as soon as possible. Okay. Anybody else? Councilor Oinky? Yes. Uh, thank you Mr. Chair. When I was at the meeting about the finances of DPW, um, it seemed that it was really going in a positive direction with the hiring of more people. And there were some people that they were seriously looking at right now. So, and, you know, and in addition, I wouldn't wanna hamstring the
new DPW director into having to jump through hoops. So I I'm gonna be a, a no on this. Cut. Thank you. Anybody else? Council Miller? Thank you, Mr. Um, Mr. Chairman. Is that, that's cool. Are you President Proton? What are you? Nah, we're Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman. Okay. Thank you. So, um, I'll Call him. Just don't call me late to dinner. When, when Director Larkin sent us that email, right? She said that there were a certain number, um, that had that, that were out and right there were four in that email that, um, yeah.
People had found. Right? So why is it that the rest of them couldn't be hired without all the money in the coffin? Well, I think it's state law that you're supposed to have fully funded positions, and that's why the school department runs into some extra money because they don't fill the position that they funded. I don't think it's a city requirement. I think it's a state requirement, uh, to make sure that it's fully funded. And what we would do by doing this was just delay the start date. So it couldn't be July one. Okay. So anything that, I mean, it's June 24th, right?
So, uh, there may be four people starting July one Could be. Okay. Thank you. You're welcome. Anything else? Okay. A yes vote is for the reduction and no vote is for not to reduce the line item. Have a roll call please. Burns? No Fanon? No Figgy? No. Harris? No. Matthew Kae? No. Meow? Yes. Oniskey? No. Adams? No. Allie? No. Bean? No. Mel, Randy? No.
Okay. That motion fails. Thank you. The next one he has is on page 1 53, land and natural resources. Along the same line, he's recommending a $50,000 reduction, uh, in the, um, uh, where is that? The tree trimmer? There's two positions open. He feels that if we cut 50,000, it won't eliminate the two postings. Uh, one could still be field, ASAP and the other one would need to be delayed on the opening. So it's the same argument. So I'll make a motion to reduce the line item
for the tree trimmers by $50,000. Is there a second? Second motion been made. And second, at discussion during the committee hearing, uh, it was made, uh, clear that this is a difficult position to fill. That it has a required set of skills that not everybody walking down the street has. So when they find somebody, they want to latch onto 'em as quickly as possible. Councillor Matthews King. Thank you. Um, Mr. Chair? Um, I'm gonna hesitate on this one and I'm gonna say no just because like,
different issues percolate up in my board at certain times. And right now I'm hearing from a lot of people who want their trees trimmed. That might be one of my top issues currently. And it wasn't in the past. So I'm gonna be a no on this, just 'cause I know my constituents care a lot about this issue. Yeah. And wards two and three being the older wards do have more issues with trees. So I'm, I'm with you on that one. Anybody else? Okay. A yes vote is to make the reduction a no vote. It's not. Roll call. Madam City Clerk, please. Burns. No Fanon. No vi, no gie, no Harris? No.
Matthews. Kane? No. Meow? Yes. Oniskey? No. Adams, no. Allie? No. Beam? No. Beltran? No. Okay. Motion fails. The next one is, um, in engineering. Well, actually no, the next one is in an enterprise fund. It's water. And I did not look up the page number, but I can do that quickly. I think it's, uh, 1 92 in the book. And along the line of unfilled, uh, positions, uh, he recommends a $50,000, uh, reduction
to the maintenance craftsman line. Again, the unfilled position does not eliminate the position. It doesn't help the general fund in any way, but should help the department stay within its certified revenues. So Councilor Sullivan's looking more at trying to avoid what we had in September by doing this. So, uh, in my conversations with the city auditor, she has assured me that that budget is sound and it has the, um, the advantage of next year having money and unfunded that it didn't have this year.
So the water department should be fine. What's the position again? Mr. Chairman? Uh, position is a maintenance craftsman. Five positions. Any discussion? Councillor? Me? I would just add there are five of them in this budget. Mm-hmm. There are five of them the same. Okay. Councilor Matthews. K. How many Are unfilled? That I don't know. I have two out of the five. There's Definitely two out of the five that I think that rings a bell. Yeah, but don't quote me on that. I think There's two. It's not like they're all,
I think there's two vacant. So again, this would not eliminate either one of those positions. It would just delay. Okay. My notes say there are three vacant. Three vacant. Three vacant. That's all. Okay. All right. Any other comments? Discussion? Councilor Burns? Did you say this is coming from the enterprise fund? Yeah, this is enterprise fund. This will not, if we do make this reduction, it does not lower the taxes because it's out of the enterprise fund. It's not out the general fund. Right. So even if they don't fill these positions, it stays in the Enterprise fund? It stays in the enterprise fund. So It doesn't Go to, it doesn't go to the general fund. Right. I think his main concern is to keep
that department fiscally sound. I think that's why he made that recommendation. He gives him $50,000 to play with. So that's a whole different, Right. Alright. Um, roll call. Mad city clerk. A yes is to reduce and a, no, it's not to Words. Yes. Fanon? Yes. Gie No. Harris? Yes. Matthews. Kane? Yes. Meow. Yes. Oniskey? No. Adams? Yes. Allie? Yes. Bean? No. Beltran? Yes. A yes. Three nine.
Okay. So that one, um, that reduction is approved. So that's our first reduction drop. Okay. $50,000 to line item maintenance Craftsman Water department. Okay. And the last one he, he recommends is a, is a, is a sizable one in engineering. He recommends a $1 million reduction in the construction account. This will significantly curtail the plant construction work. I do think back filling this with free cash as a good use of free cash. However, we do not know what that number will be
or when it will be certified. So this could be a very real cut. I appreciate that Many ran on infrastructure and road improvements. So this could be a non-starter. Appreciate the fact. Um, so that's what counselor, uh, and that's on page 1 58. How much Was that though? 1 million. Right? Right now in that line item is actually, it's on 1 58. It is, um, page 1 64, capital outlay construction. It's the last line item. It started at $5 million
and it was reduced by the mayor to 3,000,007. Um, so that's what it's at right now. 3 million 7 27, 1 95. So if we take a million out of that, it'd be 2 million 7 27, 1 95 and 17. Again, the danger of relying on free cash is that we, A, don't know how much we have and b, we can't require that. We can just make a recommendation starting with Council Alley. Thank you. Um, so was that the money that the mayor wanted
to use, where he was gonna get work done this year and kind of take it out of the 26th? I think what he did, that's part of the reduction from five to three, Right? He started the five, able to Get that work done. So you already took that million plus we put into sidewalks out of free cash. He's already taken that out of the construction account. So that's separate from that money. Sorry. Right. I I guess it would be un understanding how this would impact. Mm-hmm. What's that? I guess I'm trying to understand how it would impact the actual work. What It would impact is the number of projects that could be done.
Unless we could read Rein, infuse that account with free cash, but the mayor would still be able to do what he was talking about with that. Oh, he already did that. That's already, that's what he done. Okay. So it gets a little bit confusing because you Yeah. Yeah. It can be confusing. Follow the bouncing ball council. Matthew State. Thank you Mr. Chair. So, while I like the idea of making a significant cut, I'm concerned 'cause we don't know what the projects are in that construction budget and we don't know which ones would be cutting. So I know somewhere in this construction budget is a project
that I'm incredibly concerned about. It's $150,000 improvement for the Franklin Street crosswalk near Summer Street and Maple Street. And in the past 10 years, eight people have been hit in that crosswalk and they've put, if you drive down Franklin, you know that temporary mm-hmm. They wanna make it permanent. And so, while I want to save money, I would hate for something like that to be the thing that's cut. So we're just giving a blanket cut. Right. We have no control over. Right. We, we don't specific, we just give a blanket. So
That's hard for me just 'cause if that was part of what was cut, I shoot myself in the foot. I think any reduction we make is serious and it's gonna impact the citizens of this city somehow in service delivery. So Councilor B. Yeah, I, you know, I guess just piggyback on the councilor to my left, I, I wasn't thrilled the way some of these construction projects were rolled out. I I, you know, the, the outreach, I don't wanna say we didn't know, but you know, some of these were kind of, I was kind
of caught off guard, I guess, for lack of a better term. So for if this money was cut, I don't think it gets rid of the project that it might be tied to because it's just a priority within those $5 million. So if you cut it back to four, if round numbers, uh, 4 million, then those pro he then what can happen is the engineer would have to come back to us through free cash and get the money and then we as a group can look at it and say, that's worth the extra million, half a million,
whatever, whatever the number of projects that would be cut out of the million. So yeah. So I, I think it would just allow us to kind of be a little bit of a, a guard on what's actually happening. I I I, I'm just thinking about what happened on Broad Street. That, that, that, that thing didn't settle for me at all. And, and it was a lack of information, I think on, on like me not knowing. So I, I want to put a couple of safeguards in there when it comes to those construction projects and making sure that we actually have a better understanding on what's in front of us. And this is one of the ways that that can happen. Um, I'm probably in favor of all the projects
that the 5 million is in, in place. Just yeah. 3 million. Excuse me. So I, I, we're gonna have, like, like Vicky told us the other day, I think free cash is gonna be there. It might not be as high as the 16 million we saw last year or the year before or whatever other year, but we're gonna have a decent amount of money. So I, I think to replenish that kind of money back into the construction account is something we can do as a body and get the projects done. But We'll then we have another bite at the Apple to see if this is worth looking at. Council Burns. Thank you Mr. Chairman. Um, just last evening though,
we have one of our colleagues refer to Westfield as Paho City. And, um, that didn't go over too well with me. I, I, I guess everybody knows that. Um, with good conscience, I can't cut any, um, I can't cut this account. I just won't. Um, that's where I stand. Thank you Counselor Adams. Yeah, I mean, I, I I agree with councilor. Can I agree with Councilor Bean and I would certainly support that fixing of Franklin Street. That's an awful, that's an eye sort of the city in my opinion. And I think it's working out well. So the quicker we get that done, I'll support taking that, any money from anywhere to fix that project.
Uh, 'cause everybody drives through that every day. It's like, this is so awful. But with the ARPA money that has been spent on many things in the city, a lot of millions of dollars I think we spent, and we'll continue to spend it. But I think to give the taxpayers maybe a little bit of break of saving a million dollars here, that million dollars that's cut isn't cut. 'cause he took it from free cash. So there really hasn't been a cut date. Um, so to cut that and being able to, to put that money back in if we needed to on projects that we would all approve of, I would agree
with Councillor Bean on cutting the million dollars from Thank you. Councillor Lelinski. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think we've been on a, a good role of paving streets and, and taking care of the infrastructure. I don't want to put a damper on it by, by doing it's a million dollars. I mean, that's obviously a lot of money, but I think people value the streets and the projects that we've been, uh, working on and greatly improving. So I I, I'm unfortunately gonna be a no on this. Cut. Thank you. Thank You Council Bill Strandy.
Thank you Mr. Chairman. I'm also gonna be a null on this because I think that if we cut that million dollars, if there's projects that are, could possibly be in the tube you can't do anything with. They're, if they're not funded. So I think you're hamstringing that whole thing. So I'm a nu on this. Councilor Miller. Thank you Mr. Chairman. So the 1.3 million, or was it 1.3 for the sidewalks? That's already, whatever the money for the sidewalks is, has already been allocated, right? Correct. Sidewalk money's already been taken out. And if this million were cut from July 1st
to mid-October, you'd have 2.7 more to spend mm-hmm. On these projects. And you'd only be missing the million for November through June and you'll get it back in October. I, I can't in good conscience turn around and say, no, everybody pay the highest taxes you can because I don't wanna wait till October for the last million dollars. No, I, I have to support the copy. Thank you. Okay. Thank you Councilor Fanny. Thank You, Mr. Chairman. Um, most of the calls, most of the calls I get are about people's roads.
They want 'em repaved or potholes filled. And if this account is using the money to do paving, I feel I don't wanna cut it because we need this money sooner rather than later. 'cause this is the paving season coming up, so I'm going to be a no on the cut. Okay. Thank you. Anybody else for the last time? Councillor B? Yeah, just to follow, you know, because of the free cash, this money would only go away till November to Councilor Mellow's point. Um, we don't even know really what the projects are and they can move that around within that budget too. So I just want to be able to have a say in
what happens out there. I know it's very difficult for ward counselors. I can appreciate that. I know you guys hear probably most more of the complaints than at large counselors do. Um, at least in my experience. But I I, I see us replenishing that in November, uh, very easily. And this cut is definitely substantial enough in my mind than the last few. So that's why I, I think we're really not getting rid of anything. Um, I don't, there's gonna be plenty of work being done. We outsource most of this stuff. We're gonna need contractors to do a lot of this work too. So I, I, you know, there's, there's not a lot
of people doing this kind of work. Um, so I, I think the delay is fine if we choose to spend an extra million or two, or three or 4 million, by the way, because we're gonna have that kind of free cash available. And I think it's one time monies, that's what free cash should be used for. It shouldn't be used for backfilling positions, um, like the school department is doing. Uh, I don't, I don't find that, um, very fiscally responsible. So I think with this one time monies, construction accounts, I think the million dollars is definitely a, a legitimate cut for this particular purpose. And to be honest, it's really a shell game
because free cash can replenish it after November. Yeah. Councilor, Thank you. Yeah, I, I'm gonna support this. Um, the, the city. I mean, there were years where we had like $400,000 in the highway budget. I mean, it's just absolutely ridiculous. You take in about 5 million, um, and obviously we, we have an issue. Chapter 90 should have been approved in the last 17 years, whatever it is. So, um, but this mayor, um, and really the city has done a good amount of work. Like I said, there were years where we had 400,000, which is just a joke. Um, and we, we, the taxpayers are getting hit with
so many different things right now. If we can do something that will, um, be a little bit more fiscally responsible and give people a bit of a break, even the city, okay? 'cause nothing's, you know, revenue's not where it's supposed to be. Homes construction is not where it's supposed to be. Um, we need to be hanging on to money as best we can. So I'm gonna support this. And, you know, if there's projects that we decide, no, we definitely have to, you know, prioritize and do those projects. Those are the projects we should be doing. So I am gonna support this. Thank you. Councilor Beltran? Yes. Just One more thought here. Just
remember, you're, you're taking this money out of this account during prime construction season. Mm-hmm. July 1st to November 1st. That's prime construction season. So if you slow the process down, some of these projects might not happen. Just a thought. Anybody else saying none? Roll call. Adam Fe. No. Fanon, no. Fay? No. Harris? No. Matthews. Kane? No. Meow? Yes. On Key? No. Adams? Yes. Allie? Yes. Bean? Yes. Beltran? No. Four. Yes. Seven. No. Okay. May motion fails.
Okay. That's all from Councillor Sullivan. Uh, that pretty much covers what I was going to bring up, so I'm all set. Councillor Burns. Any recommendations for reductions? None. Go get 'em. Councilor, go get it. I do not. All right. No. Thank you. Councilor Bruce. Thank you. Councillor Fanon? No, none. Yeah, I guess, yeah. Councilor Harris, right? Mm-hmm. Councillor Matthews King counselor. Meow. We hit 'em all. Not here. Councilor Oinky. Uh,
Thank you Mr. Chair. I don't have any cuts. I sat through, uh, all of the finance meetings, listened to all the presentations, and I, I think this is a very bare bones budget the way it is now, so I can't propose any cuts. I wish I could. Thank you. Councilor Adams? Uh, just a big one. Flood control. Just kidding. Kristen. Uh, no, that's nice. Don't, Don't, don't sit so close. Councilor Allen. Um, I, I think my, my biggest concern with this is, um, that we ended up, I think,
laying off something like 46 people. And when you look at, you know, revenue from new growth, and it hasn't been trending in the right way, um, you look at the number of houses that we're building every year, and that's not trending commercial properties, that's not heading in the right direction. Um, and, and 'cause this, this goes back to the mayor, but it's contractual issues. There's nothing to cut in these budgets when we go through all these departments. Just wanna make sure it was behind me. Um, You don't have eyes in the back of your head teachers. But anyways, so, you know, we're giving out raises, you know, people making 70, 80,000, a hundred thousand,
$200,000 a year. Um, you know, you're into the millions of dollars. And, and here we are, like, we've had layoff people the year before, but now this is 46 people, you know, and when you look at like, people's economics, whether it's young people trying to buy a home or whatever, get going on their feet, working families, seniors on fixed incomes, small businesses, they're all struggling. Some of us have been struggling for the last 15 years, okay? Mm-hmm. Um, and, and to me, those 46 people are essential and they're gonna make everybody's lives hotter.
Okay? Um, all of our employees do a great job. We got some great employees. They all deserve it, right? But to be fiscally responsible, if you've ever run a business and everything else is trending the wrong way, you start handing out pay raises, you're going out the door, okay? 'cause you can only raise prices so much. And, um, all things considered, that's where, that's where the mayor lost me a little bit. I've supported a lot of things that he's doing, whatever. But when you start handing out raises to people that could muddle through, you know, um, that's where you not being physically responsible, because those are the numbers that, and when it leads to 46 people, um, so a department,
you know, that's the, you know, that to me is too much. On, on that note, the school department's the one that had the one layoff out of the 43 positions that were originally eliminated, six were brought back, and the rest of 'em filled through attrition. All but one. So it's not a good way. You are absolutely right. It's not a good way to run a business. You know, you lose the young, energetic, the ones that are excited to be here, and they go to another district and they get a great, so I agree
For those. If, if you had the money, it's one thing. You know, if you, you know, it was back you 20, 30 years ago when Westfield and Belchertown building, you know, hundreds of houses a year and you had revenues coming in. But with nine houses, I mean, what's that? The 60 grand? I mean, it is just not a lot of money. So you've gotta look at that bottom line. You've got, you know, in the business you're looking at sales projections and your cost and just having to make decisions and get through it. I mean, I've worked in, a lot of us have worked in industries that have been hammered over the years. And the smart ones, it's not easy to, to survive
if you have to use your head. Correct. Does anyone else have any other reductions they would like to bring to the table? Council Belcher? I Don't, but I want just make a statement here as council president, I want to thank you in your committee for doing an amazing job with this budget. I know you did a lot of work and, uh, the reason there's no cuts on the floor is because of the work that you did. So I appreciate all of your efforts in your committee. Thank you. Well, thank you for those kind words. It was without a doubt my most
challenging budget season. Uh, I'm very pleased with the positive feedback from the Zoom meetings that we had. Uh, that was the only way we could get all the departments in, and then we still didn't cover more. So I appreciate the cooperation. I appreciate, especially the questions that were forwarded to the committee that we could look, that shows that people are really looking into this document, that it's just not a paperweight on their desk. That people have examined it, they've gone through it. And I think that's what we're here to do.
So thank you guys for all the support you've given to the finance committee. And with that, uh, if I hear anything else, uh, do I have a motion to move the budget to the full Committee? So moved. Okay. Second. Motion's been made and seconded to move the budget to the full council for approval or disapproval that the July, July, June 30th meeting. And again, that's at six o'clock. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? And Councillor Harris. Motion to adjourn.
Second motion's been made and seconded to adjourn. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? Thank you very much guys.