May 07, 2026 Budget Hearings FY 2026-2027

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BETWEEN A TENNIS RACKET AND A PICKLEBALL PADDLE? A TENNIS RACKET IS BIG, STRUNG WITH WIRES AND BUILT FOR POWER AND HEAVY SPIN.

ON THE OTHER HAND, A PICKLEBALL PADDLE IS SOLID, MUCH SMALLER, LIGHTER, AND CREATES A GAME FOCUSED ON STRATEGY, DINKING, AND QUICK REACTIONS WITHIN THE KITCHEN.

TENNIS RACKETS ARE BUILT FOR A MUCH LARGER COURT.

AND NOW THAT YOU KNOW THAT INFORMATION, WE'LL SEE YOU OUT THERE.

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IF YOUR BALL LANDS ON THE SIDELINE, BASELINE, CENTER LINE, OR EVEN THE KITCHEN LINE, EVEN JUST BY A HAIR, A LITTLE DIMPLE OR AN EDGE, IT'S STILL GOOD.

KEEP PLAYING, NO PROBLEM.

THERE'S JUST ONE EXCEPTION.

IF YOUR SERVE TOUCHES THIS KITCHEN LINE, THAT'S A SHORT SERVE OR A FAULT.

OTHER THAN THAT, THAT'S IT.

PLAY, HAVE FUN, AND MOST OF ALL, ENJOY THE GAME.

[Call to Order]

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[Roll Call]

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ANALYZING THE BUDGET IS THE MOST IMPORTANT JOB THIS COMMITTEE HAS, AND I WANT TO THANK ALL OF YOU NOW FOR THE HOURS OF WORK THAT YOU WILL GIVE TO THIS TASK. SO LOOK AROUND THE ROOM, SEE IF WE'VE IF I'VE MISSED ANYONE ELSE. NO, I DON'T BELIEVE WE'RE GOING TO BE JOINED ONLINE SO WE CAN. OKAY. SO OKAY, I'M TOLD THAT WE MAY BE JOINED AT SOME POINT BY

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WELCOME. ANGELA DUNN, METRO METRO'S CEO, AND AARON JACKSON, METRO'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,

[ ID 26-0194     Revenue, Expenditures, Capital, and Debt]

ANOTHER 100 PLUS MILLION HAS BEEN APPROPRIATED DIRECTLY TO METRO FOR THE. FROM THE FY 2728.

KENTUCKY STATE BUDGET, 22.8 MILLION OF OPIOID FUND SETTLEMENT FUNDS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED AS OF MARCH 31ST, 2026. APPROXIMATELY 20.8 MILLION HAS BEEN APPROPRIATED TO DATE AND 10.7 HAS BEEN SPENT. THIS BUDGET INCLUDES 8 MILLION OF PROPOSED OPIOID OPIOID SETTLEMENT USES. LOUISVILLE METRO HAS RECEIVED 2.2 MILLION OF THE SETTLEMENT FUNDS AS OF

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APPROXIMATELY 1.2 MILLION HAS BEEN APPROPRIATED TO DATE, AND 204,000 HAS BEEN SPENT. METRO GOVERNMENT MAINTAINS A FINANCIAL STABILIZATION POLICY FOR THE UNRESTRICTED GENERAL FUND BALANCE, OR WHAT WE OFTEN REFER TO AS THE RAINY DAY FUND. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE POLICY IS TO BUILD A FINANCIAL RESERVE, WHICH SERVES TO PROVIDE A FIRST DEFENSE AGAINST DEFICIT SPENDING AND HELP MAINTAIN LIQUIDITY. WHEN BUDGETED OVERAGES BECOME INEVITABLE, IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT METRO MAINTAINS ADEQUATE LEVELS OF FUND BALANCE TO MITIGATE CURRENT AND FUTURE RISK. MAINTAINING A FINANCIAL STABILIZATION FUND IS A PRUDENT FISCAL MANAGEMENT TOOL BENEFICIAL FOR SUSTAINING THE EFFICIENT OPERATION OF METRO.

DESPITE THE UNCERTAINTY OF FUTURE ECONOMIC CLIMATES. IN USING THE FINANCIAL STABILIZATION FUND, LOUISVILLE AIMS TO MAINTAIN A FUND BALANCE BETWEEN 1 AND 2 MONTHS AVERAGE CURRENT YEAR GENERAL FUND BUDGETED EXPENDITURES AND ATTAIN A FUND BALANCE GOAL OF 13% OF GENERAL FUND REVENUES. YOU CAN SEE THAT FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS, METRO HAS MAINTAINED STEADY FUND BALANCES WITH SOME SLIGHT FLUCTUATIONS. THIS BUDGET ESTIMATES THE UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE WILL REMAIN STEADY AT 10.6% OF THE GENERAL FUND REVENUE. THIS ANALYSIS PROVIDES A COMPARISON OF THE URBAN SERVICES DISTRICT, ACTUAL FY 24 AND FY 25 REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES. IT ALSO INCLUDES THE CURRENT FY 26 BUDGETED REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES, AND THE ESTIMATES FOR FY 27 CAPITAL EXPENDITURES WERE ADDED TO THIS ANALYSIS AS OF FY 26. AS A RESULT OF LANGUAGE CHANGE IN KRS 67.147, THE CAPITAL EXPENDITURES IDENTIFIED FOR FY 27 REPRESENT AN ESTIMATED DEBT SERVICE PAYMENT APPLICABLE TO BOND FUNDED PROJECTS SPECIFIC TO THE USD SERVICES. EFFECTIVE FOR FY 26 IS THE. ALSO EFFECTIVE FOR FY 26 IS THE EXEMPTION OF APPLICABLE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT EXPENDITURES FROM THE TOTAL USD EXPENDITURES CALCULATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH SENATE BILL 129 APPROVED BY THE STATE LEGISLATURE DURING THE 2025 REGULAR SESSION. IT'S THE END OF THE. OF THAT SECTION. OKAY. I HAVE MEMBERS IN THE QUEUE. COUNCILMEMBER WINKLER, THANK YOU. THANKS FOR BEING HERE. I'VE GOT A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS TO KICK US OFF. COULD YOU START BY TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE RISK IN RAINY DAY FUND? SO IF WE'RE READING THE BUDGET CORRECTLY, I DON'T BELIEVE YOU'RE PROPOSING PUTTING ANY MONEY INTO THE RAINY DAY FUND. IT'S ALSO UNCLEAR. I THINK IN YEARS PAST, WE PUT AROUND $9 MILLION IN THE RISK FUND. THAT'S NOT BEING PROPOSED TO BE DONE THIS YEAR.

AND CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHERE THAT MONEY IS COMING FROM, WHY IT'S NOT BEING PUT IN THERE, AND JUST SORT OF GIVE US SOME NARRATIVE AROUND THOSE TWO THINGS, PLEASE? SURE. WELL, WITH THE RISK FUND, YOU KNOW, METRO, WE ARE SELF-INSURED. AND SO ALONG WITH THAT, WE MAINTAIN WHAT'S CALLED A RISK FUND. IT'S TYPICAL IN GOVERNMENTAL ACCOUNTING WHERE WE SET ASIDE MONIES TO HELP PAY FOR LITIGATION AND LAWSUITS AND THAT SORT OF THING. SO IN PAST YEARS, I THINK FOR MANY YEARS, METRO HAS BUDGETED FOR $9 MILLION TO COME DIRECTLY OUT OF THE OPERATIONAL BUDGET INTO THE RISK FUND TO HELP FUND IT. WE ALSO FUNDED THROUGH PREMIUM CHARGES THAT GO THAT ARE ALLOCATED TO THE DEPARTMENTS. THIS YEAR. WE DID PULL THAT $9 MILLION OUT OF THE OPERATING BUDGET, BUT WE ANTICIPATE PUTTING IT BACK IN IN FY 28.

AND THE REASON WE DID THAT, THE RISK FUND WILL STILL BE FUNDED IF APPROVED. THE WAY WE'VE PRESENTED IT, THERE IS MONEY IN IT'S NOT THE RAINY DAY FUND, BUT IN THE FUND BALANCE AS A WHOLE. WE HAVE HAD SOME MONEY SET ASIDE FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND WHAT'S CALLED ASSIGNED FUND BALANCE THAT WE ARE RECOMMENDING WE PULL FROM THAT ABOUT. I MEAN, IT'S ABOUT A $12 MILLION BALANCE AT THE END OF FY 25. WE'RE RECOMMENDING WE PULL THE 9 MILLION FROM THAT BALANCE DIRECTLY OUT OF FUND BALANCE AND TRANSFER IT TO THE RISK FUND, AS OPPOSED TO PUTTING IT IN THE OPERATING BUDGET. AND WHAT IS THAT, 12 MILLION? THE 12 MILLION HAS IT WAS THERE WHEN I GOT HERE. SO IT'S BEEN JUST YEARS OF WHERE MONEY HAS BEEN SET ASIDE FOR IT.

IT'S ACTUALLY CALLED IT'S FOR LITIGATION AND ECONOMIC INCENTIVES. SO IT'S BEEN AND I DON'T HAVE THE DETAILS IN FRONT OF ME. SO I'M SPEAKING FROM MEMORY HERE, BUT IT'S WHERE MONEYS HAVE BEEN SET ASIDE OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS PRECEDING MY TENURE HERE, WHERE WE HAD ADDITIONAL FUND BALANCES, AND WE HAD CARVED IT OUT IN ANTICIPATION OF NEEDING TO TRANSFER MONEY, POTENTIALLY TO THE RISK FUND OR FOR OTHER ECONOMIC INCENTIVES.

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WE NEVER DID THAT. SO THIS WOULD BE A WAY TO SORT OF CATCH UP WITH THAT, GET THOSE MONEY TRANSFERRED WHERE THEY WERE INTENDED TO GO IN THE FIRST PLACE, OR, YOU KNOW, HAD PLANNED TO, TO GO AND ALLEVIATE THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THIS YEAR OF THE $9 MILLION, IF YOU INTEND TO PUT THE 9 MILLION BACK INTO THE OPERATING BUDGET NEXT YEAR, SHOULD WE BE CONCERNED THAT WE'RE BASICALLY SORT OF MASKING A POTENTIAL $9 MILLION BUDGET SHORTFALL THIS YEAR, OR WE'RE SPENDING MONEY THAT WE WOULD REALLY OTHERWISE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ALLOCATING TO THE RISK FUND, AND WE'LL NEED TO PLAN FOR THAT NEXT YEAR. IT IS I MEAN, IT IT IS A BIT OF A I DON'T KNOW, IT'S WE PULLED IT OUT TO CONSIDER IT AS A ONE TIME FUNDING SOURCE FOR THIS YEAR. SO WE WOULD NORMALLY CONSIDER IT TO BE YOUR RECURRING REVENUE, PART OF YOUR RECURRING EXPENDITURES. AND BY PULLING THAT OUT, WE'RE SORT OF TREATING IT AS A ONE TIME YEAR, YOU KNOW, ONE TIME EVENT WHERE WE ARE ALLEVIATING THAT. SO IT IS TRUE. YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALWAYS THE OPTION NOT TO FUND THE RISK FUND, BUT THEN THAT POSES, YOU KNOW, ISSUES OF ITS OWN. AND I'LL JUST ASK ONE MORE QUESTION. THEN I'LL JUMP BACK IN THE QUEUE, BECAUSE THE SECOND PART OF MY QUESTION WAS ABOUT THE RAINY DAY FUND, RAINY DAY FUND, AND NOT PUTTING ANY MONEY IN THE RAINY DAY FUND, IF YOU COULD SPEAK TO THAT. WE HAVEN'T BUDGETED FOR IT THIS YEAR. I KNOW THAT WE HAVE DONE THAT HISTORICALLY BASED ON EARLY PROJECTIONS. WE'RE NOT SURE. WE REALLY DIDN'T HAVE MUCH REVENUE SURPLUS THAT WE WERE BUDGETING. IT ALSO, NORMALLY THAT HAS COME OUT OF THE REVENUE SURPLUS WHEN WE'RE FORECASTING HOW WE THINK WE'RE GOING TO END FY 26, WE TYPICALLY HAVE A SURPLUS OF REVENUES HAVE COME IN BETTER THAN EXPENDITURES, AND WE WOULD BUDGET THAT INTO THE NEW YEAR, BOTH IN THE RAINY DAY FUND AND INTO THE OPERATING BUDGET AS WELL. WE DID NOT DO THAT THIS YEAR BECAUSE EARLY FORECASTS INDICATE THAT WE MAY NOT END UP WITH A LARGE SURPLUS. AT THE END OF FY 26. WE WE HAVEN'T DONE A REFORECAST SINCE SIX MONTHS IN. SO WE DID YOU KNOW, WE WORKED WITH DEPARTMENTS TO CURTAIL SPENDING AND WHAT HAVE YOU FOR FY 26, BUT NOT INCLUDING THAT FOR THE RAINY DAY FUND DIRECTLY. THIS YEAR WAS REALLY A RESULT OF WHAT OUR EARLY FORECASTS WERE TELLING US ABOUT THE END OF FY 26. DO YOU EXPECT TO HAVE A FORECAST IN THE NEAR FUTURE, OR IS THIS SOMETHING WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT TILL WELL AFTER THE BUDGET? I'M SORRY. YOU WERE SAYING YOU YOU HAD THE FORECAST FOR WHAT YOU THOUGHT WE WOULD BE IN TERMS OF WHETHER WE WOULD BE OVER, BUT WHETHER WE'D HAVE REVENUE LEFT OVER. DO YOU ANTICIPATE ANOTHER LOOK AT THAT SOON? WELL, WHEN WE COMPLETE THE THIRD QUARTER REPORTS, THAT'LL GIVE US A CLOSER LOOK AT WHERE WE MIGHT BE LANDING THE THIRD QUARTER FINANCIAL YOU TALKING ABOUT FOR 26. AND THAT SHOULD BE WHEN NEXT WEEK WE'LL HAVE THOSE. OKAY. GREAT. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN PIACENTINI. THANK YOU. WHAT WHAT'S THE JUST A JUMP ON TO WHAT VICE CHAIR WINKLER WAS TALKING ABOUT RELATED TO THE RAINY DAY FUND. WHAT'S THE TARGET FOR THE RAINY DAY FUND? I AGREE THE TARGET IS WE HAVE A POLICY THAT CURRENTLY SAYS THE GOAL WOULD BE 13% OF REVENUES. WE'RE JUST SHY OF THAT AT ABOUT 10.6% OF REVENUES, OR 1 TO 2 MONTHS WORTH OF EXPENDITURES. AND I THINK WE ARE SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE. WE'RE LIKE ONE AND A HALF MONTHS. WE'RE NOT AT A FULL TWO MONTHS, BUT WE'RE RIGHT IN THAT 1 TO 1 AND A HALF MONTH RANGE IN TERMS OF WHAT WE HAVE IN RAINY DAY, FUND COULD COVER 1 TO 1 AND A HALF MONTHS WORTH OF EXPENDITURES IF YOU HAD TO LIQUIDATE. BUT IT'S, I THINK 92 MILLION ISH IS THE. YEAH, I'M NOT SURE WE AGREE ON, ON THE DEFINITION OF HOW CLOSE WE ARE. I MEAN, IT'S 30% OFF, RIGHT? IT'S, IT'S, YOU KNOW, 13% TO 10% IS NOT NOT A SMALL NUMBER. AND IT'S GOING DOWN. I MEAN, WE'VE, WE'VE, THERE HAVE BEEN MANY, MANY YEARS GOING BACK. I MEAN, THE, THE CHART THAT YOU SHOWED HAS JUST ABOUT EVERY YEAR BETWEEN 2010 TO 2018, WE HAD A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF, OF OUR REVENUE EXPRESSED IN THE RAINY DAY FUND. AND WHAT I'M CONCERNED WITH IS LIKE THE GENERAL. THROWING OF THE DICE IS WHAT I'LL CALL IT. WE'RE NOT ADDING THE RAINY DAY FUND. WE'RE NOT ADDING TO THE RESERVE FUND. WE'RE BORROWING MORE MONEY THAN WE'VE NOT EVER. WE'VE ACTUALLY BORROWED MORE MONEY THAN THIS BEFORE, BUT WE'RE BORROWING A LOT MORE THAN WE HAVE IN THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS. I, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT TO JUMP TOO FAR INTO THE REVENUE, BUT IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THE REVENUE PROJECTIONS LOOK GREAT. YOU'RE SAYING THAT THE SURPLUS PROJECTIONS AREN'T

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BUT MY QUESTIONS ARE AROUND WHILE THIS IS THIS BUDGET HAS BEEN PRESENTED AS A BALANCED BUDGET, I'M CONCERNED THAT THERE IS SERIOUS LONG TERM CONCERNS ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY, NOT JUST WITH THE RESERVES, BUT WITH STAFFING AND THEN THE TRANSPARENCY OF IT. LIKE HOW WHERE IS THE MONEY MOVING? HOW CAN WE FOLLOW IT AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING THE MOST FOR FOR IT FROM IT? AND THEN THE BUDGET, OF COURSE, ONE OF THE THINGS I ADVOCATE FOR IS HOW IT REFLECTS ON THE NEEDS FOR NEIGHBORHOODS, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WORKING, WORKING FAMILIES, PUBLIC HEALTH, COMMUNITY SAFETY. AND WHAT WE'RE BALANCING TODAY, IS IT GOING TO BE AT THE EXPENSE OF TOMORROW'S STABILITY? BUT MY QUESTIONS ARE AROUND, AND YOU ANSWERED SOME WHEN YOU ANSWER MY COLLEAGUES QUESTIONS. BUT WHAT I KNOW THAT THERE'S BEEN ISSUES WITH FEDERAL FUNDS.

IS THERE A PLAN FOR IF FEDERAL FUNDS ARE DELAYED? YOU EXPLAIN SOME ABOUT WHY NOT? YOU'RE NOT REBUILDING RESERVES NOW. BUT THE SECOND PART OF MY QUESTION IS HOW ARE WE PREPARING THIS FOR THE EMERGENCIES THROUGH A QUARTER BY QUARTER BASIS? BECAUSE YOU SAID YOU CAN ONLY GO BACK SO MUCH. I JUST WANT TO KNOW THAT WE HAVE A PLAN FOR IF OTHER THINGS ARE DELAYED. I JUST FEEL LIKE THERE'S AN OVERRELIANCE ON THINGS THAT IT ISN'T. IT ISN'T CLEAR. SO JUST, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE YOU SEEING THIS PLAY OUT? WELL, I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE DO IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE QUARTERLY REVIEW, YOU KNOW, FORECASTING IS SOMETHING THAT WE DON'T FORECAST EVERY MONTH OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. SO WE TYPICALLY WAIT TILL THE END OF THE QUARTER. AND REALLY WE DON'T EVEN FORECAST. IF YOU WERE IN A NEW YEAR, WE WOULDN'T FORECAST THAT FIRST QUARTER. WE USUALLY WAIT TO AT LEAST SIX MONTHS IN THIS ONE. YOU CAN REALLY GET A GOOD A BETTER VIEW OF WHAT, HOW YOUR YEAR MIGHT BE SHAPING UP. AND THEN THAT ALSO GIVES YOU AN OPPORTUNITY. IF YOU NOTE SOME THINGS THAT IT FEELS LIKE, YOU KNOW, WELL, MAYBE WE'RE, WE'RE SPENDING TOO FAST OR, YOU KNOW, WE NEED, WE'VE ONLY GOT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE

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OKAY. YEAH, I JUST DON'T YOU KNOW, THE PROBLEM IS YOU CAN'T WE CAN'T BACK UP ONCE WE, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU KNOW, ONCE WE LOSE IT, WE LOSE IT. AND SO I THINK BILL HOLLANDER, WHEN HE WAS AROUND, HE TALKED ABOUT THIS, THAT THERE WERE YEARS THAT WE HADN'T GONE FOR THE 4%.

AND THEN, YOU KNOW, OVER TIME, THAT REVENUE GAP JUST KEEPS GETTING BIGGER. I MEAN, THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, ROUGHLY 3 OR $4 MILLION THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN COULD HAVE GONE TO THE RAINY DAY FUND. SO IF WE COULD FIND THAT OUT, THAT'D BE HELPFUL. I JUST WANT TO AND REALLY, FOR THE PURPOSES OF NOT MAKING THE MISTAKE, AGAIN, NOT TO REHASH THE PAST BECAUSE IT'S OVER. SO THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. SEEING NO ONE ELSE IN THE QUEUE IS DONE IF YOU WANT TO MOVE TO THE NEXT PORTION. ALL RIGHT. SO WE'RE GOING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT REVENUE NOW. FOR FY 26. I'M SORRY. FOR FY 27. THE GENERAL FUND REVENUES ARE PROJECTED TO TOTAL 919 MILLION, OR APPROXIMATELY 4% OVER THE FY 26 ESTIMATE. WE'LL DISCUSS SOME OF THE GROWTH DETAILS ON ANOTHER SLIDE, BUT TO HIGHLIGHT A FEW ADDITIONAL ITEMS HERE IN FY 27, THE NET INTEREST FEES AND EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH THE REVENUE COMMISSIONS, OPERATING COSTS, AND GENERAL OBLIGATION DEBT SERVICE PAYMENTS IS INCREASING BY 4.4 MILLION, AND THE FY 27 INVESTMENT INCOME FORECAST IS INCREASING BY 9 MILLION. ONE OTHER SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IS AN INCREASE IN CHARGES FOR SERVICES REVENUE BY 5 MILLION, PRIMARILY DRIVEN BY METRO'S PARTICIPATION IN THE NEW AMBULANCE SUPPLEMENT PAYMENT PROGRAM RECENTLY APPROVED IN KENTUCKY. THE KEY ASP BRINGS IN ADDITIONAL FEDERAL MEDICAID DOLLARS FOR TRANSPORTS COVERED BY MEDICAID. METRO IS EXPECTED TO RECEIVE APPROXIMATELY 4 TO 5 MILLION PER YEAR BEGINNING LATER THIS SUMMER. THIS IS JUST A BREAKDOWN OF THE VARIOUS SOURCES OF REVENUE TO METRO. AS YOU CAN SEE, WE HAVE A HIGH DEPENDENCY ON THE OCCUPATIONAL LICENSE TAX AT 57% OF OUR TOTAL REVENUE. THE OIL TAX IS COMPRISED OF OUR NET PROFITS, THE WAGE WITHHOLDING AND THE INSURANCE PREMIUM TAX. THE SECOND HIGHEST IS OUR PROPERTY TAX AT 24%. THIS SLIDE IS GOING TO SORT OF HIGHLIGHT FOR YOU THE GROWTH FORECAST THAT WE HAVE FOR EACH OF OUR LARGE TYPES OF REVENUE. THE REAL PROPERTY TAX RATES FOR BOTH THE METRO LOUISVILLE COUNTY WIDE AND THE URBAN SERVICES DISTRICT ARE BOTH ANTICIPATED TO CHANGE SLIGHTLY. BASED UPON THE PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT RECAPS RECEIVED FROM THE PROPERTY VALUATION ADMINISTRATION IN APRIL, THE PRELIMINARY RECAPS ASSESSMENT SHOWED ASSESSMENT GROWTH EXCLUSIVE OF NET NEW PROPERTY OF 7.8% IN METRO LOUISVILLE, WHICH IS ALL OF JEFFERSON COUNTY AND 2.5% IN THE URBAN SERVICES DISTRICT. AND THAT'S FROM JANUARY 1ST, 2025 TO JANUARY 1ST, 2026. AS OF JANUARY 1ST, 2026, THE REAL PROPERTY AND MLS AREAS EIGHT AND NINE WERE REASSESSED. THE FY 27 REAL PROPERTY TAX RATES WILL NOT BE SET UNTIL AFTER THE FINAL ASSESSMENT. RECAPS ARE RECEIVED FROM THE REVENUE CABINET IN LATE SUMMER. EMPLOYEE WITHHOLDINGS ARE EXPECTED TO GROW BY 3.3% IN FY 27, AS BOTH THE JOB GROWTH AND WAGE INCREASES CONTINUE POST PANDEMIC IN AN UPWARD TRAJECTORY. BY WAY OF COMPARISON, EMPLOYEE WITHHOLDINGS ARE PROJECTED TO INCREASE BY 4.3% IN 26 NET PROFIT. COLLECTIONS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE IN 27 BY 1.7%. FY 27 NET PROFIT COLLECTIONS ARE FORECAST TO INCREASE SLIGHTLY FROM FY 26, AS CORPORATIONS CONTINUE STEADY GROWTH AND THE RESILIENT NATIONAL ECONOMY. THE INSURANCE PREMIUM TAXES ARE FORECAST TO INCREASE MODESTLY BY 1.9% IN FY 26 AND 2% IN FY 27. AS THE EXTREME INFLATIONARY PRESSURES AND THE INSURANCE MARKETS, WHICH LED TO 11% GROWTH IN INSURANCE PREMIUM TAXES FOR BOTH 24 AND 25, HAVE ABATED.

THE WATER COMPANY DIVIDEND IS EXPECTED TO DECREASE SLIGHTLY BY 4.2% IN THE IN FY 27, FOLLOWING VERY STRONG PERFORMANCES IN 25 AND 26, THE PROJECTED FY 27 DIVIDEND OF 37 MILLION IS 36.3% HIGHER THAN JUST THREE YEARS AGO, WHEN THE FY 24 DIVIDEND TOTALED 27.1 MILLION. THE FY 27 WATER COMPANY DIVIDEND WILL BE SLIGHTLY NEGATIVELY IMPACTED BY THE LARGER THAN NORMAL AMOUNT OF WATER MAIN BREAKS EXPERIENCED DURING THE COLD WEATHER OUTBREAK IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY OF 26. THIS SLIDE IS SPECIFIC TO OUR NET PROFITS TAX

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THAT'S THE END OF THE REVENUE. THANK YOU. I HAVE A COUPLE FOLKS IN THE QUEUE. COUNCILMAN WINKLER, YOU CAN JUST ASK A CLARIFYING QUESTION. THE PIE CHART ON. I DON'T HAVE SLIDE NUMBERS, BUT THE THAT ONE DOESN'T HAVE NET PROFITS. THAT I CAN TELL. IS THAT JUST AN OVERSIGHT OR IT'S LUMPED IN WITH OCCUPATIONAL TAXES? OKAY. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN PIACENTINI. THANK YOU REAL QUICK. IT'S NOT ON THE DECK. IT'S IT'S IN OUR BRIEFING DOCUMENT CHARGES FOR SERVICES. THIS IS 2023. MAYOR ANNOUNCED AN INCREASE ATTEMPT TO COLLECT MEDICAL SERVICES. I'M ASSUMING MOSTLY EMS RUNS. AND WE'RE LOOKING OVER THE LAST COUPLE FISCAL YEARS, IT'S ACTUALLY GONE DOWN. THE FISCAL YEAR 26 APPROVED WAS 17 MILLION. THE REVISED IS 15 MILLION. THAT'S BASICALLY FLAT ALL THE WAY BACK TO FISCAL YEAR 22. WE'RE PROJECTING IT TO GO UP TO 20 MILLION THIS YEAR. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THAT'S BASED ON.

THAT'S A PRETTY BIG JUMP. THAT IS OUR PARTICIPATION IN THAT NEW PROGRAM, MEDICAID REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM, THE AMBULANCE SUPPLEMENTAL PAYMENT PROGRAM. KENTUCKY JUST APPROVED TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT IN FEBRUARY. METRO HAD ALREADY WORKED WITH A CONSULTANT TO ANALYZE OUR DATA FROM THE PRIOR YEAR. AND SO WE WILL START RECEIVING A PAYOUT ON THAT PROGRAM IN FY LATER THIS SUMMER. SO I THINK WE'RE ON AUGUST WAS WHAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO START GETTING PAYMENTS BASED ON OUR ACTIVITY AND THE DATA THAT'S BEEN ANALYZED. THEY'RE ANTICIPATING THAT WE'LL RECEIVE ANYWHERE FROM 4 TO $5 MILLION A YEAR IN ADDITIONAL SUPPLEMENTAL PAYMENTS. OKAY. AND THEN ONLY BECAUSE I KNOW WE HAVE A SECTION ON DEBT COMING UP, BUT DEBT SERVICE IS PAID NET OCCUPATIONAL TAX, RIGHT? SO WE GET OCCUPATIONAL TAX, WE PAY THE DEBT SERVICE, WE GET WHAT WE GET LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, WHICH IS EXACTLY HOW IT SHOULD BE. THERE'S WE'RE PROJECTING LAST YEAR WE WERE BUDGETED 67 MILLION, ACTUAL 66 MILLION. IT LOOKS LIKE OR REVISED 66 MILLION JUMPING TO 70 MILLION. IN DEBT SERVICE. DO DO WE HAVE ANY CONCERNS ABOUT THIS TREND IN EATING INTO FUTURE REVENUES? I MEAN, I THINK IT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT HAS TO BE MANAGED. YOU KNOW, I MEAN, WE, WE, WE UTILIZE DEBT. WE METRO HAS FOR MANY YEARS NOW. AND I'M JUST STATING IT AS A FACT, NOT NECESSARILY AN OPINION. YOU KNOW, METRO UTILIZES DEBT TO PAY FOR A LOT OF OUR CAPITAL NEEDS. AND THESE AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT MORE IN SOME FUTURE SLIDES. BUT THE CAPITAL NEEDS AREN'T JUST THINGS LIKE BIG PROJECTS. IT'S ONGOING THINGS LIKE DEFERRED MAINTENANCE AND VEHICLES AND ROADS AND PAVING. AND, YOU KNOW, SO DEBT IS SOMETHING THAT WE. ARE. I WANT TO SAY, USED TO MANAGING. AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ACCUSTOMED TO BECAUSE THIS IS HOW WE'VE SORT OF STRUCTURED, HOW WE, HOW WE DEVELOP OUR BUDGETS AND, AND THE FUNDING SOURCES THAT WE UTILIZE. SO IT'S OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING TO BE COGNIZANT OF AND MANAGED. I DON'T KNOW THAT I HAVE CONCERNS. I THINK IT OBVIOUSLY WILL, YOU KNOW BE SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO ACCOUNT FOR WHEN WE'RE BUILDING OUR BUDGETS FOR FUTURE YEARS. AND HERE'S MY CONCERN.

IT'S THAT THAT IS INCREASING AT A LITTLE FASTER PACE, NOT RIDICULOUSLY SO. I DON'T WANT TO OVERSTATE THE FACTS, BUT AT A NONETHELESS FASTER PACE THAN IT HAS IN THE PAST. AND, AND WE ARE ADMITTING THAT OUR PROJECTIONS, THEIR PROJECTIONS OF OUR BIGGEST. BECAUSE PROPERTY VALUE, PROPERTY TAX SORT OF SENATE THE 4% INCREASE. SO OCCUPATIONAL TAX IS THE ONE

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WE'RE SEEING OCCUPATIONAL TAX INCREASES SLOWING. WE'RE SEEING DEBT SERVICE EXPENSES INCREASING. SO AGAIN, I'M NOT PANICKING EITHER. BUT I JUST WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THIS IS A TREND WE NEED TO MANAGE TODAY SO THAT WE'RE NOT IN A POSITION WE WERE FIVE YEARS AGO WHERE IT'S NOT A MATTER OF TRADING A FEW POSITIONS HERE AND THERE. WE HAD TO CUT LIKE 500 PEOPLE OUT OF THE BUDGET. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MADAM CLERK. PLEASE CALL THE RECORD TO REFLECT THAT.

WE'VE BEEN JOINED BY COUNCILWOMAN TAMMY HAWKINS. COUNCILWOMAN CHAPEL, YOU'RE NEXT IN THE QUEUE. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT REVENUE. RIGHT? OKAY. I'M GOING TO TAKE MYSELF OUT OF THE QUEUE. I KNOW I'VE GOT QUESTIONS, BUT I'M TRYING TO SORT MY PAPERS. OKAY. I'LL YOU CAN ADD YOURSELF BACK IN COUNCILWOMAN PARISH. RIGHT. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. I SAW COUNCILMAN WINKLER AHEAD OF ME, BUT I DID. OKAY. I DO WANT TO SECOND WHAT COUNCILMAN WINKLER SAID ABOUT THE GETTING MORE OF A DETAILED BREAKDOWN OF THE OPIOID FUNDS AND THE EXPENDITURES AND ALL OF THAT. I DO WANT A COPY OF ALL OF THAT AS WELL. JUST PLEASE INCLUDE ME.

I AM VERY CONCERNED ABOUT SUPPLEMENTATION AND LIKE FILLING IN GAPS WITH THAT MONEY, WHICH IS BLOOD MONEY FOR PEOPLE IMPACTED BY THE OPIOID CRISIS. BUT ALSO WHILE THINKING ABOUT THIS, I'M LOOKING AT THE CDBG PROJECTS BY YEAR. AND FORGIVE ME IF I'M NOT IN THE RIGHT SECTION, BUT I SEE WHERE LAST YEAR THERE WAS 15 PLUS MILLION ALLOCATED, AND NOW AND THIS YEAR IT'S PROJECTED FOR 11 MILLION. I JUST WANT TO SEE WHAT THE REASONING IS AND WHY WE AREN'T USING AS MUCH OF THAT AS POSSIBLE TO HELP FILL IN SOME THINGS. AND LIKE WITH THE HOUSING REQUEST AND THINGS LIKE THAT. GREAT. AARON JACKSON WITH OMB, I. I THINK THE CDBG ESTIMATE THAT WE'VE ASSUMED IN THE BUDGET HAS BEEN RELATIVELY FLAT. IF YOU LOOK ON PAGE 25 OF THE EXECUTIVE BUDGET, IT'S 11.4 IS WHAT WE'RE BUDGETING THIS YEAR. AND THAT'S BEEN 11.3 AND 26. AND THE ACTUALS WAS ROUGHLY 11,000,000 IN 25. SO I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE WHAT YOU'RE. SO I IF I MAY RESPOND. FOR ME, JUST LOOKING AT THE WHOLE NUMBERS, IT JUST LOOKS LIKE THERE'S LESS WHEN I KNOW IT'S OVER FIVE YEARS, RIGHT? THE NEXT FIVE YEARS. SO I WAS JUST WONDERING WHAT WAS THE THINKING AROUND THAT? AND I SEE AT THE TOP IT SAYS ANNUAL ALLOCATION. AND THAT DOES LOOK FLAT. BUT AT THE BOTTOM, AFTER ALL OF THE PROGRAM, ADMINISTRATION, FAIR HOUSG, ALL OF THAT, THE NUMBERS LOOK REALLY DIFFERENT FROM LAST YEAR. OKAY. I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE WE HAVE THE INFORMATION THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT, BUT IF WE CAN GET WHATEVER FORMATION WE NEED TO Y. OKAY. THANK YOU. THAOU MPANY DIVIDEND, THE36 MILLION, IS THAT CORRECT? APPROXIMATELY. I DON'T HAVE THAT SLIDE IN FRONT OF ME.

RIGHT. IS THAT BEING APPLIED EXCLUSIVELY TO THE USD? FORMER CITY OF LOUISVILLE IN YOUR. IT IS NOT APPLIED SPECIFICALLY TO THE USD. IT IS JUST PART OF OUR GENERAL FUND GENERAL FUND. I ASKED THAT QUESTION BECAUSE AS YOU KNOW, WHEN THE FORMER CITY OF LOUISVILLE WAS THE CITY OF LOUISVILLE, IT OWNED THE WATER COMPANY, A THAT MONEY WENT EXCLUSIVELY TO WHAT IS NOW THE USD. IS THERE A REASON WHY THAT'S NOT HAPPENING NOW? PROBABLY HISTORICALLY WITH MERGER, THERE WERE, YOU KNOW, DECISIONS MADE AT THAT POINT IN TIME THAT IT WOULD BE CONSIDERED PART OF THE GENERAL FUND. AND THAT'S WHAT WE'VE CONTINUED ON WITH FOR MANY YEARS. I DON'T KNOW IF AARON HAS ANY OTHER HISTORICAL DATA ON THAT, BUT I'M NOT SURE IF THERE IS. OBVIOUSLY, SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY THERE WAS SOME DECISION MADE, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'VE ADHERED TO. I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE WATER COMPANY, I GUESS WHEN WE MERGED, IT BECAME OWNED BY METRO AS A WHOLE, NOT JUST THE CITY OF LOUISVILLE. AND OF COURSE, I REPRESENT THE USD PART OF USD. AND I JUST WANT YOU KNOW, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THAT'S, THAT'S A QUITE A LOSS. IF YOU APPROXIMATE THE POPULATION OUTSIDE THE USD WOULD BE ABOUT 2 TO 1 THAT IF YOU'RE PUTTING IT IN THE GENERAL FUND, THEN THAT MEANS THAT TWO THIRDS OF THAT IS BEING USD USED TO GET IS BEING LOST IN THE GENERAL FUND, AND THAT'S $24 MILLION A YEAR. AND THAT'S QUITE A LOT TO LOSE. AND I JUST WANT TO POINT THAT OUT. I'LL GET IN MORE DETAIL. I JUST WANT TO POINT THAT OUT. JUST ASK A QUESTION. OKAY. THANK YOU. SO JUST THIS MAY NOT BE A SATISFACTORY ANSWER, BUT A RESPONSE. WHEN WE MERGED GOVERNMENTS IN 2003, ALL OF THE

[01:05:04]

THIS SLIDE PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF FULL TIME METRO PERSONNEL FOR THE LAST TEN YEARS, JUST.

IT DOES NOT INCLUDE PART TIME. THIS IS JUST FULL TIME. YOU WILL NOTICE, OBVIOUSLY, A SHARP DECLINE IN YEARS 2020 TO 2022. DURING THIS TIME, THERE WERE INCREASED RETIREMENTS AND CHANGES IN THE JOB MARKET THAT MADE IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR METRO TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN EMPLOYEES. PERSONNEL LEVELS BEGAN TO REBOUND IN 2023 AND HAS SHOWN POSITIVE GROWTH SINCE.

AS OF OUR APRIL 1ST COUNT, METRO IS NOW WITHIN ABOUT 100 FILLED POSITIONS OF OUR HIGHEST COUNT IN THE LAST TEN YEARS. SO IF YOU LOOK BACK AT 20 2017, OUR COUNT WAS AT ABOUT 5500.

AND IN 2026, AS OF APRIL 1ST, THE COUNT WAS AT ABOUT 5478. SO A NICE LITTLE CURVE THERE IN TERMS OF OUR OUR PERSONNEL COUNT. THIS GRAPH HIGHLIGHTS THE PENSION COST AS A PERCENTAGE OF GENERAL FUND REVENUES, WITH OUR FORECASTED 27 ASSUMPTIONS. OF NOTE, THE CONTRIBUTION INCREASED FROM 22 TO 23. SO TO SEE THAT BIG JUMP THERE AT 16.8% WAS IN PART DUE TO THE PENSION RATE INCREASE FOR THAT YEAR, THE CONTRIBUTION HAS BEEN DECREASING SINCE FY 24, AND THAT'S DUE TO THE REDUCTION IN THE HAZARDOUS AND NON-HAZARDOUS PENSION RATES.

THE ACTUAL COST FOR PENSION, THE ACTUAL PENSION COST IN FY 27 IS PROJECTED TO BE 108 MILLION. AND THEN OUR HEALTH PLAN COST THE METRO PREMIUM RATES FOR FY 27 ARE REMAINING THE SAME FOR OUR EMPLOYEES. HOWEVER, METRO TOOK ON AN INCREASE OF APPROXIMATELY 13 MILLION IN OUR HEALTH PLAN COSTS. BOTH FY 26 AND 27 ARE DISPLAYED AT BUDGET, NOT AT ACTUAL DISPLAY BUDGET, IDENTIFYING THE INCREASE OF ABOUT 30%. WE'VE ALSO INCLUDED

[01:10:04]

PUBLIC SAFETY, WHICH INCLUDES VARIOUS PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS SUCH AS LMPD, FIRE, EMS AND METRO SAFETY AND CORRECTIONS, ACCOUNTS FOR ALMOST HALF OF THE GENERAL FUND AT 50%, FOLLOWED BY CENTRAL SERVICES, COMMUNITY BUILDING AND PUBLIC SERVICES. THAT'S THE END OF THAT ONE. COUNCIL MEMBER WINKLER. THANK YOU. I WANT TO SPEAK SPECIFICALLY TO THE HEALTH CARE COSTS. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT SPECIFICALLY IS LEADING TO THE DRAMATIC INCREASE THIS YEAR? SO IT'S BASED ON MY UNDERSTANDING IS IT'S IT'S BASED ON YOUR CLAIMS ACTIVITY, REALLY. WE HAD SOME TOUGH YEARS WHERE WE'VE HAD SOME CATASTROPHIC HEALTH CLAIMS, UNFORTUNATELY, WITH OUR EMPLOYEES. AND THAT IS DRIVING THE COST. WHEN WE MET WITH OUR BROKER, I GUESS IT'S THE BEST OUR INSURANCE BROKER, YOU KNOW, THEY EXPLAINED THAT YOU COULD ALSO SEE YEARS WHERE THAT MIGHT COME DOWN IF YOU HAVE WHAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED, YOU KNOW, A LIGHT YEAR ON CLAIMS, BUT IT'S REALLY JUST DRIVEN BY THE USAGE OF THE COVERAGE.

UNFORTUNATELY, WHEN YOU HAVE HIGH USAGE, IT'S GOING TO DRIVE YOUR RATES UP. YEAH, I WOULD I'M CURIOUS AT WHAT POINT. I MEAN, I WORKED FOR A LARGE EMPLOYER, RIGHT. AND WE SELF-INSURED OUR HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE TIPPING POINT IS, WHERE IT MAKES SENSE TO SELF-INSURE YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE VERSUS BUYING ON THE PRIVATE MARKET. AND THEN JUST HAVING A PLAN ADMINISTRATOR ACTUALLY MANAGE YOUR CLAIMS. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY INSIGHT INTO THAT, I MEAN, IS IT 2000 EMPLOYEES? IS IT 100,000 EMPLOYEES? IS IT I MEAN, DO YOU HAVE ANY SENSE? THAT'S PROBABLY SOMETHING THAT HR MIGHT BE ABLE TO ANSWER A LITTLE BIT BETTER. UNFORTUNATELY. I'M NOT SURE ON THAT ONE. OKAY. AND SO THEN MY LAST QUESTION IS, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE ONLY PROJECTING A 4% INCREASE. THEN NEXT YEAR. IS THAT BASED ON THOSE DISCUSSIONS? IS THAT JUST A GUESS? THAT'S REALLY MORE JUST AN AVERAGE OF WHAT WE'VE WE'VE USED THAT 4% PROJECTION OVER HISTORICALLY.

AND SO WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT 28 WOULD LOOK LIKE. SO WE JUST ASSUMED A 4%, ASSUMING THERE WOULD BE SOME SORT OF INCREASE. BUT IT COULD ALSO IT COULD COME DOWN. BUT WE, WE DON'T HAVE ANY INFORMATION FROM OUR BROKER ON WHAT THAT MIGHT LOOK LIKE FOR. 28 OKAY. I DO THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, AS WE GET MORE INSIGHTS INTO THAT SORT OF INCREASE, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY PROVIDING LOW COST OR NO COST HEALTH INSURANCE TO OUR EMPLOYEES IS, IS AN IMPORTANT BENEFIT. I DO THINK IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'LL NEED TO LOOK AT. I MEAN, I KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, AGAIN, WHERE I WORK, IF YOUR SPOUSE WAS EMPLOYED AND GOT INSURANCE THROUGH THEIR EMPLOYER THAT THEY WERE, YOU KNOW, IT WAS VERY EXPENSIVE TO EMPLOY YOUR SPOUSE ON MY EMPLOYER PLAN, RIGHT? AND SO, YOU KNOW, THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING TO LOOK AT AS WELL WHERE IF BECAUSE WE'RE BASICALLY SUBSIDIZING, THEN THE INSURANCE THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY COULD AND SHOULD BE GETTING THROUGH THEIR OTHER EMPLOYER. SO WHERE THE EMPLOYEE AND MAYBE THE EMPLOYEE'S CHILDREN AREN'T IMPACTED, BUT THE EMPLOYEE SPOUSE WOULD NEED TO SEEK INSURANCE FROM, FROM THEIR OWN EMPLOYER IF THEY'RE SO ELIGIBLE. SO JUST SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT. THANK YOU. AND I APOLOGIZE. AND THANKS TO COUNCILMAN WINKLER FOR NOT STEPPING ACROSS THIS LINE. SO I'M NOT SPEAKING TO WHAT WAS JUST ASKED, BUT THESE THE THE ITEMS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT BEFORE US RIGHT NOW ARE OVERVIEWS OF WHAT IS TO COME.

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT'S IN FRONT OF US, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ASK THEM. BUT IF YOU HAVE DISTRICTS, I MEAN, IF YOU HAVE DEPARTMENT SPECIFIC QUESTIONS, PLEASE KNOW THAT THOSE DEPARTMENTS WILL BE COMING IN THE FUTURE. AND IT WOULD BE BETTER TO ASK THOSE

[01:15:03]

AND ARE THEY FUNDED BEYOND ONE YEAR? SO THE 31 POSITIONS THAT YOU'RE REFERENCING, THERE WERE 28 POSITIONS THAT ARE IN THE LIBRARY. ONE IS COMMONWEALTH ATTORNEY. ONE IS IN G, B I, AND I'M BLANKING ON THE OTHERS. I WOULD HAVE TO GET YOU THE THE DETAIL, BUT THAT INFORMATION HAS ALSO BEEN SHARED WITH MR. BURKE. OKAY. AND THEN LAST QUESTION. IN FISCAL YEAR 27, THERE ARE THREE UNION CONTRACTS THAT ARE DUE FOR RENEWAL CURRENTLY. HOW MANY UNION CONTRACTS ARE EXPIRED AND UNDER NEGOTIATIONS? AND ARE THOSE ACCOUNTED FOR IN THIS BUDGET? LET ME GO TO THAT PAGE. I THINK IT'S 2 OR 3. YEAH. SO THERE'S CURRENTLY THREE UNIONS THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN NEGOTIATIONS. ASK ME LIBRARY TEAMSTER EMS AND TEAMSTER LMPD CIVILIAN ARE THE THREE. BUT THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT ARE PROJECTED TO BE DISCUSSED. SO THOSE ARE THE THOSE ARE THE UNIONS THAT HAVE EXPIRED OR WILL EXPIRE AS OF 630 OF 26. BUT I GUESS YOU'RE ASKING ABOUT THOSE THAT EXPIRE. SIX 3027. YEAH. I'M LIKE, THERE ARE SOME THAT ARE EXPIRED THAT ARE STILL UNDER NEGOTIATION. LIKE THE LIBRARY HAS BEEN TALKING, NEGOTIATING THEIR CONTRACT FOR A WHILE. THE WORKERS HAVE BEEN DOING SO AS WELL. IT SEEMS LIKE CODES IS ALWAYS NEGOTIATING. SO I'M TRYING TO WRAP MY HEAD AROUND LIKE, HOW MANY CONTRACTS ARE WE NEGOTIATING RIGHT NOW? AND LIKE YOU'RE PROJECTED TO HAVE THREE MORE, BUT DOES THAT MEAN WE'RE ALREADY DOING SIX AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE WILL BE NEGOTIATING NINE AND PERPETUITY UNTIL NOBODY BUDGES AND OUR WORKERS AREN'T PAID ENOUGH? YEAH. SO THE THREE UNIONS THAT I REFERENCED, LIBRARY, EMS AND LMPD CIVILIAN, THOSE ARE THE THREE CONTRACTS THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY IN NEGOTIATIONS WITH. IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING ON THE LIBRARY THAT WE HAVE RECENTLY REACHED A TENTATIVE AGREEMENT, BUT I DON'T HAVE THOSE SPECIFIC DETAILS, BUT THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING ON THAT ONE. THE OTHER TWO CONTRACTS EXPIRE 630 OF 26, AND WE'VE ALREADY STARTED THOSE DISCUSSIONS WITH THOSE UNIONS. SO I BELIEVE OTHER THAN THE LIBRARY, THE OTHER WE DON'T WE DON'T HAVE WE AREN'T NEGOTIATING ANY OTHER CONTRACTS THAT HAVE EXPIRED YET.

THERE'S TWO MORE THAT WE'VE STARTED THE NEGOTIATIONS WITH, BUT THEY'RE EXPIRING THIS JUNE.

SO WE'RE A FEW MONTHS OUTSIDE OF THAT EXPIRED EXPIRING, AND WE'VE ALREADY STARTED NEGOTIATIONS WITH THOSE. THE LIBRARY DID EXPIRE, I THINK LAST YEAR SOMETIME 630 OR 25, SIX 3025. SO THAT IS THE ONLY ONE THAT IS EXPIRED THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY NEGOTIATING.

EVERYTHING ELSE DOESN'T EXPIRE UNTIL SOME FUTURE POINT. CORRECT. THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN PARRISH. RIGHT. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. I'M TRYING TO REARRANGE. I DID HAVE QUESTIONS AROUND FLEETS AND FACILITIES, BUT LIKE YOU SAID, THEY'LL THEY'LL COME IN. RIGHT.

[01:20:06]

AND, AND ARE THERE ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES THAT EXIST FOR ALL OF THESE CONTRACTORS? THAT'S JUST PART ONE. WELL, I MEAN, I THINK IN INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTS WOULD BE BETTER SUITED TO ANSWER SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT CONTRACT PERFORMANCE. YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY OMB, WITH OUR PROCUREMENT TEAM, WE DO GET INVOLVED IF IF WE'RE NOTIFIED THAT CONTRACTORS AREN'T PERFORMING IN ACCORDANCE WITH THEIR CONTRACT OR UNDERPERFORMING, WE CERTAINLY WORK WITH THE DEPARTMENT AND HELP THEM ADDRESS THOSE CONCERNS WITH THE CONTRACTORS, YOU KNOW, TO HELP IMPROVE THAT PERFORMANCE. BUT IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT SORT OF STANDARDS THEY'RE BEING HELD TO AND THAT SORT OF THING, YOU KNOW, IT'S PROBABLY AN INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENT COULD PROBABLY ANSWER THAT FOR YOU A LITTLE BIT BETTER. FAIR ENOUGH. THE LOOKING AT THE MY AREA IS CONCERNS, OF COURSE, ARE THE LIBRARY CUTS. THE OFFICE OF SOCIAL SERVICES, SUSTAINABILITY OFFICE AND VIOLENCE PREVENTION.

BUT I'M I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO TALK ABOUT THE EXPENDITURES AND THE HOW WITH THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AND THE WAY THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THESE EXPENDITURES. I DON'T SEE ANYTHING THAT'S ABOUT INVESTING IN WHAT WE HAVE. LIKE COUNCILWOMAN CHAPEL, LOOKING AT THE VACANCIES THAT ARE THERE. AND IT LOOKS LIKE THE POSITIONS THAT WERE ELIMINATED. I'M JUST I'M HAVING A HARD TIME WRAPPING MY HEAD AROUND THIS, AS YOU COULD TELL. I JUST I DON'T HAVE THIS QUESTION NOW, BUT I WILL WAIT UNTIL THOSE OTHER DEPARTMENTS ARE IN FRONT OF US.

OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN ARGENTINAE. THANK YOU. CAN WE GO BACK TO THE FULL TIME PERSONNEL SLIDE REAL QUICK, IF YOU DON'T MIND? I JUST WANT TO BE CLEAR, I DON'T SEE THIS AS A POSITIVE OR A NEGATIVE THING. I THINK WE SHOULD EMPLOY THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF PEOPLE TO PROVIDE THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF SERVICES TO THE PEOPLE. IT SHOULDN'T BE A BIGGER NUMBER, A SMALLER NUMBER. IT NEEDS TO BE WHATEVER NUMBER IT NEEDS TO BE. BUT AND LOOK, TO BE CLEAR, YOU CAN SEE THE SCALE TO THE LEFT. TO BE FAIR, THIS IS ACTUALLY A MUCH SMALLER INCREASE. IF WE PUT THIS TO SCALE AND PUT THE, THE, THE Y AXIS SCALE ALL THE WAY DOWN TO ZERO, BUT I'M ASSUMING WE DIDN'T PUT 2027 IN HERE, THAT THAT WOULD BE FLAT OR SLIGHTLY REDUCED, RIGHT? THAT 5478 IS NOW GOING TO BE, YOU KNOW, 54, 30 SOMETHING OR 40 SOMETHING, RIGHT? THAT'S, THAT'S ESSENTIALLY A FLAT BAR. IS THAT CORRECT? CORRECT. OKAY, GREAT. THANK YOU. AND, AND YEAH, BASED ON WHAT COUNCIL CHAIR KRAMER SAID, I'M GOING TO HOLD MY HEALTH INSURANCE DISCUSSION FOR WHEN HR COMES AND PRESENTS BECAUSE I AGREE WITH THE VICE CHAIR. WE NEED TO I, I APPRECIATE HOW WE GOT HERE. WE NEED TO STRATEGIZE ON HOW TO GET OUT OF THIS. YEAH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN COUNCILMAN OWEN. I'LL DO THE SAME ABOUT HEALTH INSURANCE WITH HR. THANKS. OKAY. COUNCILWOMAN COUNCILWOMAN WOOLDRIDGE, THANK YOU. SO ON PAGE ONE OF THE DETAILED BOOK FROM THE 2025 2020 ON PAGE ONE. BUT THIS IS IN REGARDS TO THE CARRY FORWARD APPROPRIATIONS. SO I'M NOTICING THIS YEAR WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING MARKED FOR CARRYING FORWARD. BUT AT THE END OF 25 WAS CLOSED. WE CARRIED FORWARD JUST OVER 20 OR $42 MILLION. SO WE HAVE A PROJECTION OF IF WE'RE GOING TO CARRY FORWARD ANY OR WHAT THAT MAY LOOK LIKE. OKAY. SO THAT NUMBER OBVIOUSLY VARIES EACH YEAR DEPENDING ON WHAT THE PROGRAMS ARE THAT ARE BEING CARRIED FORWARD AND THE ACTIVITIES THAT OCCUR FOR THAT FISCAL YEAR. WE WON'T NECESSARILY KNOW WHAT THESE WHAT THE COMPARISON COMPARISON NUMBER WILL BE FOR FY 27 UNTIL WE CLOSE FY 26. SO IT'S NOT TRACKED ON LIKE A ROLLING STATUS AT ALL. IT'S NOT WHEN IT'S CLOSED, THAT'S WHEN IT'S FIGURED OUT. CORRECT. OKAY.

THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN JOSEPH, DO WE HAVE A WAY OF KNOWING HOW SHORT WE ARE FROM BEING AT FULL CAPACITY WHEN IT COMES TO FULL TIME PERSONNEL? I SEE IF IT'S AT 54, 78. DO WE KNOW HOW FAR WOULD BE TO BE CONSIDERED FULLY STAFFED OF THE CITY? IF THAT MAKES SENSE? I THINK OUR CURRENT MEASURE IS HOW MANY POSITIONS DOES THE DEPARTMENT HAVE ALLOCATED TO THEM AND WHAT WHERE WE FALL, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF THAT NUMBER, THAT'S THAT'S BEEN THE MEASURE HISTORICALLY IN TERMS OF WHAT SHOULD THAT NUMBER BE? WE HAVEN'T, TO MY KNOWLEDGE, HAD ANY SORT OF RECENT STUDY ON WHAT THAT MIGHT LOOK LIKE. SO OUR MEASURE REALLY NOW IS JUST HOW MANY POSITIONS OVER TIME THE DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN ALLOTTED AND WHERE THEY'RE

[01:25:02]

IF YOU MEAN IN TERMS OF BUDGET SHORTFALL, NO SHORTFALL IN TERMS OF PERSONNEL NUMBERS, IN TERMS OF PERSONNEL NUMBERS, I THINK SOME DEPARTMENTS PROBABLY STRUGGLE MORE THAN OTHERS TO, YOU KNOW, ATTRACT PERSONNEL AND AND FILLING CERTAIN POSITIONS. WHERE WOULD WE FIND THAT AT HR MIGHT MAY HAVE SOME MORE DATA. OKAY. THANK YOU. AND IF YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC QUESTION LIKE THAT FOR HR, FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU COULD FORWARD THAT TO BETH BEFORE HR COMES THAT WAY, THEY WOULD BE SURE TO HAVE YOUR ANSWER FOR YOU, COUNCILMAN PARKER. YES. HOW MANY POSITIONS, IF ANY, ARE CURRENTLY FUNDED IN THIS BUDGET WITH ARP FUNDS? AND DO YOU PROJECT THAT THEY WILL CONTINUE THROUGH 28? I KNOW THE NUMBER HAS DWINDLED. I'LL HAVE TO GET THAT FOR YOU. IT'S NOT A.

DO YOU HAVE IT? OH IT'S ONE. OH WELL, IT'S ONLY ONE POSITION FUNDED WITH ONE. YES. AND JUST CURIOUS, WHAT IS THAT. THAT'S A POSITION IN THE OFFICE OF STRATEGIC INITIATIVES. OKAY.

AND WILL THAT BE CONTINUED ASSUMING THE BUDGET IS ADOPTED? YES. OKAY. SEEING NO ONE ELSE IN THE QUEUE IS DONE, DO YOU WANT TO MOVE ON TO THE. ALL RIGHT. CAPITAL PORTRAIT? YES.

SO SIMILAR TO THE BEGINNING OF OUR OPERATING DISCUSSION, I WANTED TO START OUT WITH OUR CAPITAL BUDGET DISCUSSION WITH JUST A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE PROCESS WE FOLLOWED TO DEVELOP THE BUDGET. FIRST, WE REVIEW EXISTING CAPITAL PROJECT BALANCES TO IDENTIFY PROJECTS THAT CAN BE CLOSED OUT AND BALANCES THAT CAN POSSIBLY BE REAPPROPRIATED TO NEW OR ONGOING PROJECTS. THIS ACTIVITY REALLY OCCURS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME THIS YEAR. THERE'S STILL WORK TO BE DONE, BUT WE'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME THIS YEAR TRYING TO COMB THROUGH THAT AND AND CLOSE OUT PROJECTS THAT CAN BE CLOSED OUT. THE SECOND STEP IS TO ASK DEPARTMENTS TO SUBMIT NEW CAPITAL PROJECTS FOR CONSIDERATION DURING THE BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROJECT PROCESS. THESE NEW PROJECTS ARE ADDED TO AND CONSIDERED, ALONG WITH PROJECTS ALREADY IDENTIFIED ON THE MULTI YEAR CAPITAL PLAN. ALL POTENTIAL PROJECTS ARE EVALUATED BASED ON PRIORITIES, COMMUNITY NEEDS, READINESS OF THE PROJECT AND FUNDING RESOURCES. THEN OF COURSE, A FINAL RECOMMENDED CAPITAL BUDGET IS PRESENTED FOR ADOPTION. THIS CHART IDENTIFIES THE VARIOUS SOURCES THAT HAVE BEEN USED TO FUND CAPITAL PROJECTS. BONDS AND NOTES ACCOUNT FOR APPROXIMATELY 72%. FEDERAL FUNDS ALSO SERVE AS A LARGE FUNDING SOURCE AT APPROXIMATELY 11%. THE CAPITAL FUND AND OTHER SOURCES ARE THE NEXT LARGEST AT 16% COMBINED, AND THE OTHER CATEGORY IS COMPRISED OF STATE FORFEITURE AND PREVIOUSLY AUTHORIZED BOND FUNDS. THE RECOMMENDED BUDGET FOR FY 27 IS CONSISTENT WITH RECENT YEARS IN WHICH THE FULL AMOUNT OF FUNDING IS DIRECTED TOWARDS CAPITAL PROJECTS, SPECIFICALLY METRO STREET PAVING. THIS CAPITAL BUDGET REFLECTS A RECOMMENDED LEVEL OF CAPITAL DEBT APPROXIMATELY 5050 MILLION MORE THAN FY 26, AND I KNOW THAT STANDS OUT AS METRO'S APPROACH FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS HAS BEEN TO MAINTAIN A CONSISTENT LEVEL OF DEBT WHEN POSSIBLE. HOWEVER, THERE IS AN INTENT AND A STRATEGY BEHIND THE CHANGED APPROACH FOR FY 27.

FIRST, METRO INTENDS TO CONTINUE TO FUND OUR ONGOING AND OPERATIONAL CAPITAL NEEDS SUCH AS DEFERRED MAINTENANCE, PAVING, ROAD PROJECTS AND VEHICLE AND EQUIPMENT PURCHASES.

THE CAPITAL DEBT FUNDING TO MAINTAIN JUST OUR USUAL LEVEL OF NEED FOR THESE TYPES OF PROJECTS IS AROUND 90 MILLION, WHICH IS CONSISTENT WITH THE AMOUNT OF DEBT ISSUED FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS. ESSENTIALLY, WE'RE NEVER MAKING MUCH PROGRESS ON NEW CAPITAL PROJECTS BECAUSE OUR NORMAL LEVEL OF CAPITAL DEBT IS ONLY SUFFICIENT TO MAINTAIN THE USUAL OPERATIONAL PROJECTS. ONE OF THE GOALS WE HAVE WITH THIS CAPITAL BUDGET IS TO ALLOCATE ENOUGH FUNDING TOWARDS PRIORITY PROJECTS THAT WILL HAVE A POSITIVE COMMUNITY IMPACT. THE ADDITIONAL CAPITAL DEBT PLACES A PRIORITY ON PROJECTS CONSISTENT WITH THE CITY'S STRATEGIC INITIATIVES OF SUPPORTING NEIGHBORHOODS, PARKS AND LIBRARIES, IMPROVING PUBLIC SAFETY AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING. COUNCILMAN PIACENTINI, THANK YOU VERY QUICKLY, WILL, IF WE ALREADY HAVE, I APOLOGIZE A LITTLE BEHIND ON MY EMAIL. WILL WE RECEIVE AN UPDATED LONG TERM CAPITAL PLAN? WE CAN PROVIDE THAT. IT'S IT'S A WORKING DOCUMENT RIGHT NOW. WE CAN

[01:30:03]

I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE DEFINITELY NEED TO REVIEW. OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. COUNCILMAN OWEN. THANK YOU. CHAIR, JUST A QUICK QUESTION. I UNDERSTAND THE BOND PROCESS. YOU'VE GOT 8.3% IN NOTES. WHAT ARE WHAT ARE THE NOTES LOOK LIKE AND WHAT IS THE COST OF THAT CAPITAL. SO THE NOTES ARE FIVE YEAR NOTES. AND WE TYPICALLY USE THE NOTES WHEN WE'RE BOND FUNDING FOR OUR VEHICLES. SO WE'RE WE'RE TRYING TO PAY BACK YOU KNOW, YOU WOULDN'T BOND FUND A VEHICLE FOR 20 YEARS. IT'S NOT GOING TO LAST. WE TRY TO MATCH THE THE USEFUL LIFE. SO THAT'S SHORT TERM DEBT. THAT'S SHORT TERM. YES. OKAY. THANKS. COUNCILMAN WINKLER THANK YOU. I WOULD MAYBE IF COUNCILMAN PIACENTINI WOULD ALLOW, YOU KNOW, ON HIS REQUEST FOR THE DEFERRED MAINTENANCE AND MAYBE ASK JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE CLARIFICATION.

I THINK IN THE PAST, WHEN YOU ALL HAVE PRESENTED DEFERRED MAINTENANCE, AND I THINK THIS CAME TO LIGHT LAST YEAR, MAYBE IT WAS THE YEAR BEFORE WE HAD, I THINK, DIRECTOR ZOLAN HERE.

AND WHAT HE TESTIFIED TO IS THAT YOU ALL PUT THINGS ON THE DEFERRED MAINTENANCE LIST AS SOON AS SOMETHING SO LIKE IF WE PUT A NEW ROOF ON A BUILDING TOMORROW, IT GOES ON THE DEFERRED MAINTENANCE LIST, RIGHT? AND SO LOOKING AT THE AGGREGATE NUMBER, BECAUSE IT IS ONCE AGAIN DEFERRED MAINTENANCE AND WILL EVENTUALLY NEED TO BE REPLACED. SO IN AGGREGATE, I THINK THE NUMBER WE'VE BEEN GIVEN IN THE PAST, IF THAT'S TRUE, I DON'T KNOW THAT IT'S REALLY USEFUL BECAUSE WHILE, YES, THAT ROOF DOES EVENTUALLY NEED TO BE REPLACED IN THEORY, I MEAN, WE'RE SORT OF HAVE A NEVER ENDING DEFERRED MAINTENANCE LIST, RIGHT? SO I DON'T KNOW IF THERE IS A WAY TO BREAK IT DOWN IN A MORE USEFUL MANNER THAT MIGHT INDICATE LIKE, LIKE, BECAUSE I THINK WHEN WE SAY DEFERRED MAINTENANCE, WHAT WE REALLY MEAN IS OVERDUE MAINTENANCE, RIGHT? SO PERHAPS IT'S LIKE PAST ITS USEFUL LIFE, RIGHT? NEEDS TO BE REPLACED IN THE NEXT 1 TO 5 YEARS, RIGHT? 5 TO 10, 10 TO 20. RIGHT. BECAUSE JUST HAVING A RUNNING LIST THAT SAYS WE'VE GOT $140 MILLION OF DEFERRED MAINTENANCE, I THINK MISSTATES WHAT WHAT'S ACTUALLY NEEDED. SO I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL AS YOU'RE WORKING ON THAT, IF WE COULD JUST HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE CLARITY. SURE, COUNCILMAN. THANK YOU. ARGENTINAE I CAN SAY THAT I COULDN'T AGREE MORE. I THINK WE CAN BRAINSTORM IT OFFLINE. BUT YES, CRITICAL IS ONE THING BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS THEY SAID WAS CRITICAL. IN OTHER WORDS, IT'S PAST DUE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT BALANCE IS. AND THEN IT'S ALMOST LIKE IT SHOULD BE A TREND LINE, RIGHT? EVEN IF WE ARE GOING TO SAY, LOOK, IT'S ALL IN HERE, THEN OVER YEARS WE SHOULD SEE AS IT TRENDING UP, IS IT TRENDING DOWN? RIGHT. OR WE COULD BREAK IT DOWN BY CHUNKS OF YEARS OR EITHER WAY, AS LONG. BUT THE POINT IS TREND WE'RE TRYING TO SEE, DO WE HAVE A TREND WHERE WE'RE ADDRESSING DEFERRED MAINTENANCE, OR DO WE HAVE A TREND WHERE WE'RE GOING IN THE REVERSE AND WHERE WE HAVE AN INCREASING LIABILITY? RIGHT. THAT AND I THINK WE'RE ACTUALLY TRENDING IN A GOOD DIRECTION, RIGHT? I THINK THAT'S WHAT I WOULD SAY, BUT JUST FIGURING OUT A WAY TO QUANTIFY IT WOULD BE HELPFUL. BUT IT WOULD ALSO MEAN AND THAT WAS, YOU KNOW, WHERE IT MAY TAKE MORE THAN THIS BUDGET CYCLE. I THINK AT LEAST ONE DEPARTMENT ACKNOWLEDGED THEY DON'T KNOW RIGHT NOW. SO IT MIGHT TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO GET EVERYBODY TO GET A BONA FIDE NUMBER TO YOU. SO YEAH. BUT YES, THANK YOU FOR FOLLOWING UP.

THAT'S YOUR 100% RIGHT ABOUT THAT. ANYONE ELSE? I'M WONDERING, ARE THERE CURRENT FUNDED PROJECTS THAT NEED MORE FUNDING TO COMPLETE, AND WILL ANY OF THOSE PROPOSE NEW PROJECTS NEED ADDITIONAL FUNDING IN FUTURE YEARS? I KNOW SOME OF THE NEW PROJECTS WILL NEED ADDITIONAL FUNDING. KENTUCKY CHARLES, FOR EXAMPLE, IS IS ONE THAT COMES TO MIND OFF THE LIST. I THINK WE HAVE A 5 MILLION. THEY'VE RECEIVED 5 MILLION FROM THE STATE. BUT THAT'S THE PROJECT ITSELF IS MULTI-MILLION. SO THAT'S ONE. SO THERE ARE SOME ON THAT LIST THAT WILL CONTINUE TO NEED FUNDING. OKAY. AND AS FAR AS ONES THAT ARE CURRENTLY FUNDED PROJECTS, THAT'S THE SAME QUESTION. OKAY. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE? ALL RIGHT.

COUNCILWOMAN WOOLRIDGE, SO ONE THING THAT YOU SAID THERE, CHAIR, ABOUT THE STATE FUNDING THOSE PROJECTS, SO IS IN LIGHT OF THAT, FUNDING FROM THE STATE SPECIFIC NONPROFITS, IS THERE A

[01:35:07]

GOT IT. THANK YOU. GREAT. THANKS. SEEING. NO OTHER QUESTIONS, MISS DON. WE'LL MOVE TO THE NEXT PORTION. OKAY. SO LET'S TALK ABOUT DEBT. IT'S METRO GOVERNMENT'S POLICY TO ACHIEVE THE LOWEST COST OF CAPITAL, ENSURE THE HIGHEST CREDIT RATINGS POSSIBLE, CONSISTENT WITH THE CURRENT ECONOMIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC CONDITIONS OF THE COMMUNITY.

ASSURE ACCESS TO THE CAPITAL CREDIT MARKETS AT ALL TIMES. PRESERVE FINANCIAL FLEXIBILITY AS IT RELATES TO THE TIMING AND STRUCTURE OF DEBT, AND TO MANAGE OUR INTEREST RATE EXPOSURE. DURING FY 26, METRO GOVERNMENT ISSUED 94 MILLION IN BONDS BASED ON THE FY 25 CAPITAL BUDGET, WE WILL ISSUE APPROXIMATELY 93 MILLION IN BONDS FOR THE FY 26 APPROVED PROJECTS LATER THIS SUMMER. METRO'S ANTICIPATED DEBT SERVICE PAYMENT FOR FY 27 IS BASED ON THE FY 26 BOND ISSUANCE. SO THAT'S THE HIGHLIGHTED AMOUNT YOU SEE THERE ON THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN. THAT'S THAT THE ANTICIPATED DEBT SERVICE PAYMENT FOR THE 26 BONDS. AND THAT'S INTEREST ONLY WITH THE UPCOMING FY 26 BOND ISSUE AND THE PROPOSED FY 27 BOND ISSUE. METRO'S DEBT MANAGEMENT STRATEGY IS TO STRUCTURE THE DEBT FOR BOTH YEARS SO THAT WE ENSURE REPAYMENTS ARE MATCHED TO THE USEFUL LIFE. SO THE FIVE, TEN, 15, 20 YEARS USEFUL LIFE GROUPINGS MAINTAIN STABLE AND PREDICTABLE ANNUAL COST, MINIMIZE TOTAL BORROWING COSTS SO THAT THE DEBT IS REPAID AS QUICKLY AS PRACTICABLE TO REDUCE OUR INTEREST EXPENSE. SO BY MATCHING WITH THOSE YEARS, YOU KNOW, REDUCING INTEREST WHERE WE CAN. BUT IT HAS TO BE PRACTICAL. THIS FINAL TWO CHARTS ARE JUST A LOOK AT OUR DEBT IN TERMS OF AS A PERCENTAGE OF OUR GENERAL FUND REVENUE. AND IT PROVIDES A HISTORICAL CONTEXT ACROSS THESE TWO DIFFERENT MEASURES. THE FIRST ONE YOU HAVE IS OUR OUTSTANDING DEBT. SO THIS ISN'T THE DEBT SERVICE. THIS IS THE TOTAL OUTSTANDING DEBT AS A PERCENTAGE, OUR GENERAL FUND REVENUE AS OF OUR FY 26 OUTSTANDING DEBT IS APPROXIMATELY 80% OF OUR BUDGETED GENERAL FUND REVENUE. AS OUR DEBT HAS INCREASED, SO HAS OUR GENERAL FUND REVENUE. SO MAINTAINING A FAIRLY STABLE 80% AVERAGE OVER SEVERAL YEARS.

SO DEBT PAYMENTS HAVE GONE UP, BUT REVENUE HAS ALSO GONE UP. OUR ANNUAL NET DEBT SERVICE.

THIS IS THE SECOND CHART. THIS IS THE DEBT SERVICE PAYMENT OR DEBT SERVICE AS A PERCENTAGE OF THE GENERAL FUND REVENUE, IT'S ESTIMATED TO BE APPROXIMATELY 7%. EVEN THOUGH OUR DEBT SERVICE PAYMENTS HAVE INCREASED OVER THE LAST TEN YEARS, OUR DEBT SERVICE TO GENERAL FUND REVENUE PERCENTAGE HAS ACTUALLY IMPROVED, DROPPING FROM 8.4% IN 2016 TO AN ESTIMATED 7.3% IN 2027. GREAT. THANK YOU. SEEING NO ONE IN THE QUEUE. WAIT A MINUTE. THAT CAN'T BE TRUE.

COUNCILMAN. COUNCILMAN PIACENTINI, YOU KNOW I'M GOOD FOR IT. SO. YEAH, SO IT'S GOOD.

I MEAN, AGAIN, I, I DON'T WANT TO PANIC HERE BECAUSE AS A PERCENTAGE OF REVENUE, IT'S FAIRLY FLAT. RIGHT. AND, AND I AGREE WITH WHAT THE MAYOR'S INTENTION HERE IS, WHICH IS WE NEED TO GET MOVING ON SOME OF THESE PROJECTS. WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THEM. IT'S TIME TO IT'S TIME TO PUT UP OR SHUT UP KIND OF DEAL. AND WHAT, WHAT MAKES ME NERVOUS IS A SLIDE OR A GRAPHIC THAT'S NOT ON HERE. BY THE WAY, I DIDN'T START ALL MY QUESTIONING BY THANKING YOU ALL. I KNOW CHAIR KRAMER DID, BUT I DO WANT TO THANK YOU GUYS FOR ALL THE WORK THAT GETS PUT INTO THIS. I KNOW IT'S AN INCREDIBLY BUSY TIME. I BUMPED INTO AARON THE OTHER DAY AT THE GROCERY STORE, AND I KNEW YOU GUYS WERE SWAMPED, BUSY. SO APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT WENT INTO THIS. IT'S A SNAPSHOT OF THE ANNUAL NET DEBT SERVICE FROM 20 WHEN IN THE 2017 BUDGET, AND NOW WE'RE IN THE 2027 BUDGET. AND THE DIFFERENCE IS VERY QUICKLY YOU CAN SEE THE NET DEBT SERVICE START TO DROP AFTER 2017 DROPS. LIKE 20 1819 STARTS COMING DOWN PRETTY QUICKLY. WHAT MAKES ME NERVOUS IS THE CURRENT SNAPSHOT HAS OUR ANNUAL DEBT SERVICE BEING THE SAME FROM NOW UNTIL EIGHT NINE. IT DOESN'T START COMING DOWN UNTIL FISCAL YEAR 3536. SO IF I'M READING THIS RIGHT, IT MEANS THAT FOR THE NEXT ALMOST TEN YEARS, THE NEXT 8 OR 9

[01:40:03]

THAT'S RIGHT. OKAY. YEAH. THAT I USED TO THINK THOSE GRAPH THOSE THE, THE GRAPHS THAT WE USED TO DO, LIKE, OH, IF WE TAKE THE SNAPSHOT AND IT COMES, YOU SEE IT PLUMMETING DOWN.

WELL, WE ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, BRING ON MORE DEBT, RIGHT. YOU KNOW, SO I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S A NORMAL THING, BUT THIS IS ONE OF THE FIRST TIMES THAT I'M ACTUALLY A LITTLE SCARED OF THIS ONE BECAUSE IT DOESN'T COME DOWN QUICKLY. IT DOESN'T COME DOWN AT ALL FOR SEVERAL YEARS. AND THIS IS THIS IS MY CONCERN. BUT AGAIN, NOT DISPUTING THE INTENT OF THE MAYOR, BUT I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I WAS READING THIS RIGHT. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. OKAY.

THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN CHAPEL. THAT WAS JUST A STATEMENT, NOT A QUESTION. I'M SO SORRY. IT'S LIKE A I WAS WAITING FOR, LIKE, A RABBI. OKAY. SORRY. I WAS JUST WONDERING. WE ARE STILL PAYING TO THE TUNE OF IN FISCAL YEAR 27. WELL, $86,500 TO COUNTY BONDS ISSUED BEFORE MERGER. AND I WAS JUST WONDERING, ONE, HOW LONG UNTIL THAT DEBT IS PAID OFF? WE'RE 23 YEARS OUT FROM MERGER. SO THAT LINE ITEM, I'M JUST WONDERING LIKE, IS THAT GOING TO BE PAID OFF SOON? IT IS. AND NOT HAVE TO PULL IT UP HERE IF YOU GIVE ME A MOMENT. BUT I BELIEVE IT'S LIKE TWO MORE YEARS REMAINING ON THAT PARTICULAR BOND AND PROBABLY AT THAT SAME LEVEL.

YES, THE CITY BONDS. ONE LINE IN HERE IS CITY BONDS ISSUED BEFORE MERGER AND METRO BONDS ISSUED BEFORE MERGER. SO I WAS JUST WONDERING WHY IF THOSE TWO LINES COULD BE BROKEN DOWN AS WELL, BECAUSE I WOULD BE CURIOUS TO KNOW HOW MANY CITY BONDS ISSUED BEFORE MERGER ARE IN THERE AS WELL. LIKE IF COUNTY BONDS ISSUED BEFORE MERGER, IT SEEMS LIKE CITY BONDS ISSUED BEFORE MERGER COULD BE ITS OWN LINE ITEM. AND I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THAT. AS SOMEBODY THAT'S CURIOUS ABOUT THE MERGER. SO I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE WHAT DOCUMENT YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU. BUT THIS IS MY UNDERSTANDING WAS IT WAS JUST THIS 2007, A BOND THAT WAS DEBT SERVICE THAT'S PAID BY OMB. THE OTHERS ARE PAID BY THE REVENUE COMMISSION. SO WE CAN GET WHATEVER INFORMATION YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU. WE HAPPEN TO HAVE SOMEONE IN THE ROOM WHO DID FINANCIAL WORK WITH THE COUNTY BEFORE MERGER AND WHO'S BEEN WORKING WITH US AS A CITY SINCE. AND SO I'M GOING TO ASK MISS STEINBERG IF SHE DOESN'T MIND TAKING A SHOT AT THIS ONE.

I WOULD BE GLAD TO. AT THE TIME OF MERGER, COUNTY HAD BONDS, CITY HAD BONDS. AFTER THAT, CITY BONDS AND COUNTY BONDS. SOME WERE REFUNDED AND AT THE TIME OF REFUNDING THE COUNTY BONDS THEN BECAME METRO BONDS. THEREFORE, THE ONLY COUNTY BOND LEFT WAS THAT ONE SMALL BOND ISSUE THAT, LIKE AARON SAYS, IS GOING TO EXPIRE IN A COUPLE OF YEARS AND WE'LL BE DONE WITH THAT ONE. BUT IF YOU THE THE ONES THAT WERE BEFORE MERGER CITY BONDS, EVEN IF THEY WERE REFUNDED, THEY WERE REFUNDED AS METRO BONDS. SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THEM ALL NOW BEING PAID BY REVENUE COMMISSION BEFORE THE REVENUE COMMISSION, YOU KNOW, SPLIT BETWEEN COUNTY AND CITY.

SO. RIGHT. I GUESS IT WOULD MY QUESTION WOULD BOIL DOWN THEN TO, IS THERE A WAY TO SEE HOW MUCH DEBT IS LEFT OVER FROM LIKE, HOW MANY BONDS ARE OUT THERE PRE 20, 20, 2003? I ACTUALLY HAVE ALL OF THAT ON A SPREADSHEET I COULD DO. AND MY NEXT QUESTION. THANK YOU FOR THAT, MISS DENVER. I THINK THIS IS YOU KNOW, IT'S VERY INTERESTING WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT DEBT PAYMENTS ARE THE THIRD LARGEST METRO EXPENSE, ONLY POLICE AT 260 MILLION AND FIRE AT 82 MILLION HAVE LARGER PAYMENTS OR CHUNKS OF OUR BUDGET. SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS DEBT DEBT SERVICE. AND I'M JUST WONDERING WITH, YOU KNOW, I THINK OVER A MILLION IS IT WE'RE INCREASING OUR DEBT BY OVER $142 MILLION.

IS THAT RESPONSIBLE? THAT MIGHT BE PROBABLY MORE LIKE A PERSONAL OR PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION. BUT I MEAN, LIKE, MAYBE AS PROFESSIONALS, DO YOU FEEL LIKE THAT'S RESPONSIBLE? I FEEL LIKE WE ARE ARE RESPONSIBLE IN HOW WE MANAGE OUR RESOURCES AND, AND MEETING THE THE COMMITMENTS WE HAVE TO OUR COMMUNITY AND MAKING SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, LIKE I SAID, YOU KNOW, A GOOD CLOSE TO $90 MILLION A YEAR GOES TO JUST MAINTAINING THINGS, GOES TO THE DEFERRED MAINTENANCE AND MAINTAINING OUR VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT AND MAINTAINING OUR

[01:45:02]

[ ID 26-0195     Office of Management and Budget]

[01:58:22]

[01:58:30]

[02:00:05]

AND A LOT OF THOSE ARE TO SUPPLEMENT WHAT OUR EMPLOYEES DO. NOW, ONE AREA I WON'T NAME THE COMPANY, BUT OUR CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT, THREE ONE, ONE SORT OF PROCESS. I KNOW YOU ALL GET FRUSTRATED WITH IT, CONSTITUENTS GET FRUSTRATED, ETC. THERE ARE AREAS OF THAT THAT ARE EASILY. AIDED BY AI, FOR INSTANCE, REPORTING POTHOLES, DIFFERENT THINGS LIKE THAT THAT CAN IF THE PERSON CALLING HAS ALL THE INFORMATION THEY NEED, THERE'S NO NEED FOR AN INDIVIDUAL PERSON TO ANSWER THAT CALL. NOW, THERE'S PROBABLY FOUR OTHER CALLS WAITING, SO IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT PERSON'S JOB GOES AWAY. IT MEANS THEY CAN GET MORE QUICKLY AND YOU DON'T GET A THERE'S 24 PEOPLE AHEAD OF YOU SORT OF MESSAGE ON THAT. OPEN RECORDS, DEFINITELY RIPE FOR THAT. WE ARE STILL TRYING TO FIND A PRODUCT THAT DOES WHAT WE REALLY WANT IT TO DO, BUT THAT'S CERTAINLY AN AREA THAT WE CAN, AS MUCH AS ANYTHING, JUST EXPEDITE THE COMPLIANCE THERE. THE PAPER RECORDS ARE STILL OR, YOU KNOW, EMAIL RECORDS ARE STILL PRETTY EASY. BUT WITH THE EVOLUTION OF BODY CAM BEING INVOLVED IN ALMOST EVERY CASE THAT COMES OUT, THERE'S A TON OF OPEN RECORDS REQUESTS FOR THAT AND THE ABILITY TO BLUR FACES. IF YOU'VE GOT MINORS INVOLVED, YOU KNOW, THOSE SORTS OF THINGS, YOU WOULD THINK IT WOULD BE EASY TO SAY, OKAY, THIS IS WHAT MARCUS WINKLER LOOKS LIKE NOW.

FOLLOW HIM THROUGH THIS WHOLE VIDEO WE'RE GETTING. THEY'RE NOT THERE YET. SO THERE ARE A NUMBER OF AREAS LIKE THAT ALSO TO REDUCE OVERTIME. SO IF YOU DON'T NEED QUITE AS MANY PEOPLE ON THE PHONES AFTER HOURS, BECAUSE YOU HAVE THIS ABILITY TO DIGITIZE, FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM, HOPEFULLY THAT WILL REALLY HELP WITH OUR OVERTIME, WHICH AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE HAVE STRUGGLED WITH IN MULTIPLE AREAS. YEAH. AND I THINK MY POINT IS, YOU KNOW, NOT NECESSARILY PEOPLE LOSING THEIR JOBS OR BUT, YOU KNOW, ONE, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN MAKE PEOPLE MORE EFFICIENT, IF WE CAN AUGMENT A LOT OF LABOR, THEN WE CAN ADDRESS SOME OF THE OTHER COST PRESSURES IN TERMS OF GROWING THE WORKFORCE, RIGHT? WE MAY NOT NEED TO GROW IT BECAUSE WE'RE ABLE TO DO MORE WITH THE SAME NUMBER OF PEOPLE. AND, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD DO THAT IN FILING POLICE REPORTS AS AN EXAMPLE, RIGHT? I MEAN, I THINK OUR OFFICERS SPEND A WHOLE LOT OF TIME ON PAPERWORK. SO IS THAT AN AREA OF OPPORTUNITY? I GUESS THE THE ONE THOUGHT THAT I HAVE, I WON'T EVEN SAY IT'S A CONCERN, RIGHT. BUT JUST SOMETHING TO PONDER. AND I BY NO MEANS AM TELLING YOU, YOU KNOW, HOW TO RUN YOUR OPERATION, BUT I THINK IT'S PROBABLY IF YOU'RE NOT DOING THIS, IT MIGHT BE WORTH REALLY TASKING EACH DIVISIONAL LEADER TO, TO LEAN INTO THIS BECAUSE I THINK MANAGING IT CENTRALLY FROM THE TECHNOLOGY TEAM IS PROBABLY NOT THE BEST PRACTICE BECAUSE THEY, YOU KNOW, WHILE THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY SOME BROAD STROKES, I DON'T KNOW THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE BEST ABLE TO SAY, HOW SHOULD INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTS REALLY USE THIS TO AUGMENT, SUPPLEMENT OR REDUCE COSTS? AND I THINK THAT'S PART OF THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING A CHIEF, A, A, A OFFICER, BECAUSE SHE IS WORKING INDIVIDUALLY WITH DEPARTMENTS. AND THEN THEY'RE ALSO DOING A LOT OF EXERCISES WHERE ALL OF THOSE DEPARTMENTS COME TOGETHER AND SAY, HEY, I FIGURED OUT I CAN DO THIS BY DOING THIS. THE ONE OTHER ONE THAT WE ARE TESTING RIGHT NOW IS WITH PERMITTING AND THE ABILITY TO JUST BASICALLY UPLOAD YOUR PLANS AND IT TELL YOU, HERE ARE ALL THE PERMITS YOU'RE GOING TO NEED, HERE'S THE ORDER YOU DO IT IN AND ALL THAT. YOU KNOW, WE'RE REALLY EXCITED WORKING WITH THE BUILDING COMMUNITY ON THAT BECAUSE THAT'S GOING TO MAKE EVERYBODY'S LIFE WAY EASIER. GREAT. THANKS, COUNCILWOMAN CHAPEL. HELLO. THREE. I THINK SIMPLE QUESTIONS. THIS QUESTION WAS PROBABLY BETTER SUITED FOR THE REVENUE PORTION THAT WE

[02:05:02]

APPROVE OR SIGN OFF WHEN IT'S WHEN IT'S APPROPRIATE FOR METRO TO MAKE THOSE PAYMENTS AND WILL INITIATE THAT. BUT IT'S PAID OUT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BUDGET. THANK YOU. EMS TAXES.

SO NOW FOR. WHAT DO YOU WHAT DO YOU CALL IT OUTSIDE OF THE URBAN SUBURBAN FIRE? THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. SUBURBAN FIRE. WE'RE NOW MAKING PAYMENTS FOR THEM FOR DOING EMS RUNS. I WON'T GET INTO THE NUANCE OF IT, BUT WE PROJECTED LAST YEAR, I THINK $6 MILLION THAT ACTUALLY CAME BACK AT $7 MILLION. AND NEXT YEAR WE'RE PROJECTING THAT PAYMENT TO BE $8 MILLION YEAR OVER YEAR. SHOULD WE EXPECT THIS TO BE. INCREASING BY $1 MILLION? WE'VE ONLY BUDGETED FOR SIX FOR FY 27. OKAY. NOW THERE ARE SOME OTHER IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT A PARTICULAR. WHAT WAS THE TOTAL COST THEN FROM THE BILL WE GOT LAST YEAR, I GUESS SO THE SUBURBAN ONE INVOICE SO FAR, CORRECT. NO, NO, NO. THE SUBURBAN I'VE GOT SOME STATISTICS HERE ACTUALLY. THE SUBURBAN DISTRICTS INVOICE US INDIVIDUALLY. SO THERE'S A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING WITH EMS. THERE IS AN EMS TAX THAT IS A STATE.

PROGRAM THAT WE THERE IS A. I THINK THAT IS MAYBE A ONE LUMP SUM PAYMENT THAT IS MADE. AND THEN WE HAVE THE SUBURBAN DISTRICTS THAT BILL US INDIVIDUALLY FOR THE RUNS THAT THEY MAKE INTO THE USD. AND FOR THOSE. WE'VE BEEN RECEIVING INVOICES, MONTHLY INVOICES FROM THE VARIOUS SUBURBAN DISTRICTS THAT WE THEN PAY REIMBURSE THEM FOR THOSE RUNS. AND SO HOW MUCH ARE WE ESTIMATING THAT FISCAL YEAR PAYMENT IS GOING TO BE FOR THOSE RUNS? WELL, WE BUDGETED 6 MILLION FOR IT AS OF FY 26. WE'VE RECEIVED. DO SOME QUICK MATH HERE. 35 INVOICES ACROSS THE SEVEN SIX DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE INVOICED US. SO THEY'VE NOT INVOICED US YET. FOR EVERY MONTH WE HAVE SOME HAVE INVOICED US FOR AS MANY AS NINE MONTHS. WE'VE HAD ONE DEPARTMENT ONLY INVOICES FOR TWO MONTHS. SO WE'RE WORKING THROUGH WITH THEM IN TERMS OF IS THERE NO ACTIVITY OR ARE YOU JUST BEHIND IN YOUR INVOICING? BUT WE HAVE RECEIVED MULTIPLE INVOICES FROM THE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE DOING THIS. WE'VE PAID OUT ABOUT 1.7 SO FAR.

BUT AGAIN, OF THAT 6 MILLION THAT WE'VE BUDGETED FOR FY 26, WE'VE PAID OUT ABOUT 1.7. AND THIS WAS JUST AS OF APRIL. SO AGAIN, WE ARE WORKING WITH THEM TO, YOU KNOW, DO WE HAVE MORE INVOICES COMING IN? YOU KNOW, WE'VE NOT BEEN INVOICED FOR EVERY MONTH BY EVERY DEPARTMENT.

SO WE'RE STILL SORT OF EVALUATING THAT. WE LEFT THAT $6 MILLION BUDGET FLAT FOR FY 27, BECAUSE FY 26 IS SORT OF THAT BASE YEAR. WE WEREN'T SURE WHAT TO EXPECT. SO WE KEPT THAT FLAT. AND THEN WE'LL BE ABLE TO BETTER KNOW AFTER WE CLOSE OUT FY 26, WHAT THAT MIGHT REALLY LOOK LIKE. THAT LACK OF STANDARDIZATION IS CERTAINLY FRUSTRATING. SO I, I GUESS AND EMPATHIZE WITH YOU. THAT'S FRUSTRATING. OF THOSE 35 INVOICES, ARE YOU SAYING THAT ALL OF THEM HAVE BEEN PAID IN THOSE 35 INVOICES REPRESENT 1.7 MILLION, OR ARE THERE ANY IN ANY OF THOSE INVOICES THAT HAVE NOT BEEN PAID? TO MY KNOWLEDGE, THERE'S NOT ANY THAT HASN'T BEEN PAID TO DATE. NOW, WE'VE HAD A COUPLE THAT WE'VE HAD TO GO BACK AND FORTH A LITTLE BIT ON TO MAKE SURE WE WERE PAYING CORRECTLY. BUT TO MY KNOWLEDGE, EVERYTHING'S BEEN PAID TO DATE.

GREAT. AND LAST QUESTION, NOT REALLY. WHEN WOULD BE THE APPROPRIATE TIME TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MAYOR'S OFFICE IN THAT BUDGET? IS THAT NOW? NO. EXCUSE ME. WHEN THE MAYOR'S OFFICE IS HERE TO PRESENT, THEY'RE NOT PRESENT. OH, THEY'RE NOT COMING TO NOW.

YEAH. THAT'S WHY I'M LIKE, IF THERE'S A DEPARTMENT, I'M NOT PREPARED TO ASK QUESTIONS BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE MATERIAL TO ASK QUESTIONS ON. BUT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE SEEING A HUGE INCREASE IN THE, YOU KNOW, I THINK ONE, $2 MILLION, I CAN'T REMEMBER OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.

I THINK THAT'S ALREADY A TOP HEAVY OFFICE. WHEN WILL I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ASK QUESTIONS? AND TODAY I WOULD NOT WELCOME THAT OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I

[02:10:03]

BUT JUST SO YOU KNOW, THAT'S OUT THERE AS A PIECE OF CONVERSATION. WELL, IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE IF WE'RE GOING ON THE RATE WE'RE GOING AND FISCAL YEAR GETTING TO THE END OF IT, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A FEW MILLION DOLLARS THAT WE OVERBUDGETED FOR THIS EXPENSE, RIGHT? MAYBE, HOPEFULLY, DEPENDING ON HOW IT SHAKES OUT. BUT YOU DON'T KNOW BECAUSE SOME HAVE INVOICED FOR, YOU KNOW, THREE MONTHS, NINE MONTHS, MAYBE IT ALL IS WHAM, BAM, THANK YOU, MA'AM, YOU KNOW, LIKE, CORRECT. AND WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF REACHING OUT TO THEM AS WE, AS WE NEAR THE END OF THE YEAR, YOU KNOW, TO, TO ASK OR SHOULD WE EXPECT MORE INVOICES OR YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE ONLY INVOICED US FOR TWO. IS THAT BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE SEVEN MONTHS WORTH OF ACTIVITY OR, YOU KNOW, ARE YOU JUST BEHIND. SO, SO WE ARE ENGAGED, WE ARE INTERACTING WITH THEM TO TRY TO BETTER ASCERTAIN WHAT THE END RESULT MIGHT BE. AND IF THEY DON'T GET THEIR, YOU KNOW, INVOICES IN BY JUNE 30TH, 2026, SOL TRY AGAIN NEXT YEAR. IS THAT I'M HOPING THAT IF YOU'RE LAUGHING, THAT I'M ALSO HOPING THAT, YOU KNOW, LIKE WE CAN'T BE, YOU KNOW, EXPECTED TO SIT ON OUR HANDS FOREVER. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. WELL, YOU KNOW, FROM A GOVERNMENTAL ACCOUNTING STANDPOINT, YOU DO IN GOOD PRACTICE, WANT TO HAVE ALL OF YOUR INVOICES FOR SERVICES PAID WITHIN 60 DAYS OF THE NEW YEAR.

SO AUGUST 31ST IS TYPICALLY OUR DEADLINE TO PAY INVOICES FOR THE PRIOR YEAR. WITH THAT SAID, THERE IS LEGISLATIVE LANGUAGE. I THINK THAT HAS TO BE CONSIDERED IN TERMS OF WHAT THE LIABILITY THERE IS TO CONTINUE TO PAY. AND I'M AND I'M NOT I DON'T HAVE AN EXPERT ANSWER ON THAT. THANK YOU. COUNCILWOMAN PEARCE. RIGHT. THANK YOU. WELL, MY QUESTIONS WERE AROUND. I WAS LOOKING AT THE 13 MILLION FOR SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE AND THE 12 MILLION IN SOFTWARE LICENSING.

JUST AS I'M GOING TO ASK LEADING SERVICES, HAS THERE BEEN ANY AUDITS TO SEE WHERE WE CAN SAVE? I KNOW THAT COUNCILMAN WINKLER ASKED ABOUT USE OF AI TO, YOU KNOW, AS WE DEAL WITH ALL THE OTHER ISSUES. BUT I JUST WONDERED, IS THIS SOMETHING WE WE SEE CONTINUE TO GO, WILL GO UP? OR ARE THERE SOME THINGS YOU ALL ARE DOING TO REDUCE THOSE COSTS? YOU KNOW, A GOOD CHUNK OF OUR SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE IS OBVIOUSLY IT'S WORKDAY. IT'S OUR FINANCIAL SYSTEM, YOU KNOW, SO THAT IS THE BIGGEST PORTION. WE HAVE SOME OTHER SMALL SOFTWARES THAT WE ALSO WORK WITH, BUT THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE CHUNK OF IT. I DON'T, YOU KNOW, WITH ANY SORT OF TECHNOLOGY, I DON'T NECESSARILY ANTICIPATE IT GOING DOWN. IT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE USAGE AND WHERE AI COULD SUBSTITUTE, ALTHOUGH I WILL SAY WORKDAY DOES HAVE AI CAPABILITIES THAT WE ARE LEARNING ABOUT. WE HAVEN'T IMPLEMENTED THEM YET, BUT THERE ARE THOSE CAPABILITIES. BUT I DON'T THINK THAT ANY ABSENT ANY SORT OF AI USAGE THAT YOU WOULD GET OUT OF THE SYSTEM ITSELF, YOU KNOW, THAT IS JUST TO MAINTAIN THE SYSTEM. YOU KNOW, IT'S THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THE SYSTEM. THE AND I DON'T, YOU KNOW, I WOULDN'T THINK THOSE ARE GOING TO GO DOWN ANY. YOU DON'T TYPICALLY SEE TECHNOLOGY COSTS DECREASING. SO I HOPE, YOU KNOW, FLAT TO POTENTIAL INCREASES IN THE FUTURE. BUT THAT IS THAT'S WHAT THAT EXPENSE REPRESENTS FOR THE MOST PART. COUNCILMAN WINKLER, SINCE YOU BROUGHT IT UP, I HAPPEN TO, IN A FORMER JOB, MANAGE A VERY LARGE WORKDAY CONTRACT FOR A HALF A MILLION EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATION AND, YOU KNOW, $100 BILLION IN REVENUE. AND, WELL, I CAN'T DISCLOSE WHAT THAT WORKDAY CONTRACT WAS. I WOULD SAY IT DIDN'T COST, YOU KNOW, 100 TIMES WHAT WE'RE PAYING WITH WORKDAY. I'M CURIOUS, IN OUR NEGOTIATIONS WITH WORKDAY, DID WE PULL LIKE

[02:15:04]

WE ADDED THE. SO THE RESTRICTED THE RESTRICTED ACCOUNT. THAT WAS PRIMARILY SALARY ADJUSTMENT.

OKAY. AND WE ALSO BUDGETED FOR THE SCHOOL BUS TRANSPORTATION SUBSIDY. AND IT DECREASED IN FY 27 BECAUSE WE JUST ASSUMED THAT'S PRIMARILY FOR NONUNION COLAS AND FOR UNSETTLED UNION CONTRACTS. AND BECAUSE WE'VE SETTLED SEVERAL OF THOSE UNION CONTRACTS, WE DON'T NEED AS MUCH TO BE BUDGETED IN OMB SALARYDJUSTMENT ACCOUNT FOR FY 27. OKAY. CAN YOU SPEAK TO THE SCHOOL BUS SUBSIDY? I CAN'T SPECIFICALLY SPEAK TO IT. I DO HAVE THE THE DETAILS WE CAN PROVIDE. I DON'T KNOW IF IS THAT THE ONE WHERET PASSES THROUGH TO A DIFFERENT AGENCY? IT COMES FROM THE STATE PROGRAM, RIGHT. AND IT PASSES FROM OMB TO, TO THE SCHOOLS, BUT NOT TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS. IT PASSES TO OTHER SCHOOLS FOR PRIVATE SCHOOLS, FOR PRIVATE SCHOOLS.

AND THAT, YEAH, AT SOME POINT I WOULD LIKE TO REVISIT, NOT TODAY, BUT AT SOME POINT I'D LIKE TO REVISIT HOW THAT'S DISTRIBUTED OUT. I KNEW AT ONE POINT, BUT I DON'T ANYMORE.

SURE. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN WINKLER. OKAY, COOL. THE MAYOR'S PROPOSING TO LAPSE THE OLD 1000 944 REMAINING BALANCE OF WASTE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT PROGRAM AND THE FY 27. WHAT'S THE STATUS OF THE ENTERPRISE REVENUE PLANNING PROJECT? AND IS THERE EXPECTED TO BE ANY REMAINING FUNDS IN THIS PROJECT? FAMILIAR WITH THAT? THAT'S CAPITAL. YEAH. I'M SORRY. THAT WAS FROM THE CAPITAL STATUS REPORT. I'M SORRY. I SHOULD HAVE TOLD YOU THAT FROM. WE DON'T HAVE READERS. HANG ON. IS THAT THE. IS THAT THE REFERENCE? OH, THAT'S THE ERP THAT THAT'S

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