* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.
           
          [00:00:01]
FRIDAY, THE LAST DAY OF OUR BOARD BUDGET MEETINGS FOR THIS WEEK. 
          AND FIRST UP IS EDA, 
          [A.1. EDA/Economic Development - Rob MacDougall]
UH, MR. MCDOUGAL, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AND PRESENTING TO US TODAY. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON, MADAM CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU, UH, TO YOU AND THE MEMBERS OF YOUR BOARD, UH, FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO YOU THIS AFTERNOON. 
          ON BEHALF OF THE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF THE TOWN OF FRONT ROYAL AND THE COUNTY OF WARREN, MORE COMMONLY KNOWN AS THE FRONT ROYAL WARREN COUNTY, EDA, MY NAME IS ROBERT MCDOUGALL, AND I WAS APPOINTED AS A DIRECTOR TO THE EDA BOARD BY YOUR BODY, THE WARREN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS THREE YEARS AGO. 
          AND I'VE BEEN SERVING FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS OF THIS FOUR YEAR TERM, UH, ON THE EDA BOARD AND IN THE ROLE OF, UH, BOARD CHAIRS SINCE OCTOBER OF 2024. 
          AS YOU KNOW, OUR BOARD IS, UH, COMPRISED OF SEVEN DIRECTORS THAT ARE APPOINTED BY, AT LEAST, HAS BEEN FOR THE PAST, UH, 15 YEARS OR SO BY THE COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS. 
          AND, UH, CURRENTLY WE HAVE FOUR BOARD MEMBERS AND THREE VACANCIES. 
          AND IN, UM, AND FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS HAVE HAVE OPERATED JUST IN THAT VOL WITH THAT VOLUNTEER BOARD WITHOUT ANY, UH, EMPLOYEES OR STAFF, UH, FOR WHAT THAT'S WORTH. 
          UM, IN ADDITION TO THAT, UH, BASICALLY FOR, FOR THE BETTER PART OF THE LAST 15 YEARS, THE, THE AUTHORITY HAS RELIED SOLELY, ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY F ON THE COUNTY OF WARREN FOR ITS OPERATIONAL REVENUE AND, UH, OPERATIONAL SUPPORT TO, UH, TO SUPPORT ITS OPERATIONS. 
          UM, I WOULD LIKE TO JUST MAKE SOME VERY BRIEF REMARKS AND THEN INVITE YOU, UH, INVITE YOUR FEEDBACK AND ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE FOR ME, AS YOU LIKELY KNOW, BUT IT, IT'S ALWAYS WORTH REVIEWING IT CERTAINLY AT TIMES LIKE THIS. 
          THE AUTHORITY WAS ESTABLISHED IN DECEMBER OF 1967 BY A JOINT RESOLUTION OF OUR TOWN AND COUNTY GOVERNMENTS. 
          AND THAT RESOLUTION, UH, CALLED FOR AN INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY NAMED THE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF THE TOWN OF FRONT ROYAL AND THE COUNTY OF WAR IN VIRGINIA, TO BE HEREBY CREATED JOINTLY, UH, BETWEEN THE TOWN, THE COUNTY, AND PURSUANT TO THE APPLICABLE VIRGINIA CODES. 
          AT THAT TIME, UH, IN OUR BYLAWS WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF, OF THE AUTHORITY, UM, IT WAS DEFINED THAT THE GENERAL PURPOSE OF THE AUTHORITY SHALL BE FOSTERING AND STIMULATING, UH, SHALL BE THE FOSTERING AND STIMULATING OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDUSTRY AND THE FRONT WORLD, WARREN COUNTY AREA, AND FOR THE GENERAL GOOD OF ITS PEOPLE IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA. 
          AND I WOULD JUST MAKE A BRIEF REMARK. 
          I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO REFLECT THAT O OVER THE BROADER ARC OF THE NEARLY 60 YEARS OF THE AUTHOR'S WORK HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY. 
          IT HAS DONE SUBSTANTIAL AND GOOD WORK TOWARDS THE OBJECTIVES THAT WERE JUST OUTLINED THERE. 
          THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE STEVENS INDUSTRIAL PARK, THE KELLY INDUSTRIAL PARK, AND THE HAPPY CREEK TECHNOLOGY PARK, UH, RECENTLY RENAMED PROGRESS BUSINESS PARK, JUST TO NAME A FEW PROJECTS THAT BUILT UP A COMMERCIAL TAX BASE FOR OUR LOCALITY ATTRACTED TOP BUSINESSES AND EMPLOYERS THAT CONTINUED TO GENERATE MILLIONS IN TAX REVENUE FOR OUR LOCALITY EACH YEAR AND HAVE, AND CONTINUE TO PROVIDE THOUSANDS OF JOBS TO THE FRONT AND RURAL WARREN COUNTY ECONOMY. 
          IN ADDITION TO THE POSITIVE COMMERCIAL IMPACT AUTHORITY HAS MADE OVER ITS HISTORY, IT HAS ALSO SPEARHEADED OR FACILITATED THE DEVELOPMENT OF VARIOUS PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS THAT WE ALL ENJOY HERE TODAY. 
          SO I PUT THAT TO PUT THE AUTHORITY IN CONTEXT OF WHAT IT'S CONTRIBUTED TO THE COMMUNITY OVER DEC NEARLY SIX DECADES. 
          UM, BUT I CAN'T GIVE THAT HISTORICAL REFERENCE WITHOUT ADDRESSING ALSO THE CRIMINAL EMBEZZLEMENT THE AUTHORITY WAS INVOLVED WITH THAT CAME TO LIGHT SEVEN YEARS AGO. 
          THAT HAS TRULY ROCKED OUR COMMUNITY. 
          IT HAS SHATTERED THE PUBLIC'S TRUST AND THE AUTHORITY. 
          IT HAS SEVERELY IMPAIRED. 
          OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR CURRENT BUSINESS COMMUNITY HAS, UM, ALL BUT BEEN VERY DETRIMENTAL TO OUR PERSPECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNITY IN, IN LOOKING AT LOCATE, RELOCATING TO OTHERWISE A COMMUNITY THAT OTHERWISE WOULD BE EXTREMELY ATTRACTIVE FOR BUSINESS TO COME TO. 
          IT'S ALSO SEVERELY IMPAIRED OUR BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS AND OUR PUBLIC PARTNERSHIPS. 
          SINCE 2019, THE AUTHORITY HAS BEEN STEADILY WORKING TO REPAIR WHAT WAS BROKEN, PRIMARILY BY WORKING TO RECOVER STOLEN ASSETS AND DISPOSE OF CURRENT ASSETS IN ORDER TO ALLOW FOR THEIR IMPROVED USE TO THE COMMERCIAL SECTOR AND ULTIMATELY TO PAY DOWN THE AUTHORITY'S DEBT. 
          TO THIS, TO THIS POINT, THE AUTHORITY HAS RECOVERED, UH, ROUGHLY FOUR AND A HALF MILLION THROUGH VARIOUS LI UH, CIVIL LITIGATION 
          [00:05:01]
EFFORTS. 
          AND IN JUST THE PAST YEARS, THREE YEARS, I'LL SPEAK, UH, I CAN SPEAK FIRSTHAND ON TIME, ON THE BOARD, UM, HAS SOLD NEARLY 7 MILLION IN REAL ESTATE. 
          THE PROCEEDS OF WHICH BOTH THAT AND LITIGATION HAVE BEEN USED TO, TO MAKE PAYMENTS BACK TO OUR CREDITORS, AGAIN, PRIMARILY THE COUNTY OF WARREN AND THOSE BANKS, WE HAVE OUTSTANDING LIABILITIES TO. 
          SO IN ADDITION TO ACCOMPLISHING SORT OF THE, THE, THE PAYMENTS MADE TOWARD, TOWARDS OUR CREDITORS, UH, AS IT RELATES TO THE REAL ESTATE SIDE OF THAT, IT HAS ALSO ACCOMPLISHED WHAT YOU COULD ARGUE SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE A LONG TIME AGO TOO, WHICH IS PUT OUR REAL ESTATE INTO THE USE OF, UH, TO THE OWNERSHIP AND THE USE OF PRIVATE HANDS, UM, AND WITH THE INTENT THAT IT'S ULTIMATELY DEVELOPED, IMPROVED UPON. 
          AND THAT ASSET OF WHICH THE AUTHORITY PAYS NO TAXES, GETS INTO THE HAND OF A PRIVATE ENTITY THAT NOT ONLY PAYS THE REAL ESTATE TAXES ON IT, BUT ALSO IMPROVES IT IN A WAY THAT WILL FURTHER INCREASE THE COMMERCIAL TAX BASE AND IDEALLY ALSO PROVIDE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES. 
          I WOULD ALSO JUST LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT, DESPITE THE FOCUS THAT I JUST OUTLINED OVER THE LAST SEVEN YEARS, THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL POSITIVE AND PRODUCTIVE THINGS THE AUTHORITY HAS ACCOMPLISHED IN THAT REALM OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ALBEIT VERY SMALL, BUT BUT ARE WORTH HIGHLIGHTING. 
          ONE OF WHICH I'LL MENTION IS, UH, THE ADA'S ENGAGEMENT IN A FULL PARTICIPATION LEVEL WITH THE SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER. 
          UH, THE DIRECTOR, THEIR DIRECTOR, ANDY GARRISON, I BELIEVE, SPOKE TO YOUR BOARD LAST WEEK AND OUTLINED IN A SPECIFIC MANNER THE SERVICES THEY PROVIDE AND THE, THE FREE BUSINESS, UH, EXPERTISE THEY PROVIDE TO, TO OUR COMMUNITY. 
          SOMETHING THAT ALL OF OUR NEIGHBORING LOCALITIES HAVE ENJOYED IN A FULL SENSE FOR MANY, MANY YEARS. 
          AND THAT SENSE, WARREN COUNTY WAS THE OUTLIER THAT WAS, WHILE WE, WE ALWAYS HAD ACCESS TO THEIR SERVICES, BEING A FULL PARTICIPANT, UM, IN, IN THAT AGREEMENT HAS ALLOWED THEM THE RESOURCES TO SPEND MORE TIME PHYSICALLY PRESENT IN OUR COMMUNITY. 
          AND, UM, SOMEONE FROM, AND ANDY OR SOMEONE FROM HIS TEAM, YOU CAN SEE MEETING WITH LOCAL BUSINESSES, UH, CONDUCTING EDUCATIONAL EVENTS, UH, AND AND PHYSICALLY ON THE GROUND HERE IN WARREN COUNTY JUST ABOUT EVERY WEEK, WHICH IS FANTASTIC. 
          SO I CERTAINLY HOPE, AND, AND THAT IS OUTLINED IN OUR BUDGET REQUEST, THAT WE CAN CONTINUE THAT RELATIONSHIP, WHICH, LIKE ANY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DONE WELL, GENERATES MUCH MORE INCOME FOR YOUR BODY AND THE COUNTY OF WARREN AND THE TAXPAYERS THAN IT EVER WOULD COST YOU AS AN EXPENSE TO FURNISH IT. 
          AND THE ONE OTHER, UH, RECENT HIGHLIGHT THAT I WOULD ALSO ANNOUNCE IS THE RESTARTING OF THE, OUR SMALL BUSINESS LENDING PROGRAM, WHICH ARE USDA SOURCED FUNDS THAT THE AUTHORITY IS ENTRUSTED WITH LENDING INTO THE COMMUNITY. 
          AND BY VIRTUE OF JUST THE CHALLENGES, THE AUTHORITY HAS BEEN MAINLY HAD FORCED TO DEAL WITH AND FOCUSED ON THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS HAD GONE DORMANT. 
          SO THOSE FUNDS ARE, ARE ALREADY THERE VIA THE USDA, BUT THE MECHANISM TO PROPERLY UNDERWRITE THE LOANS, GET THE WORD OUT AND, AND DEPLOY THOSE FUNDS BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY, IS, UM, AS WE SPEAK, IS IN THE PROCESS OF RESTARTING, UH, TO SUPPORT THAT IN A MORE PROFESSIONAL EFFORT THAN IT, THAN WAS DONE IN THE PAST. 
          GIVEN THAT WE DON'T HAVE A STAFF, THE AUTHORITY REACHED AN AGREEMENT WITH SHENANDOAH COMMUNITY CAPITAL FUND, WHICH IS A NONPROFIT SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACROSS THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY, UH, TO DO THE, THE LOAN ADMINISTRATION PORTION OF, UH, THAT PROGRAM. 
          SO THE, UH, THE INTERVIEWS, THE UNDERWRITING, THE DECISION MAKING OF WHERE THE LOAN FUNDS GO WILL STILL RESIDE WITH THE PUBLIC IN THE SENSE THAT IT WILL SIT WITH OUR BOARD AND ULTIMATELY A LOAN SUBCOMMITTEE OF VOLUNTEERS, UH, APPOINTED BY OUR BOARD TO, UH, TO EVALUATE THOSE APPLICATIONS. 
          SO WE DID NOT OUTSOURCE THE, THE, UH, THAT, THAT ASPECT OF IT, BUT JUST THE ACTUAL SERVICING AND, AND LOAN DOCUMENTATION AND THE PAPERWORK SIDE OF BACKSIDE OF THE HOUSE FOR THAT LOAN PROGRAM, WE'VE ENGAGED WITH SECF TO COVER THAT FOR US, AND THEY DO THAT FOR OTHER LOCALITIES IN THEIR SMALL LENDING PROGRAMS AS WELL. 
          SO THAT BEING SAID, I COULD SAY REALLY FOR, SINCE MY FIRST TIME IN, YOU KNOW, TENURE ON THE BOARD, AND EVERYONE HAS A DIFFERENT LENS ON HOW THEY LOOK AT OUR CHALLENGES AND OUR OPPORTUNITIES, BUT I CAN ARGUE, AND I, I REALLY DO SEE THAT THERE IS LIGHT AT THE END OF THIS TUNNEL. 
          WE, WE'VE KNOWN THAT IT'S THERE FOR A WHILE. 
          UM, WE CAN SEE IT NOW, AND IT'S GOING FROM A, A FLICKERING TO, TO A LITTLE BIT OF A BRIGHTER LIGHT, I THINK EACH MONTH AS WE CONTINUE TO, UM, ENGAGE WITH OUR REAL ESTATE PARTNERS, UH, MAINTAIN GOOD RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR LENDERS, AND, AND MOST RECENTLY REOPENED UP GOOD LINES OF COMMUNICATION WITH THE, THE COUNTY AND TOWN GOVERNMENT. 
          AND I WOULD ARGUE 
          [00:10:01]
IN CLOSING THE, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, WE ARE FINALLY APPROACHING A POSITION WHERE WE CAN EARNESTLY HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT REBUILDING OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS AND GETTING BACK TO THE BUSINESS OF SUPPORTING OUR COUNTY BUDGET BY WORKING ON THE GROWTH OF THE COMMERCIAL TAX BASE AND OUR WORKFORCE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES HERE IN WARREN COUNTY. 
          THAT IMMEDIATE NEXT STEP WILL REQUIRE THE EXPERTISE OF A ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL. 
          AND THERE'S BEEN VARIOUS CONVERSATIONS OVER THE PAST, REALLY, UH, SIX TO EIGHT MONTHS ABOUT HOW BEST TO DO THAT IN A WAY THAT OUR LOCALITY CAN SUPPORT RIGHT NOW. 
          UM, SO I JUST HIGHLIGHT THAT AS A, AS SORT OF A NEXT ACTION THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO STAY FOCUSED ON, BECAUSE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS A TEAM SPORT. 
          IT REQUIRES A SPECIAL EXPERTISE. 
          IT, UH, IT'S A TEAM SPORT IN THE SENSE THAT IT'S NOT ONLY WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY, OUR TWO GOVERNMENTS, OUR VARIOUS CURRENT EXISTING EMPLOYERS AND BUSINESSES, BUT ALSO ACROSS THE STATE AND THE REGION. 
          AND FOR MANY REASONS, WE, WE, FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, HAVE BEEN OUT OF THAT ECOSYSTEM FOR PROBABLY 20 YEARS. 
          RIGHT NOW. 
          IT'S ALSO A LONG DEAL CYCLE. 
          SO THE ANNOUNCEMENT AND THE RIBBON CUTTINGS YOU'RE SEEING TODAY IN VIRGINIA BUSINESS JOURNAL OR WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL, OR IN WHATEVER VARIOUS MEDIA YOU PERUSE ON THE BUSINESS FRONT WERE MEETINGS AND INTRODUCTIONS AND CONNECTIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT, YOU KNOW, WERE INITIATED YEARS AGO, NOT MONTHS AGO. 
          SO THAT I SAY THAT TO, UH, AS A REMINDER THAT WHILE IT TAKES TIME TO TURN THIS AROUND AND REALLY SORT OF FARM IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SPHERE, THE LONGER WE DELAY THAT DELIBERATE AND PRECISE EFFORT ON IT, UH, THE MORE IT'S ULTIMATELY GONNA IMPAIR THE GROWTH OF OUR COMMERCIAL TAX BASE DOWN THE ROAD. 
          SO YOU COULD, YOU COULD THINK OF A MONTH LOST HERE, I THINK IS EQUIVALENT TO SIX MONTHS LOST ON THE, ON THE BACK END. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THERE IS A SENSE OF URGENCY TO, TO FOCUS, I THINK, OUR CONVERSATION ON THAT AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME. 
          BUT I APPRECIATE YOU LETTING ME GIVE SOME BACKGROUND AND UPDATE ON THE AUTHORITY AND TO WELCOME YOUR COMMENTS. 
          SOME QUESTIONS. 
          I, I WILL, UM, I'M SORRY, BEFORE I TURN RIGHT BACK TO YOU, THERE YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU OUR BUDGET REQUEST. 
          WE'LL JUST VERY HIGH LEVEL SPEAK THROUGH, UH, THAT TOP GREEN LINE LEVEL, UH, UM, UM, ROW. 
          THERE IS WHAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED AS OUR NEED FOR FISCAL YEAR 27. 
          SO THAT TO THE DOLLAR IS WHAT WE NEED TO ACCOMPLISH ALL THE EXPENSES, ANTICIPATED EXPENSES WE'VE OUTLINED IN THE, IN THE BOTTOM SECTION THERE. 
          AS YOU'LL NOTICE, OUR REQUEST IS LOWER THAN THAT. 
          SO WE ARE REQUESTING LESS THAN WE KNOW WE'RE GOING TO NEED, UH, AS OUTTA RESPECT FOR SOME OF THE HISTORY THAT WE DISCOVERED AND ALSO THE CHALLENGES THAT THE, UM, OR, OR JUST THE VERY MANY GOOD COMPETING INTERESTS THAT THE COUNTY HAS FOR ITS BUDGET. 
          AND THEN JUST FOR HISTORICAL REFERENCE, I PUT IN THERE WHAT THE FUNDING REQUEST WAS FOR, FOR THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, FISCAL YEAR 26, AND IN THE LIGHT GREEN THERE, WHAT WAS ACTUALLY ALLOTTED. 
          AND THEN JUST TO GO BACK ONE YEAR PRIOR, WHAT THE FUNDING REQUEST WAS IN FISCAL YEAR 25, AND THEN WHAT WAS ALLOTTED FOR FISCAL YEAR 25, YOU'LL NOTE THAT WAS SUBSTANTIALLY A HIGHER NUMBER IN THE FISCAL YEAR 25 REQUEST BEFORE MY TIME AS CHAIR. 
          BUT THE PHILOSOPHY OR THE APPROACH ON THAT REQUEST WAS TO REQUEST EVERYTHING THAT THE AUTHORITY NEEDS TO HONOR ALL OF ITS BASICALLY MONTHLY FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS. 
          UH, WE ELECTED TO NOT TAKE THAT APPROACH IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR OR IN THIS FISCAL YEAR THAT WE'RE DISCUSSING NOW FOR NEXT, UH, FOR FISCAL YEAR 27. 
          AND I SAY THAT TO EMPHASIZE THAT NONE OF THE OPERATIONAL SUPPORT THE AUTHORITY HAS RECEIVED FROM THE COUNTY OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS HAS GONE TOWARDS ANY OF THE AUTHORITIES' DEBT REPAYMENT. 
          UM, THROUGH OUR AGREEMENTS WITH LENDERS, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO, UH, WORK WITH THEM TO EXTEND THE TIMELINE AND ESSENTIALLY TIE OUR DEBT REPAYMENT TO ASSET, UH, DISPOSITION. 
          SO NOTHING AS YOU SEE DOWN THERE IN THE EXPENSES GOING TO ANYTHING EDA DEBT RELATED. 
          AND I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT ALSO FOR THE PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND. 
          UM, IT IS SOLELY FOR THE OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS TO KEEP US ATTENDING TO ALL OF OUR RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES. 
          AND WITH THAT, I WILL TAKE A BREATH AND ASK, ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE FOR ME. 
          QUESTIONS JUST FROM ANYONE, $48,000 FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INTERIM DIRECTOR. 
          IS THAT FOR A SPECIFIED TIME PERIOD? AND COULD YOU DETAIL THAT? YEAH, THAT, UH, THERE'S NO PROPOSAL UNDERWAY THAT AGAIN WAS, UH, IS IN THERE AS A, UM, THAT'S, THAT'S PART OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE NEED AND THE REQUEST. 
          I TOOK OUT THINGS THAT WERE 
          [00:15:02]
OBVIOUSLY WE THINK WOULD BE VERY PRODUCTIVE, BUT ARE NOT ABSOLUTE REQUIREMENTS FOR, UH, SUSTAINABILITY. 
          SO THAT WAS ROUGHLY BUDGETED AROUND A PART-TIME INTERIM DIRECTOR FOR ROUGHLY A SIX MONTH PERIOD. 
          OKAY. 
          THE IDEA BEING SOMEONE THAT COULD COME IN DAY ONE HAS WORKED IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES IN OTHER LOCALITIES, MAYBE EVEN OTHER STATES, KNOWS HOW THE PROGRAMS ARE SUPPOSED TO LOOK, CAN BRING THEIR VERSION AND VERY QUICKLY HELP US TO LEARN WHAT WE DON'T KNOW AND, AND GET THAT REESTABLISHED AND THEN GUIDE OUR NEXT ACTIONS FROM THAT POINT. 
          MM-HMM . 
          SO THAT'S A, A PLACEHOLDER AND A BIT OF OUR DREAM SHEET THAT, UH, BUT, BUT IT'S A, IT'S A, IT'S A REASONABLE NUMBER IN THE SENSE THAT WE CAN, UH, WHETHER IT'S THROUGH PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE AUTHORITIES, FUNDS, THE COUNTY, AND POTENTIALLY EVEN THE TOWN, UH, RETAIN SOMEONE WHO CAN START TO GUIDE THIS EFFORT IN A WAY THAT MAKES SURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE FOCUSING ON EXACTLY THE PROPER ORDER OF EVENTS TO, UH, IN A LOT OF WAYS REBUILD THE PROGRAM FROM SCRATCH. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ROB. 
          WHAT, WHAT'S THE STATUS? UH, AND I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW IF WE'RE GONNA RUN INTO SOME QUESTIONS THAT CAN'T BE ANSWERED BECAUSE OF CONFIDENTIALITY OR, OR LEGAL THINGS, BUT, AND IN FACT TURNS OUT TO BE THE CASE. 
          JUST SAY, SO, UH, WHAT IS THE STATUS OF A GARNISHMENT SITUATION? WHAT YOU GARNISHMENT, I MEAN, ARE WE, IF MY UNDERSTANDING WAS AT A CERTAIN POINT, IF WE PUT MONEY IN, IT WAS JUST GONNA BE SWEPT AWAY, UH, TO MEET DEBT OBLIGATIONS. 
          OKAY, SO YOU GARNISHMENT OF AUTHORITIES. 
          YEAH. 
          WHAT'S OUR ABILITY TO PUT FUNDS INTO ANYTHING, UH, THAT DON'T GET SWEPT AWAY TO PAY, UM, DEBT. 
          THE, THE GARNISHMENT RISK IS EXTREMELY LOW, IF NOT ABSOLVED FOR THE TIME BEING, CERTAINLY FOR THIS NEXT FISCAL YEAR THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THOSE ASSURANCES HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO THE AUTHORITY, UH, BY, BY THOSE THAT WE OWE THAT, UM, THAT IS NOT A THREAT. 
          AND, AND I SECOND THE, IT'S A, UH, IT'S A CRITICAL QUESTION AND A CRI CRITICAL ANSWER TO HAVE BECAUSE, UH, NEITHER MYSELF NOR ANYONE OUR AUTHORITY WOULD BE EVEN COMFORTABLE ASKING FOR THE SUPPORT OF THE TAXPAYER IF THERE WAS A THREAT THAT IT WOULD, UH, IMMEDIATELY BE SUBJECT TO THAT. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THAT WAS A VERY POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT THAT ALSO HAPPENED, I WOULD SAY, SINCE WE LAST PRESENTED, BUT, UH, ABOUT A YEAR AGO. 
          RIGHT. 
          OKAY. 
          GOOD. 
          WELL, UH, IN OCTOBER, UM, I HAD FLOATED, UH, THIS, THIS IDEA OF, OF ENGAGING A, UM, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLANNING CONSULTANT. 
          WE HAD DISCUSSED THAT. 
          I'VE SHARED THAT WITH, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ON OUR BOARD, UM, AND TO, TO SPECIFICALLY LOOK AT ALL THESE PARTS. 
          WE HAVE AN EDA WITH, WITH THE HISTORY THAT IT HAS, AND WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT OPPORTUNITIES EXIST THERE IN ITS FUTURE ROLE, SPECIFICALLY WITH RELATED TO GARNISHMENT. 
          SO YOU JUST GAVE ME SOME NEW INFORMATION. 
          UH, OF COURSE WE HAVE THE TOWN WHO, WHO WENT OFF AND STARTED THEIR OWN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE. 
          MY UNDERSTANDING IS SOMETHING HAPPENED IN THE STATE ASSEMBLY THAT BASICALLY WIPED THAT FUTURE OF THAT ORGANIZATION OUT. 
          UM, AND THEN OF COURSE WE HAVE THE, THE COUNTY ITSELF, WHICH AT SOME POINT DID HIRE, UH, HAVE ON STAFF AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR. 
          SO THERE'S A LOT OF PIECES HERE THAT I THINK WE NEED TO, UH, AND I'M SENDING THIS TO YOU AND EVERYONE AND, AND EVERYONE IN THE PUBLIC, WE NEED TO LOOK AT ALL THESE PIECES AND HOW THEY FIT TOGETHER BEFORE WE JUST START. 
          WE JUST LIKE HIRE SOMEBODY, HEY, LET'S JUST GET AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR AND LET'S GO. 
          RIGHT? AND, UM, I THINK IT'LL BE WELL WORTH THE TIME TO LOOK THROUGH, UH, THE, THE, AND PLAN THROUGH WHAT THOSE, HOW THOSE THREE, THREE MAIN ENTITIES WORK TOGETHER, AND THEN MAKE SURE THAT WHEN WE'RE, WE'RE ANTICIPATING STAFF, WHERE THEY'RE EMPLOYED AND WHAT THEIR PARTICULAR MISSION IS, THAT THAT FITS ALL THOSE THREE PIECES TOGETHER IS A CRUCIAL THING. 
          MM-HMM . 
          UM, AND WHAT I UNDERSTAND IS THAT, THAT THE, THE, UH, INTERIM THIS, THIS RELATIVELY INTERIM DIRECTOR, RELATIVELY MINOR FIGURE, THERE IS, IS WHAT IS IN THE SAME VEIN AS WHAT WE HAD APPROPRIATED EARLIER OR LATER LATE IN THE YEAR TOWARD ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. 
          PART OF IT WOULD BE TO FUND THIS SORT OF SHORT TERM CONSULTANT THAT WOULD FIGURE OUT WHAT OUR PERSONNEL NEEDS ARE, OPTIMAL PERSONNEL NEEDS ARE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND WHERE THEY WOULD RESIDE. 
          UM, AND THEN THERE WAS ENOUGH IN THAT A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS TO POTENTIALLY GO FOR LIKE THE SECOND HALF OF THE FISCAL YEAR OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. 
          UM, SO THAT MONEY'S GONE FROM OUR BUDGET NOW. 
          UM, BUT WHAT I'M SEEING IS AT LEAST A PORTION OF THAT FOR THE, FOR THE INTERIM PORTION HERE. 
          AND THE QUESTION IS FINALLY, UM, IS THIS INTERIM 
          [00:20:01]
POSITION SOMETHING YOU'RE ENVISIONING AS BEING CONSISTENT WITH THE, WHAT I'VE LAID FORTH AND WHAT WE'VE DISCUSSED PREVIOUSLY IN TERMS OF FIGURING OUT WHAT PERSON DO WE NEED THAT FITS INTO THE STRUCTURE THAT WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT? DOES THAT MAKE SENSE, ? I THINK SO. 
          YEAH. 
          UH, I THINK IT'S TO BE DETERMINED THE THIS IN, WE CALL IT INTERIM, I LIKE INTERIM OR ACTING DIRECTOR, UM, SOMETHING THAT IS RELATIVELY SHORT TERM IN NATURE, BUT LONG ENOUGH THAT IT CAN GUIDE THIS EXACT DISCUSSION. 
          A WHAT DOES THIS COMMUNITY WANT IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT? DOES, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO OUR COMMUNITY? WHAT ARE WE LOOKING TO ACHIEVE WITH IT THAT I THINK DRIVES WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR SUPPORTING IT, GETTING IT GOING AGAIN? AND THEN THIRDLY, HOW IS IT STAFFED AND STRUCTURED? AND IDEALLY SOMEONE THAT'S BEEN OTHER PLACES AND DONE IT WELL, OTHER PLACES WILL HAVE GOOD IDEAS ON YOUR STRUCTURE IS UNIQUE, GOOD, UNIQUELY BAD, THIS IS HOW IT'S DONE. 
          THIS IS WHERE TYPICALLY THIS ROLE WOULD SIT. 
          THIS IS TYPICALLY THE SUPPORT THAT THEY HAVE. 
          AND WE'D GET THOSE ANSWERS AND THAT WOULD GUIDE THE EXACT, I THINK QUESTION YOU'RE GETTING AT IS HOW, HOW DO WE DO THIS CONVERSELY, AND, AND THE REASON WHY THE, THIS INTERIM IDEA, UH, WHERE CONVERSATION STARTED LAST SUMMER WAS NOBODY WANTS TO MAKE A PERMANENT DECISION AT THE MOMENT IF WE DON'T EXACTLY KNOW THAT THAT'S EXACTLY WHERE, IF THAT'S THE RIGHT PERSON, WHO THEY SHOULD BE, WHAT THEY SHOULD BE, WHAT THEY NEED FOR SUPPORT, AND ARE THEY REALLY THE RIGHT FIT AND BRINGING THE EXPERTISE THAT IS GONNA SERVE THIS COMMUNITY WELL. 
          SO, ALRIGHT. 
          THAT'S WHAT I'M, THAT'S A WHAT I, THAT'S A NON ANSWER, BUT IT, WELL, NO, IT'S NOT A NON-ANSWER. 
          THAT'S WHAT I'M, THAT'S WHAT I'M LOOKING TO UNDERSTAND. 
          IT, IT, I'M A LITTLE BIT PARTLY TO BLAME HERE. 
          I'D HAD SOME DISCUSSION WITH HIM TOO, AND, UH, I'D ASKED HIM TO PUT SOMETHING IN THE BUDGET, UM, BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO, UH, IN CONVERSATION WITH YOU, EVERYBODY, I THINK EVERYBODY AGREED THAT WE'VE, THIS CAN'S BEEN KICKED DOWN THE ROAD TOO LONG TO GET US BACK ON TRACK. 
          UM, BUT I DIDN'T WANNA GO THROUGH BUDGET SEASON AND THEN TALK ABOUT THIS IN JUNE OR JULY AND HAVE THE GREATEST IDEA IN THE WORLD AND NOT HAVE BUDGETED A PENNY SOMEWHERE FOR IT. 
          SO I, I HAD ASKED HIM IF THROW SOMETHING IN, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE'LL ADJUST IT, BUT IF, UH, IF WE DON'T PUT A, IF WE DON'T PUT A SINGLE PENNY IN NOW, THEN WE GO THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS. 
          THE GREATEST IDEAS IN THE WORLD ARE, ARE JUST GREAT IDEAS WITH, WITH, WITH NO FUNDING. 
          SO, WELL, I'M GLAD TO SEE THE NUMBER THERE, BUT I, BUT THE POINT OF MY QUESTION AND, AND WHAT I RECEIVED FROM YOU IN AN ANSWER IS THAT IT'S, IT'S NOT GENERIC. 
          WE'RE GONNA HAVE AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR AND HE'S GONNA START DOING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. 
          I MEAN, THAT WOULD BE GREAT, BUT THE POINT IS BEFORE THAT ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT PARTIES NEED TO FIGURE OUT AND COORDINATE WHAT IS THE SOLUTION TO GO FORWARD WITH. 
          AND THAT'S, THAT'S THE MAIN JOB OF THAT PERSON, I THINK. 
          AND NOT THAT THEY CAN'T BE LIKE REACHING OUT, GOING TO, YOU KNOW, DOING SOME OF THOSE FUNCTIONS, BUT, BUT, UH, IT'S JUST NOT TO BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED THAT WE KNOW WHAT THE ROLE AND, AND, UH, AND COORDINATION OF THE VARIOUS ENTITIES GIVEN OUR PAST IT LOOKS LIKE. 
          SO IT DOES NEED TO BE FIGURED OUT BEFORE WE'RE HITTING THE PAVEMENT, SO TO SPEAK. 
          RIGHT. 
          AND, AND I THINK, LIKE I SAID, I USED 20 YEARS, MAYBE THAT'S NOT FAIR TO, BUT, UH, SOMETHING CLOSE 20 YEARS WITHOUT A REAL ECONOMIC CONCERTED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EFFORT. 
          I THINK AGAIN, IF WE, IF WE BRING IN THE EXPERTISE TO GUIDE THIS AT VERY DISCUSSION, IT WILL BECOME CLEAR HOW MUCH WE ARE REALLY AT STEP ZERO STILL. 
          YES. 
          SO THIS INTERIM DISCUSSION AS IT PLAYED OUT OVER THE LAST SUMMER AND FALL AND, AND IS INCLUDED IN THERE JUST MAINLY SO WE COULD TALK ABOUT IT AS WELL RIGHT NOW, IS TO GET US REALLY FROM STEP ZERO TO MAYBE STEP ONE AND A HALF. 
          THIS IS NOT TO COMPLETELY GET US BACK IN THE FULL IT, IT'S TO MAKE SURE THAT STEP THREE, FOUR, AND FIVE WHEN WE START TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, PERMANENT DECISIONS AND STAFFING AND WHAT HAVE YOU, THAT THE FOUNDATION OF IT HAS BEEN REBUILT PROPERLY. 
          AND, UH, AND WE'LL SEE HOW MUCH WE'VE BEEN MISSING OUT ON. 
          I THINK, YOU KNOW, I WOULD SAY NAMELY OUR ENGAGEMENT WITH OUR CURRENT EMPLOYERS, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY'RE BEING SOUGHT AFTER IN OTHER LOCATIONS TOO, AND WHO'S CALLING THEM, WHO'S CHECKING IN ON THEM ADDRESSING THEIR NEEDS, THEIR EXPANSION DESIRES OR WHAT HAVE YOU. 
          AND UH, AND THANKFULLY WE HAVE SUCH A GOOD STORY IN SUCH A GREAT LOCATION AND ACCESS TO, UH, RESOURCES HERE, THAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HAS REALLY HAPPENED SORT OF ON ITS OWN, DESPITE ANY CONCERTED EFFORT BECAUSE WE HAVE A GREAT STORY TO TELL. 
          WE'RE IN A FANTASTIC LOCATION BETWEEN THE INTERSTATE AND THE INLAND PORT FOR COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY. 
          SO IN SOME RESPECTS, 
          [00:25:01]
POSITIVE THINGS HAVE CONTINUED TO HAPPEN DESPITE THE LACK OF ANY THOUGHT BEING PUT INTO IT OR ACTION BEING TAKEN ON IT BY PEOPLE WHO REALLY KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING THAT REPRESENT OUR COMMUNITY. 
          BUT, UH, AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, SO WHEN WE HAVE THAT EXPERTISE AND WE SORT OF GET BACK INTO, INTO THE GAME THE PROPER WAY, I THINK WE'LL BE QUITE A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH. 
          AND, AND I MENTION THAT BECAUSE, UH, OR, OR EMPHASIZE IT BECAUSE, UH, AND WE'VE HAD SEVERAL CONVERSATIONS WITH EACH OF US AT DIFFERENT TIMES ON THIS, THAT THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS IN THE BUDGET THAT SHOULD GENERATE YOU FIVE TO 10 TIMES WHAT IT EVER COST YOU. 
          I MEAN, ULTIMATELY ON, ON UNLIMITED RETURN ON IT, IF YOU, DEPENDING ON HOW YOU, YOU, YOU FORECAST IT OUT. 
          BUT EVEN ON AN ANNUAL OR YEAR, YEAR TO YEAR BASIS, THE INVESTMENTS YOU MAKE IN IT IS, IS NOT ONLY GENERATING A, A, UH, SUBJECTIVE RETURN FOR THE COMMUNITY, BUT LIKE AN ACTUAL RATE OF RETURN THAT WILL INCREASE THE, THE, THE REVENUE STRUCTURE OF, UH, THE COUNTY FIRST AND FOREMOST. 
          AND THEN TO THE EXTENT THOSE EMPLOYERS AND ACTIVITIES ARE WITHIN THE TOWN, TO THE TOWN ALSO, I THINK YOU'RE, WE GET THROUGH THE BUDGET, I THINK WE NEED TO SIT DOWN THIS BOARD, MAYBE YOUR BOARD AND JUST GO OVER SOME MORE DETAIL AND A COUPLE THINGS. 
          I'M SURE YOU HAVE IT AS FAR AS WHAT THE INVENTORY OF THE LAND THAT, UH, YOU GUYS OWN. 
          AND I THINK YOU ALL STILL OWN THE OLD APTEX PROPERTY. 
          YES, SIR. 
          BUT THAT'S IN TOWN. 
          SO WHEN I, I SAW SOME THINGS WHERE THE TOWN'S TRYING TO MARKET THAT TOO OR, OR WHATEVER, BUT I GUESS IT STILL HAS TO BE UNDER YOU. 
          THAT IS, UH, IT'S WITHIN THE TOWN LIMITS. 
          UH, SO IT'S ALSO IN THE COUNTY, UH, IT'S OWNED BY THE AUTHORITY, RIGHT? IT WAS MARKETED FOR THE PAST SIX MONTHS. 
          THIS IS THE DEVELOPABLE SIDE OF THE AFEC SITE THAT, UH, 113, 117 ACRES A, UM, AND A LETTER OF INTENT WITH A PROSPECTIVE BUYER WAS REACHED AT OUR MEETING A COUPLE MONTHS AGO. 
          AND WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON THE CONTRACT FOR THAT MM-HMM . 
          SO THE DEVELOPABLE MAIN PORTION OF AVTEC WILL WE ANTICIPATE BE UNDER CONTRACT AT OUR MARCH MEETING. 
          OKAY. 
          BECAUSE I KNOW ON THE WEST SIDE OF THAT PROPERTY THAT WAS ALWAYS DESIGNATED AS A PARK AND STUFF LIKE THAT. 
          AND THEN ON THE PARTS YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, AND THIS MORE OR LESS WOULD BE MORE ON THE TOWN, BUT AGAIN, THEY HAD PLANNED THAT MAY BE 10 YEARS AGO TO HAVE A CONNECTOR ROAD BETWEEN KENDRICK LANE AND MAIN STREET TO CONNECT TO CURF. 
          SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S STILL A VIABLE OPTION OR NOT. 
          UM, THAT IS STILL IN THE, THAT'S IN THE SORT OF IN THE DEAL CURRENTLY AS WELL. 
          AGAIN, THAT'S MORE OF THE TOWN THAT THEY, YOU KNOW, UM, SO LIKE I SAID, THERE'S, THERE'S LANDS THAT, THAT THE EDA OWNS THE AEX PROPERTY, UH, HAPPY CREEK INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY. 
          I'M NOT SURE IF THERE'S ANYTHING LEFT ON, UH, 5 22, BUT YOU ALSO HAVE, I THINK THIS BOARD APPROVED A REZONING FOR THE SLATE RUN FARM. 
          UM, AND I'M NOT SURE YOU, I'M SURE YOU'RE AWARE OF IT AND I DUNNO IF THAT'S ANYTHING THAT'S VIABLE OR NOT, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IS BEHIND HAPPY CREEK INDUSTRIAL PARK, THERE'S ROUGHLY 200 ACRES THAT MAY BE AVAILABLE OWNED BY A PRIVATE ENTITY, BUT WE ARE LIMITED OBVIOUSLY, BY THE LAND WE HAVE. 
          UM, SO THAT'S IT THERE. 
          UH, AND THERE AGAIN, I THINK YOU'VE CLARIFIED THAT 'CAUSE THE, THE GUY FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS, CBDG CAME TO US AND ASKED FOR 15,000. 
          I WAS JUST TRYING TO GET CLARIFICATION THAT'S BASICALLY COMING UNDER YOUR BUDGET ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. 
          I MEAN, IT'S ALL, HE'S NOT ASKING US FOR 15 AND ASKING YOU FOR 15. 
          IT'S JUST ONE THING. 
          I JUST WANNA CLARIFY THAT. 
          AND THAT WAS DONE IN COMMUNICATION WITH HIM AND, UH, UH, MS. MEADOWS AND LOOK WHERE, WHERE'S THE BEST PLACE, THEIR VALUE I IS UNDISPUTED, I THINK. 
          RIGHT. 
          WHERE DO THEY PROPERLY PUT THAT REQUEST? WE, UM, WE SORT OF TOOK THE LEAP TO REENGAGE WITH THEM ON THE LAST FISCAL YEAR. 
          IT WASN'T IN OUR BUDGET AT THAT TIME MM-HMM . 
          BUT WE HAD THE FUNDS TO DO IT AND WE SAID, IF WE CAN RETAIN YOU AND GET IT WAS 15 MONTHS AT THE TIME, YOU'LL PROVE YOUR WORTH AND THEN WE CAN MORE FORMALLY INCLUDE YOU IN THE REQUEST MOVING FORWARD. 
          SO YES, I APPRECIATE THAT AND CAME AND SPOKE TO WHAT THEY PROVIDE, EVEN THOUGH HE DIDN'T DIRECTLY HAVE AN ASK FOR YOUR BODY BECAUSE WE'RE COVERING IT IN OUR REQUEST. 
          NO, IT DIDN'T SOUND LIKE IT WAS A VERY GOOD MECHANISM TO HELP BRING THE BUSINESSES AND GET 'EM STARTED AND LIKE THAT. 
          SO THAT SOUNDS REAL WORTHWHILE. 
          UM, AND OBVIOUSLY LIKE YOU SAID, IT'S THREE LEGS TO THE STOOL INDUSTRY, COMMERCIAL AND RETAIL. 
          AND WE HAD A DISCUSSION THE OTHER DAY AS, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT THE MONEY FROM THE LODGING TAX AND WE'RE TRYING TO GET THAT RAMP RAMPED UP AGAIN. 
          AND I COULD, I THINK TOURISM, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY INDEPENDENT, BUT THERE SHOULD BE SOMETHING FOR THE EDA TO KINDA PLUG INTO THE PICTURE. 
          BASICALLY, WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO IT, RETAIL, AS YOU KNOW, THE TOWN'S DOING A STUDY, A THREE YEAR 
          [00:30:01]
STUDY TO TRY TO BRING IN ADDITIONAL BUSINESSES. 
          LIKE I SAID, THE MAIN THING IS TRY TO COORDINATE EVERYTHING SO, YOU KNOW, LEFT HAND KNOWS WHAT THE RIGHT HAND'S DOING. 
          UM, AND JUST QUESTION HOW MANY IS ON YOUR BOARD OR HOW MANY SLOTS ARE THERE AND HOW MANY ARE FILLED BOARD'S? COMPRISED OF SEVEN OKAY. 
          SEATS OF WHICH CURRENTLY WE HAVE FOUR BOARD MEMBERS. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THREE VACANCIES AND, UM, OKAY. 
          YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY VOLUNTEER BOARD MEMBERS. 
          SO THAT'S WHO'S SORT OF MANAGING THE AFFAIRS THAT WE'RE REFERRING TO. 
          RIGHT. 
          AND, UM, AND, AND I, AND I ENVISION EVEN IF WE'RE ABLE TO TRANSITION TO ONBOARDING SOME LEVEL OF EXPERTISE TO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EFFORT, THAT THAT PERSON WOULD BE FOCUSED ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. 
          THEY WOULD NOT GET INVOLVED IN, UH, ANY PART OF THE, THE CLEANUP EFFORT. 
          THE BOARD CAN CONTINUE MANAGING THAT AND IT, IT'S NECESSARY, BUT IT'S NOT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. 
          SO THAT, THAT WOULD BE VERY CLEAR FOR WHOEVER THIS INDIVIDUAL MAY BE, THAT THEY FOCUS SOLELY ON THE THINGS THEY'RE GOOD AT AND NOT GET INVOLVED IN THE OVERALL AFFAIRS OF THE AUTHORITY. 
          THAT'S WHY I THINK IT'S REALLY A BIGGER DISCUSSION. 
          HOW DO WE WANT TO DO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EVEN SEPARATE OF THE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY THAT, UM, AND I WAS JUST CURIOUS, UH, IS THERE REMUNERATION FOR THE BOARD MEMBERS? WE HAVE A A HUNDRED DOLLARS A MONTH STIPEND FOR EACH BOARD MEMBER. 
          OKAY. 
          IT USUALLY IS NOT PAID AND ALL OF OUR BOARD IS OKAY WITH THAT. 
          I DID INCLUDE IT IN THE BUDGET REQUEST, BUT THAT'S ALSO ONE OF THE NUMBERS THAT IS REMOVED BETWEEN THE, THE NEED AND THE REQUEST LINES. 
          OKAY. 
          AND THEN, LIKE I SAID, I KNOW, I GUESS THE LAST PAID STAFF WE HAD WAS JOE PETTY, AND THAT'S BEEN A COUPLE YEARS NOW. 
          AND I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE SOMEBODY THERE TO AT LEAST ANSWER THE PHONE. 
          UH, 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, I MEAN, YOU GUYS ARE DOING A GOOD JOB, BUT IT'S NOT, YOU NEED SOMEBODY THERE AND ACTUALLY REACH OUT TO VEDP, UH, AND THE WHOLE THING. 
          SO HOPEFULLY WE CAN GET SOMETHING SETTLED ON THAT. 
          AND AGAIN, UH, YOU KNOW, IF WE GET A DIRECTOR, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR IN THERE, WHATEVER, IT'S STILL GONNA TAKE TIME. 
          THINGS AREN'T GONNA HAPPEN OVERNIGHT, BUT WE GOTTA START. 
          THERE'S NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT. 
          UH, AND THE ONLY OTHER THING TOO IS WE NEED TO GET A BETTER WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TOWN. 
          UM, I DON'T THINK IT MAKES SENSE TO HAVE FRONT WORLD EDA, COUNTY EDA, BUT WE NEED TO WORK TOGETHER WITH THEM SO WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE. 
          AND HOPEFULLY THAT'LL PROGRESS BECAUSE I KNOW THERE'S SOME GOOD PEOPLE OVER THERE, GOOD PEOPLE ON YOUR BOARD AND TWO HITS ARE BETTER THAN ONE. 
          SO HOPEFULLY WE CAN GET THAT, UH, STARTED AS WELL. 
          AND I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. 
          I WOULD AGREE WITH THAT. 
          I WOULD, I WOULD ADD THAT YOU, THE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF THE TOWN OF FOR ROYAL AND THE COUNTY OF WARREN IS NEARLY 60 YEARS AS A CHARTERED AUTHORITY WITHIN THE STATE OF VIRGINIA. 
          AND IT HAS ALL THE, THE TOOLS IN THE, IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TOOLBOX THEORETICALLY OF A, OF AN AUTHORITY. 
          IT CAN BORROW, IT CAN ACQUIRE REAL ESTATE, IT CAN ASSEMBLE DEALS, IT CAN LEND, AND, UM, AND WE CAN'T BE DISSOLVED ALL. 
          WE HAVE OUTSTANDING OBLIGATIONS WHETHER WE HAVE CURRENT BONDS, UH, IN PROGRESS, AND WE CERTAINLY HAVE CURRENT DEBTS. 
          SO WE ARE AROUND UNTIL ALL OF THOSE ARE REACHED, THEIR COMPLETION. 
          UM, AND WELL BEFORE THEY WOULD REACH THEIR COMPLETION, WE WILL BE AN AUTHORITY THAT'S, THAT'S BANKABLE AGAIN, THAT CAN START DOING THOSE MORE DELIBERATE ACTIVITIES, RESUME THEM AGAIN, AND WE HAVE THE CHARTERED TOOLS TO DO IT. 
          UM, SO IT, THAT'S A DISTINCTION FROM WHAT THE DOWN FORT ROYAL ESTABLISHED IN THEIR EDA. 
          UM, IT'S NEITHER HERE NOR THERE, BUT THEY'RE FROM A, EVEN JUST FROM A CORPORATE STRUCTURE STANDPOINT AND, AND WHAT MECHANISMS THEY HAVE AT THEIR DISPOSAL. 
          THEY'RE VERY DIFFERENT ENTITIES. 
          ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? NO, I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND LOOK FORWARD TO ALL OF US WORKING TOGETHER TO, UM, MAKE THIS SUCCESSFUL FOR WARREN COUNTY. 
          SO THANK YOU, SIR. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          THANKS. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          [A.2. Building Inspections - David Beahm]
BUILDINGS INSPECTIONS, MR. BEAM. 
          WELL NOW I, I DIDN'T BILL ON THAT TODAY. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          I BELIEVE WHAT YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU IS A DOCUMENT THAT'S ACTUALLY INACCURATE. 
          I'M HOPING THAT YOU ALL HAVE, UH, REACHED OUT TO SOMEBODY TO, UH, VERIFY THAT IT WAS INACCURATE. 
          I 
          [00:35:01]
QUESTION IT AS SOON AS I SAW IT AND UH, IT DOES, IT'S NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF WHAT'S BEING PRESENTED. 
          I WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE YOU A COPY OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR  HERE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          YOU THANK YOU. 
          THE ITEMS THAT ARE LISTED HERE ARE THE ITEMS THAT ARE DIFFERENT OR INCREASED FROM WHAT WAS PRESENTED OR ACTUALLY APPROVED FOR LAST YEAR'S PHYSICAL BUDGET. 
          UM, THE FIRST LINE ITEM THERE IS OVERTIME. 
          IF YOU LOOK AT THE NEXT LINE DOWN, THE PART-TIME PERMANENT EMPLOYEES, IF YOU SEE BACK IN 2024, THE AMENDED THERE WAS APPROXIMATELY $26,000 IN THAT LINE ITEM. 
          THAT LINE ITEM WAS ZEROED OUT BECAUSE, BECAUSE WE WERE TOLD THAT IF WE COULD NOT FILL THE POSITION, WE COULDN'T HOLD THE POSITION WITH A DOLLAR AMOUNT. 
          SO WE WERE, WE REDUCED FROM THE 26,000 DOWN TO 3000 FOR OVERTIME. 
          WE'RE GOING TO EXCEED THAT THIS YEAR WITH THE AMOUNTS THAT WE HAVE IN OVERTIME BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE PERSONNEL THAT WE NEED. 
          SO I'M ASKING FOR AN INCREASE OF $7,000 SO THAT WE CAN ACCOUNT ACTUALLY FOR THE OVERTIME THAT WE'RE GOING TO INCUR. 
          SO CURRENTLY UNDER THE CURRENT BUDGET WE'RE AT 5,000. 
          I'M ASKING FOR AN ADDITIONAL SEVEN TO MAKE THAT 12,000. 
          THE THIRD LINE ITEM DOWN THE TWENTY TWENTY TWENTY TWO NINETY THREE CELL PHONE STIPEND. 
          WE'VE BEEN PULLING FUNDS FROM ANOTHER LINE ITEM TO COVER THAT $540 THAT IS FOR THE DEPUTY BUILDING OFFICIAL. 
          IT HAS BEEN IN PLACE PREVIOUSLY. 
          IT WAS TAKEN OUT WHEN WE HAD THE TRANSITIONS. 
          IT WAS NEVER PUT BACK IN, SO WE NEEDED TO ACTUALLY PUT IT INTO THE PROPER LINE ITEM. 
          MOTOR, MOTOR VEHICLE REPAIRS. 
          I'M LOOKING FOR AN ADDITIONAL $5,000 FOR THE MOTOR VEHICLE REPAIRS. 
          NOW IF YOU NOTICE FURTHER DOWN THERE IS A VEHICLE REQUEST AS WELL THAT'S IN AN ASSET REPLACEMENT. 
          BUT I DID WANT TO CALL THAT OUT FOR THE POTENTIAL AS FAR AS THIS. 
          IF WE WERE TO REPLACE ONE OF THE VEHICLES, THAT $8,000 THAT IS CURRENTLY THERE WOULD BE SUFFICIENT TO COVER THE REPAIRS FOR THE REMAINING VEHICLES THAT ARE OLDER. 
          BUT IF WE HAVE TO MAINTAIN THE OLDER VEHICLES, WE'RE GOING TO NEED THAT ADDITIONAL FUND TO ACTUALLY KEEP THE VEHICLES RUNNING AND ON THE ROAD. 
          UH, BOOKS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS, THIS IS THE ONE THAT WAS PROBABLY A LITTLE JAW DROPPING FROM THE SHEET THAT YOU GOT. 
          THAT IS NOT THE ACCURATE NUMBER. 
          UH, I WOULD LIKE TO GO FROM THE BOOKS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS UP APPROXIMATELY $3,000. 
          ONE OF THE REASONS THAT IS, IS WE HAVE A NEW CODE CYCLE COMING IN. 
          AGAIN, EVERY THREE YEARS WE HAVE NEW CODE CYCLES. 
          THE DIFFICULTY WITH THIS PARTICULAR CODE CYCLE IS THERE ARE A LOT OF NEW STANDARDS THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE ON HAND SO WE KNOW WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY INSPECTING. 
          SO THAT ADDITIONAL 3000 ISN'T SOMETHING THAT WILL PROJECT FURTHER DOWN THE ROAD. 
          IT'S SOMETHING THAT IS ACTUALLY A ONE-TIME FEE THAT WE NEED TO GET THOSE RESOURCES IN-HOUSE SO THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE THEM PLAN REVIEW SERVICES $57,000. 
          THAT IS A FOOTNOTE FOR THE IT BUDGET. 
          THAT IS OUR SOFTWARE SYSTEM. 
          THAT'S NOT COMING BACK INTO OUR DEPARTMENT, BUT I WANTED TO MAKE IT SO THAT IT WAS CALLED OUT SO THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS THAT FEE THAT IS IN IT'S BUDGET THAT IS ACTUALLY IN A BUILDING INSPECTIONS DOLLAR. 
          SO YOU CAN BASICALLY SCRATCH THE $57,000 OUT OF OUR BUDGET HERE BECAUSE IT IS IN IT'S BUDGET. 
          BUT I JUST WANTED TO EMPHASIZE WE NEED THAT $57,000 IN IT'S BUDGET TO HAVE OUR SOFTWARE. 
          UH, THE NEXT ONE DOWN IS THE MOTOR VEHICLES. 
          WE'RE LOOKING TO REPLACE ANOTHER VEHICLE. 
          THE VEHICLES THAT WE HAVE, WE HAVE TWO NEWER VEHICLES THAT ARE PERFECTLY FINE. 
          WE HAVE FOUR, THREE OTHERS THAT ARE OVER 200,000 MILES THAT CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED AS FAR AS MAINTAINING 'EM ON THE ROAD WITH THE ADDITIONAL FUNDS. 
          OR WE CAN GO AHEAD AND START ASSET REPLACEMENTS AS FAR AS MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE VEHICLES THAT ARE GONNA STAY RUNNING AND ON THE ROAD. 
          WE'VE HAD THIS PAST YEAR, I BELIEVE AT LEAST THREE TIMES WHERE WE'VE HAD TO HAVE THE BUS GARAGE EITHER SEND OUT A TOW TRUCK OR SEND OUT A SERVICE MECHANIC TO GET A VEHICLE GOING AGAIN BECAUSE THEY'VE BROKEN DOWN ON THE, IN THE ROAD OR NOT IN THE ROAD, BUT 
          [00:40:01]
OUT IN THE FIELD. 
          COMPUTER EQUIPMENT. 
          THIS LINE ITEM AGAIN, IS A IT BUDGET ITEM, BUT I DID WANT TO CALL IT OUT AGAIN. 
          WE NEED TO UPGRADE OUR IPADS THAT WORK WITH OUR SOFTWARE SYSTEM. 
          SO THAT $7,000 IS NOT ACTUALLY COMING TO US. 
          THAT'S GOING TO BE IN THE IT BUDGET IF IT'S APPROVED. 
          BUT I DID WANT TO CALL THAT OUT THAT IT IS A BUILDING INSPECTIONS ITEM. 
          THE LAST THREE OBVIOUSLY ARE A HOPE FOUR . 
          UM, THE FIRST TWO THERE ARE NEW POSITIONS. 
          THE FIRST ONE IS AN INTER GOV ADMINISTRATOR. 
          AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT NUMBER THAT IS INCLUSIVE OF ALL THE BENEFITS, THAT'S NOT THE SALARY THAT'S INCLUSIVE OF ALL THE BENEFITS. 
          UM, THE FOLLOWING NUMBER IS THE ADDITIONAL ONE-TIME COSTS. 
          THAT'S FOR ALLOCATIONS OF COMPUTERS, EQUIPMENT DESK AREA AND SU SUCH. 
          UH, WE HAVE THE SPACE AVAILABLE. 
          WE'RE NOT LOOKING FOR ADDITIONAL SPACE, BUT WE DO NEED TO OUTFIT A, UH, WORKSTATION FOR THAT PERSON. 
          SO THAT IS WHAT THAT IS. 
          UH, FOR THE OTHER POSITION IS A WALKTHROUGH PLAN REVIEWER. 
          WHAT MY GOAL IS, IS TO BE ABLE TO HAVE PLANS COME THROUGH FOR LIKE DECKS, INTERIOR ALTERATIONS, SMALL THINGS THAT ACTUALLY DON'T TAKE UP A LOT OF TIME, BUT RIGHT NOW WE HAVE TO TAKE THEM IN ORDER. 
          IF WE'VE GOT A LITTLE BIT OF LAG TIME, WE CAN PUSH SOME OF THOSE THROUGH FOR FASTER. 
          BUT IF WE HAD A WALKTHROUGH PLAN REVIEWER, WE COULD ACTUALLY MAKE SURE THAT THAT PLAN WALKS THROUGH. 
          AND WHAT I HAVE DISCUSSED WITH STAFF IS THAT WHAT MY INTENT IS, IS TO HAVE THAT PERSON SOMEWHAT CROSS-TRAINED FOR PLANNING AND ZONING AS WELL, SO THAT IF THERE IS ANYTHING THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, THEY CAN GO THROUGH AND CHECK OFF THE ITEMS THAT PLANNING AND ZONING MAY HAVE TO GO THROUGH, UH, POTENTIALLY HEALTH DEPARTMENT IF IT IS INVOLVED, UM, SETBACKS, THINGS OF THAT NATURE SO THAT IT'S NOT, OKAY, WE GOT OURS THROUGH NOW IT'S SITTING OVER HERE. 
          THAT IS A PROCESS THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE IN MANY JURISDICTIONS, BUT TYPICALLY LARGER JURISDICTIONS. 
          BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE A GOOD SERVICE TO THE CUSTOMERS, THE CLIENTS, CONTRACTORS THAT HAVE SMALLER JOBS THAT JUST WANT TO GET IN, GET OUT AND GET THEIR JOB DONE. 
          UM, THE LAST ONE IS A PERMIT TECHNICIAN MERIT INCREASE. 
          UH, WE HAVE ALL OF MY STAFF IS FANTASTIC. 
          I HAVE ONE THAT IS OUTSTANDING AND I'M LOOKING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE KEEP THAT INDIVIDUAL WITHIN OUR DEPARTMENT AND ALSO THE ADDITIONAL DUTIES THAT THEY ARE TAKING ON AT THIS POINT IN TIME. 
          THEY HAVE STRIVED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE READY TO PROGRESS IN THE TRANSITIONS PROCESS. 
          UM, I'M LOOKING FOR ALL OF MY STAFF TO BE ABLE TO TAKE THAT NEXT STEP. 
          I DON'T WANT THEM TO BE SATISFIED WITH WHERE THEY'RE AT. 
          I WANT THEM TO DO A FANTASTIC JOB WHERE THEY'RE AT, BUT I ALSO WANT TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO TAKE ON ADDITIONAL DUTIES OF THE NEXT PERSON UP SO THAT IT IS A PROGRESSION INTO THE NEXT POSITION. 
          THOSE ARE THE ITEMS I WILL GO OVER A LITTLE BIT MORE. 
          AS FAR AS THE INTER GOV ADMINISTRATOR, THAT IS A POSITION THAT IS SORELY NEEDED FOR THE SIMPLE FACT. 
          CURRENTLY WE DO NOT HAVE ANY ONLINE PRESENCE BECAUSE ONCE WE DO AN ONLINE PRESENCE, WE HAVE TO HAVE SOMEBODY THAT ACTUALLY MONITORS THE ONLINE PRESENCE BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO GIVE CREDENTIALS. 
          YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO TAKE IN INFORMATION AND ACTUALLY DO THOSE ITEMS THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO THAT, THAT SOFTWARE SYSTEM. 
          FAULK, KERE COUNTY DOES HAVE THAT POSITION. 
          I KNOW MR. JAMESON, YOU HAD INDICATED THAT UH, FAULK KERE COUNTY IS MORE OF A NORTHERN VIRGINIA, BUT THAT IS THE CLOSEST ONE TO US THAT ACTUALLY HAS INTER GOV AS A SOFTWARE SYSTEM TO OURS. 
          I'M NOT GONNA GO TO PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, BUT THEY HAVE IT. 
          AND THAT'S THE CONTRACT THAT WE WROTE OFF OF ORIGINALLY. 
          FAKI COUNTY HAS ONE PERSON AS AN INTER GOV ADMINISTRATOR. 
          PRINCE WILLIAM HAS APPROXIMATELY EIGHT TO 10, DEPENDING ON WHEN THEY ACTUALLY HAVE THEM ASK THE BRAVE PEOPLE. 
          YES, . 
          BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT I WOULD LIKE TO GET IN PLACE BECAUSE WE DO NEED THAT ONLINE PRESENCE TO BASICALLY TAKE IN, IN, UH, PERMIT APPLICATIONS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. 
          THE SYSTEM IS CAPABLE OF DOING IT, BUT WE HAVE TO HAVE THE STAFF TO ACTUALLY MONITOR THAT AND ACTUALLY DO THE JOB THAT'S REQUIRED TO MAKE THAT FACILITATE THE, UH, PROCESS. 
          WITH THAT, I'LL ASK IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. 
          JUST ONE. 
          IT SEEMS LIKE BUILDING PERMITS ON THE LAST REPORT I SAW ARE ARE DOWN A LITTLE BIT. 
          I KNOW YOU ALL HAD A, A BACKLOG AT SOME POINT, LIKE YOU WERE HAVING TROUBLE KEEPING UP. 
          BUT I'M JUST WONDERING HOW IS IT 
          [00:45:01]
NOW? RIGHT NOW WE ARE PROBABLY AT A 50% OF WHAT OUR TIMEFRAME IS AS FAR AS WITH GETTING PERMITS THROUGH AND OUT. 
          THE DOWNSIDE TO THAT IS, IS THAT WE CAN HAVE OUR PERMIT APPROVED, BUT IT MAY NOT BE THROUGH PLANNING AND ZONING. 
          IT MAY NOT BE APPROVED BECAUSE OF TAXES. 
          IT THERE, THERE ARE MULTIPLE THINGS THAT ACTUALLY WILL HOLD THAT PERMIT FROM BEING ISSUED UP. 
          WE CAN BE AHEAD OF THE GAME AS FAR AS WE WANT, BUT WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE OTHER PROCESSES ARE TAKEN CARE OF. 
          YEAH, OKAY. 
          THIS THE, YOU STILL DO INSPECTIONS FOR THE TOWN, CORRECT? YES. 
          SO, UM, I KNOW THEY DO PART OF THE PROCESS ON THEIR END FOR PLANNING AND ZONING. 
          THEY DO. 
          AND THEN SO WOULD THIS, THIS INTER GOV WORK, UH, FOR WHAT YOU'RE DOING FOR THEM OR, UM, HOW, HOW DOES THAT WORK? BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW HOW THOSE TWO BLEND IN WITH YOUR PEOPLE. 
          THE ORIGINAL PROGRAM WAS DESIGNED TO WORK BOTH WITH THE COUNTY AND THE TOWN. 
          UH, THE COUNTY IS STILL ON THE PROGRAM. 
          THE TOWN ELECTED TO GO OFF OF THE PROGRAM. 
          SO THERE IS NO COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE TWO ANY LONGER. 
          THEY ACTUALLY BORE PART OF THE EXPENSE ORIGINALLY AS THE AGREEMENT WAS SET FORWARD. 
          SO WE INCURRED ALL OF THE COSTS WHILE THEY PULLED AWAY AND WENT WITH A DIFFERENT PROGRAM. 
          SO THAT CREATES A, A, A PROBLEM AND THAT'S THE ONLY PIECE THAT I CAN'T REALLY, UM, ADDRESS WITH A PERMIT, UH, A PLAN REVIEW WALKTHROUGH PROCESS BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE TOWN TO GET THEIR APPROVAL FOR PLANNING AND ZONING. 
          IF IT'S IN THE COUNTY, WE CAN TALK TO THE PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT RIGHT THERE. 
          UH, WITH THE TOWN IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFICULT. 
          SO ALL THESE PROJECTS THAT UM, ARE IN THE PROCESS OF GOING THROUGH THE APARTMENT COMPLEX AND THINGS, THEY DO ALL THE PLAN REVIEW. 
          WE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT, JUST THE INSPECTIONS. 
          THEY DO JUST THE PLANNING AND ZONING PORTION OF IT. 
          IT, THEY HAVE THE, UH, AESTHETICS FOR THE BUILDING. 
          THEY'RE ALLOWED TO BUILD THAT BUILDING ON THAT PIECE OF PROPERTY. 
          THEY'RE ALLOWED TO PUT IN THE INFRASTRUCTURE SUCH AS THE WATER AND SEWER ON THE PROPERTY. 
          WE STILL DO ALL THE CONSTRUCTION PLAN REVIEW AS WELL AS SITE. 
          OKAY. 
          THAT WHERE I WAS GETTING AS WELL AS SITE PLAN REVIEW BECAUSE WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE FIRE AND UH, FIRE DEPARTMENT HAS ACCESS TO THE BUILDINGS. 
          OKAY. 
          THEY, THEY DO DO A GOOD JOB WITH THAT, BUT THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT THEY DON'T CATCH. 
          UH, WE HAVE A, UH, SUB LITTLE SUBDIVISION OF, UH, DUPLEXES GOING OVER BY, UM, OH SHOOT ASHBY, UH, ELEMENTARY, UM, AS ROADS. 
          YES, AS ROADS, I APOLOGIZE  AS ROADS. 
          UM, THEIR SEWER IS ALL PRIVATE TO FOREST HILL. 
          SO WE HAVE TO DO ALL OF THE INSPECTIONS FOR THE ACTUAL SEWER LINE WITHIN THE TOWN. 
          UH, SO THEY HAVE GRINDER PUMPS AT THE BUILDINGS, AT THE PRIVATE RESIDENCES THAT PUMP IT TO THE TOWN SEWER. 
          BUT EVERYTHING UP TO THAT POINT WE HAVE TO INSPECT. 
          OKAY. 
          WELL THAT, THAT WAS MY QUESTION OF DO YOU HAVE TO DO LOOK AT THE PLANS AND STUFF YES. 
          FOR THAT AS WELL. 
          SO IT'S NOT JUST WHAT'S BEING BILLED IN THE COUNTY, IT'S WHAT'S BEING BILLED IN THE TOWN AS WELL. 
          SO I APPRECIATE THE CLARIFICATION AND A COUPLE OF THE THINGS THAT I DID WANT TO, AFTER I GOT QUESTIONS OUT OF THE WAY WITH THE, THE NUMBERS, 'CAUSE THE NUMBERS ARE BIG. 
          I, I WON'T UH, DISCOUNT THAT. 
          AND EVERYBODY HERE AT ALL DEPARTMENTS ARE LOOKING FOR PAR PEOPLE. 
          I I I UNDERSTAND THAT THAT'S YOUR JOB AS SUPERVISORS TO DETERMINE WHERE THE NEEDS ARE AT. 
          WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SAY IS THAT WE HAVE AT LEAST FOUR APARTMENT BUILDINGS, THREE THAT ARE ACTUALLY IN THE PROCESS RIGHT NOW OF, OF GOING THROUGH, ACTUALLY I'M, I APOLOGIZE. 
          THERE ARE FOUR, THERE'S A FIFTH ONE THAT IS A PHASE TWO FOR OVER BEHIND ROYAL KING THAT'S GOING THROUGH THE TOWN. 
          WE HAVE A HUNDRED UNIT HOUSING COMPLE COMPLEX GOING IN, IN THE TOWN OVER OFF OF HAPPY CREEK. 
          UH, WE HAVE HEARD RUMBLINGS OF LUXURY CONDOS, UH, APARTMENTS COMING INTO THE COUNTY, NOT THE TOWN, BUT INTO THE COUNTY. 
          UM, IT, IT'S ALL BEING TALKED ABOUT. 
          IT'S NOT GOING FORWARD AT THIS POINT IN TIME, BUT THEY'RE, THEY'RE LOOKING PROGRESS IS COMING HERE BECAUSE OF THE PROXIMITY TO DC UH, EVERYBODY WANTS TO MOVE A LITTLE BIT FURTHER OUT, WINCHESTER'S THERE, BUT WINCHESTER IS A LITTLE BIT FURTHER. 
          UH, WE'RE STARTING TO GET ALL THE AMENITIES AS FAR AS OUT IN THE, UH, SHOPPING CENTERS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. 
          WE HAVE NEW THINGS COMING IN OUT THERE. 
          UM, SO PEOPLE ARE LOOKING TO COME OUT THIS WAY. 
          SO OUR INFLUX OF HOUSES IS GOING TO INCREASE OUR, OUR ACTUAL LIVING QUARTERS ARE GOING TO 
          [00:50:01]
INCREASE. 
          CURRENTLY. 
          I DON'T BELIEVE THAT WE NEED ADDITIONAL STAFF, BUT I ALSO WANT TO RECOGNIZE THE FACT THAT THAT OVERTIME IS GOING TO HAPPEN BECAUSE  IT, YOU, YOU, YOU CAN'T PUSH. 
          BUT SO MUCH TO GET DONE IN OUR DAY THAT WE HAVE, IT TAKES LONGER TO DO THOSE THINGS AND WHATNOT. 
          THE LAST PIECE THAT I WOULD LIKE TO ACTUALLY INFLUX INFLUENCE OR INFLUX INTO THIS IS THE FACT THAT IT'S BEEN THREE YEARS SINCE WE HAD THE FEE INCREASE THAT WAS APPROVED. 
          WE WENT WITH A 90%, UH, MARKER AS FAR AS TRYING TO COVER OUR BUDGET THE VERY FIRST YEAR, WE WERE RIGHT AT ABOUT 90% THIS YEAR. 
          I THINK WE'RE ONLY GONNA BE ABOUT 60% BECAUSE WE CAN'T CONTROL WHAT COMES THROUGH THE DOOR. 
          IF THE CONSTRUCTION'S THERE, YOU HAD MR. SANDMEYER, YOU HAD ACTUALLY SAID THE THE PERMIT NUMBERS ARE DOWN. 
          YES, THEY'RE DOWN. 
          SO THAT MEANS OUR REVENUE IS DOWN. 
          SO WE'LL PROBABLY PROJECTED FOR THIS PHYSICAL YEAR, BE IT ABOUT 60% OF WHAT OUR BUDGET NEEDS ARE. 
          I WOULD LIKE TO LOOK AND HAVE YOU CONSIDER POTENTIALLY ANOTHER FEE INCREASE, UH, AFTER THREE YEARS COSTS GO UP. 
          UH, YOU NEED ADDITIONAL SERVICES, YOU NEED ADDITIONAL STAFFING PEOPLE. 
          I UNDERSTAND THAT'S A BURDEN ON THE CONTRACTORS, BUT RIGHT NOW WITH A 60%, IT'S A, IT'S A BURDEN ON THE GENERAL PUBLIC AS WELL BECAUSE THE GENERAL PUBLIC COVERS THAT EXTRA 40%. 
          UM, I DO HAVE STAFF THAT I'M LOOKING TO PROGRESS THROUGH THE RANKS AS FAR AS THAT GOES. 
          SO I DO HAVE INDIVIDUALS THAT I THINK WOULD FILL AT LEAST AT MINIMUM THE UH, INTER GOV ADMINISTRATOR'S POSITION BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO DO SOMETHING WITH IT. 
          THEY JUST DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO SPEND ON THAT POSITION AS IT'S NEEDED. 
          SO I DO HAVE PROGRESSION PLANS IN PLACE WITH THAT. 
          ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? QUESTIONS? JUST I THINK YOU, UH, TOLD US ABOUT THE INTERGOVERNMENT INTERGOVERNMENT IS SPECIFIC TO THE BUILDING DEPARTMENT, CORRECT. 
          PLANNING AND ZONING ACTUALLY USES IT AS WELL. 
          OKAY. 
          AND, AND IT IS A VALUABLE TOOL BECAUSE IT CAN KEEP THE HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE, WHICH, UH, WE, WE JUST HAD A ZONING OFFICER START, UH, TODAY. 
          SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE INTERIM PLANNING DIRECTOR INDICATED. 
          UH, HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE ISN'T, UH, STICKING AROUND. 
          UH, IT'S, IT'S LEAVING THE BUILDING AS IN RETIREMENTS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE OR MOVING TO OTHER JOBS. 
          SO THAT HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE WITHIN THE SOFTWARE SYSTEM IS VALUABLE UNTIL IT CRASHES. 
          UNTIL IT CRASHES. 
          IS THERE ANY, ANY WAY TO COMBINE PLANNING AND THE PRO UH, POSITION YOU'RE ASKING FOR? IT WILL ACTUALLY WORK WITH THE PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT BECAUSE THEY USE THE SYSTEM, RIGHT. 
          THE INTER GOV ADMINISTRATOR POSITION. 
          NOW THE PLAN REVIEWER, I HAVE NOT TALKED TO THE INTERIM PLANNING DIRECTOR AT THIS POINT IN TIME. 
          I DID SPEAK WITH UH, MATT PREVIOUSLY ON THIS, BUT THAT POSITION, LIKE I SAID, I'M TRYING TO WORK IT SO THAT IT WOULD ACTUALLY TAKE A LITTLE BIT OFF OF THE ZONING ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE APPROVAL PROCESS. 
          SO THAT WOULD ALLEVIATE A LITTLE BIT OF WORKLOAD OFF OF THAT PERSON WITH JUST THE WALKTHROUGH TYPE PERMITS. 
          OKAY. 
          'CAUSE LIKE I SAY, IT'S A LOT TO KEEP UP WITH AS FAR AS YOU GOT INTER GOV, WE GOT NEO GOV, GO GOV, CLEAR CIVIC SOMETHING, CLEAR GOV, UH, THERE'S ANOTHER ONE KNOW BEFORE AND ALL THOSE THINGS. 
          SO IT'D BE INTERESTING TO KNOW HOW MUCH WE'RE PAYING FOR ALL THOSE SERVICES SOMETIME TOO. 
          BUT ANYWAY, I APPRECIATE AND I WILL SAY THAT INTER GOV, WHICH IS A TYLER TECHNOLOGIES PROGRAM NOW, IT WAS PURCHASED WHILE WE WERE PURCHASING UH, THE PROGRAM. 
          THEY HAVE SUITES FOR THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS, BUT THERE ARE STILL ISSUES WITH TRYING TO GET THOSE CONNECTED AND SUCH AND THE COSTS ARE LARGE. 
          SO I WON'T SAY THAT THEY'RE NOT. 
          UH, BUT THEY DO HAVE, AND I'M HOPING THAT THEY REACH OUT FOR ANY OF THE RFPS THAT ARE GOING OUT TO POTENTIALLY UH, GO THAT DIRECTION. 
          WELL THAT'S THE THING. 
          I MEAN YOU KNOW, THE INITIAL COST IS SOMETHING AND THEY GOT THE ANNUAL LICENSING FEES AND THEN THEY GO UP ALL THAT STUFF TOO. 
          AND I'M SURE IT IS LOOKED AT AS ANY WAY TO COMBINE SOME OF THESE THINGS OR AT LEAST LOWER THE COST OR WHATEVER. 
          BUT LIKE YOU SAID, WITHIN INTER GOV THEY GOT DIFFERENT SUITES FOR DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS, THE WHOLE THING. 
          BUT ANYWAY, APPRECIATE IT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          JUST ONE LAST QUESTION FOR ME. 
          YES. 
          HOW MANY INSPECTORS DO YOU HAVE NOW? I HAVE TWO INSPECTORS THAT ARE ACTUALLY FULL-TIME. 
          I HAVE MY DEPUTY BUILDING OFFICIAL THAT DOES INSPECTIONS AS NEEDED. 
          [00:55:01]
UH, HE ALSO DOES THE PLAN REVIEW AS NEEDED. 
          SO IT'S KIND OF A OVERSEER OF THE INSPECTIONS INSPECTORS AND THEN ALSO ASSISTS AS FAR AS THAT GOES. 
          UM, THE DOWNSIDE TO IT IS, IS THAT I'M THE ONLY ONE THAT CAN DO THE PRO THE PLAN REVIEW FOR EROSION AND SEDIMENT CONTROL 'CAUSE I'M THE ONLY ONE THAT'S CERTIFIED. 
          SO THAT TAKES A LOT OUT. 
          IT ALSO IN, IT ALSO INCLUDES HAVING CERTAIN PROCESSES DURING THAT, UH, PROGRAM TO ACTUALLY BE DEDICATED TO ME. 
          SO I HAVE TO BE THERE. 
          UM, I AM WORKING WITH MY STAFF TO GET THEM INTO THOSE CAPACITIES, BUT WHEN YOU HAVE NEWER STAFF, YOU HAVE A LOT OF TRAINING AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT UH, WITH THE, UM, CONVENTIONS AND EDUCATIONS, THE ADDITIONAL $5,000 AND I DID SKIP OVER THAT. 
          I APOLOGIZE, BUT THAT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT I HAVE A LOT OF NEW STAFF THAT NEED THOSE CERTIFICATIONS AND ALSO THE TRAINING. 
          NOW FOR THESE BIG PROJECTS LIKE THE APARTMENT BUILDINGS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, ARE THEY AT THE LEVEL THEY DO THAT OR YOU DO THAT? THE LARGER PROJECTS OF THAT NATURE I TYPICALLY TAKE ON. 
          OKAY, SO THAT WOULD BE A PROGRESSION OF WHAT THEY WOULD LEARN TOO, I GUESS YES, BUT I AM ALSO IN MY PROGRESSION PLAN STARTING TO PUSH A LITTLE BIT MORE TOWARDS THEM AND THEN THEY COME BACK AND THEY GO OVER IT WITH ME SO THAT WE HOPEFULLY WILL MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE DONE CORRECTLY. 
          OKAY. 
          OKAY. 
          NO, NO OTHER QUESTIONS. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. 
          HAVE A GREAT AFTERNOON. 
          YOU TOO. 
          THANK ALRIGHT, CHIEF MANZANO 
          [A.3. Fire & Rescue - James Bonzano, Fire Chief]
AND ASSISTANT CHIEF, MY ATCO. 
          I WAS A LITTLE WORRIED WHEN YOU CAME IN WITH YOUR WHITE SHIRTS, BUT NOW YOU'VE UPPED YOUR GAME WITH YOUR FULL DRESS UNIFORMS. YEAH, I KNOW. 
          BIG MONEY . 
          I I ALWAYS TEASE THEM WHEN THEY COME IN THEIR WHITE SHIRTS. 
          I KNOW WE'RE TALKING MONEY. 
          I'M WONDERING IF WE NEED TO STAND UP AND SALUTE . 
          YEP. 
          THANK YOU SIR. 
          THERE'S ONE THING. 
          A MAN IN A SHARP DRESS UNIFORM THOUGH, SIR. 
          YES SIR. 
          SO GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          CAN Y'ALL HEAR ME? IS THAT GOOD? UH, BOTH JERRY AND I, UH, ASSIST CHIEF, MY ATTICA ARE GONNA PRESENT TO TOGETHER TODAY. 
          I THINK YOU GONNA NEED TO START IF YOU WOULD KEEP IT OVER A LITTLE CLOSER. 
          YES MA'AM. 
          YOU WERE GOOD WHEN YOU WERE UP CLOSE. 
          IS THAT BETTER? YES. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK I. 
          UM, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IF, IF YOU GUYS WOULD INDULGE ME IS I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, BASICALLY DO A SUMMARY OF WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR AND IT'S A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT, BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT, I'D LIKE TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT AS TO HOW WE GET THERE IN THE PROCESS WE USE IN ORDER TO GET THERE. 
          UM, SO WITH THAT, I'LL START WITH THE PRIORITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT. 
          UM, THEY HAVEN'T CHANGED. 
          UM, THEY STILL, UM, THE PRIORITY, IF YOU WILL IS STAFFING TO ENSURE SAFETY AND ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE PEOPLE WE SERVE, AS WELL AS THE FOLKS ON THE FIRE APP, FIRE AND EMS APPARATUS. 
          SO AS SUCH, WE FOCUS ON SAFE STAFFING, RELIABLE APPARATUS AND EQUIPMENT AND TO ENSURE THAT OUR FOLKS ARE IN GOOD FACILITIES AND THEY'RE MANAGED PROPERLY. 
          UM, AGAIN, OUR LOGO AND WE, WE TRY TO STAND BEHIND IT BOTH AS A CAREER DEPARTMENT AS WELL AS A COMBINATION SYSTEM. 
          ONE DEPARTMENT, ONE MISSION, JUST A LITTLE BIT OF THE BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS. 
          AND IT KIND OF GIVES YOU AN IDEA, AGAIN, OF THE PROCESS WE USE. 
          UM, WE'RE ALREADY LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT WAYS TO LOOK TO THE FUTURE AND STRATEGICALLY ALIGN, YOU KNOW, THE PRIORITIES WITH BUDGETS AND UH, AND STUFF THAT'S LOOKS TO BE TENABLE VERSUS A DOESN'T. 
          SO A GLANCE AT OUR FIREARM RESCUE SYSTEM AND OUR ANNUAL RESPONSE DATA, YOU'VE GOT A, UH, FOUR YEAR LOOK HERE. 
          UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, THE CAREER AND VOLUNTEER RESPONDERS REMAIN STEADFAST AND WE RAN JUST SHY OF EIGHT OR JUST SOUTH OF EIGHT TOTAL 8,000 TOTAL INCIDENTS THIS PAST YEAR. 
          UM, THIS REPRESENTS OVER, UM, SINCE CALLEN YEAR, UH, 13. 
          IT'S ABOUT A 41% INCREASE IN CALL VOLUME FOR THE LAST PAST 12 YEARS. 
          UM, AGAIN, IF YOU LOOK, IT KIND OF BREAKS OUT WITH THE EXCEPTION OF UM, 21, WHICH IS THE, UH, COVID RESPONSES THAT WAS A LITTLE ATYPICAL AND THERE WAS A LOT OF ANOMALIES IN THERE. 
          YOU WOULD'VE SAW THE EMS RUN SPIKE, BUT IT PRETTY MUCH GOES ABOUT THE PERCENTAGES STAY THE SAME IN MARCH OUT. 
          SO IF YOU LOOK AT, UH, PAGE FIVE, UM, BASICALLY IT 
          [01:00:01]
GIVES YOU A LOOK AT CALL VOLUME THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY AND SPECIFICALLY WHERE THE CALL PRESSURES ARE. 
          IT GIVES YOU A BREAKDOWN OF THE, UM, CALLS FOR SERVICE TO INCLUDE EMS AND FIRE. 
          UM, NO QUALITATIVE RESPONSE IN THERE, BUT AS I'VE SAID BEFORE, SUFFICE TO SAY WITH YOUR EMS RESPONSES, YOU DO HAVE A VERY HIGH ACUITY LEVEL. 
          UH, MOVING TO PAGE SIX, THE REVENUE PROJECTIONS. 
          UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT A FOUR, JUST SHY OR SOUTH TO 4% INCREASE. 
          UM, WE HAVE A PROJECTED $2,000 REVENUE FROM TRAINING SERVICES, WHICH IS PRIMARILY OUR COMMUNITY CPR PROGRAM. 
          UM, WE ALSO ARE LOOKING ABOUT 46,000 46 6 FROM THE VIRGINIA OFFICE OF EMS FOUR FOR LIFE FUNDING PROGRAM. 
          THE DEPARTMENT IS ALSO PROJECTED RECEIVING AN INCREASE FROM THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF FIRE PROGRAMS AID TO LOCALITY FUNDS OF 143,900 $3,930, UH, BASED ON A THREE YEAR ANALYSIS. 
          THE COST RECOVERY PROGRAM, WE PROJECT, UM, AGAIN, JUST ABOUT 1,000,004 AND SOME CHANGE IN AND GENERATE A REVENUE FROM THIS PROGRAM. 
          AND THIS IS BASICALLY WHAT WE'RE CHARGING FOR SERVICE INTO THE MEDICARE BUNDLE, ET CETERA. 
          UM, AND ALL THE REPRESENTS JUST UNDER A 4% INCREASE IN PROJECTED REVENUES FOR THE DEPARTMENT. 
          SHERRY? YEAH, GOOD EVENING. 
          UM, SO AS WE WALK INTO THE BUDGET PROCESS, WE WANNA TAKE A QUICK LOOK AT OUR VOLUNTEER, OUR FIRE RESCUE, OUR COST RECOVERY, AND OUR NEW REQUEST BUDGETS. 
          UH, ON PAGE EIGHT, WE'LL LOOK AT OUR VOLUNTEER FIRE AND RESCUE. 
          UH, AND WE NOTE ABOUT A 10% DECREASE IN OUR VOLUNTEER FUNDING. 
          SPECIFICALLY, I WANT TO COMPLIMENT OUR FINANCE TEAM, UM, AND OUR COUNTY ADMINISTRATION. 
          THEY WORKED DILIGENTLY WITH US ON PUTTING OUR VOLUNTEER INSURANCE OUT TO BID AND RENEWING THAT CONTRACT. 
          OBVIOUSLY, FOR THOSE ON THE BOARD WITH SOME TENURE, YOU KNOW, WE HAD A COUPLE SIGNIFICANT LOSS, ONE OF WHICH INCLUDED AN APPARATUS TRAFFIC CRASH, UH, WHICH CAUSED OUR PREMIUMS TO DRASTICALLY INCREASE OVER A, A FINITE PERIOD OF TIME. 
          SO, UH, WITH THAT, WE SAW A SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS IN PUTTING THAT BACK OUT TO BID. 
          AND WE BROUGHT THE VOLUNTEER INSURANCE UNDER THE COUNTY'S VERSA PROGRAM. 
          SO WE SAW A DECREASE THERE. 
          UH, ADDITIONALLY, WE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT ALL OF OUR IN COUNTY VOLUNTEER STATIONS, UH, ANNUAL CONTRIBUTIONS, AND WE'RE PROPOSING THOSE LINE ITEMS REMAIN FLAT. 
          CONTINUE TO SUPPORT OUR CHESTER GAP AND MIDDLETOWN AUTOMATIC AID STATIONS ANNUAL CONTRIBUTIONS WITH THOSE LINE ITEMS REMAINING FLAT, UH, AS WELL AS OUR LORD. 
          UH, OUR FORMERLY OUR LORD FAIRFAX EMS COUNCIL CONTRIBUTION, UH, THAT IS NOW THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY EMS COUNCIL. 
          UH, WE ARE, UH, EARMARKING THAT TO REMAIN FLAT. 
          UH, THAT IS, THAT PROGRAM IS CURRENTLY UNDERGOING SOME RESTRUCTURING, UM, AND REALIGNMENT BASED OFF OF STATE CODE CHANGES. 
          UM, SO WE'RE GONNA MOVE THAT TO A QUARTERLY, UH, CONTRIBUTION, UM, AND BILL PAY PROCESS WITH THEM AS FAR AS THEY SUBMIT AN INVOICE QUARTERLY SO WE CAN ENSURE THAT THE TRANSITION AND CHANGEOVER IS DONE. 
          UM, ADEQUATELY. 
          PAGE NINE, LOOKING AT OUR FIRE AND RESCUE BUDGET, UH, WE NOTE JUST UNDER A 4% INCREASE IN OUR FIRE AND RESCUE BUDGET, SPECIFICALLY THE OPERATING LINES. 
          THIS INCREASES MULTIPLE LINE ITEMS TO PREOR, UH, UH, TO, UH, SUPPORT PROJECTED NEEDS. 
          UH, SPECIFICALLY OUR HEALTH SERVICES LINED BY $13,800. 
          THIS IS TO SUPPORT OUR ANNUAL PHYSICAL AND EARLY DETECTION CANCER SCREENING PROGRAM. 
          UM, OUR MOTOR VEHICLE REPAIRS BY $4,905. 
          THAT'S SPECIFIC TO OUR FIRE APPARATUS FLEET, OUR MA MOBILE RADIOS. 
          WE HAVE ASKED FOR AN INCREASE IN NET LINE ITEM BY $55,000, SPECIFICALLY FOR A PORTABLE BATTERY REPLACEMENT PROGRAM. 
          WE REQUESTED THIS FOR, UH, FY 26 AND IT WENT UNFUNDED. 
          UH, WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH COUNTY ADMINISTRATION AND ANALYZING OUR FY 26 BUDGET. 
          UM, WE THINK WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO HANDLE A LARGE CHUNK OF THIS UNDER CURRENT FISCAL YEAR FUNDS BASED OFF OF THE PRIORITY AND THE NEEDS, UH, THAT PROJECT IN ON ITSELF THIS YEAR. 
          WE'RE LOOKING AT MOVING SOME MONEY AROUND, UH, AND WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO REDUCE THAT REQUEST SIGNIFICANTLY IF WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT PROJECT RIGHT NOW. 
          UM, AND I THINK THAT THAT'S AN INITIAL PHASE OF AROUND $26,000, JUST BASED OFF OF THE SAFETY ASPECT OF REPLACING NOSE BATTERIES ALONE. 
          UH, SO WE MAY BE ABLE TO SEE A REDUCTION IN THAT REQUEST AS IF, IF I'M SURE, BUT CUTS ARE GONNA BE ASKED TO BE MADE. 
          THAT WOULD BE ONE OF THE LINE ITEMS THAT WE CAN EARMARK OUR LAUNDRY 
          [01:05:01]
AND JANITORIAL INCREASE BY $1,500. 
          THAT'S SPECIFIC TO OUR PPE. 
          UH, THIS BOARD WAS GRACIOUS TO APPROVE SOME CANCER PROTECTION FUNDS, WHICH WE WERE ABLE TO, UM, ALLOCATE AND INSTALL GEAR WASHER AND DRYER CABINETS IN FOUR OF OUR FACILITIES THIS YEAR. 
          UH, SO OBVIOUSLY AS WE EXPAND THE WASHING CAPABILITY, WE'LL HAVE TO CONTINUE TO BUY O OBVIOUSLY, THAT SHOWS IT WORKS 'CAUSE WE WANT OUR RESPONDERS TO WASH THEIR TURNOUT GEAR. 
          SO WE'LL ACTUALLY SEE AN INCREASE IN JANITORIAL OR LAUNDRY SUPPLIES ASSOCIATED WITH THAT PROGRAM ALONE. 
          THEN INCREASING OUR PPE LINE BY $6,000. 
          UH, TO GO THROUGH A SYSTEM-WIDE BOOT REPLACEMENT, WE HAVE ACTUALLY OUR STRUCTURAL PPE GEAR. 
          WE HAVE A, UM, UH, ULTIMATELY WHAT WAS AWARDED THROUGH SEVERAL OF OUR VOLUNTEER STATIONS MANY YEARS AGO THROUGH GRANTS, THEY PURCHASED A LARGE STOCK OF TURNOUT GEAR. 
          WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO REPLACE THAT TURNOUT GEAR, BUT WE HAVEN'T REPLACED THE BOOTS. 
          SO WE'LL FIND OURSELVES IN A NEED TO REPLACE MULTIPLE, UH, STRUCTURAL FIREFIGHTING BOOTS. 
          SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE A, UH, INCREASE IN THAT LINE. 
          IT ALSO MAINTAINS A $45,000, UH, BUILDING MAINTENANCE FUND LINE. 
          AND IT ADDS $45,000 IN REPAIRS AND REPLACEMENTS TO COUNTY OWNED FACILITIES. 
          UH, WITH THAT MAINTENANCE LINE IN THAT REPAIR LINE, WE HAVE SEEN A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE, SPECIFICALLY IN BAY DOORS. 
          UM, JUST THE WEAR AND TEAR ASSOCIATED WITH OUR BAY DOORS OPENING AND CLOSING. 
          UH, SO WE SEE AN INCREASE IN THAT AS WELL AS SOME OF OUR HVAC SYSTEMS, WATER SYSTEMS, ET CETERA. 
          UM, SO IT REALLY BUILDS SOME OF THOSE LINES TO BE ABLE TO, UM, SUPPORT THOSE PROGRAMS. MOVING OVER TO PAGE 10, UH, WE ARE SEEKING AN INCREASE OF FUNDS TO SUPPORT OUR TANKER AND BRUSH TRUCK TECHNOLOGY RESPONSE AND SAFETY ASSETS. 
          SPECIFICALLY, THIS WOULD BE IPAD DEVICES FOR THOSE UNITS, UH, TO, FOR RESPONDERS TO RECEIVE, UH, REALLY THE CALLS, THE GPS ROUTING, ET CETERA. 
          RIGHT NOW, RESPONDERS ARE USING THEIR CELL PHONES WHEN OPERATING ON THESE VEHICLES, AND THAT'S JUST NOT SAFE. 
          UH, 'CAUSE THERE'S NOT A UNIFIED MOUNT. 
          IT'S TYPICALLY THEY'RE HOLDING IT IN THEIR HAND WHEN THEY MAKE A TURN. 
          IT'S JUST NOT SAFE, UM, ACROSS THE BOARD, AND THEY'RE MISSING THAT PROTECTION. 
          THIS WAS REALLY HIGHLIGHTED WHEN WE HAD THE WILDFIRES, UM, ACROSS THE COMMUNITY SEVERAL YEARS AGO AND REALIZED THAT WE DID NOT, THE, THE PRIMARY UNITS USED ON THAT DAY WERE OUR TANKER ASSETS IN OUR BRUSH TRUCK ASSETS. 
          AND THEY WERE JUST MISSING THAT TECHNOLOGY PIECE. 
          UH, WE ASKED FOR THIS TO BE FUNDED IN FY 26. 
          IT WENT UNFUNDED. 
          UM, AND THAT'S REALLY THE HARDWARE OF $17,000 TO OUTFIT FLEET WIDE, UM, IPADS, AS WELL AS THE CELL PHONE INCREASE. 
          AND THAT IS FOR THE, UH, WIFI SERVICE ON THOSE DEVICES. 
          UM, WE'LL UTILIZE OUT OF THAT. 
          SPECIFICALLY HERE, WE'RE ASKING FOR THE CELL PHONE LINE TO INCREASE. 
          WE'RE GOING TO, UH, EARMARK COST RECOVERY FUNDS FOR THE HARDWARE. 
          SO WE CURRENTLY BUY THE, UM, THAT, THAT HARDWARE PACKAGE OUT OF OUR COST RECOVERY BUDGET. 
          SO WE'LL NEED TO SEE THE INCREASE WITHIN THE ACTUAL CELL PHONE LINE TO SUPPORT THAT. 
          UM, THE FIRE AND RESCUE BUDGET WE'RE, UH, ASKING FOR A $6,000, UM, ALLOCATION TO REESTABLISH OUR FIRE PREVENTION AND PUBLIC EDUCATION LINE TO SUPPORT THE DEPARTMENT'S COMMUNITY RISK REDUCTION PROGRAM. 
          THAT LINE ITEM IS, UH, WE UTILIZE TO BUY OUR ACTIVITY BOOKS, THE LITTLE PLASTIC RED FIRE HELMETS WE GIVE OUT TO KIDS AT EDUCATIONAL EVENTS TO REINFORCE THAT SAFETY MESSAGING. 
          IT ALSO SUPPORTS OUR FIRE PREVENTION PROGRAM THROUGH CODE ENFORCEMENT AND INVESTIGATIONS. 
          UM, SO WE'LL, WE'LL LOOK TO SEEK TO REESTABLISH THAT LINE. 
          THAT WAS A FORMALLY FUNDED LINE, UH, BUT IT WAS CUT IN ONE OF THE BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES. 
          SO WE'RE TRYING TO SEED THAT BACK. 
          UM, AND OBVIOUSLY THE PERSONNEL AND SALARIES THAT ADJUSTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE DIRECTION FROM COUNTY ADMINISTRATION AS FAR AS ANY IN ANTICIPATED INCREASES ASSOCIATED, UH, WITH PERSONNEL AND SALARIES. 
          ON PAGE 11, HIGHLIGHTS OUR COST RECOVERY BUDGET. 
          THIS IS A REVENUE OFFSETTING BUDGET. 
          UH, SO WE, WE SPEND AND WE ALLOCATE OUR EXPENDITURES WITHIN THE COST RECOVERY PROGRAM BASED OFF OF THE REVENUES WE ANTICIPATE WILL RECEIVE, AS CHIEF ALLUDED TO, THAT'S JUST OVER 1.4 MILLION. 
          UH, THIS INCREASES MULTIPLE LINE ITEMS TO SUPPORT OUR PROJECTED NEEDS, UH, SPECIFICALLY OUR MOTOR VEHICLE REPAIRS BY 45,000. 
          [01:10:01]
TO CONTINUE THE MAINTENANCE ON OUR EMS FLEET, IT INCREASES OUR MOTOR VEHICLE FUEL. 
          SO THIS LINE SUPPORTS OUR FLEET WIDE FUEL THROUGH OUR ENTIRE SYSTEM, CAREER AND VOLUNTEER APPARATUS, FIRE AND EMS. SO OBVIOUSLY, AS WE CONTINUE TO SEE CALLS INCREASE, OUR FLEET EXPAND AND THE COST OF FUEL INCREASE, WE'LL NEED TO ANTICIPATE INCREASING NET LINE. 
          UM, AS WE CONTINUE TO GROW OUR SYSTEM, UM, WE WANT TO INCREASE OUR TRAINING AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES. 
          SO WE'RE SEEKING A $35,000 INCREASE THERE AND A $5,000 INCREASE TO OUR EMS OPERATIONS LINE. 
          THIS COST RECOVERY BUDGET THROUGH THE REVENUE, UH, THAT IT RECEIVES, CONTINUES TO MAINTAIN MULTIPLE PROGRAMS, INCLUDING OUR AMBULANCE REPLACEMENT PROGRAM. 
          SO WE CONTINUE TO EARMARK FUNDS OUT OF THE COST RECOVERY PROGRAM FOR THE EMS UNIT REPLACEMENTS, OUR MEDICATION EXCHANGE PROGRAM, UM, AS WELL AS OUR OMD SERVICES IN YEAR TWO OF SIX OF THE EMS EQUIPMENT ANNUAL PAYMENTS. 
          THAT IS WHAT, UH, THIS BOARD APPROVED FOR US TO REPLACE OUR LIFE PACKS, OUR LUCAS DEVICES, OUR AEDS, ACROSS THE ENTIRE, UH, RESPONSE SYSTEM. 
          GO AHEAD. 
          DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AS IT RELATES TO THE FIRE RESCUE CALLS RECOVERY OR VOLUNTEER? OKAY. 
          WE'LL START NOW WITH THE, UH, NEW REQUEST TO STAFFING CAPITAL ASSET REQUEST. 
          UM, PAGE 13, I'M SORRY. 
          PAGE 13. 
          UM, WE'RE LOOKING TO INCREASE OUR A LS CERTIFICATION PAY. 
          UM, YOU'LL SEE SOME COMPARE COMPARISONS AND BENCHMARKS DOWN BELOW. 
          I WON'T READ THOSE TO YOU, BUT THEY DON'T SEE THAT. 
          OH, THEY DON'T SEE IT. 
          OKAY. 
          BUT JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA, WE'RE ASKING FOR AN INCREASE FROM THE PARAMEDIC LEVEL, FROM 72 50 TO 10,000 INTERMEDIATE LEVEL, 4,000 TO 67 50. 
          AND AT THE ADVANCED LEVEL FROM 2653 50, UH, WE'RE THE LOWEST JURISDICTION, UM, BY FAR, UM, JUST IN COMPARISON AT A GLANCE, UH, SHENANDOAH IS ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE BOARD ON AVERAGE IS, IS HIGHER THAN US. 
          FREDERICK THE SAME. 
          WINCHESTER TAKES IT TO ANOTHER LEVEL, AND FALK HERE AS WELL AS, UH, OTHER NEIGHBORING JURISDICTIONS ALSO DO THE SAME. 
          SO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS, OBVIOUSLY WE'VE TIED IT TO, UM, THE ACTUAL SALARY. 
          AND THE REASON DOING THAT, OBVIOUSLY, IT, IT NOT ONLY INCENTIVIZE THE MAINTENANCE OF THE CERTIFICATION, BUT IT ALSO BODES WELL FOR THE COMMUNITY WE SERVE. 
          SO IT, IT, IT, IT PAYS US WELL TO DO. 
          SO. 
          UM, MOVING ON TO PAGE 14, OR THE FIRE AND RESCUE OPERATIONAL STAFFING INCREASE, UM, ASKING FOR A TOTAL OF 12 POSITIONS TO THE TUNE OF 1,000,003 AND SOME CHANGE. 
          UH, IT'S, IT'S A LOT. 
          UM, WE'VE ESTIMATED ABOUT A HUNDRED AGES SHY OR SOUTH OF 109 PER POSITION. 
          UM, THAT INCLUDES ALL THE SOFT COSTS. 
          WHEN I FIRST CAME HERE ORIGINALLY, WE WERE JUST BUILDING IN THE ACTUAL SALARY, AND THAT SIMPLY WASN'T FAIR BECAUSE WE UNDERSTAND THE EMPLOYEES THAT MUCH MORE. 
          SO, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S POSITIONS TO INCREASE OPERATIONAL POSITIONS FOR DEDICATED ENGINE STAFFING WITH FOUR PERSONNEL PER SHIFT 24 7 365. 
          BASICALLY THE 12 POSITIONS MEET THE PHASE ONE OR ONE THIRD OF THE PHASE ONE, UM, RECOMMENDATION, THE MATRIX FIRE AND RESCUE STUDY. 
          UM, WE WILL ALSO SEEK, UM, BOARD APPROVAL NEXT, UM, NEXT FISCAL CYCLE FOR SAFER GRANT POSITIONS FOR THE REMAINING NEEDS. 
          UM, IF YOU LOOK AT THE PAGE 15, IT KIND OF GIVES YOU AN IDEA OR A LINE ITEM BREAKDOWN, BUT IT GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF BOTH THE FULL-TIME COMPENSATION, THE BREAKDOWN OF FICA VRS HOSPITAL, MED AND GROUP INSURANCE, LINE OF DUTY, DEATH, WORKERS' COMP HEALTH SERVICES, PPE GEAR, WEARING APPAREL, UNIFORMS, OFFICE SUPPLIES, PART-TIME OVERTIME, FLSA HOLIDAY OVERTIME, IT'S COMPLETELY INCLUSIVE OF ALL THE COSTS THAT ARE BORN FROM AN EMPLOYEE. 
          UM, A COUPLE OF THOSE BEING LARGELY, UH, PPE AND UNIFORMS. UM, YOU COULD PROBABLY PUT IN THE ONE TIME CATEGORY. 
          HOWEVER, THE MOST OF IT DO TRAVEL WITH THE EMPLOYEE THROUGHOUT THEIR CAREER BECAUSE THE FIRE MARSHAL, SO PAGE 16 GOES OVER A FIRE MARSHAL POSITION REQUEST. 
          AS MOST ON THE BOARD ARE AWARE, UH, OUR FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2011, UH, BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ORDINANCE. 
          UH, WITH THE PROMOTION OF THAT POSITION TO THE ASSISTANT CHIEF. 
          UH, THE COUNTY FOUND ITSELF NEVER BACK FILLING THE FIRE MARSHAL POSITION. 
          UH, SO YOUR ASSISTANT CHIEF CONTINUES TO OPERATE AS, UH, NOT ONLY THE, UH, AN EXECUTIVE WITHIN A FIRE ADMINISTRATION, 
          [01:15:01]
BUT ALSO CONTINUING TO SERVE AS THE FIRE OFFICIAL AND THE FIRE MARSHAL. 
          UM, SO THIS REQUEST REESTABLISHES THE FULL-TIME POSITION OF FIRE MARSHAL. 
          WE DID REQUEST THIS IN FISCAL YEAR 26, AND IT WENT UNFUNDED. 
          UM, AGAIN, IT'S CURRENTLY FILLED DUAL ROLE WITH THE ASSISTANT CHIEF POSITION. 
          THE DEPARTMENT UTILIZES A SHIFT FIRE MARSHAL CONCEPT. 
          SO WE HAVE STAFF MEMBERS ON EACH RESPECTIVE SHIFT CERTIFIED TO AN INSPECTOR INVESTIGATOR LEVEL. 
          SO THEY'RE ABLE TO FULFILL SOME OF THE IMMEDIATE NEEDS ON DUTY OR, UM, AFTER HOURS. 
          BUT IF WE UTILIZE THEM AFTER HOURS, THAT IS ON AN OVERTIME CAPACITY, WE FIND OURSELVES CONTINUING TO INCREASE, UH, UH, WORKLOAD AND DEMAND. 
          SO IT'S DRIVING THAT OVERTIME COST UP. 
          UM, WE DID ADD A PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT POSITION TO ASSIST WITH THE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, AS WELL AS EXPAND RESPONSIBILITIES. 
          UH, OUR FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE NOW DOES BACKGROUNDS ON ALL BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS AND CHECKS, CRIMINAL HISTORY CHECKS, DRIVING HISTORY CHECKS, UH, PERSONAL REFERENCE CHECKS ON ALL APPLICANTS AND VOLUNTEER APPLICANTS THROUGHOUT OUR SYSTEM, UH, WHICH IS, UM, A, UH, UH, A LOT OF WORK TO SAY THE LEAST. 
          UM, THE POSITION WILL CONTINUE CURRENT PROGRAM RESPONSIBILITIES AND WILL IMPLEMENT THE RECOMMENDATIONS AS SET FORTH IN THE MATRIX, UH, FIRE AND RESCUE STUDY, UH, WHICH THIS BOARD HAS SEEN, UM, IS THE RECOMMENDATION OF TRANSITIONING OUR FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE TO A COMMUNITY RISK REDUCTION TYPE PROGRAM. 
          THIS POSITION IS CRITICAL IN THE COUNTY'S, UM, EFFORTS FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, UH, COMMUNITY SAFETY AND COMMUNITY RISK REDUCTION. 
          UH, IT'S PROPOSED THAT WE, UH, BACKFILL THIS POSITION AT A PREVIOUSLY HELD CAPTAIN'S RANK. 
          UM, THAT IS $127,000 REQUEST, WHICH INCLUDES ALL OPERATIONAL SOFT COSTS, UH, AND ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT POSITION. 
          UM, AND IF WE BACKFILL THAT POSITION, UM, WE'LL NEED TO ADD A VEHICLE TO THE FLEET. 
          CURRENTLY, YOUR ASSISTANT CHIEF MAINTAINS THE FIRE MARSHAL VEHICLE, WHICH IS A SPECIALIZED VEHICLE THAT CARRIES THE TOOLS, EQUIPMENT, ET CETERA, ASSOCIATED WITH INVESTIGATIONS, CODE ENFORCEMENT, ET CETERA. 
          UH, SO WE WOULD TRANSITION THE ASSISTANT FIRE CHIEF TO A SUV, AND THE FIRE MARSHAL WOULD CONTINUE TO UTILIZE THE ASSIGNED PICKUP TRUCK FOR THAT. 
          OKAY, MOVING ON TO THE TRUCK. 
          10, UH, THE AERIAL LADDER REPLACEMENT. 
          UM, THE REQUEST IS FOR $2,200,000, UM, ASKING TO COMMIT 550,000 HOURS EACH FISCAL YEAR. 
          WE'RE SEEKING COMMITMENT OF FUNDS AUTHORIZED TO ORDER. 
          THE TOTAL IS NOT DUE UNTIL THE ANTICIPATED DELIVERY DATE OF 30 31 WITH A FOUR YEAR BUILD TIME OR TURNAROUND TIME FOR CONSTRUCTION AND DELIVERY. 
          THIS REPLACES THE 2011 105 FOOT AERIAL LADDER TRUCK THAT'S CURRENTLY ASSIGNED TO NORTH WARREN. 
          UM, THE CURRENT ASSET IS APPROXIMATELY 38, OR JUST SHY OF 40,000 MILES AND 2,800 ENGINE HOURS AND 300 PUMP HOURS. 
          UM, NFPA SITES THAT AFTER 15 YEARS OF SERVICE, IT SHOULD BE REPLACED. 
          UM, OF NOTE, THIS TRUCK SPECIFICALLY HAS BEEN IN, OUT OF THE SHOP FOR SOME SIGNIFICANT COST, UH, MOST RECENTLY ANOTHER. 
          SO IN ADDITION TO THAT, ON PAGE 18, I DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO A TANKER REPLACEMENT IN THE LINDEN, UM, FIREHOUSE OR FIRE STATION FOUR. 
          UM, IT'S AN $800,000 REQUEST. 
          THE PAYMENT DUE, AGAIN, IS AT THE TIME OF DELIVERY. 
          UM, THIS REPLACES A PETERBILT TANKER OF 2100 GALLONS OVER 40,000 MILES AND 3000 ENGINE HOURS. 
          AGAIN, THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS FOR ABOUT A THREE YEAR BUILD TIME. 
          IT'S GOT 23 YEARS OF AGE AT THE TIME OF ANTICIPATED DELIVERY THROUGH OUR ASSET REPLACEMENT. 
          WE ALSO SEEK AN EMERGENCY VEHICLE, SO ANOTHER SUV, TO REPLACE OUR, UH, CURRENT EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT VEHICLE. 
          THAT HAS BEEN A HAND ME DOWN THROUGH ADMINISTRATION. 
          UM, THAT IS A CHEVY TAHOE THAT IS CURRENTLY ASSIGNED TO OUR DEPUTY EMERGENCY COORDINATOR. 
          UH, THIS WILL CREATE A PUSH DOWN EFFECT. 
          UH, SO THE, UH, THE VEHICLE THAT YOU SEE PICTURED IS THE FORMER BATTALION CHIEF VEHICLE THAT HAS MOVED TO A RESERVE STATUS WITHIN THE FLEET. 
          UM, WE WILL FINALLY, UH, I KNOW ALYSSA WILL SMILE WHEN I SAY THIS. 
          WE'LL FINALLY SELL THE, UM, SUBURBAN THIS YEAR. 
          UH, NOW THAT WE HAVE THE NEW, UM, UH, BATTALION CHIEF VEHICLE IN THE FLEET, UM, THAT IS ONE OF THE OLDEST VEHICLES WITHIN OUR FLEET, BUT WE CONTINUE TO HANG ONTO IT BECAUSE OF REPAIRS AND THE NECESSITIES. 
          UM, SO WE WILL BASICALLY PUT, CREATE A PUSH DOWN EFFECT. 
          UM, THE CURRENT 
          [01:20:01]
EM VEHICLE WILL GO TO RESERVE, AND IT INCREASES OUR U RE SUV RESERVE BY TWO, UH, OR TO TWO TOTAL SUV RESERVES IN THE DEPARTMENT. 
          CURRENTLY, UH, WE HAVE STAFF UTILIZING PERSONAL VEHICLES FOR DAILY BUSINESS, UM, WITHIN ADMINISTRATION, SPECIFICALLY WHEN WE HAVE VEHICLES GO OUT FOR MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR. 
          UM, OBVIOUSLY THAT'S NOT GOOD WHEN THEY ARE EMERGENCY RESPONDERS. 
          IF THEY'RE OUT IN THEIR POV UTILIZING OR DOING ACTIVITY, THEY LOSE THAT EMERGENCY RESPONSE CAPABILITIES. 
          SO WE FIND OURSELVES IN THE NEED TO, AS WE CONTINUE TO GROW, ADDING AN ADDITIONAL, UM, SUV IN THE RESERVE FLEET. 
          SO OUR OTHER INITIATIVES, UH, FOR FISCAL YEAR 27, UH, PREDOMINANTLY, UH, THESE WILL ALL BE UTILIZED THROUGH OUR OPERATING BUDGET. 
          BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO MENTION, UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR OMD CONTRACTS SPECIFICALLY AS IT RELATES TO, UH, $4,000 TO COVER THE MEDICAL MALPRACTICE INSURANCE, UM, THAT, THAT OMD CARRIES, UH, TO PERFORM IN THAT CAPACITY FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICES. 
          UH, WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR COUNTY ADMINISTRATION AND OUR HUMAN RESOURCES TEAM TO CHANGE OUR SCHEDULING SYSTEM. 
          CURRENTLY, WE UTILIZE AN ELECTRONIC SCHEDULING SYSTEM FOR THE DAILY OPERATIONS OF OUR DEPARTMENT. 
          THAT SYSTEM DOES NOT COMMUNICATE WITH THE HR PAYROLL SYSTEM. 
          THERE IS A SYSTEM OUT THERE THAT COMMUNICATES WITH OUR PAYROLL SYSTEM AND SCHEDULING SYSTEM. 
          SO RIGHT NOW, IT CREATES REDUNDANT WORK ON THE STAFF MEMBER, AND PARTICULARLY THE SUPERVISORS, OUR HR DEPARTMENT, AS WELL AS OUR ADMINISTRATION TEAM. 
          SO WE WOULD HAVE TO EITHER GO IN AND STAFF HAS TO MANUALLY ENTER THEIR TIME CARD. 
          WE HAVE TO DO A VERIFICATION OF THAT TIME CARD, BASICALLY PULLING UP THE SCHEDULING SYSTEM AND COMPARING IT TO THE TIME CARD FOR 70 EMPLOYEES EVERY PAY CYCLE TO ENSURE THAT THERE'S NO MALFEASANCE IN EVERYBODY'S TIMECARDS FILLED OUT CORRECTLY. 
          UH, WHEREAS IF WE LEVERAGED TECHNOLOGY, IT WOULD BE A COMPATIBLE SYSTEM, AND THE COMPUTER DOES ALL OF THE WORK FOR YOU. 
          UH, SO WE CONTINUE TO EXPLORE THAT OPTION. 
          UM, THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT UPFRONT COST TO IMPLEMENT THAT. 
          THE ANNUAL COST IS PRETTY COMPARABLE TO WHAT WE'RE PAYING RIGHT NOW. 
          UM, FOR THE, UM, NON, UM, I DON'T WANNA SAY COMPLIANT, BUT THE, FOR THE CURRENT SYSTEM WE'RE UTILIZING, THAT DOES NOT COMMUNICATE WITH OUR PAYROLL SIDE OF THE HOUSE. 
          SO, UH, WE WILL EX CONTINUE TO EXPLORE THAT IN THE FY 27. 
          UH, WE FIND OURSELVES WITHIN THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT AND ALL OF OUR COUNTY FACILITIES, UH, THE COUNTY'S PUBLIC ACCESS AEDS CONTINUE TO AGE THE VERY A ED THAT'S PROTECTING YOU JUST OUTSIDE OF THE OUTSIDE OF THIS ROOM. 
          AND THE HALLWAY CONTINUES TO AGE. 
          UH, SO THE FIRE AND RESCUE DEPARTMENT CONTINUES TO WORK WITH OUR COUNTY ADMINISTRATION TO DEVELOP A PROGRAM AND THE FUNDING TO BE ABLE TO BRING ALL OF THOSE LIFESAVING DEVICES UNDER THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE FIRE AND RESCUE DEPARTMENT SO WE CAN ENSURE THE APPROPRIATE MAINTENANCE, REPAIRS, CHECKS, ET CETERA. 
          WITH ALL OF THOSE DEVICES WITHIN OUR VOLUNTEER SYSTEM, WE WANT TO CREATE A COUNTYWIDE HOSE PROGRAM. 
          UH, STILL CURRENTLY, THE ACQUISITION OF FIRE HOSE IS A STATION RESPONSIBILITY FROM OUR VOLUNTEER LEVEL. 
          UM, WE DO THE ANNUAL TESTING AND COMPLIANCE CHECKS ON ALL OF OUR HOSE AT THE COUNTY LEVEL. 
          UH, BUT WHAT WE HAVE IS WE HAVE AN EX, UH, AN EXUBERANT AMOUNT OF A EXTRA FIRE HOSE IN EACH FACILITY. 
          SO IF ONE STATION GOES TO A FIRE, THEY HAVE ENOUGH FIRE HOSE IN THEIR BUILDING TO REPLACE THE FIRE HOSE THAT IS OUT OF SERVICE BECAUSE IT'S WET, OR IT'S BEEN WASHED OR IT'S CONTAMINATED. 
          WHAT WE WANNA DO IS BRING ALL OF THE STATION'S ASSETS TOGETHER, MERGE IT VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE DID WITH THE PPE PROGRAM. 
          AND NOW IT IS A COUNTYWIDE PROGRAM TO REPLACE FIRE HOSE. 
          SO WE DON'T HAVE INDIVIDUAL STATIONS OUTSPENDING OR BUYING AN EXCESSIVE AMOUNT OF FIRE HOSE WHEN THIS STATION OVER HERE HAS ENOUGH THAT THEY COULD HAVE USED. 
          SO CURRENTLY OUR VOLUNTEER SYSTEM IS, UH, EXCITED TO PURSUE THAT PROGRAM. 
          UH, AGAIN, IT'S JUST LIKE THE PPE PROGRAM AND WE ANTICIPATE THAT WE CAN USE AID TO LOCALITY FUNDS TO START THAT PROGRAM, UM, AND CONTINUE, CONTINUE IT MOVING FORWARD THROUGH THE FISCAL YEAR. 
          I DO WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT THIS CONTINUES. 
          OUR FY 27 REQUEST CONTINUES, UM, 
          [01:25:01]
BUILDING OUR CANCER PROTECTION FUNDS FOR THOSE LIFESAVING SERVICES THAT THE COUNTY OFFERS TO OUR CAREER AND VOLUNTEER RESPONDERS, UH, AND THE PROTECTIONS WE PROVIDE EVERY DAY, AS WELL AS CONTINUE FUNDING FIRE STATION ENHANCEMENTS, UH, THROUGHOUT OUR SYSTEM. 
          SO, UH, LOOKING AT THIS SLIDE MATRIX, FIRE AND RESCUE STUDY AND STRATEGIC PLANNING, UM, OUR ADVOCATION IS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE MATRIX FIRE AND RESCUE STUDY, UM, AS IDENTIFIED IN THE FINAL REPORT, AND THIS IS PENDING, THE FIRE CHIEF'S ADVISORY STAFF SUPPORT, WHICH I BELIEVE IS THE 18TH OF THIS MONTH, COMPLETE THE FIRE AND RESCUE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS TO IDENTIFY VIABLE MEANS TO ACHIEVE, OR, YOU KNOW, NOW JUST THE WHY, BUT THE HOW, WHAT THE RECOMMENDATION'S GONNA LOOK LIKE, AND THE COST IMPLICATIONS THEREOF, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF APPARATUS AND REPLACEMENT AND FACILITIES MANAGEMENT SCHEDULE WITH COST ESTIMATES FOR FUTURE BUDGET PLANNING. 
          SO THE HOPE THERE IS WE'LL HAVE A SCHEDULE. 
          UM, AND WITH THAT SCHEDULE, WITH THE ABSENT OF INDEXING, EVERYBODY WILL UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR AND WHY. 
          SO AGAIN, OUR BUDGET PLANNING PROCESS, I DO WANT TO TAKE A QUICK MOMENT AND, UH, PROVIDE A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR FIRE ADMINISTRATION TEAM, UH, AND MEMBERS THROUGHOUT OUR FIRE AND RESCUE SYSTEM, BOTH OUR CAREER MEMBERS AND OUR VOLUNTEER PARTNERS. 
          UH, UNDERSTANDING, UM, THAT THIS BOARD WAS GONNA BE CHALLENGED THIS YEAR WITH A VERY TIGHT BUDGET YEAR, UH, REALLY HAVING EVERYBODY FOCUS ON MISSION CRITICAL, UH, SERVICES EVALUATING WHERE WE CAN PINCH EVERY PENNY POSSIBLE. 
          UM, ASHLEY SETTLE OUR ACCOUNTING TECHNICIAN WITHIN FIRE ADMINISTRATION. 
          UM, STILL RELATIVELY NEW TO THE POSITION, I THINK, UH, ABOUT A YEAR NOW. 
          ASHLEY ARE, ARE YOU, NOT QUITE A YEAR, BUT, UH, UH, HER TAKING ON THAT RESPONSIBILITY AND ABSORBING THAT OUR FINANCE TEAM FOR THE COPIOUS AMOUNT OF QUESTIONS THAT WE'VE HAD, BUT REALLY OUR BUDGET PLANNING PROCESS TO LOOK AT, UH, A CORE, UH, MISSION, MISSION CRITICAL SERVICES, UH, AND FOLLOWING OUR CONTINUED BUDGET PLANNING PROCESS, REALLY ASKING OUR PROGRAM MANAGERS TO COME TO THE TABLE AND, UM, HAVE THAT CONCEPT IN MIND HAS BEEN, UH, TRULY GREAT TO, UH, UTILIZE A, A MULTIFACETED LOOK AT OUR BUDGET AND IT NOT BEING CREATED IN A SILO OR A VACUUM. 
          UH, SO AS WE LOOK AT PAGE 23, THAT JUST SUMMARIZES, UM, ALL OF THE INFORMATION WHICH WE TALKED ABOUT. 
          AND OBVIOUSLY WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS WHICH YOU MAY HAVE. 
          I'D LIKE TO MAKE NOTE THAT WHEN THE, UH, WHEN JERRY TALKED ABOUT THE A ED AND ITS AGING, HE LOOKED DIRECTLY AT ME, , IT'S 'CAUSE SOMEBODY MADE ABOUT SEVEN HAIR JOKES THIS WEEK. 
          SO I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T SAY YOU, I SAID SOMEBODY QUESTIONS ALL IN FAVOR SAY, AYE. 
          OH, WE'RE NOT TO THAT PART. 
          WE'RE NOT TO THAT PART YET. 
          YOU GOTTA GET DRESSED UP A WHOLE LOT MORE THAN THAT FOR, WERE YOU TALKING ABOUT ADJOURNMENT, , ? CAN I JUST CLARIFY THAT, THAT ON THE, ON THE TRUCK 10, WHAT IS BEING REQUESTED THIS YEAR IS FIVE 50. 
          YOU'RE JUST, YOU'RE TRYING TO GET FIVE 50 A YEAR FOR FOUR YEARS IN A ROW WITH THE DELIVERY BEING FOUR YEARS OUT. 
          OKAY. 
          UNLESS YOU'VE GOT 2.2 LAYING AROUND, WE'LL TAKE IT ON NOW. 
          NO, THE TANKER IS DIFFERENT. 
          THE TANKERS ALL AT ONCE. 
          NO, IT'S THREE YEARS. 
          WE HAVE THREE, THREE YEARS. 
          WE CAN DIVIDE THAT BY THREE TIME WITH IT BEING AT DELIVERY AS IT'S, IT'S DUE THEN, BUT THE SAME FORMULA, IF YOU WILL. 
          OKAY. 
          EARMARK A PERCENTAGE THERE FOR THREE YEARS. 
          SO THE, I KNOW WE DID PUMPER, TANKERS. 
          MM-HMM . 
          WE'RE STILL GOING TO, BECAUSE I THOUGHT WE WERE PHASING OUT BIG TANKERS FOR PUMPER TANKERS WAS CONVERSATION BEFORE. 
          I GUESS I MISUNDERSTOOD THAT. 
          NO, WHICH WORRIED ME BECAUSE I SEE THE NEED FOR OUT IN THE COUNTY FOR BIG TANKERS. 
          UM, SO THE THOUGHT PROCESS IS, UM, THE SUPER TANKER CONCEPT WOULD REMAIN, BUT NOT AS MANY. 
          UM, AND THE PUMPER TANKER CONCEPT IS IN LIEU OF AN ENGINE. 
          SO BASICALLY YOU HAVE THAT MUCH MORE WATER TO OPERATE ON A FIRE GROUND BECAUSE THE BOOSTER TANK, ALONG WITH SOME OTHER THINGS ARE THAT MUCH MORE SO, ESPECIALLY IN A, UM, NON HYDROGEN AREA. 
          SO THAT'S THE THOUGHT PROCESS BEHIND IT. 
          YES, MA'AM. 
          I KNEW IT WAS REPLACING OUT SOMETHING. 
          I JUST, UM, I, I'LL BE HONEST, I'VE GOT, 
          [01:30:01]
I GOT A LOT OF QUESTIONS, UM, YOU KNOW, BEEN TRYING TO DO A LITTLE RESEARCH AND, AND SO FORTH, UM, ON SURROUNDING COUNTIES AND, UM, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE IT'S, IT'S GOOD TO SEE WHAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, HOW WE DO COMPARE UP TO THE DIFFERENT, OUR CLOSEST SURROUNDING 'CAUSE WE'RE NOT GONNA COMPARE UP, UM, TO LOUDOUN AND, AND THOSE, THOSE COUNTIES. 
          ALTHOUGH I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE, UH, LAST YEAR THAT FAIRFAX WAS REALLY CUTTING DEEP. 
          UM, 'CAUSE FAIRFAX IS ALWAYS SEEN AS, UM, VERY DEEP POCKETS. 
          SO SEEING THAT THEY WERE ACTUALLY CUTTING POSITIONS AND CONSOLIDATING, UM, SURPRISED ME. 
          AND I JUST SAW WHERE ARLINGTON IS LOOKING TO CONSOLIDATE, UM, DEPARTMENTS. 
          SO IT KINDA MAKES YOU WONDER, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S GOING ON IN THESE AREAS THAT USUALLY ARE WELL, UH, FUNDED FOR, FOR THIS. 
          SO, UM, IT'S JUST A POINT OF CLARITY. 
          ARLINGTON'S NOT LOOKING TO CONSOLIDATE DEPARTMENTS. 
          THEY'RE LOOKING TO REDUCE ONE RESCUE. 
          WELL, YEAH, BUT THAT'S SURPRISING TO ME THAT THEY, THEY'RE DOING THAT IS MY, MY POINT HERE. 
          UM, BECAUSE LIKE I SAID, YOU KNOW, THEY USUALLY ARE WELL FUNDED AND JUST IN DOING A LITTLE RESEARCH, WHAT, WHAT IS, I WAS TRYING TO GET THAT OUT OF OURS. 
          IT LOOKS LIKE OUR AVERAGE PAY IS WHAT, BECAUSE I KNOW WE DO STIPENDS AND THINGS FOR THE HIGHER LEVEL AN EMT VERSUS A PARAMEDIC. 
          AND YOU'VE GOT AN INCREASE HERE OF EVEN THAT. 
          SO IF I'D LIKE TO SEE WHAT THE SALARY SCALES ARE, YOU KNOW, FOR THE DIFFERENT LEVELS. 
          SO WOULD I, UM, THE STARTING SALARY FOR US RIGHT NOW IS ADVERTISED AT $51,000 A YEAR. 
          OKAY. 
          AND TO KEEP IN MIND, IN THE INTEREST OF THE MARKET SEGMENT, SO TO, TO USE YOUR ANALOGY, IF YOU LOOK AT FREDERICK, LET'S, LET'S TALK ABOUT THE COUNTIES THAT TOUCH US, RIGHT? MM-HMM . 
          UM, WINCHESTER. 
          I WOULD ALSO SAY WITHIN THERE, AND I WOULD ALSO SAY FALL CARE YOU GOTTA THROW IN THERE AS WELL, UM, SHENANDOAH, ALL OF THOSE BEING SAID, I THINK THAT THE WHOLE SYSTEM NEEDS A GOOD LOOK AT CLASS AND COMPENSATION. 
          NOT JUST ON THE ENTRY LEVEL, BUT THE WHOLE, UM, TO LOOK AT OTHER POSITIONS WITHIN THE RANKS TO INCLUDE A JOURNEYMAN POSITION, TECHNICIAN, MASTER TECH, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL. 
          AND THEN LOOK AT THE SALARY IN COMPARISON. 
          AND I WOULD ALSO SAY, I THINK YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT HOW THEY GET THEIR GRADE AND STEPS VERSUS OTHER MEANS THAT I'VE SEEN, YOU KNOW, AND A SUNDRY OF TO INCLUDE BEING ABLE TO BE PROMOTED WITHIN RANGES. 
          SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I I THINK A COUPLE, AND IF YOU LOOK AT OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM AS AN EXAMPLE, I THINK THEY'VE DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB OF DOING CLASS GRADE IN STEPS TO STAY COMPETITIVE. 
          SO THEN THE CONVERSATION BECOMES THAT ABSENT BEING PROMOTED, UM, THE CONVERSATION IS KNOWN FROM THE, FROM THE EMPLOYEE WHAT THEY'RE GONNA MAKE ON YEAR 13, ABSENT INDEXING MM-HMM . 
          SO I WOULD HAVE THAT AS A SUGGESTION TO YOU MOVING AHEAD. 
          UM, BUT WHATEVER COMPARISON AND CONTRAST WE CAN GET WITH THE SURROUNDING JURISDICTIONS, I WOULD WELCOME. 
          BUT I WOULD SAY DON'T JUST LOOK AT ONE END OF THE TAIL. 
          DON'T LOOK AT THE ENTRY LEVEL. 
          YOU GOTTA LOOK AT THE HOLE. 
          BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T INGEST IT ALL, WHAT HAPPENS IS YOU WILL CAUSE COMPRESSION AND ALSO LEAPFROGGING. 
          AND GOD FORBID I'VE LIVED THAT NIGHTMARE. 
          SO, AND JUST, AND ALSO ANOTHER POINT AS WELL, UH, CHAIR COLORS IS BE CAREFUL HOW WE ANALYZE IT WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT. 
          SO IF, JUST AS AN EXAMPLE, IF WE TAKE WARREN COUNTY FIRE RESCUE AND COMPARE IT TO SHENANDOAH COUNTY, WE COULD SAY, OH, WELL WARREN COUNTY'S PRETTY COMPARABLE TO SHENANDOAH COUNTY. 
          WARREN COUNTY'S FIREFIGHTERS ARE PAID ON A 53 HOUR WORK WEEK. 
          WHEREAS SHENANDOAH COUNTY'S PAID ON A 42 HOUR WORK WEEK. 
          SO WHILE THE ANNUAL SALARY IS COMPARABLE, THE HOURLY RATE OF THE EMPLOYEE IN SHENANDOAH IS MUCH HIGHER BECAUSE IT'S LESS HOURS WORKED. 
          RIGHT. 
          SAME THING IN LOUDOUN COUNTY. 
          NOT ONLY DOES LOUDOUN COUNTY MAKE THIS MUCH MORE THAN WARREN COUNTY, THEY'RE BASING THEIRS OFF OF A 42 HOUR WORK WEEK, NOT A 53 HOUR WORK WEEK. 
          SO, UH, WE DO HAVE A PRETTY GOOD DOCUMENT I THINK WE CAN SHARE. 
          IT MAY NOT BE COMPLETELY UPDATED 'CAUSE WE CAN ONLY GET THE INFORMATION IN WHICH THEY PROVIDE. 
          AND IT'S A SHOW US WHAT YOUR WORK WEEK IS. 
          SHOW US WHAT YOUR, UH, UH, A LS CERTIFICATION PAY IS. 
          WHAT IS YOUR STARTING SALARY? WHAT IS YOUR, UH, VRS UM, MULTIPLIER. 
          MULTIPLIER, RIGHT? SO LOOKING AT ALL OF THOSE THINGS, SO YOU'RE DOING A TRUE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS MM-HMM . 
          NOT JUST LOOKING AT THAT BOTTOM DOLLAR, BECAUSE THAT CAN REALLY SKEW THINGS IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT THAT BOTTOM DOLLAR, THEY'RE WORKING ALMOST 150 LESS HOURS A YEAR AS AN EMPLOYEE 
          [01:35:01]
COMPARED TO OURS AS AN EXAMPLE. 
          AND, AND I WOULD APPRECIATE ALL THAT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WHEN I FIRST CAME ON, AND I, I WANNA GIVE CREDIT THAT THAT HAS CHANGED. 
          IT WAS, UM, TO INCREASE THE SALARY. 
          YOU BASICALLY DID A PROMOTION INSTEAD OF HAVING THAT PROGRESSION OF MOVING UP IN FROM AN EMT TO A PARAMEDIC AND, AND THAT KIND OF PROGRESSION FOR AN INCREASED SALARY, WHICH I THINK IS, UH, YOU KNOW, YES, IT COST US SOME TO DO THE EDUCATIONAL PART, BUT WE'RE BENEFITING MORE AS YOU ESCALATE UP FROM AN ENT, THE SERVICES PROVIDED. 
          SO THOSE ARE THE KIND OF THINGS THAT YOU'RE RIGHT, WHEN I LOOK AT, BECAUSE I DID GOOGLE, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH FREDERICK COUNTY AND CITY OF WINCHESTER AND ENTRY, YOU KNOW, IT'S A NUMBER. 
          THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, THEY START AT 53 TO GO TO 88, BUT WHAT DOES THAT ENTAIL? I REALLY DON'T KNOW BECAUSE THE DETAILS AREN'T THERE. 
          UH, 66 TO 108 FOR WINCHESTER CITY. 
          RIGHT. 
          SAME THING. 
          I REALLY DON'T KNOW, BUT, AND WHICH I, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW, AND WHICH THAT INDIFFERENCE TOO IS, IS WHAT THOSE LOCALITIES ARE NOW DOING. 
          UM, THEY'RE POACHING OUR EMPLOYEES, WELL, THEY'RE ALL NOW DOING SERVICE CREDIT. 
          SO IF YOU HAVE FIVE YEARS IN A CAREER DEPARTMENT, YOU DON'T COME IN AT THE ENTRY LEVEL SALARY YOU'RE COMING IN AT. 
          IF YOU GO FIVE YEARS AND THEY'RE STEPPING GRADE, THAT'S WHERE THEY'RE STARTING YOU. 
          RIGHT. 
          SO IT JUST, IT, IT'S, IT'S REALLY DANGLING THAT CARROT IN FRONT OF OUR EMPLOYEES FACE SAYING, ALL YOU GOTTA DO IS TAKE A BITE AND WE'LL FEED YOU. 
          RIGHT. 
          SO, UH, SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THOSE WIDE RANGES BECAUSE A LOT OF DEPARTMENTS ARE OFFERING THAT, WHAT THEY CALL LATERAL PROCESS. 
          UH, SOME NEIGHBORING JURISDICTIONS ARE LATERAL PROCESSING OFFICERS. 
          SO WITH TWO YEARS AS A LIEUTENANT IN WARREN COUNTY FIRE AND RESCUE, I'M NOW ELIGIBLE FOR PROMOTION THROUGH THE DOOR IN FAULK, KE COUNTY AS AN EXAMPLE. 
          SO KNOCK ON WOOD, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO HANG ON THROUGH PROVIDING A GOOD WORK ENVIRONMENT FOR OUR STAFF, BUT EVENTUALLY PEOPLE ARE GONNA START TAKING A BITE OF THAT CARROT, SO, RIGHT. 
          WELL, AND I KNOW YOU'RE TRYING SOMETHING NEW WITH THE SCHEDULING AND THAT CONFOUNDS ME TO A CERTAIN DEGREE, UM, OF HOW THAT'S WORKING OUT. 
          AS LONG AS THEY'RE HAPPY WITH IT, I GUESS IT'S ALL GOOD. 
          THEY'RE THE ONES THAT WORK IN THOSE HOURS. 
          BUT THERE TOO IS THE DIFFERENCE, LIKE YOU SAID, OF WHAT, UM, SO WHEN I HEAR WE HAVE TO COMPETE WITH OUR, UM, CLOSEST JURISDICTIONS, I DON'T KNOW HOW I, I NEED MORE DETAILS IN ORDER TO SUPPORT HOW WE ARE REACHING THOSE GOALS AND, YOU KNOW, SO FORTH. 
          SO THAT'S, THAT WOULD BE ONE THING, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, PART OF WHAT I WAS DOING WAS LOOKING AT POPULATION, UM, YOU KNOW, LANDMASS AND, AND I WAS, IT WAS INTERESTING, YOU KNOW, THEIR POPULATION, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS AN ACCURATE, BUT IT WAS AS OF 2024. 
          IT'S 98,109. 
          OURS IS 42 461 AND LANDMASS 413 TO 416 MILES SQUARE MILES FOR FREDERICK. 
          AND THEN OURS IS TWO 15 TO TWO 17. 
          BUT THEN WHEN I SAID, OKAY, HOW MUCH OF THAT IS FEDERAL LAND IN WARREN COUNTY? AND IT EQUATES TO 6.5 SQUARE MILES AND THEN STATE, I DIDN'T REALIZE WE HAD THIS MUCH, BUT 6.64 SQUARE MILES OF STATE LAND. 
          SO WE GOT A, WE GOT A WHOLE LOT OF THAT. 
          UM, THAT IS NOT HOUSES, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE DEALING WITH. 
          SO, UM, AND JUST COMPARING THAT THEY'VE GOT 11 COMPANIES AND 101, WHICH ARE REALLY SURPRISED ME, 101 UNIFORMED AND EIGHT ADMIN. 
          I THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE A WHOLE LOT MORE FOR FREDERICK COUNTY. 
          I WAS REALLY SURPRISED. 
          SO JUST, YOU KNOW, LIKE I SAID, TRYING TO DO SOME COMPARISON. 
          UM, BUT I, I CAN'T GET IT DOWN TO REALLY HAVE A TRUE COMPARISON OF APPLES TO APPLES HERE TOO, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN. 
          AND I, I WANT US TO BE AS COMPETITIVE AS WE CAN. 
          ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WHEN I MET WITH THE UNION, UM, REPS, WAS RETENTION AND RECRUITMENT, UH, YOU KNOW, TO DEAL WITH THOSE GAP INSURANCE YEARS MM-HMM . 
          UM, WHICH IS SOMETHING NOBODY ELSE IS LOOKING AT. 
          AND WHEN YOU'RE YOUNG, YOU DON'T THINK ABOUT RETIREMENT, BUT ONCE YOU GET TO RETIREMENT, YOU WISHED YOU HAD. 
          SO, UM, I'M JUST LOOKING FOR MORE INFORMATION 
          [01:40:03]
TO BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, GET ON BOARD WITH A LOT OF WHAT'S IN HERE AND TO, YOU KNOW, FEEL GOOD ABOUT IT. 
          I, I WANT TO DO THE BEST FOR THIS SYSTEM, BUT TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW, HOW WE CAN, I, I SAID I'M GONNA STOP GOING TO SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS BECAUSE EVERY TIME I GO TO SCHOOL BOARD BEAN, THAT INCREASES BY A MILLION BUCKS. 
          UM, SO THEY'RE UP TO OVER $8 MILLION REQUEST. 
          UM, IT IS JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DIVIDE THE PIE UP. 
          YEP. 
          UM, SO I DON'T WANT ANYBODY TO THINK, I DON'T VALUE FIRE AND RESCUE. 
          I'M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE, WE GOTTA GET YOU THROUGH SCHOOL IN ORDER TO GET YOU INTO THE, THE WORKFORCE, WHETHER IT'S FIRE AND RECU RESCUE OR ANYTHING ELSE. 
          AND TRYING, LIKE I SAID, JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WITH WHAT OUR REVENUE DOLLARS LOOK LIKE AND, UM, DIVIDE THE PIE UP SO EVERYBODY'S HAPPY. 
          AND I DON'T THINK WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO DO THAT VERY WELL. 
          BUT IF, IF I MAY, UM, I JUST WANT TO ACCENTUATE ONE THING THAT ASSISTANT CHIEF MY AT BROUGHT FORWARD. 
          I THINK THE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS HAS TO BE APPLES TO APPLES AND ORANGES TO ORANGES. 
          I THINK THE OTHER THING I WOULD SUGGEST IS NOT ONLY STAYING COMPETITIVE, BUT LOOK AT A WAY WE CAN DISTINGUISH OURSELVES IN THE REGION. 
          UM, I DO AGREE WITH JERRY. 
          UM, I THINK THIS BOARD, THE FOLKS IN THE BACK ROOM, THIS GENTLEMAN ACROSS THE WORLD NEAR OUR BOSS, UM, WE DO A REALLY GOOD JOB OF MAKING THIS A GOOD PLACE TO WORK. 
          AND I MEAN THAT HONESTLY, BUT I SAY THIS TO YOU HONESTLY, IT WILL NOT SUSTAIN ITSELF BECAUSE THE MEN AND WOMEN IN THE BACK, THEY'RE A COMMODITY THAT'S WANTED, ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE WORTHY. 
          AND AS SUCH AS THEIR FAMILIES GROW, THEY WILL LOOK FOR COMPETITIVE WAYS TO TO, TO SUSTAIN THAT AND TO FEED THEIR FAMILIES. 
          I KNOW I WOULD, I WOULD'VE DONE THE SAME THING. 
          AND I STAYED IN THE SAME JURISDICTION FOR 35 YEARS THAT SAID WE WERE POOR WHEN WE STARTED AND THEY MADE A LOT OF MONEY WHEN I LEFT. 
          AND HERE'S WHAT I WOULD TELL YOU IS WHEN WE LEFT, I'M NOT GONNA SAY MORALE WAS ANY HIGHER, BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE JOB IS THE JOB. 
          BUT THE ONE THING IS HOW WE TREAT EACH OTHER. 
          BUT WE'VE GOTTA STAY COMPETITIVE AND LOOK AT A WAY TO DISTINGUISH OURSELVES. 
          SHORTER WORK WEEK INCREASES THE HOURLY WAGE. 
          LOOKING AT WAYS TO FUND. 
          UM, AND, AND I APPRECIATE YOU LOOKING AT THIS, LOOKING AT WAYS TO FUND POTENTIALLY HEALTHCARE FOR SOMEBODY NOT ONLY HELPS YOU ON THE RECRUITMENT END WHEN THEY RETIRE, BUT IT BRINGS YOU THE OLDER GUYS INTO YOU AND GIVES YOU A BALANCE. 
          OKAY? IT MAKES YOU A COMMODITY OF WORTHY AND BRINGING SOME GOOD, YOU KNOW, WISDOM TO YOU. 
          GREAT. 
          AND STEP AND PAY. 
          THAT WAY THEY CAN MAKE AN HONEST DECISION THAT IN 13 YEARS, GIVEN NOTHING ELSE, IF I NEVER GET PROMOTED, I MAKE X AMOUNT OF DOLLARS. 
          MM-HMM . 
          IT ENHANCES THEIR CAREER EARNINGS. 
          AND THE OTHER THING IS, IS INDEX ALONG THE WAY, BUILD IT INTO THE BUDGET TO INDEX. 
          SO ABSENT A COLA OR A MERIT INCREASE, EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS WHAT THEY'RE GONNA GET. 
          I THINK THAT THEREIN LIES THE WAY YOU COULD DISTINGUISH YOURSELF IN THE VALLEY. 
          AND, AND I WOULD ALSO ADD, LOOK AT THE MULTIPLIER. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE AT 1.7. 
          IS THERE A WAY WE CAN LOOK AT INCREASING THE MULTIPLIER IN THE VRS SYSTEM, MAYBE AS A SUBSIDY? I THINK WE DID INCREASE THAT. 
          YOU DID. 
          BUT, BUT AGAIN, YOU'RE AGAIN, NOT COMPETITIVE, HONESTLY, TO LOOK AT A WAY TO INCREASE IT TO AT LEAST 2% A WAY THAT WILL DISTINGUISH YOU IN THE VALLEY. 
          AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO FRONT LOAD THAT EQUATION. 
          I, I SAY THAT TO YOU 'CAUSE I'VE LIVED THIS NIGHTMARE. 
          AND THAT'S A WAY YOU CAN, YOU CAN MOVE THE BATTLESHIP VERSUS THE CARRIER. 
          I USE THAT AS AN HONEST ANALOGY, BUT THOSE ARE WAYS, IN MY OPINION, YOU CAN GET THERE. 
          YOUR POINT ABOUT THE TAX BASE, I'M A CONSTITUENT. 
          YOU HEARD ME SAY IT. 
          I GET IT. 
          I'M GONNA PAY FOR THEM AND THE POLICE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT ALL DAY LONG IN SCHOOLS, WHATEVER YOU ASK ME FOR, I'M GONNA GIVE IT TO YOU. 
          TAKE A STEP BACK FROM THAT. 
          I'M NOT A FOOL. 
          I WOULDN'T DO THAT IN A LOT OF OTHER JURISDICTIONS WHERE I THINK THEY'RE HEAVY FUNDED. 
          THAT'S SIMPLY NOT THE CASE HERE. 
          AND I, AND I, AND I BE THAT, I SAY THAT MR. MR. HENRY AND I, WHEN HE WAS RUNNING FOR OFFICE, HAD A CONVERSATION, JUST A CONVERSATION. 
          AND I SAY, IT COMES TO KEEPING THE FUNCTIONAL CAPACITY WITHIN THIS COUNTY. 
          AND I SAID THIS TO YOU IN COMPLETE HONESTY, WE CAN'T AFFORD TO LOSE THEM. 
          WE CANNOT AFFORD TO LOSE THEM. 
          THIS WILL BECOME A TRAINING HOTBED. 
          THAT'S ALL IT WILL BE UNTIL THEY MOVE ON TO SOMETHING ELSE. 
          SO I TELL YOU, THIS IS AN HONEST GUY, STRAIGHT GUY. 
          IT'S NOT AN EASY THING. 
          'CAUSE EVERYTHING I JUST SAID COSTS SOME MONEY. 
          I GET IT. 
          WE'RE NOT GONNA GET THERE OVERNIGHT. 
          BUT WHEN WE SET OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES, LET'S ALIGN BUDGET SIGNS WITH THE OBJECTIVES TO GET THERE AND STICK TO IT RATHER THAN VACILLATE. 
          THAT'S THE ONLY THING I ASK AS WE MOVE AHEAD. 
          WHETHER WE'RE TALKING ABOUT APPARATUS, WHETHER WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FIXED FACILITIES, SAFE STAFFING, THESE ARE ALL EMERGENCY NEEDS. 
          YOU'VE GOTTA HAVE THIS TO GO TO WORK HERE. 
          AND FRANKLY, IT'S UNSAFE. 
          SO I'LL I'LL LEAVE IT AT THAT. 
          AND, AND THANK YOU. 
          IN FAIRNESS TO HR, THEY'VE BEEN REACHING OUT TO THE SURROUNDING JURISDICTIONS. 
          JERRY DOES A GREAT JOB OF ASKING FRIENDS TO GIVE US STUFF. 
          THEY COME, THEY DON'T WANNA COME OFF STUFF. 
          AND THE REASON IS, IS THEY DON'T WANT US TO KNOW. 
          BECAUSE 
          [01:45:01]
WITH THAT INFORMATION, IT'S POWERFUL BECAUSE WHAT HAPPENS, IT BECOMES FREE AGENCY. 
          SO WHAT I WOULD SAY IS LET'S BE COMPETITIVE AND THEN ALSO LOOK AT A WAY WE CAN DISTINGUISH OURSELVES IN THE REGION AND IT WILL SUSTAIN US. 
          THAT'S WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST. 
          A LOT SAID THERE. 
          I KNOW IT'S COST A LOT OF MONEY. 
          I'M NOT, I'M NOT A FOOL. 
          I GET IT. 
          BUT I'M JUST SUGGESTING TO LOOK AT THAT WAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ANYONE ELSE HAVE, I'D LIKE TO BRING UP A, A TOPIC WHICH IS RELATED TO THIS, AND IT'S THE, AND I DON'T IMAGINE THIS ON THE TABLE THIS FISCAL YEAR, BUT I WANNA BRING UP THE TOPIC OF AN ALTERNATIVE AND STABLE REVENUE FOR A FIRE AND RESCUE BEING, UH, A SEPARATE ITEM IN THE TAX BASE THAT'S REFERENDUM BASED. 
          UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, WHEN I, WHEN I CAME ON, I WAS, I WAS NOTIFIED OF A, AND GIVEN A COPY OF A REPORT THAT WAS GENERATED IN 20 OH 2009, I BELIEVE. 
          MM-HMM . 
          IS THAT RIGHT? IT WAS IT 2009, THE SPRINGFIELD STUDY. 
          YEAH. 
          AND, UM, I BELIEVE TWO YEARS AGO WAS WHEN WE APPROPRIATED FOR A BUMP IN THE NUMBER OF FIREFIGHTERS IN THE SYSTEM. 
          AND, UH, I WAS, YOU KNOW, IT WAS REMARKABLE TO ME. 
          AND ACTUALLY KIND OF DISAPPOINTING THAT 15 YEARS PRIOR, YOU KNOW, AND THE INTERVENING 15 YEARS THAT THAT REPORT HADN'T BEEN ACTED ON. 
          AND THAT, AND I KNOW WHY, BECAUSE EVERY SINGLE YEAR THERE'S, THERE'S BUDGET PRESSURE AND, YOU KNOW, IT, IT IS HIGHLY VARIABLE IN TERMS OF, OF SUPPORTING THE NECESS, THE NECESSARY, UM, I DON'T WANNA SAY NECESSARY GROWTH, BUT I GUESS NECESSARY GROWTH OF, OF THE FIRE AND RESCUE DEPARTMENT. 
          ESPECIALLY GIVEN THAT IT'S BEEN KNOWN, IT'S BEEN TRANSFERRING OUT OF A VOLUNTARY BASED SYSTEM, A RURAL VOLUNTARY SYSTEM INTO A MORE PROFESSIONAL SYSTEM AS THE SORT OF, AS, AS THE POPULATION FILLS OUT. 
          AND I THINK IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING MAYBE EVEN AS SOON AS THIS BUDGET PROCESS IS OVER, MAYBE WITHIN THIS BUDGET PROCESS OR, OR AT SOME POINT WE SHOULD BE PUTTING IT ON OUR AGENDA SPECIFICALLY TO EVALUATE WHETHER TO TALK ABOUT A REFERENDUM TO GET A SPECIFIC FIRE AND RESCUE, UH, WHAT DO THEY CALL IT? DO THEY CALL IT A TAX? I MEAN, UM, FIRE, FIRE LEVY. 
          IT IS, WHAT DO THEY CALL IT? A FIRE LEVEE IS WHAT A LEVEE. 
          I, OKAY. 
          I'VE HEARD LEVY. 
          IT'S JUST A TAX. 
          BUT THE POINT IS THAT PEOPLE WILL GET A, A PRETTY LENGTHY EDUCATION CAMPAIGN ABOUT IT. 
          IT ALLOWS THE, THE FIRE AND RESCUE, UH, UH, PROFESSIONALS TO HAVE AN, UH, AN A LONG EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN WITH THE PUBLIC AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF. 
          AND THEN WE CAN HAVE A, A REFERENDUM. 
          AND WE'VE HAD OTHER REFERENDUMS. THERE'S, YOU KNOW, WE'VE RECENTLY BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE MEALS TAX THING THAT WAS DONE IN 2004. 
          I MEAN, PEOPLE CAN MAKE A DECISION TO DO SOMETHING. 
          AND, UM, I THINK THERE SHOULD BE A PRIORITY FOR US TO GET THAT UNDER CONSIDERATION PRETTY QUICKLY. 
          UM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT'S TOO LATE THIS YEAR, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE SEE THESE NUMBERS, THEY'RE BIG NUMBERS, THEY ARE KIND OF OVERWHELMING NUMBERS, YOU KNOW, IT NEEDS TO BE SYSTEMATIZED, I BELIEVE. 
          SO I THINK THAT I WOULD LIKE THIS BOARD TO GET THAT ON OUR AGENDA, TO FIGURE OUT A PATH TO EVALUATING THAT THOROUGHLY. 
          SEE IF THAT'S THE WAY, THE WAY TO GO, RATHER THAN EVERY YEAR WE'RE A LITTLE BIT FURTHER BEHIND. 
          WE'RE A LITTLE BIT FURTHER BEHIND, WE'RE A LITTLE BIT FURTHER BEHIND. 
          AND, UM, WE ALL FEEL IT. 
          WE ALL FEEL IT FROM BOTH SIDES. 
          UM, BUT I THINK THAT OPENING THE PROCESS TO THE PUBLIC IN TERMS OF A REFERENDUM, SAY, THIS IS THE WAY OUR, OUR COUNTY HAS BEEN CHANGING OVER THESE YEARS, AND THIS IS WHERE IT'S CHANGING THE NEXT MANY YEARS. 
          UH, DOES THE PUBLIC SIGN UP FOR IT? AND IF THEY DON'T, THEN THEN WE HAVE, WE WE'RE JUST THROWING BACK INTO RIGHT, THE DISCRETIONARY, UH, VYING UP OF THIS LIMITED PIE EVERY YEAR. 
          SO THAT'S REALLY ALL I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT IT. 
          APPRECIATE THE, THE WORK, UM, THAT GOES INTO THIS. 
          AND, UM, I AGREE WITH WHAT YOU'RE, UM, PROPOSING, JUST THAT THE BOARD LOOK AT OPTIONS FOR, UH, SIGNIFICANT STEP CHANGE IN, IN FUNDING, UH, FOR THE LONG HAUL. 
          UH, AND I THINK THE LEVY IS, IS IDEAL, BUT ALSO I BELIEVE YOU ALL GAVE US STATISTICS A COUPLE YEARS AGO ON THE PROBABILITY OF THAT PASSING A REFERENDUM VERSUS, UM, VERSUS A BOND. 
          UH, UM, AND A BOND REFERENDUM, I THINK ALSO SHOULD BE CONSIDERED. 
          YEAH, ON THE ONE HAND IT'S A ONE-OFF INJECTION. 
          IT'S NOT RECURRING EVERY YEAR, BUT IT COULD HELP A LOT WITH THESE TRUCKS, FOR EXAMPLE, AND, AND A FEW OTHER THE CA CAPITAL NEEDS. 
          YEAH. 
          WELL, UM, AND, UH, WE SHOULD INCLUDE THAT I THINK IN ANY STUDY, OR I DON'T EVEN WANT TO SAY STUDY, 
          [01:50:01]
BECAUSE THAT IMPLIES IT WILL TAKE FOREVER. 
          BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, ANY RESEARCH THAT WE DO INTO OPTIONS, I THINK THAT WOULD BE WORTH INCLUDING. 
          UM, AND I DO THINK THAT THE TIMING IS, IS GOOD RIGHT NOW FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS. 
          ONE IS THAT THE, THE COUNTY'S DEBT LOAD IS, UH, IT'S COME DOWN A DECENT AMOUNT IN THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, AND IT'S ABOUT TO HAVE A STEP FUNCTION DECREASE TOO. 
          SO, YEAH. 
          YEAH, EXACTLY. 
          THERE'S, UH, SEVERAL THINGS THAT ARE, ARE GOING TO ROLL OFF THE BOOKS IN THE NEXT YEAR OR TWO. 
          UM, AND THEN SECONDLY, JUST HAVING THE MATRIX STUDY IN OUR BACK POCKET REALLY PROVIDES THE DATA TO BACK IT UP. 
          YOU KNOW, THE, TO BACK UP THE ASK. 
          UM, AND IT, IT WOULD BE GOOD TO TO KNOW THE ODDS OF PASSAGE THOUGH OF, UM, OF A LEVY VERSUS A BOND REFERENDUM. 
          SO, OR, OR MAYBE A COMBINATION OF BOTH. 
          BUT I AGREE THAT ALSO SHOULD BE ON THE TABLE FOR, FOR EVALUATION AS ALTERNATIVES. 
          UM, AND A EITHER TWO YEARS OR THREE YEARS FROM NOW OR DEBT LOAD IS GONNA DECREASE BY OUR ANNUAL OBLIGATION BY ABOUT $3 MILLION. 
          UM, AND, YOU KNOW, KNOWING NOW THE, WHAT THESE OBLIGATIONS ARE AND THAT WE'RE FALLING BEHIND ON THEM, IT'S ALMOST LIKE PLANNING TO SPEAK FOR THAT MONEY BEFORE IT BECOMES AVAILABLE, RATHER THAN IT BECOMING AVAILABLE AND THEN HAVING A, YOU KNOW, A DECISION AT, AT, YOU KNOW, WHERE THESE THINGS CAN GET LEFT OFF AGAIN. 
          SO THANK YOU. 
          AND I THINK WE HAVE A REALLY GOOD OPPORTUNITY AS WELL AS WE KIND OF HIGHLIGHTED IN, IN THE BUDGET PRESENTATION AND, AND WE TALK FOLLOWING OUR, UH, FIRE CHIEF'S ADVISORY STAFF, WHICH YOU'LL, YOU'LL HEAR MORE ON, UH, WHEN WE'RE READY TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS, BRINGING THIS STUDY BACK TO THE BOARD. 
          AND THAT'S OUR STRATEGIC PLAN. 
          AND OUR STRATEGIC PLAN WILL HAVE HEAVY COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT, QUITE FRANKLY. 
          WE CAN EVALUATE WHAT THE COMMUNITY'S INTEREST IS IN THOSE ALTERNATIVE FUNDING STREAMS AS PART OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN. 
          SO AS WE'RE CREATING THIS PLAN, AS PART OF THE PLAN, WE CAN ALSO CREATE HOW TO FUND, RIGHT, WHAT OUR FUNDING OPTIONS ARE FOR STRATEGIC PLAN IMPLEMENTATION. 
          MR. STAN MEYER, YOU SAY, HEY, YOU'VE, YOU SAW US EVERY YEAR. 
          WE TRACK WHAT REFERENDUMS GO THROUGH, UM, THE ELECTION CYCLE AND UM, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS FOR LOCALITIES THROUGH VIRGINIA. 
          AND WE PUT THAT IN A UNIFIED DOCUMENT SPECIFICALLY AS IT RELATES TO FIRE AND EMS FUNDING, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUNDING, ET CETERA. 
          AND WHAT THE COMMUNITY SUPPORT WAS FOR EACH ONE OF THOSE. 
          RIGHT. 
          UH, THE LOUDOUN COUNTIES, ARLINGTON COUNTIES, FAIRFAX COUNTIES EVERY YEAR HAVE SOME TYPE OF REFERENDUM THEY PASS EVERY YEAR. 
          IT'S THE SMALLER LOCALITIES THROUGHOUT VIRGINIA THAT UTILIZE THIS AS A, AS A DECISION MAKING PROCESS TO PUT SOMETHING ON THE BALLOT TO SEE IF THERE'S COMMUNITY INTEREST OR THE ONES THAT WE REALLY WATCH CLOSE. 
          ARE YOU WILLING TO DO THIS FOR THIS? RIGHT. 
          AND HISTORICALLY, PUBLIC SAFETY SEEMS LIKE IT CONTINUES TO SUCCEED. 
          UH, WITHIN THESE, YOU HAVE THE ONE-OFF SHEO COUNTY TRIED TO DO A, A MEALS TAX SPECIFIC TO PUBLIC SAFETY, AND THAT WAS DEFEATED, BUT I THINK THAT THAT WAS JUST PASSED THIS YEAR. 
          SO, UM, SO WE CONTINUE TO WATCH THOSE TYPES OF THINGS, UM, TO BE ABLE TO GIVE THIS BOARD SOME SUGGESTIONS ON WHAT SOME ALTERNATIVE FUNDING ARE, IE CIGARETTE TAX AS AN EXAMPLE, AND HOW CAN THAT CIGARETTE TAX BENEFIT, FIRE APPARATUS REPLACEMENT? AND, YOU KNOW, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS. 
          IF WE WERE A BENEFACTOR OF THAT PROGRAM, QUITE FRANKLY, WE'VE ALREADY STARTED, WE TALKED ABOUT THE ASSET OR THE, UH, FIRE APPARATUS, THE, THE VEHICLE REPLACEMENT SCHEDULE, ET CETERA. 
          AND, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE NEVER HISTORICALLY MONITORED WAS THE AGE OF OUR VOLUNTEER APPARATUS, BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN A VOLUNTEER STATION RESPONSIBILITY TO REPLACE THAT APPARATUS HISTORICALLY. 
          UH, IF I TOLD YOU THAT ONE OF THE FRONTLINE FIRE APPARATUS IN OUR LOCALITY THAT YOUR CAREER STAFF RIDE ON EVERY DAY IS 30 YEARS OF AGE, THAT'S A FACTUAL STATEMENT. 
          NOBODY IN THIS ROOM HAS A 30-YEAR-OLD POV THAT YOU DEPEND ON GETTING UP AND DOWN THE ROAD TO WORK EVERY DAY. 
          BUT YET WE'RE DEPENDING ON A 30-YEAR-OLD FIRE TRUCK TO GET US TO AND FROM EMERGENCY RESPONSES EVERY DAY. 
          WHEN THE NFPA TELLS US AT 15 YEARS OF AGE, IT SHOULD BE MOVING TO A RESERVE APPARATUS, RIGHT? SO THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF DATA THAT WE NEED TO BRING BACK TO THE BOARD TO MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS. 
          'CAUSE THE VOLUNTEER COMPANY, WHICH OWNS THIS APPARATUS, WILL NOT BE ABLE TO REPLACE IT. 
          THE COUNTY WILL HAVE TO STEP IN AT SOME POINT AND REPLACE THIS FIRETRUCK, OR WE DON'T HAVE A FIRETRUCK TO PROVIDE THAT LEVEL OF SERVICE. 
          RIGHT? AND THAT'S WHAT THIS BOARD HAS TO DECIDE OF WHEN DO WE INHERENTLY TAKE OVER THOSE RESPONSIBILITIES. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHY QUICKLY WHEN THE CIGARETTE TAX 
          [01:55:01]
AGAIN WAS DISCUSSED, WE, WE, WE FORWARDED UP A PROPOSAL OF IF WE EARMARK THIS TO FIRE APPARATUS SPECIFIC, IT IS A, IT IS A PUBLIC NECESSITY AND A PUBLIC BENEFIT OF BOTH TOWN AND COUNTY RESIDENTS THAT PROVIDES FIRE AND EMS PROTECTION FOR THOSE CITIZENS. 
          UM, SO, SO AGAIN, THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX AND WE'RE, WE'RE EXCITED TO BE PART OF THAT CONVERSATION WITH THE TEAM TO, TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE TO HAVE LONG-TERM TO SUSTAINABLE FUNDING OPTIONS. 
          AND THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR, UM, TAKING THAT OPPORTUNITY TO, TO, TO LOOK AT OTHER FUNDING STREAMS AND, AND WE REALIZE, YOU KNOW, IN THE INTEREST OF, YOU KNOW, COMPETING DEPARTMENTS, WE'RE ALL, WE'RE ALL, YOU KNOW, WE ALL NEED MONEY, WE ALL NEED POSITIONS. 
          UM, JERRY AND I WERE DISCUSSING THIS EARLIER, AND I KNOW THAT AS WE LOOK TO BRING A, A NEW ZONING OFFICIAL ABOARD, UM, I WOULD ALSO OFFER IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY WHERE WE CAN LEARN SOME BENCHMARKING FROM OF OUR SURROUNDING MUNICIPALITIES IN REGARDS TO POTENTIAL PROFFERS OR IMPACT, UM, AS THEY RELATE TO, UM, THE FIRE AND RESCUE NEEDS SCHOOLS, LAW ENFORCEMENT, ET CETERA. 
          I JUST THINK, UM, AND THERE'S NOT A LOT OF INFORMATION. 
          I'VE DONE SOME RESEARCH ACTUALLY. 
          UM, AND THERE IS SOME FOR COMMERCIAL, EXCUSE ME, LIKE COMMERCIAL AS WELL AS RESIDENTIAL AND MIXED RESIDENTIAL, BUT WHATEVER WE DEFINE IT TO BE, I FOUND WAS MORE JURISDICTION DRIVEN. 
          BUT SUFFICE TO SAY, IT'S ANOTHER REVENUE STREAM THAT WE CAN LEAN ON, ESPECIALLY UNDERSTANDING THE DEMANDS OF THE, THE SYSTEM AND, AND THE NEEDS OF THE SYSTEM. 
          SO THAT SAID, UM, I HAVE NOTHING ELSE. 
          DO YOU, I JUST WANTED TO SAY TO ALL OF YOU, THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME. 
          GREATLY APPRECIATED. 
          SHOULD AT IT, I'M GOOGLING TO SEE WHEN THE LATEST DATE, YOU CAN PUT A REFERENDUM FOR NOVEMBER. 
          I GET EVERYTHING BUT WHAT I WANT, IT'S PROBABLY GONNA REQUIRE A LOT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION. 
          YEAH. 
          PLANNING. 
          WHAT IS IT GONNA BE FOR? BECAUSE I THINK WHAT WE'VE NOTICED IS IT'S THE SPECIFIC MEASURABLE TASK, RIGHT? IF THAT TAXPAYER KNOWS SPECIFICALLY WHERE THE, IS IT GOING TO REPLACE A FIRER HERE, IT'S BEEN SUCCESSFUL. 
          IF IT'S JUST GLOBAL MONEY, IT USUALLY HASN'T BEEN SUCCESSFUL. 
          SO THEY WANT TO KNOW DEFINITIVELY WHERE IT'S GOING. 
          I DON'T THINK YOU NEED TO HAVE A REFERENDUM TO, TO ISSUE A TAX LEVY FOR ONE THING. 
          AS FAR AS DOING A BOND TO FLOAT FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT, I DON'T THINK WE'RE IN A POSITION TO DO THAT AT THIS POINT BECAUSE WE DO NOT HAVE, WE'RE LOSING OUR BOND RATINGS UNTIL WE GET THE AUDITS COMPLETED. 
          YOU KNOW, THAT THAT'S GONNA BE A DRIVING FORCE THERE, AND THAT'S PROBABLY GONNA BE A YEAR OR TWO AWAY. 
          AND THERE AGAIN, THAT MAY BE SOMETHING WORTHWHILE TO DO, BUT I DON'T THINK WE'RE IN ANY POSITION TO START BORROWING MONEY TILL WE GET, UH, OUR BOND RATING BACK AND, AND, AND GO FROM THERE. 
          JUST MY THOUGHTS. 
          ALTHOUGH THEY'RE NEGATIVE, BUT THAT'S OKAY. 
          MAYBE, MAYBE REALIST, BUT THAT'S JUST MY THOUGHTS. 
          AND I, I AGREE. 
          I DON'T THINK YOU HAVE TO HAVE A REFERENDUM, BUT IT MIGHT BE GOOD TO PUT IT ON JUST TO, TO GET THE FEELING OF WHAT THE COMMUNITY, AND FROM THE PEOPLE I'VE TALKED TO, I, I THINK IT WOULD BE, UM, POSITIVE FEEDBACK MYSELF. 
          UM, BUT I THINK IT JUST, IT, IT MAKES A COMMUNITY FEEL MORE INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS OF, OF THAT DECISION VERSUS JUST SAYING, WE'RE GONNA DO IT TYPE THING. 
          MM-HMM . 
          UM, BECAUSE IF, IF WE WERE ABLE AT THIS POINT TO GET A REFERENDUM TO GET THAT FEEL FROM THE COMMUNITY ON FOR NOVEMBER, THEN WE COULD START IT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE NEXT BUDGET PROCESS OR HOWEVER, UM, TO ENACT THAT AS A, THAT'S JUST MY THOUGHTS ON IT. 
          IT'S, YOU KNOW, WELL IF, UH, IF YOU DO IT WITH THE REFERENDUM AND IT PASSES, LOOK AT THE SUPPORT. 
          YEP. 
          YEAH. 
          I MEAN, IT TAKES ALL THE POLITICS OUT OF IT. 
          MM-HMM . 
          IT TAKES ALL OF THAT, YOU KNOW, WOULD YOU SPEND MY MONEY ON, UH, KIND OF THING, YOU KNOW, IF, IF, IF YOU CAN, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN GET A REFERENDUM ON AND, AND YOU CAN SPECIFICALLY NAME OFF SOME NEEDS. 
          AND, AND THAT'S ABSOLUTELY PART, YOU KNOW, WHEN I'M PAYING MY TAX BILL, IF I'VE SEEN THAT LINE, OH YEAH, I'M GONNA HAVE TO PAY ANOTHER HOWEVER MANY A HUNDRED DOLLARS, BUT I KNOW IN MY MIND EXACTLY WHAT THAT WENT TO, YOU DON'T FEEL, YOU DON'T, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN FEEL BETTER ABOUT IT. 
          UH, AND IT, AND IT'S ALMOST SELF-EDUCATING, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE IF YOU GOTTA GO IN AND VOTE ON SOMETHING, UH, AND, UH, SHAME ON YOU IF YOU DON'T VOTE, YOU KNOW? SO, UH, IF, UH, IF WE'RE LOOKING AT SOMETHING LIKE THAT FOR A REFERENDUM, I, I, IT'S A GREAT IDEA. 
          'CAUSE IT, UH, I THINK YOU GUYS CAN GET 
          [02:00:01]
IT THROUGH 'CAUSE YOU ARE WELL SUPPORTED AND UH, 'CAUSE YOU GOT A GOOD REP, YOU KNOW, OUR FIRE AND RESCUE HAS A GOOD, PRETTY GOOD REPUTATION IN THE COMMUNITY. 
          SO IF WE'RE LOOKING FOR COMMUNITY SUPPORT, I'VE NEVER BEEN ANYWHERE THAT, UH, OH, WHAT'S THE HECK? EVEN AT THAT REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE THING, THEY BROUGHT A BOOT AROUND AND, UH, IT PAID, THE ROOM WAS DONATED, BUT, UH, WE, THE BOOT BROUGHT IN MORE MONEY AND WOULD IF WE'D, IF IT HAD BEEN A PAID EVENT. 
          RIGHT. 
          FIRE MARSH WASN'T REAL POPULAR. 
           , SORRY, SORRY ABOUT THAT. 
          BUT, UH, THE SHORT OF IT IS, I, I THINK COMMUNITY SUPPORTS 'CAUSE YOU GOT A GOOD REPUTATION, AND IF IT WAS ON A REFERENDUM AND IT PASSES, I MEAN, IT'S JUST, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S NOTHING POLITICAL. 
          I MEAN, IT IS EXACTLY WHAT IT'S FOR AND IT'D JUST BE A SUPER WIN. 
          I THINK YOU COULD GET IT THROUGH IF WE CAN. 
          UH, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE TIMELINE OF RULES ARE FOR THAT, ESPECIALLY BEING AS NEW AS I AM, BUT, UH, IT'D BE SOMETHING I'D DEFINITELY SUPPORT LOOKING AT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND I, UM, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU ALL. 
          UM, I DO, I DO, YOU KNOW, I, I TRY TO PUT THE HAT ON AS A CONSTITUENT TO, TO REALLY GET A GOOD FEEL OF IT. 
          BUT I THINK MR. OR DR. 
          JAMESON SAID SOMETHING THAT WAS REALLY INTERESTING. 
          I THINK WE, ME, US, WE NEED TO DO A BETTER JOB OF EDUCATING THE THE, THE PUBLIC, YOU KNOW? AND, AND IT'S FAIR BECAUSE, UM, IT'S NOT OUR NATURE, FRANKLY. 
          I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THIS GUY RIGHT HERE RECOGNIZED EVERYBODY ON THAT TEAM, BUT HE DOES THE LION SHARE OF THAT WORK, RIGHT? SO THE ISSUE OF, YOU KNOW, TALKING ABOUT MARKETING, WHAT WE DO, IN ESSENCE, WHAT 9 1 1 BRINGS, IT, BRINGS TO BEAR AT EVERY LEVEL, YOU KNOW, FROM COMMUNICATIONS TO, TO AN EMS UNIT OR A FIRE RESPONSE. 
          BUT THE REALITY IS, IS TALKING ABOUT WHERE YOUR MONEY GOING, THAT INFORMED CONSUMER. 
          THEN WHEN THEY GO TO THAT BALLOT OR HOWEVER THEY THEY'RE GOING TO DO TO MAKE THAT DECISION, THEN THEY ARE JUST THAT IF THEY CHOOSE TO BE. 
          SO ANYWAY, UM, THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU ALL FOR, UH, FOR, FOR TODAY. 
          BUT, UH, THANK YOU FOR LOOKING AT DIFFERENT MEANS TO SKIN THE CAT, IF YOU WILL. 
          UM, I THINK IT'S DEFINITELY NECESSARY AND, UH, I'M ENCOURAGED. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          ONE LAST POINT I, I GUESS FOR DR. MARTIN REGARDING, UH, THE CREDIT RATING BEING POLLED AND, UH, OUR ELIGIBILITY TO BORROW. 
          UM, I'M VAGUELY REMEMBERING SOMETHING. 
          I'M NOT SURE IF WE HEARD IT FROM DAVENPORT OR, OR BACK FROM DR. 
          DALEY WHEN HE WAS HERE, BUT I, I BELIEVE, UH, TWO THINGS. 
          UM, ONE IS THAT A CREDIT AGENCY PULLED OUR, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHICH ONE IT WAS. 
          MOODY'S. 
          MOODY'S, YEAH. 
          MOODY'S. 
          BUT WE, WE STILL HAVE RATINGS THROUGH OTHER AGENCIES AS WELL. 
          BUT SECONDLY, I BELIEVE THERE'S A STATE, UH, POOL THROUGH WHICH WE CAN BORROW THAT WOULD NOT BE SUBJECT TO, TO THAT, UM, TO THAT VERBAL POSSIBLY. 
          UH, YOU'LL FIND, UH, I'M SENDING YOU SOMETHING TODAY IN YOUR FRIDAY MEMO. 
          UH, S AND P IS CLOSE TO PULLING OUR RATING. 
          SO THAT WOULD BE TWO. 
          YEAH. 
          UH, THAT MAIN ONE SIGN THEN. 
          YEAH. 
          UM, SO I JUST SEE IF WE GOT THE LAST YEAR CALL UP, WE KEEP IT RIGHT WITHIN A CERTAIN TIMELINE AND THEN THAT TIMELINE IS RIGHT ON TOP OF US. 
          AND I DON'T, DOESN'T JUST, FROM WHAT I'M HEARING, I DON'T KNOW IF WE'LL MAKE A EARLY TIMELINE, LIKE IT'S GONNA BE LATER, THEN EARLIER. 
          ITS A GOOD CHANCE. 
          RIGHT. 
          PULL. 
          THEY'RE NOT GONNA MAKE IT. 
          I DON'T THINK. 
          IF I COULD WEIGH IN ON JUST A MINUTE, ON A BOND REFERENDUM, , UM, 'CAUSE I'VE DONE TWO IN MY CAREER AND, UH, IN COMMUNITIES THAT NEVER HAD A BOND REFERENDUM PASS ON THE FIRST TIME, AND THEY WERE TO BUILD HIGH SCHOOLS. 
          UH, AND YOU WOULD THINK EVERYBODY WANTS TO BUILD HIGH SCHOOL. 
          UM, HOWEVER, THE BIG, HOWEVER, WAS, UM, WE ADOPTED A STRATEGY OF HOW WE WERE GONNA EDUCATE THE PUBLIC. 
          UM, AND THAT THAT IN ITSELF WAS KIND OF AN ART AND A SCIENCE OF HOW WE PUT THAT TOGETHER. 
          BUT THEY BOTH PASSED NEVER BEFORE. 
          ONE WAS IN FAKI COUNTY AND, UH, WHICH IS, WAS PRETTY POLITICAL. 
          UH, I'M NOT SURE THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS WANTED THAT TO PASS, BUT, UM, WE EDUCATED THE PUBLIC IN SUCH WAY, UM, THAT THEY CAME OUT TO VOTE. 
          AND WHAT WE DID, WHICH WAS, UM, WE WENT TO EVERY CIVIC ORGANIZATION IN THE COUNTY WITH THE SAME MESSAGE. 
          AND THE BUILDING PRINCIPAL OR PRINCIPALS FOR THAT DISTRICT ALWAYS WERE THERE TO MAKE THE PITCH BECAUSE THE COMMUNITY KNEW WHO THEY WERE AND WOULD ASK THEM QUESTIONS LATER. 
          SO IT, THERE ARE A LOT OF STRATEGIES TO MAKE THAT WORK. 
          I'M HAPPY TO SHARE THOSE WITH YOU. 
          WELL, YOU KNOW WHAT I WANNA MAKE, I, I WAS TALKING PERSONALLY ABOUT THE REFERENDUM FOR THE, UM, LEVY MM-HMM . 
          NOT THE, THE BOND, RIGHT? MM-HMM . 
          UM, BECAUSE I, I ALREADY KNEW WE PER, WE'RE NOT IN A PLACE OF, UH, BEING ABLE TO DO BONDS AT THIS POINT IN TIME, 
          [02:05:01]
BUT I I, I FEEL GOOD ABOUT, UM, IF WE CAN GET IT ON AND, AND I WOULD THINK IT'S, IT'S ONLY MARCH. 
          I DON'T KNOW WHY WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO GET THAT ON. 
          UM, I'VE REACHED OUT TO THE REGISTRAR TO, AND I GUESS HE'S BUSY SINCE EARLY VOTING IS ALREADY IN FULL SWING. 
          UM, SO AS SOON AS I GET THAT INFORMATION, I'LL PASS IT ON. 
          BUT IF WE CAN GET IT ON FOR THIS FALL, DOESN'T COST ANYTHING TO ASK AND EDUCATE. 
          SO, UM, AND JOHN, I WILL CHECK ON THAT. 
          IN MY MIND, I THINK YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT VPSA BOS, I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT. 
          UM, SO I, I'LL CHECK ONTO THAT. 
          I'VE USED THOSE BEFORE, BUT I THINK THINGS HAVE CHANGED. 
          UM, I, I DON'T WANT TO SPEAK OUT OF, TURN ON 'EM. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          UM, I THINK WE'RE READY TO ADJOURN. 
          UH, I'VE GOT, I WAS GONNA SAY, THERE'S A COUPLE OF THINGS I NEED TO DO FOR REMINDERS AND I'VE BEEN RUSHING AROUND LIKE CRAZY TODAY. 
          UM, I KNOW WE, WE HAVE OUR BOARD ADVANCE TOMORROW THAT STARTS AT NINE 30. 
          NINE 30. 
          UM, I KNOW I I THE NINE THIRTY'S THROWING ME, BUT EVERYBODY KNOWS I'M USUALLY EARLY EXCEPT LIKE YESTERDAY WHEN I WASN'T, UM, AT THE PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDING, NOT HERE. 
          AND I GUESS EVERYONE BESIDES US KNOWS WHO'S SUPPOSED TO BE THERE, CORRECT. 
          AS WELL. 
          AND WE WILL BE HAVING A CLOSED SESSION WITH NEXT TUESDAY'S, UH, MEETING. 
          SO THAT HAS BEEN PUBLISHED AND ADVERTISED. 
          THAT IS NEW AS OF THIS TODAY AND . 
          OKAY. 
          I'M, AND I DID ASK THE BOARD YESTERDAY FOR CONSIDERATION TO MODIFY AND ADJUST THE BUDGET DEVELOPMENT CALENDAR. 
          UM, SO WHAT I'D LIKE TO SUGGEST IS, UM, I'M NOT GONNA BE READY TO PRESENT THE BUDGET NEXT WEEK, UM, BECAUSE I MADE A COMMITMENT TO ALL THE DEPARTMENT HEADS THAT BEFORE, UH, I PRESENTED THE BUDGET THAT THEY WOULD KNOW WHAT'S IN, WHAT'S NOT IN HOW IT WAS PUT TOGETHER. 
          AND I WANNA HAVE THOSE MEETINGS INDIVIDUALLY WITH THEM, UH, AND TALK ABOUT REVENUE SOURCES AND ALL SORTS OF THINGS. 
          I WANNA DO THAT FIRST. 
          UM, BUT NEXT WEEK WHAT I'D LIKE TO SUGGEST IS I CAN GIVE YOU AN UPDATE OF WHERE WE ARE BECAUSE AT THIS POINT THESE ARE OUR LAST MEETINGS WITH ALL OF OUR DEPARTMENT HEADS. 
          TOMORROW YOU'RE GONNA HAVE, UM, YOUR STRATEGIC PLANNING SESSION. 
          I WILL THEN HAVE YOUR MARCHING ORDERS ABOUT WHAT YOUR PRIORITIES ARE, WHICH THAT'S SUPPOSEDLY HOW THE BUDGET'S GONNA BE BASED. 
          SO ON THE 17TH, UH, WHICH IS ANOTHER WEEK, UH, I'LL PRESENT THE BUDGET, UH, IN TERMS OF A MARKUP MARKDOWN, UH, SOMETHING FOR YOU MAYBE TO THINK ABOUT, UH, THE FOLLOWING WEEK, WEEK, WHICH WOULD BE, UH, TUESDAY THE 24TH. 
          WEDNESDAY THE 25TH, OR THURSDAY THE 26TH. 
          THERE'S NOTHING ON OUR CALENDAR, BUT YOU COULD USE THAT TIME FOR A MARKUP MARKDOWN IF IT FIT INTO YOUR SCHEDULES. 
          'CAUSE THEN YOU WOULD HAVE MY BUDGET, AND BY THE WAY, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A HARD COPY OF THE BUDGET WHEN IT'S PRESENTED. 
          UH, THE PUBLIC WILL HAVE, UH, WHAT I'M GONNA CALL A ONE PAGER AND IT'LL BE ELECTRONIC IF THEY KIND OF WANT TO KNOW EVERYTHING'S BEHIND, UH, WHAT WE'RE GONNA PUT ON THERE. 
          SO IF THEY WANT MORE DETAIL ABOUT THE FIRE AND RESCUE BUDGET, WHAT'S IN AND WHAT'S NOT, UH, THERE'LL BE A LINK ON THE PAGE THAT THEY CAN GO RIGHT TO THAT. 
          UM, AND SEE, UM, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE, WE SAW TODAY, UH, WE WANT PEOPLE TO, TO KNOW WHAT'S IN THE BUDGET, UH, BECAUSE THERE MAY BE SOME ALTERNATE FUNDING SOURCES THAT I'M GONNA PROMOTE, UH, IN THE BUDGET JUST FOR US TO CHAT ABOUT. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          IF NOTHING ELSE, I GUESS WE'RE READY TO GO. 
          SO ARE WE OKAY WITH THAT BUDGET RECOMMENDATION? I JUST WANNA BE SURE. 
          IS EVERYONE GOOD WITH YEAH. 
          YEAH. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU EVERYONE. 
          HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND. 
          THANK YOU GUYS.
* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.