We'll go ahead and get started.

I need a motion to approve the agenda.

So moved.

Moved by Mr.

Creel.

Do I have a second?

I'll second.

All right.

Second by Mr.

Gray.

All right.

Discussion.

No discussion.

No discussion.

We'll go ahead and call for the votes.

Mr.

Gray.

Gray, yes.

Mr.

Marshall.

Marshall, yes.

Mr.

Neil.

Mr.

Creel.

Creel, yes.

Tisdale, yes.

All right.

Mr.

Shoemaker.

And Glavin votes, yes.

Mayor's report.

Council report.

None.

Mr.

Marshall.

No.

Mr.

Neil.

No.

Mr.

Creel.

Well I'm just did I tell you how good a job that new CAO is doing to a great start.

Mr.

Schumaker.

That's it.

All right.

The only report I have.

I just want to talk about this agenda a little bit.

We're going to start out with non-departmental today.

We have four new council members.

We've been trying to review a lot of this information.

We still have an incomplete, a total incomplete on the request.

This will be a review today.

You have four minutes to talk on any topic that you want.

You might be allowed a few extra seconds, but I got it here.

I know some of you have had presentations that might be 10 minutes long, but we have to get through this, and I would ask that you abbreviate your uh presentation.

Um this is not an approval of your budget request today.

This is a review of your budget request today.

Um we're up against the wall on making the uh square plug uh fit in the round hole.

Um so we're gonna take a long look at these when we try to wrap it up at our next meeting as far as non-departmental goes.

Um we're gonna take a long hard look, we'll try to be fair.

We want to give as much money as possible, but we do have uh fiduciary responsibility to get this budget passed uh and to review all of these requests for early.

And that concludes my report.

Um I'll start with citizens' comments.

Uh there's a total allotted time for 45 minutes.

Um are we using this time for the budget?

The four minutes on this time, we're gonna use the three minutes and four minutes.

I didn't we're gonna use three minutes for public comments or four minutes.

Which which one we're gonna if you are speaking on a non-departmental budget, uh we'll go ahead and use this uh segment for the four minutes.

If you're speaking on another topic, we'll use three.

All right, that sounds fair.

All right, so I'll start on my left, Ms.

Robin.

Robin David, executive director of the maritime and seafood industry museum.

Uh this is Brandon Boudrow.

He has been uh selected as the new executive director.

I will be retiring the end of September after 37 years.

So this is the new leader of the Maritime Museum.

First, I would like to thank Paul and Kenny and David for all of your pass support over the last previous years to the museum.

You have greatly supported the Maritime Museum.

I would like to ask for the support of Mr.

Marshall, Mr.

Gray, Mr.

Nail, and Mr.

Creel for our continued support from the city council for the museum.

I think I've sent a letter to the mayor and to Mr.

Weaver and I CC to all of y'all on the letter asking for the support, the same support we received uh in fiscal year 25.

We would asking to receive again in 26.

I think we went over in the letter um how valuable our C and sale camp is to the children on the coast.

Uh we have Mississippi Power Foundation support that enables us to give scholarships every for the last two years at least.

We saw right at 400 children at camp this summer, which is fabulous, uh teaching them about our history and heritage here on the case.

We had our Billy Creel Memorial Wooden Boat Show again this year, uh, named after Jamie's dad, uh, which was very successful.

We are still dealing with FEMA and MEMA over hurricanes Ida and Zaida still trying to get reimbursed, like probably most of the city is as well.

We have asked for assistance, have stepped in with some of our delegation.

So we're hoping we're gonna get this resolved before too many more hurricanes hit the coast and uh we cannot get reimbursed.

Um our heritage hall of fame is coming up.

Uh I think we have an October one deadline.

We would ask that anyone please nominate someone that you feel should be in our Heritage Hall of Fame.

That is a very special uh event at the museum.

And if you know of anybody, you can receive an application online or come to the museum.

I'm gonna let turn it over to Brandon and let him speak as well.

I I don't have much to say.

I just want to say you'd uh honor to be here.

I know taking over for Robin.

Uh got a big job ahead of me, and I'm just looking for hopefully closer with everyone.

One of you, yeah, many and then my daddy was Edmund Boudreau.

He was basically the historian for the city of Biloxi.

And uh I know he's smiling down.

Absolutely.

I'm proud to be here and proud to be carrying on his legs.

Thank you both.

Can I mention hey Robin?

Congratulations on your retirement.

Just so you know, your dedication to the museum is a huge testament to its success.

And Brandon, uh, although more than capable, has some big shoes to fill.

So thank you.

Anyone else my left?

You'll vote.

Good afternoon.

I'm Stacey Riley and the CEO of Gulf Coast Center for Nonviolence.

And I want to say thank you for allowing us to come and present to you.

Thank you for your support that you've given us for the number of years that we've been here, and congratulations to our new city council members.

Um, I hope that those of you who are new to the council know the importance that the Gulf Coast Center for Nonviolence plays a role in the city of Biloxi.

And if you have any information that you need from me about the work that we do here, I'm always willing to tell the good story.

Um we have been in the city of Biloxi for over 45 years, providing shelter to individuals who are escaping domestic violence situations, uh, adults, children, males, females.

Um, and then in the last several years, we have extended extended our shelter services to providing services to those who were fleeing human trafficking.

Um sent out some information to you guys uh for the request because we were requesting um a total of 40,000, 20,000 for our shelter facility and 20,000 for our public location that's located um on Porter Avenue.

Um, our shelter facility in in uh 2024, um we provided 338 um adults and kids with shelter at our domestic violence shelter program.

I'd want to highlight the the importance of that number for the entire year of 2024.

We served 338 people from City of Biloxi in shelter.

So far this year, we've served 364 city uh city of Biloxi residents in our domestic violence shelter program that highlights just how greater those uh those numbers are getting.

Um our numbers are not going down, they're always going up.

Um we are always at our past uh capacity of our shelter.

We have 44 beds at our shelter in Biloxi.

Um, any given day we have between 45 and 55 adults and kids in the shelter program.

So we use um couches, we use pots, we use whatever we possibly can use to have a safe space for people who are escaping a violent home.

Um, right now we have 43 uh 43 people in shelter here in Biloxi.

Uh 30 of those are adults and 13 are children.

Um we have served so far in our shelter.

This year, we have had 233 adults and 167 children.

Um now we've served a lot of people, but we also provide a lot of services.

Um, our our goal as an agency is to be comprehensive and also to make sure that we can provide as much services and as much hope as people need to uh to advocate for themselves and move themselves from from the trauma of domestic violence and human trafficking.

Um, in shelter here in Biloxi, we do provide shelter, our therapeutic preschool program, counseling services, case management, a little bit of everything that needs that needs people have to connect themselves to uh you know to that hope of getting past the uh the uh the abuse, but also at our public location here in Biloxi on uh on Porter Avenue, that's where our of our housing programs we have five housing program case managers get people into a place to live that we paid their living expenses.

So, any right now between 60 and 70 families are living along the Gulf Coast that we're paying their living expenses for.

Um, our sexual assault program is located here on uh the Porter Avenue location.

That's where our advocates are to provide services to sexual assault victims counseling.

Um, that's where our human trafficking program is located at for non-residential services.

So we make sure that we can provide that variety of services.

Um, and then addition to that, we do have a legal clinic that does civil legal services at no charge.

Now, none of the services we provide as an agency is offered for a charge except for our batterers program, and the money that we collect from those who have been arrested for domestic violence goes back into our victim services.

Um, so just kind of give you a little bit of context is the reason why we asked for the amount of money we we asked for.

Our budget as an agency is about five million dollars a year, and we're we're tasked with coming up with a million dollars of that.

That's not federal or state grants, it's about local money, it's uh foundations, it's a little bit of everything.

So the money that we get from the city of Biloxi and our other uh municipalities helps us to keep the lights on.

Um, so uh that's Mospiel.

Uh thank you for allowing us to come here.

And Mr.

Gray, we're in our shelter and our uh public location or located in uh in board one.

Um we're we're glad to be here, and thank you for your support.

Thank you.

Anyone else my left?

I know most of the councilmen on the uh Biloxi, one of the Biloxi uh board members on the CPA board.

And I want to do interviews, our new executive weeks ago.

Good afternoon, Councilman.

Um very honored to be here today, and thank you so much.

I'm coming from Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, and I'm very honored to be here representing Coast Transit Authority.

Coast Transit Authority was uh was organized in 73, it launched in 75 here, not only in the city of Biloxi, but it is more or less a regional transit system and public transit, it is not private.

Um currently Coast Transit Authority is moving 775,000 people annually.

That is its ridership across the board for the city of Biloxi.

You are right now we are moving 326,350 riders annually, and we're projected to move 342,631 come 2026.

But in addition to that, and uh aside from fueling the business corridor, the city of Biloxi, which is the primary, if you know across the system for transit, public transit, the majority of the people that utilize transit are typically people that do not have the ability or the funds to buy a car, pay for insurance, um, who are also making you know um minimum wage and so forth.

And they're the ones that are fueling, you know, the economy as far as getting to work at those Walmarts, your casinos in the area, um libraries, um, you know, you name it, uh, your grocery stores and so forth, your schools and so forth.

Coast transfer authority right now, as I understand it, um, to date comes to you uh on a yearly schedule to request a subsidy to support its uh services to your constituents.

So this year we purchased uh four trolleys, as you can see, um they were 1.2 million.

Uh the city uh Coast Transit does generate internal revenue from advertising sales and bus benches, bus shelters, uh, and also um wrapping the vehicles themselves with advertisement, as well as fair revenue from the fare boxes, which right now is a dollar fifty.

So you can see we uh as Coast Transit Authority went ahead and brought uh two and matched that from its um own operating budget of 240,000.

It was three routes in Biloxi, it has about 34.

It has the CTA route beach cooner, which goes up and down that beach, and it has your route, which is the casino hopper Biloxi, which is coming every 20 minutes.

In addition to that, right now for your re bus revenue service hour for your bus for fixed route, we call it bus transportation, is right now it's sitting at $82 an hour, and we calculate that based on the salaries that we pay our operators, fuel, preventative maintenance, um, and vehicle insurance, which is a heavy lift for every person that hits the back of a bus, we have to put aside about sixty thousand dollars.

For every person that hits the back of a bus, we have to put aside about $60,000.

Okay.

Passenger's power right now for the city of Biloxi stands at nine.

And as you can see on page 10.

Um again, going back to uh what I said a little earlier, your casino as you can see your work relation.

We actually have people out there on the field talking to your constituents.

Um, this is not something you know we put on a website.

We're approaching them.

Um Casino is 43%.

That means my time.

Sorry.

Uh well, listen, because of the nature of uh library system, CTA, one of our biggest uh budgeted items, we'll give you another minute.

Thank you.

I appreciate that.

Well, I do want to explain.

I know we have four new councilmen on the board.

Is we receive Coast Transit Authority receives, as you can see on the last page, um, federal funding from the Federal Transit Administration, all public agencies across the United States do.

Well, I will tell you is this.

Let's say, and I have an example here that we have 12 million dollars federal assistance available.

That money to us, although we need it desperately, um, is of no good to us if we don't have the 20% match.

In other words, if we don't generate that internal revenue to be able to utilize those grants, we lose them.

So although the FDA awards us these funds, sometimes we fall short.

You know, we generated $3.7 million last year in both our internal revenue and subsidy.

And when you're sitting on 12, say 13 million of federal funds, and you have a $3.7 million match.

That's all we have to work with.

That's to buy vehicles, that is to PMs, that is for fuel, that is for salaries, that is for everything in vehicle um insurance and so forth.

Um keep in mind hurricane season, uh, Katrina, God forbid that happens again.

Whose transit authority is here to also help with evacuations during hurricanes, um, any emergency for that matter.

If you need a cooling station due to a large fire, you can call us, we'll send a bus out to cool firefighters for events, everything.

So we're vital, vital, you know, uh vein to this community, to the city and to the region, and we we need that support.

Uh, I do look forward to hopefully being able to reach out to all each one of you individually to talk a little bit about more public transit and maybe look at other avenues of funding Coast Transit Authority in the future.

Any questions?

Nope, thank you.

All right.

Yes.

This is what we have seen.

Do I go all the way through?

Patrick Chubb, Mary Terwilliger, Harrison County Silent Water Conservation District, and we are asking for uh the same uh amount of money that we did last year, five thousand dollars to serve uh agricultural and uh environmental education conservation materials to the citizens of Biloxi.

Okay.

Any questions?

Not yet.

Not yet.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Anyone else on our left?

You're right.

Go to the other side of the room, my right, your left.

Yeah, there we go.

It's on now.

It's all yeah.

Uh hey, nice to meet you guys.

I'm Jerry Munro.

I'm with uh the boom boom committee.

Uh we started doing this back in 1978.

Uh we've been carrying it on ever since.

Uh or this past year, we uh asked for 12,500, which uh y'all graciously gave us, and we've come back to asking y'all for 15,000 this year.

Uh fireworks are going up 35 percent to us this coming year, so everything's going up.

So we're just trying to ask you guys to please help us out.

Uh it's uh it's a beautiful thing we do, 4th of July.

Uh everybody goes out, crafts up, goes to the beaches and watches a beautiful fireworks show for 20 minutes to uh patriotic music.

Uh something my father started, and uh I've continued it on with our cadre of uh small group of folks.

Uh all the money that we raise goes into the fireworks.

Last year we raised 43,000, and our fireworks budget was 46,000.

So we had to dip into our savings we had to pay the difference for the uh the barge and and uh some chairs and tents for our folks to come down and watch.

But uh the sponsors who who gave it and we gave invitations to you guys as well.

So uh just like to keep this going.

Uh I think it's a beautiful thing for Biloxi, the Gulf Coast is very patriotic, and we appreciate all the support you know, bears y'all have given us and uh all you gentlemen.

Uh welcome to uh being on the council.

Have not met all you fellows, but uh I do know Jamie and and uh I look forward to meeting you, Mr.

Nell, Mr.

Marshall, Mr.

Gray.

And uh that's that's what I'm here for.

Boom boom committee for this coming year.

Any questions, Mr.

Monroe?

Questions?

Not yet.

Okay.

Thank y'all so much.

All right.

Anyone else?

All right.

Come on up.

Good afternoon, councilman and administration.

I am Sarah Chrysler Rusky.

I'm the director of the Harrison County Library System, and I appreciate the opportunity to talk a little bit about our request.

And I wanted to start very briefly with just since we have so many new people to explain what we are and how we work because it's different from state to state, and you may not know we're a political subdivision like a city or a county, but we do not have taxing authority.

So we go to our cities and our county to request the funds that we need to operate.

We have requested in the past, and you hopefully got our letter and our information package this year as well.

We have requested over the years that we be placed on a millage basis because we feel like this would be a more appropriate way to fund a service as large as a library.

It is authorized by state code already.

The city can give up to three mills in a city like Biloxi.

Three mills would be wonderful, but overkill, and I believe your mill is around 790, so it would be something around 1.1 mil, is what we're asking.

So for this year, we have asked all our funders for a 3% increase.

That is due to cost of everything going up, PERS has gone up, books are more expensive.

We are trying to give our staff a 3% raise.

We have 25 employees in our Bilexi in our four Bilexi libraries, and 72% or 18 of them make under $13 an hour.

52% make under $12 an hour.

None of them, including all of our managers and people with 20 years experience, you know, master's degree, whatever, none of them make over $19 an hour in all of our libraries, all 25 folks.

So we feel like a small raise would be much appreciated.

And I know y'all are trying to do the best you can for your staff as well.

And so that is on our it's part of our strategic plan.

That's another part of our request is that we did a strategic plan last year, and our materials that would be books or any sort of items that check out, is 46% below what it was in 2005.

So we're trying to slowly build that up because the the patrons, the more we have for them to utilize the more the more materials, the more items that they have to use, the more they want to use it.

And we we get more they get more bang for their buck when we have more to provide them.

So that is why we were asking for a three percent increase from all of our funders.

And just to finish out, just a few little items.

You may not kind of have an idea of how busy we are because a lot of people are like, oh, libraries, why do we need them?

So just a quick recap of some of our numbers from the last fiscal year.

We had over a quarter million people come through our nine branches, so there are nine throughout the county in our various cities.

We checked out over 440,000 items, and that was an increase in both of those uh from the year before.

We had around 2,000 programs, and the bulk of those are for children, you know, some are reading, story times, things like that.

But we also have added a lot of new programs this year.

Our managers, you most of you met our new wall market manager, they're just adding adding and adding programs.

We had over 42,000 people attended those programs.

We also reached over 8,000 people with our mobile branch.

You may not have encountered if you've been to first um to the you know first Fridays.

Our mobile vehicle is usually there.

We so we served over 8,000 people.

Also, we go to um to the boys and girls club, to some of the low-income housing establishments and the armed forces retirement center, so very all over the county to people who can't get to us.

We had over 92,000 computer sessions.

And so we think it's a good value for your investment, and thank you.

I would love to answer any questions.

We'll get that further down when it comes up in the subject matter, but thank you.

Thank you.

Anyone else?

My right.

Come on, Woody.

That's okay.

You're next, Woody.

Good afternoon, and thank you for having me.

My name is Cynthia Chauvin, and I'm the director of the CASA program here in South Mississippi.

We provide court-appointed special advocate volunteers to serve children who are innocent victims of child abuse and neglect.

Today in Harrison County, 250 children to be exact, are in foster care.

I wish I could tell you that every one of them had a CASA volunteer.

At this point, we are able to serve about 50% of the kids in foster care.

Um, the city of Biloxi has been a supporter of our work.

Our request for consideration is to remain the same.

Uh even level of funding that we had last year.

And for the new folks, I really wanted to talk a little bit and unpacked what CASA volunteers do because we are a very unique organization as a nonprofit.

Um, the body of our work starts and ends with your youth court.

So here in Harrison County, youth our youth court judge is Judge Michael Dickinson.

He is charged with determining what needs to happen for children and families so that they can be reunited when due to CPS involvement, they become involved with the court system.

Um, that work is incredibly important work, and most often the the biggest folks who make help him make these decisions are children who are innocent victims of these crimes that their family have perpetrated against them.

Um CASA is judicially appointed by using community volunteers, but judicially appointed by the youth court judge.

So the service that we provide can only come via judicial court appointment.

Like I said, there are 250 children in foster care in Harrison County alone, with the largest percentage of those child victims being under the age of 12 years old, and with the majority of those children being abused or neglected in Goldport, second to Biloxi.

So that means that we have a social problem as we sit here for the last few hours thinking about a lot of social problems that struggle and people, but those struggles are people, they're people struggles.

And what we know about child abuse and neglect is that it's generational social problem.

Not saying that people who have been victims of child abuse are going to repeat that cycle, but we know that without interventions, the risk factors are more increased that young people are going to repeat the cycle.

Um, I will tell you that the work that we do and the funds that you all have supported us in the past have helped us to recruit an incredible amount of CASA volunteers.

This year alone, we have trained 26.

I'm sorry, 36 volunteers with a goal of having 46 trained by the end of this year.

We have just last weekend we spent 30 hours at the Hancock Whitney Bank on Howard training new volunteers, 11 of them to help us serve more kids from the city of Biloxi.

In terms of volunteers, one of my CASA advocates, a retired teacher from the school district, having 34 total years of service.

Um, Diane Rush, who's here with me in the back, um, having had the perspective of teaching little people and actually teenagers, then in retirement, finding CASA as a way to be able to help these kids from a really tough situation.

I will tell you that our volunteers who do this, they go through a comprehensive background check.

This is not volunteerism that takes one day or one week.

These volunteers work with one family at a time with the goal of make helping the judge make the best call on these cases.

70% of our families are somehow connected to addiction and heavy substance abuse.

And the judge is charged with figuring out what to do with these families to keep these kids with family of origin.

Um this year, at this point, 95% of the recommendations that my volunteers have made, not just in Harrison, but in Hancock and Stone County have become court ordered services.

Um, I want to thank y'all for your support, and I want to let you know that with over 120 kids left to serve, our work is not done.

Thank you.

Woody afternoon, everyone.

Woody Bailey, executive director of cruising the coast.

Uh we had a great year last year.

I appreciate y'all's support.

We had 9,961 vehicles that registered from 44 states, Canada, England, and New Zealand.

Uh we of that number, uh, over 1,600 were first timers.

So this is going to be our 29th uh year of cruising the coast, but last year that number is really important because we have that many people that are coming to the event that uh you know have never been here before.

So we're really happy about that and like to like keeping up with that number.

Also, last year, for the sixth year in a row, we were voted the number one car show in the country by USA Today.

So uh that's a great award, I think, for the all the people of Gulf Coast.

Uh everybody here makes everyone feel welcome, and I think that's a big part of the success of cruising the coast.

So we're happy to get that award, but it's really an award, like I say, for the people of the coast.

This year the event is October the 5th through the 12th.

Uh, like I say, our 29th year.

We already have 8,439 uh registered vehicles from 41 states, Canada, and Australia.

Uh the oldest vehicle right now is the 1913 Cadillac that's uh registered at the event.

So in Biloxi, uh we host seven uh events during cruising the coast, the Biloxi Block Party, of course, here on Wednesday, the SWAP meet and auction at the Coliseum, the three-day venue at Edgewater Mall.

Uh we have cruise ins at Margaretaville and Boer Baj, and then we have our car corral at Treasure Bay.

So we've got a lot of activities going on in Bluxi, more so than any other city.

Uh, and we as you know now, all 12 cities uh along the Gulf Coast are involved in cruising the coast.

So happy about that.

Uh we've got all everybody on board.

So we're looking forward, like I say, to another great event this year or 29th this year, and then here we roll into the 30th next year.

So we would appreciate uh y'all's uh support of our request.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr.

Bailey.

All right, raise your hand to be recognized.

Good afternoon.

My name is Bobby Gillen.

I'm here on behalf of the Greater Biloxi Economic Development Foundation.

Uh, as some of you know, we've been around and partnered with the city on a number of things through through like the past couple of years.

And what we're requesting this year is to partner with the city as well as Mississippi Power Foundation to launch a new facade grant program that we're looking at focusing on the Pass Road Corridor, not just west of Keysler, but also east of Keisler with our new gate coming out division and a lot of attention headed that way.

We want to step up and create a partnership and a framework to work with the city and other economic development entities and folks that are that are seeing the future and the growth and be able to offer something to our property owners and business owners to incentivize them to spruce up the facades of their properties along Pass Road and uh and division.

And from that, we'd also like to just continue this partnership as we grow with the city and fill gaps to be able to provide services and things that come up throughout the throughout the year in your awards.

We help fund those last mile of a number of different projects.

Folks come to us when they've created uh an event or an organization, and they get community support, they get a number of businesses supporting them, and they need that last couple of bucks.

So typically we we step in and make sure that groups like the skate park group underneath I 110, we work with them from time to time.

Where there's a good idea, but they need the last little bit of money and they need a good partner.

We can step in.

So I appreciate your time.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Anyone else?

Yes, good afternoon, everyone.

Um my name is Kim Fain.

I'm the administrator for the motor vehicle for hire.

Uh I'm the administrator for the regulatory oversight that was born out of an interlocal agreement between the cities of Port Biloxi and the Iberville.

What we do is on screen.

I'm just not close to it.

How about that?

Sir.

Um we do regular type regulatory oversight on the taxis and car services and some small shuttle uh buses here on the coast when I say buses, it's banned.

Uh we make sure that uh they stay permitted um for each driver for each company and for each vehicle that's on the road currently.

We require background checks for each driver, drug screens annually, and driving reports annually.

Currently we have 13 companies with one pending uh permit.

I have 118 active driver permits.

Currently, I have 85 cabs that are currently permitted.

And so far up to to today, we've had uh 11 different people that have required the series uh um, I guess you would say punishment of even either having their permits denied and or uh uh revoked.

So David, was that David who did it?

Was that a motion?

We need a second.

Continue, sir.

Yeah, you finished?

Okay, thank you for your time.

Anyone else on my right?

Anyone on my left I may have missed?

All right, public comments is now closed.

You'll get another shot at this in a minute.

Um we're gonna go into our uh policy agenda.

Uh go for formality, go ahead and read the subject matter into the record.

Subject matter is to discuss fiscal year 2526 municipal budget, non-departmental info-related purposes.

All right, what the chair would like to do is start with the big ticket items first.

We'll start with the highest request, and then we'll we'll continue a little bit to drill down for some questions and some uh give and take up here.

So uh it looks like the library system has the biggest request.

So we'll go ahead and start with the library.

All right, and um who wants to go first?

I don't I'm not gonna put anybody on the spot.

All right, Mr.

Tuesday.

Yeah.

Thank you.

You're here annually, bless your heart.

And uh for those of you who are unaware, I'm a big supporter of the library.

How many how many libraries, sir?

Are they in Biloxi?

There are four in Biloxi.

There are four.

There's uh the one on Howard Avenue, there's the one on Cross Road, the West Biloxi Library, there's one at the Margaret Sherry Curve on Pass on the Pubs Ferry Road.

Market.

And then we'll market.

Sorry.

And then the one in Will Market, okay.

Um you're asking for an increase this year, and you said how many employ how many employees work at the Biloxi libraries?

25 in Biloxi.

25.

And you're asking for three, a three percent increase.

Yes.

And that would go towards if you could be a just you have a moment here.

So if you'd be a little more explicit in breaking down what that additional money would be for.

So the bulk would be for the a three percent increase for our staff.

Like I mentioned, um, I I know y'all recently moved to $15 as your low point.

Our low point is still 11.

And so, like I mentioned, 72% of those 25 are making under 12 dollars.

52 percent make under 13.

And no one makes over 19, including all managers.

And we have a local history librarian, you know, and we have a couple people who've been with us for over 20 years.

They're not making people leave to take other jobs.

You lost a good one who came to the city of Biloxi, and now she's moving up the ladder, she's moving on to bigger and better things.

So we do have a hard time within, and I know y'all have y'all understand that.

And we do one of the hardest things to for us to retain is our youth services librarians, so that would be the people who are doing the story times, which is part of our in the core of our mission is to or is to promote early literacy because when you have kids, families who connect with them, you have fewer problems for Chief Miller and things like that down the line.

And so if we don't we aren't able to get quality folks to do that work, then we're not able to do our job as well as we would like.

If we you know we we've if we have any piece of extra, we we try to put it we want to put this aside for computers like we are we're we're now you know the ones we bought the first time I came to talk to you about them seven years ago.

Well, we're still using those those computers that we bought that at that point, so you know, Windows 11 and all that stuff.

So yes, always a challenge.

Thank you.

That's all I have.

I got a couple of questions, if you don't mind, Jamie.

Um you mentioned the millage model.

Yes.

That where have you seen that at the millage model?

Well, it is let me see if I can cite you the exact code.

I believe it's 30 3937 in the Mississippi code authorizes municipalities to give libraries up to three mills, and then there's another code that allows counties to give up to four mills to support them.

And we we prefer this model because it it helps us be able to grow as the city grows.

I I think I mentioned in my letter, but I'm not sure, but I'll just say it again.

In 2005, the library received 785,000, and so this is three percent over 20 years ago.

So we've been we've been y'all have been generous in the recent years, but we've missed out on 20 years of growth by being pretty much flat year after year.

Let me and I don't know the answers to these, and I I don't know if you do, so I'm gonna ask uh the millet.

So I want to stay on the millet a little bit.

Uh on the millage program, does the millage cover anything else like uh building repairs, capital projects, insurance, uh anything of that nature?

Uh if you were to if you wanted to put the all of library expenses into millage instead of having us in non-departmental, or I'm not sure I think you have that in an a different place rather than in non-departmental.

But I I think it would you would you would have to work with with Diana on on how how where to set the millage, but yes, it could be used for those expenses.

It could be used for that.

So my question is this the repairs that we did.

So I know we replaced an air conditioned unit, we repaired roofs.

That does not that's not included in any of this, and we spent a couple hundred thousand dollars or more.

Yes.

Something of that nature.

I I just want to give we got new council members up here.

I just want to give them some background.

I I love the libraries as well.

Um GovCourt has how many?

So Gupport, 72,000 people they have, two libraries, 49,000.

We have four.

Um that's uh libraries to take care of, but that's where we are today.

Um so the 25,000 additional uh notice on here, in addition to the 805,460,000, 25,000 is the same as last year.

What is that expense for?

That is not that is not part of that.

That's not that's not in your purview.

Where's the other 25,000 for that's other library expenses in non-departmental?

518.

That is for repairs that we may have, because we own the buildings.

Understood.

So that we've got a small amount there.

If we go over and above, we just go over and above.

We will come back before the council with a resolution to ask for additional money if we go over that.

Knowing that we spent over 200,000 last year, and this says 25,000, we didn't adjust that, we just took it from the general fund potentially.

We spent that 200,000 the year before last, and it was mainly because of the air conditioner unit and the carpet at the West Burns library.

Okay.

Just trying to we we are also gonna move this 25,000 out of non departmental and put it back into public works.

I just haven't gotten that far.

I would say that as part of your future planning that you know our buildings are either they're can post-Catrina, so they're reaching end of life for things like roofs and air conditioners and things like that.

Um West Biloxi is much older.

Margaret Sherry is building as well.

And Wool Market is is new because y'all just did that like about seven years ago.

The insurance cost to cover the insurance on the buildings, that's our cost, or that's the library's cost.

Building is on you and the contents are on us.

And the taxes?

Oh, we don't pay any taxes, tax exempt.

Okay.

All right.

Now as far as the program for children and all this kind of stuff, and I I I don't want to uh I mean I gotta ask the question.

So there was controversy on displaying uh um rainbow children books or whatever, or have y'all stopped that, or do y'all continue to display those?

I I don't have a problem with the books being available per se, but are y'all still actively displaying those?

I think the rainbow when we talked about that, that the per the the particular display that was being discussed, it it was about a child who was sick and it really actually wasn't a controversial thing.

We did it is controversial, it was in my interpretation.

Okay, well the the one that I'm remembering as far as it was a kid's display, all of our displays go through what we we implemented a process now.

So if there if there is something the controversial, it has to come before me.

And um I don't I so uh uh two little boys kissing each other wouldn't be something you'd necessarily display.

That would have to come to me, yes.

And you you wouldn't advocate that and display that, would you?

I I think that that wouldn't that display probably would be one that I would recommend against, yes.

Okay.

Well, just uh it just you know look, we have a responsibility to our constituents who support certain things and and we what we try, yes.

We try to make our displays let's say whatever whatever level of you know raciness or whatever that it's it needs to be accessible for any of our that's that's where we are.

Accessible for what I didn't hear of our patrons like uh like where you you might have a PG or PG 13 or so we so any books available to check out.

My my question was are you actively displaying it when other children or families may be walking through with their family and all of a sudden it it strikes the curiosity of someone and had and now you have to explain something?

I don't think we've becomes awkward.

I don't think we've had any displays that would cause uh cause a personal.

We have we've had meetings and I mean I mean after we had these interactions, we ended we instituted a policy.

I I don't think that we've had any that's the reason I'm questioning to make make sure that that's covered.

Any complaints?

Okay.

If I may sure uh thank you.

Appreciate that.

Um just to be clear, if there's an issue, if there's ever a question about the appropriateness of uh displays or books in the library, there is a process.

All somebody has to do, whether you're a parent or a council person or a visitor to the city, is just ask the librarian to get in touch with you or submit something in writing to you.

My point being there's a process.

You follow the process and you make a decision, right?

And that board is the you have the board that you are you answer to.

Yes, we have a com we form a committee, review the item, and then if whatever the committee decides, I can appeal to it.

Sure.

And uh you think not you know, on topics uh couple years.

I've not had a complaint or concern since we do like people to go the last two years or whatever.

Thank you.

That's all I have, Mr.

President.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Tisdown for that input.

Um it is a question I continuously get in whether it's uh you know, just from the controversy that occurred, they I have constituents that want assurances that we're not gonna uh make a U-turn and and go back to those policies.

Um they have two libraries, they've had two libraries for a long, long time, but why hasn't there been a need to add additional libraries with their population being as large as it is?

Why have I just curious if you know the answer to that?

I think there should be one in say Bayou View because that's a very um populous area with lots of families, but uh but is it money?

I mean is it?

Oh I would yeah, new library costs a fair amount um to build these days.

Okay.

So you think there's a need, but it's just maybe that it's because of money.

Personally, I think there is.

I I I we we haven't had any formal discussions on on the topic, but I I do I do think that uh a more centrally located library would be well used.

Okay.

These are designated county libraries.

In fact, it's it's the Harrison County library system.

We're a political subdivision that's independent from the county.

So the on the counties count city county system is what the but the the sign the the when somebody goes to uh Howard Avenue, does it say this is the block, does it have signage Biloxi Library or is it the Harrison County library system?

Library system, but it it depends on it kind of depends on the library.

I'm trying to picture the wool market sign in my head, and I think it says I think it says Harrison County, it may say both, because um how much does the county uh I'm gonna focus on the four libraries in Biloxi?

How much are they contributing?

Um, how much are they contributing to the budget this coming year?

The county, the county county's total is um well, I don't know how much they're going to contribute, but last year they contributed a million seventy-six.

Um that we don't necessarily divvy that up, you know, we don't it it's no understand.

I just attended uh state of the county.

Um their president gave a wonderful speech, but he said they got a $50 million surplus uh for the county.

So that that might be some of that $50 million might be something that can take up the Slack.

Or a three percent increase from them as well because they fund the headquarters as well as the for example for Biloxi, the total costs for the four libraries for our operational standpoint is is around a it's a a million fifty, and so we do have to have supplemental money from them, and the state gives us about two hundred thousand.

So it does cost more than what we ask to run.

Right.

Well, I wish we had a fifty million dollar surplus and we could solve a lot of issues, right, Mayor.

But uh I don't I don't I don't think councilman have y'all seen a fifty million dollar surplus in the budget?

I I haven't seen that.

All right, um I've had you've answered a lot of questions, and I'll yield to Mr.

Crew.

Just a couple of questions real quick.

Uh so your employees are they county, city employees?

Our employees, like we are set freestanding institution.

Um as far as benefits at health insurance.

We get um the same as the like the teachers, we are able to access that state health insurance and PERS.

We they pay in so out of their $11 an hour, they're paying nine percent into PERS and we're paying for it is now 18, 19.

Wow, okay.

Ever increasing every year.

Um so yes, they they have the benefits.

They have those.

We don't have we aren't able because we don't have stable funding or what I would consider stable funding, we don't have things like education bonuses that you have or longevity, or we don't need we don't even have a guaranteed you know step system because we can't say that we're gonna budget this when we might be flat for five years from everybody.

So we don't have those kinds of benefits.

But so with your PERS, are they on the new PRS with the 35?

The new people will be.

The new people will be.

Okay.

And now the question is security.

Is that provided by the county or under the library?

Security guard at downtown Gulfport that is paid for out of the funds that they give us.

Um we had one in Biloxi briefly.

I don't remember if that was 2020.

But we we don't have any.

You don't have any security at your libraries.

We have cut a person because that they they get paid a lot more than my staff do.

Okay.

Have you had any incidents or yes?

We have had incidents where the police have had to been be called and some that are just annoying.

We deal with the public.

Um that's that is part of um unfortunately part of dealing with the public is having people act like them to sometimes.

But the police have been very helpful with things like um patrolling the parking lot after hours to make sure people aren't sleeping on the back steps and coming when there's been, you know recently the most of the incidents have been more things like someone's non-responsive, and we're concerned that they're they're have overdosed or something like that.

Perfect, thank you.

Now we have four libraries.

So are you over all the libraries in Harrison County?

So Long Beach.

Um they did not join the system when it was when it started.

Um it kind of started in the 70s and then in the 90s, a contract was worked out between the current cities, but they they chose not to.

So the so they are city employees.

So how much money does GovPort give you?

Um last year they gave 516.

We're asking for a three percent increase from them.

Um we are also asking to be on millage with them, and we're hoping that they will do that because we same with y'all.

We have lost, we we were getting more before Katrina from Gulfport, and we've been trying to slowly build back up with them as well.

So what's it cost y'all to operate?

The Gulfport libraries?

No.

The Block C and Govort.

Um is a million fifty, and if you'll give me just a second, I can look up what Gulfport costs.

Don't recall off the top of my head.

Um theirs is about 79.

How much?

790.

So between between the what Harrison County is giving you, and we're giving you y'all should have more than enough than what y'all asking for.

I mean, eight hundred and some thousands a lot.

And I know you want to give your employees raises, so does the city of Bloxy.

So if we don't cut stuff, our employees can't get a raise eventually, also.

And I'm not saying your employees don't need raises, but I mean, with us going up two percent or two and a half percent what you're asking for, I mean it's a lot when our own employees need a raise.

I think that was a flaw in the legislation that was passed, I guess, back in the 80s, is that libraries were set up, I think to be more independent.

We were set up separately, so we're always seen as sort of like an opposition to the city needs.

And you know, I understand that, but it's it's unfortunate because we're you know, we're a service and amenity like parks and things like that.

I feel like we are in that same category, but for whatever their wisdom was back in the day, they put us in a separate category without giving us the ability to fund ourselves.

We can't we can't in some states we could pass a millage like the schools can, um, but not here.

So, yes, I I understand what you're saying.

You would rather cut us than not be able to give your city employees right.

So you're saying, but the the city, the city of Bloxy owns all four libraries.

Yes, we are not allowed to own real estate as part of the right, and we paid pay the insurance and the maintenance on all the buildings.

Yes, because we don't own them, we can't insure them.

So that's all I have.

What?

Doesn't the county own Margaret Sherry?

And then we just pay the maintenance and then isn't that a county?

The library at Margaret Sherry, isn't that a county building?

We own the building.

They did the welcome track.

They don't have any obligations out there.

No more Mr.

Gray, you still have the floor?

I know I'm done.

You're good.

Mr.

Tusner?

Would you would you be amenable to a gentleman's agreement or gentlewoman's agreement as the case may be to reduce your request to the equivalent of what a mill equals today, which would be Diana, what about 793?

And then in future years for the next several years, maintain that one mill equivalent, whatever that might be.

So you basically you wouldn't get the three percent you're asking for this year.

Over time.

But it would be more stable over time.

Would you be willing to do that?

Uh you have Yes, we could we could definitely you could live with that.

Okay.

That's just food for thought, thank you.

I'm sorry, Dana, what'd you say?

What seven?

No, you're good.

You're good.

Mr.

Marshall, you're good.

Mr.

Shoemaker?

Yeah.

He's out.

Like a light.

She's at the library.

Um helpful.

Thank you as always.

Yes, thank you.

All right, let's move to uh transit authority, I guess would be next.

You ready?

You sure?

All right.

Mr.

Tuesday, we're gonna kick it off.

Well, let me find my place.

All right, CTA.

And this is the equivalent of about a five percent increase.

Yes, sir, approximately 21,000.

Okay, you had mentioned something we were talking earlier, and you had mentioned about the fare increases and their pros and cons about a fare increase, correct?

Uh yes, counsel.

Would you spend some time on that, please?

I'd the meeting started and I didn't hear all of it.

Um I'll be brief.

So transit, uh public transit, I know it's gonna be a little hard to kind of wrap this, but is always working at a deficit.

That's something everyone needs to understand.

Um it's just the way we roll, literally.

So FTA, federal transit, and the state, Mississippi, we get uh federal funds every year, every year.

Uh there's a formula based on our ridership.

Okay, then that's that's the end game for us in public transit.

More ridership, more money.

Okay.

So what happens when you increase fare is that you think you're gonna be bringing in more money, but it does exactly the opposite.

Because remember who your market base is here.

You're talking about people, working class people, you know, that are going every day to work with their kids in hand, they're going to those, you know, typically minimum wage jobs, you know, casinos, Walmarts, grocery stores, cleaning houses, maybe it's your maid, maybe it's your you know, plumber, whoever it may be.

Um kids from school, universities, you know, these are people that literally keep our economy rolling.

Um, and you feel it.

We felt it during COVID.

I know we all felt it when all that went away.

Um, and so what happens when you increase fare is that ridership will fall, and it did.

Um, I was it was increased by 25 cents, but for family of maybe however many people they have, it it can it can mean something.

You know, it can really mean something.

So what happens with that when you increase fare thinking, well, why don't you increase your fare?

You can make you bring in more money, you can ask a little less this year.

Well, it doesn't work that way with transit.

So unfortunately, that's what happened.

They increase the fare and the ridership dropped.

So people now are buying the monthly pass, right?

Because it costs less than having to pay a one-way fare of a dollar fifty.

And that's why we say in transit, when you decrease your fare, it's actually a good thing because you make it up, you make it up in the back end, you make it up in ridership.

So when I upload all my ridership data into the national transit data into trams that we call in transit, goes to the federal level, my ridership now is going up.

And so when that formula comes down at the beginning of the year, 5307, FTA 5307, now we're getting more money.

So example, Shreveport, Louisiana, a peer of mine got rid of fares altogether.

I know that's hard to grasp.

I get it.

Um in Europe they're doing it.

They have a lot of support.

Here in some states in the United States are starting to do it because it takes away from that discriminatory veil that lives and stigmatizes public transit.

I don't want to get on a bus because I know what I'm gonna find on that bus for $1.50, right?

Um, we don't want that bus in our neighborhood.

That's typically the way we perceive transit.

But when you take away that fair free now, and for some reason something in our heads tells us it's okay, it's free.

And so he removed that colleague of mine, fair altogether, and his ridership increased by 35%.

35%.

So he ended up bringing in an additional $4.4 million in federal revenue.

That's that's a game changer.

So and I'm not saying we're gonna do that.

It's just I'm trying to explain how we work a little differently in public transit.

It's about ridership.

So if CTA being the only public transit really truly, you know, moving the coast.

You know, if you look at it, it really is.

It's serving counties and cities.

It is the definition of regional.

And if you want it to grow and you keep it where it is right now, it's not gonna help your constituents in the future.

You know, you want to see it expand.

You wanna Mississippi's growing, you've got a heavy military presence here, port.

You know, you've got Amazon coming.

You've got you know, a lot of people coming in here.

You got a buckys that just opened, you've got Amtrak just launched.

In a minute, it's gonna hit all the way to Baton Rouge.

It's gonna be a very different face coming through here.

And I think a lot of businesses have already honed in to the fact that they can come in here and build and grow, you know, and at a price that they can they can really see long term, and that's exciting.

That's really exciting.

But when you when you grab transit and you put it in a nutshell, like unfortunately, right now it's under utilities, which I'm only three weeks into my position, but it is one of my goals while my tenure here at CTA to try to look at a way to get it out from underneath that utility stuff, you know, where it has in this code it was built on and get it um placed in where it belongs, you know, somewhere that it can plug into something other than subsidies and look at a more long-term growth so that it can really support this community and the city and the counties that support it.

Um, you know, transit, if you look at New York, I'm sure a lot of you have gone out out of here, traveled around New York is one of the is the largest in the United States.

You know, transit is your constituents not being able to get to work.

I mean, that's that's that's huge.

You know, um, and we cannot uh I don't see this agency, it's just uh long term um it's not uh it's just it's not it's not something it's gonna be able to maintain.

Question maintaining sorry to interrupt you question just the reader's digest version since we have several new council members.

Could you briefly explain the process for new routes for but we have three routes at times we've had more than three routes in past years, but is funding dropped or due to circumstances, we're now down to three routes, and you're pretty much east and west.

But you know, north of the bay, the city's growing and so forth could just maybe boom, there are five things we have to do, and we can help you with this, and you've got to bear the cost of that, and it lasts for a trial period.

Just I just know we have other folks waiting.

So this is a good teachable moment.

Thank you.

So real quick, um right now.

I'm sorry, and uh I just went blank, council.

It's okay.

Is that we have three routes running east and west.

Thank you.

So what would it cost for a trial run?

And we've done this in the past, but but with the former council, not this new council.

So just to let y'all know, transit is not static.

Sometimes um councilmans or um other bodies become upset when transit discontinues a route.

So the definition we here in public transit say this is the rule of thumb.

You want to be moving at least seven people an hour on a route for it to be financially sustainable.

Okay, if you drop below seven people a route an hour, then it does not become financially sustainable.

So the ridership is the fair revenue that you're bringing in on that particular route is what's funding that route along with those dollars that we use to federal to buy the the buses, which are by the way, about 1.2 million apiece.

So those routes have to be able to support themselves.

If the ridership is not there, we have we have to pull back.

In other words, also your demographics are changing.

So when businesses close or go, you know, for whatever reason, and demographics change and people relocate and move, and the ridership is no longer there, we too have to move.

So routes cannot stay the same.

And transit is not meant to do that.

So we are more than open to discussing any need that the city of Biloxi has as far as you know NENET.

We're really interested about providing, you know, uh service in this area.

We have a lot of constituents in this area that we are absolutely that's what we're here for.

That's what we're here for.

But that cost right now is $82 per service revenue hour.

Does that answer your question?

That's all I have.

That's all you got.

Can I elaborate off that?

Yeah.

Mr.

Group, just real quick.

So you uh uh regarding moving around, I looked at the three routes.

There's not a route north of the bridge.

I I think there was some difficulties trying to get D'Aberville on board with the subsidy in the past.

So I think that's why they don't go on that side.

However, and I'm gonna bring up the the devil Pops Ferry Bridge, but going across the postray bridge in Ward 4, um ward six, um, you have uh you have a lot of population that that are walking.

There's one one young lady I know walks to work every single day.

I think that there's a lot of population moving north of the bridge that with apartment complexes that are there, along with the new subdivisions, that I think the ridership would be there.

So to kind of explore north of Pops Ray Bridge from on Post Fair, just along Post Ray Road.

Um I know you don't want to go into Diablo Villa to cross back over.

However, there is a route that you could establish on Pops Ray Road with several stops that I think would in meet your ridership to increase from what I understand you said increasing your ridership increases your grand money, correct?

Absolutely.

Right.

So there's a there's a ton of apartment complex and all of that along Pops Ferry Road.

So I would respectfully request if y'all could look at the Pops Ferry Road.

Thank you.

Go.

Mr.

Marshall.

Uh in these bilexic, you're you're talking about increasing ridership.

And uh someone may have mentioned that uh you're trying to people who don't have cars, don't have transportation, can't afford car insurance, things like that.

Uh you're looking at East Biloxi, and it would be like the prime place to run your best routes for people who fit that description.

But yet it's it's extremely lacking.

So do you have any plans of of addressing that issue?

Uh thank you for the question, Councilman uh Marshall.

And um it is my understanding that there are many areas that are underserved currently, and that need and that ridership absolutely.

There are our demographics in our market that we would more than want to, like what you've just mentioned, uh provide service to.

But unfortunately, right now, um, you know, we just don't have the money.

We don't have the money to to grow, to grow.

I mean, to really grow and extend to all those, you know, areas.

And for example, it doesn't have to be a bus, councilman.

Um, actually, what I love about transit, especially now, it's become very uh innovative.

And so I could easily put out an RFP for a microtransit company to come in here and do a first mile, last mile, and instead of us paying 82, then we contract, right, these agencies to come in here and they provide those transit to those veins that you're speaking of that we can't get to and actually bring them and connect them to our bus stops.

So they would literally pick them up and take them based on our schedules immediately to the nearest bus stop so they can get back and forth.

And those all those things can be done.

But before you go out to RFP, you have to have and you get quotes.

Um, you know, you you have to have those funds.

You know, and right now, um, you know, we're only able to do what we have in front of us.

Okay.

So you you're not able to do that because you don't have the funds.

So let's say on division street, I don't know if you're familiar with my area or not, but if you're on division stream, um someone needs to get to the train station, the um the transit station.

And so you say the last mile, the first mile in that situation will be the first that would pick them up, get them to the bus station.

They could do that a lot cheaper than you can at $82 an hour.

Which means why you don't do that because you don't have the funds to do that part.

We don't have the funds to extend uh another leg, say, you know, because we have to pay another operator, we have to pay their salary, their health insurance.

We have to buy another bus, which is about uh I'm gonna lowball it at 968, and we have to put it in because you know, we have to have the vehicle for it, so that's gonna require another vehicle.

Then we have to have a 20% uh rule call for buses, in other words, I have to have another bus on standby in case that bus breaks down.

I gotta have PMs for maintenance, I gotta order another fare box, which is about 36,000 to include the software.

So there's there are a lot of pieces there that have to go into play, um, which can be done, you know, um, to extend that route.

So we have 117 personnel right now at CTA that includes all of our operators, including our parent transit operators, which is ADA, which we you know, we that's a curb-to-curb pickup for everybody and anybody that's disabled mentally or physically that needs to get to a doctor's appointment, go visit their mothers, go play bingo, go grocery shopping, any of that.

We pick them up, take them, pick them back up, and take them home.

We do that as well.

And that is something that we really need to do a better job of communicating.

But can it be done?

Yes, it can.

And these RFPs with these microtransits, yes.

It would ultimately cost less because you can contract them to say, for example, CTA will cover up to five dollars of your trip.

But anything over $5, the rider is responsible for.

What I'm saying is this, based on just numbers, the most undeserved, uh, underserved area, the person to the group of area, the group of people that needs it the most aren't getting it because of cost.

That's correct.

But the people who don't need it the most, cost don't matter.

Who are you saying doesn't need it the most?

Okay, the most if you go to the East Biloxi, where comprised basically ward one and ward two, they're the ones that need the transportation the most.

But they have the least of the public transportation.

You can compare it to any part of the city that you guys go to, but bottom line is ward one and ward two, which is East Biloxi, are the ones that need it the most, but yet they have it the less.

How do you make that work?

How do you fix that?

Well, you fix it unfortunately with um with money, and you fix it, you know.

We could not, I mean, we could certainly, if that's what y'all would want us to do for the city of Biloxi, is stop servicing the casinos and putting all our, you know, injecting most of our power into getting your people to work at the casinos, we could take all that system out of there and put it exactly where you're talking about.

If y'all want us to do that, we'll do that tomorrow.

How would the casinos I'm sorry?

How would the casinos react to that?

Well, I mean, probably not not in a very pleasant way.

Yeah, I would imagine.

Because we're talking unpleasant about the people in East Biloxi, they're very unpleasant about because they gotta get up and walk and the transportation that you at your home office is really designed for them.

But there's a cost now when it comes to the right.

So if again, it would be something that we would have to talk over with the city of Biloxi, the city of Biloxi, the council members and this council would like to pursue that discussion.

Um, we're certainly open to having it.

Quick question on that, right?

So your casino hopper, Rainbow Street to Covet Street to Bayview to Oak Street, Pine Street, Third Street, Myrtle Street.

What part of that is not World War in Ward II?

Next question.

You got Greenworth Street right here on the beach combo route.

Uh I mean, it goes right along the beach.

Um, I mean, it services East Biloxi or CTA.

Yeah, but if it would go down Division Street, here here you're making a whole loop.

So if they can just, if they come around, let's say they go down Oak Street, and they can just turn down the vision, then make another loop back around, they can just add division street with would cure a lot of the people that don't have cars, unfortunately.

We've just had that one stretch, is not really adding a big route.

It's just Yeah, because there's if you if you continue up Oak Street to take Bayview, you're not servicing anybody back there until you get to Boomtown if you pick somebody up there.

So you could take a left-on division and then go up Lee Street.

Yes, you could.

You know, I'm just gonna be up front with you.

And those who need the most you went all around them.

And it's insulting.

So what they asked is that they need a ride.

But when now that I'm speaking to you, you say, oh yes, they do need a ride, but it's a money problem.

But those who don't need a ride, like he was saying there's a whole section that they're going to.

Nobody's even living down there.

You run that route trying to get to the casinos, but you you did missing the main artery.

And on our in East Beloxy, divisions fee is one way, one way out.

If you live in East Balexi, there's a chance you went home.

You went through Division Street.

Well, we don't have I don't have a problem at all sitting down with CTA at this point.

Like I said, I'm three weeks in and looking at division.

We'd have to take a we'd have to take a bus out there and run it.

Pardon me?

You used to do it.

Oh, okay.

Then it's stopped.

And then people noticed it.

But you look at the it's like it's just the casino loop.

And it just goes around us.

Okay.

Well, thank you for telling me that.

I'm gonna look into it first thing.

And then also identify a safe place to put a bus stop, of course.

We um maybe we don't need to create a route, maybe we can just redirect a route.

Absolutely.

You know, it's a there's plenty of places.

We have school bus stops all along Division Street.

Like say going down division is not they there's a different route they can take to get to Boomtown or or wherever they go, and so maybe y'all can look at looking at the map and helping the people who really need to help that are traveling to doctors and the casinos also having to walk so far.

Yep, I'll give them my word.

I I have a couple of questions.

Uh you talked about ridership being down.

When I look at this on the fixed route, it actually increased from 2023 to 2024 to 310, 310,000.

And then it it doesn't have it just says budget the next year 326.

And then the next year 342.

It shows ridership going up.

Um down.

And to clarify that, what you're looking at is only for Bilexi.

Okay.

So I apologize for that.

But um Well, that's all we're talking about today is Biloxi.

And I apologize for that.

But um, if you look at the fare revenue, fair box dropped.

Um fair box for match generally when it was 362 rejected.

Um went from 2020.

365 to 360.

362.

That's small drop.

That small drop is telling you that people are buying passes now, monthly passes, instead of paying the regular one dollar.

I got you.

But ridership is there, it's just they're buying a different thing.

I'm just trying to clarify it.

Yes.

The other thing, um, and I'll get to that.

Well, let me I got a couple more things.

Uh marketing is down.

Marketing revenue is down.

What's happening with that?

People aren't advertising with you, or when I look at advertising, it's down from nearly 90,000 down to 70,000.

When I look at 2025 budget, 2026 budget.

Uh, I know this may not be actuals, but it it the data here says it's down.

Is there a reason?

Or do you know yet?

No, um, it looks like uh we had some opportunities to um to sell advertisement.

Uh we put up some fairly large panels um outside of the aquarium that we were counting on, uh, but we have not been able to move forward with those.

Okay.

And so, but on top of that, um, unfortunately, yes, we have not been able to um sell.

And and a little bit of your lease space income is down as well.

Yes.

Okay.

And we have actually put out a large advertisement advertising that lease base that's hanging right now alongside the aquarium.

So we're hoping, you know, that it's just like a we're hoping it picks up.

Okay.

Cost.

Uh and when you get to cost a little bit, and a few years ago, we we kind of pinpointed some of the increase in cost.

We hired some uh CTA went and hired some talent.

And so with that talent, that was an increase in their labor.

Uh or your labor cost increasing as far as in the these salaries are salaries and uh and wages, they're increasing.

Yes, counseling.

How much?

Uh they're increasing right now.

Uh three, four.

Uh for this budget um across the board, we're looking at about a uh four four percent increase.

Which is dollar figure what?

Yes, sir.

Uh dollar figure for everybody.

Oof.

I don't have the dollar figure right off the top of my head.

Uh it's three or four percent.

Okay.

Yeah, it's about a three, four percent increase.

Right.

And then let me circle around to the next uh Albatross in the room.

So it's and you talked about the casino route, maybe we need to serve the other routes.

Uh you know, I don't disagree with that.

But the bottom line is we drop off, I mean, 80 percent.

Uh maybe I'm just throwing some numbers out here.

80 percent of your ridership is dropped off at the front door at the casinos.

And I've said this on record before to my friends in the casino industry.

Perhaps they need to recognize the value of that and assist a little bit as a group uh to public transit uh because it's benefiting them.

They we're dropping people at their door, they're shaking the quarters and dollar bills out of their pockets, and I'm sure they're having a good time being shaken.

But um I I think I don't know how we could get people to the table to and they do a lot of good in the community, don't get me wrong, but it just seems like a little bit more of a balance as far as contributions uh to CTA.

And I'll end with that.

Anybody else have anything to add that I missed?

Uh going back on what I was saying again, not just to be the dead horse, but uh look at your information here.

Um your yearly income, 11,000 25 to 73 percent of your ridership is my is the area that you you do going away from.

You say you better ridership, more money coming in.

So those who don't have a car, that's that's the whole area you got going to.

But you're going to areas that have cars, and you look for riders, they're not gonna ride your bus when you got car.

So but those in my ills in here in East Beloxy, especially getting out there can get the division straight, they don't have cars.

There's this is their income, 73 percent.

Is this this is uh this is the people.

The African Americans, that's that is it.

Anybody with a census map will look at that.

So you say that the higher your ridership, the more money you get.

Right.

That is true.

Am I just am I is it just me not making it make sense to you?

I mean, yes, you riders right there.

If I was selling hot dogs, I go to some, I'm not gonna go to the vegetarian farm.

I'm gonna go where the high dollar people are.

Well, Councilman Marshall, and I like I said, it's not an excuse.

I've um I can promise each one of you.

Um I'm three weeks into this, and when I get through the subsidies in this budget, I um I want to hear.

Uh these are the things I need to hear.

And when I sit down with my team and my board, CTA has a board of nine members.

These are the discussions that we're going to have.

And these are the recommendations that I'm going to make.

Your recommendations.

Um, but I too have a board that I have to report to.

And at the end of the day, you know, um, I'm gonna make that recommendation, and I hope, I hope that they um they will support my recommendation and move forward with those changes.

I wish we were doing a different welcome, welcome to uh Baloxi, but you know, this is where we are.

Thank you.

We really appreciate your your insightful candor.

One other thing, Kenny.

Um Mr.

Tisday.

Mr.

Gladva beat me to it.

Welcome to Baloxy.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Appreciate it.

You you know more you've learned more about Biloxi in three weeks than I knew when I ended the world in three weeks.

But what I heard heard you say without really stating it explicitly is you're happy to do whatever we want to do as long as we know what we want to do, and then you have the resources to do it.

Absolutely.

So um we welcome that.

And uh again, I would urge you all give her a call, go talk with her.

Yes, and please, because these are the things that I I need to y'all have been here much longer than I have.

Um I grew up in uh I'm originally from Central America, but I grew up in New Orleans, went to Tulane University.

I you know, I worked at Regional Transit Authority, worked at Jefferson Parish Transit, and came from U.S.

Army in transportation.

So I am I'm here.

Um I'm from you know, pretty much grown in the South, and I I need to hear from all of y'all, and I really really would appreciate any feedback, guidance, and recommendations open.

Uh Mr.

Tisdale, no disrespect, but what I heard was you willing to do whatever you have to do to to address the issues, but things like when we come to run to the issue that we're speaking about, East Black, you're saying you get out, yeah, there are resources mean money.

Yes, are we well but at the end of the day, right?

It's it's a it's a it's a chess board.

So if I if I don't have the money to extend a route, I can always take from somewhere, right?

I can take from this route.

I can take my resources, for example, you're all are pointing out to me the casino route that were heavy there.

They're heavy there because the fare the the ridership and the fair revenue they're collecting the agency at this time.

So, but again, I I hear you.

And if we say remove some of that service hours from that area and take that, which is service hours equals money, and place it into this area, then it would be an even flat rate, but this area would have a little, you know, less than a that is not what I'm saying, ma'am.

That is not what I'm saying.

It seems to me that you're saying you're you're you're obviously picking your words, you're picking up the biggest industry we got.

You're putting the poorest people up against the biggest industry.

You're saying that in order to do the service for the poorest people, you gotta hurt the richest people, and you think you putting them against each other.

And there's a big city, you got all these other routes.

There's another street, another street that has no ridership somewhere else you can find without putting us making us the bad guy against the casinos.

Oh no, um I'm I'm I just use that as an example.

We can that's not a good example.

You need to find another example.

We're not going, we're not against the casino.

We need the casinos for the job.

We're for we're for that.

However, we need the money.

You need the money to do the job.

You're asking us about the money.

We're showing you right here that you need ridership.

If they can go do zero fares and increase ridership, and you're looking at your core reason, you're putting you in paper who your customers are, and you're not going to your customers.

And the only way I'm hearing is that you have to put us against the casino.

No.

Find another way to do that.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Um, Mr.

Nail has a question.

Look, I'm in uh Ward 3.

We love y'all.

He's gonna take nothing away from us.

I understand where he's coming from, but a lot of people use each other's bus in Ward 3 and all down pass road.

Think it's a good route.

Thank you.

We don't have that option.

That's what I'm saying.

We don't like the bus to get on.

If we have the bus.

Thank you, gentlemen.

A bus.

It's not taken away from anything.

You know, still not taking away from the casinos.

You just maybe instead of going down Bayview where there's nothing there, that you may be able to just reroute it and pick and add two or three stops down Division Street, and you'll pick up a lot of riders that are going to the casinos, or they may be able to get a job at the casino and have a way there now.

Well, tell you what.

So by the next time we have um I see y'all again, um that that will be in place.

Yeah.

And congratulations on your new position.

All right, I'm I'm gonna go ahead and close this up, but it it the other thing is so if we came to you and said, look, we got 375,000 in the budget, you could build a CTA plan around that number.

Um yes.

Okay.

Thank you.

I'm not saying we're gonna do that, but I just just wanted to know.

All right, thank you.

Appreciate you being on the hot seat a little bit for us.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh we're gonna go to seafood industry museum next.

I just gotta go to Ward 3 to catch the damn work.

Give everybody a chance to collect their CTA credits here.

All right.

Okay, um, we'll get and get started.

So you you basically you're asked this year is the same as last year, no increase, decrease.

Okay.

Um anybody have any want to open up with any questions?

Mr.

Neil?

No.

Mr.

Crew.

Let's see.

Um you're on here twice, I think.

So we have the electricity bills, and then we have management contracts.

The management contracts, correct?

Is that all the programs and everything?

All the programs.

So how does a peer fall under you through the museum or does it peer fall under ports and harbors?

Okay, so the peer does fall underneath your umbrella right there.

And then the lease revenue from your peer from your slip rentals, does it is that revenue to you?

Yeah.

Perfect.

Great.

That's all I had.

Thank you.

Mr.

Teesdale.

Jeez, you live to tell the tale, Robin.

Good for you.

Cross the finish line.

Well done, faithful servant.

I I have nothing.

Kill your mom, man.

I think this uh pretty easy.

I I just thought with that big salary drop that uh teasing.

Um your legacy will continue forever and and your legacy, your you're continuing it by taking over that leadership, well.

So thank you both.

Yes uh for for your service.

No further questions.

Anybody from the George Ore?

No one from the George Ore.

Uh we'll start up uh Bobby Gilliam.

That's what I was gonna say.

Okay, yeah.

So right a new item.

Why should we put $50,000 out there?

Great question.

And the first thing I'm gonna do is let you know that after some conversations with various council members and folks, we're lowering our request.

I'm not sure how we got to 50,000, but right out of the gate, we're asking for 25,000.

And the first reason we should do this is right now we've got a couple of areas in the city.

Excuse me, I don't have any more questions.

Now go ahead, Bobby.

Right now, we don't have a whole lot of ability as a city and a community to incentivize certain pockets.

We can take big swings when we want to do economic development and encourage investors to come into our different areas or revitalize certain areas.

Um we as a foundation saw that as an opportunity as we were looking for what what do we serve, how do we serve and partner with the city?

We looked at that and we said, okay, let's identify how could this 501c3 serve a good purpose?

And a facade grant or a facade grant program is a very easy, very impactful way that we can put economic development dollars into the system, so to speak, or into our community, and to do it in a way that is putting private dollars first.

When we talk about economic development or incentives, we want private dollars to be be spent first, but as a city, you want to come in and backstop that what we're proposing, what we're asking the city for as a $20,000 contribution is our foundation has pledged 10,000, Mississippi Power Foundation is pledging 10,000, and we'd ask the city council to approve 20 to match that.

So we could start with a 40,000 dollar facade grant improvement program.

I mentioned along Pass Road and Division.

What that would look like is folks that either own or rented space in this cool could apply for up to five, excuse me, five thousand dollars to be reimbursed if they spent ten thousand dollars to repaint their building to put an awning up to get new signage.

Now, a similar program was run through Biloxi Main Street a number of years ago.

That those funds have been depleted, and that program we looked at, that capped their reimbursement at 1,000 dollars.

That was the downtown area, it's an urban space, a thousand dollars went a lot further on a building when you're renting a storefront than when you have a parking lot, signage along pass road, things of that nature.

Um so that's what we're hoping to accomplish here, and and to build that partnership with uh the city to continue to be a tool that that we can use to incentivize and and help stabilize the basis of our uh our small businesses.

So that covers 20,000.

So the last five thousand is for what we're calling the last mile fund.

Last number of years, our board is comprised of business owners and also the board presidents of various organizations like the Chamber of Commerce, Biloxi Bay Chamber of Commerce, Biloxi Main Street, and the city has representatives on our board.

So we hear a lot of things and projects that are going on on a grassroots level that are building steam.

So we I mentioned the the DIY skate park underneath I 110 as one example.

Another one would be the focus and re kind of excitement on Porter and uh Irish Hill and Howard Avenue in that area.

We as a foundation stepped in with the food giant just to do some sprucing up of that area.

And we paid for and organized volunteers to put just repaint all of the yellow caution curbing along that that exterior on Porter Avenue and Irish Hill.

Um so there are opportunities like that.

That costs a couple hundred dollars.

But for that to go through a city request and go into public works or parks and regular, you know, we're way down the field, and we've spent way too much time just to put some new caution paint right around the food giant and make that a little bit more appealing to to the community and to the neighborhood.

So projects like that is what the additional five thousand dollars would would be for set aside for as those come up, they can be brought to our board and we can vote on it.

Um the other thing that I'd mention is we're an all-volunteer board.

We have zero staff.

So every dollar goes directly into that program.

So we don't have any, this is not going to administrative overhead, it's not going to operational expenses, it's actually going into the pockets of property owners or business owners that are applying for a facade grant, or for organizations and community groups that have a project or something that's right there, they just need a couple hundred bucks.

And we'd like to have that ability where we can contribute funds and ask the city to help out with that as well.

Quick question.

All right, Mr.

Carew.

So is this a particular area or just throughout the whole city?

Which?

Our our foundation?

Right.

The foundation is called the uh our name is the Greater Biloxi Economic Development Foundation, which was the original name in 1981 when it when our organization was founded.

In the last few years, let's say about five years ago, a small core group of business owners got together and basically took this organization back from the county.

For many years, this was the Harrison County Economic Development Foundation, and it oversaw and managed the old innovation center off Pops Ferry Road.

When the county sold that asset, there were a number of us that got together with the city and basically stepped up and said, You and the county aren't using this, this entity, this 51c3, we'd like to bring it back into really the city here in Biloxi.

And we've done that.

We've revised our bylaws, re-ridden our mission, and we've been trying to re-engage the community on where we can be a tool to help.

So anyone in in the city of Biloxi is eligible to apply for these grants?

Well, the grant program that we're talking about, because Mississipp Power is the initial entity, their funds have to have certain restrictions.

So this is a program that they run in any number of municipalities and and cities and counties, and there are restrictions.

Some of those restrictions include you have to be a Mississippi Power customer, um, or at least in a Mississippi Power service district.

And beyond that, we have to define some type of a core some type of an area.

Uh previously, when this program was funded under Main Street, Main Street itself has a geographic bounds.

We do not, which gives us a little bit more elbow room to work through this.

And that's why we're looking at where what corridor, what area would we define this without making it a complete free-for-all and say everybody in the greater Biloxi, because we're only talking about 40,000 total if we agree to this match.

Right.

Yeah, but you you defined it with the mission power of the exactly you defined it there.

Thank you.

Appreciate it.

Any other questions, Mr.

Corey?

Now, would this grant cover like buildings that need to be pressure washed?

Because we we got a few businesses that just would look a lot better if it was pressure washed.

If the property owner, so let me just clarify a property owner can apply, and or a tenant can apply.

So if you're releasing the property, you can apply.

If you're the property owner, you can apply.

Um you can't both apply, but uh, yes, to answer your question, if it needs pressure washing, depending on what that is, our our grants, what we're talking about would be up to five thousand dollars.

And one of the requirements is we would match 50% reimbursed 50% of the overall project.

So that's why I give the example of the property owner spends $10,000 to repaint the building or buy any warning, have a new sign, we could reimburse $5,000 of that.

Right.

Yeah, no, I'm I'm just thinking if somebody come to you and they needed $500 to pay to get their building pressure washed.

I mean, would that be kind of in this?

I think that would be in the same spirit.

Because again, what we're trying to do is create something where we have a spirit of what we're all trying to accomplish here, but we do have the pre-design and determined kind of regulations and a process.

Right.

That's all I have.

Thank you.

Good.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Marshall.

Uh on Path Raw.

How far down?

How far west on Path Road do you have?

Do you have a map?

Are you going to get a map for them?

We don't because again, this is all predicated upon everyone in the city council approving this to the two of so Mississippi Power has put that restriction on me and on our foundation that they will chip in and we can go down this path.

They're okay with me working with uh with all of you gentlemen to figure out exactly what is that geography, and then using the term corridor gives us a little bit more elbow room.

So to answer your question, we don't have a right now.

I can't say it goes to the V's.

I can't say it goes to any specific area or Crawl Street, but open to that discussion.

I'm not sure you know what y'all's thoughts would be on that.

No money uh no map.

I'm sorry?

No map, no money.

Yeah, look you said no map, no money.

Yeah, right.

We need a map.

And also three.

I'm happy to contribute.

You got two facades uh on here.

We have two photogs on here.

You associate with the other group.

I'm not sure what what other facade you have.

Did I read that wrong?

We got only we got another facade something on here.

Yeah, he's number one thirty-two.

Yeah, who's that?

No, I don't know who the other guy's he's numbered.

Yeah.

Yeah, for I think that was through Main.

I think that was run through Main Street.

I think that was run through Main Street.

We'd set money aside for a facade grant.

Okay.

Sorry, Grant, all the money's gonna be set.

I didn't request.

Yeah, they're previously.

So there's a request on here.

Do we just delete it?

I I still believe we refund so much each year.

We we've allocated it all.

So you are uh you in the middle of something, so just hold tight?

Yeah, okay.

Um on top of what they already asked it for, they asked for an additional ten thousand dollars.

I don't think we understand.

You're asking for Main Street 10,000 more.

What's the what's the amount?

Uh just a minute, Bobby.

And then what's all about if you're on the 4060?

Now departmental, is that money that is requested or not requested?

Speaking to the microphone so everybody can hear you.

Sorry, see you.

Okay, so when we're talking about facade grants, the currently funded facade grants, right?

We're we're talking about what's in this budget right here.

These are currently funded.

There are no new ones.

At this point, we have three of them out there.

We've got the Mashado Tano building, we've got the Bella, and we've got desports building.

There is a portion in here, and it's in 904.

Is it 4094?

The 406 funds those three agreements.

This is totally separate.

Uh understood.

We just want to make sure this isn't a new program.

Is it already uh allocated to something or tied to something?

It's new money.

Or is this new money?

406 is tied to the sales tax.

It's a percentage of the we calculate all of these were derelict buildings.

So anything that we get sales tax is permitted.

We'll fund this amount.

That is funded by that.

We reimburse up to, I think 75% on more.

And they make their application through the uh main street.

No, no.

Right?

No.

Uh we had five, I think at one point we had about 500,000.

That was for a uh like a new buildings.

For example, the Fritz building, they built that entire building.

Uh the restoration of the uh building uh next to people's bank area next to the old board and right.

And then people that built new houses in the area, they could apply for up to 25,000.

And uh for the most part, some uh fellow built a house on Suter, he got about $7,000.

That was a pure grant.

In conjunction with that, we've got three to four projects, Desport, Mashado Patana, and Bella, where they put the money up themselves.

They paid for the improvement, they paid for the facade grant, and they are being reimbursed through future sales tax.

So we did not really put that money up, but as they're generating sales tax, they're coming up saying, where's my reimbursement right?

So we don't have a choice.

We don't have a choice on this item.

We we have to put this on the books, and this is what we're estimating funded.

Well, because they are sort of the administrator of that.

They're the pass through entity.

Good to know.

But this this here, as I understand it, there's no sales tax reimbursement.

It is just a straight grant.

Okay.

All right.

All right, Bobby, back to you.

Any other questions?

Can I clarify one point on that?

Sure, because I was the board president and VP and involved with Main Street during that period of time.

So I'm a little bit familiar with those programs.

Umly doing with this grant program is not tying to future sales tax revenue and upside.

That way we don't run into this issue in the future.

Okay.

Uh before you go.

Uh you're saying that uh $500 would be uh so they need just $500, you help them for for the for the facade going to be.

If somebody submitted an application for a $500 reimbursement, then they absolutely met the criteria and they submitted the proper paperwork.

Okay.

Let me tell you up to $5,000.

Up to up to $5,000.

So if somebody wanted dollar for dollar.

All right.

Uh coming over to East Biloxi, when you come down Division Street.

Uh one is one of the things actually, you know, five, so I even mind that I am my competitor.

There's a finger home on the loaning street.

They're up and down those little side streets, they are actual being surprised by actual businesses.

And they could probably use it, but if you just go straight down to Vegas, you're gonna miss them.

If you don't turn on Main Street, you're gonna miss them.

No, uh, when I say bring us a map, uh what I'm I'm saying is that I don't see where you're gonna have those who are who need it the most.

I don't see what you know coming down division street provides a step in that direction, wouldn't you say?

And to just so we're clear, the time we choose the term corridor because we're addressing a block or two in either direction, giving some elbow room.

I think I wanted to make sure that that we didn't just choose the past road quarter and stop right there again seven.

Uh-huh.

We said we also have opportunity and future in in businesses that need this grant, and that's where we want to put it.

Okay.

Um obviously I'm I'm I'm pro-East Beloxi.

Well, if the map is showing what you're gonna do something in East Biloxi and it's gonna affect the business in East Beloxie, and you're willing to put that in writing because this is a new program.

We hope we don't have anything to go on.

So it has to be stated very very clear.

Okay.

Other than that.

All right, thank you, gentlemen.

Question real quick.

So I see in years past this same organization had asked for 20,002, 10,023, and 10,004.

So I'm assuming in 25 is when y'all made the change from Harrison County to Greater Biloxi or no.

No, no, we made the change.

I want to say in 21 or 20.

Okay, so thereabouts.

So it's not a brand new organization, so you've had these these grants in place.

No, we have not.

We have never this new iteration of this foundation has not been an organization or an entity that as a conduit for official for a facility for a facade grant program like this.

So the previous requests were for a different program.

They were for different uses, yes.

Okay.

Perfect.

Thank you.

All right.

Thank you, gentlemen.

Thank you, Bobby.

I think that's it.

All right.

I'd like to call Mr.

Woody Bailey up next.

One more thing, one more thing.

I want to be clear, Mr.

Bob.

I just wanted to be clear that.

East Belexi is included.

That's what I'm in for.

That's how I'm talking about.

Absolutely.

No, no, no.

I respectfully, I I understand and hear where you're coming from, and we will have the map and put this together.

Appreciate your time.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Mr.

Baylor.

All right, I'll just give open remarks.

I've worked with you for a long time, actually two or three decades, I think.

Um but uh it goes without saying cruising the coast, we've supported it.

Uh it was a huge success last year as well.

I know it's uh taxes our uh law enforcement a little bit, but um all in all, everybody has a great time, and it uh certainly has put us on the map as one of the premier uh events, not only in the region but in the nation.

So uh I'll just make those opening remarks.

You're not asking for anything more, you're asking for the same uh contribution as we uh made last year.

Um I open the floor up.

Anybody want to ask questions?

No, I don't have to do that.

Mr.

Crew?

Okay, Mr.

Marshall.

Good.

You're not Mr.

Marshall.

Mr.

Marshall, Mr.

Gray?

Mr.

Nail.

I'm good.

Mr.

Marshall again.

Just asking questions right now?

Yeah, you have any questions?

Oh, I just have a general question.

Uh on your um uh your membership, your your amount of people coming in is uh is it increasing?

How is it increasing?

As far as participants, yes.

Uh right as it stands today, we are up 172 where we were last year at this point in time.

So at present it's increasing, but overall has been increasing.

We not only look for participants that are driving the car, three and a half people per vehicle, but if you notice our advertising that you'll be seeing uh uh outer market areas now, we really don't ask for you to come register your car cruising the coast and and participate.

We want you to come and see cruising the coast.

We're really after spectators to come in and see the event.

So when we talk about are we increasing or not, um, you know, we think that there's around 100 125,000 people that are here during the whole week of cruising the coast.

So uh we know we're looking for people not only to drive that are here driving cars, but we're here here looking for people that are coming to see and enjoy the Mississippi Gulf Coast during cruising the coast.

Uh just like to add that this event, you could take 4th of July, you could take Loba Day weekend and almost take Memorial Day weekend and combine them, and it it won't equal what this event generates in seven days as far as occupied hotel rooms.

Uh the average hotel rate is this may be the highest average hotel rate is for the entire year during these seven days.

And the economic impact study y'all did generates how much on an annual basis?

Well, the last study we did was in 2021.

We will be doing another one next year.

So if you look at the we look at it at the state overall, and we also look at it at the three coast counties.

It was in 2021 is 36.1 million uh for the state and then 33.1 million for the three coast counties.

We've grown a great deal since 2021, so I suspect our numbers are pretty pretty higher, you know, good deal higher than that.

Okay.

Find out next year.

All right, all right.

With that, I just want to say thank you guys for what you do.

I appreciate it.

My family enjoyed it, and I always invite people down, and we have a good time.

Good.

Appreciate that.

Thanks.

Mr.

Bailey, could you arrange for something to go by Marshall's house so that he would smile more during council meetings?

Anything that would be for the shit.

We do need some events, Ice Blexy.

I don't think we have any other questions.

Some really likes something really loud.

Yeah, really loud.

Yeah.

Late at night.

Thank y'all very much.

All right.

Um street sweep.

All right, who else do we need to get to?

Who else come on up?

Casa.

Casa.

I don't know.

What's that?

No.

All right.

Anyone here want to start out with any questions for Casa?

Y'all heard her talk about it earlier?

Mr.

Gray, you want to kick it off?

No.

Me and her talk before uh with what she does.

Her whole organization is uh well needed.

And we need more people like that uh to get out and help help the people that be a voice for the ones who don't have one.

And we appreciate what y'all do.

Thank you.

Okay.

Anyone else?

I just want to say that if we had to hire someone to do what you do, we couldn't afford it.

So we're we appreciate you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I do think it is um it is way more than a job, it is a vocation.

And I'm very fortunate that I get to uh speak on behalf of of hundreds of kids a year through the through my volunteers' voices.

You know, the people like Diane, over 130 of them in South Mississippi, they are really angels in these communities.

Um I just get to be a mouthpiece and be passionate and know when I go to sleep at night that I'm making a difference in some small way.

But they're the people you really should thank.

All right, thank you.

Can I ask uh Miss Stacy Riley to come up next?

Okay, yep.

Mr.

Tuesday, you want to kick us off.

Hi, Stacy, I don't have any questions.

I know you do good work.

You know we're limited in terms of the dollars we have to give out and everything, but uh your organization does wonderful work.

The uh the only question I have is about the family justice center.

That's countywide.

Right.

And uh just 25 words or less, just the progress because I know this started maybe two years ago, and we have new council members.

What what is the family justice that do?

The family justice center is a one-stop shop for anybody who's been affected by interpersonal violence.

So domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, uh, childhood sexual abuse, um, family members of of homicide victims can come to uh to come into that facility and get help not just from our agency and the service providers we have, but also we'll have other uh entities inside that building.

Uh now we're in the process of uh moving everything together.

Uh we did a uh strategic plan last year.

I think we came to present to the the council um uh to because it takes a it takes a large facility to do this in because you're talking about our agency and all of our staff members and other other nonprofits, law enforcement presence, court presence, everybody in there.

So if a victim walks in there, they don't have to go other places.

They're they're gonna come to that place and get help from everyone.

So where it is right now is uh the county has provided us a a uh a location to be phase one, and it is the old youth court in Gulfport, and so our some of our team members are there.

That's where our legal clinic is, that's where a lot of our uh our uh uh advocates that work in courts are, and that's where our forensics medical clinic is uh located right now.

Uh and then we're we're seeking funding uh through uh congressionally directed spending uh through Cindy Hyde Smith's office in hopes that uh she's including money in her uh in her budget to expand that um to be able to for us to be able to add on 18,000 square foot to the other to the already present 4500 square feet that's that is there.

So that will that will serve our entire um our entire county, our our sixth county service area.

The shelter will make remain where it is.

Um we will not move the shelter outside of Biloxi.

Um we have our public location here in Biloxi.

We're we're trying to figure out what what we will do with that.

If we'll still have that space here or not, um because it comes down to operating, because to operate a 20,000 square foot building is gonna be quite daunting.

Uh so uh we're hoping if this all goes through that next year around this time we may be building on to that that program.

Um our goal is to reduce the number of places that victims have to go to to get help because we work for them, they don't work for us.

Um so if we have everybody in that building that can that's there to provide services to that person, then that that's one less phone call they have to make.

That's one less place they have to go to.

That's one uh you know less opportunity to get misinformation from uh from every entity around there.

So that's where we are right now.

Uh we we have we're located in um in Gulfport for that space, um, but only limited.

That's only phase one.

I know I went way over your time.

Oh no, that's fine.

Thank you, Stacey.

And and uh I almost couldn't hear that fast almost, but thank you.

That's all I have, thank you.

Yes, so just so we're clear for myself and the others.

So you're with Gulf Coast Women's Center and the Family Justice Domestic Violence, not the women's resource center.

Right.

So just the two, correct?

Yes.

Right, perfect.

Thank you.

Do you work with them?

Do you communicate with them and do any coordination?

We are definitely partners.

We share uh clients back and forth, we share resources.

Um we we are agency as well as other nonprofits, we work very well together.

But the requests aren't together, right?

There's a request for them as well.

I just want to make sure we're looking at it in totality.

They're in charge of their own okay, perfect.

Yes, they have to come sit in this firing squad in the that's right.

That's right.

Thank you.

Any other comments, questions?

No.

No.

Okay, thank you.

Who who else do I have?

Okay.

Is that it?

Just no.

You go.

I'm sorry.

I want to address that what you was just passed out in just a minute since the word millage was brought up.

I'm gonna give you some little arithmetic on it after we get finished.

Okay.

All right.

Uh vehicle for hire.

Anybody have any questions?

I don't think there was any increase.

Was there an increase or not?

Yeah, it's like I think.

Maybe a couple of thousand.

Sixteen hundred dollars.

What's sixteen hundred dollar increase for?

Well, what happened?

The way that uh is uh funding for that organization is set up is by pro rata share.

The actual increase means that the city of Biloxi actually had more people dropped off in it previous year.

Done by on a percentage basis.

Last year it was 46 percent of the customers that were dropped off in in our jurisdiction were dropped off in Biloxi.

This year, 48 percent.

You started picking up some of those CTA writers, huh?

No, I'm I'm teasing from the started picking up some of the the week that I think we got accused of dropping some people off somewhere before too.

So that's uh it's totally different.

All right, so this is per IR agreement.

So this is the estimate, guesstimate coming up.

Okay, any other questions?

Motor vehicle file.

No, good.

Everybody good?

Just one comment.

You're doing a wonderful job.

We haven't seen any disgruntled cab drivers.

And I was and I'm sure you have them.

So you're doing wonderful work when you see a lot and we don't see any keep up the good work.

I was telling Mr.

Weaver, you know, I I'm I'm y'all received a letter that was taken care of, uh, justified by our board members and our board attorney, along with the airport authority and their attorneys.

And three days of that, a gentleman come in to get a permit through the process.

I was always supposed to pick it up.

Needless to say that didn't happen.

Well, I know you can't save everybody's soul, and that's not your job, but you seriously, Ken, you've done a very good job out there with the motor vehicle authority.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right, Mayor.

Yes.

What you're proposing is.

Yes, uh, I'm not proposing anything.

I just heard the word millage and uh what that means to us.

Gillwich or village or not the millage over here.

No, I mean we've been talking, I mean, I want to thank Diana and Rick and everybody and the department managers, uh department directors to get us to the point where we are.

Okay.

You know, there's a gap in this ways to fill a gap, and I just this is just one way.

And uh, you know, in talking about millage and and what it means, and uh uh the I think 793 was what the value of it.

And you know, if we had to fill a gap and worth three mills, what that would that mean to the homeowner.

Okay.

We haven't touched millage, we had 30 point one mill was around, and you can see the comparison of the uh cities uh around us.

And um, you know, it just so happens you know two million dollars is is what's on this piece of paper we just talked about.

Three mills would kind of wash at least part of that.

But we you know we have a challenge.

There we talked about uh local and private kind of options on asking for a food and beverage tax or or uh you know occupancy tax and and you know as well as uh this uh we face probably um three million dollars worth of uh increases as far as uh uh wages and salaries and if inflation about 30 percent over the last two years, don't you think, Diana?

Thirty percent.

We we struggled through it.

Thirty percent we we struggle through it now in the last audit said uh there was a and she called she'll correct me if I'm wrong, but you know we don't want to eat into any kind of now I won't say rated A fund but unrestricted fund balance.

That's why we have a double A rating.

But you know, uh I there are other cities, and I know my good friends in Gulfport are in the same uh analysis.

Um we're not in a situation, but there are graceful solutions and what it means.

But I wanted to say something uh you know, on the record, because we may be facing something like this or some challenges that you know we can do this immediately, okay, and and fill uh some of the uh wishes to make revenues and expenses equal.

And uh sometimes we we'll wind up with a year-to-day gain about gain or loss.

We may or may not, because we just have six weeks to go, Diane.

Uh but but bottom line, we we've done some things.

We froze some uh some salaries, we've been uh uh to get that close this delta.

But I really want to be very specific about what a mill means in a mill meet means to a resident, a homeowner, right?

Okay.

So you can you can look at we've been sitting at 30 point ten, 30.1 mills for forever, and you can notice that the county, you pay more, you and I pay more to the county than we pay to the city.

Okay, and as well as the school districts, they just raised them that was part of uh uh uh a debt uh that they increased this mill, and so but we when you used to be at 109 point something or another.

Um so uh 111.77, you know, if we do nothing, if we kick it up three mils, which you know result in a little bit of uh uh you know uh 793 times three, minus a little bit, but uh that would put us at 114.77 mils below 20 percent below a lot of our butt uh uh sister cities around.

So uh, but if you're a homeowner, you'd have homestead exemption, you pay got a 200,000 house.

Okay, the arithmetic shows you that keep your your escrow up five dollars a month, sixty dollars a year.

So that's that's uh a uh an option again uh occupancy tax, you know, it requires you know what uh if you go around the country, you'll see those things in a lot of other places you don't see them here.

And as well as food and beverage, I think uh Ocean Springs put passed uh two percent food and beverage tax across everybody the whole nine yards.

Uh the both of those options require a couple of things.

First, a unanimous approval.

I think Peter, if pretty much a unanimous approval to ask the legislature to grant us the opportunity to go out for a referendum, that referendum would be a 60% uh uh requirement.

So, you know, we can't do this, you know, uh of the things we can do immediately to to be where we are is is is a millage uh increase.

Uh you know, uh I've been there since 2015 and we fight the same battle every time and we seem to work out.

This you know, we went through some incredible situations uh, you know, with COVID.

You know, we lose nine million dollars and we we choked that down.

We got a little bit of opera and a little bit of recovery.

You know, it it's it's time to look hard at our options.

Uh we still have a delta, even if we do this, we but we there are some options, but I'm thinking uh just to put it in perspective, you know, at $60 a year on $200,000 house if you're a homeowner.

Quick question.

Any questions?

Yeah, yes.

Go ahead.

So and I and I don't remember when it was, but in years past, wasn't there some talk between the city and the county on allocating more of a percentage back to the city from what we pay them?

I just heard them say $50 million in surplus.

I heard that.

Yeah, but I I thought there was talk where if you're not a good thing.

But I don't know whether you know where it was.

I mean, you know, we could say that, but it wouldn't be true wouldn't be the true, you know.

Right.

But with commitments, but uh I I know we need to be in a mode that we can survive, you know, three months, and that's what the ABL, and that's what uh our uh Raymond James and some of these other folks uh are are telling us.

You know, and you're looking to maintain our credit rating, and and the reason why we get the good rates, you know, when we go and and part of our calculation of going down the road a little bit, is doing some of the long-term things that we used to do in a in a single year, uh buy a truck, you know, uh a fire truck that used to be burned twenty-seven thousand dollars is now nine hundred and thirty-seven.

And we got four of them on order.

And when was the last millage increase?

I don't know.

It was a decrease.

Yeah.

And and usually find the millage history on my website.

Okay.

The right side of the page, the history, but and Diana is correct.

As you expose things, you know, said, okay, our budget is something, okay.

X amount of money is up of this is raised to mill you know Abalone taxes.

In order to balance our budget, we need to propose an increase in millage, whatever, three, four, five, whatever.

But uh, you know, uh it it's uh it's it's something that we need to be pondering, and we can't do it all today.

Uh y'all warned me out that this is uh uh triathlon today.

I don't know.

But uh that's just one option.

You know, and and uh there are other options, and I think there are even some things on the radar that uh have to be worked out, but there's some things we can do immediately, and some things that we you know we we can cut things and not deliver the services, but our commitment in in my heart, you know, our public safety is the most you know the the sum of the ratings and some of the uh evaluations that city block has when it comes to fire.

We need 140 people that are sworn and can do the things that right, Rick.

And as well as the you know the the rating that we have in in the uh uh fire department and and and PD remain tied to how many budgeted uh positions you have.

You know, and and that is getting more and more expensive every day.

It used to be from PERS 17, now it's gonna be pushed 20, okay, and it's gonna go higher.

And uh it's this is not magic, you know.

And uh we we've been very successful in in some of the you know the the uh numbers uh uh sales tax is a pretty good indicator, but also gross gain in revenue and in where we are.

Uh with we've been record year from 21 to 22 to 23 to 24.

We budgeted record years, and we mean that uh you know uh even in these crazy times.

So I've talked fast and a lot, uh, but that's that's my story, and so everybody understands that if you kick it up pre-mills and you live in the 200,000, you can expect to be paid sixty dollars more to to the city.

So do you have a number on what that would generate total?

Two million two.

Two million what, Diane?

Two?

Well, it gets split between several funds.

Yeah, now let me also say this.

I've got in our Raymond June.

There's certain things that are gonna drop, and we've done this as debts relief.

We've converted it, we didn't you know converted to the juice in general fund as we pay off things, and there'll be some things roll off in 27 and 28 and 29.

Okay.

Nothing in 26.

So we're gonna do that.

But nothing in 26.

Nothing out.

No, no, no, no.

But I mean, it's still part of the plan.

You gotta look five, ten-year plan.

Yeah.

And uh that's it.

The uh and we we made some some very uh uh wise move.

I'm thinking, and and we talked a little bit about uh moving in a uh in a bond situation that uh I think it's a it's a a great move to put some of those things we actually need to keep buying and and uh that that last like generators and roofs and uh some of the things that we've got to do.

Don't choke it down in one year, we can we can fade the interest right now.

So I think we're in a mode but because of our rating, we can get some things right at four, and and do some things that would be impactful uh say on a ten million dollar bond that we'd only pay uh interest only for first year or the bill would roll out.

And I think this is shoot kicked me, but you know, I think there's gonna be uh even we made some great moves in uh refinancing a whole lot of stuff, like the the the ball field.

We went from 1.5 million dollars to get that service to 1.2, okay, with a 1.95%.

Okay.

And those days I think are coming.

Well, not that drastically, but I think you know, I've heard two percent in in in a year.

So uh I think the play is a combination of a lot of things.

We might have to cut some things, we may have to defer some things, you know.

Uh but we we there's uh a way when you put these pieces together that it's you know it's the right thing to do, you know, for we all Biloxi.

And we can do it.

We've done the the moves before, and we can do it again.

Yeah, I have a question.

Uh one meal equals to worth the how much in the case.

I'm talking one meal you generates about seven hundred and ninety-three thousand dollars in revenue.

Let me say that again.

That was mentioned already, seven to ninety-three thousand dollars is worth a value of a mill in revenue.

Now, don't we say that no next year we we that we that was bumped up by how many we increased uh the value by assess valuation of the property that went on board?

We're gonna be increasing the uh we actually six hundred thousand or so, yeah.

Six hundred thousand that value grew.

Here was your reassessment.

Yeah, well, as it was supposed to be a reassessment every four years, but there are new things coming on board too.

We've rolled off all of the the uh the properties that we gave some incentive, right?

We at least have community bank and um a hotel.

Yeah, I don't think telling us nobody helped enough, yeah, right over there.

But you know, there'll be new properties coming on board over if you look at it, you know.

I don't go look at a 60 month deal, where where we're gonna be.

And uh we've been as I said, been wise, I think, and and uh uh pretty shrewd in a couple of ways.

I know we we uh reduced our uh our tax bill at the uh refinance 104 million dollars on uh utility authority.

And if you look on your when you look on your bill and there's a credit balance, that was that was us refinancing that.

So that little dollar or so, you know, is why we're absolutely cheaper than anybody else around when it comes to water.

That was from some refinances we on that opportunity.

And uh but I yeah, I just want to throw this out and and understand that uh uh we've got to do some some some things.

This could be one of them.

What's the process?

What is the process uh for raising the millage?

Well, first we've got to advertise.

We gotta make sure that it may be a say if three mills.

If it was three mills, we gotta publish.

I think when Peter next Friday.

This Friday, we gotta say it's a possibility.

So you know, and then want to be but you know we may not have to, or we may not want to, or you know, it may not be you know, pass uh this uh you, but this is uh you know it's it's gotta be done.

I think uh we can't be a vast one at this point.

So how how do we arrive at that decision in three days?

Well, you don't have to ride you you might not raise it at all, but you it but if there it's a bottom of the spending to advertise?

I think so.

I think that would be my intent, yeah.

Uh you know, it may be necessary to increase millage.

That's what a lot of if you look at some of the school districts that were saying they don't really in the ones that I've seen that they don't really give you an amount.

Some people do, but it may be necessary and it would be a public hearing to discuss the amounts.

All right.

If you do nothing like we've never parole, we've never raised it before, so we've never we've advertised and said we do not plan to raise millage.

Now if you plan to or thinking about it, you say you know this is what we're thinking, maybe it may be but the amount of millage is always any increase is up to y'all to decide.

So does that require any council uh uh any council recommendation or does does the mayor just advertise it?

I don't know.

I never done it.

Well, I guess I mean if you advertise it in three days and well we're to get with we're getting within two weeks hearing on doing this.

Well, the last time a hearing, we got to set hearing, right?

You've got to do it with um two weeks before the public hearing, which would be the first week in September, September 2nd.

Yeah.

So uh I think I think the prudent thing to do would be to advertise for that.

Or you just say we're not gonna we don't we don't think it should happen.

Uh we could take a straw poll now.

So if we had if we had six to seven votes and just don't even consider it, give it a zero, then we probably wouldn't do it.

Um way or the other we got advertised one way or the other.

We do recognize this.

I let me make a recommendation.

I don't think we need to take a straw vote now.

I think whatever the mayor intends to do, he does it, and then uh and then we come back and we address it because it will require council approval if we if we do move forward.

So I uh mayor, whatever you you intend to do, I'd I'd suggest that you do it.

What do you mean?

The council stands re stands ready to review it.

No, wait, wait, what do we use?

What are you saying?

I'm saying that the mayor, if he intends to advertise it, he can do that.

You know, but if we it will require how much if you advertise it.

Three three mills is what long does it get five.

What I would suggest is that A, that we authorize the mayor to advertise.

Okay.

And that'd be up to you.

I don't I'm no attorney, but I don't think you can walk out there and advertise whatever you want.

I think you need the council's blessing on that.

And if I understood correctly, and in the school business is this is your intent.

All right.

In the school business, you ask for dollars and then the city calculates the millage.

Okay.

So I I think if you're going to uh if you if the intent is to advertise this Friday, I would suggest it's been a long day.

What's today, Tuesday?

We could meet tomorrow, we could meet Thursday, just a special meeting.

Because I hate to take any official action in workshops because nothing's on the agenda.

And in this case, David Shoemaker's not here in Ward 7.

I think he needs to be present.

That may be one of the factors here is when David gets back into town.

Well, I think we meet and at that time we vote on whether or not to advert uh to authorize the mayor to advertise for either the dollar amount, Peter, you'll have to check on this.

Do we ask for dollars or do we ask for mills?

And probably it would be the intent is up to X number of dollars or X number of mills.

All right.

And then as we get we're not quite finished with the budgeting process, but then when we are there pretty much before after the public hearing and before that last meeting when we vote, you'll have some idea of exactly how many mills or how many dollars you're gonna need.

Right?

Yeah, I think the uh the deadline for publication, which is much better with the with the new weekly paper.

I think we have until Thursday about three o'clock to tell them how we want it to be to read.

You think we need to meet tomorrow?

It doesn't make I mean this is important enough time.

Whenever they look notified again, I I'd I'd go back to we need to find out when David Shoemaker's gonna be be back at town.

He could zoom in.

I don't think he's back to Thursday after he could zoom in.

Okay, that's true.

I've forgotten about so advertising won't affect our rating.

Is it like a soft poll or does it not even that?

Absolutely not.

Okay.

That's you just have to have an advertisement in place if millage will ever be raised.

I mean, it's still the ultimate number is still subject to what the council votes on or how they budget it.

So it's it doesn't affect the city as far as it's a rating or anything in that regard.

Okay.

No, I mean I think if we advertise, do we have to say how many meals we plan to go up?

Uh the standard statutory advertisement says uh I think it says something like the city is proposing a three mil increase.

Now, when they say come to the public hearing and make yourself heard.

And people make themselves heard, and it can be the number subject to change, but I think you know, you don't want to advertise for a two-mill increase and wind up with a three.

You'd want to advertise for a three, you might have a two.

And Dr.

Tizday was it had mentioned two.

You know, uh I think in in the school district, the ones that I paid attention to, because they've been doing this mode more than not.

Uh just like it stated, uh, you back into the mills you have to do, but you want to raise 2.5 million through the admalone taxes, you know, which translates to three mills or 3.1 or whatever it is.

That's what the most advertisement I've seen is exactly how you said it.

Uh they you know, it's intended to generate so many millions of dollars in in uh advertising.

You're uh basically what you're doing is you're giving the most accurate information you have available at that time to inform the public that you're looking to have a revenue increase based on a property tax.

That's right.

That's basically it.

Right.

And sometimes you say it's not expected to exceed, but I don't want to get into the language.

That's right.

Does it require unanimous vote?

Okay.

Oh, before we look at doing a millage.

That way we can look at seeing where we can cut money.

Sure.

And save money.

I mean, because we're helping everybody but ourselves.

That's what we're doing.

Well, yeah, like that's what we're doing.

In the process of doing, yeah.

I mean, we're trying to save over time.

We're trying to save you know equipment that really is a life cycle of more than one year.

There's certain things you can't save on gasoline.

You can't serve one, you know.

You lose services to provide the services we need, we want.

And again, 70% of this is related to personnel.

Okay.

We choked down two million dollars more in in salaries over the l over increases over the last couple of years.

You know, uh you know, our our employees want to need to be at the top of the situation.

That's uh it's a that's the biggest part of our deal in uh uh you know the equipment we need to do uh whether it's police cars or fire trucks or or or dump trucks or or lawnmowers, we we need those things.

You know, you you got you gotta cut something if you want it to balance.

Right, because I mean we can raise the mills now, but next year, you know, next next go around we may be more than that.

Then we have to try to raise it again.

But again, I I I'm you know, along the thing I expect, you know uh the the mill will grow in value.

Okay.

And then I expect that at some point in time, you know, there'll be some mechanism to even reduce if if we pay off things, you know uh you you drop that millage.

I mean, there's a wage and there may be some other things on the radar from the states, but as a matter of fact, uh we'll we'll be talking possibilities that that may happen.

You know, who knows where we will be with regard to uh uh sales tax diversions and stuff like that.

So we unpacked a few things here.

Are you available tomorrow, 11 a.m.?

Yep.

11 a.m.

work for everybody for a special call meeting.

What no?

Yes.

Um what are we doing?

Uh I think Mr.

Tisdale recommended that we have a special meeting tomorrow to give the authorization to advertise up to three mills or three mills.

Is that correct?

No, we didn't we didn't set a limit.

We didn't have set a limit.

It it's to get it's statutory, giving him the authority to advertise for it.

It doesn't go into effect until we review it after the public workshop.

We picked the number three mil.

That's what the statute says.

No, no.

No.

Well, no, there let me tell you there is a statutory problem o over ten percent of of the millage.

I think Diana, am I wrong on that?

Yeah, there is a there's a ten percent limit.

Our mills are are basically uh the 30 percent mill.

It's not a there's there are different things that come in and out based on what you've collected in past years, but three mills is uh 10% of the 30 that was there.

Three mils is probably I mean, I think technically we could raise four and a half to five mills based on the amount of previous sales tax collected.

Okay.

I think this number was arrived at because we're looking at what's a potential shortfall based on a lot of the non departmental and where we already were.

What's something to help fill the gap?

Right.

Well, my my issue is this uh we have a yeast blexi um we have to do something for East Balaxie.

And is it just the one that's been neglected the most?

And if you just limit it at three million, we spray that out, you know, we're missing something here.

This isn't just for use Biloxi to have new respect.

This is for all citizens of uh Beluxy.

This is a major decision.

We haven't raised taxes in 35 months or so.

Well to make sure that there's enough not just to cover this shortfall here, but to also have to fund the development future development of an area that's been neglected.

Right.

Well, uh if we want to word it to have a special call meeting to give the mayor authority to advertise for a millage increase, we can call it that, and then we'll decide at tomorrow's meeting.

I guess that number.

Is everybody okay with that?

Yeah.

Okay.

Uh 11 a.m.

tomorrow is that good for everybody.

Can they make it 11 a.m.?

11 a.m.

11 a.m.

Okay.

The motion I believe that was made by Mr.

Tisdale.

Make the motion for the the meeting tomorrow at 11 o'clock.

The purpose would be to authorize the mayor to advertise for a possible millage increase.

That'd be accurate, Peter.

Right.

And an amount to be determined.

And amount to be determined.

Right.

Seconds.

There's a second by Mr.

Creel discussion.

There being uh discussion with Mr.

We may tell them the meeting that we're asking for tomorrow.

We're not sending an amo amount of the millage yet.

We just we'll discuss that at tomorrow's meeting.

Okay.

Okay.

But wait, so this with us for you be able to tell us for sure what the 10% is how we are with that.

Okay.

Okay, good.

All in favor?

Aye.

Hold on, Kenny.

What?

That's right.

Correct.

We said I'll go to person by person.

No.

No.

Okay.

All right.

Let's do it again so the clerk can get the show of hands.

All in favor?

Aye.

Aye.

Opposed.

Motion carries.

Uh chair entertain a motion to adjourn.

So move.

I have a second.

Anyone have a second?

You need one.

Mr.

Nail.

Any discussion?

No.

All in favor?

Aye.

You don't have to aye.

Just raise your hand.

Aye.

Motion carries.

We're adjourned.

Carrie?

Well, see based on uh.