So we need to take all votes uh verbally.

Uh I'll begin with uh asking for a motion to uh approve them the agenda approved by Mr.

Tisdale Do I have a second second second by Mr.

Nell discussion?

There being none, we'll call for the question.

We'll begin uh councilman.

My possibility you got to announce your name and your vote.

Well we vote oh approved the agenda.

Oh approved, yeah.

Uh Gray, yeah.

All right.

Okay.

So Mr.

Mr.

Marshall.

Mr.

Neil.

Neil, yes, Mr.

Crewe.

Yes.

Tisdale, yes.

Mr.

Shoemaker.

Yes.

All right.

Agenda's approved.

Mayor's report.

No report.

Council reports.

No report.

No report.

No report.

No report.

Mr.

Schumacher?

Council report?

No report.

No, I have no report as well.

Public comments.

Uh total lot of times 45 minutes.

Uh three minutes per individual.

Speak on any topic you choose.

Um so we'll go ahead and open that up.

Anyone want to make any public comments?

All right.

There being no public comments, uh citizen or citizen comments uh is closed.

Policy agenda.

Subject matter of the meeting is to discuss a potential millage increase and for related purposes.

All right.

Mayor, you want to provide some opening remarks?

Well, uh, yes, you know, in in the budget exercise and uh I think talking with some of the members of the council that the uh the premise on uh uh this year's budget was to have as close as we possibly can uh revenues equal expenses.

And uh we've we went through a a number of exercises and we could continue to to push that as a goal instead of maybe eating into reserves to uh to make up the difference between revenues and expenses.

This was uh what we reported at the last part of the meeting last night was uh or yesterday afternoon, I guess the uh the budget workshop.

Um in talking about millage came up as far as possibilities that we can be done this year to make that uh that uh wish of the council uh uh to come closer to reality.

And in essence, the three percent mill would generate about two million dollars worth of revenue, which would reduce that difference between revenues and expenses.

It's a possibility that can be done, and I'm I believe that would be implemented in in the October 1 uh bills that would go out based on the FY25 uh millage.

No SS values.

So that would yield uh you know uh about two million in additional revenue and reduce that uh that delta.

And uh so that's a possibility.

Uh I had mentioned before in uh in efforts and we looked at uh other avenues of uh food and beverage uh option and uh as well as an occupancy, which Blacksay has no occupancy tax on any of the hotel rooms.

Those all would require a unanimous vote of the council, and then uh subject to uh what the it's uh I think uh local and private committee at our uh at the legislation then result in a uh referendum that this you know the people would uh pass at 60 percent in order to move that forward.

Uh the immediate action while I think that uh the three mills uh is is right at the limit, at least in my estimation of the the restrictions on how much you can do in one year for city millage.

We're at 30.1 mil.

That would result in 33.1 mil if we if this is approved.

But bottom line, there's a there's a need for this meeting to uh uh approve uh uh the uh request and and advertise that three mil to the public and the uh the September 2nd meeting would be the public uh hearing for uh for the final trigger to be pulled.

This advertisement that we're talking about is not to I think would not to exceed that three mills is what we would advertise.

Thank you, Mayor.

Question.

Uh let me begin with uh Mr.

Shoemaker since he doesn't have the advantage of raising his hand or whatever.

Mr.

Shoemaker, any comments all right, Mr.

Crew.

So uh do you need council approval to advertise either way?

We believe.

Yes.

So last year, so last year when you advertise no, did you need council approval?

I think we did have a council approved advertising that would not be an increase in milling.

No, we we've never uh we just generally just published no millage, so it's just been published that way.

If there's no increase, is really uh we still publish there's not gonna be an increase.

And uh whether it's required or not may be debatable, but I think best practice would have be to have a consensus of uh to advertise.

This is not putting the millage increase into effect.

This is kind of like the water bill yesterday or the garbage fee yesterday.

We had to give a notice of intent that it was happening, and then we're gonna publish that.

So this is the notice of it.

This is this is to do the notice, and then the public meeting would be September 2nd.

It's a night meeting, 5 30, and then uh the final budget would be approved the following week.

Thank you.

All right, Mr.

Corey, Mr.

Marshall.

I'm gonna uh I'm gonna follow Mr.

Tisdale.

You're gonna follow him?

Yeah.

Where are you gonna follow him to?

Uh-huh.

I hope to a good place.

Okay, all right.

Get up Mr.

Dale.

Mr.

Tisdale, go ahead and lead.

Okay.

I have I have a number of questions and a few comments because I I think there's still some information we need from the administration.

But first of all, before I forget uh Chief Moon, you don't need to come up or anything.

It's just I remember we had talked about uh retirement cost, and this council had mentioned it, retirement cost or budget for retired canines, and you and I had talked and said, well, there'd have to be some restrictions on that.

I think it was that uh currently we have I think you said three retired canines, and that that your thoughts were that the officer must remain with that dog and remain with the police department.

Um are you able to absorb that cost?

And it would be eight up to eight hundred dollars per year per dog for veterinarian expenses, and that would be capped at six years.

Are you able to work that into your budget?

Uh it's gonna be five.

Okay, that's the way that's totally understand.

Okay, thank you, Chief.

Um so a couple of questions for the administration here.

Are we looking at any new capital projects in fiscal year 2026?

At this point, no.

One on the radar based on the certification of uh OMESA and the uh five million dollar or so uh estimated uh the uh chairman cane and park, Sherman Cainan uh port, but that wouldn't be our budget, it would be what authorities budget.

The port budget, but they're there are no capital projects uh other than the two hope for the you know the the five hundred thousand for the uh uh boom street and five hundred thousand for the oak street pier, those are the two things that we hadn't pulled the trigger on yet.

We're ready to advertise, is that not right?

The things especially the uh uh pots very extension fixing of the bridge.

Those are two capital projects that uh highest on the radar.

All right, so we're we're talking about the reason is I know if we're looking at millage, then I want to have a clear understanding of what kind of cost or where this money would be going.

So based on what you said that there'd be a 500,000 local match for the Oak Street that okay, so there's no match there.

All right, no match for Coon Street.

All right.

There and you said there are no capital projects at this time.

All right.

So what finished the things that we're in in the middle of, but the Pops Ferry still hangs, you know.

Well that that's okay.

I'm talking about new capital projects that haven't been created yet.

You're not looking to create any more this next year, or are you looking at the Pops Ferry bridge?

Combination, right?

Both of them would need to be high on the list of course, keeping the bridge open during farm season and boats running in things.

Right, is there an anticipated cost on that?

Uh how far we went years away from actually construction, you think on the rendering of the bridge?

So it won't be any this year in by 26 budget.

Okay.

So we're not looking at any.

All right, thank you.

Um we're gonna be looking at pursuing any general obligation bonds or limited obligation bonds.

Primarily to do things, you know, removing set of capital projects, things that are wearing out over the last 10 years, and I think uh uh we were looking at uh generators, uh some uh actually uh roof roof repair and some projects that were identified, like the the uh brick house and uh some of those things that are breaking down.

But long term that bond is to finish some long-term uh deeds and uh and and some vehicles too.

I think we got a few dump trucks in that some dump trucks that will have uh at least a five-year, 10-year plan.

But uh again, the the idea is uh spread that expense over multiple years for the life of the of those things that we're buying.

So if we're looking at bonds, what amount are we looking at?

What 10 million?

What was it?

10 million three.

All right, and there they're not for any specific projects, they're just to replace things that we would buy in capital that we have to budget it each year in capital, you know, those things so it would be capital items.

Yeah, more or less.

Okay.

Do we know what the note or estimate what the note would be?

Well, given we're playing games again or guessing, okay, and and we uh like we did before.

We've been very, very fortunate, and and uh folks from Raymond James and and uh Jason and uh Jane, I think we we intended to play that game like we did before.

Uh we could borrow it today if we wanted to borrow it at four, uh given given our uh rating and so forth, but I think we'll do better by the time we pull the trigger.

Some of this some uh engineering that would go on be going on in some of the things we have to order, like a fire truck, you know, uh those things.

We'll pull the trigger later than sooner because I think we we could drop as much as a point and a half by the time we we borrow that money.

So what do you estimate the note to be a range would be fine?

Interest only would be about 393,000 interest, 400,000 each.

Just in interest.

But over 20, over 20 years.

At least the first year would be, you know, I think we're very confident that we can uh uh the interest only in a CFY 26 would be our you know our debt service.

All right.

Where do we where do we project our ending fund balance at the end of this fiscal year?

Even fund 12 and a half fund balance under unrestricted.

12 and a half, thank you.

You know, let me let me ask too.

I think you know, in the in the audit of last year, it was mentioned, and I'm not sure what accounts make that up, but it was mentioned 26 unrestricted uh fund balance was was the I think when we add everything else that may approach that too.

ABL, you remember when ABL reported that we had 20 26 million in unrestricted fund balance?

That it would be council approval to dig into that.

All right.

But the idea and some of the strengths of our capital position is that we do have enough fund balance in order to sustain a three-month, you know.

Right.

And uh, and I think that's some of the purposes of uh of trying to make uh revenues equal expenses is while we're doing this thing, and you know, the millage and any other mechanism that we can to increase the revenues business, you know, goes to the bottom line, revenues and expenses positive in that you add to the bottom line.

To go back to what Diana said, and in the general fund, we're looking at uh uh an ending fund or projected ending fund balance in fiscal year 2025, this current year 12.12 and a half.

Right?

Yes.

Okay, mayor, you mentioned 26 million now.

Other funds, other funds that those other cost all funds.

Right.

But are any of that is any of that 26 million restricted or it's all spoken for?

In fact, unrestricted.

That's what was mentioned in the audit, and we're gonna follow up those accounts to see if they're still unrestricted and what the amount is.

We don't have that, you know.

ABL was the one that reported it in and audited at the beginning of last year.

So we'll get that number exactly.

But you know, the this whole exercise is not to go dig into it if we can through through other mechanisms.

All right, but the general public, what they just heard was there's 26 million dollars that we don't want to touch over here.

No, it's just if it's fund balance.

I didn't say we didn't want to touch it.

That's what fund balance is for, given that you've given the right play.

But you hit 12, which you reported.

That's in the general fund.

We've got 30, 38 funds, something like that.

You have a number of funds.

So how many of those funds could you reduce that fund balance and move to the general fund?

Well, there's a number of things that we could do, and it's been hanging around since I before I became mayor.

I'm talking about Katrina recovery.

Four is to the general fund from capital projects.

I'm talking about Katrina related stuff.

So if we were to square that up some kind of way, that's four million right to the general fund.

But we haven't done that.

We've been sitting on it.

We've done a little bit time, Diane.

Done what we could to this point.

But that's four million.

That this is before all of us, you know.

Uh that was there.

It's just a hanging as it do to do from.

So I mean, we could be not creative, but once we feel we uh, you know, finishing up these capital projects, the general fund is owed 4.3, I think.

Last number, I can't memorize that number.

But anyway, it does a number of things that we could, you know, drill down on uh what we could do.

But uh there are a number of ways to uh you know to get that unrestricted this up, you know, uh so we have a little bit better position.

Okay, um understanding.

A bit confused here.

If I understood you correctly.

So there's money out there that that is not really restricted.

We're it's in other funds, it's not the general fund.

We could move some of that money into the general fund.

And you said there's about 26 million out there, but we need some of that for some projects or FEMA related or something, because I heard you mention FEMA.

But I mean, the first question that occurs to me is if we're gonna ask for about two two million and possibly for a millage increase, but we have four million over here we could move from some of these funds into the general fund.

If you could clear that up, that's an accounting move, not dollars.

Okay.

This is four million that was owed to the general fund because they chose to let the general fund pay the bills.

You remember where we were when I became mayor, 17 million was owed to us right by the federal government.

And they yet the construction kept on.

That's why we borrowed 11 million.

But that that four million is a residual of trying to wheel down who's who owes us what?

There's a number of trap funds, you know, that uh they have toes, not and waltz here, you can kind of uh well he was here, but bottom line, if we recover some of that, say some of these trap funds, we can actually reduce that.

That would add to the cash.

We don't have the cash, this would just be an increase.

If you want an increase fund balance, that's not cash though.

Move that four million to the general fund, that kicks the fund balance up to 16 from 12, if those numbers are correct.

Okay.

So it's an accounting entry, it's a do-to-do from.

That adds to the fund balance.

Right now it's in fund balance and 30 funds, which is the capital projects.

Okay.

Uh so are you unconfused?

Huh?

Are you unconfused?

So deconfused.

So um your question was related to fund balance, and that's what I'm you know, those things increased fund balance.

All right, so then what are we projecting at this point?

What are we projecting as a fund balance at the end of fiscal year 2026?

Well, if I mean there are a number of scenarios here, so I I get that.

But use our uh our expense to equal revenues.

Okay, the fund balance should be the same.

Right.

You know, if that's what we would predict if we do the things that we're talking about doing.

Right.

We've got a couple of exercises.

Uh you know, this was a Christmas wish to all of the departments and y'all heard each department.

Well, there's some further analysis of that.

So again, this whole exercise is, you know, you and I talked about revenues that got to equal expenses this year.

That never has been the case.

You use some of the fund balance in order to to make those things.

But if revenues equal expenses, okay, actual, then there's no change of fund balance.

Right.

And that's what we're shooting for.

I mean Well, what we're shooting we're shooting for based on your wish, revenues to equal expenses.

That's what we're shooting for.

But you know, again, in business, if you got good credit, and and there should not be and you understand what the play is at the end of this year, or maybe the beginning of next year, uh, you know, to me, if you look around, you got good credit and you don't have you know enough cash when in an emergency, uh, it it it could be prudent to uh to to use some of that fund balance.

Is that a confusion there?

The goal was to match revenues with expenses.

Right, because in the past we have always had expenses that exceeded revenues by several million dollars, and the question always came up from the public.

Why do you guys have a deficit budget?

Again, respectfully, it's not a deficit budget, it's use of of the of the resources that you have.

Because it it would, you know, if you're you're playing, because we don't know what what the end of this year is gonna be till November and maybe December of this year.

But that year today gain or loss was always comes out favorable to us, and we don't know that for sure.

So that's the way I've looked at it since 2015.

And again, there's some things that are uh that can if we were fully accruable, you know, some of the things that uh are uh were modified, right, Diane?

Or as accrual basis on a lot of things?

Cash basis on a lot of things.

Accounting method.

But anyway, I'm confident that uh there's a wise use of the things that we're talking about as far as capital uh spreading capital across the multi-years match the life cycle as well as use of fund balance when necessary.

If it's two or three million dollars, you know, after we've cut everything that we can and yet provide the the outstanding service that we had in police and fire in and public works, that the it's the wise thing to do.

Sum up.

I think this is this is pretty much the one thing we can do to close that delta yet, and I can see when uh that this could be a temporary thing.

And there's a couple other mechanisms that are in play that we we don't know, we can't book it.

We can book this and and and still have you know uh keep that double A credit rating and and and uh and keep that that refund that uh that fund balance uh to meet uh any uh three months worth of that's the I think the uh goal.

Uh so this will put us in a position to do that.

All right, so where can we cut expenses?

We've been doing it every you know, the number of items that uh we're talking about over time.

Can't cut uh uh some things we want.

I think the biggest challenge is that we need 140 or so sworn people in in the police department.

We need uh so many people per equipment in the fire department.

That's the bottom line.

You know, you and 70 percent of your ball gain of the expenses is related to the personnel.

600 or so uh personnel, we've increased uh over by 2.6 million dollars in wages and salary over the last two years.

And uh, you know, you you don't want to go backwards, you want to go forward and even when we can, we want to be able to, you know, increase those.

We've always struggled to keep uh the vacancies at a minimum by hiring people.

And uh, you know, if you wanted to remove some budgeted positions, that's a way to cut the the so-called guess of revenues and expenses.

All right, but some of those positions have never been filled, and it's you you budget them to fill them.

We could still we can still designate those as positions and just not fund them with the understanding that if if for some reason I don't know from the financial standpoint what what that would do, what that impact would be doing.

If we say understanding we can kick it up to amount, but I think the the finance people look at budgeted positions.

Uh I understand that, but then at the end of the year that leaves some money on the table.

Well, it leaves budget on the table, not money on it.

You know, if you if your revenues are here to date are uh that's what leaves money on the table.

Right.

Revenue really actually exceed the expenses that you're really actually doing.

Okay.

So I have a couple of thoughts on cutting expenses.

You know, we had moved personnel out of the third floor to the federal building and also the accounting folks out of the old library.

I can't I don't recall what the contractually what we're paying for for the for the federal building over there, that third floor, but whatever that is, couldn't that be could that amount could be saved by putting the personnel department back on the third floor here and accounting back over there in the old library?

I don't think the challenges we had challenges we had at the library were you know were anticipated to generate you know uh four thousand a month and and to do some of the improvements with uh the AC, we had a problem over there.

I remember it was a challenge.

Uh I think over there we're at about six dollars a square foot, including uh including utilities and air conditioning the whole nine yards.

So I mean it that's that's the best deal in town over there, and uh we were hopeful that uh there'll be some tenants in in the in this building as well as some uh uh some uh uh surplus land.

Okay, we could see how many properties we have twenty that would cut you know get that you know we don't need to be cutting and spending twenty-five thirty thousand a year on property we don't really need.

May be able to pick up that you you reduce that expense because you know we'll get we'll write ourselves up if we don't cut that grass, you know.

So uh but uh surplus everything we can't.

But uh the the uh the old water department is certainly one, you know, uh on Main Street by the uh uh railroad, and you know, we could surplus the number of things that we talked about uh uh the bond house, and you know, you know, there's a number of things that would uh reduce our liability because if you have termites or you have AC, we have AC all the time, you know, uh that at the seafood industry museum at the at the ball field, and uh that reduces our exposure to real to use real dollars to have to fix this thing up.

Right.

Another thought is that we could have a single director over engineering and public works.

That would save us.

We'll talk about that.

We have a we have some understanding of uh just what uh you know it is possible, but you know, we we've got some you know some creative things that that we need to consider.

All right.

The other thing is uh this is just something at the time I had concerns about uh in resolution.

I think it was 390-23.

We which involves save our sound funding.

Um we we have an agreement where Harrison County funds them to the two funds that that entity, as does the city uh at 250,000 a year.

Up to, yeah.

All right, and then uh at the end at the end of the year, there's a rollover with the unused balance, and and at the time, and I still prefer that if they need to come back, I prefer they come back to us annually, but that requires another resolution.

I don't know that I'm against that, it's just to give them 250,000 annually and it rolls over and accumulates without them having to come back to us.

Kenny, you probably know more about that than I do.

I think I'm accurate in in saying that.

I would rather that we've never spent that money, it's just been accruing in case we get into a uh you know, expert uh lawsuit that not right.

No, we I think of what we originally allocated, we probably have reimbursed when the county pays it, we pay our share.

It's probably been I think to date it's been under a hundred thousand, but I think what you're indicating is technically there's a hundred and fifty in reserve uh for future, I guess the future of what they're doing.

Well, whatever is unexpected with that annual appropriate, whenever it's unexpended with that annual allocation just accumulates, and rather than accumulate if they spend it and and need to have that replenished, I'm a little more comfortable with that.

But the fact that they you know that that it's we're allocating, and I think we are you may want to.

So I think it's it's not a it's not a uh fresh two fifty every year.

It's been whatever's been left, that's what we've been rolling over.

So whenever that runs out, and I think it's been two and a half, three years.

So it's been averaging, I guess about for us 30,000 a year.

When that runs out, uh I would hope that the lawsuits have run down.

But uh if not, they'd have to come back to us.

Still some figure in the in this year's point six budget for that.

So I think we've got about 150 left that's in the budget.

Okay.

That clarifies some things, thank you.

Um so side notes very quickly.

Water and sewer, as I recall, I think my question was are they uh above water or underwater, and by all accounts, Diana would know, but they're money.

They have firm balance, they're run as uh proprietary entities, and uh they have to make money just like any other business, and right now on the positive side of the ledger, right?

All right, for and that's for each department, correct?

Order and sewer and the port is yeah, okay, water and sewer too, though, correct?

All right, thank you.

And there's some reimbursement to the general fund for that for that those uh service.

There's any revenue to the general fund from the administrative and I'm not sure based on what expenses dying the the formula on what the uh allocation from each of those departments of the general fund.

That's that's the billing of the okay.

Um, so millage.

How many mills are we considering?

Three three meals.

And Peter, if I understood correctly, when we say this, we have to advertise Friday, that means it needs to run in Friday's paper.

Correct.

Okay.

So if if we can't come to some agreement today, then uh it may be we have to just keep working on this, or we run out of time, more or less.

Yeah, as I understand it, that's one of the things that Gulfport, they had a they were gonna go from 34 mills to 36 mills to equal what the county is doing.

The county does 36.

Correct.

So they were gonna go to 34 to 36.

Uh they couldn't get that new agenda passed.

And so they're meeting today, they're just gonna do the document of claims.

They said anything else is off the table, so they will they will not make a Friday complication deadline.

Okay.

Um and we said uh a mill generates approximately 793,000 dollars.

Uh and the cost to a homeowner is ten dollars per hundred thousand of assessed value uh per year.

It at some point, Mayor, with uh I'd like a a breakdown.

You may have Diana may be able to tell us this, but I would assume with this two million dollars is three mil if we go ahead and roll with that specifically, what would it go to?

Now you give me some uh idea, I think.

Uh would that pay for the would that pay for the general obligation bonds?

No, 10 years five is get that uh as revenue to the it goes to fund balance where we go to the revenue and fund balance, and you spread the the the revenues across as you designate what we spend.

I mean, just add to the fund balance as as a proceed alone say it's the revenue.

All right, so if it's two million that goes into fund balance, if my constituents, because I have a ward meeting September 8th.

So if my constituents ask, Mayor, where's this money going?

Just to say in the general fund.

If we the answer to that, about 70 percent of that is is related to our salaries wages and salaries.

If you want to spread that, because that's where the the 90 million or so revenues, 70 percent of that is wages and salaries.

So where does that leave?

And the the use to uh to uh some of the things we do in streets and drains.

So I mean that's a that's how I would answer it.

Okay.

It's you know, we we haven't touched uh uh how we haven't touched this this number in a bunch of years.

First time that I thought about it, but you know, bottom line, you know, the delta's got to be closed.

That helped that helps it do that.

Right.

70 percent of that is related to wages and salaries and and the increase that we anticipate in in hospitalization.

What was that number?

You know, those are big figures.

We just gotta stop the leaking as far as run out of fund balance or or uh you know reserves, and that that that's what I that's how I would answer.

Well, you'd noted if you had to answer that question, you're invited to the ward meeting to answer those questions.

I might need to be in South America as uh I think I'm invited to Columbia.

And as as will the new CAO, Mr.

Weaver, bless his heart.

Welcome to Biloxi, Mr.

Weaver.

All right.

Um that's all I have at this time.

I have may have some questions later, and I'm sorry to take so long, but thank you.

Thank you, George.

Appreciate it.

Uh Mr.

Tisdale to be as thorough as you've been.

This is uh a real critical topic.

We go back to Mr.

Marshall.

I guess the question first is uh I'm trying to get a clear understanding.

At three mil.

We're just gonna use it for expenses.

Yeah.

To close the gap of the expenses that you approve in by department.

And and uh again, 70 percent of that is related to our employees.

Yeah, the other thing some of the projects that you have uh ongoing uh you know, roads and bridges and things that we we're on the hook for, that's just part of the deal, just like the revenue you spread the revenues across all the expenses that you approve.

Just like the revenue you spread the revenues across all the expenses that you approve.

How much of that's gonna go towards investing into increasing our revenue?

Two million.

That's gonna increase the revenue by two million, two point one, two point two.

Our future revenue, so we're gonna keep doing this.

We're raising, we're raising basically raising the tax, raising the cost.

That's right.

No, you're raising taxes.

Okay, to keep us from having to break in the same position five years from now, two years from now.

Well, we we can debate that on the situation.

Again, it was your wishes.

Okay, we can do this one, we can do it without doing this, but then the the ability to deliver the services you're committed to do to your people to uh to the citizens, uh then we eat into something.

Okay, this is gonna prevent that uh you know from uh the uh a rating situation, uh you've increased your revenues by that amount.

But your services, you know, when you look at police and fire and the numbers you have to have, the budget positions you have to have, and and especially in fire, you have if you have four, we're a rating uh number two, and uh uh number two is the best in the state, and there's only one other one is a number two.

We want to go to number one.

Anybody who has insurance and number one.

There's no there's no set aside.

Let me finish my statement.

This is uh, you know, to you've got to deliver these service.

We're committed to make it safe, friendly, and beautiful.

And and this is part of that uh ability to uh provide the services we're doing now and even better services.

Uh and this is the cost to do it, at least for this one year.

Now they're big in and I do expect some things to happen that will increase revenues, not related, not that revel revenue, that if you know, in two years or three years, we may be able to reduce it again.

As things there are there are uh certain debts that we're we're finishing, you know.

I think 28 and 29, you know, that our millage, you know, one once about one mil that you could reduce, you don't need that for debt service anymore.

You you you know, you can reduce the general fund millage.

But that's not it, that's just revenue, not it not growing revenue.

It's it's offsetting the expenses.

So the question is we have to figure out a way to increase the revenue of the city without going back and raising the millage by investing through economic development in this city.

What is your plan for that?

Is what I'm asking.

Well, there's not enough time to tell you what we're gonna do as far as the uh we're we're we're actually every day looking for new opportunities.

We're looking to grow you know a number of industries primarily, you know, the ones that are lowest on the radar is some of those opportunities in gaming that would draw um I guess you know additional jobs that will increase those revenues and and uh uh opportunities for homeowners, new homeowners that would generate revenue.

Uh economic development is always a way to reduce taxes.

Okay.

In East Beloxie, how much have you spent on infrastructure, uh drainage, sidewalks, streets, developing East Beluxia?

About 200 million.

About how much?

How much we spend in East Beloxie?

Since 2015.

East Beluxia, what uh the the north contract and the two uh uh the contracts we have that's in East Beluxy.

When I became here in 2015, we had 55 miles of streets torn up, and that north contract was 120 million.

Okay, what is that same like as one and two?

The offer for probably 20 billion and 40 uh security million, all infrastructure over the range by laws.

But would you say close to a quarter of a billion?

No, 200 million, 200 million is what we're saying.

More you say well over the yeah, yeah, the whole the whole the whole project, and we're still arguing with FEMA right now.

This was estimated to be 34, it's 14 different design uh uh areas, and uh that was estimated in 2008 without uh escalation, and that's why we're arguing with FEMA, but about 200 million was was in uh you know from Covert Street to the point.

Okay, that would be East Beluxie.

Okay, so with that investment, 200 million, okay, wouldn't it make sense now to reinvest more into the area on top of the ground?

Let me finish.

So let's say a developer goes into a community, woods, we ride by it all the time.

We look at an area and it's all woods.

Nothing there, no streets, no roads, we don't pay any attention to it.

Right back the next week, the trees are gone.

The grounds are clear.

Right back a few weeks later, they're you're they're doing dirt roads.

Ride back a few more weeks later, you see the uh the drainage going in.

They're developing it.

You've done all of that from Calvin all the way to the point.

But if a developer stopped there and then go back and put anything on top of those lots, then he's losing money, no matter if you put 200 million dollars into that or not.

He's actually starting to lose money because the whole goal is not to just put the roads, put the uh uh sewage pipes in, the drainage in.

The whole goal was to develop the whole area.

Yeah, yeah, and you know, we had this meeting with SMPD, and we're always investigating way.

What was the project we had talked about?

Repopulate East Beluxi.

All right, right, part of the development.

Look, you know, we can we can go over this all in, you know, talk for hours and hours and hours.

Of course, Beluxy is the canvas to repopulate East Belox.

And and along with that will be increasing revenues related to the business that will come along.

But you know, this point is, you know, uh, what are we gonna do this year at this point, okay?

Nobody can argue that economic development will reduce the the tax burden that the citizens have if we don't do it the right way.

So let me hear you say it again, okay?

You are seeing the same thing that I'm saying, economic development will be the key to in to reduce the tax burden.

Absolutely.

Okay, so you got one fifth of the whole city sitting there, waiting primed for economic development, which will reduce the impact and the cost of every city or every citizen in this whole city.

We're on the same page.

We don't we uh we actually go after, we actually uh address every opportunity.

We don't you know go across the country, we have not uh you know gotten anybody to to uh do this 24 hours a day.

But uh that's of course our goal.

That's the that's the biggest opportunity we have to repopulate and to generate additional homeowners, residents, and and uh uh the business will follow.

But this isn't you know, continue brand new streets.

And we're asking for we're asking possibility of uh of uh asking for three million to cover our everyday obligations, but nothing to invest in the area to increase to decrease the cost of the you don't you don't understand what the deal.

We'll do our economic development through community development, some of these other things.

That's that's what we budgeted.

That's the reason you need the revenue to offset the expenses for economic development, community development.

Uh Jerry Creel and his group, I can't tell you how many people have come in searching and understand, can we do this?

Can we how can we help?

Those are the kinds of things, economic development that specifically on you know uh hotels and and and uh other businesses, but the the most the easiest uh you know to wait to say, where can I build this?

You know, what can I do?

It's uh it's it's more straightforward in East Beluction than is anywhere else.

Okay, but that's all part of the budgeted uh, you know, uh way we go out and market and get that information.

Okay, we've discussed possibilities of organizing a vehicle for the purpose of the space perfect, not I don't want to confuse uh economic development with community development.

Okay, we seem to be overlapping them, and that's not good.

We want to talk about is economic development, which is for the purpose of increasing the economy.

Okay, I know it all kind of works together, but we it's two different departments, it's two different things.

But right now we don't have our economic development.

I disagree.

Okay, tell me who that person is.

Well, it's a part, it's it's multiple persons, you know, yeah, you just names.

You know, and we're we're open to anything that's tell me who who can I I'll look at the budget, and I don't see anybody in here that am I missing somebody whose purpose is economic development.

Those folks, you know, they bring things to the table too.

Press the wrong button.

Can you hear me?

But I disagree.

We'll go in uh to what we're doing in our ideas.

Uh again, these are points that that are uh the word we agree with.

How we best deliver, how we look best prospect, and how we a you know uh get this act together and generate more revenue and something, but this point, this three mills that was talked about is to enable those functions.

But my question is tell me where is it that I can see a department or a person or personnel whose sole purpose is to help in economic economic development of this city?

What vehicle do you have in place now to justify to justify the fact that we're gonna ask them to pay money?

Now, if we're gonna ask him to pay money, we're gonna make sense to say of that money that we're asking, we're gonna tear aside this amount for the purpose of investing in order to lower your your uh obligations in the future.

Well, that's in the departments that we have.

That's in the directors we have.

Economic developments is in every department.

Every every every department that looks for grants, every department that manages things that are coming in, like uh the federal programs.

That's that's in place.

Uh, you know, and and how if we can improve it, we'll improve it.

So will there be anywhere near any portion of this going towards setting aside for purpose of economic development in the in the in the fifth of the whole city that that means it.

That's in the departments that we're you know that we're talking about.

Uh certainly, you know, if you want to put a you know, if if it's within your budget, it's saying, okay, I need to put 120,000 dollars in the person who does nothing but go across the country.

We had uh uh a position before that was kind of related to the ball field, okay.

We don't have a specific purpose uh that 40 hours a day or even more than that.

You know, if you want to add it to the budget, we can do that.

But right now, we've been pretty successful over the last 10 years in in growing uh in growing our business.

So of these three mil, is it gonna can we say a specific amount set aside?

No, not to mention.

So we just spend about whatever it is.

It could be 20 mil.

It can be 20.

Where are we just gonna spend it?

Well you want to do that.

It's gonna be spent to offset the expenses that you've that you've actually approved.

That three mils is the expense that give you the ability to expense the the departments and the divisions that you approve and you you hear about within the So the solution to that would be to go from three mil to set aside a uh another portion identify within each department or a department uh what you want or what you would think for just pure economic development or community development, that's that's solution.

That's gonna be uh uh within the departments that you approve and the budget that you approve.

That's the way to do this.

You but you know, again, specifically right now is is what we're asking that two million to help uh defer primarily, you know, uh the the employees uh in and the support of those employees uh for this FYU.

Gentlemen, uh I I don't know if y'all are moving the tug award here any.

Uh y'all y'all are asking the same question over and over again and answering.

Again in the same manner.

Basically, I'm trying to we're uh we're saying the same thing, but I'm just asking of this three mil that we're asking for, what percentage can we say to increase our revenue through our economic development?

Is there anything there?

None specifically for none allocated up to two millions for that.

It's to support the departments that you approve and the budget that you approve.

Okay, with almost a thousand lots in East Believe, nothing putting property, but banking lots don't help.

So economic development is what we're looking for, bringing businesses in.

So in order to create the decrease the liability to each individual.

So there's nothing, these funds don't do that at all.

No, the departments, the operational uh goals and missions of each department to do that, not fiscal military.

If you want to change and allocate, you know, uh, you know, the positions or uh uh a department for economic development, that's gonna be part of the budget.

If you want to create something to do that would be part of the budget, but that's still part of the 90 million or so that we're talking about.

So that's you know, that's how that uh that role and and and that component of economic development or community development can be done.

But now, but this is just to you know uh operate uh 600 or so employees that we have.

Okay, so let me be clear.

So you're saying that in order for us to get an economic development district for the purpose of the one-fifth of the city is primed and ready.

Not saying anything about the economic development district.

I mean, I'm saying about the expenses that we need to do with FY26.

That's what requires a balancing of the fund uh expenses and and revenues uh for this fiscal year.

Would you be against the three mil just for to operate cooperating, and maybe another mill for investment?

I would be against that because I don't think we can by law.

Why not?

Because it's you can't raise somebody's taxes more than uh 10 percent per year.

30 mills, three mils is 10 percent of 30 mills.

Okay, um how can we go?

How many meals can we go up?

Yeah, I think the actual statute is 10 percent of previous advalorm collected, and that's been I think the lowest year we've had is around 43 million.

There's things that are supposed to be taken out and accounted for, so but I think 4.3, 4.2 is a is a fair estimate of the maximum that could be done.

Matt Locke, that might be the case, but uh but three is what's uh I'm you know, I think is is is it proper and uh we can get confirmation of all that what specifically the city of Biloxi can do based on what we've done and and and take it into consideration too that uh the school districts went up from 43 point something to 44 per something, now they're gonna go up another mill.

So the whole burden rate to a taxpayer, a resident, will be three plus from us and one more from them.

So that's four mills there.

I think uh uh that would be a position uh that uh it would be prudent, you know, from a political standpoint or a way uh that eventually, you know, as I as we develop economically and things uh uh assess value goes up, we can point the the reduction in millage.

And I think the over the course of time before this is BFF before FOFO, we went down to 30 mills based on uh 38 at one point in time in you know as as uh in the 90s, 98, something like that.

Yeah, I think you know, even when casinos came in from 91 to 94, the mills were still at 56 mills.

And around 95, 96, they started decreasing them probably about the time Bo Revage got here.

So by 1997, they were down to 30 mil, 30.10, which is where they've remained.

And again, let me let me reiterate reiterate.

I think this is a one-year play that if we're successful in some of we have identified some of the opportunities to generate more revenue from another direction, you know, maybe some diversions and some of these other things that be coming along, but also, you know, keep in mind we just approved the gaming site for 700 million dollars.

But that will roll in, you know, in two or three years, and there's a number number of other things that will happen.

I think the growth, you know, uh like you said, revenues increasing the revenue is is a way to reduce the tax millage.

And and I I do believe that in three years, you know, uh three years from now, we'll be in a better position because I know we got some debt service rolling off too, so that's a mill that we wouldn't have to collect for the general fund.

Thank you, Mayor.

Okay, our third yes, I'm going off a little bit, I got the lady may answer.

But let me let me get back to my point is okay.

If we're not going to invest anything into uh economic development, but we're just gonna be spending the money to cover the cost.

Let me finish, man.

Yeah, we're just we're gonna get in the same spot over and over again.

Okay.

So the point is when we sit in the evening.

No, let me finish.

I'm sorry.

Go ahead, no, I'm so uh what would be your suggestion at this point?

Put another mill on it?

And what do you do with it?

You got a redesign, what are you gonna do with that uh uh that 700,000 dollars?

What would you propose doing with that additional 700,000 in this budget?

That's the question.

I think that's you know, we're going, we you know, we want of course we want to do that, but that would require something that's not in this budget now in order to uh increase our possibilities of revenue.

But that would be you know, resulting in two years down the road, three years down the road, uh uh uh with new revenues and new economic development.

And then you know, some of the projects we talked about.

If you say in say uh what we're talking about, uh populate, uh repopulate the you know, East Biloxi.

That may require putting uh you know another uh person and a half to to do those kinds of things full-time, right?

So that would be uh within the existing budgetary structure.

That's the kind of thing that's on the on the radar.

I mean, that's that's doable.

That's economic, you know, uh economic development, but that would be a goal of this particular person within the city of Biloxi.

That's some of the things that we would be positioned to do.

Uh but to say this mill is dedicated, you know I I don't think it would be wise to say we put two two people related to uh economic development as a result of this millage increase.

But those kinds of things, you know, we've we've already talked about with this in PDA.

You know, we may have some internal folks that we got to do in order to respond, and that may be their full-time mission is is to to make sure this effort is successful, or we'd have to hire people on a contractual basis, you know, to uh to uh work on that.

That's all part of that revenue, so we can actually you know prospect.

Okay.

So we're paying, we're raising the millage to pay taxes on people that we already got high.

We can't afford to hire, but we're not going to do anything to have to invest to hire people.

We've invested high people, you have the money to have to pay the people.

Right now you don't have the money to pay the people.

But you're not willing to invest.

If I'm operating the business, before I start thinking about just raising the prices of everything across the board, I got to sell us out a uh plan to say, hey, I'm just not gonna keep raising prices because I keep spending money.

I think I got a way to expand my sales, my volume, or uh bring my income in by direct investing.

So companies do all the time.

That's what we're doing.

We got companies that come in like you just said, you talk to companies and they come in, they're they're investing when they come in here for the purpose of increasing their income.

You're not just raising money to pay for the bills, but to keep the employees paying.

They're thinking about the future.

What we're asking for is if you think if you got one fifth of the cities waiting to be developed, now is the time to invest into it.

You can't invest to it with a promise.

We've already had promises.

We need we need action.

This the budget for that.

If you're gonna if you don't charge them, charge the citizens that 20 extra per house per year to to fill up the lights over in East Beluxie to bring the bring the East Biloxi, which is already ready.

It's been almost a quarter of a billion dollars getting ready.

Let's finish that job.

That's where it needs to go.

Thank you, gentlemen.

I think the points are well made.

We need to give the other council members uh a little bit of time, and if we have some, we'll come back to you.

Is that okay, Mr.

Marshall?

Mr.

Gray?

How how is this uh three percent affect these three mills calling affect the businesses?

That's in that's in Biloxi.

If you're it'd probably be a little bit more, probably $80 per year if you had a $200,000 building.

The arithmetic on a homeowner, if you had a $200,000 house, okay, your assessed value which you apply the millage to, assessed value of a $200,000 house.

I mean uh uh the the assessed value of a $200,000 true value house would be $20,000.

Okay.

That's 10% of the of the the true value.

On a commercial business, that would be 15% of that.

But on a on the arithmetic there, 0.003 is three mils times 20,000, which is $60 per year, five dollars per month.

On a uh on a uh a a uh uh short-term rental, that would be uh more than that, probably uh $30,000 on a $200,000 house, right?

And do the millage, so that would be $90 a year.

Okay, that's all I have.

All right.

Uh shoemaker, do you have I know you've been uh listening in?

Do you have anything?

Yes, sir.

I'll try to make it clear.

What I'm gonna say, some of y'all have already spoken about, but I just want to say last year at this time I probably would have supported a millage increase.

This year I'm not so sure.

I think we can find some other areas of the cut, hopefully, not putting both on the citizens plus.

Everything's expensive, still expensive.

Um I know when you break it down the numbers, you know, it may be 80, 90 dollars a year, you take that down per month, it's not that much.

However, that being said, it is a burden.

Insurance costs are still high, houses.

And I just think if you look at some things, um I don't know if there's anything we could ever do with that.

That's a money pit.

We're losing a lot of money, not thinking money, it seems like on that uh the third floor of the federal building.

Maybe we do about moving that building all I apologize for the noise behind me.

I try to get to a quiet place.

But water sewer and poor parts.

If we're losing money and they're not holding their home when it comes to the budget, maybe we need to rethink that.

Maybe that's something we can do this year, but it's something we probably need to think about.

Engineering and public works.

Maybe that's something we need to look at.

That's just one director says uh uh money just in that.

And I'll end it with this.

It seems like a lot of money contracting jobs that we could do in-house.

I don't know what the numbers are, but if we did more jobs maybe in-house throughout the year, that would save itself a chop a month.

Um I just I just think right now, if we look, and I know we've kind of waited, I guess, to the last hour, uh, so to speak, but I think we can find hopefully we can find some other areas to make those cuts without having to raise them.

But I think we can find hopefully we can find some other areas to make those cuts without having to raise them.

That's all I have, y'all.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Schumacher.

I'd like to remind the council that this meeting was called uh the resolution or the uh suggestion was by made by Mr.

Tisdale to uh consider giving the mayor uh uh authorization to advertise uh up to a certain village uh point.

Uh are there any other final points that anybody can make in a couple of minutes?

So go ahead, James.

Real quick.

Um just listening throughout Paul and everyone's testimony here.

Um what Christie's can somebody give me a definition of what exactly defines a capital project, not a capital expense, a capital project.

Because I know we you have bought when you spend X amount of dollars for a vehicle, so to speak, that's a capital expense.

But what what would define a capital project?

Is there a monetary amount?

Project and get that.

Let's just say in your neighborhood, you've had some drainage issues and it's typically three or four hundred thousand dollars.

Okay.

To do that before we do that, we give that a capital project number, and then we allocate money from either a grant or sometimes from the general fund, sometimes from Opera funds, wherever we will fund that capital project.

Okay.

So based on Mr.

Tisdale's testimony here, I think it was said that there's no proposed new capital projects within the fiscal year 2026 budget currently.

Right.

However, we each just submitted two capital projects that we were wishing for in our in our wards with this proposed increase, even with this proposed increase, there's no new capital projects for 2026.

So I I guess my point is is we eventually have to stop the bleeding.

And and I think if we can do that and then revisit this, I know we had a time deadline, but I think we've known this deadline for more than three days now.

So it's just difficult for me to perform around when we got no new capital projects being proposed, but yet we're proposing a tax increase, and not to mention, I know it's it's ten dollars per thousand on residential, fifteen thousand fifteen dollars per uh hundred thousand on commercial.

However, you look at a small casino property like Boomtown, who is probably the lesser of the market owned by a corporation, you start living more dollars on them, that corporation corporation may look at it and say it's no longer profitable, and then what we we gotta look at the long-term effects of this three mill rather than the influx of what we would uh receive in the in the short term.

So that's just uh my two cents there.

Not to mention what the increase of escrow for the resident, your homeowners insurance just increased three times as well.

So your escore is only going up sixty bucks, but it just went up three times as much for homeowners.

Mr.

Tisdale, I didn't know we had a time limit.

Mr.

Tisdale, two minutes.

Sure.

So suppose there's no millage increase forthcoming.

How do we close that delta?

What services will be reduced?

What's the impact on the homeowners here?

Well, if you if you do paint the picture as accurately as you can so we understand the impact.

Are you going to fund balance?

So that 12 million dollars fund balance would look like 10 million going into the room.

That's you if you don't do this, then that's where it comes from.

If you provide the services that you want in this budget.

You've you know, you you'll use some of that fund balance to fund this proposed.

If this budget is skinny it down, I'm talking about to the expense side, the where would this bottom line of what we got to do?

And it only goes in one place.

Uh the cash and in the fund balance you have.

All right.

And you're asking for the increase, so you're reluctant to lower that fund balance, correct?

Well, that's yeah, that's proven.

Okay, so what all right, so what's the significance of keeping the fund balance where it is?

Uh that that's you know, a matter of opinion.

To me, to me, here's your in business, okay.

What's your opinion?

What I it it's not tremendously significant to me, but there are you know things that are considered like uh rating of municipal government.

Business is easy.

Everything is related to bottom line.

Revenues and expenses, one way one impacts the bottom line.

You have capital items or assets that you can leverage in order to be where we are to do the things you do.

You got to, you know, generate revenue is the whole idea or reduce expenses, which actually goes to bottom line, but we're not in that mode.

I don't think there's a tremendous amount of harm in what we just the you know, the latter of what we talked about.

Uh the two million is not really significant uh uh to me.

Uh it wouldn't bother me too much.

Okay.

So what I'm talking about.

We do nothing.

If we do nothing, you can go into fund balance to do the job.

The we're skinny in this budget in every way you can imagine.

The bond rating.

The bond rating may suffer a little bit.

But tell me about that.

I mean, that's what's in the back of my mind.

I figured that's the same.

Well, understand the fund balance is always a consideration of of uh of rate.

Financial health, yeah.

Right.

But go ahead, Mr.

A.

Bond.

Yeah, I mean, before we do any bond, we're subjected to three or four ratings calls and SP looks at the audits and looks at the financial position of the city, and they're always focusing on how much unrestricted cash is on hand in case something goes wrong, what's your like the three-month uh ability to operate for three months uh without any revenue?

So at some point, if it's got to a certain level, I mean, they will still lend you money, but that interest rate is gonna be higher.

So it's like uh just like anything, people with better credit get a better interest rate.

So the unrestricted cash on hand then.

No, fund balance is unrestricted and cash is cash.

So what is that?

Okay, so I'm talking about what the bond companies are gonna look at.

What's that total?

What's the number that million is important?

Okay, so 26 million, but we're not talking about that 26 million.

We just talked about it.

We are talking about that because it looks across all 30 funds.

All right, that includes the 12 million.

Yeah, okay.

So that would be reduced that 26 to 24 million if we did nothing and that 2 million dollars came out of the general fund.

That would reduce that 26 million to 24 million.

Does that make any appreciable difference in the bond companies looking if we're um again?

Those questions need to be to Jane and and uh uh I uh to me I uh you know I I I wouldn't think so.

What does I have below them?

Total album uh is forty-something million, forty-three.

And two to two million and forty-three you know, is what we're talking about raised.

Out of the 43 through a fund balance that's two million more.

I I don't know that uh that would be uh uh significant from a bond rating.

Okay.

And that was my uh that's basically was my question.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Tisdale.

Can we wrap it up on Mr.

Marshall?

And I got some final comments.

I can go after you.

No, go ahead.

I don't mind.

I'll close.

You want to why you always get to close.

Excuse me?

Why you always get to close?

I mean, I want to close some time too.

Because he's a president anyway.

Uh Mr.

Mayor, the uh how many projects do we have that are on the books that are unfunded?

We got a project, but there's no money for it.

No, all our projects, all capital projects are funded, sourced and funded.

About 36 that are funded and and are uh I'm not trying, I can't remember each one of them, but all our projects have a source, maybe multiple sources, like uh, you know, the state puts the money in, the go mesa might be put puts money, ARPA uh uh fund balance, you know, general fund, all of them are sourced and and I think they have provided you the ones that are in active fund balance or active capital projects.

There's a spreadsheet show.

You can see how much has been done, how much was originally budgeted, and how much of each source is is part of that but uh that budget.

Okay, one of which is uh in East Collective is uh recreation center.

Um is the money?

It's funded, but you say money is in those accounts that you gotta get to the $3,000 in your account.

There's no recreation center there.

The engineering was funded.

Full project been funded.

The engineering uh of the project has is a big part of it, and and uh that has the rest of the project.

Which project uh the least Belexi Recreation Center.

Oh, yeah.

The engineering has been done, and there's about uh uh two or three hundred thousand that that are sitting somewhere in in fund balance for East Biloxi Community Center?

I I'm not sure.

But the engineering has been done, and it's almost ready to bid.

If we f you got to have the complete source in order to, I guess we need to revisit the engineering as far as site and then go forward with that.

So we have a project that three million dollar project.

Right now it was three million.

No, to tell them what it is right now.

And we got less than how much in it left.

No, we just funded 50 something thousand for the engineering, wasn't it?

Oh no.

I I don't know.

We can we can visit that.

So we're so you can get the money for that, though.

Is a project, it's an active project.

Where's the money coming from?

Is that gonna be in this bond that you're doing?

Could be that enough?

Okay, no, no, no.

No, no.

Well we have an active project.

You just say all the projects are funded.

You just so no, you just said no, sir.

You just said they're all funded.

My understanding is this.

There was a half a million dollars put in their project.

I think it was it's somewhere.

Okay.

The engineering part of that.

We 200 218,000.

Okay.

We took out uh I believe it was 10,000 for uh it was transferred from there for the park uh here in the back park.

25,000 is transferred for the fence over at uh Bush Park.

I think with 25,000 is transferred from their project for uh the uh part that the end of the what's the name of the end of the uh uh by Oak Street now the individual street?

Okay, for that part.

Uh you uh there's some railroad work on the corner across the main street.

You took 125,000 out of the project.

That depleted down to about 3,000.

But yet it's a funded project.

Where's the money coming from?

You gotta have a full committed uh amount of money dedicated in the budget, and that's usually you can do that to you.

So we have a project that started at 3 million.

Now we know it's gonna cost 4 million probably.

Yes, and we have done it.

We got a little bit of opportunities to fund that 4 million.

We don't have that funded uh identified yet.

So with this being his bundle that you're talking about.

Could be.

But you know, you can you're gonna have to approve uh, you know, whatever project would be.

I'm not gonna get anywhere.

Mr.

Tisdale, you got any thoughts?

Mr.

Clear stepped out of the room, you had to take a call, but it'll be right back.

Uh no, I'll wait for your comments and then if you need a motion uh after all this, I'm happy to offer a motion.

Mr.

Gray, any additional thoughts.

Yeah.

On a non-departmental, I mean, is there anything we can cut?

I mean, some of these are are growing.

I mean, they're asking for over the last few years.

Over $100,000.

I mean, they just keep growing and growing.

Absolutely.

We talked a little bit of possibilities.

Who needs what way?

That's that's two million dollars right there.

That's where the three mil came from.

Hey, let's do that.

That would fund everything there.

It's not necessary that you do that.

Kenny uh the president said, can you live with 375 versus 395?

Sure, it's anything.

That's all on the table.

It's up to you to you to designate where these things are.

Right.

I mean, I know we like to fund as much as we can, but some of the stuff that just growing too fast, and that I mean, at some point we got to close the checkbook.

It's strong and it's been there for the last four years at about two million.

Right.

So anything's on the table.

These are extraordinary times.

I think this year is extraordinary.

And Diana will back us up.

We've we've increased expenses over the last three years by 30 percent.

And now's the time to address it by getting a little bit more revenue or getting you know uh uh identifying opportunities to shed some uh some property and uh put some things back on the tax roll, which I think you know will happen, as well as maybe some of the additional revenue, but it won't be from uh the after the legislative session, they may put us in a mode to uh to to kick around some additional revenue sources.

Right.

That's all I have.

All right, thank you, Wayne.

Uh gentlemen, I'll I'll try to wrap us up here.

Um I mean it the great great points.

Everybody's trying to make some great points, a lot of friction in the room because you know that's where we are.

You know, we we we gotta have the friction to kind of move the train here and uh you know, we'll see where how far we can get.

So the purpose of this meeting again, I just want to restate was to give the mayor consideration or giving the mayor auth authorization to advertise a potential millage increase.

Um there's still some work and some of the points I want to allude to.

Weaver uh so that we can make some headway uh we have reviewed these budgets um it's difficult when you go through the review process and where you're gonna make the changes we got seven different opinions up here okay so I'm gonna try to get with Mr.

Weaver put our heads together make some recommendations bring it back to the full council let y'all look at it you can still make adjustments at that time anyone can make adjustments if we get a consensus we can move forward that's separate from what we've been debating and considering I'd like to note that our millage is some of the lowest on the coast that's from the lowest on the coast 115 is that where we're at 114 11 11 uh is our mills when you got other uh cities that are 135 144 you know and so forth so um it the the public is gonna want to know where you're gonna spend that at and I've heard heard that from a lot of us up here and uh but again this is just to give the mayor authority to advertise once that is done there's a uh public meeting and workshop on it and then it would come to the council for uh approval at that point so uh we've been here a while today uh to do debate given the mayor authority to advertise I would like to call for the question you and take each vote verbally starting with Mr.

Gray I'm sorry I make a motion that well Mr.

Tisdale wanted to make that motion I think so I'll give him the privilege thank you I think you're welcome so and all we're doing is authorizing the advertisement for the proposed or consideration for uh a millage increase is do we do we need Peter do we need to put a a millage figure in there yeah the not to exceed or well I the statute just says generically the city plans to increase by and they just have the millage number uh is the way it reads but that's in before the public hearings after the public hearing at the adoption it can be zero one two three it can be anything you want but I think uh you know I think we're from what we're talking about is clearly not to exceed that but you know if you change one word in the way that statute reads it gives somebody a opportunity to say it wasn't done perfectly according to statute so I think it would say something in the effect of we plan to have a three mil propose an additional three mills but it's of course subject to final approval of the budget and whatever that number is sure it could be less whatever that figure is but that's that's what the mayor the mayor's preference is for three mills yeah I think we just say uh three mills and advertise according to statute would be the proper way to say all right I'll I'll make that motion did you get the verbiage okay all right thank you so that's uh not not to no re say that again Peter so we all understand here uh the city plans to propose a three mil increase and then we have the before which is the 30 point one it says this will increase the mills to 33 point one okay all right Gary you got that all right so that I'll I'll make that motion all right there's a motion do we have a second all right seconded by Mr.

We'll have a public hearing on the budget, which gives the the public an opportunity to come and comment.

Again, it's not a question and answer, it's just commenting comment on the budget, and then a week after that at the September 9th meeting, at that point, we can approve whatever millage we desire as a council.

Could be zero mills, could be up to three mills.

So we're not locked into anything yet.

The public has an opportunity to be heard.

That's kind of where we are.

So Mr.

Tisdale is I understand.

So public input would include like uh Mr.

Marshall's concerns about his idea of of taking some of that millage and uh seeing if it's legal or or if it can be used for uh an economic foundation or something like that.

It could be discussed at that time.

Uh he could, of course, you'll be managing the meeting.

So just wanted to clarify that.

Okay.

Mr.

Gray, you're up next.

No, uh I mean we we have to to run this in the paper whether we got zero meals or three mills.

Yeah.

So I mean we gotta go ahead and approve it and let's move on.

All right, Mr.

Marshall, any comments?

Yeah, uh as I said before, if you said on the three mil, only thing I was asking is that we consider just raise of the mill if by chance during all the discussions we did lowered it back down, you could do that.

But at least leave it on if no use to having discussion about the uh the economic district funding if it's not there's no money there anyway.

If it's there is a possibility you decide not to do it, you can always lower back down to three and walk away from it.

But I saw I was asking that we the motion really should be for the four, that would the one at least the one meal be there in as an option right now, no.

I don't know.

I don't see no positive in this.

If I understood the motion uh council, even though we're advertising for three by statute, we could in these meetings.

Could you exceed that or do you are you restricted at the three?

It could go I'm gonna say up to to whatever the limit is.

We'll say 4.2 is a is uh good guess, but I mean that would have to be an amendment to this to the previous motion.

Let me say this.

I'm hooked on three.

All right, all right.

Mr.

Marshall, you still have to move it.

Why don't we just I just rather see it in the first amendment and we're lower?

People feel bad about you have to lower it lower it.

At least let's talk it through.

No use trying to talking it through to to get something where we can just go on and that's my problem with it.

It needs to be in the in the in the in this vote right here.

And he can go he can he can argue what he wanted, bring it down and explain to it, and I can do mine.

But at least we it'd be on the table.

Yeah, I don't know if that's I don't know if we have the ability to make that happen.

You can make a amendment if you want, propose an amendment to the motion.

But let's before you do that, let's allow discussion and come back to an amendment if you if you don't mind.

Mr.

Nell.

Yes.

You're good.

All right, Mr.

Crew.

Discussion.

No discussion.

Uh Mr.

Schumacher.

No discussion.

Mr.

Marshall.

I'll make the amendment that we do the four percent and we'd say in our in our um discussions afterwards.

When I lower it down to the three, we'll do that.

All right.

Did y'all understand?

Did you understand that?

Lower it down to what?

If you want to if we max it out at the four, and if we decide to lower it to three, that would be the limit.

Okay, let's do that.

Okay.

So what what read the amendment?

What's the amendment say?

You're making an amendment to do exactly what?

Lower it to three.

I'll make an amendment to raise the motion to four percent.

And then doing it after to be advertised at your most of four percent.

Gotcha.

And we have a final number.

I'm clear.

Uh if I understand the motion uh the the amendment, uh Mr.

Marshall is uh uh making an amendment to raise the number to three percent.

No to four percent from three percent.

Is there a second uh four mils?

Excuse me.

I'm staying corrected from three mils to four mils.

Well not an amendment, that was a motion, and this is an amendment to the motion to raise it from three mils to four mils to raise the motion to four mil.

Okay.

Is there a second?

Excuse me.

I I got it.

Is there a second?

There being no second the amendment uh to the motion fails.

All right.

We'll go ahead and vote on the motion by Mr.

Tisdale.

Mr.

Gray?

Gray, yes.

Mr.

Marshall.

Abstain.

All right.

Mr.

Nale?

Yes.

Mr.

Creer?

Creel, no.

Tisdale.

Mr.

Tisdale.

Tisdale, yes.

Mr.

Shoemaker.

Shoemaker, no.

And Glavin is no.

So the motion passes three, two, and one abstained.

No.

Right?

No.

The other way it fails.

I'm sorry, three.

Fail's three to two.

Three two three one abstain.

We had a yay, a yay, right?

You were yes.

We had a yes.

We had two no two no's or three no's.

So it's three three one.

So it fails for lack of a majority?

Correct.

Three three one.

Three three one.

Did you you need the vo do you need the votes?

One more time.

All right, one more time.

Mr.

Gray, what was your vote?

Gray, yes.

Mr.

Marshall, your vote.

Marshall, abstain.

All right.

Mr.

Nale, you'll vote.

Mr.

Creel?

Creel, no.

Mr.

Tisdale, his Dale's a yes.

Mr.

Shoemaker.

Shoemaker, no.

Glavin is no.

All right.

We retain a motion to adjourn.

Moved.

Move by Mr.

Creel.

Yes.

Thank you, Mr.

Gray.

Move uh second by Mr.

Gray.

Any discussion?

There being none.

Mr.

Gray.

Gray, yes.

Mr.

Marshall.

Abstain.

We're voting to adjourn.

To adjourn.

We're go on.

Marshall, yes.

Okay.

Mr.

Nell.

All right.

Mr.

Creel.

Creer, yes.

Mr.

Tisdale.

Tisday.

Shoemaker, yes.

And Glavin is yes.

Thank y'all.