Motion carries 6 0.

We'll go ahead and move on to Mayor's report.

No report, Mr.

President.

Thank you, Mayor.

Council reports.

No report.

No report.

No report.

No report.

No report.

And I don't have any report either.

If the uh clerk would read uh the public agenda.

Well, we got citizens' comments.

So let me start with that.

Uh we'll have a total allotted time of 45 minutes.

Uh, you have three minutes to speak on any topic that you wish to speak on.

This is not a question and answer period, it's just something that you want to state uh for the council and the mayor.

Um when you are recognized, I'll I'll start on this side or the other side of the room.

Raise your hand and I'll recognize you.

Come up to the uh front, record your uh name and your address, and state it clearly for the clerk uh to record.

So we'll start on my left, your right.

Anyone would like to come up and speak?

We're not on that.

We're not no.

I thought that's what we're on.

No, that's next.

No, we just finished council with that.

Oh, okay.

Yeah, that's where we're at.

All right.

Anyone on my left, your right?

There'll be no one uh move to the side of the room.

My right, your left.

Raise your hand to be recognized if you want to speak on any topic at all in the back of the room.

All right.

There'd be no one uh wishing to speak.

Uh public comments is now closed.

We'll move on to item A.

The clerk would uh read item A.

Public hearing to provide the general public with an opportunity to comment on the taxing and spending plan incorporating the proposed fiscal year budget beginning October 1st, 2025, and in the September 30th, 2026.

All right, this now opens the public hearing.

Uh you can uh speak to the uh budget.

We've been working on it for quite some time.

Uh so is there anyone that would like to uh make any comments on the budget?

Can I make a comment?

Yeah, let me ask let me ask the general public first.

Anyone like to make any comments or ask any questions about the budget?

Come on and be recognized, stand up, come to the front, be recognized.

Excuse me, I just need you to speak clearly into the microphone.

And this part is uh this is our public hearing on the budget.

I thought it was property.

No, what do you what do you have?

Yep, but property next meeting problem.

No, the code enforcement is on the regular agenda.

This is a special call meeting to speak about the budget.

So that that's gonna happen in a few minutes.

We'll open the regular meeting after this meeting.

All right, thank you kindly.

No problem.

All right, there'll be no one uh from the audience at this time would like to speak.

Is there anybody from the council like to be recognized to speak?

Yeah, is it possible that we could have some sort of presentation so the public can see what we're doing or maybe review the documents in 25 words or less.

Um I don't know if we can do it in 25 words or less, but you know, this is a result.

I think you have all your spreadsheets in in uh in front of you, and uh there was a number of exercises that please direct me if you need more clarifications on what we've done over the the last four months, I guess five months, in trying to uh make as much as we can uh revenues equal to the expenses that we budgeted for primarily our personnel and the equipment and uh those items that we're uh part and and uh committed to to make sure that we uh have a workforce that's uh fully equipped and uh that our workforce is is paid to the highest amount possible of 604 uh employees.

Uh as you see in this document, we uh we was as much as 15 million dollars difference between revenues and expenses, roughly.

It was about uh 75 million dollars, which was still a record.

This is record revenue in the last four or five years, I think.

But the expenses were extraordinary over the last uh four or five years with regard uh I think correct me uh if I'm wrong, about four years ago we did a five percent raise two years ago.

million dollars difference between revenues and expenses roughly it was about uh 75 million dollars which was still a record uh this is record revenue in the last four or five years I think but the expenses were extraordinary over the last uh four or five years with one uh I think correct me uh nine if I'm wrong about four years ago we did a five percent raise two years ago we had a another five point five percent raise to our employees putting them at the top uh especially our our first responders and the equipment that we've been purchasing over the course of time trying to replace things that were uh police cars that were over 140,000 miles at least and that's uh pretty accurate chief and then try five trucks that moved from this past year 527 thousand dollars to uh over nine hundred and thirty seven thousand dollars and we have a number of those on order the idea is to keep the equipment as new in this current as we can and that's why we address a probably a 30 something percent increase in those expenses in a nutshell we've worked that down based on some of the uh bond capability that we would some of the the uh possibly I think we have like seven or eight million dollars in capital equipment which is a multi-year multi-life uh equipment but it's still part of that expense at 90 million dollars in expense but we have whittled it down and I think that the the expenses are probably about five million dollars different revenues versus expendes and that numbers in there is 84 million in expenses and about 75 million in uh excuse me less than that uh a little bit less what was it 79 million and uh in revenue but uh the difference would be in the fund balance that we built up over the years so I think uh estimating where we'll be October one versus what this year versus October one or September 30th 26 we still have some cash balance about half a million a little bit over half a million dollars that we balance those uh that budget to and uh in a nutshell not you know not to go on in detail but unless you have specific questions yeah I think that's a presentation of what our budget is for this next FYU all right yeah a few things so just to recap because we have several people here that don't have these documents to look at but basically our projected beginning cash balance is going to be 13 and a half million correct that's correct okay and we're looking at total revenues of roughly 76 point four million we're looking at total departmental expenditures of 82 uh point two or eighty two point three million uh non-contractual non-departmentals roughly one and a half million contractual roughly half a million and then the so the total expenditures are 84 point three million the non department all right then yeah when we get down to the projected ending cash balance we're looking at a little over half a million dollars is that accurate yeah I think but you know non-departmental but that's around two million dollars that okay yeah and do we have one and then I had a question on the combined fund statement the second page under capital projects funds we're looking at a proceeds of a bond issue of ten million dollars is that right so we're looking to float a bond of ten million this next fiscal year and what will that be used for that'll be for a number of uh gener hard uh multi-year kinds of uh roofs uh of the generators uh equipment uh uh trucks those kinds of things that do have multi-year uh uh expense uh life uh cycle and uh so we expensive do the course of the bond over 20 years.

Are we looking at any in any infrastructure projects new water lines or paving streets or I think we have one but not major do we know which one that is can you tell us excuse me which is interesting edgewater states water line I think what was that now two million what was that for edgewater states water line two million all right so we're looking to do edgewater estates water lines this next fiscal year to get that project rolling okay thank you thank you so much the only other comment I have is I I just I recall that we had talked about uh service dogs that had retired canines that had retired and if you we're looking at handlers who might adopt those dogs to take care of them that we we would provide some some monies to help with the vet bills and John Chief you didn't say yeah we can do that you said I'll do my best to work it in I know you have uh number of other issues you're dealing with but I appreciate any support on that uh that's all I have I think yeah that's all I have thank you want to look at this is that it's it's just all right just just a quick based on follow-up with with Mr.

I think yeah, that's all I have.

Thank you.

I don't have to page that it.

That's it.

All right, just just go ahead.

Okay, just a quick based on follow-up with with Mr.

Tisdale.

So the revenue of the 79 million number includes the 10 million dollar bond.

No, so that money is not included in the 79.

Okay.

Is the expense included in the expenses?

No.

That service for the uh the debt service is included.

That service is not included in the general funds.

Not the general fund, but in the bond debt service.

The $10 million bond is in the capital projects fund.

Okay.

Expenditures related to it or in the capital projects fund.

The debt associated with it is in the debt service fund.

And millage goes towards it to pay for principal and interest.

Okay, so that that's unincluded in our projected revenues then.

Not in the general funds.

Okay.

Okay.

So the 79 million is the general fund revenue.

Okay.

So just to clarify a few things.

I know I heard again this morning on the news that we were two million uh deficit.

Actually, we were a four million deficit.

Um, once we had to back out the three mil.

Let me let me say deficit is a is uh a word that I would like to say, you know, it's not really applicable to me because the deficit is used.

You were using fund balance in order to to meet the needs.

And uh that is a bad connotation.

This is just four folks talking, okay.

Well it okay, so uh an upside down amount.

Expenses, that's what if you want to call out a deficit, that's okay.

All right, so we had revenues, so expenses so revenues were inflated by two million because the millage was included initially when we were two million.

Uh you we offset on August 19th, when we were told two million dollars, it was the millage was included in that in that budget.

So then we had to back that out.

So essentially we were four million.

Okay.

The difference, okay.

Four million difference.

So that's why we had to go in and cut an additional two million once we backed out the millage that failed.

Right.

Um so question on this right here.

This and and listen, I applaud you, Rick, and and Kenny, President Glavin, for going in and and making these necessary uh uh cuts and or um financial decisions to get us where we are now.

Um in the event this budget doesn't pass.

Is there any threat of a layoff?

No.

No, no threat of a layoff.

Okay.

All right, that's all, thank you.

Anyone else have any comments on the budget for this workshop?

I do.

Okay, Mr.

Marshall.

All right.

Um we say four.

Okay, let me get it right.

I'm I'm I'm having trouble with it.

All right.

You came here and you said we were my understanding we were two million dollars short.

No, no.

We're always more than two million dollars short.

We we were we were proposing two million dollars in in a tax increase that's where three mills would generate as was uh your option.

Uh at that point, there was uh you know five or six million difference, weren't there between 79 and 94.

But we they had to put that two million dollars that we anticipated in revenue to the general fund back into the to the ball game.

I specifically asked you what was what were we gonna use that money for for the three mil?

For the all for the difference in the expenses throughout throughout the all the departments.

There was additional revenue to offset the expenses.

You presented us with a budget.

And I probably I'm probably the only one on here that didn't on this council that did not understand that the budget you presented us with was based on two million dollars that we hadn't even voted on yet.

No, we what we said we proposed that it was a that was a possibility.

We talked about two million dollars in in non-departmental.

You remember that when it was it was talked about, I said three mills would offset uh that that at least that two million dollars in non-departmental.

You know, uh again the process is is yours, but that three million would the two million that was talked about with a possibility of raising two million by three mils was was what was to be considered.

The budget that you presented did it already include that that three mil in the budget.

We did a while back.

And when what day was that?

Let me jump in real quick.

So no, no, no.

I need to know.

It's your time.

Go ahead, councilman.

Did it include the three mil, the two million dollars?

So your budget was really not two million dollars.

It was how many million?

Four.

Four.

Okay.

So I'm the only one that came away thinking that.

No one is is mentioning it to you.

Uh no, I'm you know, I'm not I'm not totally understanding.

Uh okay, you presented us with a budget.

And basically, my understanding was with that budget.

You were two million, we're gonna be two million short.

No, we were more than two million short.

We were more than two million short, and two million would have offset that difference.

Well the L O X is here, and they got it all over the news right now.

I just got through looking at it.

That you said we were two million short.

Are they everybody's not?

I never told you we're two million short.

Two million could be raised by three millions.

Three millions would raise two million dollars, which would offset the difference.

It was a 90 million dollar budget when we started this versus uh in 75 million dollars in revenue.

So we worked that down and eliminated that you know the reduction by million.

The numbers that you gave in that budget already included the three million week ago, it didn't include that that's the way we paid me a week.

You put me uh you put a budget before me.

That included ask us to find to to uh that the that I was on the impression that if we got the three mil increase in taxes, it would erase the two mil, the two million dollars that we lost.

But in fact, the budget that you presented already had that calculated as if we had already passed the tax.

That included a proposed three mil increase.

So we stand.

I know what we did.

And if so the the revenue was put uh taken away from the proposed revenue, so therefore that deficit went back to four or five million.

So let me be clear without twisting it around.

The budget you presented already had the fandom number of two extra million in it that we had not approved or voted for.

Well, we cut it was the 90 million dollars down to 84.

Okay, let me ask again.

Okay, the budget you presented to this council already included two million dollars in revenue anticipated from a bond that we had never voted on.

On a bond, not a bond, an increase in millage, which generate millage.

Millage, okay.

Let me ask the question again.

The budget you presented already included two million dollars in income from a tax millage that we had never invoked that we never voted on.

Well, it's up to you to decide whether you want to.

Well, who was it up to?

I don't need you to ask that.

To answer your question, yes.

That's all I need, man.

You mean you go around the world?

Just I ain't going around the world.

I'm just answering your question.

No, you could answer that five different ways ago.

Okay.

So it was it was a phantom budget.

It wasn't really.

The budget was a workshop.

That's what was presented in a workshop.

But you didn't tell us that we that was a workshop.

You had to obviously have the right to to uh approve it or not approve it.

And that's what this is what's what we're doing now.

You have the right to approve it out, approve the budget.

Wouldn't it wouldn't have been more forthcoming?

You would you would just say that in the beginning?

Hey, this right here is the numbers already in, and it's gonna still leave us two million dollars short.

It's gonna leave us more than two million dollars short.

That was just uh the three mills was to relate the questions y'all had doing when you review when we reviewed non-department.

That was two million dollars that we're trying to uh reduce, I think what 400,000 dollars out of that was put back.

Okay, okay.

I don't mean to be argumentative, but that's just me.

You know what I mean.

So uh well, that's just me too.

Okay.

That's just us.

When we finish we're both amazing, all right, okay, good.

What I need to know is that budget that we thought that I thought that we was two million dollars short was really how many million short?

Five.

Five.

Yeah, well, we cut it back.

We cut that that ninety million dollars down to what is it?

What is the number now?

What is it?

All expense number now.

Five expenses.

It this was there was fifteen million dollars difference when this this whole process began.

So do you remember that?

You remember that 75 million dollars?

Does anybody on the council remember that?

It was 90 million dollars proposed the first workshop, and and hey, we only had 75 million dollars in revenue, and we're whittling it down.

So this is the final product.

We're whittle it down.

We're we're uh whatever the difference is, four or five million dollars difference, and that was used and made up in use of fund balance.

Yeah, am I the only council member that was that that did not understand that the budget that was presented already had the millage increase in it?

No, I would I was not aware of that.

That was on the 19th, but we did have a workshop on the 26th.

We didn't have a regularly scheduled council meeting on the 26th, and then we received revised figures with the three mills back down.

So that was at the workshop on the 26th.

All right.

So we lost basically we lost a week because of that because we didn't lose a week.

I mean, we would we actually been re they've been reviewing that every minute.

Okay.

On your cuts.

Not my cuts.

These are the cuts to the city of Biloxi's budget in doing what we needed to do, reduce the number of the dollars related to expenses versus the revenues we anticipate.

Did you just who presented the last budget to it?

The budget we looked at in there who presented this?

It wasn't presented just like in this format you're seeing it right now.

And it's been revised to some of the council members and Rick and Diane.

That's how it got whittled back down to this number and removed the the uh uh I think council Tisdale and can't and President Glappin was at this workshop that was uh you know getting it back to this number within uh uh not so many dollars, but that's where we are today as a result of the interaction between that that that uh two million dollar due to three mills inclusive of the one the workshop before this last one.

Okay, so backing up again.

You presented us a budget, and you said we all did it, but I didn't have anything to do with it.

They included a millage increase of three percent, and you had the numbers already in that budget, and I didn't know about it, and understandably none of the other council members knew that it was already included in it, but we worked it back out again because we did not vote for it now.

That since we didn't vote for it, we found all these cuts.

Explain to me, okay.

Do we have anything in our budget left over from last year?

Are we gonna have anything to work for to add into this?

Well, we're anticipating 13 million dollars in bum fun balance when it when it when the smoke clears of what we will wind up with, and that's the use of that.

Okay, you you mentioned we had 26 million dollars in unrestricted funds.

That's what the audit mentioned.

Do we have 26 million dollars?

Okay, hold on, Mr.

Mayor.

Miss Diane, do we have 26 million dollars?

Thank you.

So that's that doesn't exist.

What do we have at unrestricted funds?

It's in the budget.

Let me ask Miss Diane.

Miss Diane, please.

We are expecting the year to begin with 13 and a half million.

Okay, in general fund.

Okay.

The police department, we're cutting how much 1.9 million.

And that's primarily vacant positions.

Do you have Mr.

Chief?

Could you step up for me?

1.9 million, that's not gonna hurt you at all.

You good with that?

Well, I'm sure it's gonna hurt.

That's what I didn't hear you, sir.

I'm sure it's gonna hurt, but that's my understanding.

That's what the cut is right now.

Okay.

Which department do you have enough officers on on the streets now?

Well, the answer to that is no, we don't, but we're having a hard time hiring also.

Why?

People don't want to get into the police business anymore.

Chief, let me uh add to this too.

We've been doing this about five years here, and each year we wind up with about 40 vacancies, don't we?

That's right.

Okay, so the the whole gist of this situation.

Why do you because you put it in the budget, that adds to the difference?

If it's not in the budget, you can't hire them.

So that was primarily the difference.

Most of your budget, 60 something percent of your budget is related to positions and uh expenditures related to uh uh wages and salaries.

That was the primarily the mechanism of about 70 uh vacancies across the city, about 70 vacancies that we've been doing this over and over again.

We've had issues, that's why these raises were given in the last three and four years to have have people uh that used to be $13 an hour, now $15 an hour.

But we still have an issue of of vacancies, people you know, retiring, going away, not coming, not new hires coming in at these levels, and that's primarily wait.

Let me finish my statement.

The the the justification for that that that number dollars is because we're not baking, we're not budgeting vacant positions that we never can fill.

Okay, so every year, okay, you asked for uh more enough money to cover positions that you hadn't been able to fill in the last three years.

Okay, yeah, we have a set number of policemen that we try to stay at that goal, and the fact that that we haven't had them hired, we left them in the budget so that we could hire them.

That's why I answered your question.

Is that over a million dollars per year?

Oh, yeah.

So you did that for the last year.

You keep saying over and over, so let's go five years.

So we just go one point five million times five.

Where is all that money?

You didn't spend it.

It rolls over.

So basically, what we have is employment.

Is this okay?

Miss Diane, does this go into every department?

So we fully fund every department, even though we know that department's not gonna hire those people.

They're gonna try and hire those people.

Right, they're gonna try to hire them, but we have to budget positions.

So we don't hire those people, we got all this extra money.

Well, we don't have extra money, it closes over into fund balance.

Then what do we do with the money?

It's just there, right?

We didn't hire the people, so we didn't go for say it didn't go.

Half that's starting this coming year.

So we didn't hire the people, so they didn't go for salaries, it didn't go for the insurance benefits or anything.

So where did that money go?

It's in the budget, it's in fund balance.

Okay, she didn't spend it out, but you're budgeting for as if you were gonna spend it.

Correct.

Over time.

And overtime, and some of these other things that all part of it.

But every year that your expenses are more than your revenue, it's dwindling that balance.

So we're operating inefficiently because we always got more expensive, even though you got them.

He's if he get if he if it if he's doing this over and over again, which means last year he had 1.9 million extra, then the year before that he had 1.9 million extra, one point nine.

That's just one department.

That's budget, excess in budget, not real.

Not real uh actual.

Are these so this maybe these are actual money that we're talking about?

This is budget.

You could you're gonna budget.

Are we talking about right now?

This millions, uh, I'm reading right here.

This is this isn't money.

It's this is this isn't their money.

This is it's not money, it's an expense, councilman.

It's not money, it's on the expense budget.

But money's not in the revenue ledger.

Money is not an expense.

No, budget.

We don't spend it.

If we don't spend it, where is the money going?

We don't have the money to spend it, and that's why we cut the vacant.

But last year, did we have the money to spend it?

No, and we did not fill those vacant positions last year.

But we budgeted for.

Yep.

Yes.

Okay.

But we didn't use the money.

There was no money to spend on it, councilman.

Okay.

So we'll keep we're we're gonna go do this every year.

So this budget that we run in this year, it's the same exact budget.

Except now this time, you're just gonna say up front, we're under, we don't have no money.

The city don't have the money.

We're we're going to hopefully create a budget that's realistically, and it's the anticipated positions that are going to be filled, we budget for the the vacant positions we do not budget for.

And that's what we've been doing for several years, budgeting those vacant positions, and that has been inflating our expenses.

That was a big portion of the 4.1 original cuts.

About two half of that was vacant positions that we trimmed out of it, and said we're not gonna we're not gonna budget that this year.

Okay, I hope that uh helps.

I don't know if it did or not, but no, we're saying the same thing.

We put numbers in it that aren't real, and we're playing with them.

And the people are looking at them, they're wondering what's happening.

So now we're gonna look at some raises for our for the uh which the which department here is getting raises in the budget.

We're uh in the budget directors, I think we didn't have raise.

The only ones that were getting a raise from that councilman marshall, currently, right now, are your IT and your uh community development, possibly police, possibly fire direct fire and the police are negative sum because of the reduction in the salary from another director.

Which other director?

Uh rather not say at this point in time.

If you would like to go into executive session to talk personnel, we can, but I'll leave that up to the mayor and the president or the council to make that decision.

These are not significant dollars that we're talking about.

What do you call significant?

Your dollars, right?

The dollars, your taxpayers' dollars, right?

Yeah, I think less than a hundred thousand.

Oh much six, six.

That was six on the two.

Eight six thousand less than twenty thousand.

Oh, yes, sir.

Still, I mean, what I'm asking is so we can't say this into the public, we gotta go into private and do it.

That's what you're saying.

That's personnel.

It's it's related to personnel, and that's that's why I think that's the customary.

Okay.

I'm I'm okay with doing that.

I like to know I have a right to know.

Uh, but I'm gonna skip that part.

So I want to make sure we do not have a 12 million dollar surplus.

Or we do.

You're anticipating a 13 point something million dollar and fund balance when October 1 comes along.

And the chief of peace, you okay with not hiring any more officers?

No, I'm not okay.

I'd like to hire more officers, but the problem is finding those officers to hire.

And at the opportunity, we do have to hire a number.

We'll bring this back to the council at that point.

And when we get the money, that's the question.

We'll we'll we'll find it from other places.

Such as additional revenue or some of these other things that might pop up if we uh uh surplus some some some things that could be sold and and some other things that could happen.

But so for instance, if we sell some assets, some land, and we happen to get some additional revenue that is not budgeted in this budget, and the mayor and his department heads feel that we need to hire some positions, they would approach the council with a budget amendment.

I understand how that worked, but I'm just saying is this.

That's that's how we would add it back to answer your question.

But we're but we we're we're gonna cut him hoping that we can make some money somewhere else.

If we don't make some money somewhere else, and he also got a class as he's hired the right amount of people, he's got a good class going in.

We're gonna be cutting everybody else we can, and you okay run the budget this way.

Fine.

Okay.

The uh and your definition of deficit, we just have a different way of looking at it.

Uh basically, in my business account.

What is your definition of deficit?

You don't have enough money.

That's not a definition.

The city, the city does not bring it enough.

Wait, let me let me explain something to you about how this public parts of the deal.

Deficit is something that you you begin a budget with more, the expenses, and you don't have enough fund balance to do it.

We have enough fund balance to do that.

Enough income.

That's definitely enough income.

Wait, wait, let me finish.

You know, if my change balance is because it didn't balance because I had extra money, bounced because I had a deficit.

If you if you take if you have enough money to pay your bills, you that's a deficit.

We do have enough money to pay our bills.

Well, why are we cutting one point?

But we don't have enough thing to to to fund our police department.

We do.

Okay.

I do like to go into the uh executive session when at your convenience ought to be done today in order to clear up the matter.

And also, as far as the uh the um the 26 million dollars, I do like to have more information about you know how we come up with that we don't have it, but we say we do, but we don't have it.

And the last thing on my list is the bond.

We're gonna be floating the bond possibly for 10 million dollars.

Yes.

Okay.

Uh Ward 2, East Belgi had um a bill that was put through, voted on, approved, never was funded.

Uh it was $500,000 that was set aside through bond.

Uh Ms.

Labate, do you know the total what that project was gonna cost?

Uh so at 3.5 million, I think, was last time we did that.

And then that half a million dollars that you refined you you're referencing to was transferred to other projects related to to that.

And I think uh Rachel Quave showed you those each each one of those transfers that I think you you're getting to the 48,000 dollars that's remaining in that uh in that particular uh uh bucket right now.

So the the money that was that was transferred out, and I'm not gonna go over the specifics of it, but most of it went for park repairs, fencing in the park, and also I think it needed 120 uh how much is spent on the railroad?

In ward two.

How much was spent on the railroad track?

I'm not sure.

175,000.

How much you say?

Rachel 130.

So we spent we took the 500,000 to build the building that was promised to the people, and we spent 130 on a CSX track.

Yeah, and the council approved every project.

I know the council approved because you can't spend a dollar without the council approving, but see, I wasn't on there.

I didn't approve it.

Okay.

Okay.

Now I have to explain to the people in East Believe what we're gonna do to repair to get that money back in there and get the rest of the money to build the building.

That's the question.

What the council approved, I wasn't here.

Four of us sitting up here wasn't here.

But I do know two of us know that we got constituents that we just got through meeting with, they want to know where is that building at.

So what do we have to do to get that building included?

We got to get funded.

So the 10 million does not include anything as far as Alexey's building.

Yeah, some things for East Box.

I'm asking you about the recenter, that project.

Can we go on and fund that?

No.

And you're reasonable for it?

No funding.

I mean CDBG, some of those other things that can be applied for, applied to for future years during this five-year plan.

And we, you know, that we we got to actually visit.

There are a number of sources that we would go after.

You bought up CDBG.

And I appreciate you doing it.

I want to spare my council members that argument or that statement for another time.

However, you promised.

You promised.

Wait, wait, I didn't promise anything.

Okay, this is all council approved.

Okay.

Everything that that this your city council approved every money, every move that was made.

And for the benefit of it was it was I can't speak.

Are you saying that you weren't out there, you didn't sell with that gun?

You didn't promise a deal.

Look, we're not we're not talking about that.

We're gonna stick to the to the uh items of hand.

I'm not gonna get into this uh tit for tat.

So let's uh stick to the order of business, please.

Whenever you want to do the executive section, I'd like to find out about that and we'll keep moving.

I won't be going into executive session in this uh part.

We may consider it for the uh regular meeting if appropriate, but we'll certainly do it before uh we get to approving the final budget.

Anything else, Mr.

Marshall?

We're good.

You're done?

Right now for right now, thank you.

Uh I just want to say a few things, and and it's getting a little bit, I mean, we're trying to get some clarity, uh, and I understand that to some degree.

Um let's just talk, let's start with the uh the millage increase.

It is true that you know the dynamics of the let me go even further back.

When we started this process July 1st, the first uh item we looked at was revenues.

And we went through ad valorium taxes, sales taxes, gaming taxes, other sources of revenue, and we came upon a number.

And and from there, after we came upon that number, we we agreed that we would continue to work on that revenue uh figure to make the necessary adjustments.

We then proceeded to go department by department in the coming weeks, all the different various departments.

We went through, we examined them.

It was an examination process over several weeks until a week ago.

We weren't really making any progress, making any adjustments.

We knew we needed to trim expenses, so that's when uh I agreed to work with the administration with input.

I asked for input for every single council members and went into that session, and we looked at it and with the number to trim at the time, our goal was 4.1 million.

Okay.

A week before that, it is true that the millage was put into a version that we get these versions every every week or so, and that three mil that the mayor anticipated that was going to be approved, was put into a working budget.

Was it wasn't a follow budget, it was a working budget.

I will I really wasn't concentrated on that number, I was concentrating on the ending fund balance and what cuts that we needed to make to arrive at it at a useful ending fund balance.

I communicated that with everyone here on the council, the mayor's office, and uh we arrived at that, and then we had our meeting, and we went department.

We didn't start at revenues, and that that was probably a mistake, Mr.

Marshall.

Had we started there and somebody would have questioned why is it two million short, we probably would have answered the question and we would have moved on.

But then we proceeded to go department by department and look at those expenses, and we actually adjusted some of them up.

In fact, I think we put 200 and 200,000 plus back into the budget, whether it was the library system, CTA, or other items.

We did that with a consensus from the council.

It required four or more council members to make those adjustments, and then we said, okay, we're ready to go.

And that's when that's what we have before us to today.

Okay, so then we called for this public hearing today to ask for input.

And I'm sure there are some out there, but this was scheduled.

There's no input from the public.

The additional input is coming from us, and there are some valid questions here.

I'm not denying that.

So now, where do we go from here?

You know, we we have something to work with, we have a positive ending fund balance that we can work with.

We're trying to bridge to next fiscal year when we have property assessments and we have maybe some abatements and some other things that to the positive that can work in our favor, and we can continue to work in the spirit to make Biloxi great.

Okay.

That that should be the goal.

Some some semblance of unity.

Because if we continue to tear each other apart, you know, because we want something that we can't get, um, or we think we can get, uh, that's not going to be useful.

I'm sure in the coming days and months, we'll make some progress in what we want and fight figure out a way to get there.

You know, but but we had a tough uh tough uh decisions uh to make on this budget, and I do apply to everyone, every single one of you up here.

I applaud y'all from trying to look at it, especially those who just been elected that you sat in the seat July 1st, and the first thing that it hit you in the face was a $84 million, you know, budget.

So hopefully we can continue to move on and do our work.

We got a lot of hard work that the citizens or Biloxi are depending on us, whether they're East Biloxi, Wool Market, uh wherever they are or the wards are, we are Biloxi.

We're not just East Biloxi Wool Market or or any other parts.

Collectively, we are Biloxi.

Any other council members who'd like to make any comments?

Any other comments?

Mr.

Marshall, have you thought about anything else to add?

I yes, um I do have the four uh we put one how much we get to the we've given to the fire department.

I just want to get just going to go on record so we saw what we were going to be doing with that money.

What was your question again?

Say it again.

The fire department.

We took 1.9 from the police department, we put an amount, a large amount into the fire department extra.

What was it for?

One was for fire trucks.

Fire truck?

Yes, sir.

900 and how much?

I didn't hear you, sir.

Two of them had a million each nine hundred and thirty-seven thousand.

But two fire trucks.

Each okay.

How is that being paid for when you're financing it?

Is that spread among the the expenses of that?

Is that spread among all the wards?

The whole city?

So we're all paying for that.

Okay.

All right.

Um CDBG funds.

My understanding we bought three.

We're using C D BG funds.

Three fire trucks.

How many of you know about?

Okay, we go with one.

Okay.

We bought a fire truck using CDBG funds, the same one fund you just mentioned.

That we could be using East Biloxi.

Okay.

When East Biloxi needed a fire truck, the C D B G fund that could have been used to help develop East Biloxi.

You this council took both to that money, and basically East Biloxi had to buy their own fire truck.

Because that's the money, that's that's C D B G money.

Okay.

But Mr.

Marshall, that is.

No, no, no, no, no, no.

Okay.

That fire truck, let's be clear, was bought with C to B G funds for the East Biloxi.

Is that clear?

All using East Biloxi.

Okay.

When the other boards, the other parts of the city need a fire truck.

They come to the whole city to get the funds to buy it.

It's spread amongst everybody, including East Biloxi.

So the poorest part of the city has to help the richest part of the city by our fire truck.

But when the poorest part of the city, when Donald Trump sent that money down.

So East Biloxi to help to build East Biloxi up the hardest hit city on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Still looks like it just got hit by Hurricane Katrina 20 years ago.

I just like to try to.

Because your statement is incorrect.

It's not East Biloxi money, it's C B DG money that is uh we have zones in all of the wards that could qualify for that funding.

That was not just East Biloxi.

No, no, that was the air conditioning funding.

It's two different ones.

Right.

But this right here, we're not talking about for that fire truck was not two different two different funds.

Okay.

We've already gotten that clear.

Okay.

My whole point is this.

I disagree.

The C D B G was for COVID purposes, and that's regardless if it's in East Biloxi or whether it had to be spent for COVID purposes.

It just happened that we said this zone in East Biloxi, we're gonna spend it.

They they try to spend it several times and they land it on this project approved by the previous council and the mayor, not just the mayor.

Ms.

Diane.

So the funds used for the fire truck.

We just got we narrowed down to one fire truck or those covert funds.

Not to my knowledge, but that's more of a season pickage question.

Thank you.

So the CDBG has two different departments.

We've we discovered this.

One is for C V COVID.

That's not the funds we're talking about.

We're talking about regular C D BG.

We are entitlement area because we don't have to go through all the strings to prove that we need it anymore.

It's automatic.

We're entitled.

East Beluxin.

That's why that fire truck has to be used in where?

East Bilox.

So East Biloxi has to buy its own fire truck.

East Biloxi, the roads that we fixed, East Bluxie has fixed its own roads.

But when it comes down to the rest of the city, you come right back to East Biloxi and say we got to help everybody else buy a fire truck.

We got to help everybody else.

Uh uh get a uh fix the roads.

We're asking no, we're asking everybody else in this new bond that's coming up to help us get a center.

That's what we're asking.

Again, those block grants can be spent in any area that qualifies for low mod uh funding.

Correct.

That's East Biloxi.

I have a map.

You want to look at it?

I have a map too, and there's areas in ward six, ward seven.

There's there's not just East Biloxi.

Those those funds could be uh spent in any zone.

You and I were on a call and established that.

No, that was CV.

You you're confusing it, sir.

You're you're saying we can only spend COVID money in the other wards.

That's it.

No.

Is that what you're trying to say?

No, no.

There are two.

We're not talking about the COVID C D BG.

We're only talking about the code.

I'm not talking about COVID either.

I'm talking about block grants can be used in low mod areas, correct?

Okay.

Miss Diane.

Miss Diane.

Okay.

The C D BG money for that fire truck.

Which area.

I I can't answer all those questions.

That's more directed towards C S and Pickage than myself.

Okay.

May I like to request Miss Susan Pickett to come forward?

Yes, sir.

So the most recent purchase that they're referring to, truck three, which is residing at Station One, which is where we house a uh ladder truck.

We did use CDBG money to purchase that.

Also Station 4 on Veterans Avenue that helped houses another ladder truck, serves the west end of town.

That was also C D BG money back in the early I say early, so 2012, 2014 time frame.

So it's spread across the city.

It all depends on those zone zones that they refer to uh for the low mod uh communities.

Uh it changes for us as people populations move.

Okay.

So here's more than one.

I found three.

I go over them, I don't have them with me right now, but we're gonna stick with I don't mind stick with the one to prove my point.

I'm simply saying, and I will get it for you.

The C D BG CV can be used throughout the city.

The C D B G basic funds that we qualify for automatically has been used primarily in East Biloxi.

That's it.

Primarily in low mod areas, that's it.

So which is where?

I have some no more anywhere.

There's a zone that's quite that's uh designated that ward four has has it, ward ward six has it, ward seven has it, ward one, ward two.

I'm just saying that is where the low mode qualifies for those areas.

We'll go over that another time.

However, uh I thank you for the opportunity to to express that.

Now we'll finish it up later.

I'll request that Miss Uh Susan Pickett be here to clarify exactly where thank you.

All right, thank you.

Any other questions?

All right, chair entertain a motion to adjourn.

So move.

Do I have a second?

Second.

I have a second.

Any discussion?

All in favor.

Those opposed.