That's a normal arrangement.

Yeah, it's not usually well good evening to everyone who's here or good afternoon.

It's one o'clock.

And uh gonna call this meeting to order where council will discuss and offer input on the proposed fiscal year 2025 budget.

Um all council members well the C Dr.

Robinson, Mr.

Meredith, Mr.

Kling, and uh I'm here.

Uh Mr.

Uh Keith is absent.

We are in our order.

So who would like to go first?

Maybe I'll if you don't mind, Mr.

President, if I can start off with just uh overview.

We are still putting the final touches on on the budget as we uh go through.

Um we want to hear from council to see what some of their priorities are.

Um the as you would suspect this budget is half baked, it still still has a little bit to go uh to get get completed, and you know, this is our time to uh listen to what the council um recognizes priorities and needs for the for the city.

We'll uh we have um been working for I guess the past three, four months right now on getting this budget pulled together as uh mentioned in other council meetings.

This is a um it is a challenge budget.

Uh uh we're not in a bad shape, but we're we're not uh having the uh kind of uh increases that we have seen in the past, the six, seven, or eight percent increases.

We're seeing uh two and three percent increases, and uh the budget is uh will be predicated uh as such.

Uh we will you know uh we're trying to make sure that we meet the needs of the people of the city of Huntsville, and uh that's that's the priorities every budget season.

We have uh we have this much capacity and we have this much needs and wants out there, and so you always have every budget.

Um it's our job as elected officials to discern what is the most important thing for our community, and that's what this uh this meeting's about.

So thank you for your input.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Dr.

Robinson, would you like to go first?

Ladies first.

Uh certainly.

Um so I have met with Mr.

Davis and Mr.

Hamilton to discuss specific capital meet needs for district three.

Uh but I as I have had as we've met in finance committee meetings and met with Ms.

Smith who couldn't be with us today, but um met with Ms.

Smith, met with the mayor, and and have talked really about how this is a very lean budget.

And after some other conversations with the mayor today, it has occurred to me that as council members, one of the things we could do to help with the operating budget is to look at the allocations because that tends to be where we spend a lot of time and look at perhaps some of those um entities that are funded in allocations that could we could fund from our own discretionary budget.

So I am prepared to do that, um, particularly funding for South Ansel Business Association.

So that will be funded then from my discretionary funding can be removed from the budget.

So really rather than adding anything to the budget, my suggestion is what can we do as council members to help with the operating budget because anything we do to help reduce um strain on the operating budget can then benefit employees.

Thank you, Dr.

Robinson.

Mr.

Kling.

Uh Mr.

President, uh couple small things, and again, these could come out of uh existing um budgets uh recreation services.

Um like to see if they could identify some money that could be set aside for uh construction of gazebos both at Pine Park, uh which has never had one, and I've seen senior citizens sitting out there watching their grandkids in the playground.

I think those things run about uh sixty thousand dollars.

Also, as a fatality from the um recent tornado, big trees came down at uh uh old town uh pinnacle park, uh which is located um you know on the grounds of the old East Clinton School.

It's a playground that uh is used by by the city.

Uh I think a gazebo would be needed there.

A shelter would be needed there because of uh again tree shade trees have been taken out, and uh there's you know a need for some shade protection in there, but again, that could be something recreational services could look at and see if they could work that in.

Also, and this would be a plus up.

Uh I'd like to see um the individual uh uh council directed projects account raised from 700 75,000 per district to 100,000.

Uh I think overall the money's well scrutinized.

Everything has to be voted on by the council.

That would be a plus up of uh about 125,000.

Uh, but uh you know, that gets into you know everybody's tries to squeeze that money to get the best they can uh for the city and their respective districts.

Overall, what I've seen from all five council members, I think the money has been well spent.