We're recording, Mayor.

Thank you.

Would you lead the pledge, please?

I didn't press the revolutionary war out there.

I pledge the allegiance to the flag United States of America in Court Public Stance under God's Liberty and Justice Raw.

Mayor's remarks.

Thank you.

The first item under strategic priorities.

This is a fiscal year 27 budget initial presentation.

Mayor, are you going to start?

Yeah, I'll just uh things awesome.

So I just want to make a few basic points.

Uh I think at this point, especially with this cohort.

And having the microphone on always helps.

Thank you, uh Alison.

Um anyway, I want to get into some of the particulars for some of the improvements.

And these should look familiar to you just based on the fact that we did this work together as a group through the uh capital improvement process back earlier in the year.

In the uh police department, there are support for specialized pay, uh public response vehicle, 14 vehicle replacements, and a tethered drone.

And just as we have done in every year in the past, the budget also continues investments in things like basic equipment and the needs of the force, things like body worn cameras, body armor, and other technologies.

The FY27 budget for the fire department supports things like relief driver pay, the replacement of fire engine 63, replacement of all the electrocardiograph machines and video layer and genoscopes.

I have read that many times but never said that word.

And the first phase of the personal protective equipment replacements.

The budget also continues to again uh provide for investments in basic things like AEDs, hoses, tools, and equipment.

The other thing that you'll see is that we now have a budget with money in it for the matching grant program to assist neighborhoods with dredging uh where they are incurring uh stormwater and sediment coming in from outside their boundaries.

And of course, this is the second year that we're funding the stormwater grant program uh that we started two years ago.

This budget also replaces the synthetic uh turf field and Newtown Park.

Uh that was originally installed as the first uh as part of the first 2016 parks bond project and is due for replacement.

Funds have been set aside every year for that anticipated replacement again as part of our commitment to uh accruals.

And um anyway, I think that uh the big thing that's going to be a challenge to us this year that we'll have to wrap our our heads around.

It's more for the setting of the milled rate, but uh and Harper, I know that you'll touch on this.

I think probably everyone has heard that Fulton County does not have uh the tax digest done, and so that's going to cause a little bit of a uh I think just a more of an intellectual uh pickle for us to overcome more than anything.

But anyway, I feel very good about the budget.

It's pretty straightforward, and uh I appreciate all of your help and input through the capital improvement process and now present this to you and look forward to your feedback and what we can do to make it better as a group.

And with that, I'll turn it over to the finance director to dive into some of the details.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Good afternoon, everyone.

Uh the budget book that you have in front of you is uh presented in the same format as last year, uh, with several sections as you will see.

There are tabs for each section, uh, and each tab describes what that section is.

Your budget book also includes a budget in brief document and a how to read the budget document.

And there's also a copy of today's PowerPoint presentation in there.

So the proposed budget being presented today is the culmination of months of hard work and effort by that has been put in by several staff members across departments.

I would like to acknowledge everyone's hard work support and cooperation throughout the process.

The budget is the single most important document that is prepared every year, and it speaks to the priorities of the council.

It is based on the city's financial policies and lays the roadmap for spending.

It serves as a communication tool and is used by staff to monitor progress throughout the fiscal year to ensure we spend within the budget.

The development of the budget starts with a forecasting of revenue, taking into account historical trends and economic factors.

The department submit their budget requests, which are reviewed by finance staff and the city manager's office.

Several rounds of discussion are held with the city manager's office, which includes personnel cost projections, operational needs, both existing and new, infrastructure, equipment, and maintenance accrual needs and capital needs.

The discussion also includes other funds before a balanced budget is presented to the mayor.

So this slide here provides a brief overview of the eight sections that will be covered in today's presentation.

And on the first few slides, I will provide a brief overview of the FY27 proposed budget and the general fund balance.

So the FY27 budget is balanced, maintains all current service levels, funds, vehicle replacements, infrastructure maintenance, equipment maintenance, and does not draw on fund balance.

The city's financial success is directly connected to the unassigned fund balance.

The first is to maintain a three-month operating reserve.

This is also a best practice advocated by GFOA, which is the government finance officers association.

And this reserve ensures that the city can continue operations for three months in any unforeseen circumstances.

The second component is the cash flow stabilization, which helps with stabilizing our cash flow throughout the year.

And then the third component is a surplus, which is the excess of revenues over expenditures.

And we have a policy around how this surplus can be allocated and it can be used for future investments.