Thank you for your patience.

Okay.

County council budget hearing, second reading.

Can we do the pledge again?

Yeah.

Everybody please rise for a pledge of allegiance.

And it would be public for which is one nation and councilman Hamm, would you like to uh start us off?

Or Scott, did you have anything you want to add at this time?

Um at this point, the budget balance.

So any change you make we need a would need something offset.

That's yes.

Question or sorry, I guess I uh not sure in the appropriation talking to the attorneys and stuff uh about when to do this.

So I think prior to going to it, I'd like to make a proposal to put uh at least just open up for discussion a two percent pay raise in across the board.

My motion would read that a two percent uh rate for all employees excluding non-contract non-mandated positions, and this would be offset by the reduction in the operating balance.

So that two percent would equate the two million dollars that would come out of the operation expense, and we would still maintain our balance and be able to move forward and and uh that's what I'd like to uh start off prior to going to this, and I know if we don't have the votes I understand.

I just we had talked about this and addressing this in at the second meeting.

I thought this would be the time to do it, and a month ago I see the email from Scott maybe longer than that was on the reduction in the two percent.

So if it's appropriate at this time, um I'd like to make a motion to amend the salary ordinance to reflect the two percent for all employees increase footing non-contract, non-mandated position offset by reduction in operating office.

Yes, it all employees excluding all seconds, yeah.

Okay, discussion, madam president, yes, councilman.

It might be appropriate to look at the elimination if this is the the will of the council to look at the elimination of vacant positions from January 1, 2025 and back as another way to offset this without digging into operational cash, which as we all know is going to dwindle drastically over this year and next year with the implementation of SEA one.

So that I think as a discussion item needs to be considered right here and now so um what's the cost of the two percent and what is the savings uh of eliminating positions as of January of 25 so just to keep it simple simple um one percent of salary with the benefits and stuff like that associated with it, it's about a million dollar cost.

So two percent would be two million, and then a estimate of savings.

I think you gave me that figure before it was one point five, maybe two about a million dollars if you move the date from 20 January 24 to January 25.

And uh I'm sorry, um I couldn't hear you, Scott.

You said about a million dollars additional to what our original proposal was of elimination of positions, correct?

So that would take it to a total of what two million that's levy, that's the levy dollars.

I mean that would pay for it.

Makes sense.

And yeah, and we were I don't know who's who that is.

We have the one that they have their can Tory mute them.

Um so and the elimination of those positions from January 20 of 24 back was helped was was done to help offset some of the uh utility and insurance costs that were gonna incur in 26.

Um so I could I would support uh eliminating positions from January of 25 if they were uh eliminated immediately, then I could uh support that Madam President?

Yes.

So just wanted to say this again, so I understand.

So two percent increase would be additional two million dollars, eliminating positions that are that are currently open, have been open all year.

Uh eliminating those from effective immediately if we did it that way, that adds a million dollars back, so then we'd still be a million dollars short going into next year.

Is that what you're saying?

If we did those two things, yeah, because going into this, we already were balanced with the elimination of positions from January of 24.

So right now we're adding two million dollars of expense, reducing one million of expense, leaving it that one million dollars.

Right.

I personally am not in favor of that.

I think that if we were going to uh and I'm all for the two percent race, I'm on board with doing that.

I mean, I was one of the ones last year that was trying to get our minimum salary up to 40,000.

That was a big proponent of that.

Um, but we did that within the budget.

We didn't have to dip into cash to do that, and I don't want to start setting a precedent of dipping into our cash because as Randy said, uh that will start to dwindle.

Um, and I don't think that's the right way to balance our budget personally.

I mean, if we have other savings that can be found by all means by all means, I'm I'm all ears, but it sounds right now that the only thing we could do is a one percent if we did the other.

Um but if somebody else has other places that we can cut expenses, I'm I'm willing to listen.

Yeah, this is like the 11th hour, and uh does anybody else anyone else have any other comments?

Madam Chair, just in my I I thought that this would we would make any adjustments we know where we were about if we were gonna consider it that it was supposed to happen at this meeting.

So that's yeah, there was no prior discussion of this.

I thought we were all on the same page that because of our financial crisis and Senate Bill and preparing for 27.

That I mean, we're not asking any departments to cut their budgets, we're keeping them the same.

Um I I don't know where how we would fund the increase.

So the only thing that makes me concerned about eliminating those positions, and I'm looking at two assessors here, so I might have a level of vacant level two, three position, and that person has to wait in order to complete their education or their training in order to get that positions will be eliminated.

We need a level two, three, whatever we might not be able to.

And what we look at is cash flush and going into this, I don't think it's a precedent setting.

I think this is the time to address the needs of the employees, you give the two percent raise, and I don't think it's gonna hurt us in the long run.