Yeah, we can shut it.

That's good.

Yeah, you can put it right here.

That's that's like more than that's all I was trying to say about that.

All right, I'll see if they want to be up there over there.

It's up to you.

Oh, okay.

I'll check our headline.

Yeah, right.

Oh well.

So I keep trying to edit all uh the other people about like most of my uh person, they all live over in the feedback.

Yeah.

Hello.

That way you can have to figure it out.

Ralph, where are we sitting?

We're sitting here.

Okay.

I want to know how you act in general.

Okay.

So talking about going for that type of year.

Yeah, we could like you know, like how it's just like a lot of backwards like messed up and so make the phone.

Yeah, that's like a big thing.

Good evening, everybody.

Let's call this meeting to order for Wednesday, April third, twenty twenty-four.

Notice of this meeting has been posted on the Secretary of State's website.

I'd ask everybody to join me for a salute to the flag.

Thank you.

Um a couple opening comments.

First of all, President Pro Tem, Dr.

Kim Page, she couldn't be here tonight.

She said she is going to watch this meeting on video afterwards.

And in addition, if anyone has any comments to her or the rest of the council relative to tonight's agenda, certainly for them to all of us.

Really, the purpose tonight of this meeting is to have a public hearing and hear from the public on the preliminary adopted budget for fiscal year 2024-2025 that this town council unanimously adopted.

Having said that, you know, now is the time for the we want to hear from the public.

We really won't be making too many comments, if any.

Tonight we'll hear from the public regarding the municipal budget at 630.

And then we'll set up, bring the school committee up here, and hear from the public on the school budget starting at 7.

Uh both the town manager and the superintendent will make brief presentations before public comment.

And then if anyone wants to speak, uh they are certainly welcome to do so.

We will uh take that consideration and then uh hopefully we will uh we're gonna have a meeting on the 29th of this month.

At that meeting, uh we will hopefully adopt the budget uh pursuant to applicable applicable provisions of our town charter.

If anyone has a questions on the process and or um the budgets, please uh you know we welcome them.

Um with that said, uh Madam Clerk, did I cover all the bases?

No, okay.

With that said, uh Town Manager Ralph Mollis, please thanks.

Good evening, everyone.

In accordance with our town charter, tonight we are holding the public hearing on the fiscal year 2024-2025 budget.

The school department budget hearing will follow this at 7 o'clock as the council president had mentioned.

The budget process began on March 4th when publicly I presented my budget to the town council.

This was followed by two very productive council work sessions with each of the department heads on the evening of March 11th and all day on March 12th, when the council then adopted the preliminary budget.

This has been followed by advertising of the budget, tonight's public hearing, and then a scheduled council meeting on April 29th, where the town council will adopt the final budget.

I want to recognize and thank our department heads who are here tonight and who was to assist in acknowledging any questions that you may have, but also who completed departmental budgets which provide an outstanding and exciting services and initiatives while also taking to consideration avoiding any financial burden on our taxpayers.

I know we know this, and I have to say it.

Again, departmental budgets and doing so with the taxpayer in mind, but also providing some exciting services and initiatives within the budget.

As you can see on this slide, our budget presentation and financial reporting has been recognized with awards by the Government Finance Officer Association.

The budget booklet and budget format is informative and transparent and is very easy to follow.

This slide this slide shows the breakdown by general categories of our 122 million, 264,000 $500 fiscal year 2025 budget.

The school department at 74.6 million comprises about 61 percent of the total town budget.

Public safety, which includes police, fire, animal control, harbor master, and dispatch, encompasses approximately 19 percent of our budget.

Public works and utilities, and I want to emphasize utilities because that's all of our all of our electricity and all of our utility costs, which we are saving an enormous amount of money with our remote net metering contract right now, encompasses six percent of our budget.