Recording in progress, today is Tuesday, October 10th.

The time is 7 04, and I call this meeting to order.

We are going to have our invocation, not by the pastor that's listed.

Our pastor that's here tonight is a fill-in, I think.

And so if we can stand and please stay standing for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Amen.

Let us pray.

Father in heaven, we just acknowledge you tonight.

We just want to thank you that you're the author of all life, and you're the fountain of all that is good and all the blessings, and so we acknowledge you tonight, and we're thankful.

Lord, we're thankful for the city of Pueblo, and uh, we're thankful for all of our council leaders and our mayor that work hard, Lord, to help the welfare and the betterment of our city.

And so, Father, we just want to thank you for them tonight.

Lord, we ask that you would uh be with them tonight, Lord, that you would give them wisdom, that you would give them grace and peace, and Lord, we just pray that you would uh cause your blessing uh to fall upon Pueblo.

Lord, we just pray that you would help us with all the the challenges and the issues throughout the city, and Lord, we just pray for the prosperity and the blessing of Pueblo because of your goodness, because of your presence, and we ask all this in Christ's name.

Amen.

Okay, roll call.

Larry Tencio.

Here.

Dennis Flores.

Here.

Heather Graham?

Here.

Regina Maestri.

Sarah Martinez?

Here.

Ms.

Martinez Ortega.

Here.

Glory Winner.

And we have one special recognition tonight, Councillor Flores is going to give our proclamation to Pueblo Latino Veterans Profile Encourage Day.

And if we can have the Pueblo Latino Veterans Courage Committee with Miss Gloria Guterres up to the front.

Absolutely.

I'm going to read it and then I'll have you say a few words.

And whereas educating the public, honorable veterans and their families about the importance of celebrating the histories, cultures, and contributions of not only our local veterans, but of all American citizens whose ancestors are from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, South, and Central America.

And whereas the Pueblo Latina Veterans Profile Encourage Committee mirrors the Department of Defense DOD U.S.

Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, National Guard, and Space Command in diversity heritage celebrations, and to expand and assist our community to celebrate the 10th ethnic observations annually in support of the achievement of our of all groups that comprise the society of the United States.

And whereas the focus of this observance is to encourage interaction, not just recognition, and to help educate civilians, veterans, and their families about the importance of positive growth.

This activity is an extension of equal opportunity, diversity and inclusion, uh education set aside to recognize the contributions and achievements made by diverse members of our society, and whereas the observance started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and then expanded by then President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period.

And whereas our Latino honorably discharged veterans placed themselves in harm's way serving our great nation and continue to serve and contribute to our community in more than one way, and being recognized by their loved ones to share their story.

Now, therefore, we, the City Council of the City of Pueblo, Colorado, by the authority vested in us, do hereby proclaim October 14, 2023 as Pueblo Latino Veterans Profiles in Courage Day in the City of Pueblo, Colorado, and encourage all of our citizens to celebrate the diversity that make up our community and make our community great.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and cause the seal of the city of Pueblo, Colorado to be a fixed this tenth day of October 2023, signed by Heather Graham, President of the City Council.

Thank you very much, Dennis.

And we have some of our committee members here today.

One of our Latino Veterans Profiles encourage awardees, both of them actually, uh Don Benavidez and George Ottaby.

I want to let you all know that this is the uh seventh, eighth year actually, that we are honoring our Latino veterans here in Pueblo, and we know that their service to our military, our community, and to other veteran organizations is being highlighted and recognized.

In the future, we hope to provide a Latino Veterans Memorial, where all the names of the 39 and now five others, 44 individuals who have been honored with this uh Profiles Encourage Award, will have their names on a memorial that will show the community and that will continue their legacy of telling the story about what they did in the military as well as well as what they did for our community.

So, on behalf of the committee, Dennis, thank you so much.

Heather, thank you very much, and we look forward to seeing you on Saturday.

We'll be there, and thank you all.

Okay, public forum.

First, we have Sandra Schear.

You got it.

Got it.

Okay.

So I just wanted to speak on the salary um proposal increases.

And I just want to start off with um, excuse me.

Um page one.

Okay, so I've been thinking that this increase is kind of high, kind of uh unreasonable, and um so I opened up the city charter to look at that and see what I could learn on the policy of City Council salaries, and so um, according to Article 2, Section 2-1, designation of officers, in accordance with Article 20 of the Constitution of the State of Colorado, the legally qualified holders of the following position positions in municipal service are hereby declared to be officers, and their monthly salaries are hereby initially fixed in the following amounts until changed by ordinance, but shall not be increased or decreased during the current terms of officers enacting such ordinance.

So this ordinance starts off with whereas the current monthly salaries of the president and members of Pueblo City Council were established on March 24th of 1997 by ordinance number sixty-one eighty two.

And then this attached proposed ordinance increases the salary of president of city council from 900 to 2,700 per month and increases the salary of other members of city council from 700 to 2,100 per month effective January 1, 2024.

So and then in the background, according to the Federal Bureau of Labor statistics due to inflation in 2023, a dollar buys roughly half 54% of what it could be in 1997.