2026-10-15 - Budget and Finance Committee-of-the-Whole

00:00call this meeting to order.

00:02Uh, so it is 10:05. We are noticed from

00:0410:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. This is the

00:05Assembly Budget and Finance Committee of

00:07the whole. We do not quite have the

00:09whole right now, but we will probably

00:10have some more members soon. And then

00:12I'll just note we did shorten the time

00:14of this committee

00:16in order to accommodate a work session

00:17that we will do shortly after this. So

00:19essentially what we'll do is end this

00:20meeting depending on the timing and then

00:22probably move right into that

00:24confirmation hearing. So just for timing

00:26warnings and then we'll have another

00:27committee after that. So So let's go

00:30around the room for introductions and

00:31I'll go to the phone.

00:33Sydney Scout, Anna Broulliard.

00:35And on the phone we have Mr. Martinez.

00:39>> Yes, Chair. Thank you.

00:40>> Okay, and not joined by other members at

00:43this point, but we also have Assembly

00:44Council

00:45>> I'm Donald Handeland here on the phone.

00:47Sorry.

00:47>> Oh, thank you. Sorry, we'll get your

00:49name plate up there. Any other members

00:50on the phone?

00:54Okay, and I'll announce folks as they

00:56come in. So we're also joined by

00:57Assembly Council, members of the

00:58administration, Clerk's office, and a

01:01couple members of the public, and we

01:03will move into our reports. So I will

01:06call up our Budget Advisory Commission

01:08Chair, Mr. Mills.

01:12And then as he's coming up also note the

01:14main topics for today are really moving

01:16through our usual reports and then we

01:19will get into a presentation from our

01:20budget analyst. So with that I will turn

01:23to Mr. Mills to give a report. Thank

01:25you.

01:26>> Yeah, thank you. We had a good meeting

01:27last week. We got a presentation from

01:30OMB on the proposed budget.

01:32I had the pleasure of participating in

01:34the District 1

01:36budget town hall Tuesday evening

01:39with member Scout and Vice Chair

01:40Broulliard. I think that went very well.

01:43Um the Budget Advisory Commission is

01:45looking at a budget resolution that we

01:49hope to adopt at our November regular

01:51meeting. Um

01:53I'll keep it brief. Happy to take any

01:54questions.

01:56>> Okay, questions for members.

02:01Um I don't see any from other members. I

02:03do have one, so uh in just kind of a

02:06brief conversation. So, I know the

02:07budget advisory commission would like to

02:09be involved in our uh the budget

02:11process. So, obviously it sounds like

02:13you all are doing that. Um and then

02:14additionally fiscal work. So, I wanted

02:16to just

02:18briefly say in this committee as well uh

02:20we are holding a fiscal future summit on

02:22Friday, October 30th. I know that's been

02:24discussed from uh BAC. So, uh just

02:27seeing if there's any additional

02:29kind of thoughts or I know some members

02:30have signed up to to be uh participating

02:32that, which is great. But, if you have

02:33any other things you'd like to add,

02:35please do so.

02:36>> Yeah, thank you. I'm looking forward to

02:37attending that event on the 30th. I know

02:39that at least one

02:41of our other members is planning to

02:43attend. Um

02:45we were asked if

02:47we would be willing to volunteer to help

02:49uh coordinate that. And I I think that

02:51myself and the one other member are

02:53on board for that. So, that should be a

02:55good time. Um and then

02:57you and I had

02:59started a discussion about uh a work

03:02session. And I look forward to working

03:04with you on that if that moves forward.

03:06>> Okay, yeah, thank you. Um so, ongoing

03:08conversation um

03:10but yeah, I think uh certainly welcome

03:12participation and and coordination

03:13there. And I know that was part of your

03:15resolution um

03:17that you all passed. So, wanting to make

03:18sure we continue to fo- follow up on

03:20that and work together. So, thank you so

03:21much.

03:22>> Yeah, thank you.

03:23>> Um okay, I don't see any other further

03:25questions. So, thank you for being here.

03:26You're welcome to stick around.

03:27And thank you for your service. Please

03:29pass that along to the rest of the

03:30board.

03:31Um so, next we'll move on to our uh MOA

03:34trust fund. So, I'll invite Mr. Lu to

03:35come up and give a presentation. Or not

03:37a presentation, just give an update.

03:38Thank you. I didn't want to over-

03:40oversell expectations. Please go ahead.

03:42>> Good morning. Uh Kevin Lu, investment

03:45director of MOA trust.

03:47We had a pretty interesting month of

03:49Sep- September.

03:51Uh the market has a mixed performance

03:53driven by the Federal Reserve rate hike

03:56and the high treasury yields.

03:58On September 16th, the Federal Open

04:01Market Committee raised the rate by a

04:04quarter percent to a new range of 3.75

04:08to 4%.

04:09This creates a higher borrowing cost and

04:13lower bond prices,

04:15which impact our fixed income portfolios

04:17more than the equity portfolios.

04:20That said, as of September 30th, the

04:23market value of the trust is $507

04:25million.

04:27The monthly return is down by 1.5% from

04:29the previous month.

04:31And the year-to-date remains at a

04:33positive 6.5%.

04:37This concludes my reports. Happy to

04:39answer any questions.

04:42>> Any questions from members? We'll check

04:44I'll check on the phone.

04:47Um, don't see any right now. I guess the

04:49the one question I have is um, I I know

04:51you're the fund itself is not a core

04:54part of our kind of annual budget

04:56process. It's it's on its own. Um, but

04:58just do you have any I guess thoughts

05:00for um,

05:01uh,

05:03kind of changes you might be making in

05:042027 or just considerations. I I mean we

05:07know there's a lot of volatility right

05:08now.

05:09>> We we are

05:11considering different dividend payout

05:14rates and currently we're working on the

05:16dividend uh,

05:17spending policy studies at the moment.

05:20So, hopefully we'll have something come

05:21out by the end of the year.

05:24>> Okay, thank you. Yeah, and just an open

05:26invitation if uh, you or the board

05:27members want to give a more fullsome uh,

05:29presentation about the the fund or

05:31changes you're making. Um, we're always

05:32happy happy to accommodate that.

05:34>> within this committee. So, thank you.

05:36>> Okay, thank you. Um, and I'll note we

05:37were joined in the room by member Park

05:39uh, just a minute ago and uh, with no

05:41further questions then thank you for

05:42your report.

05:45Okay, and then next uh, we will call up

05:47and we have our uh, summary report on

05:50the table as well. So we'll I'll bring

05:52up Mr. Crawford for our currently our

05:54acting treasurer for our the revenue

05:56report.

05:57So please proceed.

05:59>> Good morning, Lauren Crawford, acting

06:01treasurer.

06:02Um

06:04before you have the revenue summary

06:05highlights,

06:07no surprises really here. We're tracking

06:10right where we're forecasting it

06:12with a little bit of variance, but

06:14nothing that's

06:16to be worried about in any way. So um

06:20personal property tax has been

06:22billed. It will It's not in our our our

06:26accounting system right now, but it's

06:27looking to be around $34 million or so.

06:32Um so

06:34if you have any questions, please let me

06:36know.

06:38>> Okay, questions from members.

06:40Check online.

06:43Um I have a couple. I don't see any from

06:45other members at this point. Um on the

06:47personal property tax, I'm curious

06:49so that is something that we changed

06:51basically raised the exemption on

06:53knowing that that would forego some

06:55revenue, but mostly for those very small

06:56businesses.

06:58I'm curious cuz I see the actuals were

06:5933 million. The budget this year is

07:01about 30 something and then it the note

07:03is obviously we'll get most of that

07:05later in the year, but I'm just

07:06wondering, you know, do we have a better

07:09picture essentially of how much, you

07:11know, revenue we're giving up with that

07:12exemption? Is that kind of stabilized at

07:14this point or

07:15like is it is is 30 million about what

07:17we would expect given that change?

07:19>> Well, at this point we're not expecting

07:2130 million. We just billed it. It looks

07:23like the bills went out for about 32

07:25million and 3.7 million have been

07:28adjustments throughout the year that

07:29have caused increased tax from

07:31pre-previous years. So

07:34it looks like we're going to be above

07:36that target of our budget. So

07:39>> Okay, so essentially the exemption

07:41didn't necessarily result in a huge

07:43decrease is what I'm hearing. Correct?

07:45Okay, thank you.

07:46Also note we were joined just now by

07:48member Gerg on the phone.

07:50Um

07:52and then as I'm scanning through

07:58Yeah, member Scott, go ahead.

08:00>> Thanks. I'm [clears throat] also

08:02scanning through. I think one thing

08:06we've heard about in the past and I'd

08:08love um

08:09>> [snorts]

08:10>> to better understand where we're at now

08:12is the alcohol and marijuana taxes. It

08:14looks like alcohol is at

08:1751.8%

08:19>> Yes.

08:19>> Year-to-date. So is that behind?

08:22>> So we're not outside of the 20%. In

08:24fact, we're about 2% above where we

08:28expected at this time of the year.

08:30Again, that's based on variance and

08:32there's there's kind of a delay. So

08:33these are always 2 months behind. Um

08:36and so uh

08:38it's it's right where we're tracking. So

08:40I I I would expect it maybe to be

08:42it might be slightly higher than budget.

08:44>> Okay.

08:45>> But it might might also be slightly

08:46lower than the budget at this point,

08:47too, cuz we still have quite a bit of

08:48uncertainty.

08:50>> And is the marijuana tax higher than if

08:52we're at 75% now, are we going to go

08:55over

08:55>> Yeah, so that's

08:57an interesting case of of a

09:00So there's multiple accounts that are

09:01within this. One of the accounts is

09:03408380,

09:05which is our prior year expense

09:06recovery. In this case, there was a

09:08$400,000

09:10uh

09:12adjust Well, that's not an adjustment,

09:13but a prior year expense recovery for

09:152025 and 2026 that was

09:18expensed uh in March of this year, which

09:22caused this to be slightly elevated. Um

09:26400,000 is is large for five

09:30you know, four five million dollar tax

09:32revenue.

09:33Um

09:34and so that is elevating that. It's not

09:36actually new revenue.

09:39It's kind of a rollover, so.

09:41>> Thank you.

09:42>> Yeah.

09:43>> Okay. Um and that did uh prompt one more

09:46question from me on the marijuana. I was

09:48curious, so

09:49I've done more work historically on

09:50alcohol tax, so I know there's

09:51definitely a seasonality to it. You can

09:53imagine the holidays, summer tourist

09:55season. Um and then my my rough

09:57speculation would be relatively more

09:59visitors are buying alcohol than buying

10:01marijuana. Not 100%, but um I think but

10:04I'm curious kind of uh and sorry, I'll

10:06just note also um member or vice chair

10:09just joined us in the room at 10:15. So

10:11my question is

10:13based on the the historical data and and

10:15the trends, how much is marijuana tax

10:18seasonal relative to alcohol tax? You

10:19know, are they following the same

10:21patterns or are they different? It's

10:22just an interesting kind of thing to

10:23think about.

10:24>> So generally year to year it varies. So

10:26we're seeing kind of mixed seasonality.

10:28So actually no real seasonality at all,

10:30right?

10:31>> Okay, thank you.

10:33Um okay, any other questions from

10:35members?

10:38Okay, not seeing any. Well, thank you

10:39for your report and I know uh you'll be

10:41sticking around or coming back in a

10:42little bit for our next uh meeting. So

10:44uh with that we will turn to our next

10:46standing report and that is our uh

10:49budget actuals for 2025 um and I believe

10:52or 26. I think we maybe need to update

10:54the um

10:56the

10:57agenda there. Uh and we were joined by

10:59our OMB director Ms. Broussard and uh we

11:01have another uh set of papers

11:02>> [snorts]

11:02>> uh for report, so let's move through

11:04that. I'm Ms. Broussard when you're

11:05ready.

11:06>> [clears throat]

11:07>> Okay, thank you, chair. Uh the uh 2026

11:11budget to actuals, I almost said 2025,

11:13too, chair.

11:14>> [laughter]

11:15>> is

11:16um in front of you and uh at the report

11:20uh

11:21we have it's through September 30th. Um

11:24we run it through the previous month and

11:28uh at 74.5%

11:30through the fiscal year, the

11:32municipality is 72% spent on its budget.

11:36Um, you see in the lower right-hand

11:38column on page one that um,

11:41uh, 72 as opposed to the 74.5. When you

11:45run down the percentage totals, um, in

11:48the far right column, we usually try to

11:50look for anything that is over or under

11:53a 5% variance just to sort of uh, poke

11:56into that and see if there are any

11:58special circumstances happening within

11:59departments. Um, we've talked about many

12:01of these departments throughout the year

12:03as they have sort of uh, run a little

12:05high from the beginning because of

12:07contractual encumbrances. Um, but the

12:10trends are all pretty much the same, but

12:12most of the departments are leveling out

12:14to their year-end final sort of uh,

12:18spend and we should see that anywhere

12:20between uh, 1 to 5% depending on the

12:24department when we get to December. Um,

12:27there are not a whole lot of new uh,

12:31instances of uh, questions that need to

12:34be resolved, but are there any questions

12:35on departments?

12:37Uh,

12:39let me know.

12:41Okay.

12:42Uh, on page three, the labor non-labor

12:46report,

12:47uh, again, the uh, labor postings are at

12:5075%, so right about spot on and

12:53non-labor is at 68%, so we are

12:57underspent on non-labor, but some of

12:58that is attributable to some financial

13:01transactions that still need to um,

13:04take place and be put into the system as

13:06well as year-end activity that occurs in

13:09the last few months of the year.

13:12Any questions on labor and non-labor?

13:15>> Questions from members.

13:17Still checking. Don't see any right now.

13:22>> Uh, the next page is the over

13:28Oh, yeah, uh, for the record, I had

13:29forgotten uh we are doing an earthquake

13:31drill at this moment. So, we will let

13:33the recording continue. Folks are going

13:35to uh

13:36leave the room, and we will be back

13:37shortly. Thank you.

13:46So, folks on the phone, I would imagine

13:48we'll be back in about 10 minutes or so.

13:49Uh this is not an actual emergency. This

13:51is a drill.

19:14>> Mhm.

21:09>> Mhm.

23:04>> Mhm.

24:51>> All righty, we are filing back in. We'll

24:52get started in just a minute as a couple

24:54more folks walk back in.

26:42Okay, we are waiting for just another

26:44minute um for the OMB director to file

26:46back in. I know the whole building worth

26:47of people is trying to get back in and

26:49back to their jobs. So, I will get

26:51started in another minute. But, in the

26:53meantime, I will also note uh for

26:55members and especially those who are

26:57going to be coming in person today,

26:59we have our FY27 general operating

27:03budget and 6-year fiscal program

27:05binders. The biggest binder of the

27:06three, we have physical copies of those

27:09here.

27:10Those are also they've been online since

27:11the budget was published, but just a

27:13note for members and then I think we'll

27:15make sure to track who picks theirs up

27:17in person who is here this morning. And

27:20then if you weren't here at the moment,

27:22then we'll put it in or someone will put

27:23it in your mailbox. So, just forgot to

27:25say that earlier and just noting that's

27:27the case. So, we are now again joined by

27:30Ms. Broussard and everyone else who came

27:32in from the parking lot. So, So, I think

27:35we were on

27:36labor versus non-labor. I don't believe

27:38there was anyone in the queue, but let

27:40me double-check.

27:45I guess on So, just bringing us back to

27:47the meeting, I do have one question on

27:50this. So, the non-labor cost, you

27:52mentioned that we're uh

27:55technically underspent, but there's some

27:56some reasons there. I guess curious kind

27:58of

28:00uh

28:02>> [clears throat]

28:02>> what the general findings have been so

28:04far in terms of I know you guys have

28:05been taking a close look at non-labor.

28:08Is there any other kind of commentary or

28:09any specifics that you'd like to pull

28:11out here? Maybe a couple examples.

28:14>> Um if you to the chair, I think the

28:16the easiest example of things like the

28:18finance

28:20bookings that need to occur that would

28:21change the level of spend on the

28:24non-labor items. You can see at the

28:25bottom of the column, the TANs expense

28:27in the convention center and reserves.

28:29Um those are

28:31you know, within

28:33categorical sort of financial

28:35transactions that that have not occurred

28:38yet in SAP. So, they show up as not

28:40being spent, but we expect them to be

28:43spent as budgeted. So, that would adjust

28:46the total non-labor

28:49um actuals.

28:51Um there are a couple of other sort of

28:54anomalies. Um there is uh PM&E has a uh

29:00a high spend, but they have a very low

29:03non-labor budget. And so part of that

29:05has to do with a I think a misapplied

29:07encumbrance that's being cleared up as

29:09part of um

29:11the work the controller's office does on

29:13an annual basis, just making sure that

29:14all of the um

29:16uh

29:17financial entries are in the right

29:18place.

29:19Um

29:21And

29:23traditionally, we've talked about the

29:26chief administrative officer uh because

29:28of the um venues contracts and uh the

29:31fact that risk management exists as part

29:34of the chief administrative office. And

29:36um those both uh

29:38can run very high depending on um the

29:42activity.

29:44>> Okay, thank you. Um I don't see any

29:46further questions, so uh let's move on

29:48to the next page.

29:50>> Uh overtime, this uh sort of runs the

29:52gamut of uh zero to a lot depending on

29:56what the department activity is. Um

29:58we've talked about overtime a couple of

30:00times throughout the year, but uh we'll

30:02talk more about overtime analysis and

30:05departmental operations during the

30:06budget presentation tomorrow. Um

30:08particularly around some of the larger

30:12uh overtime departments like uh police,

30:14fire, and transit. Um there is

30:17particular attention being paid to all

30:19of their overtime activity and whether

30:21or not there are efficiencies to be

30:23gained by position changes um or any

30:26sort of operational adjustments that

30:28would decrease the use of overtime.

30:31>> Okay, a question from Mr. Volland.

30:35>> Yes, um I'm I'm sure we will probably

30:37dig into this tomorrow, too, so we don't

30:38have to answer it all now, but one of

30:40the things I'm flagging is the overtime

30:42for police.

30:43Um and I know some of that

30:47I don't know how much, but I know some

30:48of that is going to be the downtown foot

30:49patrols.

30:50And I know that that has been very

30:53um

30:54I guess valuable and important to the

30:56downtown business community.

30:58Um it was flagged for me that maybe the

31:00downtown foot patrols are not in the

31:01proposed budget. Um so just want to know

31:05like what's the plan there. I also know

31:07you know other districts might be um

31:10interested in in more boots on the

31:12ground and in in in in their

31:13neighborhoods, but yeah, just wanted

31:15[laughter] to know

31:15>> And we and we do have some some analysis

31:18that talks about overtime and sort of

31:20the use and tipping point within

31:22staffing models at APD and and the idea

31:25that the downtown foot patrol was

31:27enabled because of the additional

31:29funding from the TIPS uh appropriation

31:32and it was specifically applied on an

31:35overtime basis because we don't have

31:37enough uh

31:39uh

31:39sworn officers to do regular uh

31:43regular time foot patrol. So that's one

31:46of the layers of the challenge of how we

31:49are sort of patching these needs. There

31:52was one-time funding available from TIPS

31:54specifically to do an enhanced downtown

31:57foot patrol, but that additional

31:59appropriation doesn't exist in 2027. So

32:02we either need to find a some other

32:05revenue source to fund the OT cost

32:07[clears throat] associated with that

32:09operation.

32:11>> Could we do a special levy?

32:13>> I think future I think that's I mean

32:15that's the service area model, if you

32:17will. If there's a service you would

32:18like, then you sort of have to pay into

32:22the kitty that for the service you want.

32:25Um I don't know the legal structure of

32:27how that would have to work out because

32:29police service area versus the actual

32:32downtown uh district you might be

32:33talking about. I don't know if that's

32:35within the DID or any I don't know how

32:36we work that out, but that's an option.

32:38>> Okay, thank you.

32:40>> [snorts]

32:41>> Okay, thanks. Any other further

32:42questions?

32:44Not seeing any, then let's continue.

32:48>> Uh travel report

32:50total adjusted budget six

32:53103,000

32:55uh right now spent

32:59the year.

33:00Um so we are underspent on travel by

33:02about 13%. Um again this runs

33:06the place depending on the department

33:07that you are in with the most travel in

33:11the highest um

33:14the in the largest departments.

33:16>> Okay, thanks. And just a quick tech

33:18update we're having some static so we'll

33:19swap out microphones. Any questions from

33:21members there?

33:25Okay, not seeing any then let's

33:26continue.

33:26>> Uh the next report is the

33:30alcohol tax I'm on the wrong page.

33:34Alcohol tax budget to actuals. Um this

33:37is slightly different uh because a lot

33:39of these are uh

33:40uh

33:41grants or full appropriations as opposed

33:44to operational

33:46activities that occur throughout the

33:47year. So uh 74% spent through the year,

33:51but the alcohol tax appropriations are

33:5399% spent. Um most of these are for uh

33:58homelessness contract providers or uh

34:01grant uh uh

34:04contracts within the health department.

34:07Um some of the operational line items

34:10are running at their appropriate

34:12percentages for being 74% through the

34:14year. And for the most part we don't see

34:17anything to be uh concerned about on

34:19spend or revenue on the alcohol tax.

34:23>> Okay, questions from members?

34:26>> [snorts]

34:27>> Uh not seeing any.

34:29>> And the marijuana tax uh same sort of uh

34:34uh structure with grant activities and

34:37some operational line items for

34:41municipal staff

34:43but for the most part they are also

34:45appropriately spent and should be fine

34:49and probably have some fund balance at

34:51the end of the year but that remains to

34:53be seen.

34:55>> Okay, any questions from members on

34:56that?

35:00Okay, not seeing any and I know we are

35:03will be having another full some

35:04conversation about the budget tomorrow

35:05so thanks for the

35:07reports. I'll just briefly see if

35:08there's any updates on our various fund

35:11positions FEMA ARPA those are our

35:14standing items of course and we bring

35:15them up if we need to so just seeing if

35:17there's anything there.

35:18>> To the chair I will say that the

35:21OEM has been working with the state

35:23particularly on closing out the FEMA

35:26earthquake recovery because of the

35:28handful of projects that are still open

35:30there and the most recent conversation I

35:34think resulted in some good transaction

35:36and some more reimbursement coming

35:38towards the municipality to get closer

35:40to being done with the earthquake.

35:43The goal is to have the earthquake and

35:45all of our related emergencies closed

35:48out through the 2027 budget process

35:51entirely so they will no longer be a

35:55question mark or theoretically require

35:57standing reports because the activity

35:59will be done and closed out.

36:02>> Okay, thank you. Any questions from

36:04members on that?

36:07Okay, not seeing any and maybe knock on

36:10wood someday we can take those or at

36:11least that one off of our list so

36:13getting getting close. We know there's a

36:14reporting

36:16timelines and things that we need to

36:17work on so okay so I think that takes us

36:19through our standing reports. So next

36:22we're going to go we have one new

36:23business item today and we're going

36:25going gears and have our budget analyst

36:26Ms. Molly Roche, come up and speak to

36:29the work she's been doing and really

36:30help members, especially new members,

36:32understand the budget amendment process.

36:35And the goal here is not to get into the

36:37details of the budget, but to make sure

36:39everybody's really prepared for

36:42our part of the job, which is, you know,

36:43reviewing the budget, considering

36:45amendments, and then moving through

36:46those in the process. So, Molly's been

36:48doing a lot of great work updating our

36:50forms and I'll just also note we have I

36:53think we might have at least one person

36:54for audience participation, so I will

36:57end us at about 10:40.

37:00Uh

37:01No, sorry, it is 10:42. I'll end this

37:03just a few minutes before the close of

37:05the meeting. So, go ahead, Ms. Roche.

37:08>> Thank you.

37:10My name is Molly Roche. I'm the Assembly

37:11Program and Budget Analyst.

37:14Hopefully I

37:15work out how close I need to be to the

37:17microphone.

37:18Um

37:19members, you have a packet in front of

37:21you, the Assembly Budget Amendment

37:23Guide, which I created with a lot of

37:25help. I won't take credit for it. Um

37:27there is a quick typo on there. Your

37:29Assembly meeting is not November 18th. I

37:31believe it is the 17th. The due date

37:33does not change, so

37:35just know that that part, the important

37:36part, is the same. Um in this packet,

37:40there's just some guidance, like I said,

37:41and then there's five templates. One of

37:44those is your general operating

37:45government template. That will also be

37:47used for alcohol tax and marijuana tax.

37:49Those will be pulled out separately, so

37:51those will, don't worry about those

37:53amendments getting muddled with the

37:55general operating government.

37:57Uh again, most important, your draft

38:00amendments are due to me on November

38:024th.

38:03So, that is a very important deadline.

38:05If you don't have all of your details,

38:07if you're not quite sure on fund source,

38:08you're still scrambling on a couple

38:10details, that's fine. Uh just for

38:12purposes of discussion, we want as much

38:14information as you have available.

38:15However, you do need to iron out all

38:17those details by November 11th. So, that

38:20way we can prep them and have everything

38:22to the clerk's office in time for the

38:23meeting.

38:25Uh if you don't like the idea of

38:26wrestling with word documents and

38:28figuring out which template is best for

38:30your process,

38:32uh there is an online form now that will

38:33be emailed to you after this meeting. Uh

38:36that's the beauty of a Friday afternoon

38:38brainstorming meeting with OMB.

38:40Good ideas come. So that form is

38:42self-explanatory, hopefully. I've added

38:44a lot of detail in there, mostly for my

38:46benefit because this is my first process

38:48and making sure that you guys have all

38:49the information. I know there's new

38:50members this year. So there's a lot of

38:53explanatory text. If you've been through

38:55the process before, you can ignore it

38:57and do things how you've always done

38:58them.

39:00Um as we work on amendments, the

39:03description items, uh these are just

39:05some prompt questions, hopefully to help

39:07you start thinking about it. This all

39:08doesn't have to be in the written

39:10amendment, um but just having this

39:12information available, kind of something

39:14to think through.

39:16The biggest one being how is your budget

39:18amendment going to impact services or

39:20internal I think that's helpful for the

39:22public to know

39:23um and gets to the intention of your

39:26amendment. So

39:28also knowing who's going to be

39:29responsible. If you have a big,

39:31beautiful program that you want to

39:33implement, make sure that there are

39:34staff and resources and those overhead

39:36kind of hidden costs are considered. So

39:38hopefully you're working with

39:39departments on understanding those

39:41impacts. Um again, knowing what success

39:44is going to look like, knowing what the

39:45goal is, that just helps um everyone

39:48understand what you're going for. Um if

39:50you want to increase the dinosaur budget

39:52because you love dinosaurs and you have

39:54a 4-year-old advocate like I do, um

39:57you know, that's fine. You can increase

39:59on that level, but if what you're really

40:00looking for is the pterodactyl training

40:02program, maybe specify that. Um try not

40:05to use real examples cuz obviously I'd

40:07be biased in that. Um

40:10So you know, if it's just at that top

40:12level, the director might say, "Well,

40:13actually Brachiosaurus is really what I

40:16want to fund cuz I see that need. So, if

40:18you leave it at the high level, that's

40:20fine. If you're saying directors,

40:22whatever you need to do with this cut or

40:23this increase.

40:25Um but if you really have something

40:26specific in mind, that just helps

40:28everybody understand and discuss.

40:31Um the other thing is does this change

40:33connect to something else? I've listed

40:35some reference materials. I know there's

40:36others that I have probably

40:38not remembered or didn't find in my

40:41research. Uh you guys do a lot of really

40:43good work on researching and creating

40:45strategic plans. There was a whole

40:47effort. So, just referring back to those

40:49and using those, you don't have to start

40:50from scratch on what kind of amendments

40:53you might be looking for.

40:54So, you can reference those in your

40:56documents or not. I've seen it done in

40:59um previous amendments that I was

41:01looking through.

41:02Uh

41:03the nitty-gritty, the funding details.

41:05This is extremely important. If you are

41:07increasing something, let us know where

41:09you found that money. That'd be

41:10fantastic to know.

41:12Uh if there's a decrease, again, getting

41:14to that specifics, getting to your

41:16intention for the budget. Are you just

41:18saying we hate dinosaurs? I'm sorry,

41:204-year-olds around the world, we are not

41:22funding that program. Uh let us know

41:25more specifically what you're going for

41:27so we can help kind of guide those

41:29conversations and catch any,

41:31you know,

41:33uh

41:34adjacent issues which might come up. Uh

41:37if you're going net neutral, net zero,

41:40again, what are you increasing and where

41:42are you decreasing in order to make that

41:44uh budget match?

41:46One-time versus recurring. This is very

41:48important. One-time budget increase,

41:50uh for example, the 50th anniversary

41:53celebration, that's a one-time expense

41:56and that is pulled back. If you have

41:57more questions, uh

41:59I will defer to the OMB director on how

42:02that works with the continuation budget

42:03process. But one-time funds are removed

42:06again when they start building the next

42:07year budget. Recurring budget expenses

42:11or increases, those are then built into

42:13the budget moving forward. So,

42:15really thinking about is this a special

42:18project that can be done in a year, it's

42:20just a one-time thing, or is this a

42:22programmatic change that you're really

42:23hoping to see forever into the future?

42:27Best practices, please CC me on your

42:29emails, talk to me, let me know what

42:32you're thinking,

42:33submit your forms on time, I'm here to

42:35help. If I don't know the answer, which

42:36is you know,

42:38potential in my first year here, I have

42:41a, you know, phone a friend.

42:43So, I will help find the answer and

42:44track that down for you, especially as

42:46it relates to those budget details.

42:49Talk to departments if you have a big

42:51program that you're trying to do,

42:52estimates, quotes are helpful. We want

42:54to make sure you're successful in your

42:55projects and we don't run out of money

42:56halfway through and then everybody's

42:58annoyed.

43:00Um, if you're doing a big operational

43:02change,

43:03you don't have to understand all of

43:05IGCs, I don't really either, but I know

43:08that some of those bigger changes can

43:10have an impact and that might affect the

43:12dollar amount that you're working with.

43:13So, again, the sooner we get that

43:15information, that'll help us flag and,

43:18you know,

43:19cross-check all the information that's

43:20needed.

43:22You will be getting all of this

43:23in an [clears throat] email along with

43:25the link to the form and contact

43:27information.

43:28That is everything that I have unless

43:30there are questions.

43:32>> Okay, thank you. Um, I'll add a couple

43:34of things and then we'll go to

43:35questions. Um, just for folks' awareness

43:37as well. So, um, I want to again point

43:39to the deadlines. Um, so obviously, we,

43:42you know, you can prepare floor

43:43amendments up to really during the

43:45meeting. Um, that's our common practice,

43:48but I think in the particular context of

43:49the budget, it is helpful to start

43:51sooner. It doesn't mean that you have to

43:52have a fully fleshed idea and have

43:54everything figured out um, on the

43:56fourth, you know, for our work session,

43:58for example, but I think um, especially

44:00because the, you know, especially now

44:02with this type budget, a lot of them

44:03need to be net zero or or least, um, you

44:05know, there isn't so an extra pot of

44:07money to to pull from. [clears throat]

44:08And so really working through kind of

44:10what the where you can slot things in

44:12and how to accomplish that. Um, so

44:14certainly again talking to staff

44:15departments, our budget analyst, um,

44:17OMB. Uh, but also just to note, um, you

44:20know, our practice has been, for

44:21example, let's say you have an idea, um,

44:23you want to pitch an idea in the work

44:25session, um, you know, there is an

44:27opportunity to, for example, if you're

44:29if you're not sure where it would be

44:30pulled from, uh, we've written, you

44:32know, unused tax capacity or just kind

44:34of a placeholder statement. So I just

44:36want to also be clear for members, um,

44:38you know, the more you can figure out

44:39earlier the better, especially in this

44:41very constrained environment. But also,

44:43um, the part of the work session's

44:45purpose on November 6th is to uh,

44:47discuss these ideas and then there's

44:49usually more than one way to solve for

44:51something, you know, whether it's

44:52looking at multiple years, looking at

44:54starting with just the first phase of a

44:55project versus the whole project, right?

44:57There's a lot of different versions that

44:58that could look like. Um, so I just want

45:00to encourage folks to get as much detail

45:01as you can, but also that it's okay to

45:04bring something that's not 100% figured

45:05out, especially for the work session.

45:07That said, the earlier you can socialize

45:09an idea, the more that members have a

45:11chance to think about it, understand it,

45:13and of course as we, um, we know from

45:15other contexts as well, it's hard to run

45:16last minute things, right? So, um, so

45:18that's another opportunity just to say

45:20even if, again, if you don't have the

45:22full idea worked out, uh, talking about

45:24it earlier and then kind of working

45:26through, maybe you'll get a couple other

45:27members interested. But really just

45:29trying to help folks think through, um,

45:31this process. And then the other thing I

45:33will say is, uh, just, um, really

45:35appreciate the work of the budget

45:37analyst. You know, we've had these

45:38templates in the past, but I think, uh,

45:40taking another look at them and really

45:42helping make them more user-friendly has

45:44been, um, hopefully that will really

45:45help members understand. And especially

45:47for example, this, uh, one-time versus

45:49recurring, uh, that's something that had

45:51dropped off of our template and so

45:52there's been multiple instances where

45:54someone intended it to be recurring and

45:56then it dropped out of the budget and

45:57they thought, well, why did that get

45:58cut? Well, because the continuation

46:00budget by its nature cuts one-time

46:01things unless you put it back. So, um

46:04just kind of flagging a couple of those

46:06and wanted to make sure we had this

46:07opportunity before we get in the meat of

46:09it cuz then we'll be right in the middle

46:11of budget. So, with that um I'll see if

46:12there's if members have uh questions,

46:14comments on these templates.

46:18>> Helpful.

46:20>> Uh Ms. Scott.

46:21>> Oh, I was going to say just grateful.

46:23Thank you. This is super helpful.

46:28>> Okay, I don't see any other members at

46:29this point and I know um again uh not

46:31everybody is here but I I know um Ms.

46:34Rochelle will circulate this and then um

46:36again if this is your first budget

46:37cycle, um please avail yourself of our

46:40resources. You can sit down and really

46:42work through, you know, this is not not

46:44the expectation is you don't just go in

46:45a room and figure it out yourself. So,

46:47there's a lot of help available. Um and

46:49then these are things to think about as

46:50we start getting briefed on the uh

46:52budget which will happen tomorrow.

46:54Okay, one more time I'll check. I don't

46:56see any other questions, comments. So,

46:58thank you. We'll look for that email. Uh

47:00and uh with that we will turn to that's

47:03our items of business for this month.

47:05So, we'll turn to audience

47:06participation. Is there anyone who'd

47:07like to participate?

47:12And then we'll let staff uh switch

47:14gears, get get everything set up.

47:22>> Uh hey podiums.

47:23Um okay.

47:24>> Okay, one second once she gets the timer

47:26set.

47:30And then while we're waiting, is there

47:32anyone else who'd like to do audience

47:33participation?

47:35Okay, don't see any. Uh looks like timer

47:37is ready so please proceed.

47:38>> Okay, this is going to be a short one, I

47:40think.

47:41Uh Jamie Loftus, you say it correctly,

47:42formerly cool, formerly homeless. So, um

47:45obviously

47:46budget.

47:47Um

47:48I assumed maybe if you cut Christopher

47:50Constant's large drove budget, it would

47:52solve all the mini budget problems.

47:54Apparently, that does not do it. Um

47:57so,

47:57people

47:59some of my friends in the about that is

48:00you had

48:02you know, they have buses and when the

48:04buses are involved in accidents,

48:06basically they get told there is an

48:07insurance claim that comes

48:10to actually do not go back to people

48:12mover.

48:13They go to the general fund to

48:17Oh,

48:17this thing is sort of working sort of

48:19not working.

48:20Um, but anyways, that was something

48:22interesting because you know, sort of

48:24capital expenditure but it's

48:27Yeah, it's funding that you're you

48:29shouldn't be expecting to come back.

48:30It's a fun one.

48:34Costs clearly

48:37probably worse.

48:39You have to consider

48:41you know,

48:46Is this thing working? So,

48:48Okay. Um, the tools you're using and if

48:51it's the right tool for the job. And a

48:53lot of times it seems like you're using

48:56the wrong tool for the job. And then as

48:58a result of that, you're also not having

49:00successes especially with a homeless

49:03situation. And yeah, there are ways to

49:06sort of improve that situation but then

49:08you wouldn't be paying overtime.

49:10Uh, so interesting here with the A-tax

49:13said $500,000 for

49:15this for the third out third out

49:18resource navigation center.

49:20I'm curious what that is. Is that just

49:22to lease space within that building? So

49:25they can

49:26to zoom calls.

49:28That's somebody can meet there and then

49:29just talk to people.

49:31A lot of money. Um, something else so

49:34obviously

49:36one country winter shelter is it 98% of

49:39the budget spent in it September. So

49:41that looks like that's going to be over.

49:43Uh, and then you have congregate shelter

49:46annual missions contract but that was

49:48removed from the budget for one million.

49:51And so it just went down to zero. So,

49:53what does that mean? Um, That isn't

49:55exactly explained. Great tax, maybe it's

49:57alternative fund and stream.

49:59So, aside from that, I think I'm just

50:01going to end it cuz I didn't have much

50:02time. I ran in early. So, anyways, thank

50:04you very much for your time. All right.

50:06>> Thank you for participating.

50:08And I don't see any other members of the

50:10public wishing to participate. So, with

50:12that, we have concluded our business.

50:14And I'll note one more time, not this

50:16committee per se, but for the budget, we

50:17have a work session tomorrow, 10:00 a.m.

50:20to or I think 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

50:22It's going to be a long one, but that's

50:24part one of our full review of the

50:26budget. So, we will see everyone at that

50:28time. And then in the meantime, we have

50:29a work session starting at 11:05 as

50:31noticed. All right, thank you. And

50:34no further comments, questions, then we

50:35are adjourned. Thank you.