2026-10-07 - OMBGA Committee

02:08Good evening everybody.

02:13>> Good evening.

02:15>> Good evening

02:17>> counselor. It's good to see you again.

02:19Back to back days.

02:19>> Good evening.

02:23>> The busy season has started.

02:25>> Yes, it has. Yes, it has.

02:28Um

02:30we are looks like we have everybody. Uh

02:33so we are going to get started.

02:38Um good evening everyone. Would like to

02:40call this uh operations management

02:42budget and government accountability

02:44virtual committee meeting to order uh

02:46for today October 2026.

02:49October 7th 2026. I am Council President

02:51TJ Clark and I will be covering for uh

02:54our chairperson uh Councilwoman Marilyn

02:57Rosetti for this meeting. This meeting

02:59is being broadcasted live on HPA TV

03:01Xfinity channel 96 Comcast Comcast

03:06Frontier sorry Comcast Frontier

03:08Communications channel 6032 streaming

03:10live on HBATV.org HBATV Facebook page

03:15and also will be made available on HBA's

03:18YouTube channel. Uh, I would like to

03:21acknowledge my council colleagues that

03:22are here today. Uh, Councilman John

03:25Gail, who was a voting member, uh,

03:27Councilman Ailar Hernandez, who is a

03:30voting member, uh, Councilman Alex

03:33Thomas is here. Uh, Councilwoman Shirley

03:35Surgeon, and we also have our esteemed

03:39corporation council, Jonathan Harding.

03:42um as well. I see our register of voters

03:45uh GJ Feliciano uh is on and the rest of

03:49our uh city colleagues. Uh so we will

03:52begin with uh agenda tonight's agenda

03:54item item 2.1 mayor mayor a lump with a

03:58company resolution authorizing the

04:00appropriation up to uh $68,118.79

04:08in municipal cannabis tax revenue and

04:10nip bottle tax revenue funds in support

04:13of the open hearth works OW neighborhood

04:16ambassadors program. And we do have uh

04:21uh our director of management budget uh

04:24Julian K here uh as well as I believe

04:28director of violence prevention Siobhan.

04:30I don't see Siobhan here but Julian's

04:32here.

04:34>> Thank you. Yes, I can get us started. Uh

04:37thank you, Mr. Chairman, and uh members

04:39of the the committee and members of the

04:41council. Uh this is the uh contract for

04:46the neighborhood ambassadors uh program.

04:49This is a contract that's managed

04:50through the city's office of violence

04:52prevention uh program that's run for uh

04:57six years now and provides uh

04:59transitional employment services

05:02uh to uh men and women who have been uh

05:06through the justice system and and um

05:09are experiencing some housing

05:10insecurity.

05:12Um, this program was originally funded

05:15uh for several years utilizing ARPA

05:17funds that had been awarded to the city

05:20and uh those ARPA funds have been

05:23expended

05:25in the plan since those early years um

05:28was that uh funding from the NIPS uh

05:33bottle deposit

05:35program and the cannabis tax uh would be

05:40able to provide some uh some measure of

05:43sustainability to this program. So, this

05:46resolution would support using a

05:48combination of of cannabis tax funds and

05:51NIPS bottle redemption funds uh to fund

05:54this program through the current fiscal

05:56year uh a total contract amount of uh

06:00just about $68,000.

06:03Um again these these uh funding streams

06:06both have very specific uh uses uh

06:10eligible uses tied to them. Um the NIPS

06:14bottle redemption program funds are um

06:19for programs that provide some

06:20environmental or litter reduction uh

06:23type services or programs which the

06:25ambassador program does. and the

06:28cannabis tax funds. Um there's roughly

06:33uh roughly six or seven different

06:35eligible uses

06:37uh for those funds. One of which is

06:40services uh for re-entry type programs

06:44which this program of course qualifies

06:46for as does um the other program that

06:50the council has supported using cannabis

06:52funds which is the the re-entry welcome

06:54center. Um so that's overview of the um

07:00the resolution and the request here. And

07:03uh I'm happy to

07:07try to answer any questions that members

07:09have.

07:20>> Thank you, sir, uh for your

07:22presentation. All right,

07:25Councilwoman Sergeon, you have a

07:26question.

07:28>> Yeah, thank you. Um, Mr. Chair, uh,

07:30through you, Mr. Chair. Um, I'm

07:34definitely aware of the ambassador

07:36program

07:38and it has been, you know, a roundroin.

07:41You do one main thoroughare, the other

07:43another day, another main thoroughare.

07:46With this funding, will the uh the

07:50cleaning of the main thoroughare be more

07:52on a regular basis? Do you know? Um

07:56Julian

07:59um I

08:01I'm sorry. I don't know if there is

08:04going to be any um change into the you

08:07know the frequency or the level of

08:08service in this particular contract.

08:13>> Okay. Um so what have we been what is

08:17the total using the u co funds now that

08:20it has um run out what have we been

08:22funding in the past uh for this program

08:29>> the uh I'm not I are you asking how much

08:34how uh how many years did we get out of

08:36the ARPA funds

08:38>> how many years how what was the total

08:40amount funded

08:41>> per year for this program

08:43>> so ARPA funded a total of uh 1.6 6

08:48million for this program over uh they

08:52were depleted in partway through 2025

08:57and the balance has been funded again

08:59through a combination of the the

09:01cannabis revenues and the NIPS revenues

09:04about a quarter of a million so 257,000

09:08from cannabis tax and 293,000

09:13uh through NIP the NIPS bottle program

09:17And you said that was 25

09:20>> and that has carried us through through

09:2226. So the the ARPA funds ran out. I

09:26want to say let's see would have been a

09:31bit into um

09:35it would have taken us into 26 and been

09:38dep depleted, you know, a little ways

09:40into FY26.

09:43>> Okay. So then I'm going to just assume

09:45then that um therefore the

09:50I would call it roundroin of you know

09:52each main thorough affair being you know

09:54keep a breast uh

09:58so far it's been about 600,000 so this

10:00600,000

10:02now would maintain the program as it is

10:07uh the frequency or is it how it's being

10:09done run currently

10:11>> it's in expense wise would be on par

10:14with the last couple of years. So in 24

10:17the total expenditures

10:19were 590,000 a little over 590,000

10:25um 653,25

10:29649,000

10:31uh in 26 and so this is a slight

10:34reduction in the contract amount uh

10:36compared to last year's total expenses

10:39at 608.

10:41>> Okay. So if we were to ask for uh you

10:46know additional frequency um with

10:49keeping our u main thorough affairs you

10:52know reasonably clean. Um

10:56should we want to put additional funds

10:58there we can.

11:03>> Well we we um we would have to find

11:08revenues to support that.

11:11Okay.

11:13Do you know how much these um I think

11:17the resolution talked about 20 people

11:23in conjunction with that uh supervisors.

11:26Do you know how much they get per hour?

11:28>> No, but I can I can get you any any

11:30programmatic information or details

11:32about the um

11:35you know the the contract. I can get

11:37that for you.

11:38>> Yeah. because they the resolution talked

11:39about it working they work about 25

11:41hours per week.

11:44>> Um

11:47and also in one of the resolve in the

11:49resolution if there additional funds

11:52that comes in through either uh through

11:56either one of these programs that would

11:58not need to come back to council for

12:00approval.

12:03>> No, I don't believe it would.

12:09I think I'm not sure which one of the

12:11resolve it was where

12:15>> it I think it's the second I think you

12:17may be referring to the second to last

12:19resolve where it says all

12:22all municipal cannabis tax revenue and

12:25nip bottle tax revenues remitted in FY27

12:28shall be deposited into a special

12:30revenue account reserved for these

12:32purposes.

12:33paraphrasing a little bit. I think that

12:35might be what you're referring to.

12:37>> I believe so. And so, you know, we're

12:39getting what 608 right now. Um, but

12:42this, you know, 25 26 fiscal year. So,

12:45it could go up a little bit more. Uh, so

12:48another I'm sorry.

12:49>> U so, so the 608 is actually drawing.

12:53So, we've been pooling these funds in

12:54anticipation of the ARPA funds running

12:56out. And so the 608 is actually drawing

13:00partially upon what we have collected in

13:02the past and then programming what is

13:05anticipated in 27.

13:08So we between the two sources again it

13:12fluctuates a bit between the two sources

13:15um you know they both generate around

13:18150

13:20uh to 160,000 a year. We had a we had a

13:24couple of good years with NIPS at 180

13:26and 177. Um but in that, you know,

13:29between combined between like 300 and

13:32320,000 a year.

13:36>> Okay. Um thank you. Um thank you for

13:40that, Julian, and thank you, Mr. Chair.

13:44>> Thank you, Councilwoman. Uh Council

13:46McGill.

13:48>> Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chair. Um,

13:51just kind of following up uh on on uh

13:55Councilwoman Surgeon's uh questions. I I

13:58would be interested I think council

14:00would be interested in uh having a

14:02little more of a report as to

14:07uh

14:09maybe I don't know if if calling it the

14:11success of the program is the right term

14:13but the program talks about being a

14:14re-entry program about you know

14:17essentially it sounds like it's it's

14:18designed to help individuals get on

14:21their feet and maybe move on and I I

14:24would just be interested uh to know if

14:27that's in fact occurring or if if if

14:32this is just an employment program for

14:34the same 20 people who've been working

14:35there for the last four years. Um which

14:38which may not be a bad thing, but I I I

14:40I think it would be interesting to know

14:43since the way it's styled, it it um it

14:46is styled as if it's a um uh help help

14:52lift you off your you know, help lift

14:54you up to the next level type of

14:56program. It would be interesting to see.

14:58So, I'm not sure uh Council President,

15:00Chair, uh I I don't know how we would

15:03get such a report um to council. Uh if

15:07that's the kind of thing where we would

15:10uh need to request that um uh whoever's

15:14uh overseeing the program come before

15:16the committee and and give us a report.

15:18I' I'd welcome any thoughts along those

15:20lines.

15:23Um I think that certainly a request on

15:28um the success of the program uh can be

15:32done uh through collaboration either

15:34contacting what uh whatever department

15:37oversees this program within the city of

15:39Harford which to be quite honest I don't

15:42know that might be the office of uh

15:45violent prevention uh which is uh

15:47Siobhan and Siobhan is here um I just

15:49saw him sign on so this is a Perfect

15:51segue for sorry to call you on the spot

15:54uh director Campbell, but uh can you be

15:57able to provide uh some insight uh

16:00regarding the success of this program

16:03and any type of u benchmarks that it has

16:06achieved since uh its inception.

16:09>> Perfect. Awesome. Well, thank you all

16:11for being here. Siobhan Campbell, Office

16:12of Violence Prevention. Uh this is for

16:14the neighborhood uh ambassadors program.

16:16Uh so generally this program uh supports

16:20people that have been previous and I'm

16:22so sorry that's my daughter in the

16:23background. So generally the program

16:25supports um people that have been

16:27previously incarcerated with six months

16:29of job uh um of transitional employment

16:34uh and then a year-long uh training um

16:38for uh full-time employment. Um so

16:41generally uh there's about 20 to 24

16:44people uh that are serviced uh

16:46throughout this program. Um and it's a

16:50mixture depending on the time. Uh and

16:52there's about seven different

16:54certifications

16:56uh that they go through. Uh most of them

16:58complete the training. We're still

17:00trying to get a year for uh two-year um

17:04analysis for after like after they've

17:07completed the program if they're able to

17:08maintain and keep a job. Um, but they

17:11clean up different quarters within the

17:12city. So, I think there's a success of

17:14of cleaning up different areas of the

17:16city uh and then also finding full-time

17:18employment.

17:23>> Thank you. Um, hello to your daughter.

17:26Um, Councilman, was that uh was that

17:28good?

17:29>> Well, I I Yes. I I mean, I think it's

17:32it's helpful to know that um uh Mr.

17:37Campbell's, you know, is is uh

17:40overseeing it, following it, and you

17:42know, trying to make sure that as as you

17:43put it, that they're meeting certain

17:45benchmarks

17:46uh uh with the program. So, uh knowing

17:49that, I suppose, uh you know, at some

17:51later date, we can we can ask Mr.

17:53Campbell to give us a uh report. Sounds

17:56like he's trying to get some of the data

17:58right now as well. Um so, the the uh

18:02getting the followup to see where where

18:03I I take it. Uh Siobhan, that's what

18:06you're looking at as to, you know, where

18:07are these folks two years out, three

18:10years out?

18:11>> Yeah.

18:11>> Does the program is the program been

18:13successful? And I think we'd all love to

18:15to hear that um whenever you you know

18:18may get that information.

18:20>> Absolutely. Uh and I do have data for I

18:22do have yet data for the time that

18:24they're within the program. So I just

18:26want to clarify I do have that and can

18:27provide that. Um I just again I'm I'm

18:30trying to make sure that the program is

18:31sustainable um in that way and has

18:34long-term effects. So appreciate that

18:37segue. Thank you.

18:39>> No problem. So um it would be good to if

18:42your office can produce something either

18:44a semi uh annual uh annual or annual

18:48report uh regarding this program. Uh

18:51that would be good.

18:52>> Perfect. I can send that out to you uh

18:54or directly through Christian tomorrow.

18:57Uh that'll be that'll be wonderful.

18:59>> Awesome.

19:01>> Any uh other questions for Siobhan or uh

19:05uh Julian?

19:08I do I do have a question. Um how and

19:13I'm sorry if I missed this in within the

19:14uh resolution. Um how many years now has

19:18uh the uh open hearth works uh program

19:22been funded by the city of Hartford?

19:26Yeah, that's a great question. So, it's

19:28been about my understanding it's been

19:30four years. Uh, some of the funding came

19:33from ARPA uh ARPA dollars. Uh, the last

19:37two years has been uh through the NIP

19:40bottle um tax revenue and a combination

19:42of cannabis tax revenue. Um, so for

19:45that's from my understanding, but again

19:47that uh some of the the contract

19:49predates me too. So, uh it might be it

19:51might be five years, but I know I could

19:53confirm four years.

19:54>> Okay. And uh the additional um uh

20:00nonprofits uh that are uh funded through

20:02this program, can you tell us uh who

20:04they are?

20:06>> When you say funded through the the

20:07neighborhood ambassadors program or

20:08through the tax the cannabis tax

20:10revenue, sorry. Uh uh through the

20:12cannabis tax in the bottle.

20:14>> Yeah. So, the other program is community

20:16partners in action. uh and they support

20:18the re-entry welcome center. Uh so both

20:21of the both of the funding goes towards

20:24um supporting people that have been

20:25previously incarcerated. Um that's what

20:28the cannabis tax dollars go towards. Uh

20:30the nit bottle tax uh goes towards um

20:33essentially public works related

20:35materials and and that's why uh this

20:38workforce program is paired with

20:40cleaning up different areas uh within

20:42the city and different corridors within

20:44the city. Um, so the nip bottle tax is

20:46is is kind of um I want to say

20:49earmarked, but it it's it's restricted

20:52to to cleaning up different areas in

20:54Harvard. Um, and then the cannabis taxes

20:56towards people that have been previously

20:58incarcerated.

21:00>> Well, thank you. Now, uh, piggybacking

21:03off of Councilwoman Surgeon's question,

21:06um, I believe that we have seen a great

21:10number of areas within our city,

21:13citywide, that do need a um, overhaul

21:17uh, regarding cleanliness, especially in

21:19our business corridors. Um,

21:23how is it that we might be able to help

21:26to expand these operations with what uh

21:29we presently have contracted with Open

21:32Heart Works?

21:34>> Yeah, that's a great question. I think

21:36from my understanding when this contract

21:38was established that there had to be uh

21:40some clarification between what the

21:42Department of Public Works can do, I

21:44think from my understanding

21:44contractually versus what the

21:46neighborhood ambassadors can do. Um, but

21:48again, that predates me. So, I think

21:50there there is probably more that can be

21:52done, but that that's probably going to

21:53have to go through um the Department of

21:56Public Works to make sure that

21:57essentially that we're staying in our

21:58lane. Um but I do think it can be

22:00expanded. Now, with that being said,

22:02I've joined a couple of these programs

22:04uh where they're cleaning up and they

22:05they're cleaning up Monday through

22:07Friday. Uh and as much as we are

22:10cleaning up, like it it it takes

22:12constant effort. So, it's getting dirty

22:13within the next week. Um so, I always

22:15want to make sure I clarify that too.

22:17Like it it does it is going to take a

22:19overhaul, but it needs consistent

22:21consistent maintenance.

22:24>> Yes, it gets dirty the next day.

22:25>> Yep. Thank you.

22:27>> So, uh I agree with you, Councilwoman.

22:30Did you have a question?

22:31>> Yeah. Yes. Um Mr. chair. I just wanted

22:34was to actually say that in the future

22:38um I remember u member serves me right

22:43you know where the council approved

22:45these funds to go to the um um wasn't u

22:50to the um re-entry program I don't

22:53remember and quote um correct me if I'm

22:56my memory isn't as good as it used to be

22:59where the NIPS program uh funds when

23:02Does the council receive that?

23:05It doesn't seem like I remember seeing

23:07any resolution on the receipt of these

23:10funds and how it's going to be

23:11appropriated.

23:14>> Uh, that's a great question. I think

23:16that's probably even more of a a

23:17question for finance in terms of when

23:19the dollars are received. I think

23:21Julian's on the I think he just unmuted.

23:25No, but what basically what I'm asking

23:26is uh you know maybe Julian will know uh

23:30you know we do accept the funds for the

23:33uh the cannabis but I don't remember

23:36getting uh approval or accepting funds

23:39for the NIPS program or do we need to do

23:42that as a council?

23:45>> That's a good question. I don't know the

23:48history on that. the the NIPS uh bottle

23:51redemption funding was in place before

23:56um before my time here. So, I'm not I'm

23:59not sure what the mechanism was uh or if

24:03there even was one for directing it to

24:06um this program. Again, in statute, it's

24:09earmarked for these uh cleanup and

24:12public works types programs. Um so, it

24:15may have been that the statute alone

24:18>> but I I hear that Julian, but I thought

24:20um and again I've got to go back my

24:22memory couple budget ago where um in the

24:28budget we that's when we uh appropriated

24:31the monies to go to the second chance

24:34program.

24:38So, and I don't remember and I think it

24:40was about two budget ago. Two budget um

24:44time ago was that

24:46>> but we haven't since then. So, could you

24:48tell me my memory?

24:49>> I'm sorry. Go ahead.

24:51>> Go ahead.

24:51>> No, I think that I think that might have

24:53been just for cannabis tax revenue.

24:56>> Okay.

24:58>> Perfect. And and I'll let you both know

24:59too the um the ARPA funding for this I

25:02think ran out towards the end of fiscal

25:05year 20 uh 25. So last year that's when

25:08the cannabis dollars run ran out. Um

25:12I think from my So uh last year was the

25:15the first year that we were tapping in

25:17from my understanding uh of the cannabis

25:19revenue and the um the nip bottle tax

25:23revenue as well. So So this is the first

25:25time that we're kind of or this is the

25:27second time now that we're diving into

25:28these funds. So I just want to clarify

25:30on that end. Um, so two years ago we we

25:32wouldn't have been having this

25:33conversation because we had it in NARPA

25:35dollars

25:37>> and then two and two years ago and then

25:40the actual whatever monies we collected

25:41for the cannabis program actually went

25:43to the second chance program.

25:46>> Yeah, last year. Yep. That last year was

25:48the first time that happened.

25:49>> Okay.

25:51And and so um shouldn't we have a

25:55resolution accepting uh a joint res or

25:58is this a joint resolution that both

26:00accepting both the um the NIPS and the

26:03cannabis um funds?

26:06>> Yes.

26:10>> No.

26:11>> No. Yes. He said yes. Julian.

26:13>> Oh, okay.

26:14>> Yeah. This funding is coming from both.

26:16Yeah.

26:17>> Okay. So now we have a uh you know we

26:21certainly now will have to say uh that

26:24we have now strategically accepted these

26:26funds and and that's how we're going to

26:28appropriate it.

26:29>> Okay.

26:30>> Thank you, Mr. Chair.

26:32>> Thank you, Councilwoman. Um any other

26:34questions for Julian or Siobhan?

26:39All right. Uh the chair will entertain a

26:42motion.

26:43I'll um I'll move to send this back to

26:45council with a favorable recommendation.

26:50>> Motion's been made and I will second it.

26:52Uh

26:53>> second.

26:54>> All right. Thank you, Alex. I'll give

26:55that to you. Motion's been made and

26:57properly second uh to send this item

26:59back to council with a favorable

27:00recommendation. Any discussions? Any

27:02further discussions? Hearing or saying

27:04none. All in favor indicate by saying I.

27:07>> I. I.

27:09>> Uh the eyes have it. Any nays? Sorry. No

27:13nays. All right, the eyes have it. Uh,

27:15this item is passed back to council uh

27:17with a favorable recommendation. Uh,

27:20thank you all. Next item is item 2.2.

27:24Mayor Aal Lumpal with a company

27:25resolution to approve a tenative

27:27agreement for a successor collective

27:30bargaining agreement between the city of

27:31Harford and the municipal lawyers

27:33association here and after MLA effective

27:36July 1st, 2025 through June 30th, 2029.

27:41And we You have

27:44I don't see her. Uh

27:49Deb, there she is. Um Deb Caribelloo

27:53here uh from uh the Department of Human

27:56uh resources to present this uh item.

28:00>> Can you guys see me and hear me?

28:02>> We hear you. Not see you. You just

28:04>> Okay, I got There we go.

28:06>> Yes.

28:07>> Yeah.

28:07>> Okay.

28:09>> Thank you everyone. So, we settled the

28:12contract with the Municipal Lawyers

28:14Association in September. Um, it was a

28:18long process this time, but I think it

28:21resulted in a fair contract. Um, we did

28:25discover that our attorneys were a

28:27little bit um behind other municipal

28:30attorneys. So what we tried to do was to

28:34increase the min and maxes by 8 and a

28:37half% to make their potential salary a

28:40little bit more competitive with some of

28:42their peers. Um but also

28:46kept the general wage increases at 3 and

28:48a half% each fiscal year for each member

28:52of the bargain unit. So it would keep

28:53the fiscal cost down. So under this TA

28:57if approved going back to July on 2025

29:02they will receive a general wage

29:04increase of 3.5%

29:06and then they will receive 3.5% for the

29:10following uh three fiscal years of this

29:12contract. Um the other thing that we did

29:16is to ensure that they get their

29:19continuing legal education credits. Um

29:22we increase the salar um some of the

29:24funding for those courses. Um so we

29:27increase the budget for their education

29:29a bit to make sure that they um stay on

29:32top of those credits which will help us

29:35um as well. Um the growth increment

29:41language that you see in the tentative

29:43agreement is just basically

29:46um taking the language that was in the

29:48personnel rules and folding it into the

29:50contract. So there's no change in that

29:52even though the tentative agreement

29:54seems rather long. And the other change

29:57was that um several of our attorneys

30:00have been here for many years and so

30:03they're there at the max salary. So

30:05they're not eligible to for growth

30:07increments anymore. So to recognize

30:09their longevity with the city and to um

30:13retain them, we instituted a um maximum

30:17growth payment which is tied to their

30:20performance evaluation and if they get

30:23satisfactory or above they would get 2

30:26and a half%

30:27um lumpsum payment. It would not be

30:30added to their salary. So it would not

30:32increase their annual salary. it would

30:34just be a lump sum payment and that sun

30:36sets at the end of this contract

30:39and that's basically all I have and I'll

30:42take any questions.

30:45>> Thank you uh very much for your

30:47presentation. I have a couple questions.

30:49Um

30:50>> any any changes to the contribution to

30:54uh the pension and to healthcare?

30:57Um for their health insurance it is

30:59going up 1% so they'll be at 21% which

31:02is the highest along with him. Um

31:06there was no change to the pension at

31:08all. There were changes last time but

31:10not this time.

31:12>> And far as the 21% in um contribution to

31:15healthcare where does the city uh fear

31:19regarding other municipalities?

31:23>> I have not looked in that in a little

31:26bit. So, I wouldn't want to say

31:29definitively. Um, we're last time I had

31:33checked, we were probably either in the

31:35ballpark or a little bit more aggressive

31:38than other municipalities.

31:41>> Okay. Um, and

31:45with the GWIS, um, and also to the, uh,

31:50increase in the min and the max. Um,

31:54this probably is not a question for you,

31:56but maybe for uh Julian if he's uh

31:59listening. Um, how does this fare with

32:02our city's budget when we are revenue

32:06almost revenue strapped right now with

32:09also to our other unions who have

32:11settled contracts and we have fire that

32:14needs to uh be uh be settled and I'm not

32:19sure whe when Hamya and Chapia um are

32:23are up for negotiation but you know we

32:26just did uh we just did sorry not fire

32:28police we just did higher. We did 1716.

32:31We're getting ready to do uh MLA. I just

32:34have some concerns regarding our

32:37finances and our uh budget capabilities.

32:40>> Well, I definitely will defer to Julian

32:42as far as it goes to budget. I do know

32:45for this group 1% of salary is about

32:47$8,632.

32:50Um there's se seven members in this

32:53unit, so it is small. Um so the 3 and a

32:56half%

32:58um is rather small but I understand the

33:02impact. Um this is a total of 14% for

33:06the term of the contract which is

33:08significantly lower than what was

33:10awarded to fire which was 23%.

33:13Um so we did look at that. We told them

33:16that there was there's basically you

33:18know we couldn't do 23%. Um, so we came

33:22in with something that we thought was

33:23fair, but I will defer to Julian as to

33:26how that impacts the budget.

33:30No, that was that was was a

33:34good summary of the impact and I can

33:37tell you that we would turn to our labor

33:39contingency in order to um accommodate

33:42the contract in the current year and all

33:45the changes would be built into

33:47um FY28 when we develop the budget uh

33:51going forward. So um you know the the

33:55impact on on this year's budget is um

33:59there really is none given that we have

34:01uh we have ac we can accommodate it

34:04within labor contingency.

34:05>> Okay.

34:10And I am assuming uh retro will be uh

34:13provided uh

34:16>> you are correct

34:17>> back to July 1st

34:18>> July 1st 2025 and then July 1st 2026.

34:22>> Okay. How much is that total?

34:27>> Um not everybody was here. So

34:31I mean the total cost of 1% is like I

34:34said about 8600 times three and a half

34:37is like 30,000. So

34:40Okay.

34:42>> And then a half of that for the next

34:43year. So,

34:45>> and the parallegals, am I right, are not

34:50a part of uh M MLA.

34:52>> That is correct.

34:53>> So, they are subject to the non-UN three

34:57well whatever percentage that the mayor

34:58will put in via ordinance for increase.

35:02>> Yeah, there is no ordinance right now

35:04before being presented for non-union,

35:06but that is something that we we would

35:10like to discuss at some point.

35:11>> Okay. Because I was going to ask, is

35:13that going to be in the works? I I know

35:14that it would have usually it typically

35:16would have been already introduced.

35:19>> All right. Thank you. Uh any questions

35:21for uh Deb

35:25Council Gail?

35:26>> Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um,

35:30might be a bit of a strange question,

35:32but I since it since my day job as a

35:35lawyer and and it has sometimes happened

35:38to me, I'm just wondering whether the

35:40the city's professional uh liability

35:43insurance, malpractice insurance, uh,

35:46for our lawyers, whether

35:50any of this contract has been driven by

35:53any requirements that have come down to

35:55the city from the insurance, the insurer

35:59I didn't receive anything from them. I

36:02don't know if Jonathan has anything else

36:04to comment on about that, but no, not

36:08not from HR. No one talked to us about

36:11that.

36:12>> No, this is uh Thank you for that,

36:15Council Miguel. You know, there has been

36:17no um indication from um Safety National

36:23that there's exposure for purposes of

36:26malpractice or negligence on the part of

36:28our council as a driving factor in our

36:31premiums for our overall insurance. They

36:35used to um I I don't think my carrier

36:37does it anymore, but they they there was

36:39a time when these carriers would give

36:41you a a credit for continuing uh legal

36:46education. And you I I thought about it

36:48because you mentioned that that the

36:49city's funding CL. Now there's mandatory

36:51CL now. So you kind of have to do I

36:54think at one point there wasn't

36:55mandatory and then

36:57>> CNA as a carrier I know used to give us,

36:59you know, if you

37:00>> if you certified to them that you took

37:02so much CL they'd give you a little bit

37:04of a discount but none of that's in

37:06place far as you know here.

37:09>> Not as far as I know.

37:10>> No, Councilman Gill.

37:12>> Okay. One other question if I may, Mr.

37:14Chair.

37:15>> Yes, sir. Um

37:17uh in in talking about the pension, this

37:19this question has come up before um uh

37:24with respect to the unions that uh whose

37:27pension does not include a cost of

37:28living uh adjustment. Uh is this the

37:32pension for this bargaining unit, does

37:34this uh include a cost of living uh

37:38adjustment for this bargaining unit or

37:39not?

37:40>> No, none of our unions have an

37:42adjustment for a cola. Could they have

37:45bargained for an adjustment in this

37:48recent round?

37:50>> They could have put a proposal on the

37:51table. They're not prohibited from

37:53putting a proposal on the table,

37:56>> but but none have put it on the table.

37:59>> Not to date. No.

38:01>> All right. Thank you.

38:03>> You're welcome.

38:07>> Council on the surgeon.

38:09>> Um, you know what? I I want to go back.

38:12Maybe can I double check something?

38:14Maybe they did. Hang on one second.

38:16>> Sure.

38:17>> If you don't mind.

38:18>> No, go right ahead.

38:39>> No, they did not. I was correct.

38:43>> Thank you.

38:44>> Thank you.

38:44>> Welcome,

38:45>> Councilwoman Sergey.

38:46>> Um just want to make sure um my notes is

38:49correct um through you, Mr. Chair, that

38:51um I think I wrote down that um the any

38:56increase in salaries and so on and so

38:58forth would not be it was not in this

39:01fiscal year budget will be in next

39:02fiscal year budget.

39:05Am I writing writing that in my notes?

39:10the contingencies

39:12uh the increases will be paid out of

39:15this year's budget through the

39:16contingencies and then for next year uh

39:19they will be that will be factored into

39:21the budget.

39:22>> Okay. So we're just only talking about

39:25um 25 then 26 out of contingency for in

39:32>> Yes.

39:32>> Okay. And it was about 8,000 if I

39:36remember correctly.

39:388600 for 1%.

39:41>> Okay. I'm sorry as you're talking I'm

39:44trying to take notes. I apologize. I

39:45just want to make sure I was clear on

39:47that. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

39:49>> No problem. Any other questions for Deb.

39:53Deb, thank you very much for being our

39:55resident expert in labor relations. Uh

39:59uh truly appreciate your uh your efforts

40:02and your uh commitment to the city. Um,

40:05all right. The the chair entertained the

40:06motion.

40:08>> I'll um move to send this back to

40:09council with a favorable recommendation.

40:12>> Second.

40:13>> Motion's been made and properly second

40:15uh to send this item back to council

40:16with a favorable recommendation. Any

40:18other discussions?

40:19Hearing or seeing none. All in favor

40:21indicate by saying I

40:23>> I

40:25uh any nays?

40:26>> Any extensions? Hearing seeing none, the

40:28eyes have it. Uh this item will be uh

40:31referred back to council uh to be taken

40:33up for uh our next meeting.

40:37Uh moving on uh item 2.3, Mayor Aalan

40:41with accompanying resolution authorizing

40:43the city of Harford to apply to the

40:45Connecticut Department of Administrative

40:47Services, DAS, Office of School

40:49Construction Grants and Review for an

40:52increase in the authorized total budget

40:54for the Fred D. Wish Museum School

40:56project. And we do have our director of

40:59capital projects, uh, Julia Jack here.

41:02Good evening, Julia.

41:07>> Good evening. Good evening. Good

41:09evening. Um, uh, Mr. Chair and committee

41:12members, thank you for hearing us today.

41:15We are, uh, as a resolution noted, we

41:17are here requesting your approval to

41:20amend the project budget for the newly

41:22new construction of, uh, Wish, the Fred

41:25D. Wish Museum School. We're asking to

41:28increase the total project budget by

41:31$7,300,000.

41:33Uh and well, before I proceed, I just

41:35wanted to let you know I do have the

41:36program management team, Cullier's um

41:39Eagle Environmental is here as well. So,

41:41if we as we have questions, uh they're

41:44here to um uh to answer any additional

41:47questions. Well, we are here um asking

41:49to increase the budget by $7,300,000,

41:53revising the total authorization from

41:56$67,290,900

42:00to $74,590,900.

42:06Upon re approon upon your app approval,

42:10this request will be formally submitted

42:11to the Connecticut Department of

42:13Administrative Services to adjust the

42:15state grant authorized uh authorization

42:20and the additional funds will be

42:21reimbursed at the 95%

42:24as was the initial authorized amount.

42:26So, I wanted to make sure you understood

42:28that we're still going to get our same

42:30reimbursement percentage on the

42:32additional uh $7.3 million.

42:37Um the core construction remains on

42:40schedule, but uh external cost drivers

42:43and site conditions created this $7.3

42:46million um project deficit deficit.

42:50three recording stopped

42:53>> three items um that that created this uh

42:57situation was unforeseen environmental

43:00contamination.

43:01I want to highlight that um the team um

43:08when we were looking at when we

43:09encountered this environmental issue on

43:12site, it was not um it was undocumented.

43:16there was an undocumented landfill and

43:18the phase one environmental site

43:20assessment um did not indicate that this

43:23situation was there. The team worked

43:25very hard though uh when we first

43:28encountered this. It was a $9 million

43:30issue. Um the design team, engineering,

43:33environmental, and our program managers

43:35and new field construction, our

43:37construction team worked very hard to

43:39get those costs down to now uh three a

43:43little over 3.7 million. So from 9

43:45million brought it down to 3.7 million.

43:49The second issue uh we've had um as we

43:52have everywhere is uh tariffs and market

43:55volatility. So tariff policies imposed

43:58in April 2025 created market

44:00fluctuations leading to cost overruns in

44:03major trade packages which created a

44:06$3.8 million overrun in base bidding. um

44:10details if you need more details on that

44:12and questions. Again, we have our team

44:14here to to fill in the the specific

44:16details of those. The third piece that

44:19brought us um brought this number up was

44:22the FFN, furniture, fixtures, and

44:24equipment. Um the cost escalations again

44:28from tariffs and inflation resulted in

44:30about 1 uh almost a 1.1 well 1.03

44:353 million gap for furniture technology

44:38scheduled to be installed summer of

44:402027.

44:42So again um let's not again let's

44:46mention the contingency. So what allowed

44:49us to continue with this process moving

44:51forward is that we have as we always do

44:53with these construction projects a

44:55contingency buffer. So to keep the

44:58project moving forward, we we used uh

45:01what was allotted to contingency to

45:03cover some of these overruns.

45:06Uh the $2.23 million contingency uh

45:10needs to be replenished to go back to a

45:12a healthy 3% buffer for the project.

45:17Uh secondly, um uh just talk about

45:21urgency. Uh building construction like I

45:24mentioned is currently proceeding on

45:25schedule. However, the soil remediation

45:28and site work will be halted and delayed

45:30if the funding is not secured this fall

45:33um which will directly jeopardize the

45:35overall completion timeline which is

45:37very important with um school

45:38construction grants. Uh so in closing,

45:42the project team has demonstrated a very

45:44strong fiscal discipline again by

45:47negotiating down that $9 million

45:49remediation issue um down to 3.75

45:53million. and to keep the construction

45:55moving forward without delay and to

45:57preserve our state grant alignment. We I

46:01respectfully ask for your favorable

46:03recommendation to approve this $7.3

46:06million budget adjustment and uh to

46:10approve the team to go to the state to

46:12get this adjustment made.

46:16If you have any questions, we are here

46:18to answer any questions. Thank you Julia

46:21for uh your presentation and also too

46:23for the Kylie's team um being here uh

46:28and present. Uh the site

46:30>> recording in progress.

46:31>> Sorry about that. Uh I don't know who's

46:33controlling that. Uh the site work is um

46:37uh looks very uh immaculate as uh the

46:40community is getting a new school. Um

46:44with this issue that you have uh

46:46outlined, are there any uh other schools

46:50uh that are currently being constructed

46:52that are face these challenges?

46:56>> Not at this time.

46:59>> Do you foresee that happening?

47:02>> No, we have uh five schools in motion.

47:06Uh Buckley School is is pretty much um

47:09completed. uh um burns um uh Batansa's

47:14Canelian Wish and no and Collier Stein,

47:17please correct me if I'm wrong, but this

47:20issue is specific in particular to the

47:22wish school with this new new

47:24construction in the new building.

47:27>> And uh how was how was the team able to

47:30uh mitigate this down to the three and a

47:34half 3.6%.

47:36I'm going to invite the Collier's team

47:38to talk about your magic and eagle

47:40environmental.

47:42>> Okay. Thank you, Julia. Scott Pelman,

47:44Collier's project leader. Uh Mr.

47:45Chairman and committee members. Um yeah,

47:48we spent quite a bit of time uh working

47:50with Eagle Environmental. Uh there was

47:53an extensive amount of additional

47:54testing done. Um the team redesigned

47:58detention ponds and under underground

48:00detention areas to try and mitigate and

48:03minimize the impact. uh they looked for

48:06alternative measures uh that would meet

48:09all deep requirements and all

48:11requirements for cleaning up the site as

48:13far as soil removal and and uh costs

48:16associated with that. Um so it it took

48:19uh quite a bit of time to re-engineer

48:22the site. Um but we feel that that time

48:25uh was well spent with the reduction

48:27that Miss Jack laid out.

48:31>> Thank you. Any questions for my

48:33colleagues?

48:36Councilman Gail.

48:38>> Yeah, talking about that. Um uh on this

48:42site is the uh memorial to the circus

48:46fire.

48:47Um and and I I I took the opportunity to

48:52take a peek back there this summer and I

48:54saw that the memorial seems to be

48:56intact. Uh although I'm sure not all

49:00parts of it are uh some parts of it I

49:03think are are in in the construction

49:05fence. But in any event, I'm just

49:06wondering has any of the changes uh

49:10going to affect any part of this

49:12memorial once you're uh done with

49:14construction.

49:20>> Julie, I'll take that again. Would you

49:22like me to Okay. Scott Pel project

49:24leaders. No. Um no. the the site was

49:26specifically designed around uh and

49:29respecting and maintaining uh that area

49:31as sacred ground. So um any of the

49:33revisions or the current project itself

49:36will not impact uh the area that

49:38contained the circus tent

49:41and memorial

49:43>> and and you're well underway with

49:45construction uh so it seems from you

49:48know looking at it from the street. Um

49:52but uh as Jack mentioned that if we if

49:55we don't get this funding going soon,

49:58this could impact construction.

50:02I I I guess I'm just trying to try

50:04trying to figure out. It looks like the

50:05building's up. Is some of this soil

50:07remediation actually under what you've

50:09already constructed?

50:11>> No, it's it's all site utility, site

50:13drainage, um storm water management and

50:16and control. So yes, as as um you know,

50:19Miss Jack mentioned, uh we were able to

50:22award the GMP for the building. It

50:24depleted

50:25the majority of the project contingency,

50:28but the building itself, the the funding

50:30to put bring the building up out of the

50:32ground is is been maintained and

50:34actually the design and construction

50:36team has done an admirable job. There

50:38has been really in essence no change

50:40orders to that part of construction.

50:42We've really suffered with um the

50:45tariffs which drove costs up in certain

50:47areas and with the soil conditions that

50:50were discovered after they initially

50:52started uh construction on the site.

50:55>> Thank you for that. Thank you, Mr.

50:56Chair.

50:58>> Thank you, Councilman. Uh Scott and and

51:01Julia, uh quick question. Um there's no

51:04more um uh foreseen u issues with the

51:08site uh regarding coming back for a

51:11request for another uh increase in

51:13funds.

51:15We believe that the the request should

51:17be sufficient. I've reviewed that with

51:19the design team, the construction team

51:21and the environmental um team. I mean

51:24it's we we've done an extensive amount

51:27of testing. So I think confidence is

51:28very high that this should be adequate

51:31to complete the project. Yes. Okay.

51:32Thank you, Councilman Hernandez.

51:36>> Uh, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um,

51:38so I have one question and then one

51:40comment. Um question based on the the

51:43fact that the uh uh uh you know some of

51:45the uh the the the request of the

51:46increases is due to some environmental

51:48you know uh uh discoveries that happened

51:51you know uh does based on the rules of

51:54the state uh to not only approve uh

51:58these requests but also reimburse um

52:02would this additional expense

52:06be still be considered eligible even

52:08though it was because of an

52:10environmental discovery that happened

52:12after the fact. Is there any rules that

52:14will prevent us from applying for

52:16reimbursement later uh or that they may

52:19consider this an elleible uh expense?

52:22>> No, we don't anticipate that any of

52:24these costs would be ineligible. They

52:25were, you know, in an uncovered

52:28condition and soil remediation is

52:30eligible for reimbursement from the

52:32state. Um and this is also being driven

52:35by some newer DEP regulations that are

52:38more stringent that we needed to follow

52:40for this. So again, unfortunately that

52:42drove up costs uh with with some of the

52:44further regulations that were enacted um

52:46during the time we started construction,

52:49but it will be it will be re it is

52:51reimburseable.

52:52>> Perfect. That's that's great to hear. Um

52:54now for someone that uh on my day job

52:57that have quite a bit of experience with

52:58the school construction uh uh uh

53:00reimbursements and the audit process

53:02with the state which is a very tedious

53:04long process that sometimes take year.

53:07Um, I just want to now that I have you

53:09in front of me, I just want to caution

53:11or at least advise uh the team uh to be

53:14extremely diligent in in in keeping and

53:17maintaining records of absolutely

53:19everything, every expense, every beat,

53:22every RFP for any vendor, any

53:24contractor, absolutely everything uh in

53:27a place that years from now uh you know

53:30if it's a different leadership team, if

53:32it's different different employees at

53:33the city or or whoever is going to be

53:35you know keeping the the records that

53:37they to easily find these documents and

53:39and be able to apply for that

53:40reimbursement and and for the city to

53:42receive that reimbursement. Uh and I say

53:44it because of personal experience and

53:46and that is such a tedious process. So I

53:48want to encourage the team to be very

53:50diligent in in in keeping records of

53:52absolutely everything. Uh even if you

53:54think that it's not relevant um you know

53:57in a place that that future you know

53:59staff or or anyone can find it you know

54:01later to for the process of re uh

54:03reimbursement

54:06>> and that's it. acknowledged. Yes.

54:08>> Thank you.

54:09>> Thank you, Councilman. Any other

54:11questions for Julie and team?

54:15>> Hearing a saying none, uh, the chair

54:17will entertain a motion.

54:19>> I'll move to send this back to council

54:21with a favorable recommendation. Mr.

54:23Chair,

54:24>> second.

54:24>> Second.

54:25>> Motion has been made in properly second

54:27to send this item back to council with a

54:28favorable recommendation. Any other

54:30further discussions? Hearing seeing

54:32none, all in favor indicate by saying I.

54:35>> I.

54:37I

54:39>> nays abstensions hearing seeing none the

54:41eyes have it this item is passed and

54:43will be referred back to council. Thank

54:46you very much

54:47>> Julian team appreciate your work.

54:50Um

54:52our next item

54:55we have on our agenda

54:58is

54:59item 2.4 Four, Mayor Aalam with a

55:02company resolution authorizing various

55:04and end of year budgetary transfers and

55:05appropriations to cover expenditures in

55:08the fire public works and sports and

55:11recreation departments. Uh

55:15and we have Julian again for the

55:18presentation.

55:18>> Thank you. This resolution is uh one of

55:23two resolutions to

55:26uh

55:27um have the council take final actions

55:30for uh fiscal year 2026.

55:33U most years these actions are um

55:39incorporated into just one resolution.

55:42Um but given the complexity of the

55:44second resolution which deals

55:46specifically with the board of ed

55:48deficit, I did break them out into two.

55:51Uh this first one um is somewhat more

55:54routine in nature addressing

55:58budget overages in three departments.

56:02Uh the fire department, the public works

56:05department, and sports and recreation.

56:08Uh the first two of those are related to

56:12labor contracts that were approved or

56:15settled uh after that fiscal year 26

56:18budget was adopted. And so in those in

56:21these two cases, we're relying on labor

56:23contingency to uh cover the cost of the

56:29um contract settlement in uh in that

56:33fiscal year. So, the first of those is

56:35is the fire department. Um, the TA with

56:39the fire uh fire firefighters union was

56:41signed in December of 2025.

56:44Uh, so

56:47you not quite a year ago. Uh that

56:50contract provided an 8% general wage

56:53increase effective back to the beginning

56:56of the fiscal year and we are looking at

57:00uh having a transfer of 3,375,000

57:05to cover that

57:07uh contract. Uh similarly the public

57:10works contract uh which is local 1716

57:15uh that contract was was settled in the

57:18spring of uh 25 after budget adoption

57:22that also pres pro provided an 8% GWI

57:26uh that was effective upon signing.

57:29um the cost of that um salary increase

57:33was carried into 26

57:35um and so again reaching into uh labor

57:39contingency to cover that cost at

57:42670,000.

57:45The third department is sports and

57:47recreation and that transfer request is

57:51to cover the cost of additional

57:52recreational programming uh that the

57:55mayor authorized

57:57uh partway through the year. Um that

58:00included additional programming for um

58:04adding hours at recreation centers uh

58:07during school holidays and um program of

58:11that nature. and that request is

58:14$185,000.

58:16Um those transfers total 4.23 million

58:20that would come from uh be a transfer

58:23from the nonoperating section of the

58:25budget

58:28and uh that covers that resolution.

58:35>> Thank you Julian. Any questions for

58:36Julian?

58:39Councilman K.

58:41>> Thank you Mr. Mr. Chair. Um,

58:45so I'm trying to understand how

58:47budgeting works. U, Julian,

58:51since we're moving money from one part

58:54of the budget to another part of the

58:55budget, I take it that if we didn't do

58:59anything

59:01at the end of the fiscal year, we would

59:03still have been in budget. Just some

59:05departments would have over spent their

59:07their budget and others would have had

59:09somewhat of a surplus. Is that correct?

59:12>> Exactly. Uh this this essentially just

59:16uh shifts budget capacity from one area

59:19to areas that need it to keep each of

59:21the departments in balance.

59:23>> Okay. So it isn't the case that we went

59:25over budget and had to dip into our our

59:28our fund balances. We're we're within

59:31budget. We're just trying to make

59:33everybody fit within their budget at

59:36this point.

59:37>> Correct.

59:39>> And does this then mean that these when

59:42I when I get my budget book next March

59:46um that and I look back and I see

59:50adopted uh 2026

59:53or whatever it is um it it's going to

59:56have the new number.

59:59Yes, it'll it'll show what the I I don't

1:00:02recall if in the budget book we show

1:00:04original and revised, but um you know in

1:00:08>> whenever I see it I see it not in the

1:00:09budget book when I see it in that 42page

1:00:11spreadsheet.

1:00:12>> Yes, you will you should see it there. I

1:00:15believe that we include both the

1:00:17original and the revised budget and the

1:00:19revised is just the budget after these

1:00:22kinds of transfers are made. um what

1:00:25that what the resulting budget is after

1:00:27that uh transfer and then of course you

1:00:30see the actual expend versus the revised

1:00:34budget. So you you you should see that.

1:00:36I just I'm not recalling at the moment

1:00:38whether both columns are in that

1:00:41particular exhibit.

1:00:44>> Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

1:00:47>> Thank you, Councilman. Any uh questions

1:00:49for Julian?

1:00:51All right. Seeing none, uh the chair

1:00:53will entertain a motion.

1:00:55>> Move to send this back to council with a

1:00:57favorable recommendation.

1:00:58>> Second.

1:00:59>> Motion's been made and properly second

1:01:00to send this uh resolution back to

1:01:03council in favor recommendation. Any

1:01:04discussions on this item? Any further

1:01:06discussions? Hearing seeing none. All in

1:01:08favor indicate by saying I

1:01:11>> I

1:01:12>> I.

1:01:13>> All right. It's unanimous. The eyes have

1:01:14it. This item is passed and it will be

1:01:16referred back to council uh for our next

1:01:19uh meeting. Uh, next item, item 2.5,

1:01:24Mayor Aala Lapalan with a company

1:01:25resolution authorizing various end of

1:01:27year budgetary transfers and

1:01:29appropriations to address the board of

1:01:31education fiscal year 2026 deficit. Uh,

1:01:34Julian, you're back in the saddle.

1:01:36>> Thank you. Uh, Mr. Chair, may I share a

1:01:39screen for this item?

1:01:41>> Absolutely.

1:01:42>> Okay. I think it might help uh just see

1:01:45what the diff moving parts here are.

1:01:50And so you should see

1:01:53a spreadsheet momentarily.

1:01:57You can just let me know if it's coming

1:01:59up on your Oh, I double click share it.

1:02:06>> There you go.

1:02:07>> Okay. And let me zoom in a little bit.

1:02:13So this this resolution

1:02:16uh is intended to address the uh fiscal

1:02:20year 26 uh estimated deficit for the

1:02:25board of education. Um this was

1:02:27discussed at length during the budget

1:02:30process and and after. Um, and you'll

1:02:35recall that the major drivers of the uh

1:02:38expected budget overrun in in the board

1:02:41of ed were um transportation costs, uh,

1:02:47tuition expenses, and also

1:02:51um that the the vacancy rate or the

1:02:54budgeted vacancy rate uh was lower than

1:02:58the um

1:03:00actual vac. I'm sorry. the other way

1:03:03around that the um actual vacancies were

1:03:07not as high as the um

1:03:11I'm getting myself all wound around my

1:03:13axle here. They didn't have as many

1:03:15vacancies.

1:03:16They had more vac

1:03:18I need to just start over with this one.

1:03:22>> They had they had less vacancies than

1:03:24expected.

1:03:25>> Thank you. The total board of ed budget

1:03:29deficit is $29.8 8 million.

1:03:33And in addition to that, uh at the

1:03:35beginning of FY26,

1:03:38the um city council adopted a resolution

1:03:41that also allocated $4.5 million of

1:03:44assigned fund balance uh to the board of

1:03:47ed specifically for use in FY26.

1:03:51And so um they did expend those funds.

1:03:55Um and so the total uh gap that needs to

1:04:01be offset with council actions here is

1:04:03the $34.3 million.

1:04:07And so there are sort of three

1:04:10categories of measures that are being

1:04:14taken to close that gap. Uh one of them

1:04:17is through additional appropriations to

1:04:19the board of ed budget.

1:04:22One of them is through additional

1:04:25appropriations to uh the benefits

1:04:27section of the budget and that would be

1:04:30for the purpose of relieving the board

1:04:32of ed of some of their employee benefit

1:04:34expense.

1:04:36And then lastly, there are some

1:04:38transfers

1:04:40uh from other departments that do have

1:04:42remaining budgetary balance. And so that

1:04:44would be similar to the resolution we

1:04:46just did where we're taking uh budget

1:04:49remaining budgetary capacity in one

1:04:51department and shifting that capacity

1:04:53over to um offset uh a portion of the

1:04:57board of ed expense.

1:05:00So in that first group of additional

1:05:04appropriations to the board of ed

1:05:07um we have two sources that are funding

1:05:10that. One of them is uh a supplemental

1:05:15uh grant through uh the education

1:05:18equalization grant from the state of

1:05:21Connecticut. And this was uh specified

1:05:24in the fiscal year 27 state budget that

1:05:28specifically uh authorized the city of

1:05:31Hartford to use $5 million of that grant

1:05:35to uh assist in alleviating the fiscal

1:05:39year 26 budget challenge. So there's $5

1:05:43million from the state there. And then

1:05:45we are also currently carrying in our

1:05:48committed fund balance $741,000

1:05:53for the board of ed. So that's uh $5.7

1:05:57million uh that would be just increasing

1:06:01the appropriation to the board of ed's

1:06:03fiscal year 26 uh budget.

1:06:07The second group are additional

1:06:10appropriations that we would be making

1:06:12to the benefits section of the budget

1:06:15and again that would be uh to offset

1:06:18board of ed employee benefit cost

1:06:20thereby relieving them of that that

1:06:22expense.

1:06:24Um, also in the FY27 state budget, there

1:06:29was a provision that the city could use

1:06:32uh 11.5 million of a one-time

1:06:36supplemental grant, which in the bud in

1:06:39the state budget document is referred to

1:06:42as various municipal grants.

1:06:45um that the city could then uh use those

1:06:48funds to uh assist with the fiscal year

1:06:5226

1:06:54uh budget challenges.

1:06:56In addition to that, uh we have this is

1:07:00the 4.5 million that's in assigned fund

1:07:03balance that I referred to up top here.

1:07:07So up here is showing where we uh where

1:07:09the board of ed spent the funds and down

1:07:12here is the appropriation from fund

1:07:15balance uh to the budget to accommodate

1:07:19that. And then in addition to that 4 and

1:07:21a half million of assigned fund balance

1:07:24for 26, there's also a more general

1:07:28assignment

1:07:30um of $3.2 $2 million that the mayor had

1:07:35included an assigned fund balance for

1:07:37education,

1:07:38not specifically for any particular

1:07:41fiscal year, just to uh have on hand

1:07:44there uh should a need arise. And of

1:07:47course um the need has has arisen. Um so

1:07:52those items total 19.2 million.

1:07:57And then lastly,

1:08:00across the departments, there's roughly

1:08:03$10 million of unexpended

1:08:06uh balance and that's above and beyond

1:08:08the um what you know what's being

1:08:11shifted around for that other

1:08:12resolution. But a total of 10 million

1:08:15unexpended.

1:08:16Uh 6.5 million is you know across

1:08:20multiple departments.

1:08:22three and a half million is in the

1:08:24benefits section. In the resolution,

1:08:28um you'll see that we're asking to to

1:08:30move up to 6.5 million uh for the

1:08:33purpose of helping to offset the deficit

1:08:35and we're leaving the three and a half

1:08:38million there in benefits and just

1:08:40calling it out as available

1:08:42um in this uh in this exhibit here. Um,

1:08:48and that's 10 million of unexpended uh

1:08:50funds on the expenditure side for the

1:08:52city. And so that totals uh just shy of

1:08:56$35 million

1:08:59uh in resources that are available to

1:09:02close that deficit. And again, the total

1:09:04the total amount that we're trying to

1:09:06offset here is 34.3.

1:09:09So we have a little bit of flexibility

1:09:11here

1:09:13um and what we've you know cobbled

1:09:14together as resources to close that gap.

1:09:18Um and then depending where the numbers

1:09:21ultimately land um you know we we may do

1:09:25you know less of some of these than than

1:09:28are depicted here. Um but again it gives

1:09:32us a little bit of maneuvering room uh

1:09:34to work with.

1:09:36And so that uh uh uh is a brief summary

1:09:43of uh how we're planning to close this

1:09:46this uh uh gap. And thank you to whoever

1:09:49chimed in to help me as I sort of

1:09:51fumbled my way through the beginning of

1:09:52that.

1:09:56>> Thank you. Uh Julian, uh quick question.

1:10:00uh with the and thank you for your work

1:10:02in uh Jennifer Jennifer are you you're

1:10:05from Harvard public schools

1:10:07>> yes

1:10:08>> okay thank you very much are you are you

1:10:10the new CFO

1:10:12>> no I'm the executive director of

1:10:14financial planning and grants management

1:10:16>> okay thank you very much

1:10:18>> um

1:10:20we going back and forth regarding the

1:10:22school's deficit and we've gotten it to

1:10:24the point where uh we're set to do these

1:10:27budget transfers now Um, can you speak

1:10:30to the fact of us closing in this gap?

1:10:33Uh, what are we looking at for next

1:10:36year?

1:10:39>> The projected deficit for fiscal year 27

1:10:42is at 35 million.

1:10:45>> So that would be an additional amount of

1:10:47money that the city of Harford and board

1:10:50of ed will have to look look to to

1:10:52closing that gap.

1:10:53>> That's correct. Unless we get

1:10:56substantial support from the state.

1:10:59>> The state. Correct.

1:11:00>> Okay. Thank you very much.

1:11:02>> You're welcome.

1:11:03>> Councilman Hernandez, you have a

1:11:04question.

1:11:05>> Uh yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um Julian,

1:11:07um I have two questions. One,

1:11:10well, let me ask you this one first.

1:11:11one, the first one is that $4.5 million

1:11:14of the assigned fund balance um that you

1:11:16had at the top of that sheet. Um are are

1:11:19we are we mandated to have to replenish

1:11:23that again? Like is that because I I

1:11:25understand the 28.9

1:11:29um if I'm not mistaken with my numbers.

1:11:30I can't see the numbers anymore. Oh,

1:11:3229.8. Um, but I understand that we have

1:11:36to by by state statute, we have to fund

1:11:39that amount, but the 4.5 is also

1:11:41mandated or is that something that we're

1:11:43doing because it's just fiscally

1:11:45responsible to do, but we don't have to.

1:11:47>> It's it's it's the funds were expended.

1:11:51So, they've they've been they've they've

1:11:52they've been spent on the expenditure

1:11:54side of the budget, and this is um

1:11:58basically just to fund that expense. And

1:12:00it was it was specifically set out in

1:12:04um in that resolution that that um

1:12:09it was there for the board of education

1:12:12for fiscal year 26. And so um you know

1:12:17we're we're we're showing it here as

1:12:19being available for the board of ed. I

1:12:21mean in in a sense it's it's basically

1:12:23it's taking up it's drawing down fund

1:12:25balance

1:12:27um to use for the operation.

1:12:31>> Yes. But be because it came from the

1:12:33phone balance from our fund balance. I I

1:12:36I didn't I didn't understand I didn't

1:12:38think that we have to count it as part

1:12:42of the deficit and then have to refund

1:12:44it again. I'm I'm not saying that I'm

1:12:45opposed to it. I'm

1:12:46>> No, we're not.

1:12:47>> Yeah, we're not I'm sorry to interrupt.

1:12:50Um

1:12:51we're we're we're not really

1:12:53replenishing it here. We're just

1:12:55matching the re the we're matching the

1:12:57source to the expense.

1:13:01>> Okay. No, I I Okay. Yeah, let's just

1:13:04let's leave it at that. I just wanted to

1:13:05know the difference between the actual

1:13:07deficit and the and the and the assigned

1:13:09phone balance and and you know because

1:13:11you're presenting all together, but to

1:13:12me in my head it should have it's like

1:13:14two different things. Uh but but I

1:13:16understand it's fine. Uh my second

1:13:18question is when I when I looked at the

1:13:20resolution and and again I was on my

1:13:22phone so I wasn't sure that I I

1:13:23hopefully I did capture every number but

1:13:25when I added up all the amounts on the

1:13:28actual resolves I got like 31.4. 4

1:13:31million.

1:13:33Um, which is not the 29.8 and it's not

1:13:37the 34.3. So maybe I maybe I missed

1:13:41something. I was again I did it on my

1:13:43phone and the calculator at the same

1:13:45time. So I may have missed a number. But

1:13:48>> yeah,

1:13:49>> the delta is in the in the resolves. I

1:13:53did not include

1:13:55this 3.5 million because we're not

1:13:58actually going to move it. It's there as

1:14:03as capacity within the benefits section

1:14:06of the budget,

1:14:08but it's not it's not uh we don't I we

1:14:12don't need council action to move it

1:14:14because we're going to use it in

1:14:15benefits as part of the offset to um

1:14:21board of ed employee benefits.

1:14:23>> Okay.

1:14:24>> So, we didn't need to move it.

1:14:25>> That's fine. I I I I I only want to make

1:14:27sure that the public understands that on

1:14:29on on your whereas at the beginning and

1:14:31I don't have it in front of me right

1:14:32now, but it speaks to the 28 point uh

1:14:35$29.8 million deficit, but then if

1:14:38people add up the resolves, they're

1:14:39going to see 31.4 and they're going to

1:14:40be like, wait a second, why there's a

1:14:42$1.7 million additional on resolves

1:14:45because this explanation that you're

1:14:46giving us now, it's not in the

1:14:49resolution. It's not there clearly. I

1:14:52think it could create some confusion.

1:14:53I'm not saying that it has to be written

1:14:55a different way. I just want to point

1:14:56out that that it could create confusion

1:14:58that we're looking at $29.8 million

1:15:01deficit and then the result up to a

1:15:02different amount that's not 29.8 and and

1:15:05I couldn't find anywhere on the actual

1:15:07resolution something that can tie it up

1:15:10for me.

1:15:11>> Yeah,

1:15:13understood.

1:15:18>> And that's all, Mr. Chair. I just want

1:15:19to make sure that that the record is

1:15:21clear and that the resolution was

1:15:23written, you know, in the best possible

1:15:24way that it doesn't uh allow for

1:15:27misrepresentation or misinterpretation

1:15:29of what the amounts are. Uh because like

1:15:32I said, it was as simple as me looking

1:15:34for 29.8, finding 31.4 and no nothing

1:15:38there explaining why there's more in

1:15:40resolve than what the deficit is on the

1:15:42warehouse.

1:15:45>> Thank you for uh bringing that to our

1:15:47attention, Councilman. and uh the uh

1:15:50committee records uh and report will uh

1:15:53reflect uh your comments uh for uh

1:15:57transparency. Any um further questions

1:16:01for Julian Councilman Gibb?

1:16:04>> Yeah, thank you. Um,

1:16:07I'm I'm having maybe the same

1:16:10difficulty, maybe a different difficulty

1:16:12that as Councilman Hernandez on on

1:16:15understanding this 4.5 million. It

1:16:18sounds as though

1:16:21we appropriated we moved 4.5 million

1:16:26from at the end of last year's budget.

1:16:30We moved it over to the board.

1:16:35It sounds like we're moving another 4.5

1:16:38million

1:16:40in this resolutions, which is really a

1:16:42total of 9 million. It's 4.5 million

1:16:45each year that we're moving. And I the

1:16:48at least that's the way the the um

1:16:51resolution reads. It says that we

1:16:55provided up to 4.5 million from the June

1:16:5730, 2025 assigned fund balance.

1:17:01So that was not this past year. That's

1:17:04the year before. We already provided

1:17:06that 4.5 million.

1:17:08But down in this resolve, we're now

1:17:10providing another 4.5. So am I right?

1:17:12That's two separate 4.5 millions that

1:17:15are being provided year-over-year.

1:17:18>> Uh it's it's actually the same 4.5. So,

1:17:21so, so in the in the budget resolutions,

1:17:28the council uh acknowledged or

1:17:31recognized that on June 30th of 25,

1:17:35there would be $4.5 million available

1:17:38for the board of ed going forward in

1:17:41fiscal year 26. and it and it passed a

1:17:44resolution saying we're going to make

1:17:46$4.5 million out of that fund balance

1:17:49available for the board of ed.

1:17:52But the funds weren't actually moved.

1:17:54They don't get moved until a board event

1:17:56and I'm sorry, they don't get moved

1:17:59until the city council takes an action

1:18:02to appropriate those funds from fund

1:18:04balance. So that's what this resolution

1:18:07is doing is it's actually executing that

1:18:10moving those funds out of fund balance

1:18:13uh to support the expenses. So it's it's

1:18:15it's intended to be the same 4.5

1:18:19million. It is uh admittedly uh perhaps

1:18:23a bit clumsily uh explained in the in

1:18:27the whereas.

1:18:29So, what that means, and this kind of

1:18:33goes back to the conversation we had on

1:18:35the earlier the the prior uh matter,

1:18:40this this is money that's not in our

1:18:42budget. This is now dipping into our

1:18:44savings account and saying, "Okay, we're

1:18:47taking $4.5 million out of our savings

1:18:49account to help balance the board of

1:18:52education's uh budget here."

1:18:56>> Yes.

1:18:58Now, you also introduce a concept here

1:19:00called committed fund balance. And I'm

1:19:04not sure that I understand

1:19:07what committed fund balance. And just to

1:19:09make sure anybody listening understands,

1:19:12I understand fund balance to mean the

1:19:15same as our savings account. Let's say

1:19:17fund balance is not part of the budget.

1:19:20It's the money we got in the bank that

1:19:22if we need it, we can use it. We just

1:19:23decided to use four and a half million

1:19:25of it. Well, what is committed fund

1:19:28balance? How does that differ?

1:19:29>> So the the the so total fund balance is

1:19:33comprised of of uh multiple pieces.

1:19:37One piece is unassigned fund balance

1:19:40which is uh

1:19:43exactly that it's unassigned for any

1:19:45particular use. It's available uh for

1:19:48it's what I think of as the rainy day

1:19:52part of the fund balance.

1:19:54And that's the part that the city has

1:19:56been deliberately making sure that it it

1:19:59grows each year uh when we close the

1:20:02books. Then there's assigned fund

1:20:05balance

1:20:07which is the portion of fund balance

1:20:09that is assigned by the mayor for some

1:20:13future use. um and it's assigned at the

1:20:17mayor's level and thing and that portion

1:20:20of fund balance can be uh reassigned for

1:20:23other uses at the mayor's discretion.

1:20:26And so there was uh this 4.5 million uh

1:20:30the additional 3.2 million which was set

1:20:32aside for some future use uh for

1:20:36education but not any particular uh

1:20:39fiscal year. And so that comprises

1:20:42another portion of fund balance. And

1:20:44then there's a portion called committed

1:20:45fund balance.

1:20:48And those are that's a portion of fund

1:20:50balance that uh is set has uh some kind

1:20:55of formal action behind it uh that

1:20:59requires that it be used only for that

1:21:01specific purpose. And to change the

1:21:04purpose would require an act of counsel.

1:21:08And so the 740,000

1:21:11is the residual amount you'll uh from

1:21:15what in in going back several years had

1:21:19accred into fund balance as a result of

1:21:22the board of ed being able to retain uh

1:21:25up to 2% of its uh um surplus in any

1:21:30given year. If you'll recall that number

1:21:33was upwards of 5.6 or 5.8 million at one

1:21:36point. Um and again it was there by

1:21:39virtue of the fact that the board of ed

1:21:41had these surpluses which uh state

1:21:44statute authorizes them to to set aside

1:21:48incommitted fund balance um up to 2% of

1:21:51their operating budget

1:21:54um equivalent and that was drawn down

1:21:59I believe it was drawn down over a

1:22:01period of a couple years or maybe it was

1:22:03all last year because last year we had a

1:22:05deficit to close as Well, so this is the

1:22:08residual

1:22:10uh that's sitting in committed fund

1:22:12balance for the board of ed.

1:22:16>> Thank you for that. And I know Jennifer

1:22:18is going to work very hard to make sure

1:22:19that the board ends next year with more

1:22:22money that can go into a committed uh

1:22:25fund balance as unlikely as that may be

1:22:28given uh what's been happening lately.

1:22:31Um,

1:22:33so in this resolution, we are going to

1:22:36be taking $4.5 million and 3

1:22:42uh 236 million out of our um savings

1:22:46account, out of our fund balance. And

1:22:51the concern over that fund balance in

1:22:53part is what got us into the MARB to

1:22:56begin with about whatever that was 10

1:22:58years ago. uh because we had gotten

1:23:01ourselves to a point where we had very

1:23:03little money if I'm not mistaken uh on

1:23:06hand to to cover any uh contingencies.

1:23:10So I'm wondering what this

1:23:14uh

1:23:16it's not quite 8 million what this 8

1:23:18million out of our fund balance is going

1:23:20to do and what's our projected fund

1:23:22balance going forward after this.

1:23:28So currently, you know, based on our our

1:23:30our June 30th, 2025 fund balance, we had

1:23:35uh $24.8 million in the assigned portion

1:23:39of fund balance.

1:23:42So this would, you know, everything else

1:23:44being equal would reduce our

1:23:47assignments.

1:23:50they would, you know, each year when the

1:23:52books are closed, the mayor sort of

1:23:54recasts the list of assignments in fund

1:23:58balance. Um, that number would um be

1:24:02reduced and then reassigned either for

1:24:04other purposes or the remainder would be

1:24:06carried forward um for a variety of

1:24:09uses. But but yes, that's that would be

1:24:12the net result would be a reduction

1:24:15um to

1:24:16>> and this this strikes me as not a very

1:24:18healthy number for a city this size with

1:24:20a budgeted size to have $17 million

1:24:24um fund balance. And it sound it it also

1:24:28sounds like we're not going to be adding

1:24:29anything to it at the end of this budget

1:24:31year. All surpluses are going to board

1:24:34of education. It sounds like

1:24:37>> that that is that's where we would

1:24:39expect to to land. I will say that our

1:24:42our unassigned

1:24:44um is was at 48 million which had um you

1:24:51know reached the city's policy for

1:24:53assign unassigned fund balance for the

1:24:56first time in you know many many years

1:24:59uh at you know just over seven and a

1:25:01half% of of total budget. Um but your um

1:25:08your uh overall summary of of is is

1:25:12correct.

1:25:13If I may, Mr. Chair, one more question.

1:25:17Um

1:25:19you're you're showing this $34 million

1:25:22deficit. Um and this deficit is as of

1:25:26June 30th, um 2026. So we are now in

1:25:32October.

1:25:33Um, and

1:25:36I I'm assuming everybody got paid

1:25:38through June 30th and the

1:25:42the the items that were in the budget

1:25:44were mostly expended. So, how did we

1:25:47actually cover everything if we have

1:25:49this

1:25:51deficit? Have we been essentially using

1:25:53our credit card to pay for everything

1:25:55and now we're reimbursing ourselves?

1:25:59>> Uh, not a credit card. But I mean this

1:26:01the city does have the cash flow to

1:26:03support these and again we had uh you

1:26:06know some of this is additional revenue

1:26:08that's coming in and some of it is

1:26:10utilizing reserves that are that are

1:26:13there and on hand

1:26:14>> but it is revenue coming in after June

1:26:1630th. So the money's already been spent

1:26:18somewhere and now we're

1:26:20>> yeah the the additional revenue from the

1:26:22state we actually have in hand.

1:26:26>> Okay. All right. Thank you. Thank you

1:26:27Mr. Chair.

1:26:30Thank you, Councilman. Uh, Councilwoman

1:26:32Surgeon.

1:26:33>> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, Julian, where

1:26:36in your spreadsheet is the city's

1:26:39contribution from the uh small increase

1:26:43in our mill rate uh here?

1:26:47>> So, that that wouldn't appear here. That

1:26:50that's the mill rate change takes effect

1:26:53for the for the current fiscal year that

1:26:55began July 1. So, this is all

1:26:59All of this is strictly related to um

1:27:03closing out fiscal year 26.

1:27:14So with the 4.5

1:27:17you know from the assigned fund balance

1:27:22and the decrease in our fund balance

1:27:27that will also go to the 34 $39 million

1:27:32I mean 34 um 310.

1:27:35Just trying to add this up in my head

1:27:36also.

1:27:39Yes. So the the the use of the reserves

1:27:43uh the assigned fund balance in

1:27:46combination with the additional revenue

1:27:48from the state and a little bit of

1:27:52transferring

1:27:54among departments

1:27:56uh is how we uh built up to a number

1:28:01that can cover the 34 million.

1:28:05>> Could you just slide down a little bit

1:28:06for me? So the 115, the 45, the 326.

1:28:12Okay, I didn't add it up. So that's the

1:28:1419. Okay. All right, I got it. Thanks,

1:28:18Julian.

1:28:23>> Well said, Councilwoman.

1:28:25>> Yes, sir. All right. Um, my only comment

1:28:29is uh that and I've gone through these

1:28:31numbers with Julian already in

1:28:33preparation for uh tonight's meeting. We

1:28:36understand that our reserves are tight,

1:28:38our budgets are tight as we um continue

1:28:42through this current uh fiscal year and

1:28:44plan for the next fiscal year. I would

1:28:47admonish uh all of my colleagues that uh

1:28:52in preparation for next year's budget uh

1:28:54which we know that the board of is

1:28:56already operating at a $30 million

1:28:59deficit.

1:29:00>> 35

1:29:01>> 35

1:29:04>> 35. We need to collectively lobby our uh

1:29:08Harford delegation um as well as uh the

1:29:11state for additional means of support uh

1:29:14to help out because uh we can no longer

1:29:18uh carry uh the board of ed on the

1:29:21city's backs and um because we just

1:29:24don't have the funds to do so. Uh and so

1:29:26I think this will be a very good time to

1:29:28uh start with uh preparing our

1:29:30legislative agenda uh with the

1:29:32administration and uh uh putting this at

1:29:35uh one of the top priorities. All right.

1:29:38Uh the chair entertain a motion.

1:29:40>> Well, Mr. Chair, very reluctantly

1:29:45>> as we have no choice.

1:29:47>> Well, there you go. I mean, with a with

1:29:49a fire about this high under my belt

1:29:53here, I you know,

1:29:54>> well, G, do do you want do you want me

1:29:56to do this so you don't have to suffer?

1:29:58>> No, I I'm okay. I'm okay doing it. I

1:30:02just uh wanted to make that comment

1:30:04though. But yeah, so I Yeah, I'll move

1:30:07to send it back with a favorable

1:30:09recommendation.

1:30:11>> You wanted it favorable? Really? Well,

1:30:16>> motion has been made and probably second

1:30:19recommendation back to council. Uh, any

1:30:22other further discussions uh, regarding

1:30:24this?

1:30:25>> I'm not in favor. I'm in

1:30:26>> Yeah, I know.

1:30:29Um, hearing us see none. All in favor

1:30:31indicate by saying I

1:30:33>> I

1:30:35>> it's unanimous. The eyes have it. This

1:30:36item is moved and uh, back to council

1:30:39with the favor. Oh, reluctant favorable

1:30:42recommendation uh for us to take up at

1:30:44our next council meeting.

1:30:47All right. Uh moving on,

1:30:50we have

1:30:52uh our additional item

1:30:55which is

1:30:58item 2.6 Six. Uh, Mayor Awan La Palam

1:31:02with the uh, company resolution

1:31:05authorizing the city to accept a grant

1:31:07in the amount of $54,5822

1:31:10from the state of Connecticut office of

1:31:12the Secretary of State to cover costs

1:31:14directly tied to early voting. And we do

1:31:17have our

1:31:19uh, believe our Democratic registar uh,

1:31:22on here. She is uh, Gigi Feliciano. You

1:31:24may take it away.

1:31:27>> Good evening everyone. Thank you. Um,

1:31:30this is an annual grant that has been

1:31:32provided to all registars of voters

1:31:35throughout the beginning of early

1:31:38voting. So, we're just requesting that

1:31:41you pass it favorably and I'm here to

1:31:44answer any questions that you may have.

1:31:47>> GI, have you u Thank you uh for this.

1:31:49Uh, have you begun training for early

1:31:52voting and the general election?

1:31:55>> Yes.

1:31:56How's the participation?

1:31:58>> Pretty good so far.

1:32:00>> Do you have everybody all the slots

1:32:02filled?

1:32:03>> Yes, sir.

1:32:03>> All right.

1:32:05>> And upon passage of this uh resolution,

1:32:09how quickly do you need this money?

1:32:13>> Yes, sir.

1:32:13>> We should have had it. Yeah, we should.

1:32:15It came in by wire back in um August. It

1:32:20was this is meant to be used for the

1:32:22primary early voting and also for uh the

1:32:26general.

1:32:28>> Okay. Any questions for our register?

1:32:33>> Councilman Gil?

1:32:35>> Yeah. Just uh uh tell us a little bit

1:32:38about early voting. How how is this

1:32:40working and what what what what part

1:32:43what part does your office play in that?

1:32:45What role do you play? My office plays

1:32:49all of it.

1:32:52>> So, for the primary, we had uh the early

1:32:55voting. We did the curbside voting

1:32:58outside because it's different this time

1:33:00with early voting. It's actually the

1:33:03ballots are entered into the actual

1:33:07tabulator. It's no longer envelopes that

1:33:10are used. Um

1:33:13we did those days uh late nights. Uh

1:33:16early voting is just not early voting

1:33:19the days of early voting. It's prepping

1:33:21for the early voting. So you have staff

1:33:23that is here. Uh for example, as of

1:33:26tonight, I always send you guys this

1:33:28actual inter office memo in regards to

1:33:31the days that we have them. uh all the

1:33:33trainings and that does not even include

1:33:36the weekends, the late nights that the

1:33:39staff is here prepping to prepare for

1:33:41early voting. It doesn't take a day. It

1:33:43takes several weeks, several months. So

1:33:47that's where

1:33:48>> when we when we talk about early voting,

1:33:50I mean, I know I see outside of city

1:33:52hall there's a ballot box.

1:33:55>> That's that's a box into which you can

1:33:56drop a you can drop a ballot at some

1:33:59point prior to the election. So this

1:34:02primary what you saw was the actual

1:34:05curbside outside uh voting. That's just

1:34:09for curbside voting. That does not

1:34:11include the inside process. So anyone

1:34:14who comes in through the curbside who

1:34:16for whatever reason they cannot come

1:34:18inside to actually take the vote must

1:34:21take it by vehicle. So they actually

1:34:24walk over, take the ballot, walk the

1:34:28ballot back, enter it, make sure it goes

1:34:30in before anybody leaves.

1:34:33>> And other than that, you can walk into

1:34:34the town clerk's office and vote.

1:34:37>> Well, that is only for uh unexcused

1:34:41absentee ballots. It's the town clerk's

1:34:44early voting. The actual voting voting

1:34:47takes place in the ROV office.

1:34:49>> Okay. So you can walk into the ROV

1:34:51office,

1:34:52>> correct? vote and what when when will

1:34:54that start and what will the hours be

1:34:56for that?

1:34:57>> For the general election, it begins

1:34:59October 19th through November 1st. It is

1:35:04from 10 to 6 for voters to come in on

1:35:08October 27th and the 29th. It's our

1:35:12early start, which is 8:00 a.m. until

1:35:148:00 p.m. at night. So, the polls will

1:35:17close at those times, but the office

1:35:19does not close. So, by the time we

1:35:21calculate uh put everything together,

1:35:23seal it, and pass it on to the town

1:35:25clerk's office, uh we're normally here,

1:35:28uh plus 9:00,

1:35:31depending on what day it is.

1:35:35>> And last question, the outside, the

1:35:37ability to do the curbside, when will

1:35:39that start and what are the hours for

1:35:40that?

1:35:41>> The same time.

1:35:42>> Same time.

1:35:44>> Yes.

1:35:45>> Okay. Thank you very much. Thank you,

1:35:46Mr. Chair.

1:35:47>> You're welcome.

1:35:48>> Thank you. Any other questions?

1:35:49Councilwoman Sergey,

1:35:51>> just a just a comment. Mr. Chair, just

1:35:53want to let the um the registered voters

1:35:56know that um we're getting a few calls

1:35:58from our seniors who are going to be

1:36:01coming down um for uh early curbside

1:36:05voting, whichever one. Um because they

1:36:08are apprehensive regarding their ballots

1:36:13uh not not receiving their ballots in

1:36:16time like they did in August. Do you um

1:36:20I guess I have a question also madame uh

1:36:22registra. Do you find that does um

1:36:25because of um issues and people thinking

1:36:28about the postal uh service you're

1:36:31getting more uh attendees to come in for

1:36:33early voting?

1:36:35>> Uh definitely it did occur during the

1:36:39primary. I do expect a high volume of it

1:36:43due to the fact that um discretionary

1:36:46absentee balloting has been removed from

1:36:48the registar voters's office. So we can

1:36:51only do institutional

1:36:53uh areas. So that becomes a little bit

1:36:57more of and then again I want to say

1:36:59that the environment in DC has not let a

1:37:03lot of folks to trust the mailing system

1:37:05as they should. So, we suggest a lot of

1:37:07people once they receive it to actually

1:37:09drop it off in the ballot box or they

1:37:12can uh take advantage of the early

1:37:14voting and use curbside or insight. But

1:37:18curbside is also provided during

1:37:19election day

1:37:22in every polling location.

1:37:25>> Could you explain? You said something

1:37:27which I didn't understand. It's a

1:37:29discretionary.

1:37:31>> So, in the past uh due to Bridgeport's

1:37:35uh a case in Bridge Court, the Secretary

1:37:38of State has decided to remove

1:37:40discretionary

1:37:42absentee balloting from ROV office.

1:37:45Meaning if you are not in an

1:37:47institution, the meaning of institution

1:37:49when it comes to absentee ballots for

1:37:51supervised absentee ballots, we were

1:37:54removed from the discretionary piece.

1:37:57So, IDW Wells is an example. Um,

1:38:01461 Washington, all the 170 uh citizen.

1:38:07So, all the buildings that actually have

1:38:09elderly or handicapped folks within

1:38:11those buildings are we cannot we are

1:38:15allowed to do the applications,

1:38:18but we are now not allowed to actually

1:38:21do the supervised absentee ballot or

1:38:24assist them with it. Oh,

1:38:26>> so it's it's a big disfranchise for a

1:38:29lot of our handicapped and elderly folks

1:38:32that live outside of the institutional

1:38:35piece as in Avery Heights and so forth.

1:38:39>> Oh, thank you for that. I did not know

1:38:41this.

1:38:41>> Yeah, just started. Sorry. City's trying

1:38:44to save money.

1:38:49>> Okay.

1:38:51Thank you, Mr. Chair. That's it for me.

1:38:54>> Thank you. Did uh any other questions

1:38:56for the registar?

1:39:00All right, that chair will entertain the

1:39:01motion.

1:39:02>> All right, this time I'm much happier

1:39:05want to thank our our uh very

1:39:07hardworking Democratic registar voters

1:39:09and uh so want to make motion to send

1:39:13this back to council with a favorable

1:39:14recommendation.

1:39:15>> Second.

1:39:16>> Motion's been made and probably second

1:39:18to send this uh item back to council

1:39:20with a favorable recommendation with no

1:39:22reluctancy. Um any uh further discussion

1:39:26hearing or seeing none all in favor

1:39:27indicate by saying I

1:39:29>> I

1:39:30>> I uh the eyes have it uh this item is

1:39:33passed and we'll be taken up uh at our

1:39:36next council meeting. All right.

1:39:38>> Thank you.

1:39:39>> Thank you madam registar. Uh if you want

1:39:41to you can stay on for the rest of the

1:39:43meeting. We only have one item left

1:39:46>> in the midst of this waiting in this

1:39:48meeting. I had trading going on.

1:39:51Um, and what we have here is our last

1:39:57item on our agenda, item 2.7,

1:40:00Councilwoman Rosado, Council President

1:40:02Clark, Councilman Thomas. Uh, a

1:40:05resolution establishing the Harford

1:40:06Artificial Intelligence Innovation and

1:40:08Governance Initiative and adopting

1:40:10principles for the responsible use,

1:40:12procurement, transparency, oversight,

1:40:14accountability, and governance of

1:40:16artificial intelligence technologies.

1:40:18AMD Maker, Councilwoman Rosado has

1:40:22requested uh that this item be postponed

1:40:24until next month's meeting. So the chair

1:40:27will entertain a motion on postponement.

1:40:29>> Move to postpone till the next meeting.

1:40:34>> Second. Uh second.

1:40:36>> All right. Thank you. Uh motion has been

1:40:38made and properly second on postponing

1:40:40this resolution. All in favor indicate

1:40:42by saying I.

1:40:44>> I.

1:40:45>> I.

1:40:45>> I.

1:40:46>> All right. It's unanimous. The eyes have

1:40:48it. items p is postponed sorry uh until

1:40:52November's meeting and so since we have

1:40:54no other business to discuss for this

1:40:57virtual OMGA committee meeting this uh

1:41:01meeting is now adjourned thank you very

1:41:03much for your time I wish you a good

1:41:06night until next time and don't please

1:41:08to the viewing audience don't forget

1:41:10that the council meeting will take place

1:41:12on Tuesday uh October is it 13th

1:41:17>> 13th yep October 13th, public comment at

1:41:206 and our regular schedule business will

1:41:22be at 7 o'clock. Um, so thank you very

1:41:25much and have a good night. Take care.

1:41:27>> Good night everyone.

1:41:29>> Good night.