2026-09-16 - Ad Hoc Budget Advisory Committee

00:04All right. And I think we're ready to go

00:06when you are.

00:08>> Okay. Thank you, Jennifer. Good

00:10afternoon, everyone. If we could just

00:12start with a moment of silence.

00:24Okay. [clears throat] We're going to

00:25start with um the review of budget

00:27requests and the fire department is um

00:30up first. I will stop sharing Andrew so

00:33you can share.

00:38I will try to stop sharing. Okay.

00:49>> Good afternoon everybody. Uh, thanks for

00:51taking the time to review the fire

00:54department's budget proposal with all of

00:57us. So, um, we have eight broad requests

01:01that I'll go over, but first I always

01:03like to start with the mission and the

01:05vision and values of the Charleston Fire

01:07Department. Uh, obviously we strive to

01:09bring excellent people into the

01:10organization, and that is what enables

01:13us to provide the exceptional service to

01:15the citizens and the visitors. Our whole

01:18goal with everything that we do is to

01:20create a safer Charleston. Meaning the

01:23Charleston that we enjoy today should be

01:26safer than the one we had yesterday and

01:28the one we have tomorrow should be safer

01:30than the one we have, excuse me, the one

01:32we have today. So, can you go on to the

01:35next slide, Andrew?

01:38So, again, eight program requests

01:41submitted. It's roughly $2.8 million in

01:45requests. touch on health and wellness

01:47for our firefighters, some firefighter

01:50position requests, a further buildout of

01:52emergency management and special

01:55operations incentives. So, uh, team and

01:59fire has already had some conversation

02:01with BF FRC team about all these. Next

02:05slide.

02:08So, starting off with health and

02:11wellness, we have a $167,000

02:15request and the bulk of that will be a

02:19request for a personal protective

02:21equipment box truck and loose equipment

02:23that goes with that. What that would

02:25enable us to do is take contaminated

02:28firefighter gear on the scene of a

02:30structure fire, hazard, hazardous

02:32materials materials call or any other

02:35emergency and not put the gear back in

02:39the fire engine, but actually segregate

02:42the gear, put it into a different

02:43vehicle and deliver clean gear to the

02:47scene of an incident. We we know that

02:49the uh rate of cancer for firefighters

02:52far exceeds that of the general public.

02:56So being able to separate those

02:58firefighters from that gear early on um

03:03promotes the health and wellness of uh

03:06the fire department team. The other part

03:08of the request is to add treadmills and

03:10other physical training equipment into

03:13the different firehouses. Um, again, the

03:16healthier we can have our firefighters,

03:19the better off they are, both physically

03:22and mentally.

03:23Next slide.

03:26The next program is a buildout of

03:29emergency management for about $218,000.

03:33As a reminder, the fire department uh

03:36absorbed emergency management in March

03:38of 2024. So, our current staffing in

03:42that division is one emergency manager

03:44and three emergency management

03:46specialists. We'd like to add one

03:49additional emergency management

03:51specialist this year. And that emergency

03:54management specialist

03:56would um focus on community risk

03:59reduction and citywide preparedness.

04:01Those are things like the continuity of

04:03operations plan, the emergency

04:06operations plan, the threat and hazard

04:08identification to risk assessment plan,

04:11and uh other documents. We'd also like

04:15to add uh two trailers and associated

04:18equipment. One trailer would be

04:21dedicated as a shelter trailer for up to

04:2450 people. Uh the last hurricane

04:26activation we had in the city, we had to

04:29quickly pivot and turn a recreation

04:32facility into an overnight shelter for

04:35people um on the peninsula primarily.

04:39This trailer would allow us to have

04:40equipment um already dedicated to that

04:44endeavor so that it would be an easier

04:47lift for us. The second trailer is going

04:51to be set up with supplies to assist

04:53support staff if the team needs to

04:56relocate out of the area due to the

04:59emergency we are facing whether it's a

05:02category 3, four, five hurricane, an

05:05earthquake or an associated risk.

05:09Next slide please.

05:13The next request is for uh fire marshall

05:17buildout at about $415,000.

05:21Uh the request is for two assistant fire

05:24marshal positions and those will be

05:28located in the permit center and also uh

05:32one dedicated to the accommodations

05:35um component with the city. That

05:39position from what I understand would be

05:41eligible for the accommodations tax

05:44reimbursement.

05:45And with those two positions, we would

05:47also need vehicles, radios, and then

05:50just normal loose items, uniforms, and

05:53equipment.

05:56Next slide.

06:00This request is for seven firefighter

06:03positions. It's right at $900,000.

06:06And this would enable the fire

06:08department to put a squad unit in

06:10service and it would primarily serve the

06:14peninsula. So with the uh request, we

06:19have submitted a grant application

06:23through the federal government. The the

06:25grant is called a safer grant. It's

06:27staffing staffing for adequate fire and

06:29emergency response. And if we are

06:32awarded this grant, we should know

06:35fourth quarter of this year. But if

06:38we're awarded the grant, then the city

06:40would be responsible for 25% of the

06:43firefighter salary cost, salary and

06:45benefit costs in years one and two. We

06:48would pick up 65% of the cost in year

06:52three. And then year four and beyond, we

06:55would be responsible for 100% of the

06:58cost. So this unit would primarily be

07:02used in the high call areas on the

07:04peninsula. Think um Huji Street, Cannon

07:08Street and then down uh towards Calum

07:11Street. Those areas also happen to be

07:15the highest call volume areas for the

07:18fire department. So if we can put a

07:20squad unit in service in a smaller

07:22vehicle, it will take the strain off the

07:24engine and ladder companies in the

07:26downtown area. that would increase those

07:30units in service time, meaning if

07:32there's a true fire emergency that comes

07:35in, there's less of a likelihood that

07:37those units would be tied up on an on a

07:40medical call and um then have a delayed

07:43response.

07:45Also very important to this request is

07:48that it aims to preserve the life of the

07:51fleet for the fire department. So right

07:54now the time from order to delivery for

07:59fire apparatus is over four years.

08:04So, what we're trying to do with the

08:06request for a squad company is make sure

08:10that um over the next couple of years as

08:14the apparatus continues to age that

08:17we're managing that responsibly, trying

08:19to keep the miles off the larger fire

08:22apparatus so that uh over time as the

08:26apparatus manufacturers get their

08:28production

08:30up to speed, the Charleston fire

08:33department will still have engine and

08:35ladder companies in service uh and not

08:38broken down.

08:41Next slide, please.

08:45So, this request is for our training

08:47division to put in a mobile training

08:50program. It's about a $48,000

08:53request. So, this would be a a box van

08:57that we're requesting through vehicle

08:58replacement. we already have a a much

09:01older vehicle that needs to be replaced

09:04and then there's associated equipment

09:06that would go along with this. The

09:08important part of this budget request is

09:11the fact that the training operation for

09:14the fire department is on Milford

09:16Street. So on Milford Street, we already

09:19know that next year we are going to lose

09:22the logistics and the shop component

09:24from the fire department. And it's

09:27unclear at this point in time whether

09:29we're going to lose the training

09:31component or not. So, we're trying to

09:33put plans in place right now so that if

09:36we do lose the training component off

09:38Milford Street, we still have a way to

09:41make sure that our 100 plus firefighters

09:43that are working per day have the

09:46ability to be trained um you know either

09:50to uh the standards that we set or the

09:54standards that we have to keep through

09:55our accrediting bodies.

10:00Next slide, please.

10:02So these requests, one is for records

10:06management system coordinator and that's

10:09$81,000 and some money to go along with

10:12the uniforms and training for that new

10:15position. So with that, we have a data

10:18integration manager in the fire

10:20department and that person manages the

10:23records management system. But as the

10:26records management system becomes more

10:28complex and as more of the fire

10:30department's online operation dumps into

10:33the records management system, we find

10:35that we don't have the bandwidth uh

10:38within the administrative division to

10:40keep up with uh the workload. So this

10:42position would assist with that. And

10:45then with the administration division

10:48build out, we're asking to reclassify

10:51two administrative positions. And the

10:53reclassification

10:55would be uh to create two supervisory

10:58level positions. One would be in the HR

11:01realm and one is in the finance realm.

11:05And we're also asking for an FTE as a an

11:09HR clerk. So currently the fire

11:12department has one HR clerk to service

11:16the department's 488

11:19personnel. So, uh, very much like the

11:22RMS request, what we're finding is that

11:26the systems are becoming more complex.

11:28The online systems that we're having to

11:30use, uh, workday comes to mind is one of

11:33those systems that is very, very

11:34complex. And we find that the one HR

11:37clerk that we have is quite frankly

11:40overwhelmed.

11:43Next slide, please.

11:46And the last request that we have is for

11:50the special operations division in the

11:52fire department. So this would be a

11:55buildout of the special operations

11:57division and also incentives for the

12:00members that work in the special

12:02operations division about $575,000

12:06u as a price tag. So the department has

12:10approximately 150 members in the special

12:13operations realm. And we have another

12:15component that we have as a reserve that

12:18we use to back fill when the the main

12:20team members are off duty. So when you

12:24hear the phrase special operations,

12:27really what we're talking about is uh

12:30that component that is hazard hazardous

12:32materials, the marine unit, uh the

12:35marine incident response team, urban

12:38search and rescue that deals with things

12:40like collapse, the wildland firefighting

12:44group, uh that deals with the urban um

12:47wildland interface. think um you know

12:51the uh changing complexion in Kangoy as

12:55where that team would operate and then

12:57also the tactical emergency medical

12:59support team that's a group that we have

13:01that supports uh the police department's

13:04SWAT operation and we also have anou

13:07with the FBI to support their

13:09operations.

13:10So, right now in uh the Charleston Fire

13:14Department, if you volunteer for a

13:18special operations company, what you're

13:21basically doing is agreeing to do extra

13:23work on behalf of the department and the

13:26city, but you're doing it with no

13:28monetary incentive whatsoever. In years

13:32past, there used to be a 5% incentive to

13:36to do this work. that went away some

13:38time ago and uh that was before my time

13:41in the fire department. From what I

13:43understand when the 5% incentive went

13:46away, the thought was that as personnel

13:50assigned to special operations came in

13:53to do training, they would get a

13:55monetary incentive because the training

13:58would be supported with overtime.

14:00When COVID hit and we all had to cut

14:04back on our budgets, that overtime

14:06component went away. So, what we're

14:09faced with now is 150 members of the

14:12special operations group in the fire

14:14department who are doing

14:18very very technical work, but with no

14:21monetary incentive. It's becoming more

14:24and more difficult for us to field the

14:26special operations teams and you know

14:29the these teams are working every single

14:32day on behalf of the city. They become

14:35really really critical when we start to

14:37think about the Cooper River bridge run

14:39or any other big event that we have in

14:43the city of Charleston. There's always a

14:44special operations component. So what

14:47we're asking um for the special

14:51operations group is a one-time net pay

14:56bonus of $1,000

14:59for in fiscal year 27. And then during

15:03the fiscal year um 27, we will develop a

15:07more formal approach in conjunction with

15:09the police department for fiscal year 28

15:12and beyond so that the fire department's

15:14special operations group and the police

15:17department's special oper operations

15:19group are aligned with um

15:24compensation.

15:27The other request Oh, can you go back

15:29for just a second, Andrew? Thank you.

15:31The other request we've got in special

15:33operations is to add one FTE. It would

15:36be a battalion chief level position and

15:39the associated vehicle radio and

15:43equipment that that position would need.

15:45Again, the members of the special

15:48operations division, we cross staff

15:51pretty much every unit, but there is

15:54still a heavy lift with coordinating the

15:57activities of of this division. And

15:59currently the division has one full-time

16:02person assigned to it. That's the

16:04special operations assistant chief. So

16:07we're looking to bolster that team a

16:09little bit and uh give that one

16:11assistant chief some support. So next

16:14slide.

16:16That is the uh fire department's budget

16:19presentation. If there are any

16:20questions, I'm certainly happy to

16:22entertain them. And I've got a whole

16:23team with me here. So if I can't answer

16:25the question, somebody can.

16:33If there aren't any questions, I

16:34appreciate the time.

16:36>> No questions from any of the members of

16:38the council.

16:40>> Very thorough, Chief. Thank you very

16:42much. Yeah,

16:43>> very good presentation.

16:45>> Thank you.

16:48>> Thank you, Chief.

16:52>> Okay, next up is um planning and

16:55preservation.

16:56And Robert, you're you have something

16:58you're going to share, correct?

17:00>> Yes, ma'am.

17:01>> Okay.

17:07>> All right. Uh good afternoon, um mayor,

17:09members of council, u or members of the

17:12budget ad hoc committee. Um so I'm going

17:14to quickly u uh try to follow the chief

17:17with um the budget presentation for uh

17:21the planning and preservation

17:22department. Um, like the chief, I do

17:25always like to start these presentations

17:27out by just a reminder of uh what the

17:30planning and preservation department uh

17:32is. And just a reminder that our mission

17:34is to improve the built environment and

17:36the quality of life for all people in

17:38the city of Charleston. Um we have three

17:41areas of focus uh waterproof um

17:44inclusive that we're connecting uh all

17:47the various components of our uh

17:49community um and and balanced. We want

17:52to take a balanced approach um to

17:54everything that we do, whether it's um

17:59trying to get affordable housing uh in

18:01in all areas of our community, uh

18:04helping uh get capital projects as well

18:06as uh developer-led projects off the

18:09ground. Um and then our various core

18:11functions which you can see there. So

18:14again, just a reminder of what uh the

18:17department is is here to do and kind of

18:19what we focus on and what our core

18:21functions are. Um and then just a real

18:24quick uh reminder of the the fact that

18:27this is a relatively small but mighty

18:30team um that uh addresses more than 100

18:35public meetings per year. Um they are

18:38responsible for administering the city's

18:41board of architectural review large

18:43board of board of architectural review

18:46small our design review board um our

18:50planning commission our city count our

18:52yeah our city council um presentations

18:55and and city council um committee

18:58presentations related to planning items

19:01as well as our boards of zoning appeals

19:03zoning and our boards of zoning appeals

19:05site design. Um they also support TRC

19:08while uh through the most recent

19:10reorganization

19:12uh the TRC um function from an

19:16organizational chart standpoint um has

19:19been elevated up to a direct report to

19:23um our section chief for uh permitting

19:26uh our planning permitting and

19:28engineering. Um TRC is still very much

19:32uh nested within the planning department

19:35um both physically and um spiritually in

19:38that we we continue to support them.

19:40They we consider them still very much a

19:42part of the planning team uh even though

19:45from a reporting structure they now

19:46report to the section chief instead of

19:49uh instead of me as the the planning

19:51director. Uh but our main functions

19:53remain um our preservation and urban

19:55design group, our planning group which

19:58does a long range planning and all the

20:00special area planning and then our

20:02zoning team which does uh essentially

20:04the day-to-day

20:06uh functions of administering our zoning

20:09ordinance and dealing with zoning

20:11violations and things of that nature.

20:13And then you can see we have a very very

20:15small um administrative group um and

20:19that will lead into uh part of our

20:22budget ask um that is here to support

20:24them and the other departments that uh

20:27require attention from the planning

20:29department. Um so that's that's uh just

20:32a real quick reminder of the department.

20:34Um, I use this tagline uh every budget

20:37season when we do this because I think

20:39it is vitally important to remember um

20:43as we continue to see um continuing

20:47pressures on Charleston um in every part

20:51of our community. Um we are clearly an

20:54evolving city. We also are a historic

20:57city. Um, and in order to balance those

21:00two kind of dynamics,

21:02and I think the mayor has exemplified

21:05this uh through his uh time that he's

21:08been in office, is trying to figure out

21:10the balance between how do we preserve

21:14um our integrity as Charleston, our

21:17history, uh while also not becoming

21:20stagnant while continuing to address um

21:23the demands in our community for

21:25services, uh for infrastructure, ure um

21:28and for for housing. So all of that in

21:31my opinion comes down to planning, good

21:34planning. Um and

21:37for uh for the planning department um

21:41for me that comes down from a budget

21:43standpoint to three kind of buckets. Um

21:46it's uh

21:49asks related to our people um to

21:52projects that we believe need to be

21:54undertaken in the coming year. Um and

21:56then just how how do we operate? How can

21:59we uh continue to function and deliver

22:01our services to uh to the community. Uh

22:04so we'll start with people. Um oops, too

22:09many clicks there. So we'll start with

22:11our people. Um in this budget uh

22:14request, we are asking to be able to

22:16upgrade two positions. Um and the

22:19annexation planner position. This is um

22:22there is one uh individual on our team

22:25in Long Range that uh coordinates all of

22:27the annexation um questions that we get

22:30from the community. Um processes those

22:33through our uh city council through real

22:36estate uh and city council process um

22:40works with our uh various internal

22:42departments when those annexations

22:44happen. Um her work has expanded from

22:48just dealing mainly with single family

22:51residential um to helping to facilitate

22:56the um inclusion of more commercial

22:59developments into the city of

23:01Charleston. As Amy uh will attest, um

23:05while it there's a a lot of upside to

23:08getting the residential parcels in

23:10financially, um getting those commercial

23:13parcels to be a part of uh the city um

23:17has uh real benefits in terms of

23:20expanding uh our tax base and being more

23:23efficient with our service delivery uh

23:26in the community, particularly in the

23:28areas of uh West Ashley and John's

23:30Island. Um we are looking to add an

23:34office manager position. Um a couple

23:37years ago when the city restructured um

23:41our planning operations manager um uh

23:45ended up getting promoted and welld

23:47deserved uh to the deputy section uh

23:50chief role and for the last while she's

23:54actually been uh in that interim

23:56position for the section chief. But in

23:58her absence, a a large hole in terms of

24:01providing that uh operational

24:03administrative support uh for the

24:06department um has been missing. And so

24:09uh one of our asks is to be able to uh

24:12bring on an office manager. It's not the

24:14same level um as the uh operations

24:18manager. uh but I believe it's a good

24:21balance of um administrative support for

24:25our office and for our team and our

24:27various divisions uh while not um going

24:32completely uh to replace the the

24:34position that we lost during the

24:36restructuring. Um, also, and this has

24:40been a big topic of conversation in the

24:42community, um, is addressing, um, as a

24:46part of our, uh, preservation program,

24:49uh, that the city is world renowned for

24:53and world known for, um, is to address,

24:56uh, archaeological resources as well as

24:59our, um, historic uh, built structural

25:02resources. Um, it's something that the

25:06city has not uh spent a great deal of

25:09time on in the past, although there has

25:12been a an ordinance to add this as a um

25:15component of our work um for a number of

25:18years now. Uh but there has been a

25:21further emphasis on this with uh things

25:24um artifacts being uncovered um

25:28properties where there are uh human

25:30remains and and how do we sensitively

25:33address those and how do we coordinate

25:35that um under kind of one umbrella here

25:38at the city. So we are uh requesting as

25:41a part of our program for next year to

25:43start an archae archaeological

25:46line of business within our preservation

25:48division um which would include the

25:51eventual hiring of a staff

25:53archaeologist. Um and then finally under

25:56people we do have um

25:59significant amount of work ongoing in

26:01our preservation division um

26:04specifically around some of our larger

26:06developments um that uh are happening in

26:10the peninsula area. Um and we've seen a

26:14continuous uptick in the amount of work

26:16that that um division and particularly

26:20that uh our existing one staff architect

26:23position has been doing. Um in order to

26:26continue to keep up with that work,

26:28we've uh had the city architect who is

26:31the division head and the manager for

26:33that division. um she has increasingly

26:36had to take on more of these reviews

26:39because they do require someone not just

26:41with a background in um in uh buildings

26:46or systems um but in order to provide

26:49the the proper review for the final

26:51reviews on these projects. They do

26:54require a trained architect and right

26:56now we only have one staff architect. As

26:59I said, the the city architect um is not

27:02a licensed architect, but she is a

27:04trained educated architect, and so she

27:06can uh provide some of those insights.

27:09But presently, we only have one um staff

27:12architect on on staff who was a licensed

27:15architect.

27:17And we really feel like we need to given

27:20the volume of that work and the

27:21continuing um pressure that's being felt

27:25uh not just on the existing architect

27:27but also on the city architect for her

27:31time uh to devote to this that it is

27:34time that we do uh get a new staff

27:36architect. And in in partly we think now

27:40is the right time because after all the

27:41work that our human resources department

27:44did to uh adjust our um

27:49uh

27:51our job titles and our our grades for

27:54job titles. We do think the staff

27:56architect position is now positioned at

27:58a place where we could actually recruit

28:01and get um a staff architect. A couple

28:05years ago, council did authorize this

28:08position. However, at where we were um

28:12against the market, we we weren't able

28:14to recruit for it. And so, uh we were to

28:17able to bring on some level of support

28:19within that division uh but not to the

28:21level of a staff architect. And again,

28:24uh we feel that the the work is

28:26sufficient that we still need that

28:27resource uh to be brought in. Um, so

28:30projects, uh, there are three projects

28:32that we would be requesting to fund in

28:35next year. And I'm sorry, uh, real

28:37quick. So the dollar amounts, uh, for,

28:40um, the ask under the the kind of the

28:43people bucket is, uh, $363,000

28:47approximately. Um, about $31,000 of that

28:51would be the cost to upgrade the the

28:54positions that we're looking to upgrade.

28:57um including the preservation planner

28:59position which I didn't um I forgot to

29:01mention and my apologies. Um both of

29:03those positions would go from the

29:05planner level to the senior planner

29:07level um if approved. Um and then the

29:11remaining uh 332,000

29:14um dollars would be the compensation and

29:17benefits um allocations uh for those

29:21additional three positions. It should

29:23also be noted that while we are asking

29:26from a budget standpoint for the annual

29:28allocation for the staff archaeologist

29:30position um based on timing we do not

29:34feel that that would be a fullear

29:36commitment next year uh because we would

29:38not be ready to go with that program on

29:40January 1. Um that would definitely be

29:43something that we would be filling later

29:45in the year. So, while it's a from a

29:48budget standpoint, if we approved the

29:49position, they would budget it for the

29:51year. Uh, we would not necessarily

29:54expect to fill that until probably the

29:56second half of 27.

29:59Um, okay. So, projects. So, uh, we've

30:01got three projects that we're proposing

30:03to initiate next year. The first would

30:05be, uh, John's Island connected road

30:07study. Um this is uh an an effort to

30:12help address uh our mobility um and

30:15connectivity issues on John's Island. Um

30:18as we all know right now there's just a

30:22basically a couple direct routes from uh

30:25one area of the community to the other

30:27area of the community. Um a part of this

30:29study u would help address what are some

30:32of those alternative routes not

30:34necessarily alternative modes. So, this

30:36is not about trying to create

30:39necessarily, although it could be an

30:42element of it, um, new trails or new

30:45bike lanes or any of that. This is

30:48really about creating connected networks

30:51of mobility through the community that

30:54don't necessarily um require everything

30:58to go out on Maybank or on rivers or um

31:03uh any of the other uh or limited number

31:06of other main arterials. How do our

31:09neighborhoods connect without going onto

31:12those major arterial uh connection

31:14routes? Um, this is needed. Um, I I

31:18received a question in advance of this.

31:20Um, this is needed whether the TST

31:23passes or not. I I think we're all

31:25obviously hoping that the TST passes.

31:27There's a lot of really good um projects

31:31in there both for the city of

31:33Charleston, but also the the Charleston

31:35MSA, the region, the county obviously.

31:38Um, but I would almost say that this

31:41project is needed more uh if the TST

31:44doesn't uh pass because some of that

31:47funding would be for improvements in

31:50this area. And without that funding, it

31:52will be even more imperative that we are

31:55looking to find ways to connect the

31:58community that do not require folks to

32:01go out on those already congested um

32:04arterials. So, uh, we we are requesting

32:06$300,000 for this study. Um, this is the

32:10logical next step on to address the the

32:14transportation issues um on John's

32:17Island in conjunction with all the other

32:20efforts that are underway. Uh, the next

32:23project would be a new historical

32:24architectural inventory survey program.

32:27Um, this would be so in in the work that

32:31we've been doing o over the past year on

32:34kind of filling in some of the gaps for

32:36the surveys that have been conducted up

32:39to to now on the peninsula. Um, one of

32:42the the things that we've received back

32:45some community uh input as well as just

32:48some input from our consulting team is

32:50our criteria for how we categorize our

32:53historic um inventory um is is is rather

32:58dated and it was originally done just

33:01for the city of Charleston. Uh so it's

33:04not the national standard. Um but we

33:08also don't think that when it was done

33:10that it had a lot of community input.

33:12And so the request here based on um uh

33:16comments that we have received uh from

33:19as I said the community that's

33:20participated in the surveying effort as

33:22well as our consultant is it is

33:25appropriate time for the city to

33:28consider um updating our uh designations

33:32or our classifications for our historic

33:35um uh properties or historic structures.

33:39Um, in doing so, going out and making

33:42the community very much a part of that.

33:44I think that's always been one of the

33:46toughest components of our preservation

33:47efforts is making sure that property

33:50owners, homeowners um, are aware of of

33:55everything that's involved with that and

33:57more importantly and something I think

33:59that this effort would do is making them

34:01a part of that process where right now

34:03they have traditionally not not been.

34:07Um, in doing that, um, that does open

34:10the door that now we would need to go

34:12back if we adopted a new classification

34:15process. We really then need to look

34:17holistically at reserveying

34:20um the peninsula and and potentially um

34:24bringing in more properties that were

34:26than were uh initially done and even

34:30done uh via our um effort to fill in

34:33some of the gaps um in the the last year

34:36or so. So, we are also proposing a

34:38multi-year

34:40um survey effort. Uh we believe it will

34:42be about a three-year effort. Um the uh

34:47new categorization

34:49um portion of the uh of this effort

34:52would constitute about

34:54uh sorry, I had it written down, but now

34:57I I'm not seeing it. would constitute uh

35:00just under just about $70,000

35:03uh we believe to get that uh effort

35:06done. And then we would be looking at

35:07about I'm sorry um it would be looking

35:10between $40,000 and 70,000 and then we'd

35:13be looking at just over uh $300,000 a

35:17year uh for three years to do the on the

35:21ground survey. It's extremely labor

35:24intensive um to do the surveying because

35:28it's a it's not a dashboard survey. It's

35:31literally walking every uh every block

35:34in the in the city um looking at every

35:37property um on that block on these

35:40streets um and uh detailing um what's

35:45what's there presently. Um and so uh we

35:48do think that that's a multi-year

35:50effort. We also recognize that that's a

35:53huge lift for the city to do by itself.

35:56And just as we've done in years past in

35:59addition to

36:01identifying city funds for this project,

36:03it is fully our intention to go after

36:05grant funding. We just again uh we need

36:08to get this started. So we we put this

36:10on here. Um, so we have not uh

36:13identified those grants uh at this time

36:15or what those dollar amounts would be.

36:17Uh, but we would be actively looking to

36:20offset any general fund allocation uh

36:23with potential grant funds as well as uh

36:27we have requested a meeting with our

36:29local preservation advocacy groups. we

36:32want to talk to them about a partnership

36:34and and participating um in this effort

36:36because again I think this is something

36:38u that underlines quite a bit of their

36:40missions as well and so and I know this

36:43is a important uh effort um for for them

36:49and their membership as well. So, we are

36:51also going to be talking to uh Historic

36:53Charleston Foundation and the uh

36:56Preservation Society of Charleston uh

36:58about the opportunity to partner with us

37:01on funding this effort across uh the

37:04next three years. But we wanted to make

37:06sure that the the true cost of this was

37:08on the radar of council and that they

37:10were aware of what this effort would

37:12entail um as we begin those

37:14conversations uh uh with those groups.

37:18Finally, uh again coming back to the

37:20archae uh archaeology program, um we

37:24anticipate

37:26uh if we're given the green light

37:27through the budgeting process that we

37:30would bring an ordinance forward for

37:31council consideration that would

37:33basically uh authorize a a uh

37:37archaeology um program for the city and

37:40and put certain requirements on staff

37:43and property owners as they would go to

37:45develop or disturb land. um to address

37:48uh archaeological resources. Um in doing

37:51that though uh we would need staff um to

37:56administer that which we currently do

37:58not have. Um so in getting this program

38:01ramped up uh we would do this kind of in

38:03a phased approach. Uh we would bring the

38:06ordinance forward if authorized.

38:08um establish the the requirements that

38:10we would be working under. And then

38:12initially we would look to um contract

38:16with an on call service um to help uh

38:19the city with any initial uh

38:22responsibilities under that uh new

38:25ordinance. And then as we're building

38:27out that program, we would then look to

38:30do a recruitment to bring on um a

38:32full-time staff member um as we've uh

38:36developed that line of business. uh to

38:38then be responsible for the city's

38:40archaeological program. And so that

38:42would be a multi- uh prong approach um

38:45achievable we believe in FY27.

38:48Um that said um you know it could be

38:52that we get it started in 27 and then we

38:54don't bring a staff member on to 28. But

38:57again trying to make sure that council

39:00has all that information. Um

39:03cumulatively the um the projects uh that

39:06we would be looking at because of um

39:10high costs uh associated with just RFPs

39:14and bringing on consulting efforts uh we

39:16would be looking at a request of

39:18approximately uh $73,000

39:22um to uh take on these three projects

39:25and get those started in 27. And then

39:29finally, just some operational uh

39:31requests. Um the zoning rewrite is in

39:34the final stages of getting to uh a

39:38draft condition with the expectation

39:40that we would be bringing to planning

39:42commission and to council um for their

39:44deliberations and ultimately we would

39:47hope their adoption a new uh zoning

39:49ordinance in the first uh quarter um

39:53first half of of next year. With that

39:56though will come some um some new uh

39:59costs uh associated with that

40:01implementation. Uh one cost would be

40:04hosting the new um zoning ordinance. Um

40:07the current zoning ordinance is very

40:09textheavy um with some tables but u for

40:12anyone who's ever had to use MUN code to

40:14look up anything on our zoning ordinance

40:17um it can be very difficult to navigate.

40:21Um, and if you are familiar with more

40:24modern codes that use a lot less text

40:26but use much more imagery to illustrate

40:30uh requirements as well as more tables

40:33to kind of break some of this

40:34information down. Um, our current uh

40:38hosting service for the city's

40:40ordinances just is not uh set up to

40:43address that level of um of uh or

40:47intensity of material. And so, uh, we

40:52would be looking to, uh, bring on a new

40:54hosting service. Um, that also means

40:57that we would end our contract because

40:59we do host the zoning ordinance separate

41:01from the, um, the city's code of

41:04ordinances presently. So, um, there

41:07would be an offset in 28, possibly a

41:11savings in 27 um, once we do have the

41:14new ordinance uh, up and running on the

41:17new hosting service. uh because we would

41:19discontinue the current um service with

41:22our current uh vendor. Uh that said,

41:25I've been asked with budget to take a

41:27look at u the opportunity to um not just

41:31host the zoning ordinance on the new

41:33hosting service, but could it do um or

41:36provide other services that we currently

41:38have? and uh at least the the vendor

41:41that I'm I've been working with and

41:43looking at uh most closely for um this

41:46activity, they actually do provide full

41:50um municipal ordinance uh hosting. So,

41:54um we would have that opportunity to

41:56consolidate um our hosting services uh

42:00under um under one contract with a a a

42:03system that can handle um the the needs

42:07of the new zoning ordinance. So, that's

42:09one part of it. The second part of it is

42:12we will have the again based on some

42:14policy decisions that council will make

42:17um when the ordinance comes forward. We

42:19do anticipate that there may be some new

42:21hard costs associated with this

42:23implementation. And so, uh, the other

42:26element of our budget request is to

42:28authorize a, um, both an expenditure,

42:32um, but also, uh, eventually an a fee

42:36amendment to, um, address those hard

42:39costs so that those are not absorbed by

42:40the city, but that those would, uh, pass

42:43on to applicants uh, to cover uh, any

42:47additional noticing requirements um, or

42:51meeting requirements that may may result

42:54uh from the adoption of the new code. Um

42:57and then finally under operations uh we

43:00do are proposing within this budget um a

43:04uh amendment to the fee schedule for

43:06zoning and planning related items. Um

43:09this year it would be a nominal amount

43:11just to address the fact that since the

43:142019 the last time our fees were

43:17adjusted um with the exception of

43:19short-term rentals those were adjusted

43:20in 24. Um we have not adjusted those

43:23fees at all since 2019 and even then it

43:27was um in many cases a very small

43:30change. Um but we have had two colas. We

43:33do uh follow the state mandate that our

43:36fees are are in part um based on uh the

43:41inputs of staff time. And so with those

43:45uh increasing labor costs um we have not

43:49made any adjustments. And so for this

43:51year's budget we are requesting to at

43:53least adjust the fees the small amount

43:56uh that would essentially be the cola

43:58that staff have received um since 2019.

44:02Um and then we did have a couple um

44:06application types that uh for whatever

44:08reason we just had not been collecting a

44:11fee on. They do uh require staff time um

44:15and uh require us to generate uh

44:19documentation or or some forms. And so

44:22um I am requesting to be able to include

44:24an a really minimal fee uh for that.

44:28with those fee amendments. Um that will

44:31generate we're uh based on uh our

44:34numbers this year so far and our

44:36projections uh that will generate uh a

44:39new uh revenue of about $50,000.

44:43Um the new expense for the um uh hosting

44:49service um for the zoning ordinance uh I

44:53believe will be about $48,000

44:56because there's some initial cost for

44:58setup. Um it will be less in future

45:00years because it will just be the normal

45:02software maintenancing uh maintenance

45:04costs. Um, so, uh, under the operations,

45:08uh, portion of our budget request, we

45:10actually have a, um, uh, savings, I

45:15guess you would say, of, uh, just, uh,

45:18just under $1,200. Uh, so, um, no new

45:22increase there, net new increase, uh,

45:24with those two, um, parts of our

45:26request. So, our priority, excuse me,

45:29our priorities for the coming year's

45:30budget request include the ability to

45:33make the amendments to our fee schedule

45:35and to include um uh frontload and

45:39expense with an expected revenue uh

45:42related to the the rewrite um the

45:45request to uh upgrade those two

45:47positions. Um if council does uh wish to

45:52move forward with uh addressing

45:54archaeology

45:55um um and archaeological resources in

45:58the next year, we would ask at the very

46:00least that we be able to fund an on call

46:04contract and then begin to explore um uh

46:08adding the staff archaeologist. Um, of

46:12course, with the new zoning ordinance,

46:13we would uh request the ability to um

46:16host uh the new zoning ordinance on a a

46:20um web service that can handle that. And

46:23then finally, uh we have these

46:25additional positions that uh we are

46:27requesting um kind of in this order. And

46:31everything on here is important

46:33important to us and important to our our

46:35mission and our responsibility to the

46:38city. Um, but as always, you got to

46:40prioritize. And so we do have a few

46:43things that we know are multi-year

46:44projects or big lists, um, at kind of

46:48the the bottom of our priority list. Um,

46:51and so, uh, you know, those are, I

46:55think, worth some additional

46:56conversation if appropriate. Um, so our

46:59total ask is just uh over or just under

47:03um $1,70,000

47:06and that is the the budget uh request

47:09for the planning and preservation

47:11department. And I'm happy to answer any

47:13questions.

47:25>> All right.

47:26>> Any questions? I was on mute. So, any

47:28questions from uh any members of the

47:31committee? Uh, Councilman Greg.

47:33>> Uh, thanks. Um, so I wanted to dig into

47:37the the staff archaeologist a little

47:38bit. Um, what I mean, what would be the

47:41projected workload of an archaeologist

47:43uh that we'd have on staff? You

47:45mentioned, you know, an on call

47:47contract.

47:49Um I mean are we projected to load a a

47:53have a a staff of archaeologists working

47:5640 hours a week right now?

47:58>> So so excellent question uh councilman

48:01and so that is why we are looking at

48:03this as a phased effort where with the

48:07authorization for this uh activity via

48:10the the ordinance that we would propose.

48:13Um that's why we think it's uh most

48:15appropriate to start with the on call

48:17service because while we think at the um

48:21ultimate implementation of an

48:23archaeological program that we would

48:25have in fact um the enough work between

48:29um those programs and and crossover

48:32because again we we like to crossrain

48:34our our folks as much as possible. um

48:37with them being able to then support

48:39other efforts within the preservation

48:41division um that that position would

48:44definitely have enough work for um to

48:46meet the requirements for full-time

48:49uh initially. No, we we would have to

48:54you know build up to that. So that's why

48:56we think we start with the on call

48:58service um as we begin to flesh out what

49:02that program um really looks like and

49:05then as we get to a point where it it's

49:08moving up into the full-time

49:10uh the need for a full-time employee

49:13then we move into the recruitment

49:15process for a staff archaeologist.

49:20>> Okay. I yeah, maybe I didn't didn't

49:22understand. Um I thought I thought the

49:25request in the um the budget was for a

49:28full-time position.

49:31>> Again, ultimately the intent would be

49:33that it we would bring on a full-time

49:35person, but the um realistically we do

49:39not believe that's a January 1 type of

49:42situation. We believe that that would

49:44happen sometime. If it happened in 27,

49:46it would happen later in the year after

49:49we've had an opportunity to get the

49:51ordinance adopted, get the program

49:54initiated, work with the on call service

49:56to uh help us build out what the the

50:00internal resource needs would be, and

50:02then that would help us shape the um the

50:06recruitment effort uh for a staff

50:08archaeologist.

50:09>> What are we paying right now? like

50:11because we we do have archaeological

50:13needs that come up. What are we spending

50:16per year right now on that? Or maybe

50:18what did we spend in 2025 on

50:21um archaeological

50:23uh resources?

50:25>> Far as I'm aware, the city itself has

50:27not foot the bill for any archaeological

50:30resources unless there's something

50:32that's occurred in capital projects that

50:34I'm just not aware of. So that I would

50:37have to defer to uh Amy and the the

50:41budget team. As far as I know, most of

50:45the the things that we might have

50:47provided archaeological resources to um

50:51in terms of projects where that's come

50:53up, we have um we have pointed that back

50:56to the project teams to figure out. And

50:59that would be part of what this would do

51:01is would help the city have a better

51:04understanding of what is happening

51:06within kind of that space um when those

51:09types of situations come up where right

51:11now uh we don't have the handle on it. I

51:14think that the community at least the

51:17parts of the community we've heard from

51:19uh wish we did.

51:21>> Okay. Thank you.

51:25Any

51:28other questions?

51:33Robert, you look kind of space age with

51:35the uh with the reflection on your

51:37glasses there.

51:38>> Yeah, sorry. Sorry about that.

51:41>> Um,

51:42okay. any uh other

51:47um

51:49uh points before related to this budget

51:54adh high committee. Am I am I missing

51:56anything? Um Amy,

51:57>> so Mandy just had a a presentation for

52:02um her section quick.

52:03>> Sorry, that's okay. Yeah. All right,

52:05turn it over whenever you're ready.

52:19Sorry, couple of technical difficulties

52:22over here. Are you able to see my

52:24screen?

52:27Yes. Okay, great. All right, thanks

52:29everyone. Uh, mayor, council members, my

52:31name is Mandy Herring and I'll be

52:33presenting the new program requests for

52:35the 2027 budget for the planning,

52:38permitting, and engineering section. And

52:41specifically, we'll be talking about

52:42three divisions. We'll be talking about

52:44the section administration office. Be

52:48talking about the permit center request

52:50and also the the request from the design

52:53division or the civic design center as

52:55many of you know it. As a quick

52:57reminder, seems like we're all doing

52:59this today. Uh the planning, permitting,

53:01and engineering section, uh we guide the

53:04city's built environment. We're

53:06committed to creating and preserving

53:08homes, buildings, infrastructure through

53:10planning, design, and exceptional

53:13service. The section is comprised of

53:15four departments. You see those in

53:17green. We have 15 divisions and three

53:20specialty divisions. And again today

53:22I'll be talking about requests from the

53:24civic design center, the permit center

53:27and the section office.

53:30Um so again the section office what we

53:33do here is is we provide strategic

53:35direction operational support to all of

53:37our departments and divisions ensuring

53:39coordination um and management and

53:42organizational alignment. The section

53:44office this year has uh one new program

53:48request for 2027 and that's for city

53:50vehicle. The section office currently

53:52does not have a city vehicle. We will

53:54need one for the new section chief so

53:56that they can go to city meetings,

53:58events, and site visits without taking

54:00their personal vehicle or having to

54:02check out one from the motorpool. That

54:04budget request is approximately $35,000

54:07and that would be a lease purchase.

54:13Next, we'll move on to the permit

54:14center. And as hopefully all of you

54:16know, the permit center is a

54:18customerfocused central point of contact

54:20for multi-depal reviews and permitting

54:23of land development and construction

54:25proc projects. It is a busy crew down

54:28there at two George. They have nine

54:30staff members currently and in 2025 they

54:33processed almost 19,000 permits and they

54:36saw an average of 784

54:39folks um each month in the permit

54:41center. In 2026, the permit center staff

54:45uh they anticipate that they will

54:46process approximately 21,000 permits. So

54:48again, very busy crew. They're working

54:50on some key initiatives, including uh

54:53more proactively managing the permitting

54:55process rather than being pre reactive,

54:57being more proactive. We're expanding

55:00our uh online applications. We're

55:02conducting information sessions for

55:04applicants to make the process easier so

55:06they understand what we're looking for.

55:08Um, our permit center director is

55:10developing a customer service training

55:12program and we're also working on

55:13providing real time data on permit

55:15reviews, efficiency and status.

55:22So the permit center the first request

55:24they have two requests um for 2027. The

55:26first request is an assistant manager.

55:29So this position would reside between

55:31the director and our uh permit

55:33coordinators and our permit uh technical

55:35staff uh permit technicians. Uh this

55:38position would add capacity, efficiency,

55:41and management um to the permit center.

55:43And you're going to hear this theme

55:44throughout this presentation. Capacity

55:46and efficiency. Those are our requests

55:48this year. This permit center assistant

55:50manager would provide daily operational,

55:52administrative, and managerial support

55:54for both the division and the director.

55:57Our director is super busy. She is in

55:59the we on a daily basis with her hands

56:01and permits overseeing items talking to

56:04folks. We want to be able to have a

56:06management position to help elevate that

56:08director up some so she can focus more

56:10on long range projects and overall

56:12process improvement for the permit

56:14center in the city in general. So again,

56:17having this assistant manager will

56:18provide the director more time to focus

56:20on process improvement, data collection,

56:22training, system upgrades, SOPs, KPIs,

56:26cross- departmental collaboration, other

56:28key initiatives and projects. And as we

56:31think about how we expand the city's

56:33permitting services either here at to

56:35George or in the future like at Ingram

56:37Road, we also need to um be considered

56:41of how the permit center's functions,

56:42processes, resources, management and

56:45staffing need to evolve as well. So

56:47again, this assistant manager um would

56:49support the growth of the permit center,

56:51the expansion of of roles and duties and

56:53add support to existing staff. Salary

56:56and benefits included. This is a little

56:58over $100,000.

57:02The next permit center request is for a

57:04position upgrade. So, this is for an

57:06existing position is to upgrade our

57:08permit center technician, one of those

57:10positions to a an entry level or

57:12mid-level permit coordinator. Um, this

57:16position is it's not a new position, but

57:17rather an upgrade. It again will add

57:19capacity and efficiency. You see the

57:21theme here. It'll create uh increase our

57:24staff's capacity to process more

57:26permits. uh to respond to workflow needs

57:30and to increase our improve our response

57:33times both to our citizens, our

57:36applicants and even our own staff

57:38members. Importantly, this position will

57:41also provide more verticality in the

57:43division. It'll provide opportunities

57:45for growth, development, promotion, and

57:47retention. Retention's been a key focus

57:49um this past year of the city and mayor

57:51and council members, and we appreciate

57:53that. We've had lots of great permit

57:55center staff members move on to other

57:57opportunities simply because there was

57:59not much growth or opportunity in the

58:01permit center. So, we think this

58:02position will help create some of those

58:04opportunities. Um, again, not a new

58:06position, but rather an upgrade. So,

58:08this uh total budget cost would be

58:10$14.5,000.

58:12And again, that's with salary and

58:14benefits.

58:15The next division specialty division

58:17we'll move on to is the city's in-house

58:20uh studio. That's the design division or

58:23civic design center. They provide design

58:26expertise on matters of planning, land

58:28development, public spaces, mobility and

58:30architecture. In the past several years,

58:33few years, the divi the design division

58:35has either led or participated in 87

58:38projects and that's covering all areas

58:40of the city. So, not just the peninsula,

58:42West Ashley, John's Island, James

58:44Island, and the Khoy area as well. And

58:47on the screen here, you can see a

58:48variety of projects that they've worked

58:49on the past three years. and and where

58:51those touch the different geographical

58:53areas of the city. And these projects

58:55include everything from, you know,

58:58transportation sale t sales tax um

59:00project work. Uh it includes farmers

59:04market studies at Acriman Park and it

59:06includes Hey, good avenue improvement

59:09studies um improvements to Maybank

59:11Highway, B Street Bike Ped. So just a

59:14variety of of interesting projects they

59:16get to work on and oftentime I want to

59:18point out they do um the work that a

59:21private consultant would typically do

59:23for a city or project. So the design

59:27division is create is requesting uh one

59:29new position for 2027 and that is an

59:32urban designer. This is an entry-level

59:34position to the design division. Again

59:36it will add capacity and efficiency and

59:39design expertise and it'll allow the

59:40division to function better as a whole.

59:43It allow the division to more

59:44effectively respond to urgent requests

59:47without pushing off some of the longer

59:48term projects. It will allow the design

59:52division to meet established performance

59:54criteria, meeting deadlines within a

59:56reasonable time frame.

59:58The the design division will be able to

1:00:00take on more projects with increased

1:00:02capacity. This will save the city money.

1:00:04Again, they provide a service that is

1:00:06oftent times contracted out to design

1:00:08consultants. will also allow the

1:00:10division to respond more promptly to

1:00:12requests from other departments in the

1:00:14mayor's office and will allow the

1:00:16division to host more meetings,

1:00:17sharetses, and city and citizen

1:00:19engagement events. All in all, this new

1:00:21position with salary and benefits and

1:00:24also eliminating an intern budget would

1:00:27be about $75,000.

1:00:30So that is it for our three um for three

1:00:33special divisions within the section uh

1:00:36for 2027 new program budget request. Any

1:00:40questions?

1:00:44>> Any questions for Mandy?

1:00:48>> Again, third good presentation.

1:00:50Appreciate everything.

1:00:54Um

1:00:56>> anything from the crowd?

1:00:59Uh, all right. If there are no questions

1:01:03for Mandy, I believe that's it. Amy and

1:01:07>> we have uh monthly reports to go over

1:01:09real quick if Mandy

1:01:11>> reports. Okay, sorry.

1:01:12>> Yeah, Mandy, if you could stop sharing,

1:01:14please.

1:01:14>> I'm trying. You might have to take it

1:01:15over from me. Amy.

1:01:17>> Okay, that's fine.

1:01:19>> Technical difficulties.

1:01:22>> I just sent you a request.

1:01:26>> [clears throat]

1:01:47>> Can you all see my screen? You good?

1:01:53Yep. Okay. Um, so we will run I'll do

1:01:58this quick. Expenditures. So far, this

1:02:01is as of the end of August. We're

1:02:04looking okay for of course my budget.

1:02:08Um,

1:02:10and I'll go over all of those in a

1:02:11second and just let you look at this

1:02:13slide for a second.

1:02:19All right. So BFRC is over target due to

1:02:22pro all of our insurance property not

1:02:24health insurance but property auto

1:02:26inland marine and tort liability

1:02:28insurance. Um fire is over and capital

1:02:31just due to timing of purchases. This is

1:02:33really you know the same as it's been

1:02:35for the last few months. Um, parks is

1:02:38over mostly due to utility costs, mostly

1:02:41street lights, repair, maintenance

1:02:43costs, and supplies, and police is over

1:02:45due to vehicle repairs, which most of

1:02:47those will be covered by insurance

1:02:49proceeds. So, aren't worried necessarily

1:02:51about that right yet. And then the

1:02:53timing of the body camera purchases and

1:02:55the taser payment. Public service is

1:02:58over and offering due to vehicle repairs

1:03:00and capital purchases, which will be

1:03:02covered by asset sales revenue.

1:03:06That is just an optic.

1:03:12And then revenues, we're doing pretty

1:03:14good with the exception of interest in

1:03:17rents, which we've talked about in prior

1:03:19months.

1:03:22Property taxes mostly um it's motor

1:03:25vehicle delinquent property taxes,

1:03:27personal property and watercraft and

1:03:29over target mainly due to Charleston

1:03:31County motor vehicles. Licenses is

1:03:34mostly business licenses. um we will be

1:03:36over budget for 2026.

1:03:40Um August is usually the last larger

1:03:43payment that we get. So I think we're

1:03:45pretty good there. Permits and fees were

1:03:48over target still and the person permit

1:03:51center that Mandy just talked about. And

1:03:53then livability and tourism fees,

1:03:55carriage medallion fees are still under

1:03:57target.

1:04:00Intergovernmental state and local mostly

1:04:02local options sales tax. Um, we only

1:04:05have that through May because there's

1:04:06lag in when we get receive those

1:04:08revenues. Charleston County is over 4%,

1:04:11Berkeley County is over 10%.

1:04:14Franchise fees were over target mostly

1:04:16due to Dominion. Berkeley County

1:04:18Electric is also over target, but then

1:04:20we have cable and TV franchises uh

1:04:22franchise fees that continue to decline

1:04:25and they are under target. sales and

1:04:28user charges over target mostly due to

1:04:30recreational recreation facility fees

1:04:32and instructional lessons. Recreation is

1:04:35doing very well. Rents are under target

1:04:38primarily due to target calculations for

1:04:41utility reimbursements. So they should

1:04:43level out by the end of the year. And

1:04:45then we've talked about boat slip

1:04:47rentals under target and the diesel line

1:04:49being down at the maritime center.

1:04:52Contributions and donations.

1:04:55Um, our contribution came in over

1:04:57Target, so we're looking good there. I'm

1:05:00going fast, so you stop me if I'm going

1:05:02too fast. Enterprise funds,

1:05:06we're looking good. Everything, all of

1:05:08our facilities, our enterprise

1:05:10facilities are

1:05:12doing better than we anticipated.

1:05:20Angel Oak revenue at target and expenses

1:05:22are under target. So our loss to date is

1:05:24less than expected. Revenue for a city

1:05:27market

1:05:29um is at target and expenses are under

1:05:32target.

1:05:34The ballpark is the ballpark. Municipal

1:05:36golf course project profit today is

1:05:38better than expect expected. Revenues

1:05:41are slightly over target and expenses

1:05:43are undertarget.

1:05:46Old slave mark revenues are slightly

1:05:48over. Expenses are under. So profit to

1:05:50date is more is higher than expected.

1:05:54And then parking, our violations are

1:05:56significantly overtarget. Meters are

1:05:58undertarget but higher than in previous

1:06:00years. And we've talked about I think

1:06:02the our estimate for revenue was a

1:06:06little bit aggressive. Um permits and

1:06:09fees are overtarget. Garages and lot

1:06:11lots are slightly undertarget.

1:06:14And overall expenses are undertarget. So

1:06:16our profit to date is greater than

1:06:18expected.

1:06:21That's all I have for enterprise fund.

1:06:22Does anyone have any questions on the

1:06:24general fund or enterprise funds? I

1:06:27forgot to kind of ask that question.

1:06:28Sorry.

1:06:29>> Any questions?

1:06:33>> Okay. All good.

1:06:34>> Storm water revenues are tracking over

1:06:36target and have exceeded budget. I had

1:06:38we had this specifically for council

1:06:40member wearing. I'm sorry that he's not

1:06:42on today. The late payments from CWS

1:06:44accounts are around $730,000.

1:06:48Okay.

1:06:51>> Um, developmental services

1:06:54and storm water management are both

1:06:56looking good.

1:07:00Tourism, any questions on storm water,

1:07:04right? Tourism funds are looking good.

1:07:06Municipal A tax and state a tax are over

1:07:09target and hospitality is over target.

1:07:12So, um, that's better because, as you

1:07:14know, it's was flatlining over the last

1:07:16couple of years. So that's a good sign

1:07:18for us. Any questions on tourism.

1:07:26All right, that's just

1:07:29municipal a tax. There's a two-month

1:07:30lag. So that's just through June. State

1:07:32a tax we get quarterly. So that's just

1:07:35through the second quarter of the year

1:07:37as well. And then hospitality is

1:07:39tracking over target.

1:07:43So we don't have some of the summer

1:07:44months yet for municipal and state

1:07:48fuel.

1:07:50Average price per gallon per each of the

1:07:54months of the year. We had budgeted

1:07:56$3.30 per gallon.

1:08:01As you can see, we're well over that

1:08:05right now. average daily cost per gallon

1:08:08gallon is $3.74,

1:08:11which is much higher than we budgeted.

1:08:13We're projecting now with the increase

1:08:15in in fuel costs over the last couple of

1:08:18months that we'll probably be around

1:08:19$548,000

1:08:21over budget by the end of the year.

1:08:24Gas prices were way high today. So, um,

1:08:28we're still just monitoring them and

1:08:29we're encouraging departments to

1:08:31conserve fuel. One good thing on this

1:08:35well this is average daily cost for fuel

1:08:38cost for diesel and for unleted and

1:08:41diesel is obviously very high

1:08:44but our consumption is really close to

1:08:46what it has been years so at least we're

1:08:50maintaining consumption

1:08:52which will help a little

1:08:55any questions on that.

1:08:59All right, timeline.

1:09:02Next week we'll go over police and HR

1:09:04and then on the 30th of September we'll

1:09:06we'll talk with parks BFRC executive and

1:09:09it

1:09:13>> any other questions for Amy?

1:09:18>> And I just have this is just a timeline

1:09:19we've talked about before. That's okay.

1:09:22I know I'm trying to hurry. I I promise.

1:09:25And then I just have one other thing

1:09:27that I wanted to announce if if y'all

1:09:29will bear with me for a second. Um there

1:09:31is a publication that's called the

1:09:33govern gov business review and they have

1:09:36um named Andrew Jones our budget and

1:09:39management director as one of the top 10

1:09:42budget directors of 2026.

1:09:47>> That's awesome.

1:09:47>> So this is got this information today.

1:09:51Um, that's there's a whole thing with

1:09:53it. But yes, so there's a nomination, so

1:09:56somebody has to nominate you and then

1:09:58the editorial team will come in and do

1:10:00interviews and they vet all of the

1:10:02nominations and they chose Andrew as one

1:10:04of the top 10 budget directors of 2026.

1:10:07So we are very excited and very proud of

1:10:09him and all his hard work. So I just

1:10:11thought that was something that should

1:10:13be shared because it's

1:10:14>> absolutely welld deserved. Welld

1:10:16deserved. That's exciting.

1:10:17>> You totally earned it. Congratulations.

1:10:20Yeah.

1:10:21Yep. And then that is all I have. Any

1:10:24questions that you might have for us?

1:10:27>> Anybody have any questions?

1:10:31>> All right. A lot to go over today. I

1:10:33appreciate everybody's time. And uh

1:10:35thanks to Amy, thanks from Mandy, thanks

1:10:37to Robert, thanks to Chief Curia for uh

1:10:40wellorganized presentations.

1:10:43Thanks everybody. I think that

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