City Council - Regular Meeting

more e e for

e e e e good evening everyone we hereby call

this meeting to order at 6:03 the regular January 28th uh Bristol Virginia City council meeting is is now in session um at this time we will take a moment of Silent prayer thank you if you now join me with the pledge of Alle Pledge of Allegiance please Al to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all well good evening everyone um as you can see um the mayor is out of town for work so she is joining us virtually uh mayor Nave thank you for being here um next on the agenda is uh the mayor minute in Council comments I will turn it over to to Mayor Nave if you have anything to to say thank you vice mayor Holmes um I'm I'm sad I can't be there tonight due to U BNN Richmond for work um and also want to thank um our city staff who has been up here diligently working uh for our city as well and and and to you as well um vice mayor Holmes thank you and I I would just like to Echo that as well uh I know our city manager Mr eids went up to Richmond last week we had a a late night meeting Thursday night I think he ended up leaving leaving the area at like 4:00 a.m. 3:30 something like that to get up to testify on a committee and then he was there yesterday and I think um

they're going up tomorrow as well I know uh the mayor's up there I'll be up there miss Bradon will be up there as well tomorrow as well just um there's a lot of things happening in Richmond there's some legislation impacting the city that um our city manager has been testifying on working on a big thank you to delegate oquinn Senator Pilan for carrying that legislation um so looking forward to see that um coming through hopefully and thank you for your hard work on that and just to Echo that all the work that happens in in Richmond behind the scenes when when folks go up there whether it's the mayor the vice mayor other City staff they always do a great job representing the city and and fighting for the city uh and only other thing that I wanted to say uh was we've had a lot of snow the past few weeks and really I really appreciate all the folks that are out working on the roads plowing and salting um I know when the snow comes down and it snows a lot really fast uh sometimes they they do get a little treacherous but um in in my job I'm out on the road a lot in other localities other surrounding localities and I'll say the the roads in Bristol were were very very in good shape compared to some other places so really appreciate um the work that those folks have done a lot of times they're out plowing and salting late at night and the early hours of the morning so we appreciate all those folks thank you all um next we have city managers comments uh no comments tonight thank you uh next we move to the adoption of the agenda uh I move for the adoption of the agenda as presented second all right there's a motion in a second will the clerk please call the role baram yes Holmes yes Osborne yes Pard yes Nave all right thank you the agenda is adopted moving to item D1 the public censure of a member of council so uh first for that we have a

couple folks signed up for public comment um I would just remind folks um I know many of you have been here before some of you haven't just when you step up to the podium please say your name your address let us know where you're from and then a green light will appear you'll have three minutes to speak when you're down to 30 seconds left the yellow light will come on and then when you are out of time the red light will come on and I will just ask that at that point you finish the sentence you're on so we can continue getting through the list all right so with that we'll go ahead and get started uh first in the stack um Reverend Jack Jackie Nolin come on down good evening good evening Madam mayor in your absence there is good to see you still uh vice mayor to the council the city manager and and to his staff and to the U young Megan over here uh my name is Jackie Nolin uh live at 143 make off the Circle Bristol Virginia proud residence I'm a taxpayer uh business owner uh own houses and lands the Lord promised us I will speak to the agenda of uh D1 uh pertaining to a councilman uh and I'll pour my heart out and say this to you once a man has confessed apologized and repented who am I the judge once something has happened in eror who and it's been made right in the

Public's eye who are we the judge so I I said that to say with what you have established and I respect you for doing that putting a census type situation there with my understanding landing and if anything else happens past that it won't be you it won't be the city manager it will be landed on the councilman and so I appreciate the wisdom and the knowledge that you're using what I really want to see is this confusion and this not being unified in Bristol Virginia if we don't come together and UniFi as one body we're never going to get anywhere we're never going to be prosperous we're never going to make it and we'll watch all the little cities around us prospering making it making things work finding ways you um the mayor's in AB uh uh Richmond right now you back and forth in Richmond right now fighting for all that grant money that we losing or trying to find ways to where we can keep it that's what I want to see and hear that you're doing on the one one basis and I think every people may not like me but they may agree with that one thing we need to come together and fight for Bristol Virginia and get things back rolling and keep us out of the red and that's what I wanted to say to you tonight once we get past all this personal stuff and all this other stuff you we need to move it out of the way and be business minded okay now look at who's telling you business minded but we need to be have the business mind most intelligent people I'm looking at right now most intelligent people that I'm looking at

amen amen and we need to come together pull it together and really move forward on this I wish you well uh uh I really do I wish you well but we need to move forward in this community thank you very much thank you [Applause] thank you Reverend offlin next on our list uh Katherine oins my name is Katherine Elkins I'm here to support Michael Pard I've never known Michael to ever tell a falsehood he has always researched everything that he ever has presented to the council um my visually impaired friend Willie Ellis's ill the this evening but he wanted me to voice that also that uh we have never known Michael to do anything but what was just and fair and who are we to judge as as Miss Jackie said um because even Jesus has said who let the first one that did something not judge the other so again I I don't think that Michael has done anything that anyone else couldn't have done he's apologized and I think that he's doing a great job thank you thank you miss alkins all right next on our list uh Mr James Brown good evening Council my name is is James Christopher Brown I live at 1705 Lee Highway Bristol Virginia I'm a

property owner and a taxpayer I speak in support of Michael Pard and I have been a resident here for the last 10 years I went ahead and I was born and raised in this town but I came back here 10 years ago my wife and I have spoken in front of the city council many different times Michael alone has tried to keep the public informed of a variety of issues and answering questions and providing explanations appending Council matter as well as ordinary city services such as garbage collection dates and times or pickups and things like that holiday closures road closures different things like that more importantly Michael has been correct about some of the biggest issues ever affecting the City of Bristol for example example he opposed the building of the dump back a long time ago before he was on Council he's been working on that right there he did not like that at all he also went ahead and he opposed the building of the falls project the fact that he opposed Randy Eid serving in both positions as attorney and manager remains a very sound position by combining these roles there's less separation of powers and less checks and balances within the city government separating the roles is just as good governance when it comes to exercising judgment he has proven trustworthy whatever Michael may have done he does not deserve a public censure as a conservative me I want conservative voices on the coun I encourage Michael to stay the course knowing that my family and many other conservatives strongly respect him and his positions and I see this action as an intimidation tactic that only will be forgotten till the next election thank you thank you all right next on the agenda Mr crusenberry hi my name is Todd crusenberry address is 135 Cherry Lane brist Virginia thank you Council thank

you Mr Reeds thank you ma'am for hearing me tonight I come on behalf of Michael Pard as well I have been privileged to be his Pastor for many years now and I had the honor and privilege of marrying him and his wife before that we were friends for a long time I just want to cover who Michael is that some of you might not know and some folks tonight might only hear one side of who Michael is I want to tell you the Michael that I know Michael did not ask me to come tonight he didn't ask me to speak in fact I contacted him and asked him if I would could come if you mind if I spoke on his behalf what I can tell you about Michael is that every Sunday morning early he's in the kitchen of our church by himself packing lunches for children that ride the bus because he knows some of those children will go home without being fed he makes sure that each child gets a meal when they leave church Michael also has uh him and his wife both teach our children 2 to five or toddler class and they do that Faithfully every Wednesday night they don't just teach those kids they the kids they have somebody they can come into and talk to that'll listen to them Michael man to do that together as husband and wife he serves on our drama team and does a fabulous job if you've never seen one of his Productions or him in the act you need to come watch the next one he also he and his wife started our puppet Ministry which our children and our adults alike absolutely adore and love they've been faithful and committed to our church in these Ministries many other ways as well I've come to him on times to ask his opinion on things he's also generously researched and given me information and sometimes more than I required or even wanted but it was information I needed and I listened to and it helped us out of several situations that we could have really got in trouble with in projects within our church I appreciate his input in our church he's never steered us wrong I never known Michael to be anything less than a gentleman of Integrity for the many years that I've known him Michael recently signed a statement saying that he had told an untruth that he lied he may have passed

on some unvalidated information he may even spoke out a turn he may even said some things maybe that was in confidence that to was taken out of confidence but Michael that I know Michael's no liar a liar vitually telling lies no he may have told a lie or he may have told may have told something out of turn but he's not a liar he's a man of integrity never known him to be anything other than that as a man of integrity and one who does not like confrontation Michael agreed to sign the statement that was written for him and I know it's written for him because I read many things that Michael writes he's giv me several things review and I told him I said Michael I can tell this wasn't something you wrote but yet you signed it he signed it to try to keep from having any more confrontation and settle things and being pre peace to our city and peace between you all Michael did that and the manager just recently after he had signed it made a statement on the news and questioned about that very thing that he would like to make no comment but that he was satisfied yet we find ourselves here tonight looking for a sense are against him so I don't know where the satisfaction went to if you follow through with this tonight our city already is in a bad light with several things and have several concerned citizens about their taxes recent property increase assessments we received as well as things that's not finalized on the dump yet we need we're spending our time in the wrong places the word of God tells us that once a man has met it is wrong and his fault that we're to pick him up or to lift him up L we also be tempted in the same way I want to encourage you all tonight to take a moment to think about this and how's this sensor going to affect the city I tell you what it's going to do it's going to bring more questions to you and about you and what's going on behind the scenes and where you all stand so I encourage you if you would let me say one final thing one final thing and it's from God's word Ecclesiastes 12:14 for God shall bring every work into judgment with every

secret thing whether it be good or whether it be evil thank you thank you [Applause] so at this point in the agenda um with the subject matter at hand we are turning the floor over to the mayor for um Council report and then she will lead the discussion for this item Madam mayor thank you vice mayor Holmes can you hear me okay yes well this is an unfortunate situation for the count IL and the City of Bristol it is not a decision we take lightly nor is it one that we wanted to make as it does not reflect positively on our community however we find ourselves with no other option this is not the first incident where council member Michael Pard has acted in a manner detrimental to the trust and integrity of our city despite prior warnings Mr Pard has admitted to making false statements about City staff with the intention of damaging their reputations these actions are deeply concerning and undermine the confidence we as a governing body must have in one another to serve our community effectively Mr Pard has been given ample opportunity to address these issues and do the right thing and he has issued a public apology the results of Mr Po's actions have resulted in a significant erosion of trust not only among City staff council members but with all within our entire Bristol Community we have received a lot of feedback from many of our city residents who have called for his resignation while Mr Pard has issued a

public apology the potential harm these actions pose to the city is unacceptable and it is our responsibility to ensure the integrity and trustworthiness of our leadership if Mr CH par chooses not to resign issuing a public censure is the next step in this process so I would like to open the floor uh for Council discussion uh for other uh comments on this matter thank you mayor I'll I'll hop in here um this this was not an easy discussion to to get here it was not an easy thought process um I know I do appreciate Mr Po's apology that he issued um and and I know um the comment was made that Mr eids appreciated that and that satisfied him however um the council had had to act um our staff do a tremendous job at all levels for the city um Mr eids was not the only staff person that something had been said in inappropriately about or incorrectly about so our staff um they they do a darn good job for our city they they work many times longer than they they should they um don't work they don't get the right pay we need to pay them more they deserve more and the folks at the top the council the governing body for the city should treat them with respect and we have seen a lack of that so I just want to be clear too that a censure just so we're all on the same page I have the official definition from Virginia state law a censure in the context of Virginia

law refers to a formal statement of disapproval issued by an authoritative body it is a dis disciplinary action that can be taken against individuals and various professional legal contexts there is no no real bite to this there is no no punishment there's no ding from this other than it is a public statement that there are issues here so with with the multiple multiple things we've seen over the last bit this was the next step um Mr vice mayor just no other comment from me other than just after hearing the mayor and the vice mayor I just hope we can uh move past this and move forward and work together well in the future I will say very briefly you know first off I take no pleasure in doing this um every week since January of 2023 me and Mr Pard meet on Tuesday Mornings um to go over issues in our city um so I think that I've you know kind of grown to know him well um and I do appreciate his passion for the city but you know a man's word and a man's reputation is at the base of of what you need to operate in public office in government you know and when these type of incidents and there have been more than one happen it it shakes the public trust it shakes the trust of of colleagues very importantly in this

situation it shakes the trust of city employees beyond our stated responsibility of providing for the health safety and Welfare of the citizens one of our Paramount duties and responsibilities is to protect city employees they work for us they work for the taxpayers we are the final say on their funding so it's important that we protect our city employees and we have so many wonderful employees that come to work every single day put in the hard work for long hours for not enough pay and you know the comments that not only were about the city manager but about as we've said another city employee they don't deserve those things those are not elected officials Mr Pard or Mr farum or Mr Holmes or the mayor can say whatever they want about me I don't care I'm an elected official if you're just coming to work to do your job it's it's a different thing and it's a different line that I don't think should be crossed to to bear false witness against your own employees so I take no pleasure in doing this but I understand why we're doing this thank you any other comments Madam mayor my apologies Madam mayor um I I would if it's appropriate ask Mr Pard in in the statement that you you you signed your name to and You released you did it does say that um you had violated the standards of conduct on

several occasions and had been previously warned by Council does that do you stand by that piece of that is that truth I said I said something that I should not have I do stand by that the question about violating the standards of conduct and the standards of conduct do include speaking inappropriately about staff I have violated several of the standards of conduct because I said things that I should not have and I said those things uh in ways that I should not have thank you I appreciate your honesty so with that um I move the resolution for public centure of a member of council second all right we have a council motion and second on the floor um I'll move in to reading the resolution a resolution to centure council member Michael par whereas the city council is committed to upholding the high standards of Integrity transparency and ethical condo for all elected officials for the code of ethics and standards of conduct and whereas council member Michael card has found to have engaged in actions that constitute a violation of the code of ethics and standards of conduct by failing to abide by the following code of ethics put loyalty to the

highest moral principles and the city as a whole above loyalty to individuals districts or particular groups and number 12 avoid avoid using the position of public trust to gain access to Media including social media for purposes of criticizing colleagues citizens or Personnel imputing their integrity or vilifying their personal beliefs the standards of conduct number two remember that personal Personnel matters are to remain confidential and that it is the obligation of this Council and its membership to protect the privacy of the individual number three focus on issues and avoid making public comments about individuals staff members fellow council members Community residents or media Representatives number five avoid using public public meetings and performance of public duties to the use of abusive threatening or intimidating language or gestures directed at colleagues citizens or personnel number 10 offer criticism of colleagues or city employees only in private meetings with appropriate individuals or in closed meetings and number 12 maintain an attitude of courtesy and consideration towards all colleagues and staff during all discussions and liberations and whereas such such actions un undermine public trust compromise the Integrity of this Council and fail to reflect the ethical values expected of all public officials and trusted to serve our community and whereas the city council believes it is essential to hold its members accountable for conduct inconsistent with their responsibilities to the public and this governing body and whereas councilman

Michael Pard publicly admitted to spreading falsehoods about city employees and whereas councilman Michael Pard has been warned multiple times about his previous conduct and whereas council member Michael Pard continued to violate the code of ethics and standard of conduct after multiple warnings and whereas councilman Michael Pard has publicly admitted he has violated the code of ethics and standards of conduct and now therefore get resolved by the city council as follows number one findings the city council finds Council councilman Michael Pard violated paragraphs 2 and 12 of the code of ethics and violated paragraphs 2 3 5 10 and 12 of the standards of conduct number two censure the city council formerly censures councilman Michael Pard for violating the Cod of ethics and standards of conduct and strongly disapproves of the behavior that led to this resolution number three acknowledgement and correction the city council calls upon upon councilman Michael par to publicly acknowledge the misconduct take appropriate steps to rectify the harm cause and demonstrate A Renewed commitment to ethical service number four reinforcement of expectations the council reaffirms is dedication to maintaining High ethical standards and urges all members to comply fully with the code of ethics and standards of conduct to ensure public trust is preserved number five record of centure this resolution is of centure shall be made a matter of public record and documented the official minutes of

the city council adopted this 28th day of January 2025 by the city council I will ask the clerk to call the rooll Barum yes Holmes yes Osborne yes Pard abstain Nave yes vice mayor HS I'm going to turn the agenda back over to you to go into the finance policy review on number two thank you next on the agenda item D2 well excuse me um before we do that let's let's take a brief recess just to reset a little bit um five minutes come back at when the clock up there says 6:37 thank you for

e e for e

e e e e

e e e for spe

thank you um mayor and members of council Finance policies are presented tonight for review these policy changes um the policy changes presented have been reviewed by the finance committee and the changes are the recommendation of the finance committee so there are two recommended changes to the financial policies one is to incorporate the budget policy into the financial policies the budget policy first approved in August August of 2017 was almost duplicated in the financial policies so three items needed to be added to make sure it is complete within the financial policies one is to reference the state code um in the budget process two deals with budget adjustments um that was modified to list out the Appropriations ordin appropriation ordinance language Council approval is required to move funds to move items between funds or between departments or to increase overall Appropriations and then it lists the budgetary basis that was added the City of Bristol is on the cash basis which is in accordance with the governmental Accounting Standards the auditor of Public Accounts and our city Charter um the other item the other that was all one of the one change and the other change was for reassessment and that is to include the state code in that language um there is also one recommended change to the fund balance policy guideline and that's to remove the solid waste fund language from the policy since we no longer have that fund per the policy an overview of the financial policies is required to be presented to council by January 31st of each year and the purpose of the overall Financial policies into is to increase the ability to insulate the city from a financial crisis it's to serve um the

policy serve as a guide for decisions that have a significant fiscal impact it's to promote long-term Financial stability for the city it is to direct attention to the total Financial picture of the city to ensure sound financial management and to protect the city's overall credit rating um the goal in the policy is um AAA we're not there yet but the city has made remarkable um improvements in its credit rating over the past um several years um another policy purpose is to limit maximum overall legal and moral obligation debt and once again the policy does state that um this will be presented annually to council by January 31st so the revenue section of this policy addresses um Revenue collections to monitor that all taxes are collected timely and accurately it states that reassessment for real property will completed be completed every four years the revised version list the state code that addresses this that's title 58.1 chapter 32 Article 5 of the code of Virginia Revenue forecasts will be conservative yet accurate restricted revenues will only be used for the restricted purpose the city will limit the use of one-time revenues to one-time expenditures such as non-recurring items and unless related to carryover funds the use of unassigned fund balance should not be used to finance current operations without specific approval from the council in a regular agenda item the expenditure section of the policy states that one-time expenditures should be funded with an off setting Revenue item or from an adequately funded Reserve ongoing expenditures will be monitored in comparison with Appropriations the city will seek to

optimize efficiency and the effectiveness of city services and Department will be responsible for managing expenditures within the operating budget once again in the past the city has had a separate budget policy which details the specifics of the budget process we will no longer have that separate policy it will be maintained within the overall Financial policies as amended and our budget process will follow the guidelines of title 15.2 chapter 25 of the code of Virginia the city's budget will be balanced current revenues will be used to support current expenditures revenue and expenditure projections will be used um in the budget development process um monthly reports comparing actual revenues and um expenditures to budget amounts will be prepared um monthly and distributed to departments and budget adjustments between line items may be authorized by the city manager but Council must approve Appropriations um with uh increase of appropriation transfers between departments and transfers between funds and once again our budgetary basis which we will use for development of the budget is the cash basis the capital Improvement section of the policy requires a 5-year Capital Improvement plan the program consists of two components the capital plan which lists the the items locality um anticipates needing within the next 5 years and the capital budget which the city manager will present annually to council for approval the debt section of the policy is the largest section of this policy and sets the guidelines for making financial decisions related to debt the city does not anticipate um does not intend to issue tax anticipation notes but this section in the policy does

allow that if the timing of revenues requires the issuance of these notes the notes may be issued as outlined in the budget ordinance there are two dep ratios listed in the policy and even though state law allows the issuance of General obligation debt up to 10% of the assessed value of the property this policy restricts the city to 5% of assessed value of real property for General obligation debt council is aware we're not in compliance with that but that is the goal that um this policy moves us toward the cealing for debt as a percentage of um operating revenues Within each fund is set in the policy at 8% compliance with these policies will be calculated each fiscal year and provided to council with the proposed budget those ratios um are in the budget book each year um and they're available to the public in that budget book as well the long-term debt policy describes when the city may use debt and it is specifically written in the policy that under no circumstances is it recommended to issue long-term debt obligations for private Enterprise projects where business plans and Market risk play a significant role in the economic outcome of the pro of the project the last section of the policy is financial reporting this section states that the city's financial statements will confirm to generally accepted accounting principles as established by the governmental Accounting Standards Board the city will maintain an accounting system to allow for the accurate And Timely preparation of financial statements audit results will be presented to the city council annually and accepted by the council the finance committee will review regularly the financial activity of the city and may report to council um any areas of concern and monthly financial statements

will be distributed to council quarterly Financial updates will be provided to council compliance ratios will be presented um and at a minimum that um presentation will be two years of actuals and um current year ratios and the ratios proposed in the budget so transitioning to the general fund balance policy guideline um the only change there is to remove the solid waste fund from the policy calculation just as a reminder the unassigned fund balance 18% of general fund um revenues excluding pass through revenues and internal transfers that sets our inter um our unassigned fund balance goal um for the city we have met and exceeded that goal um several years ago and we maintain that options for amounts in excess of the policy this policy gives um Council a a guideline as to what could be used with funds in excess of the policy guideline to be used perhaps for non-recurring expenditures or to fund additional reserves so thank you Council that is the presentation and um just a reminder the finance committee did review these um changes and they do recommend that Council approve these um changes as presented these policies as presented thank you so with that with it being a recommendation from the finance committee does that technically need a motion in a second or okay uh I move for approval of the updated Finance policies as presented second thank you is there any discussion on finance policies uh I would like to say to the assistant city manager CFO thank you for your presentation and thank you for your work on this um you put in a lot of hours every year um on making sure that we

stay uh stay in good shape on our finances and um you know it is a testament to your hard work that we are in the position that we are now you know much better position than we were when you were hired when I was elected or when we got on to councel um so so we appreciate your work and and these type of policies are a big part of what keeps uh Keeps Us in line so thank you I also appreciate the effort that you put into the presentation that you just gave us where you take the uh the long procedure that you provided and have updated and you gave us uh short bullet points and while simplifying it you left in there the key numbers that we need to keep in mind so appreciate that while simplifying it you kept the details that are important thank you and I would just like to add um Miss frin thank you so much for your hard work on this financial policy um and for your efforts in keeping the city's Financial practices up to date um you are a true leader in our city and and I appreciate your dedication I think uh it speaks to the success that we're having and um you've really helped with our credit rating and really getting our finances in order and I really appreciate your hard work and for making sure our policies reflect both current needs and future goals thank you i' like to add I'm very fortunate to work with a um for the city manager and an amazing group of people so thank you all very much excuse me thank you I'd also like to add to um I know there's been a lot of work over the years in these policies and they've you've developed them over time but it's it's one of those things that um has put the city on on the right course thank you for the work M fragin Mr eids that you all have done on this

you've also had were able to get the Buy in of council you've convinced us to buy in too that these policies were important it helped it wasn't an overnight fix and we're not fixed yet but we're on the right track because of these policies so thank you for that work thank you okay so there's no further discussion the clerk will please call the role farum yes Holmes yes Osborne yes Pard yes Nate yes all right thank you um moving on to excuse me agenda item D3 staff report Mr eids uh Council uh tonight before you believe it or not is our budget calendar we are uh in beginning in the budget process which actually started back in November and uh this is the calendar that we were proposing at this time as we go through the budget this year uh budget work papers went to the departments in November of this past year Department work papers were due to finance last Friday January 24th 2025 Outside Agency applications are due January 31st of 2025 internal Department management meetings will occur in February the budget development will will occur February and March of 2025 the Bristol Virginia Public School um budget presentation and Outside Agency presentations will occur on March the 11th 2025 and at the same time we will also hold a budget workshop on March the 11th of 2025 another budget Workshop will be held during a regularly scheduled council meeting on March the 25th um I will present the budget on April the 8th at the same time or after the budget presentation the tax rate resolution will be presented to council uh to affix the real estate property

taxes and other taxes in the city on April 8th of 2025 we will advertise the fiscal year 25 Budget on April the 12th of 2025 the public hearing for the appropriation ordinance will occur on April 22nd of 2025 the first reading of the budget ordinance will be on May 13th of 2025 and then the second reading of the budget ordinance will be May 27th of 2025 over the past several years we have attempted to have the budget passed before May 31st in order to uh enact the ordinance on July one as required by law uh this timeline will get us that way as well if we need additional uh workshops and meetings we can always add that uh but based on how we've done things the past couple of years right now this seems sufficient thank you Mr eats uh Council discussion I'd note that this does reflect that the city staff is putting in advanced work so that we don't need the all day Saturday workshops and such like we've had in the past and that I I know that means more work on your part which makes it easier on our part I and I I appreciate the work that y'all put into this you know with all due respect I love all of you but I don't want to be here on Saturday morning at any point so I I appreciate that we're doing this doing these budget workshops before during meetings and I would just like to note too um on the the handout there if you can scroll down just a smidge um it shows that the regularly scheduled City Council meetings I counted up there are eight of those and at each one of those there's public comment permitted and encouraged so plenty of opportunities come out um speak on the budget share your concerns share the needs that you see in our community so please make make sure you do that the on if you do it more on the front end we can adapt a little quicker

a little better but uh just please come out and uh State uh State your concerns we're want to hear them so thank you mayor Nave did you have anything to add not at this time thank you thank you just didn't want to forget you all right um so with that no formal vote is needed just heads up okay so moving on to the next agenda item item e matters to be presented by the members of the public non-agenda items we have one Mr Ricky Watts thank you uh Rick Watts I live at 266 Shipley Drive Bristol Virginia and I want to apologize I apparently checked the wrong box on the form when I filled it out this uh should have been in the earlier uh session so sorry to kind of rehash where we were already at but um I'd like to direct my comments um specifically to councilman po um over the years you and I have disagreed on a lot of policy issues probably more than we agreed on but despite that I've always um respected the belief that you were fundamentally an honest person with the best interest of the city at heart um you ran a long um campaign and spoke at length about your religious piety and the need for honesty and transparency in our local government and I believed you um so while we may differ on approaches I believed when you were elected that you would do what you saw as the best thing at any given time um unfortunately I should have known better because I had a mentor who once shared with me that a strong person doesn't have to posture an intelligent

person doesn't have to convince you and without doubt an honest Pious person doesn't ever have to say it uh you see it in their actions and what they do on a day-to-day basis um you effectively replaced Bill Harley on the council and um I would just like to throw in that he was somebody who exemplified all three of those things in what he did on a day-to-day basis uh so it's a shame that we are where we are right now um your recent admission made it clear that transparency was just words without any real substance or meaning um we've heard from people in your church and friends that they've never heard you tell an untruth but in your own statement you said that you said untrue things knowing that they were untrue in the moment just not to equivocate like these weren't things where maybe you I think the comment was misspoke or were stressing like you knew when you said it that they were untrue things but you said them anyway um you have thought for a very long time to get to the position that you are right now we've all seen it multiple campaigns multiple elections and you're always so close right there and you fought and you fought and you fought to get the seat that you have but I'm asking you to remember the person you were when started this okay you wanted to chase this kind of stuff out of government you you have become the thing that you started doing this you know to try to stop so I'm asking you personally manto man to resign the position that you're in because you've lost The credibility of your position you've lost The credibility of the things that you run

on and you no longer have that trust um Reverend talked about forgiveness from what she's saying with your apology I forgive you as a man I forgive you as a person but as a councilman there are repercussions for the actions that you take so I hope that you can do the right thing step down from the position so the city can move past it and until you do that it's going to be a divide that's going to drag down the city um and thank you just to add one last sentence should you choose not to resign within the next 10 days there is a group of citizens who are going to start the petitions to have it done forcibly you know if you don't do the right thing and step down on your own accord so manto man I hope that you can see you have become the thing that you were trying to get out of this local government and and you can do the right thing and step down from the position thank you Mr wats have a wonderful day all right moving on to the next um agenda item the consent agenda I move for approval of the consent agenda in Fall as presented second second all right any discussion hearing none clerk will you please call the role yeses yes Osborne yes yes n yes all right and with that um we are now to adjournment I will entertain a motion for adjournment I move that we stand adjourned is there a second second second all right uh I don't think there'll be any discussion

so clerk please call the role farum yes holes yes Osborne yes Pard yes Nave yes for