City Council Zoning Meeting - workshop

Thank you. Thank you for the presentation. A couple of questions. So when we go back to the beginning and we look at the NCDOT and CDOT partnerships, and this is something you could bring back later because I don't expect you to have this answer. But if we're thinking about partnerships, it would be nice to know currently how many unfunded projects that are state responsibility that we have.

We know that we have been having conversations for years off of North Tryon in the Steel Creek area. There's been conversations. There's been some work that has been done along the Mount Holly Huntersville Road, and they've had to do some realignments already on that. But if we're highlighting a partnership, one of our challenges as we experience the growth is the fact that a lot of the roads that need maintenance are crossing over and connected to those state maintained roads that are not being funded. So as we look to believe that this will give us an opportunity to address some needs, The current needs still need to be identified.

So having an idea of how many unfunded roles in this beautiful little map would be helpful for me. I also want to understand because you get gave a couple of different options of potential development. Like, if we look at the modernized bridges and interchanges, I think that's slide 11 with the Oak Lawn Bridge. I think it would be helpful if we have consistency in the buffering.

Good afternoon, everyone. We are so grateful to see so many of you sitting here helping us decide what you want us to do and how we can do it well. So I want to say thank you for being here and, all of us are aware that we are at a time that it's very it's really the time to start putting the rubber against the road. Right? So that's not, I shouldn't have said it that way, sorry about that.

But for the process today, I am proposing that each council member be recognized to have an opportunity to express their perspectives and provide any suggestions for amendments or adjustments to the proposed manager's budget. The budget staff will record the items for consideration on the screen and then after we have heard from each council member, we'll go through the list to vote on those items. As a reminder that we have a rule around this that we have used and it's, yeah, I think pretty successfully, is that we have, we have this reminder that says we will have the adjustments receiving the least, at least five votes will be analyzed and costed out by the staff, and they will come back to the council and begin the work that we would have for a final document. So before we get started, I wanna make sure that we call it the I forgot we we have a name for it, straw votes. I don't think we have any straw, but they are votes for it.

So any questions on the process before we begin?

Oh, yes.

Yes. Victoria Watlington. I see this letter from mayor pro tem. Has someone already picked up these, or is there a need to put these into the I I'm not sure. Okay. I'll read them in. No worries.

Okay. I don't have a copy of that letter.

Doctor. Wildington, he asked to pass those out so y'all would know

his recommendations. Okay. I'll take care

of it.

No worries. Okay. No.

I'm sorry. It just turned around on me. Here we go. That's fine. It was covered up. Alright. So, I hope that we would begin with this, beginning. We're gonna start off with, miss Ashmira.

Thank you, madam mayor. So are we doing intro or just budget adjustments directly? Budget adjustments.

Okay. This is where we are right now.

Okay. I have five budget adjustments. So number one is add funding for five permanent modified duty positions within Charlotte fire to support firefighters that's been injured or diagnosed with job related illness in the line of duty. I know that many of them have talked to folks on the council about the need. I mean, this helps us with keeping our trained officers, firefighters while contributing, while we honor their service and recovery.

I do not have an amount for that so I would like budget staff to come back with that amount.

That's really what we will do as soon as we get up there and then we will go from there.

Second line item I have is safe alliance funding. In previous years they were funded approximately 400,000 to support victim assistance, court support, and these are really essential services. From what I understand, that twenty four hour hotline would not exist if we do not support it. So I'm concerned about that. And I you know, we are making increased investments in public safety, thanks to the manager and the entire budget team.

I think that's great because that shows our commitment to public safety, but I consider safe alliance funding is also part of public safety to protect survivors and domestic domestic violence survivors, and it helps prevent crisis from escalating in our neighborhoods. Number three, so that's I think $3.93 some change. So roughly you can just put 400 k. Next item I have is allocate $100,000 to further struggle. It's an organization that supports our youth in most vulnerable neighborhoods, and I've seen their work firsthand, as well as 100,000 to the Carolinas Asian American Chamber of Commerce.

We did see them speak at our public hearing. They support immigrant and refugee communities with language barriers to ensure that they have an access to opportunities and economic stability. Number four I have is you can combine the two.

It's probably better so that people can vote on them separately. Thank you.

Okay. So next item I have is transit equity for disabled residents. From what I understood from talking with community members that there is not currently a fair equity for SDS riders. I would like us to direct cats to include fair equity for SDS riders and also fund accessibility for visually impaired riders as part of the modernization plan. Currently I looked at our fair table and it shows SDS fares it's at $3.5 and monthly pass is at $140 while our bus riders pay $1.1 and $44 monthly in our monthly pass.

So that just shows there is an inequity. So I would like more information on that. And lastly, I listened this morning to the conversation about how the county balanced their investments and held the property tax study. And they got this magic mic that I heard about on Charlotte Talks this morning. And I'm hopeful that we can also get some magic markers here going working for the city of Charlotte.

Obviously, this is not a directive, mister managers, to cut any of our core services. It is really a request for options and trade offs in terms of alternative funding approaches. I believe we can invest in housing and opportunities and public safety, but while also asking tough questions about efficiencies. So my so to give you specific language, Murray, on this, identify potential options to reduce the prop proposed property tax increase while maintaining core investments in safety, transportation, housing, and economic mobility. I heard from residents being concerned about a tax increase, a property tax increase while sales tax increase goes in effect this July.

So I would like us to understand more in terms of efficiency and opportunities. And that's all I have. Thank you.

Thank you. We'll keep coming around this side. Ms. Watlington?

Thank you. A couple of things I see already posted on the board that are important to me as I look at the budget number one, Safe Alliance funding. Having served in District 3, had opportunity to volunteer with Safe Alliance a number of years ago and see that it has a very specific and large impact to our residents. It's very necessary. It's part of our public safety response and frankly a part of our workforce development and economic mobility.

So definitely we'll be supporting restoring safe alliance funding to the level that we are able. Certainly, can get behind the 400,000, but we'll we'll wait to see what we ultimately are able to do in light of the other request. I also want to make sure that we put on the board restoring pay parity for our CFD, our firefighters, and learning some of the intricacies about how they're paid versus our officers. Want to make sure that that parity is not just in word, but also indeed and ultimately in their take home pay. I believe that one is a $4,000,000 impact to the budget.

So but I would I would hope that we are able to find that because that's a critical service to our to our city. And then also, you all have heard many times that I've been working with the university and community partners on on developing a land use and transportation integrated model to improve the way that we plan our city for decades to come. We have received the scope of work from the university there, and as anticipated, it is less than $300,000 So I will be asking that we make that investment to to enable ourselves to improve how we're planning our city and our infrastructure, including transportation there. One thing on this one, I did speak with folks over in housing and neighborhood services, and we did set aside dollars in our housing trust fund specific to data analytics. And given that this is transportation and land use, and obviously those go together as it relates to providing affordable housing in our city, that may be a place to look for those dollars, but I'm posting it here as discussed over the last several weeks.

So those are the three that come top of mind. Certainly, there are others that I see here that I intend to support. And then I wanted to read mayor pro tem's letter into the record as well.

Okay. Thank you. Michelle?

Okay. Read the letter, please.

Dear colleagues, I hope you all are well today. I wanted share that I will not be present at the budget adjustments meeting as today is my birthday. I would like to offer the following recommendations for consideration during the discussion. One, I recommend that we include raising all firefighters to the 10% level in alignment with CMPD. Number two, I support funding the greater enrichment program at the level of $200,000 consistent with our past practice.

This after school program continues to have a meaningful impact on the success of both black and brown students in our community. And number three, I recommend that we provide funding at some level for safe alliance as a demonstration of our support and ongoing partnership in addressing domestic violence. Lastly, I would like to ask the economic development staff to begin exploring the opportunity to bring the military world games to Charlotte in July 2027. This is not a funding request at this time, but the effort could have budget implications next April. Thank you all for your attention to these recommendations. Please feel free to reach out if additional clarification is needed.

Thank you. Miss Mayo. Thank you so much.

So council member Graham also sorry. Forgot to turn that on, but I have a loud voice. Council member Graham also provided me a list for him as well. So I kinda like us to double team. I agree with his list as well.

We'd be interested in seeing, city a 4% increase for all city workers. That is not tied to performance. We would like to have parity with police and the fire department so if we could explore firefighters receiving a 10% pay increase. I'd also like to kind of ditto what council member Ajamir spoke about with safe alliance funding. The manager and I spoke briefly during our one on one.

I do think it's imperative that we think innovatively about that organization and the work that they provide and the support to our community. I'd be interested in our thinking could they be under CMPD or some type of opportunity for public safety because we know the support they provide our community. Instead of them having to go through every year going through the process to be public going through being a partner of the city. I think it would be a lot easier if we just kind of folded them in because of the invaluable work that they provide our community. That's our part about safe alliance.

I had a little bit more on there that he did not say, but I'm sure he'd agree. He talked about the intergovernmental department for international affairs recruitment and retention. I know council member Massuer Arias is gonna talk more about that as well, but we are in support of that as well. He would support funding for for the struggle, council member Ajmer spoke about hearts for the indivisible adding 10,000 or excuse me, 100,000 in just movement. 100,000 as well. And please let me know if I went too fast. I do talk fast sometimes.

Sorry. So you said a 100,000 for hearts for the visible and then a 100,000 for the just movement. Just movement. Thank you. Alright.

Are you done?

I am. Just want

to make sure.

Okay. Thank you so much.

Alright, yes. Alright, so our next speaker is who wants to go? Do you want to go first? Yeah. Okay. Miss Owens. Do you want me to do you?

No. Go ahead. So I want to look at the top of the list. So if we can do these in order, Marie, I just want to make sure I tell you which ones to put my name next to. Can you buzz down?

Okay, I am favorable on funding five modified duty positions. The logic of that and the ability to retain talent really is something that I think is an impactful element of that. I also am exceptionally supportive of restoring safe alliance funding. I will only caution to the point made by council member Mayo that I'm not certain that I believe that that should be subsumed because I do think that there are some folks who may be uncomfortable using those services if they were rolled up under the police department. So, that's just that's a topic for another day, but I just I've done volunteer work, I've done 50 b restraining orders, I've done that work and I completely appreciate particularly coming out of childhood of domestic violence, the importance of that to public safety.

So, I do sign off on that as well. The fair equity for STS writers is also some place I'd like to add my name. Had a really engaging conversation this past week and was really privy to situation that I didn't even know existed around not only the fair equity, but the lack of real usable services. And, I say that because the wait times are exceptionally long and for caregivers of family members who need to ride our paratransit, they are being left in the lurch often. They need to go to work, they need to make decisions about their day, and the governor of that time period is just so wide open that it really doesn't lend itself.

So, I would add to fair equity, and I don't know if this is a separate matter, but I would add whatever staffing or technological improvements that we need to make to make that more seamless, particularly if we are gonna lean in on transit and and mobility for all. It needs to be available to people who use that system. So, I'd like my my name to go next to that one. I agree with council member Ashmiro with respect to potential options to reduce the property tax increase. I too spoke with people over the weekend and over the end of last week, who are cautious in any tax increase in large part because we've created that environment.

We've made a situation where instead of small incremental property tax increases that were needed through time, we we kind of need a bigger one now. And, I need a little bit more I need more to go on to make that sales pitch for folks. And so, would like to believe that we've looked at some things more intentionally. Some that came to my mind, you know, I was interested in some of the fees that we collect around code enforcement. So, I'd like to put out there that code enforcement is an area where if we are trying to keep this naturally occurring or affordable housing, it would be nice to be able to know that we're doing what we need to do and making landlords actually give livable dwellings.

And, I'd like to see code enforcement increased, and consequently that revenue come in. I'd also like to consider what we can do around our pet community. I see a pretty big amount of money that's going and I'm very supportive of supporting our pet community. But, I also would like to appreciate when and how those fees and those licenses, whether we can revisit some of the costs and and put some of that more on our on our fee owners, our pet owners rather, and and have them pay a bit more towards that. So I'd like to consider that.

And then, know, my last item you know is is as always, you know, the housing trust fund. You know, I ran on housing, I ran on an appreciation of of wanting to to retain folks who want to move back to Charlotte, particularly folks who go away for school or for whatever opportunities and wanna come back here. Our housing trust fund, I think, has really done yeoman's work and has become something that the community values. And, I'd like to see what it looks like to to put that, you know, I I think council member Mayfield had asked to see what does 200 look like. What is, you know, what what are our options there?

And I I know I'm not asking you to grow a money tree, but that is something that I think does feed public safety. It feeds perceptions of public safety in as much as we can get folks off of our streets and in housing, and I appreciate a lot of that is with the county. I don't that's not lost on me. But, I also do think that, you know, if you're looking at code enforcement and we're operating with a sense of priority around making just some of our housing that we have livable. I'd like to see that done. So, all those elements of the housing trust fund, just would like to see what we can imagine there. But that's it for me. Alright.

Thank you.

Thank you very much. And we'll move to miss Mayfield.

Thank you. Excuse me, madam mayor. So I have some questions because staff has provided some information. As my colleague just mentioned, I asked at the beginning of this conversation for this year's budget for staff to bring back what is our financial capacity if we were to go up to 200, and then we received the mayor's the manager's budget. And now we're having this discussion, but we have not received the response back from staff because to my understanding, there is a reason and there is a cost with trying to move towards 200,000.

And what I wanna understand is if this is a time for staff to actually respond to the questions that have been asked in regard to this budget. And the answer to that is yes. Marie, are you prepared to start answering questions? Thank you. So it's gonna be a couple of them. But when we go back and if we scroll back up to the top and we look at once, staff finish updating, Look at the question of what our housing trust fund dollars would look like. You were able to get some information on that?

Yes, ma'am. So you were mentioning your request to see what it would take to bring the house

What is our capacity and what would it look like if we were to look at a $200,000

One time. Yes. And this is from Matt Hofstede, the CFO who's beside me and his team. It would be an additional 0.157¢ to the property tax.

So do you have what that number is based on the proposed since we're also having a conversation right now about possibly reducing? Manager Jones, what was your sales tax proposal rate?

1.89.

So it yes, ma'am. So an additional zero point 1.57 to that 1.89 in order for us to move to a 200,000,000. So I wanna make sure that we have that noted and that is clear for community and for council colleagues. We also have in here my yes, sir.

So let me make sure I understand. For the CFO, if you put this 1.89

one 0.1557.

In, is that in perpetuity or you put it in one year, you take it out? It would be in perpetuity. Okay. Alright.

K.

So that total new tax rate would be what if we were to do that?

May I ask one more question?

Yes, sir.

So, Matt also, that only funds it at 200,000,000 for one bond cycle? That is correct. Go back to 100,000,000 the That is correct. The steady state would maintain at 100,000,000 for future bond cycles.

So I want to make sure for clarification for those that are here in the audience as well as for my colleagues, that new tax rate will be moving forward. That 0.157 for a one time getting 200,000,000. So when we're talking about a 200,000,000 trust fund balance, we are saying that as a community, if we move forward, we're okay. We're adding this additional amount to the tax versus the $1.25 that's proposed right now, which might have a little bit of wiggle room, but not to 200. So I wanna make sure that we're clear about that piece.

We also have on here, Marie, you did some I had both you and Matt run the numbers as we're talking about funding our fire department, which is something that has been very important to me as well. Thank And I'm going to go back and thank my colleagues and the manager again previously for funding our burns center to get that updated, but we actually ran the numbers if we were to do a reduction in that 10% proposed for CMPD? If you can please share that.

That would be approximately 6,400,000. In what? Reduction?

Yes, ma'am. So for for clarification, Maria and I had a chance to go through the budget book and what opposed to just saying, let's identify this 4,400,000. At the end of the day, all of us that budget at whatever level we know if we want to add spend somewhere, we got to figure out where we can save. So what I looked at is I asked staff to look at instead of a 10% increase if CMPD were to receive 7% and what what Matt was able to identify is that 3% difference would be a reduction a savings of what amount again? 6,400,000.

So if we were to look at 7% versus 10% for CMPD, that will give us a savings for our first responders. For me, when I look at it and recognize I'm biased and I own it, Fire shows up first. That's who shows up immediately. Law enforcement does an amazing job, and law enforcement shows up afterwards. In that reduction or that savings, we have the 4,400,000 in order to make sure that fire is whole.

So I would like for counsel to consider. So you can put my name in the box for the 4,400,000, but understanding where I am looking for us to identify those funds is in the reduction from 10% for CMPD to 7%, which gives us enough of a savings to ensure that fire has its pay equity as well as you can put my name next to the addition for the additional fire staff. I believe it was four staff members. I think we already have it on there. So when we scroll back up.

Yes. For the five modified duty positions for Charlotte fire, you can put my name next to that. But, again, that's what looking at where could we have savings in order to offset it. Marie, can you remind us because we have a actual application process for our financial partners. Every year, we come to this space. The financial partners manager remind me 0.01% of our total budget. So out of that, and I believe you presented it all to us, there was $4.04 $6,000,000 worth. What was the total amount in request this year? It was 6,000,000 and some change.

Yes,

ma'am. But I wanted the exact numbers so community and everybody know it.

Okay. Exactly 6,199,681.

So that was the amount that is the total the total dollar amount that we received in financial application request. What is the amount that we actually have available to allocate for financial partners? Last year,

it was $8.12 and based on the scoring, we were able to bring it up to because we had two people at tie at the bottom. We brought it up to 891,000.

So again, to be very clear, out of the total number of requests, we had less than 1,000,000 available to actually allocate. We also have a scoring system of which we had this discussion last year, which the previous year then council voted to support the scoring system and then suggestions and items were voted on last year. Marie, how did y'all identify the scoring system this year as far as the numbers? And I'd like

to turn it over to Cherry Smith because she's the one that works with the partners directly and the scoring team, but she can provide a lot more details.

Please introduce yourself and share that.

Sherri Smith, strategy and budget. This year, we had a scoring system that focused on applications alignment with council's strategic priorities. We ensured that the scoring system was out of 100% so that we could do apples to apples. In addition to scoring the applications by staff individually, we then went through applications to ensure their adherence to the financial partner policy that was approved by counsel. So the scores that are reflected for organizations include whether or not they submitted midyear reports on time, whether they attended our mandatory information session in addition to meeting the requirement to not request more than 30% of the agency's overall operating budget.

Thank you for that clarification, and I'm gonna ask you to repeat. We do have a mandatory session to for all financial partners.

Yes, ma'am. Last year, at the request of counsel, we hosted a mandatory information session on October 17. It was a requirement for organizations to attend that meeting in order to be eligible to apply for the FY twenty seven funding cycle.

Thank you so much. So, again, I want to make sure that we have as much clarity in this conversation as possible. Council voted and directed staff to add this mandatory session in in order to try to give an opportunity for partners to ask questions and or to clearly understand what our process is. I have a concern with some of the recommendations my colleagues have made. The lowest score that we received was a score of 48.8 up to 100.

We did have one partner that received 100, but out of the less than $1,000,000 that we have available, seven partners have been identified. One of the challenges that I have is greater enrichment program does amazing work. We know that. They we I just attended their fiftieth anniversary. They did not attend a mandatory session.

I am going to repeat the same thing I said last year. If we are not going to stick to the scoring process that council identified, voted on, and supported, then we need to remove the scoring process altogether and just let community know that council members are just gonna identify what organizations they wanna fund because it is not fair for the organizations that complete the application, that submit their financials, that attend the meeting, to then get to this time of the budget and other organizations that may have missed the score by a point or less to be skipped over to fund ones that we just think are doing good work. Scroll okay. So let's go through this. For the Struggle does amazing work in our community.

I'm not gonna challenge that. For the Struggle scored 82. Carolina Asian American Chamber scored 48.8. Safe Alliance does amazing work. I think we may have an opportunity if we identify savings other places, but I will say SAFE Alliance scored a 91.

The lowest score that actually is identified for funding this round, I believe, a 95.2. So the numbers were our organization scored a 95.2, one one hundred, a 96.5, a 97.6, a 96 and two more 96 fives. To drop down to an organization that scored 48.8 and to skip everything from 95.2 down to that 40 is a disservice to all of those other organizations. To identify an organization, no matter how well their work is, that did not attend a mandatory meeting that council designated staff to do is disrespectful to everyone that fell in the nineties that are being not considered at this particular time. I want us to recognize that we are having it has been mentioned, Manager Jones, for you to figure out how to reduce this current tax rate.

No, I'm not happy with it because I've said for numerous years, I would have loved for us to have been doing incremental tax increases instead of not doing tax increases, and now we are where we are. But we cannot do both. We cannot figure out how to provide services to all the organizations and keep our taxes at the current rate. That math doesn't work out, unfortunately. Yet, I am gonna support for you all to look and see where we may have additional cost savings.

I've already identified one place. I'm not in your budget office. So we have amazing people that do this work that can consider it, But I want to make sure that community clearly hears from me. Those that are watching online, those of you, thank you, that showed up. When you hear my no, there's a very clear reason that my no. We have a process. We committed to this process. We voted on this process. But yet, we are in the second round of saying the process was voted on, but we are going to choose to do something else. We gotta figure out where the money is gonna come from.

So for me, while staff has looked into the numbers, there is a reason financially, an additional tax increase for us to get to 200,000,000 capacity wise. And that tax increase will be forever for that one time, 200, and then automatically goes back down the next bond to a 100, and we're starting this conversation all over again for future. So I want us to understand that. We also have on this board a request for Just Do It movement. Also does amazing work.

They scored a 68. Now if we had 5,000,000 to fund financial partners, I would not have a challenge as much because I would still have a challenge if it outside of the process. But when we have organizations that score a 90.2, a 93, a 91, a 91.6, a 90.9, a 94 that we were not able to fund, but we dropped down to 48.8, to 68, to 82, it is very difficult for me to be able to support that. I also support the idea of us looking into STS, but Manager Jones, I have a question for you. MPTA has been being set up.

Is STS going over all all cats related is going to be going to the MPTA. If we were to make any adjustments on because I want us to not be able to just put a number out there without having clarity around what authority as well as what funding line item we are going to identify. Please explain to me if there was support to look at our STS riders, which needs to be funded at a much greater level and the rates need to be reduced to help our most vulnerable in the community, What does this MPTA transition look like?

That was interesting. If you'd asked me Thursday, may have given you a different answer. So what's going to happen is both the council and the MPTA is going to approve a budget. They have it before them. You have it before you.

Cat's budget is within this budget. And the way it's designed to work is that for some portion of the next fiscal year, the CATS operations will be the city and for some portion of the next fiscal year, it'll be the MPTA. But the goal is for both bodies to approve the same budget.

Do we have will we have the opportunity to influence the funding allocation for STS once it is transferred to MPTA and or during their budget conversation?

I think what is important is if we start to think about this transition to the authority, for the most part, the council's actions related to it will be the appointments that you have to the authority. Essentially, the authority is going to run cats, all of it.

So for clarification, the answer is yes or no. That we will have do will we, city council, have authority regarding the pay, the fare, anything related to STS?

Not after the authority takes control. No.

And right now, even though PAVE Act has identified June, we know that wasn't necessarily as feasible of a timeline. We're going into January, but NPTA is working on their own budget.

We're working on the same budget.

So we are working on the same budget. It will be helpful if information is going to be brought back after today's discussion to clearly identify what, if any, role city of Charlotte city council has with this STS conversation so that we I do not wanna give community false hope. Sure. Now, if we had discussed this last year, and I believe over time, Manager Jones, you and I have had direct conversations regarding STS as well as our residents who are visually impaired and trying to figure out funding that is needed, but for this discussion, it will be helpful that staff actually responds either I will prefer in writing so that the community can be aware that we may put make a suggestion to put something in this budget, but we need to be realistic of where and if those funds are available and who is actually gonna be responsible for it. We are not gonna be responsible for STS.

We are only at this point, as the transition happens, responsible for our appointees.

So council member Mayfield, can I characterize Please it a little do? Okay. July 1 comes about and the 1% sales tax funding starts to flow. And when that money flows, there's opportunities for the MPTA around rail and bus. So some of the concerns around STS can begin to be addressed with this new money coming in, whether it's the council or the MPTA.

What we didn't have in the past is this influx of money. So I would say there is going to be a longer runway for this conversation than I think over the next couple of weeks.

So for this budget discussion, I am trying to have clarity on is this is this the appropriate time for us to look at the funding for STS? Because I agree that the rates are high and the level of service is not ideally what we would like because of the 1% sales tax that's going to help, but I wanna make sure that we're having the right conversation in the right context.

Yeah. I'll I'll try it a little differently. I just I think this community is going to get there because of the additional funding. I think to try to get there over the next two weeks is gonna be very difficult.

And I I just wanna say I think that the MPTA understands what you're trying to make possible, and they have a place for all of that to happen, but it's not ready yet to do this. But I would say that when the meetings that are held with all of the towns and and all of the folks that are here in the county and us, is the discussion has always been how do we get the work done and move quickly enough. I don't I don't know that we are gonna be able to move quickly enough, but I do know that they are very much engaged in what they're doing. And I think I thought that, I mean, council member Malcolm Graham had an opportunity to talk about this in some respects about who's going to be our representatives, and those representatives need to come be and possible with you because, like, you know, I can say this at the meeting, but I think that having the people that you promoted to the space should have that opportunity as well.

I appreciate that, mayor. So, thankfully, I I did send an email out last week and copied all of counsel on with the actual There has not been been any weariness for MPTA to come forward. They had not actually been officially asked yet. So that has gone out. I just wanna make sure that for this conversation, why while we are making recommendations in this budget that we try to be as clear as possible around what is it that we have the ability to do today and what if any changes are going to happen in the near future. Those are all of mine, Mayor. Thank you, Manager Jones.

Madam Mayor?

We are still going around the table and so JD would you go ahead and take it on.

Thank you Madam Mayor. Thank you staff. I would like to start off with suggesting an increase to staff capacity and increased technical capacity for international relations. Manager Jones, you and I have spoken a lot about this, but while thank you so much for including the manager position for international relations, I think we can still get it across the finish line to help city staff who already do this work in our current organization to increase and expand their capacity. For example, having some funds for staff to attend trade shows and additional capacity to promote language access, I think will, in return give us a robust team that can really focus on the growing demands of our international business community as well as our international community on the ground.

I'm also in support for the to restore funding to Safe Alliance who did score a 91 in our financial partners rubric. I I really wanna speak to this personally as somebody who has been a victim to sexual assault. I I think this is crucial for folks, especially when last year in 2025, reporting came out the homicides related to domestic violence across North Carolina increased within a five year span. We've seen a 200% increase in District 5 in East Charlotte. While most of those are traffic fatalities, the other part of them are all related to domestic violence.

And in turn, you see one in every four days a domestic violence case. So I think this is crucial to restore funding particularly when they're going to be a part of the forthcoming umbrella center that we are also supporting as a city in District 5. Also would like to support restoring funding to Prospera, another financial partner who scored a 94. Prospera focuses on small business support to reach economic independence and prosperity, particularly now that they intentionally serve within the corridors of opportunity. They help not only Latino, but non Latino owned businesses and entrepreneurs.

So this is not particularly to one community, it's to the entire community. They've assisted over 1,100 North Carolina residents per year, 70% of which are Charlotte residents. And they've generated a total economic output of 126,000,000 as well as 2,100,000 in direct local and state tax revenue. Also like to make a case to increase our business district organizations line item funding from 600,000 to 1,000,000. I think we definitely need to as we continue to focus on small business support and growing our economic engines across the city, a lot of the business district organizations that we have spoken to in the past all lie within our quarters of opportunity.

So, think it would present a unique opportunity to help support them even more given the success that our S3 program had for them. I also would like to state my support for when my colleagues have already asked for pay parity for the firefighters as well as the five modified duty positions. I think that's really crucial. I like to add, you know, firefighters already are putting themselves into impossible situations. And so if they get harmed during while they're doing their job, I do not think it's fair that we turn our back on them by relieving them of their duties or retiring them early.

So I think these five modified duty positions are crucial to ensure our public safety. And as you've requested a property tax increase in your budget solely on public safety, I think we can find wiggle room in there to make sure that we're taking care of our firefighters. I'm in full support of our men and women in blue uniforms, but I think one cannot exist without the other. So it is crucial that we do not step into a thirty year unprecedented territory by unpairing them when it comes to pay parity. And I believe I'm trying to Marie, can you go through the list and see?

I'm in support for the Asian American chamber as well given the economic development opportunities there. And when it comes to reducing the property tax, don't put my name there. I think that it is this council is asking for a lot. I do not think it's necessarily impossible. I will say, I do think it's somewhat of a miracle that you and all the incredible skills you bring to this table and your talent have managed to not increase the property tax rate in six years.

That being said, I do think it might be out of reach to ask for a reduction of your proposed tax rate, particularly when we are a growing city, we're nearing a million folks and we are we need to ensure that we are delivering exceptional service all the time and making sure that we're taking care of our folks as we continue to see more forthcoming issues, particularly when it comes to public safety, transit, housing, etcetera. So thank you for the work that you' doing and thank you for not only this budget but the previous budgets you provided in the past. Thank you madam mayor.

Ms. Johnson.

Thank you, madam mayor. Mister Jones, thank you for the budget presentation. I want to understand the MPTA and and the city sharing a budget. Can you can you just help me with that? Just just a little more clarity. I I would and tell me if this is a possibility. Could we budget for six months and then MPTA budget for six months?

So my hesitancy is that I'm in the middle of negotiating in a local agreement, and so it's tough to have this conversation. Let me just raise it up a bit, zoom out. In words matter, and I think some of the words that have come out, people may have taken the wrong way. Okay? So whether the MPTA can be ready on July 1 or January 1 or July 1 year, I think it's secondary to having a smooth transition.

And what we've tried to do is have our employees first. So with that, something like health care, which typically begins on January 1 on the calendar year, to help with this transition, having the MPTA have health care benefits for their employees, whether they are going to be July 1 year or 01/01/2027 or 07/01/2027 is really important. So where we are is this exact same budget that's before the council and it's before the MPTA, which is essentially what you just said. Six months of funding for the city as the city operates CATS, and six months of funding for the MPTA as MPTA operates CATS. And then past that is the MPTA.

And whether we can accelerate that to have it this July or January, right now we're working on a split year where half city, half is MPTA. Hannah, did I get that right?

Yes, sir.

Thank you. Okay. So

council member Owens, you mentioned STS and that has been a challenge. STS, we've had users that have had challenges with the services for a long time. For instance, if there's not a bus stop, and correct me if I'm wrong, but there's not a bus stop within, I think it's a mile, from their home, then they're not eligible for STS services. So there's a lot of gaps in the STS services. I did share, I received a concern from a constituent, and I was able to share that with m MPTA members so that they're seeing that so that, hopefully, this will be as seamless as possible.

And mister Cagle, he said there had been a, I think, a 48% increase in demand recently for STS services. So thank you for for bringing this forward. I would support additional funding for STS for that reason. The 7% increase to the to CMPD and fire, what would the numbers what would be the impact for a 7% increase across the board for all city employees? I'd just like to know what that that would be.

Yes, we could cost that out.

Okay. And then firefighters, they're interested in bringing back the step increases. So if we if there were a 7% increase across the board and also restoring the step increases to the firefighters. One of them said to me, we take less if we just get our step increases back. So that's something to

consider Just to clarify, they would get less if you did their steps because if I know there's some that would get about, like they said 2%, but a lot of them are topped out like 40 something percent are topped out and they'd only get like one and a half percent if you're topped out and they're now getting seven, but we'll look at whatever scenarios you want us to look at.

Yeah, restoring the steps and then if we look at take take a look at that and also the 7% across the board. I also and I'll I'll go in order in just a a second, but on page two sixty four there is a there's information about $10,000,000 for a helicopter hangar. Can I get some information on that please and how that impacts

the budget? Yes and that's part of our capital budget and I'm sorry you said the number two sixty what page?

Two sixty four. A CMPD helicopter hangar. And

that so that is needed because the facility they used to have is no longer an option anymore in the airport property. So this is the buying a parcel and then upfitting it. And it's also it's gonna be more than just the hangar. They're gonna also have facilities for some special use forces and things there as well.

And I know that's important, but I think when when when times are tough and we're tightening our financial purse strings, I would recommend that we take a look at purchasing that or spending that another year. So removing the $10,000,000 for the purchase of a CMPD helicopter hangar. If we can go down the list.

Sorry, miss Johnson. If we can, we capture what you just said.

Okay.

We're moving the the $10,000,000 out of CIP or the hangar, helicopter hangar. Okay. Would you go to the top, please?

I support the five modified duty positions. I support restoring safe alliance funding. And all of these are important but it's just we have to be good stewards of what we have so anything that I'm not supporting is not that I don't support the mission but we do have to be selective. I support the funding for this for the struggle and identifying potential options to reduce property tax. The exploring opportunities to bring the military world games to CLT.

And if you know any veterans or active military individuals, they are really excited about this. This is like the Olympics for individuals who are in the military. I heard from mister Bonaparte as soon as this was announced and he was really excited. So I would support that as well. Funding for the hearts, for the invisible, I support that.

However, they were recently awarded a large amount from the county recently so that is good news for them but the need is there. Homelessness has gone up, you know, twelve percent, I believe. So if you scroll down, Expanding the capacity for international relations.

And

I'd also like to ask, I support increasing and this is kind of contradictory but there's a reason, the millage increase for the university city partners, I do support that, it's in District 4. You see Okay. You

would only add something you need to amend.

So it's

good you

state that. Thank you for that. But you wouldn't have to

put it

up there.

Okay. Okay. Alright. That's all I have. Thank you. Oh, let me ask one question while I have the mic, I'm sorry. Where are these meetings viewable? They used to be viewable on Facebook, has that stopped?

Believe there was some technical somewhere communications doesn't do them

on Facebook. They might do

this on Facebook, but they definitely do it on the Gov channel and the YouTube. So they can watch it live and they can always go back and watch it as well.

Okay, because I know that last Monday's meeting wasn't on Facebook either. So I know that there was a push for more transparency. So when those kind of changes are made, if we could be advised of that

And that was over a year ago, sorry,

that they did that. I've been sharing Facebook meetings for, yeah, up until last week. So that wasn't done a year ago.

I know Dante.

Thanks. The committee meetings are only available on YouTube. But

Thank you.

Alright. Miss Anderson.

Thank you Madam Mayor. And yes, Miss Johnson I sadly rewatch all of our meetings on YouTube. There's a CLT gov channel on YouTube that you can watch these meetings live and rewatch them when you get home and you're tired. For this budget add delete exercise, Madam Mayor, a couple of things.

I'm sorry. I wasn't saying they weren't on YouTube but they were also on Facebook.

Not sure about Facebook but 1000% on YouTube, yes. For this exercise I fully want to support the firefighters in their continuance of pay parity with cmpd. I understand the budget constraints and Mr. Jones you do a yeomanis work in trying to make sure that our budget is in alignment and not out of alignment. But our firefighters literally are the first we talk about first responders they are the first responder to at all things 09:11 And I want to make sure that they are in parity and not left behind.

And once they're out of pay parity, then begins, then the inertia begins, right? And so we want to make sure that there's no erosion of their pay or their equity as it relates to public safety. That's first and foremost. Secondarily, safe alliance. What just heard for those of my colleagues that are on the public safety committee, we have the domestic violence advisory board come in just last week and share some information with us a couple weeks back, actually.

And they talked about the increase of nine one one calls as it relates to domestic violence. There's been a double digit delta from 2024 to 2025 as it relates to nine one one emergency calls for domestic violence over 37,000 calls just in 2025. And it's going to increase in within just the these few months that we've experienced in '26 it has. So we know that's a direct way to stave off violence, that's a direct way to stave off crime and increase safety in our community. So at 1000% support restoring the safe alliance funding.

The umbrella center is opening and that's going to be a fantastic one stop shop for unfortunately those that are experiencing this implication on their life, but we need to make sure that we are supporting this and undergirding this. I also support along with council member Ashmira and Maswara Arias the funding of the Asian American chamber. They do tremendous work throughout our community and absolutely support the $100,000 support for them. As you move down the list here, the other thing that and I don't necessarily want to provide support for a direct line item, but one thing I just want to make clear is the funding for the hearts for the invisible, we know that the unhoused situation is growing in our community and continues to grow. We know the numbers in terms of who is unhoused and who is right there on the brink.

We have to collectively intergovernmentally figure

out

a way that we can support this ecosystem that Hearts for the Invisible is a part of and Jessica does a phenomenal job with this work, but we have to figure out a way to undergird this effort that is interdisciplinary to try and keep people in their homes and to get them back into safe, secure housing and off the street. So if a 100,000 is going to make a step in the right direction, I support that. But I think more largely it's about what's a larger plan and how we can support this effort of ensuring that our unhoused is moving towards safe and secure housing. Thank you madam mayor. Thank

you madam mayor and my apologies to you and counsel for being a little bit tardy this afternoon. I just wanted to add content to some of the items that were added on my behalf thank you councilmember mayo and johnson for delivering the word for me. I want to start with the city workers and the 4% increase Mr. Manager I just need to know again why is there 4% tied to performance is not a pure 4% increase, is it not?

Sure. Councilmember Graham, can I try to identify how we pay three sets of people? I think that is important.

Let me ask you another question. Is the police 10% increase without a performance evaluation? Is it Sure. Yes.

So they have a step. So we pay people three different ways. There's police and fire. They have a step program. And for the most part, I would call it pass fail. Right? So you move with the step program. We have our but even in that step program, people top out. So what Marie was saying earlier for firefighters, when you top out, it's really a COLA 1.5%, if I got that right, Marie?

It varies by year to year, So

about forty six percent of all firefighters have topped out. Same thing with police the step system at some point you can top out on your step system and you don't have that 5% increase or that 5% plus the 1.5% increase. When we start talking about salary employees, if you do, let's say, a three percent increase, it's a pot of money that averages 3%. Somebody could get zero, somebody could get six. I'm looking at Sheila to make sure I'm right with that.

With our hourly employees over the years, we have done it differently. Sometimes it has been you know, 1.5, but then a up to 2.5%. In some years, it's been more like what I just described with salary employees if there's a range. So what we're trying to do is make sure that as we move forward with our salaried employees, our hourly employees, that if we have the ability to get 4% that you can get 4%.

So it's not a flat I think it's disingenuous to believe that it's a flat 4% for all frontline workers?

I don't believe that's the way we portray it. I believe we portray it as a 1.5% and then the ability for another 2.5%.

And if I may just a little bit of context, that's what we have in place currently for this year's budget and HR ran some numbers on it and it's actually they're averaging for their merit like 44.3%. So they're actually averaging more and it does give people a chance. It has the component like you said the solid passfail component, but also the component where you can reward above the merit pool for those a merit average pool for those that are exceeding.

I certainly appreciate starting pay. I think it's now 52,000 in the budget for incoming city employee but it doesn' take into consideration those who' already been working with the city for a while and need more than 4% the city is getting less and less affordable for those who work in the city to live in the city and I hope we can find a way mister manager to do 4% or more so they just need more and I clearly understand the budget environment that we' working in reference to the needs and the wants of a wide variety of constituents out there that you see on the board but certainly and the budget reality of the tax increase I just hope that we can find a way to do more for our workers our frontline workers. Think that' really important. Secondly the firefighters again I' going to dwell on that I think they should get up to 10% as well. My support of the greater enrichment program again after school program historically off of the base for road quarter a free program for kids who parents need that type of access because again the city affordability of daycare for many of our constituents It's expensive and this program certainly relieves some of the pressure for many of our families in our community.

Again the greater enrichment program I support along with council member mitchell safe alliance I support funding them as well I think that goes without saying. I will say a lot about the intergovernmental relations department. Mr. Mayor Jimenez you have been talking about this for well over a year and a half about the necessity for really getting our arms around elevating our posture internationally based on what' happening at the grass top and grass root level relating to international affairs certainly the bank that came to town from Japan, dollars 58,000,000 investment in Charlotte, the world military games and the national, the soccer matches are coming to town this year FIFA international. Think we really need to be very intentional about corporate recruitment and retention from an international perspective bringing jobs, economic opportunity.

Charlotte is not only the thirteenth largest city in the country, but should be mentioned in the same breath as Barcelona, New York, Paris, Charlotte and we only get there and we are very intentional about that pursuit. I would love to again and we talked about this and I talked with Marie about it last week when we went over the budget together and I was looking for cuts. And cuts were hard to find to balance the budget to not do a tax increase. That was our exercise last week and that was problematic for sure. I think this is something that we really should focus on.

Last week I had the opportunity to be with an international group from Portugal and there is a lot of protocols and stuff that goes along with those type of visits. I'm not sure we got our arms around all of that, produces that the type of results that we need. In addition, the MBA African lead is having a summit in Charlotte this fall, again international. I think we really, really have an opportunity if we kind of focus on this at the grass top level and certainly grassroots in terms of relationships along the Central Avenue corridor, building those relationships there that we really, really can do something significantly different than we're doing now with a lot more intentionality towards it. And so that's something I would really like to see shaped out a little bit more than currently in the budget.

And that may go beyond the budget cycle in terms of how we kind of shape that. But certainly, I hope it can start with this budget and getting the appropriate resources, not only in community relations, but I believe there needs more help in economic development, right? That's where the I think the rubber meets the road in terms of really being very intentional there. Lastly there are three organizations that I uplifted for the struggle hearts for the invisible and just movement they have three nonprofit organizations when we' re sleeping these individuals are on the streets. They' catherine simmons they' reagan drive they' all over the city trying to provide service for those who are unhoused just Mr.

Management you talked about this before I don't think they should be coming back every year I think they should be embedded in the budget as a strategic partner because again they provide critical essential service. I have breakfast today with Liz Kelly and again roof above and we have to find a way of not just pinning bandage on this every budget cycle that they have to be incorporated in our strategic planning whether it' in housing whether it' community relations whatever I think councilmember anderson said in terms of how do we have a bigger footprint than just every year they do $100,000 I' not sure that goes so far. It goes a long way to be quite honest with you. I support again keeping the investment for those organizations for the struggle, hearts for the invisible, just movement for sure. And then I do support councilmember Mitchell request to kind of just I don't think it's even a request, just an acknowledgment of the military games.

Again, international, right? All these international armies coming to Charlotte. Great opportunity for recruitment retention, they come with sponsors etcetera right showing Charlotte our blueprint. I do support that perspective and if you can just scroll it for me I can kind of think it's at the top. Okay, scroll, scroll, scroll, scroll.

The housing trust fund for sure I think council member may feel request is I will put my name down there with her for sure it goes back to the conversation I had with Ms. Kelly this morning about the continuum of housing at the shelter level right that I think that hopefully her committee would take a look at that for sure right because again it doesn't make any sense to fund for this route going to hard for the invisible if we don't have any place for the folks to go. It has to be all of it wrapped together right and I don't think we're there yet I think we just got strings all over the place that we need to kind of twirl together. I did ask the question Councilmember Johnson about the hangar. I think it's essential that we probably should do it.

So I can't support that. But I did ask the question last week and had some conversation even this morning about whether or that was a need or a want. And I'm convinced that it's an essential need based on a lot of the other construction at the airport that's happening right now. But I think that's it. I'm not sure how you do all that, but good luck.

Well, thank you for bringing this to closure for us. You know, when I we started out, I said, well, let's go ahead and get everybody out and come back around. But now, I look at this and I see such ability. I think that we have the opportunity perhaps to do just like what do we need to do that if we missed anything up on the board. And then the other reason I was thinking about this is that the staff has to go back and actually get this work done, and it's not very far away from us, I think, the way that we're going to be taking these plans and processes and not get them integrated.

So I was wondering if to your ideas is that we would go ahead and try to do the budget adds and deletes and get five people to speak. Remember, we go with the five people edge of people that want to have this, for example, expand capacity for international relations. If five people said yes, we would put it in and have the staff do the work for you to come back with what we would do and how it would be done under the manager's supervision. So what I wonder is that if that's acceptable for you, we can go ahead and we can move forward with getting this done. I say that because we have a zoning meeting coming up right after this. Alright? Mister Jones, help me out here.

Yep. So thank you, mayor. One thing I would like to do that I think may help with some of the discussions of moving forward is frame a few things. For instance, like with the financial partners I will not repeat what councilmember Mayfield said she She nailed it in terms of the process. And that's why what you received is what you received.

We didn't put any subjectivity in this whatsoever. The other thing that's really, really important, the previous years we had ARPA money, and and we have no ARPA money. The the other thing I would say is that you did something last year with Tree Charlotte, which was different than before, which is embedded that into a department because it well, let me see. Let me say it the right way. No longer does Tree Charlotte come in and compete because it was so it is so essential for what we do with with trees.

I I would say with safe alliance, because of the connectivity, and I appreciate what you said, council member Owens, being careful with CMPD, I I wonder if there's a desire to have safe alliance more like Tree Charlotte Mhmm. Than as a financial partner because there are funds, Kelly, I think I'm right with this, that's left over from Katie Blessing?

From the youth program.

From the youth program that could get us through one time this year.

That there's a couple sources cobbled together, but that's one

of them.

We could do that. The other thing that's really important, I love the way we tie the umbrella center together. CMPD is paying $180,000 in rent to be there. And so there things that we believe we could do to make this work for the current year. But the question is, how would you like to proceed in the future?

The the other thing is really important, and I'm I'm just trying to help with some of these things. We have neighbors building neighborhoods. It's a half $1,000,000 a year for five years, and a lot of that is to try to replicate what's happened in uptown or what's happened in Baysford Road, but it's not one size fits all. So in certain communities, maybe they would need some of the financial partners to help with whatever the issue may be around trying to make communities better. Last next and last thing I'll say is that remember, we are trying our best to finish this fiscal year in the black.

We finished last fiscal year 10,000. That's not that's really great. So as we as we try to land the plane this year, remember we took $7,400,000 out of the current budget. Right? And so I just wanna make sure that if there's this concept that all of a sudden we could find $10,000,000 in savings, we tried that this current year, and and we're struggling to to get the year end in the black.

The last thing I'll say is it would be great I love our employees. I love police fire. I love hourly. I love salary. You know, that's how I've been the decade I've been here. We have different plans as I described earlier, and it would be great if the council actually had a policy around parity. You don't. Okay? And if you have a policy around parity, it will maybe change the way that I come to you with a budget. The other thing is important that we look at the 20 cities that we benchmark against, and I'm not sure that we have a majority of them that even have parity.

And I think the difference between our police and fire pay is so much better than theirs. But Ethan, am I wrong with that? I'm just trying to figure out where we are with pay parity in terms of policy and where we're going.

Yeah. So Ethan Smith, we did our peer city review again this year. And our most recent review found that our peer cities have about a 14% differential between police and fire starting pay. So compare that to our plan, we're currently at about 4.9% difference at our starting pay. So the proposed budget would increase that by 3% to 7.9%.

Alright. Anything else, mister Jones?

Nope.

I I I know there are a lot of people around here, but I had miss Mayfield first and then miss Anderson second. Alright. So miss Mayfield?

Thank you, madam mayor. I wanted to get some clarification, manager Jones, and you might not have this information. We might have staff in here because you had noted that with our fire, we had about 40% that was topped out. So I had we're going through this process. HR for fire payroll, in actuality, what we have is about 231 of the employees that have topped out with 917 that are do a step, where that's more like 20%, not 40%.

So I wanna make sure that what we're sharing when we're having these conversations also, in mind, I recognize I identified a line item for us to make try to balance this out, but I wanna make sure that what we're sharing, our fire knows that and from our conversations to my understanding, your support for first responders, you look at our first responders. From the conversations I've had with members of fire, there are some that don't feel like that's reflected when it's time for us to vote our dollars. And just like with a number of our city employees, the cost of living in Charlotte is very different than what it was a decade ago. So but for the comment of 40% that I topped out, I wanna make sure that we have transparency and clarity. It's really about 20.

But out of that, 231 that might be at the top, We have 917 that's do a step. I think one of the challenges that I've seen even when we approved because, mayor, we've been doing this long enough. We were here when it was $13 an hour, and we moved to 15, and we consistently moved up. But one of the challenges are those mid employees. So we have these new starting rates.

We have those that salary. I would like to see when we go through it, I guess that's when I'll raise my hand or not, but those employees that have been with us, if you're at a salary of 200,000, I'm not necessarily interested in whether or you get a 4% raise. To me, if you get once upon a time, those of us that worked long enough, remember when you got that raise and was like, you got a 75¢ or 50¢ raise? Those salaried employees are okay. I'm looking at our non salary employees to make sure that they are having access to keep up with the cost of living because there's a gap that is being created between new hires and top pay.

That missing middle that we talk about, those are the ones in our city also that are looking at the challenges of bank layoffs, other company layoffs, being out of work six months to over a year. That HOA can care less because we've approved projects that have especially on the townhomes that have monthly HOA, not annual HOA. So if you have a 280 plus dollar monthly HOA and you were secure when you got into that home And now you have not been able to find employment to transition into near at or better salary. You're now looking at the potential of a foreclosure. We don't have we have a very small bucket where we have helped people in the community with that.

We ought to have that conversation in housing and neighborhood services as far as what does that look like, what is the relationships with our banks look like when we are having all of these discussions? I wanna make sure that we're being as transparent as we can with the numbers so that our fire doesn't feel like they're being isolated or that they're being undervalued because the value is there for first responders. I also since, mayor, you said we're gonna come around, we don't I don't have to go back through and ask for the list to be scrolled up to add the names, but I am going to clarify. We created a scorecard. We voted on the scorecard.

We directed staff on how to move forward with the scorecard. I cannot, in good conscience, support any additions to the financial partners based on what is being proposed when we had over $6,000,000 in request, and we didn't have a million dollars to allocate. Thank you.

To mayor miss Mayfield, am I'm gonna ask Ethan. There are three components to that 46%. So, Ethan, the they're not just the firefighters. They are the Yeah.

Correct. Yeah. We have about 500, and that includes engineers, firefighters, and and captains. So that is about 45, 46%.

Have to weigh. When you're including, Mr. Whelan, are you including engineers and other people, and we do it asking you questions regarding I

see. I

got you. Just for clarification because if that number includes engineers and others, I didn't think that that's what you would who you were. I was

basically focusing on frontline workers.

So for that, again, to make sure that the conversation we're having isn't a catchall and for us to have clarity. I didn't interpret the question or the conversation regarding fire to include all those other people. What I do know from working with their HR, the number that have hit top is 231. The number that's due a step is 917. Somewhere in there, we have the ability to reconcile.

And just to clarify, if I may. So the 7% that's proposed in the manager's budget would, apply to all firefighters that are in the public safety pay plan component. So that does have the engineers and the captains. That's why when we're talking about across the board 7%, it's everybody that's in the public safety pay plan.

And I appreciate that clarification, but then that goes back to that 7%. We approved a step pay in '23. It appears that that 7% includes that 5% in the step pay, which is a separate conversation. So it appears that it's actually only 2%. Yet, ultimately, the request of the 4,400,000 as well as the support for the addition for the five modified positions, the one line item that I've added in, I've given a recommendation of the line item that can be adjusted to accommodate it.

So to make sure I understand, councilor Mayfield, if you take the CMPD down to 7 Why? You get 6,000,000 and something.

We have the exact number.

Yes,

sir. But then you're going to take the fire up to 10?

No. What so the what staff is gonna work on in numbers, but that dollar amount that we had identified and that fire has advocated for as well as our partners in the people's budget has allocated for was that $4,400,000 difference. What I did was work to look at how do we identify a funding line item to cover that gap in order to ensure that we are creating opportunities and the protections for our fire that we need. So one part of, what do we say, are are our first responders. One line item had a budget proposal that was at a much higher amount than our other set of first responders.

Keeping in mind a commitment that we made in 2023 that was not a onetime commitment with looking at pay parity. The 4,400,000, how do we get there? So if we say to get to the 4.4 to have that additional 4.4, we're saying it's 10% instead of seven, then I will say what I support is fire at 10%, CMPT at seven, if we need to clarify that.

You. Alright. So we've got a few folks that want to follow along this. I just asked our our visitors if they were okay and comfortable, so we just want to make sure you are. Okay? Thank you. And then the next is Ms. Anderson.

Thank you, madam mayor. First and foremost, Maria, just wanted to make sure I may have missed it out the first time around but I want to make sure that I am advocating for the modified positions for the firefighter that line item I think is just above right there adding the funding for the five modified positions. This just underscores the fact that when the firefighters are injured in the line of duty that they have a pathway to continue serving.

And I just want to clarify because everybody keeps saying in the line of duty. A lot of these aren't in the line of duty injuries. So I just want to make sure we're not creating something that's just in the line of duty or do you want just in the line of duty?

When you okay. Can you say more about that?

So if there's there's different criteria that they have and so if something happens to you outside of work, you know, you might be on modified duty as well. Or you're in a certain medication or some kind of injury outside of work, you might be on modified duty. So it's not just in the line of duty that that the fire policy currently allows. I gotcha.

I I think I understand now. Thank you for that clarification. Whether or not it's in the line of duty or not, effectively you can't serve on a truck, right? So when the bell rings, you cannot go out and be on a service call. I I think we need to have space for our firefighters to be able to have that grace and that time to get back on to that level where they can serve service call.

So I support that. I do also, city manager support your concept of the safe alliance being effectively a part of our budget over time. I just think we're going to pay this 400,000 is really a drop in the bucket. We're going to pay way more than that as it relates to calls and CMPD officers going out on calls, hospitals being overran with injuries. We're going to pay for this one way or another, it's my firm belief that we'll pay more.

As much as we can do to be preventative upfront, I think we should lean into that position. I certainly support if there's a way and Marie you you stated that perhaps there are some funds that we can cobble together to cover this 400 k as we think about a longer runway And here's Correct.

For today, you know, just to make it through this budget. I mean, you know, next budget, you can definitely consider it as operating, but it's not currently in the operating budget.

Yes.

So police recognizes the the partnership and the importance. So they're trying to scrape together with different pots and then some savings in different funds. So they're committed to that

for this year. If there's a way that we can cobble funds together this year as we figure out how to bake it into our operating costs with the longer runway, I would like to see us at least go through the exercise of doing so and bringing it back to counsel. Thank you, madam mayor.

Alright. I have two two additional speakers from Kimberly,

if you would, and then

Victoria, if you would. And you wanna add something? Okay. I think if you turn around, somebody will do that for you. Alright.

Thank you, madam mayor. So, just to to be clear, I I wanna learn from the experience of those that have have shared in the room. I agree with council member Mayfield with respect to the manner in which we put some rigor around the partnerships that we strike. I will make exception for safe alliance based on the importance that I believe that it fulfills in community, and also based on the discussions around the dais of potentially finding another way to tuck them in someplace so they are not necessarily going through this process each year. But with respect to the other entities that are up there, I do want to hew very closely to the scoring mechanics that have been agreed by counsel and I appreciate having some discipline around those.

So I won't be supporting any of the others. If we go back up to the police department, I mean, I'm sorry, the fire department, I did support the modified duty positions and I am, I guess I'll say I'm budget curious with respect to what it does to bring both CMPD and the fire department to 7%. I think that was something that has been proposed on there. I just want to be clear if we're also talking about city workers because I do feel as though our city workers have an important role to play. And so you know as I look at your task of trying to reconcile those percentages, I personally would like to go along with I believe it was council member Johnson who was saying for city workers is 77% across the board as opposed to having the CMPD be at 10%.

So I I would be supportive of that. The housing trust fund, I asked for an exploration. I will sign off on council member Mayfield and Graham with respect to increasing at one time to 200,000,000. So, I'll withdraw the line item that I had that just considered an increase, but without an actual dollar amount associated with it. And then finally, I would like to be heard just on the concept of international relations.

I am supportive of that one as well. I think we've had experiences of late where we have had national attention, but I think as we continue to grow as a city and as we continue to provide such breadth of opportunity for folks moving here, I think that international relations role is an important one because you know as they say you only have one time to make a first impression and I don't like for us to appear clunky or ham handed when visitors come to Charlotte and expect to engage with us on an economic basis. I will say that I too had a notation, I don't know if you can see my book where I've got all my little notations, but I did have a notation of query and I appreciate Councilmember Johnson bringing up the helicopter hangar funding. Let's put me down for consideration of removing that as well and I say that only because I did have input from people in my district who queried as well in the days of drones and some of the other technological advances that we have, is 10,000,000 for a helicopter hangar? And, I appreciate I was not privy to the conversation that that council member Graham had.

So, perhaps I could be persuaded. But 10,000,000 for a helicopter hangar, I didn't have a good answer for that when asked. And so, I definitely need some additional speaking points if that's something that you know that is really important. I will just put a final plug in for some of my comments I made. I didn't get any takers yet, but I am inclined towards trying to really look at code enforcement and what we are doing, particularly in the areas of trying to retain housing.

I think that there are times when things fall into disrepair and then they get to a place where it is unfortunate, but the best option is for a developer to come in and tear them down. I'd like that not to happen. I think if we can be more forward focused, I just don't have a dollar amount that I can put to that. So again, that's a curiosity more than a point. The animal adoption fees, I brought that one up not because I'm not pro animal. Anybody who knows me knows that's not true. But there is a terrific amount in this budget that is allocated facility, and I'd like to see folks who love and keep animals as pets and family members, perhaps they pay some of the freight for that as well. So, you.

Alright, thank you. Let's see, I think Ms. Watlington?

Thank you. I really just wanted to make sure that I was clear about what we can expect to come back to us as we're considering these five votes for each line item, because there's been discussion around adding but also considering how to make that work within the budget in the context of offsetting cost. And so certainly that would have an implication on whether we ultimately support particular line items or not, if they actually resulted in a budget increase, or if we were net neutral. So I wanted to understand how will that information be provided back to us?

And so Doctor. Whitlington, typically what we do, it it definitely will not be net neutral, you know, with this list. So we would come back to you and say, let but for like, council member Anderson mentioned bringing safe Charlotte I mean, alliance back. We're not playing to bring that back per se because we've got a commitment from police, and and we've got all councils saying they want us to move forward with that. But anything else, we'd have to say where we're gonna cut or where and there's not really anything to cut. So we'd more so come back to you and say, what kind of revenue do we need to increase to be able to fund it? Like, property tax going up more than proposed.

So that's the piece I'm particularly interested in because what I'm hearing and what I agree with with many of my council members is what we received here were budget adjustments. Certainly, we haven't seen the full budget, and I may be inclined to say I don't need to eat every time I come to a city council meeting if it saves $400,000 in the budget that I could put somewhere else. Where are we gonna? Johnson, I'm speaking for myself. I'm speaking for myself.

I'll be glad James is not here.

Sad.

I'm just saying.

No. But but but seriously but seriously, we're not in a position to make decisions about what the priority is if we're just told that it's gonna be an increase. Right? And so that's where I wanna understand, particularly given this line item here where we've talked about really making hard choices. I want to see what's on the table.

Sure. And I'll try to help. This is how we would typically go about this, and so I don't think we would change at all. The first thing you would do is look at all the enhancements. Okay? So whether it's the international officer, things of that nature. Well, let me let me take a step back. About 81% of this budget is just public safety and core services. We must do that. Right.

Even with the hangar, we have the helicopters. I don't think we can have helicopters and not have a place to store them. Right? So we get so it's some of the things we have to do, which start off with how many are enhancements are in this budget, and we would come back to you saying, wouldn't do this, we wouldn't do this, we wouldn't do this, we wouldn't do this. I think Marie said it well. I don't see a scenario of $4,000,000 of things that you've asked to put in this budget that all of a sudden we take out. So I do believe we're going to end up with the property tax rate that's higher than what was proposed.

I I got you and I appreciate the approach. I would challenge what we call enhancements versus what we say is absolutely based business. Because even if you peel back the layer in our public safety, see that a lot of that money goes to maintenance of buildings. It's not necessarily labor. It's not necessarily you see what I'm saying?

So there are certainly things within these budgets that are baked in. Just want to lean in on this idea of before we say these are enhancements and this is base business, we need to be able to say that with more certainty instead of because it sits in public safety doesn't mean that it's ahead, for example. So that's the piece that I don't feel like we have visibility to. And so I want to understand when we're making these choices in the next go round, what it is that we're actually switching out.

Sure and I will say a lot of things that are in this budget are just things that if we don't do we're going to see our service delivery decline.

Agree agree there's a lot of stuff in there. I'm saying without understanding what's actually in the budget beyond the adjustments, I'll speak for myself, I have no way of understanding whether this $100,000 should go to for the struggle or whoever versus this $100,000 be saved so we can buy jackets.

Yeah. I don't disagree with you. I guess what I would say is there has to be some level of trust that for instance, Dallas City Hall is they may have to demolish it because they didn't take care of it.

Sure.

A lot of the things that are in this budget is just taking care

agree. The I don't when it comes to trust, it's not that I think that you're not telling the truth about that. What I'm saying is trust is not a substitute for oversight. Sure. So I would like to understand how we're going to make these decisions going forward. How are we going to see what actually might be up for discussion and how is that gonna be presented versus these line items? Are we gonna have an understanding of, hey, we were able to find $400,000 and so we know that if as long as we don't put more than $400,000 in, we are net neutral. But if you go over that, it's gonna be an increase. That would be meaningful information.

Sure. That's that's great. No. That's very helpful. For instance, we don't know what's happening with fuel costs.

Mhmm.

So we have a place in this budget of about $400,000 think.

Or 25,

yes. Or 25 of fuel costs because, again, we don't want to get to the end of but you may say, Marcus, I'd rather you roll the dice.

Mhmm.

Right? So we can put things in different buckets like that. Mhmm. And I think what you really want to hear is what are the consequences of not doing those things, so we can do that too. Okay?

Thank you. Alright.

Miss Ashmira.

Yes. And then I think

mister Graham, did you want

No. Okay. Mister Graham?

Miss John miss Mayo. No. No. No. We gotta go. Wait. I meant I mean, the next. Here we go.

Over here. Who who is next? Is Malcolm next? You're next.

Okay. Me. You're next after next.

Thank you. Thank you madam mayor. So as part of this exercise, the items that gets five or more will move to the next meeting. But I think I I also want to make sure that as part of this exercise does not mean that it's going to end up in our budget because this is just an exploration. It's just we are exploring the idea.

So once to doctor Watlington's point, once we get more information and what are the implications in the budget, we will have more holistic I just wanna make sure that council understands that this is not definitely going every line item is gonna go. So I think the next opportunity in a week Fourth. Yeah. At the straw votes meeting

It it is the straw we votes. Would

have a a broader perspective because I know we will get probably what 100 pages to review and study.

I know what the answer is when it's 100 pages. Nobody reads it.

No. I I think no. I think some of us really. But I think that really gives us a holistic perspective on what the impacts will be on the budget. So I think that's important as people go line by line is just we want to explore. Yeah.

I think that's exactly we did

this last

year as well. Right. And you're exactly right, Danfel, that we have to do this in a way that we have a conversation with everyone and people begin to see where their places places will be and what we will be doing, and that includes the departments as well as everything else that we have today.

That's all I

I hope that everyone had an opportunity. Ms. Johnson. Ms. Johnson.

Thank you, madam mayor. I I wanted an explanation, I guess, about the helicopter. You said what we would have a helicopter and not have a place to park to store it. Where is it stored now and what is the change?

A couple of things I guess over the course of the last six or seven years the city of the council has approved buying two helicopters and we have two helicopters you really have three. Airport The hangar, we have to vacate that. So these helicopters have to be stored somewhere else. So we were able to fill in Matt and company, think, really get a facility that can help us not only store them, but some office space too, so that it's seamless between the time we have to vacate the airport.

And we're vacating the airport why?

Because they are construction. Yeah.

I think it would be probably helpful, miss Johnson, if you go out to the copter. A lot of this is about people that fly high and where you can see things that are going on that you can't see on the ground, and it's often used for abilities to be able to do and work with safe in safety and people coming in. So I think it would be great to go I mean, maybe we can just do that and say show the case what they do, and so that that would be something that would be more explainable. Or if you guys if Maria and the staff want to do this, just what are the top three things that they've done that made it a difference, know, something like that might work.

And I've had the honor of seeing one of the helicopters at one of the National Night Out events, but I was just asking why are we spending $10,000,000, you know But you

guys cover it up like a A baby

hanger, know, I'm just wanted to put I wasn't finished, if you don't mind. Thank you. Secondly, on page 30, there's a list of our special revenue funds. Now, our general funds, we have details as far as departmental budgets but is there anywhere in the budget that list the amount in these funds, the Convention Center Fund and the NASCAR and other hospitality and tourism funds. Can you point that

out? Ma'am.

Y'all know? Page 225 is where they begin.

So two twenty five are all of these funds, the balance is listed. We have the list of nongovernmental funds, the emergency telephone system, general grants. Do we have

Yes ma'am there's pages on each one of those starting on page two twenty five.

Two twenty five, okay. Because I think it's important that we take a look at all of our funds and resources and see if there's a way to reallocate dollars. And also, while we're talking about the domestic or the SAFE Alliance and homeless services, I just wanted as the advocate for brain injury on the council that seventy up to seventy five percent of domestic violence survivors have a history of head injury, fifty percent of those who are unhoused have a history of brain injury, we we have brain injury survivors in our first responders, police and fire and then I always say, if if you recall the something that was very impactful to this city, Keith Lamont Scott's wife was saying he has a TBI. So, think brain injury awareness and mental health awareness is so important, it could really save our city money in other ways. If there's some type of fund if we and maybe not this budget, but if there could be some concentration on mental health and brain injury training for our officers and first responders, I think that would be great.

Thank you.

Thank you. Alright, Ms. Jafon. Ms.

Jafon. Thank you. Ms.

Jafon. You for waiting and being so patient. Ms.

No worries.

Do you mind if we start at the top? I just wanted to make sure I had my name on a couple of things. Can I add first one for the five modified duty positions? Can you add Mayo in there, please?

I

think we are. Yeah.

I just wanna make sure I have all my stuff. Can I make sure I'm under for the struggle as well? Am I on that?

Queen, we did that. What do you what do you guys want to do?

I mean, I'll review that. I just I wanna make sure that I

Maybe that would be easier.

No. I thought we But may I say that we were gonna go through

We did, but we've kind of devised. Yeah. I I have some I wanna add

on them too. Yeah. Finally, whatever. I just wanna make sure I don't miss anything.

I don't know.

We had it we had

it So, madam mayor, if I may, just since most people

Let's go ahead and

I've got if there's nothing new we'd like to add, I think it'd be great just to go through. And any of them that already have five, we can skip over because we know that they have five votes if your name's up there. And then any that have less than five names, then we'll take a vote to see if we get to five, please.

Okay.

Okay? So, madam mayor, just a a point Okay. Just a point of information. I wanna make sure that, c m Mayo Was there anything that you wanted to add?

No, ma'am.

You just wanna add your name? Yes, ma'am. Okay. I wanna make sure you have that space.

Alright.

Okay.

Thank you.

Okay. Alright. Okay.

We'll go ahead and get started.

We'll

start at the top. It doesn't matter.

Okay. We're starting at the top, adding funding for five modified duty positions for Charlotte fire.

And, madam mayor, we have five on that. So, Cherry, if you will highlight the next one, which is for the struggle.

Is that a check already?

But I think they said that.

The record

is reflecting which council members, I'd like to still Yeah.

Yes. Typically,

we don't use that for a record, but we can make it one if you want to. We don't. We just have what moves forward from this.

Okay. Miss Ashmira? Yes. So some of us who went first didn't get an opportunity to go through it again. So that's why I want us to make sure that we go line by line item. Yeah. Sure. So you don't have to add my name to some of the later items, but I just want to make sure I am on record raising my hand for some of the items because there are a lot of items. And I was the first one.

Of course. Of course.

Alright. Let's go ahead. And mister Jones?

So mayor, do you want Marie just to go? Yes. Marie, you'll do each one?

Yes. Okay. Alright.

Yeah. Yes. Thank you. Last time.

And so I guess we'll go through all of them even if they already have five because some council members want to make sure. So blocking the difference if five modified duty for Charlotte fire.

Jerry? Okay.

Anyone that's not already on there that wants their name added because we already voted and it's already moving forward. So

so is yours. Anyone whose name is not

But I

I think so. I think we got it. I think that's all. Yeah. Okay.

Alright. So we already have five. So that's fine.

Please go. My hand is up. If we could just count the hand.

Yes. That's what I was saying. Yeah.

Keep it moving.

That's true.

I think they just won.

Okay. That okay. Not the names. The the votes. Yes. Yes, ma'am. Okay. Sorry. So we'll we'll start again. Five modified duties for fire. Any All in any that My name is Ariel. Okay. But see, need you to read We're

gonna go

ahead Why don't we just go ahead and say All in favor. Okay. Everyone All favor. Let's let's do this the way we would ordinarily Yeah. Think All in favor, please raise your hand. Anyone in opposition, which is Okay.

Now we know. Sorry.

I think

I So have the hang of it next, if you'll scroll down, Cherry. Can I read the next one, please? Restore is that the next one?

Yes. Yes.

Restore safe alliance funding. All in favor, please raise your hand. Any opposed? We're

working on something.

So it's moving forward.

And then Alright. We have miss Mayfield. Did I see a note?

Yeah. But we're not it's not official, so it's fine. We have enough to move forward. So so do we do for the struggle?

And all Clarification, mayor. Only what we're voting on is the proposed dollars that's in front

of us.

Thank you.

And and that's no. Actually, not even the dollars. Just for budget staff to work with other departments to come back to you with more information for your official vote on June 1.

You're gonna give information. Right? Okay.

Next? Okay. And then for the struggle, all in favor of adding to the financial partners 100,000 for for the struggle. To explore adding.

Explore. Yes. This is all exploration. It'll come around again. So, okay. Three.

Explore instead of restore.

Explore. That's And all of these

are explore.

Significant. Say

that because this is not We I have already stated that we had a process. If the language on this board does not say to explore the additional funding because we have several other organizations that scored a lot higher than 48, 64, 68 that are not up here. So if the request is to explore specifically funding at whatever dollar amount to a specific organization that did not score well, I am going to be a no. Yes. And that is the dollar amount that we're talking about because we have 12 other organizations that scored higher than the ones that are up here that are not in consideration.

I am sticking to the recommendation that council voted on, that council directed staff to do.

Madam mayor, I want to support what Ms. Mayfield is saying. This is the second year that we have this process and the committee has gone through and arduously aligned with the process and now we're at a point now where we're taking votes to effectively supersede that process. I want to honor the time and the energy that the committee has put into this for two years now to honor that process. And I'm not sure why we're doing an actual vote here rather than what we've historically have done.

But I want to make sure the committee has done a process we need to at a certain point honor that process and make sure that you know we move forward so I agree with miss Mayfield.

So all in favor of this item as in going forward as the process from miss Mayfield's work and all in favor please raise your hand.

I'm sorry. We just we just raised our hands for the struggle. So, I mean, I

Yes. May we do that again, please?

Sure.

Anybody that would like to explore adding a dish a $100,000 for for the struggle, please raise your

hand.

And can I just say this too, because this is something that I I feel like we've done in the Just past as because that's the number that's there, doesn't mean that's the number that comes back to us before? So I don't want I don't want folks to get hung up on if it's a 100 or a $101,000 here because Definition what I'm accustomed to is

you're gonna come

back with some information. Exactly. It's all about information Yeah. And getting it done and having the ability to say we're getting closer to where we want to be.

Yeah. So I just I just want to make sure that that's clear that what we're raising our hand for here is exploring. It doesn't necessarily mean we're committing to that dollar amount

that's there.

Correct. Okay. Alright. Let's continue on.

Explore funding for Carolina's Asian American Chamber.

For the struggle, I don't think you had your hand.

Okay. Sorry. For the struggle, all in favor of exploring that funding, please raise your hand. Five. Six. Thank you. And then explore funding for Carolina's Asian American chamber. Please raise your hand if you would like to explore that funding.

Okay.

One, two.

That's four. So that will not move forward. So explore fair equity for STS riders. So that's All in favor. One, two, three, four,

five. Okay.

Okay. And and that would be, of course, with MPTA. MTCA. Okay. Identify potential options to reduce property tax while while preserve I'm gonna choke up trying to even say that. Increase while preserving investments in safety, transportation, and affordable housing. All in favor? One, two, three, four, five. Thank you. And then explore 10% pay parity for CFD.

All in favor of that. One, two, three, four, five. There's more than enough for that. And then explore opportunity to develop land use and transportation model. All in favor of that? One, two, three, four, five. So explore funding for greater enrichment program. All in favor of that?

So, again, this goes back to Yes. The idea of the process Right. As well. So, I just wanna make that open

So, can I just ask? So, I didn't find this organization in our financial partners, so they didn't apply?

Correct. They did they did not attend the mandatory Yes. So that's why they're not in your packet.

Okay. Can I just ask a question about that?

Yes, ma'am.

Was that mandatory meeting in person or is there a virtual option? It's virtual only. Okay. A virtual only. Okay. Yeah.

Okay.

Okay. And then so again, sorry, greater enrichment program exploring funding.

I think we just did.

I think we did just do.

We just did that.

Four. Four. Okay. And then direct, which is kinda awkward. I think the manager so not you wouldn't direct ED staff. Sorry, Cherry. It'd be direct the manager, I guess. Direct the manager to explore opportunities to bring military world games to Charlotte.

Can I What this can I ask Wait? Wait. Wait. Can I ask about this for a little bit? I know that it's been something that everyone but if you recall, we had a retreat.

And at that retreat, we had a list of things that we wanted to do as a part of how we do things in the city, and we haven't done that. We haven't decided who's gonna do what and where and when, and so would it be an idea to actually go because these are all things that are activities outside of what we are doing, and we're trying to make it work. So why don't we if that's possible, why don't we go ahead and include this with the other projects that we are supposedly working on probably in the next year?

Okay. Thank you. And I believe the manager has that. So then we move forward to

Can I ask a question? If I can. And it's going back one. Mitchell is not here, but he did indicate that he supported the greater Richmond exploration of funding. Do we count his vote or

Not when he's not here.

He'll

be back soon.

It's a straw vote. So

Let's go ahead and it's a straw vote and we'll give him all the straws when he gets back I'm just from Chicago or wherever he is.

But okay.

I just If I wasn't here. Alright.

That's fine.

Just Okay. Alright. Let's go to the next one. Okay.

We're we're on if you may

Marie, I'm sorry. Just point of clarity here because we've been bouncing around. For that one that mister Graham just spoke to, what was the vote on that? Do we do did you get a good vote on that? Because I I may have missed it.

It's just a Yes. There was four votes. For the greater enrichment?

No. But you have two names. So I just wanna

Yeah. We're not putting we're not so the names were just we usually take a laundry list.

I gotcha. And then I just wanna make sure

case counsel has a question they could follow-up with you

before just they vote. Wanna make sure that my hand was included. I'm not sure if it was because ma'am. Okay. Thank you.

And we can add your name if you like to just to

clarify Thank you.

Okay. And then explore 4% increase for all general city workers not tied to performance. And may I ask a clarification? So when you say general city workers, is that hourly only or is this for hourly and salaried employees? We're already in the budget. So we can Okay. Mister Graham?

I know. That's what I'm gonna

Mister Graham, think that was

I'm sorry. Is this you say general employees on this one. Is it for hourly general employees or hourly and When we say general, it's usually hourly and salary So that aren't in the hourly.

Mhmm.

So we'll add hourly. Okay?

And

without a merit Correct. Sorry?

That number gets substantially lower.

Yes. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Alright. Yeah.

Well, we already have it budgeted actually. So it wouldn't really be a budget. It'd just be across the boards instead of merit. Okay. All in favor of exploring Wait a minute. Across the board versus merits

for have a question. Hold on a minute, Marie. So I just wanna make sure. So mister Jones, in the budget that you had proposed, there was only a 4% increase. So how is this different?

So I believe what council member Graham is asking for is essentially the same thing as police and fire with a step, but don't call it a step, just everybody gets 4%.

So even the public safety?

No. No. No.

Just he said hourly employees.

Mhmm.

So instead of having lower performers maybe getting less than four and higher performance getting more than four, everybody across the board regardless of performance would get a

4%.

Per hour.

Uh-huh. Got it. Okay. Is everybody aware and comfortable with this? So, I mean aware. I said aware.

Alright. So, everybody that's in favor of changing the merit for hourly to to passfail. Please raise your hand.

Okay. I'm just waiting.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Okay. Okay. So that moves forward. Okay. Explore funding for Hearts for the Invisible. All in favor? One, two, three, four. Okay. And then, explore funding for Just Do It Movement.

One, two, three.

Okay. Consider increase to animal adoption fees and code enforcement fees.

One, two, three, four, five.

Isn't that five? Okay. Yep. And then explore a decrease of CMPD increase from 10% to 7%. One, two, three.

One, two, three.

Then increase housing trust fund. And so right now, it's at a 125,000,000 and we're talking about instead of that making that one time 200,000,000. All in favor? Exploring it. Yes. Explore. 234567. Thank you. And then, next, explore expanding the capacity for international relations. So and if I heard you right, this is mainly adding budget for well, we have two staff support. So you said more like

Yes.

Sorry. Tell me. Is it more than two staff support?

Because right now we have Sida who does commedia integration and Alexis who does international business. And not one person can do

And a manager.

And a manager, so adding more staff.

So more than four. Yeah,

more than three.

Because I know I

was saying

Just a

point of information here.

All I said

All the budget Can we

hear I'm sorry. Go ahead Ms. Sanderson.

In the budget that the manager presented I thought there was an increase in headcount. So the baseline of what we're doing now we have two?

Yes.

So we're increase well the proposed budget says an increase of one so that would be three?

Yes ma'am.

So what this line item is to explore more than three?

That's what he just clarified yes ma'am.

Council Member Anderson is to explore a staff capacity and technical assistance. So you'll have what's already included in the budget is a manager position and then you have existing two positions, Saydah, who does language access and Alexis, does international business. We need what I'm proposing is more staff capacity to support them. Go ahead.

I'm sorry. We have several people. Miss Sajmir or mister Graham.

Alright. So Thank you, madam mayor. What I would like to see is more of an outcome that we are trying to get to. So if we can have sort of a memo on where we are trying to get to and then we leave it up to the manager to figure out where the staffing falls, because that's normally I'm not an expert on. So I I would like the manager to tell us based on all the things that council member Arias would like us to explore when it comes to international relations management that we get a memo on that. I I just like pre read so that I'm better informed in terms of decision making.

Doctor. I

agree with that, but it goes far beyond what he's asking for what I'm looking at. It's really establishing an office that is based in community relations I think we need to have a lot more focus on economic development two things can happen at the same time on the ground but very intentional collaboration of all the efforts in the city under one umbrella so we can know what we' doing and be very intentional about the outcomes. Recruitment, retention, grass top, grassroots and protocols etcetera etcetera. Mr. Manager I think you based on our conversations you know where I'm trying to edge it.

I agree with councilmember Ashmura, We have added the position and I would like to try to sort it out before we create something that may have unintended consequences. We create something that is not aligned with maybe your various thoughts are.

Okay. So alright. We have I I just wanted to You wanna finish it out? Yes. Just wanted to follow. So I think mister Jones, obviously, that council member Masura Arias has some ideas. From what I heard from council member Graham, he has an idea about collaboration between community relations, economic development. I think we need to all put it together so that we understand what the expectations

will be

from this expansion of international relations department or team. Team. Yeah. Alright.

Miss Mayfield. Oh, Miss Watlington.

Oh my god. What? Because anyway,

on this one, I too am I wanna see what is coming out of this. I didn't realize that the international relations and the work that you were pushing forward were being lumped into one. And as I'm listening, I'm wondering where does where's the line between a budget item and establishing a council priority? I would have thought that would have come up during our council retreat.

It did.

Well, yeah,

they did.

So can you tell me where did let me ask it differently. I know that you brought it up, but was it an adopted council priority? Because if we're making that change, then I need a little bit more information than just a budget line item.

As I said,

I don't recall that when

we talked about this, it had that kind of substance at the middle of it, but we have not gone back and taken what was done in the retreat to inform what's being asked for now.

So that feels like an enormous gap. Yeah. Because I would imagine that this budget would be reflective of what we've said are the council priorities. So I'm not I'm certainly supportive of going in a direction here, but there there feels like we are putting into budget policy something that we haven't finished baking from our strategic perspective. Yeah. So I I too would like to understand or have that a little bit more flushed out as input into this one.