Mayor and Board of Aldermen - Regular Meeting

You got us muted one.

I think they're muted right now. Okay. Yeah.

Okay, there you are. We're live, Mayor. I said, Devin's a man. Oh, you were 116th. Mayor. 116th when I got here. Oh.

We're live. We're live. We're live. Okay. Okay.

Let us pray.

Our dear Heavenly Father, we come this way to give thanks for the many blessings that have restored after us. We thank you for the privilege and we thank you for the opportunity for allowing us to come together to discuss the business of the city. We pray that everything we do and say will be in your will. In Jesus Christ's name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Benjamin Griffin, second. Go far, please. My name is...

Me and everyone in this room know my grandfather personally for over 40 years in 1973, before his life as a dedicated educator, coach, and mentor at Eastside High School. He then programmed the X-Files organization to ensure former athletes continued to be in that community. In fact, even after he was born with a tiger, his dedication to our youth has never stopped. that belongs to the entire state of Mississippi. In May, 1970, he tried to get out of the city, but he was sacked from the basketball scholarship program. He was told that he became the very first African American student athlete to play basketball for the University of Mississippi. He did not disrupt the program, he was sick. He belonged to the company. Our company signed out one of the leading big families in school history, a critical part of the go south. And I found that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The Riffin family Riffin is still a child in 1906, probably for decades, serving at the salvation of his personal history in this neighborhood. This street, Riffin, is the new headlock of his personal history and his community. To demonstrate our message meaning specifically, clearly, we have provided a unique position to show overwhelming love and support. Additionally, we are honored to represent and perform the community vigorously Thank you for your time.

They received it.

I mean, you're welcome to pass out a hard copy, but it is uploaded in their Dropbox.

Oh, yeah. Watch a step.

I wouldn't even have been made it that far.

I have a question.

I got one. Give ASM Dropbox. I want to really thank everyone. Thank you. Thank you.

Hey, as a little boy, after Del State game, he was chatting up a bunch of us and I can remember him giving me one sweatband. It would have fit around your neck. Mr. Mayor, can y'all hear us?

We can.

Okay. First of all, Junior, thank you for coming forward today. And I've had a chance to talk with him and, you know, his dad, my very good friends, he wasn't a better basketball player than I was, but I'll challenge him on that part. But Xenia, I'll defer to her. She had a question she wanted to ask.

I didn't hear the presentation, but I am asking that we take this opportunity issue this request up into executive session. I make a motion that we discuss this into executive session.

Does it qualify? We can.

Is it qualified?

Unless you're going to consider it an economic development issue, I'm not sure what you would call it.

Close call. Unless you found it an economic development. I'm trying to think. Would it be public safety? Potentially. Well, I mean, markers and things like that are economic stuff.

Can we speak to him, though, before we do this? Because he's here. That was an excellent presentation. And if you wrote it, you did a great job. I watched T play for years. He was absolutely awesome when he was at Delta State. The only thing in the city of Cleveland, we put a moratorium on the renaming streets years ago because people were changing. They were changing so much, they were changing blocks. But what you might consider, and we can talk about this in the executive session, is some kind of marker that's put on the street. You don't want to say in memory of him because he's still alive, you know, but it could be a marker for you. In honor of. In honor of Tavoris for his contribution to athletics and to his success at Delta State University. you know, and you have several markers like that around the state. And we even have one for Willie Simmons recently in the city. It would accomplish the same thing without change maps and GPS and all that.

When the 9-1-1 became so specific, you had to do it. It's a lot of expense for residents to have to go change everything with our new address. And, uh, there was some compliance.

And it's a nightmare for emergency responders having to learn, you know, new streets.

So that's why it was done. And the people that, other people lived on the street that didn't know the people that are in Newtown, they said, I'm being punished to have to pay for all this, this change, and change all my addresses with all my people that bill me and everything else. That's what more folks put in. But as And then you said we have no problem talking to, you know, a possibility of a marker of some sort without totally renaming the whole street. Because right now there is a moratorium. We'll have to lift the moratorium on that streets. Anybody else that's out there? I can't see that TV. I can't barely hear them.

Well, I'll second the motion of going into executive session. And if need be, as Dennis said, we could use that to do so.

We don't need a motion.

We can add that to the list.

We will discuss. Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you, Joey.

Thank you very much. Thank you. Okay.

They are. They're both here.

Okay. Goodman, Bridges, Goodman, Brayard, and Clark. Clark Goodman.

Good evening.

How y'all doing? They are. Okay.

Good evening.

Good evening. Good evening, everyone. I will be doing the presentation this evening. My name is Simpson Goodman on behalf of Bridges Goodman, Baird, and Clark. Carl and I are here to present the fiscal year.

One minute. We'll see if we can get some more volume. We can't.

Either that or if you have a mouthpiece, that would help. All right.

And I may just need to speak up. Is this any better?

That's better. That's better. Okay.

All right. I apologize. I just need to speak up. A lot of old people up here. Not me. Oh, and of course, I get nervous in these presentations. I'll bear with us. Like I said, again, my name is Simpson Goodman. Carl Goodman and I are here on behalf of Bridger CPAs to present your fiscal 2025 audit report. Of course, we'd like to begin by thanking the city for the opportunity again to serve as your auditor. I'll just kind of roll through the high points. My understanding is y'all have already got my review points for this presentation, so we'll just kind of hit the big stuff. Of course, the most important thing is your audit opinion. The city continues to have an unmodified audit opinion, which, of course, is the best opinion that you can have. We have a very, very slight decrease in net position overall this year. It was roughly 209,000 decrease from the prior fiscal year. Just for a little added note there, we show you what the change would be if you were to factor out the pension liability, just to kind of give you an idea of the magnitude of that number. We show you have a slight increase in their pensions liability year over year, just very small, 46,000 roughly. Also keep in mind, as you all know, the PERS employer match is increasing. It went up another 0.5% effective July 1 of 25, and that trend will continue through fiscal 29. Rolling forward to page 23. On your governmental funds, your overall change, you had an increase of about $1.2 million in your fund balances there for the governmental funds. On page 26 in the report of your proprietary funds, there was a small decrease in net position by about $367,475. Moving forward to page 14, another way to see it, of course, is also on page 38. In your capital assets, governmental assets had an overall increase of a little more than a million dollars, and your business-type assets had a slight decrease by about $1.5 million, with a combined decrease altogether of about roughly $492,000. On page 65, taking a look at your long-term debt, During fiscal 25, the city issued a little over $2 million in debt. They paid off about close $3.5 million in debt. Total outstanding debt is around $31,758,000, with $3.4 million of that being due within one year. You had an overall decrease in your long-term debt by about $1.3 million. Page 49, just a little bit of a look forward, which is now history for y'all. In March of this year, of course, the city issued 2 million more in general obligation public improvement bonds, and there was a finance purchase for about 180,000 that was executed in January of this year. Rolling on to page 69, just keeping an idea of where you are in terms of your legal debt margin. There's still ample room, 7.6 million on the bonds and notes subject to the 15% limitation. And then on the 20% limitation, you're still at 13.8. That would still be available. So you're sitting in a good position as far as your debt goes compared to the limitation. Does anyone have any questions for us?

No. I don't have a question, but I have a statement. When you look on page three, and bullet number three also you have the word county rather than the word cities there are two um two corrections that needed to be made in your report you said on page three yes of that of the first letter i guess that's the overall letter and then bullet three It may be page four. When I pulled it up, it may be on page four, but you have the word counties rather than cities.

I do see that in there.

Yeah. So those are some necessary corrections to that report.

Thank you very much. Yes, and it appears to be just on that page, but I appreciate you catching that. We will get that taken care of. I appreciate that.

No problem.

Thank you. Any other questions or comments?

No. That's possible audit. I don't know what the question is. Right.

All right. Well, we again thank you all very much for the opportunity. We appreciate it.

Thank you. Thank you. Good evening.

Bye. Thank you very much.

I make a motion we accept the audit report. Second. Motion by Gary, second by Brian. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed?

With the note with the necessary corrections.

Yeah. With the noted corrections. All right. The only thing I have. So I move. Motion by Gary, second by Ted. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Okay.

Never know.

Attorney.

Yes, sir. The consent agenda is before you for approval.

So second motion by Brian second by Gary all those in favor.

That is all I have unless there any question.

I'm saying you can you me. Thank you. Oh,

We'll have economic development and public safety.

Wade?

Hello?

Yes, sir.

Yes, sir.

You have anything for us?

uh no i have nothing to bring to the board this evening yes do you need approval of the floridation discontinuation public notice and request to set a public hearing for yeah we moved we moved that date to september 8th correct we moved it to the the public hearing is um august 3rd okay Or no, I'm sorry. What date is it? September 8th. But we still need, we have to have the public hearing. I mean, we have to request approval because we have to publish.

I'll make a motion that we do the publication for the Florida Nation.

And set the public hearing.

Motion by Gary.

Thank you. Thank you.

I actually have two items it looks like I apologize one of my items is not on your agenda in front of you my first request is for approval of the fiscal year 2026 budget amendments so moved second motion by Ted second by Gary all those in favor aye opposed okay And the second item that I have, because I printed the unrevised agenda, is lowest and best bid of the generator. It was in Dropbox. So move. The generator quotes.

We need one that big. So move. I'll get with you. Okay. Did you make my point?

I'm sorry.

No, I mean, I don't know if you're going to say something else. Is that all your budget amendments?

That's all the budget amendments that.

But the generator is part of that budget.

It's all in the, it's a list of budget amendments. I'll make a motion to approve.

Motion by Gary. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Then we need to lower some bets, right?

I thought that was what he just did.

We'd already done the amendment thing.

Yeah, you did the amendment thing. He just did Louis Smith. So the budget amendments includes like the saw, the... All the stuff that was approved in the last meeting. That's correct. And then I added the generator.

What was the generator stuff?

68. Don't know, but... Yeah, because the last time y'all looked at it, it was like 42, something like that. Several years ago.

I just looked at it. Yeah, I'm at motion. We approve that also.

Yeah, that's all I have, Mayor.

That's a motion to approve the budget amendments. Okay. I think we got that. The budget amendment does generally.

It's all together. It's all together.

Okay, no. That's it?

That's all I have. Yes, sir.

I'll make a motion. Motion by Gary. Second by Brian. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Your birthday? Happy birthday. Happy birthday. Today? Come on along.

Okay, Robert?

Yeah, I don't have anything.

Marcia's not here. Xenia? Do we need to do anything on mosquito control?

No, they just put their board in there.

Yes, sir. Can she not hear me?

She should be able to hear you.

Xenia, can you hear me?

She doesn't have anything.

She doesn't have anything? I don't have anything. Gary? No, sir. Brian? No, sir. Danny? No, sir. Okay. I've got one request of y'all. Let me write my notes. By state law, for us to be able to allow our people to have Gatorade, we have to have a motion from this board that once the temperature hits 92 degrees, we will allow the the Public Works, Wastewater, and Park Commission to buy the bulk Gatorade to put in the coolers for the workers that are out on the trucks. Are we limited to Gatorade? Not enough. I'm just kidding. Yeah, I guess I should say whatever. Hydration. Gatorade. Hydration. Hydration. Should have just water, so they have something with some electrolytes. Electrolytes. I mean, we're not even in Dallas.

It is. You have to put it in the minute.

Second. Second. Motion by Brian, a second by Gary. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? To the Gatorade Plus.

That's all I have. So, Brian? I have a second economic development thing to add to that executive session. We got a second economic development thing? Okay. It's all economic development. It is totally economic development.

All right. Brian?

I make a motion we consider entering the executive session for two issues that he cannot develop. One is a public safety issue.

That's correct. Second. Motion by Brian. Second by Gary. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? I make a motion we enter executive session for the second. Motion to enter. Second by Gary. Second by Brian. Second by Gary. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Mr. Griffin?

He does for the first item. Second.

Bye.

No heckling. Yeah.

Sounds good to me. Get you some Gatorade. It's over 92 degrees.

Y'all see why I cook? It's not my fault. Wait, let's get us off YouTube.