Town Council - Special Meeting

8 o'clock. We're going to get started. Wendy, would you please call the role? Council President Paul M. Rodrik here. Vice President Thomas P. Welch III. Councelor Peter D. Conton, Senior. Councelor Christopher M. Logan here. Councelor Charles R. Roberts here. Councelor Dennis B. Toronto. Councelor Barbara Avon Villis. We have a quorum. Mr. President. Thank you. Please join us in the pledge of allegiance. Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, liberty and justice for all.

Okay, good morning everybody. Um get started with this year's uh uh annual Saturday budget review. And it's as you look as I look out um it's nice to see a lot of the department heads. Not often you have all you guys and ladies in the same room at the same time. So um and you're the folks that make makes this engine run. So we certainly appreciate you taking the extra time on a Saturday. I mean what else should you be doing anyway, you know? So um let's get started. I'll read the first one in. I think Sean's going to make some quick comments and then we'll jump right to uh I believe it's Ron Meansky uh planning.

So uh let me read it in. Uh number one is uh receipt of fiscal year 2026 2027 budget May 627 budget. All in favor I and we'll just read in number two at the same time um because we'll get into that conversation and we'll have to stop at that point anyway. So number two is review of town of Middletown proposed budgets and capital improvement plan, general fund, parks and recreation fund, sewer fund and refuge and recycling fund of the fiscal year 2026 2027 and matters related to

motion to begin review of the town proposed budgets capital improvement plan general fund. Matters related to all in favor I. Okay, Sean.

Um, I'd like to thank the council for scheduling today's meeting. Um, and for being here on a Saturday. It is I think in my my I'll just express my own opinion. It may not be everyone's, but this is a lot easier than scheduling many meetings over many nights, but I I appreciate sincerely appreciate your efficiency in doing this. Um, and I'd like to thank the department heads for their work uh over the past months. Uh this year we were able to get back on track and provide you complete budget documents um which because of the workload has been difficult to do as well as the the different decisions that the council has been considering. I just want to go through a list of things that um are on our horizon for the next 12 months as a just to set a backdrop for the amount of work that's going to be on coming uh coming our way. Um, I think this budget more than any one that I've worked on has uh a tremendous amount of uh u I don't know events coming up that that are going to impact how we work over the next 12 months uh in the time I've been with the town of Middletown. And I just want to run down them. uh and I have them in alphabetical order, but uh there's a significant effort to upgrade the Codington pump station uh basically to bypass waste water from the uh By Brook over to the west side of the island, create not only capacity but efficiency in our sewer system. Um shared services, which is something we started a little over a year ago, we're continuing to implement that. Um, and we need to uh I think there's a lot of refinement and we're we're finding a lot of efficiencies that we we didn't know ex that that could exist. Uh, there's a lot of work there. And then also something that I think will come up in our discussion with the library is uh an effort that we've started this year is a formalization of our cost allocation

plan. Uh, basically when we look at shared services uh determining how we're going to implement those uh from a cost perspective and accounting perspective. So, uh, that's something that's underway and something we have to work on. Um, I've got cost allocation plan listed twice, so ignore the second one. Um, we're in the process of developing affordable housing across the street, 351 East Main Road. Uh, so we will be in the land, uh, development business, and we'll have a partner to do that, but that's a a new effort on the town standpoint. Uh we have one significant grant uh the $19 million safe streets grant which Rich Ron may talk about. Uh but that's a partnership with Newport and Portsmith. Also um we have the potential for the $5 million build grant which is the road improvements on Paradise Avenue and Third Beach Road infrastructure. We're looking at lower Quinnick Avenue. that project continues to move forward and although construction's not, you know, next year, um it appears that will be a lot of effort as we get plans in for the undergrounding of uh in uh utilities as well as trying to finalize the uh the civil engineering component of the plan itself. Uh Purgatory Avenue Sidewalks is going out to bid here shortly. A real challenge is is labor. Um recruit, retain, reward our employees. uh we anticipate if you look at the age of the employees there will be a point that we're coming up with with really a lot of new new hires as well as promotions that will have to happen within the organization. Um but work you know actually getting getting talented people to work here is is continuing to be a challenge uh not not only for us but but for the island uh for employers that we support. So labor challenges are ongoing. uh medical premiums. You're going to see in the budget today that we have a 13% increase in medical cost. And unfortunately, that's something that

everyone um whether it's a business or people at home are dealing with as well as changes uh with the Trump administration and how uh people are able to access medical plans. So that that is a real issue here and within the community. Then we have some heavy lifts. um this budget uh we will essentially be moving into Middletown Middle High School uh the new building which almost seems unreal but um around this time next year we will be sweating out getting uh cert certificates of occupancy uh to finish out the school year and to start moving into the new building during the summer. Uh in January we should be looking at moving into the new library building. Uh we should be looking at leaving uh the uh winning school and part of the the Forest Avenue school to move into the Valley Elementary School, the renovated high school. That's going to be an extremely busy time because once the kids leave the high school, u we're going to have to finish up our uh renovation of that building. So, we're ready for September. Uh so, that is going to be uh extremely busy. Um and I'm just going to skip to the bottom. We're also going to be relocating temporarily from Forest Avenue Elementary School to Aquinic Elementary School for for work. Um I think when we put this budget together, one of the big things that we had to consider is that um there's there's there are some unknowns and and we need to remain nimble not only from a financial but from a resource standpoint in order to uh give us the ability to work together to be successful in in these these large endeavors. Um they are projects and work that will impact the town, the school, and every department in between. Um at the very minimum, it means that someone may not be available and someone who may not necessarily be directly rated to this project. We'll

have to pick up the slack. Um but we're all going to have to work together to be successful in doing these things over the next 12 months. Uh the next item, uh ongoing regionalization discussions with the city of Newport. Um that that is uh something that is continuing and takes up resources and time. Uh the West Main Road Codington, we have the potential development of affordable housing. Uh on the northern side of the property uh that will that will also take up uh resources but is an important issue for the town of Middletown housing. Uh revaluation is next year. Uh that will be implemented at the state level. Uh we've started to see legislation related to the blue ribbon report. Uh Middletown is uh right now a loser in that discussion of about $400,000. Uh but that is something that legislatively will be a big issue uh as we look at next year and will involve the council and and us to be up at the state house in order to uh come out ahead hopefully like other communities with the funding formula. One of the biggest issues we're going to have and continue to have is state and federal economic policy. Um, in its simplest terms, the state's backfilling what the Fed's cutting and the town is backfilling what the state is cutting. Uh, and and that is going to be a continuing process and we're going to have to continue to make hard decisions or or or probably make harder decisions and and what we're going to do. Uh, but but the reality is there's no money at the federal level. uh there's no money at the state level and um people want services. Uh and uh in order to do that, it's it's ultimately going to fall down to decisions the council will make regarding whether or not it wants to raise funds to pay for those services or uh or let them go. Uh, one of the issues that we'll talk a

little bit about today and something that I've been working on is the state property tax, also known as the Taylor Swift tax on second homes valued over a million dollars. We actually have over 400 of those homes in the town of Middletown. And uh, as the state is preparing to send out those tax bills, um, that will actually create a a tax burden for people in the town of Middletown that is roughly about $2.3 million. Um this is a a very terrible it's it's a bad policy. Uh basically for you know the last 200 years or 250 years the town has been here the ability to tax property has resided with the town council not the state. Uh and now what the state has done is they've come in and and scoop that money under the opaces that they're going to use it to fund tax credits for low-income housing. Um we have been working with roughly 10 communities in the state, coastal communities that fall into the same category. Uh we had a meeting with uh the speaker

yesterday trying to talk to him about what what we can do um to eliminate this tax u sunset this tax retain some of the dollars. I think uh council president and others on the council have um when they've had the opportunity tried to express that when it comes to competing for these dollars because we don't have the ability to create the density that a socket has it that we we you know we we feel left out. I think what's worse is that we have a tax that's raising money from from our properties within our community. um and we will it will be very difficult to uh obtain those funds just just in the way it is to uh get them right now. So this is a a big issue I think uh from a policy standpoint as well as for the town of Middletown and something that we're pursuing very very uh aggressively. Um, I think that's the list that I have, but these are the things that uh I've been working on, the things that sort of keep me up at night and when we put the budget together, we evaluated how we were going to spend money between the different departments. And again, I think most important thing here is while maybe someone isn't necessarily working on u the infrastructure of Purgatory Avenue when the planner or the public works director is working on that and someone else is picking up the slack in some way. Um we're very fortunate I think as a team that uh everyone does communicate well and has an understanding of of where where a lot of efforts required and and people fill in and I think that's the best part of working you know with the team that the people that I work with every day. So I just wanted to go through that quickly to give you or just you know sort of point out the big things that we are facing. Um you know yes the new school will open in September of 2027. However, all of the things that we're

purchasing for that school and getting ready, they're going to happen in the next fiscal year. Um, you know, the the the CEO and moving into the new school is not going to wait for the next fiscal year. It it's it's what we're considering today. So, with that, um, I'm going to have Ron come up first. Yeah. I Sean, I would just thank you for your comments. I would just like to say that I think that um there's some challenges that that certainly that illustrate tax is a is a potential issue for all towns especially middle town you know being a a spit community we probably have more of those homes like in that report that

I would just like to say to the department that you know each of us know if you live in the four the abundance of what you need and are requesting to run your uh your operations. And so um and this isn't anything new. It's more of you know we look at we have to look at the whole town. So um you know you may get some things you may not get some just the way it works. It's not, please don't ever take it personal. Those are just decisions that we have to make from a priority standpoint of what's important today um or you know down the road and and Sean highlighted some of the some of the challenges. So, but that's why we do what we do today. We're going to go through the budgets, uh, take notes, take information down, we take the requests, but, um, and we'll make decisions and, you know, people, sometimes people get what they want and sometimes departments don't get what they want. So, again, please don't take it personal. We work together. Um, we all need to continue to pull the rope from the same end because that's important. We can't have tugof-wars because we'll never get where we need to get or move the town forward where it needs to be. And that's really all of our jobs. Having said that, uh Ron Ron's uh on this budget, guys, in the book, this one he had it. It's his budget's on 177. Morning.

Thank you. So, just a a quick overview of of the planning department and what we do. Um, I just cut you off and I just wanted to say one more thing because it just just hit me and I'll forget. Just what we just would like to see is just get right to what your bottom line is. Anything you think you want to talk about? We're not looking for any presentations. We're not looking for any fluff. Just get to it. Okay. In a nice way. Sorry.

Okay. So very quickly, the the planning department does um short-term planning, long-term planning, economic development. We staff the economic development committee. We are also responsible for maintaining the town's geographic information system, the GIS. Um obviously, we staff the planning uh planning board meetings. We assist the town council on land use issues. Um so that's just a quick overview of what we do in terms of initiatives for the upcoming year. Sean actually touched on several of the items that are in the planning department or at least partially in the planning department. Um we'll be implementing the new comprehensive plan. As you know, the plan draft is is complete. The planning board will be holding a public hearing on the 11th um to accept public input. And then following that public hearing, the plan will come to the town council and you'll hold your public hearing. Once it's adopted, the planning department will be assisting the council and and other um departments within the town to implement uh the comprehensive plan. Uh Sean mentioned West Main Codington redevelopment. So that project is is moving again. So we'll be participating in that work. here.

Um we'll be continuing to implement the Atlantic Beach District master plan which includes um the streetscapes improvement project that we've talked quite a bit about improvements to Dunlop Wheeler Park which you received recently a presentation on that. Um so that work continues uh road uh sorry road work and sidewalks uh and transportation generally. Um the town participated in the Navy Naval Station Newport uh compatible use study which just wrapped up recently which I think you all are aware of. Um that that report which involved all three communities in the Navy identified um well well looked at transportation issues, land use issues and and utilities issues. Uh focused quite a bit on transportation. And so there's a lot of interesting um suggestions and recommendations coming out of that report that will as a town but also regionally as an island be looking at working um working with the communities and also the chamber of commerce which the chamber was the lead on on the project um getting some of those improvements implemented. Uh the trick is as as always funding uh we'll be soliciting funding through the federal government through grants uh state government uh Rhode Island DOT. Um so that that work will uh ramp up in the coming year. Uh and then I guess finally the uh ongoing regional climate resilience work uh Paige Mat's work uh under the umbrella of the Quinnic Island Land Trust. That that work continues for the next couple of years funded through a grant. Um I think you've all seen all of the work that she's been doing, lots of public uh events. Um ultimately her work the the work of that that um office within the within the land trust will result in a climate resilience action

plan um for the entire island. Uh and again that would be something that would fall at least partially within the planning department to start implementing recommendations that come out of that work. In terms of my budget, um it's actually a a reduction uh from last year's budget. And the reason for that is a reduction in the consulting uh services line item, which is one of the bigger lines in my budget um that's not related to operations. So because of a lot of the work that's wrapping up comp plan um streetscapes design project the Dunlop wheeler design um project so those funds that were in the in last year and previous year's budgets obviously no longer needed. So that line item comes down quite a bit um which results in the overall planning department budget um being reduced significantly for the FY27 budget.

Yeah. So, so, so your budget's a 25% decrease, right? Just because 71% of it consulting 20,000 whatever. Yed off. It's a tough act to follow. I don't know.

Does anybody have any questions of Ron? Ron, thank you. Thank you for all you do and good luck with your family today. Thank you. Okay, just going to quickly, we wanted to get Ron out of here. Mark's just going to go through the so you while we're talking about the general fund, the uh the tax rate and levy recommendations from the budget. We would have started that before, but like I said, I wanted to get Ron out of here. Go

also. It's it's page three of the presentation. There's a a summary, but Mark will walk through it. The top portion of the slide is the rate increase. The proposed tax rate is a 3.2% increase which equates to for owner occupied that would increase 29 cents to um and for the owner nonoccupied would increase 38 cents and for the commercial tax rate the incre proposed rate is increasing by 43 cents. On the bottom portion is the budgeted levy. It identifies um between town and school what of the increase of the tax levy the 2,137 $227 29.06% 06% is for the town of $621,000 and 71% for the school of a million1,516,000. So right now it's a 3.2% increase. Uh, so next we have the building and zoning department, Chris Costa.

Right. Building and zoning page 168. And

I'll just highlight here and you'll see this in all of them. Uh, across the board, whether town or school, uh, medical premiums are up 12 to 13%. U and that's being caused by um a number of programs expiring from Blue Cross where in prior years we were receiving credits uh from either Blue Cross or CVS on the prescription side um as well as increases in the cost and use of the GLP drugs um that's also causing increases in health care um which is really again something that's through the entire health care system. Um, if you look at Middletown's experience, we actually uh because we're in theory self-insured, our utilization is 98 point uh 98.5%. So, um it's just uh the cost of of providing the the health care is is becoming the challenge. But this I have one additional comment on the health and dental insurance. That's actually a low increase at 13%. A lot of communities are up in up even including 20%. So we were fortunate to be that low.

Is that the easy let down? I was I wasn't happy with the 13%. Uh which we voiced but in the end some communities got 100%.

Okay, Chris want to counelor. Thank you for having me here. Um my my department's pretty cut and dry. I don't I got a full team now. So there's no increase in you know employers or anything like they mentioned. Most of mine was due to the medicals and different insuranceances that was with this slight increase. Um yeah like I said this I I worked with this team. They they work so hard. And I've met over the last six, seven months on meeting to see, you know, even with my light budget, the the effort they put in to meet the, you know, the increases and trying to keep your budgets as low as possible. Mine is minimal.

So, you have a I think a 2.7% increase, right? Is that what it is? And it's most of that is like Mark and Mr. Mr. Brown mentioned with the medicals and different as I look around the sheet here it's 12% medical and you know 6% life insurance it's salary increases but otherwise when you look down there's a lot of lot of uh percentages in in parentheses which means negatives or decreases so okay anybody have any questions of discuss or excellent buildings we try we try

and I I guess this is more of a budget question too and I was just as but when we charge building permit fees and development is this I a lot of people assume that helps fun what what is our total income on building permit fees and development Mark's going to look it up the one thing I'm going to say is building permit fees are set by the state um I mean we can we can petition for more but we can't charge We can Yeah, it has to equate roughly to what the cost of the department is. Yeah. Um

asking about the development fees, Chris, because there's been a lot of residents that are trying to, you know, do ADUs and and bring in some more housing because we have a housing issue here in town and and so a lot of them have argued which that the development fees are really high, especially if you're going to do something like an ADU. So that's that would be outside of Chris's out of the building department. It's more the the planning department, I think. So services rendered and everything. When you're creating basically another dwelling unit, you know, you're bringing people in, which is our intent, you know, for for families and but you're creating another unit, you need schools, you need police, fire.

Well, that's but that's not my I don't I don't regulate that. Like Mr. Brown said the state regulates every municipality in Rhode Island fees according to their budget, their overhead. So that so the state restricts what we can charge a unit basis. Is that correct, Sean? For building permits, building permit fees. Your your building permit. Yeah, that's we have to go through the state building commission to have that fee schedule changed. For building permits, the budget is a million one. Okay, Dennis. Just following up on Charles question, what is the calculation calculations on a building permit

says I'm going to build a $500,000 home. What is it? What how do you calculate based on the first 10,000 at $18. After 10,000 you carry over that 180 and it goes to 16,000 up to 50 and then after 50 it goes down to 14,000. It's a calculation that anybody can see. They just type in Middletown building permit fees. And it's just a basic graph that under 10,000 we get $18 a,000. Over 10,000 it goes to 16 and you just carry that 180 over. But it we can't change that, right?

You know, the municipalities have no no we'd have to put in requisitions to the state and say, you know, and we up at a dollar. I know. Well, we used to be able to do it oursel. We used to We did do it 10, you know, eight years ago, 10 years ago. We did have our home. Then, uh, how about a comparison? When it's all said and done, we finish building it, they come in and they we're done. Get the value of the house that point. Does it match up to what the build is or I mean, sure, I'm sure that once it's done, it gets more value and it's done. But is it close from a building permit standpoint, materials, everything?

Come in low and give you a lower number, but in the end it's much higher number. Well, it's material labors. We can't put in a individual contractor's profits and all of that. We can just, you know, the blue book I can I can challenge them with a square foot price, you know, but if somebody wants to put gold floors down versus carpeting, that's not part of the building permit that we get, you know, the fees. Thank you. Okay. Any questions?

Very much on Saturday. Who do we have next? Uh, town administrator on page 108. You going somewhere?

I mean, what the day? Um, I think I just wanted to make sure Jay didn't go first since he's one of the newer department heads and I always go last. Uh, my budget's pretty straightforward. So uh it is a 31.1% increase. This is the uh additional position of a deputy town administrator which the council has desired. Uh so that's the the bulk of the increase in compensation uh medical premiums again the increase of 12 to 13% uh part of my salary and thing uh benefits and throughout the department. So, which would include myself, Moren, and Matt right now, uh, with the information, uh, public information, public affairs. Uh, part of that gets allocated out to other departments and other funds. Uh, from an operational standpoint, I think, uh, we continue to operate in a efficient manner. Uh, with everything that's coming in and out of the office, we do have the new position that's contemplated. Uh on the side of public affairs, I would say that uh we really do continue to operate on a a very efficient level there. Uh Matt continues to identify, you know, technologies and uh links that allow us to communicate very effectively with the community. We we have greater penetration, I think, each month. Um, one of the major things that we've Matt's been working on that it's I guess right now it's we're in the phase of the Middletown Minute, but we're we're moving away some from some of the the written press releases to more of the uh the video the short videos which um as we track, you know, user views are are really popular. Um, and then anecdotally, Matt's gotten a lot of feedback. You know, people, you know, start to see that face. In the last few months, we've uh actually purchased a uh teleprompter. It's a lowcost

teleprompter, but the plan is to expand that so department heads get more time. Um, you know, make it as easy as possible to make these these short videos to to inform people of what's going on. I would say that's probably my day. You're you're well aware of the things I'm working on. But um I think that's where we're making a lot of progress is on that that information side because unfortunately um you know I think we we continue to fall into a news desert. Um and that's that's one challenge. Social media is the the other challenge. There's there's a tremendous amount of disinformation. Um because social media is exponential. One person can have a a much larger voice than uh is deserving. Uh and then the other challenge is that voice isn't necessarily accountable to the public like the people in this room are. So um that that is a point that we continue to push hard. But if you have any questions about my budget, I think that that sums it up. question in regards to the uh our media man, you know, we're sizable organization as good a job as we do getting information out. I think that department should be a bigger for help in that area because you know we don't have that the media that we used to have. I mean, Newport Daily News used to come in to a meeting on a Monday night. We'd have the meeting. We'd be done at 10 o'clock and in the paper the next day was a line item by line item explanation of what happened in that meeting. And it was both sides. It wasn't just one side. It was both sides of the equation right down the middle. It was so impressive that I was like, "Wow, they're working some late hours. That's a commitment to the community." I don't see that. I don't

see that anymore in any any magazine, any new local papers. You know, I see headlines. I see some detail, but you never really start seeing it. And this is in social media as well. This is what's out there, right? People write what they want you to read and not necessarily provide you what they don't want you to read. So, I just think it's something we really have to work hard on. And Matt, I don't know how you get it all out. um a lot of work, but I see the post. I go and look at them. It's a lot of good work. So, I think we could do more.

We could always do more. Um I think your point is valid. I just think that uh decision want to add staff. It's those are decisions that that Okay. Anybody have any questions of Mr. Brown and his uh this is a just a general because I think it's going to show up on every department Sean right is the health medical benefits every department school department library yeah

I mean and I trust me like we just change insurance more money you get less services but um is there anything that we can push our state reps to help with this like or is this a national I think it's a national thing it's also a state thing um Rhode Island doesn't pay its doctors well. Um, so that's also causing a lot of stress here. Uh, you mind

Oh, sorry. Yeah, just we have a new system and just have to be careful about which one they get too close. It's it's a problem throughout the entire state. Um, and then like I said, it's a problem with dental. It's it's it's a problem with Rhode Island how we we compensate. Um, we have two bankrupt hospitals in the state of Rhode Island. It's it's uh the only the only thing I I guess I've been looking at and is so myself and Dave Foser and Portsouth had created what was originally called the governmental health group of Rhode Island where we created the risk pool for health insurance um and the Rhode Island into local trust. We we ultimately had to give that to the Rhode Island Interlocal Trust because we really didn't have the inf grew. We grew up. We had a we had 15,000 contracts from from different eight to 10 different communities. So, it became too much work to do on a part-time basis. So, we gave it to the trust. The trust just they they seem to be gathering overhead, if that makes sense. Um they they bought a building, they have a lot of staff. Um, I think it's worth looking at whether we we leave that model and just go to a self-insured model here at the town of Middletown. Um, it's not really that difficult. Um, but that's something we would have to evaluate. Um, that that would give us some savings because we could we could peel off that overhead, but the the underlying cost of care is is not going to change. And, you know, Chris probably knows this having worked in that. And then cynically, you know, I I look at it, you you have a you have a group of professional people and there's there's this pot of money that goes into support it. So even if you find a savings somewhere, it just seems that something else will come up and

fill that void and and and and fund the the machine. The machine is always it's you know, we say this about every organization. It wants to be fed money. So as soon as you say something, it it wants to eat from somewhere else. So I mean ultimately I think that's the problem with healthcare. It's it's going to get its premiums and and right now it's behind. So but I think we could peel off paying that administrative cost if we were to just self-insure as a community. I think that is the next step to what we're doing.

Yeah. And Charlie going back uh historically in my tenure here is healthcare has always been an issue. I think there was s maybe 15 20 years ago. Yeah. And I think we had one or two years where it was six or eight% and we we thought it was a win you know at that point in time because you always see the double digit increase. You know, you look across nationally, I just think it's the whole health care system. And isn't it a shot of any health care people? It's the system is broken. But it's a political uh topic every year.

That's that's that's way above us because I think if we could change it, we would certainly try. But I think that's a a step in the right direction of you know maybe we start looking at that help control those costs down the road because you know you look at it again historically how it's been um it's not sustainable. What was it last year? What was our increase last year? It's around 8%. This is this is really hot.

Thank you. Just just on a tangent, not all labor this, but when the school committee's here, so Greg U has been up to the state house the last two years looking at it's not healthcare, but in a sense it somewhat similar is the cost of special education providing those extraordinary services for students who need it. Um, and he's sort of talking about the same thing is trying to create a backs stop for for high cost special ed. So if you have that student that costs in excess of h1red or $200,000 whether you create a shared risk pool with communities who you know you pay into the pool middle town pulls the tough straw and has a high cost student then then we all chip into whether that's done through a risk pool that we pay into or try to find someone who reinsure you know you have to buy basically insurance and reinsure the high cost. That's something we start looking at this. We could look at that at the same time as we start to talk to reinsurance companies to see if they would put a product together that

any further questions hearing none. Uh Sean, thank you. Uh who is master clerk on page 134? Oh, actually the sorry the assessor. George, good morning, sir. 126. How you doing? Uh, one what? Sean, what what page? 126. Thank you. Morning, George. Morning. How are you? I'm great. You're awesome. Thanks for having me here. Thanks for coming.

Thanks for everything that you do also as a resident. So, as you know, I'm the uh tax assessor and we also handle collections. Uh right now, the big thing going on in my department is the reval. Uh the contract was awarded in January to vision. Um taxpayers can track what's going on loosely. Uh we have a separate web page dedicated to the revel and that is off of the tax assessors web page. Um, we sent data mailers out to residents asking them to look over their uh property records. Approximately 5,500 were sent and to date we've re received about 3,000 back. Uh they're coming into my office and they're also um being sent directly to uh vision. Uh overall I would say that taxpayers uh reception of the reval process has been positive. I think that people are interested in becoming engaged in in their values. Um you know how can I get you know they call and ask how can you know we set an appointment provision. A lot of it is is cold calling knocking on doors but also the the information that the taxpayers have gotten. They've they've contacted us in hopes of setting appointments up with with vision. Um, thanks to Matt Keely been great with the messaging and I think that's uh kept the temperature down a lot. We'll see what happens next year. Right now it's myself and two clerks in the office. Um, the one bump is overtime.

Uh, it went up about $2,300, which you they they pick up over time. Uh, when the quarters come up, um, you know, because they have to stay and reconcile, you know, large volumes of money that comes in. Printing and billing costs are going up, but overall the operating expenses are expected to decline 29%. Compensation benefits will increase 7% with an overall budget change of zero.

Awesome. Thank you, George. Oh, come on. Let me go. I guess this this just as I was sitting here looking at we're looking at what percentage of budget most departments are asking for. Question is, how did you do with last year's budget? Did you spend it all? No. No. No. My my budget is relatively small. I mean, there's not a lot there. So, we cut outs.

It's not over yet. You still have May and June. We still have more months. No, no. We're we're we're in good shape and we're on track. And um I have a good group that works for me and and and and the residents have been really I don't know how much you hear, but I I we see a lot of people as happy as the taxpayer. George. Okay. Any other counselors have any questions about Mr. Jordan? George, enjoy the rest of your Saturday. Thank you for coming. Nice. All right.

Okay. Who do we have next? Master clerk. Master clerk. The timer. Uh that's page 134. As you can see, I have a decrease. Uh the only thing that I do have is the primary and general election, but it's still a decrease. Any questions? Um yes, I am on budget this year.

I wasn't going to ask that, but um I'm sure you are. We see those numbers. Mark gives us those numbers pretty regular basis. Um, even with the even with the primary and the general election this this year, right? Uh, we we have actually three new staff members. So, that's decreased the salary line. So, yeah, you had some folks. You had some real longevity in the uh in your your office,

right? has changed. Um those folks did a great job and um in my interactions with the new folks, it's been um been really good. It was always good, but it's it's it's you didn't miss a beat, I guess. I'm trying to say is now we even have folks that are bilingual in that correct. I have two which is a big big win for us because of the town because anybody comes in most most people can feel comfortable um trying to get across to get across right that's that was a good job there is 4.7% yes

okay um same thing with the medical I'm sure yes increase for the Yeah. Well, yours decreased because of your people. Right. Right. And then and actually I think I have one staff member that doesn't have medical through the town e too. Yeah. Okay. Or two two staff members. That that helps. Every little bit helps. But um Okay, great. Does anybody have any questions for at this rate? Maybe we're out here early today. This is good. I'm just kidding. Did you say this?

I just wanted to That's why I said it. It's not really a question. I just, you know, I think a lot of res this is for the residents. You know, the town clerk's office does a lot of stuff for our town. And Wendy, I remember last year I wrote down my notes like you guys came in with a decrease last year or at least your flag. But it's just I I appreciate everything you do for this town because you run it when I look at these budget numbers, you run it more it's the most efficient department I got. Nothing against anybody else, but like for what you provide to the town, what you provide. Well, no. I mean like for what the town clerk provides for services for the residents that they don't even realize that it's doing they're doing it. Like to me, I just wanted to commend you and your department. Thank you.

Thank you. Yeah. No, Charlie's right. I mean, everybody works hard. Um, um, Wendy, but you know, when I drive by, I leave early in the morning or if I have to come pick up something early or if I have to come sign something early, you're here at 6:00 every single morning. So, you know, it's not easy to do and we ask a lot of you and you do it. So, um, and you have your right hand over there. Yeah. Uh, Karen and she's here at 7 o'clock every morning. So, a quarter of seven. So you guys did Charlie's point did a great job and just we want to say thank everybody. Thank you.

So you know when when when we have an initiative or a project the next thing out of my mouth is it done yet? you know, so but it takes folks like you guys and that culture that's created here in the whole room that, you know, we have that passion to make this town the best town possible, the best living experience for the people. And I mean, we're not perfect and it's not always, you know, uh, roses and candies, no hunger to say it, but it gets done. That's whether we agree or disagree, we it gets done. So, thank you. Thank you to everybody. Okay, just a quick

4.7%. We like you a lot this year. Minus 4.7%. Yes, sir. Just for the clerk and when we talk about uh boards and committees, there'll be the you'll see a bump for the election, but what we do is we we we set aside money every year for that. So, there'll be money coming in from a special revenue fund that will even it out. So, while you'll see a bump in expenditures, the it's smoothed out from a revenue coming in from the side. Okay. Any questions before we move on from the clerk? Okay. Excellent.

Uh, the next department is information technology. Matt Wayright, age 144. How's everybody doing this morning? Morning, Matt. How you doing? doing great. Like that behind the guy behind the scenes guy nobody ever sees. That's it. Yeah. Nate and myself. That's a good thing. Flying under that radar. Yeah, exactly. Yes. I try to make that a possibility every day. So um

so uh yeah, Nate Mccleman and myself, I can't say enough about Nate. I come up here and say his name every year because uh he just does so much and he's just a great communicator, a great team player. So uh he's on vacation thankfully and I hope he's enjoying it. Um, some of the highlights in here, um, there's a there's a 133% in increase in professional development and training. And really, that's to get us up to speed and compliant with artificial intelligence and understanding how we can be players and not only in the IT department, but across the board. There might be some questions down after I'm done going through this about all that, but um

so that that is um like a $7,000 total there. So, and then moving down here to other technical services is up 17.6%. And if we go and look at I'm on page two of my paperwork here, that includes things like AV. Um, if we have a tower, wireless repair, we use Bridge Wireless quite often here in the town. Um, consulting services occasionally if I need a hand in there. We run pretty lean, the two of us in there. And, um, Sean struck off about six grand in that one. So, thank you Sean for doing that. Um, and then we're uh software licenses 6 and a half% that's about in line with what we're seeing in you know priv private and public sector. Um, I'm not too worried about that one. I can explain more about that if you'd like. And then um if you move over to uh mobile data services, that's up 57%. Um, we we added some uh apparatus and the fire department to our mobile services. So that's going to increase that number. Uh so as the projection level there is about $2,200. Um and then we had some jumps in costs with things like small equipment. Um really due to the the environment right now. Technology costs of hardware has just skyrocketed and um although we try to buy as soon as we can, we got to stay within budget. So um that that's a balancing act. That's up 21%. Projection there is 12,400. So, um, yeah, and that's that's really where we are. There's any other questions or any ideas or thoughts?

Um, Sean, I don't have a question for Matt, but we maybe have a question for you. And I know in our conversation with school, we talk about the issue. We'll hear that later on, I'm sure, about it. How do we how how is this going to work? Is that a school issue or trying to work with them on that? I don't want to put you on the spot, but I guess I just did, but it's going to come up. So, we have the it here today and I want to make sure everyone's aware of it is not. We we've had some discussion about it internally.

So, what what Paul's talking about and I've talked to Paul I had a conversation with Chris and and Matt's involved uh when the school department comes in, they have not funded their the position of their IT director. Their IT director left midyear. Um they've been operating with the consultant and I think they have one uh two there's two there.

There's two uh but the position of CIO for lack of a better description is is vacant and they're they're not going to fill it. Um and I've had this conversation with the superintendent. It's it's so it's not a matter of if something's going to happen with it. It's a matter of of when. Um and and we have issues. Um you know, Matt and I, we we talk to each other late at night because something's happening. And because the council has been supportive of the different initiatives that we've brought forward, uh we're able to react and recover, you know, very quickly without any um damages and uh or a high cost. Again, going back, I think, to the professionalism that that Matt brings to the position, but having that absence on the school side is is not good. Um in talking to Chris, um I think he He quickly got to the point and because he has kids in the school, but we've moved to a hybrid environment at the school where a lot of the delivery of education is through technology. Um, if they aren't able to recover quickly, then you basically have teachers in a classroom without content to deliver to the students, you know, or they can do something, but it may not match the curriculum that they're supposed to be following. Uh Matt has had a preliminary discussion with the superintendent, but there there has to be a a real reconciliation of this issue. It is a it's going to become, you know, it it is an issue that we have to work out and it probably something that's going to have to be between the administration of the school town and the town council school. It would be an expansion of shared services. Um we've done this before this and it um it becomes tricky in the sense that the school philosophically associates

all the IT function with education. Um and there's a flaw in that because Matt Matt provides, you know, IT stuff to all of the town departments, but he's not an accountant, not a building official, doesn't ride in the rescue wagon, you know what I mean? So that job might you know these are Sean's words but he delivers the application in a secure manner in an available manner to the department and then it's up to the department to use it and apply it to their their craft. Um we sort of have to overcome that culturally department. There's there's opportunities for savings. There's opportunities for efficiencies you know whether you know I'm running a filter to keep you know and or you know firewalls or or whatever I'm doing to keep secure running a second one on the school side. It's redundant in nature and there's an opportunity to consolidate um whether that's you know hardware things like that or um servers moving to more power and getting all of that out.

Yep. But I'll let Matt maybe just add to this.

I I I think there's obviously a real opportunity there and um we've had some good discussions. I chatted with Billy. chatted with Sean. I know everybody was aware for the most part and um I there needs to be some collaboration on what that looks like. I think we're all aware of that. But I I think the real opportunity there is um there's there's some consolidation that could happen, right? I mean, we could keep it simple at first, very low level, lowhanging fruit and then uh strategic plan to see how we can combine more services. Um, sometimes combining services doesn't always save money as we've discovered, but many times it does if we're using the technology properly. Um, I do believe the the and I hate to say AI because there's a big difference in how we talk about AI consumer versus how we talk about AI in in the town. Very very different, right? So I really like to toss that term around, but I think we have an opportunity there to try to consolidate that as well between town and school. So, it's not really ten and school, right? We can we can build a smart network, if you will. So, um you know, but I I I think the real uh positives we have right now are rapport. There's a good rapport, right? I can walk into Billy's office and talk to him. We communicate. I can walk into Sean's office and communicate. And, you know, there's a new school coming, so there needs to be some kind of representation there and accountability from a technology perspective. I'm fully aware of what's going on at the school. Um, I I think it's a great project, but you know, I do want to see it get off the ground properly, and you know, when that first bell rings, we want to make sure everything's going to work the way it should. So, um, there's a lot more to that. There's a lot more detail. Um, and I I think it's pretty exciting for the town to have the opportunity to start to look at this in a in a different light than perhaps maybe we did back some years. Um, as far as consolidating town and school and seeing the benefits,

I think that um seen some benefits creating synergies with some other departments whether it's um facilities or whether it's finance um this may other opportunity for us to and again it may not be a money savings issue but um it's a collaboration um and some type of right

that's what I I don't know anything about technology Um, you know, we've seen over the past couple of years of the slow transition of, you know, working together with the school um versus against the school, whether it's finance facilities. Look what's being accomplished. So, and again, it may not save money, but it may be more effective and more productive for Right. Right. I I think I think to your point, it will it will save money when something goes wrong. Right. I think you know we've we've made you've the council the town has made investments in stuff where

again we've been able to recover without the damages that we have seen in other communities so far. Um that that's one of the next questions I was going to ask Matt. It's always in the back of my mind. We saw it happen next door at Newport. Uh you see it happening where other countries actually are infiltrating the technology systems of of US companies. Um that's always in the back of my mind with the town, you know, and it is the every day place. I don't know. I mean

I mean so here's the thing and I've said this several years in a row now where it could have be happening right now, right? Something could happen to take down this connection and somebody says, "Well, why can't I get video at home?" And I was watching the meeting and all of a sudden we're into incident response mode, right? So um we have tools in place. Uh but there's also in fact some very new variants of malware out right now that are uh Russian malware that's just running through rampant through really all industries right now. Um and um you know just this week I've read a lot about it. So how do we counteract that? Um we we took on machine learning for some of our defenses a long time ago, relatively long time ago. And um that's a force multiplier for us. you know, we use a product that that really looks for anomalies on the network um and and blocks them automatically because I'd rather have people be mad at me for blocking things and ask me why it's blocked than try to manually do it. I you can't keep up with it. Um you know, we we use a product called Crowd Strike, too. It's in here. Uh you know, that's our EDR device. As as as good as Crowd Strike is, that's one of the hot topics with the one of these latest variants right now. It's it's built to circumvent that. I was talking to Crowdstrike yesterday about it, you know. Um, so these are the daily things we have to do. We have some static equipment in there that, you know, I ask you for money, we we buy uh based on my recommendations. And, um, we're in a very good spot. People do their user awareness training. Passwords change every 30 days. Uh, when people log in, it's not just a password, it's a piece of equipment. It's a key hardware. Um, we've been doing that for a very long, long time. and um relative to the to the government industry, we've been doing it for a while and you know, so we put in defense and depth, right? So that's what that is from a technical standpoint, right? Um and we're going to soon be

replacing one of our major security appliances, too, because it's going to become obsolete probably over the next 18 months. So, um we'll transition that in pretty soon. But I know that sounds all Greek, but these are the things we do in a day-to-day basis. And you know when when we we had a quick discussion in the break room about user awareness training and how it kind of comes off as corny but if we don't do it we're we're not compliant right we have to do the user awareness training and there's also you know the way I deploy technology is based on compliance and that you know that we're covered if there is an incident which could happen at any time. I know that's not

I just point out and beyond Matt that the user awareness training and I I want to commend really all the employees. Um

we all we all participate in the training. Um at first it was it was everyone was resistant to it. It now be has become sort of a a a fun joke. But in a real real sense, in the last month, I mean, we had something that happened which would potentially have had a a cost to the town of $2 million. Um, and it was user awareness training that that identified what what the scheme was. So, it's a it's a very real, you know, kind of thing. I I once said in a meeting that, you know, every day is a hurricane for Matt. Matt Sheileely will remind me of it all the time, but it it is a constant like that is, you know, people in the IT, Dennis and Chris, you know this, you know, in a real sense. We we are we are we are hit with something every day. There is the the stuff we can buy, but there is a people part to it and um we're all we're all vested in that sense.

All right. Excellent. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you. Um, I'm going to call you the IT guy, right? You just call me Matt if you want. That's fine. Go ahead. So, you're you're basically you're the IT person for every department but the school department. Uh, and the library. Well, so there's a little bit we do the library phones, but I think that's going to change. But let's but yes, let's just say yes. And and maybe this is part of the school presentation too, but with building a new school, you know, 21st century school here, like who's who's helping guide some of the IT infrastructure in that building, right? Is because someone no one from the school department's doing that or are they using their consultant?

They're using their consultant, which that that has contact with. So, okay. So, you're you're kind of kept in the loop on that pretty much weekly. Yeah. Okay. And I also Ed and I will talk occasionally about what you know things to that should go on at the school as well. Gonna have like energy efficient like these are going to be Yeah. It's going to be cool. Yeah. Help us save money in the long. All right. Thank you. Yeah.

Nature of the beast. I can't really hear you though. Can you pull your mic a little closer? Thanks. Is that any better? Yeah, it's a little better. Um, yeah, I was going to ask about the library. How's that fit into your daily team?

You know, I I would defer to uh, you know, the group that's been doing it. So, that would be Ed, that would be Kim, that would be Sue. The library portion of 110 Enterprise. Um, for what we're doing over there, it's the finance suite, which is a small portion of that building. I feel like we've been in a good place. I think Mark can attest to that. Um, and we're looking forward to roll out over there. You know, we're just really going to move a lot of what we already have over there. Um, we'll have some new equipment over there, but you know, I just want to get it going and then, um, you know, if we need to do some move ads changes that, I don't see them being monumental at all. I mean, we're just I do like the idea that you have a vision of what's happening at the school, what's going on in town hall.

Sure. what's happening out in the community, you know, fiber optic and all that and then you know what's happening at the library. Yeah. As having one pro having a one focal point and then able to work with the three teams.

I think there's money to be saved there and I I think it's it's good for the town as a whole. So I I think it's important for the council and Paul you mentioned you don't know much about technology but the reality is 60% of it maybe 70% of it is communication right so and letting people do what they do best right so I think it's good to have an organization overall but I also think we need to let you know Kim Sue Ed do what they're doing over there and uh you know the consultant over at the school I think as long as there's some oversight there and communication we're in a really good spot

that's good and I agree Dennis that as I sat here and listened to you as Charlie asked a question or you were explaining some of the things going on. It's we don't know that sometimes we just don't discussions where it's it's comforting knowing that you know what's going on with the new school. You know what's going on with obviously your own department, how you're protecting the whole town. You're involved in the new library and a lot of these new initiatives. So, thank you for that because that's uh that certainly makes me feel good. I'm sure it probably makes everyone else in the room feel good, too. Especially when you see when you don't know a lot about it like a guy like me and you always have these thoughts in the back of your mind of are we doing enough?

Yeah. And I think there's just some real opportunities. These are all opportunities. That's the way I look at them, right? It's I think there's an exciting road ahead for the town with the with the the 110 Enterprise and the new school. And I think we should embrace that and do the best we can, obviously. So, I I enjoy it. Well, you taught me something new today that I feel like maybe I have a shot at technology now. Oh, you're good. Come on. You know, you're on your emails. 70% of it I'm in. Right. Yeah. Okay. It's slippery slope. Does anybody else have any questions of uh Yes, Chris.

So, thanks again for coming. I think that I want to say I see the words for the work. every day. The more we're resilient, the better off we're going to comes in a lot of forms and fashions. Are are we resilient? I know you can't answer that, but you're doing all the rights.

It's not just going to be us sufferers, right? the rest municipalities resiliency is incredibly important how reliant we are now on

I would say probably 90% of your day is spent service what do you do tomorrow when it's not right what do you do tomorrow when it's not there but this is how important this is so I really hope that you're getting everything you need vocal about it because as we continue to move forward the basics change is exponentially growing all the

right you had mentioned briefly AI we first thing I did was make sure that we had governance around AI in my organization some AI and nearly 280 that's real management work. Any help I can give you there? Guidance I can give you there. I think we work together, right? You know, we we come to these solutions together. So, uh yeah. No, I appreciate that.

And it will impact every single department. There's no ifs, ends, or buts about. You may not think so today. It's going to impact. It's coming and it's coming here. It's being used for both good and bad. Kudos to you my mate against busy day, but that's all right. Able to do it. It's just for short. It's constant across every had a magic wand and money was

I appreciate it. Yeah. I just want to add on to that AI because we we had that discussion before like a year ago AI scared the hell out of me. I'll be honest with you. still kind of does, but I'm embracing it now in the private industry like where we we really have to I mean my industry right now we are lean and mean and but I think the employees should know that like this I a doesn't equal elimination of jobs. It actually just it can help you just like Chris is saying make you more efficient. So the more our employees can embrace it I just think um they'll you know again it still scares me a little bit but I'm I'm glad someone like you is you know leading the charge. Appreciate that. Yeah.

Okay. Any other questions or comments for for our IP? You recommend that. Awesome job. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Appreciate it. Enjoy your day.

Who do we have uh who do we have next? Sean,

specific a big one. is a big this is probably not a budget standpoint is probably one of the most important parts of the budget this year. Um I'm going to turn it over to Mark and Patrick to talk about how we're managing um the debt uh that's coming onto the town's books this year. Uh we talked a little bit about this in the town council meeting recently, but um we have a timing cash flow difference between when we'll start seeing reimbursements for loans and um when principal and interest payments will be due. So I'm going to let Mark Patrick go.

Page 11, please. page 11 presentation in your book page 42. I would just ask that if we could just pull those mics closer. You said we had a new system. Yes.

So with non-EP department specific for debt service, uh you'll see in the net it's a $1.6 6 million increase, but when you look at the numbers, it's a more than that. So, in FY26, we had the $3.4 uh million ban that we paid off in the current year. Uh so, that is now being uh in FY27 going to be amvertised over a 20-year span. Um, and then as well as in previous council meetings, you've seen that we are projecting to go out to bond for number $105 million for the school construction. Um, as that project starts to ramp up. Uh, and that is going to be up to almost $4.1 million. Uh with that bond uh if you go to the next slide uh you'll see a graph of how the town is estimating to pay for the debt service. Uh you'll see in FY25 uh we went to taxpayers to increase property taxes. In FY26, uh, that increase was minimal again and we used fund balance. And then in FY27, we're proposing no increase to taxes and we're using fund balance for a cash flow perspective um until we go out to bond where in the future years uh in the short term we're going to be using bond premium for cash flow and then when the project is completed um when we reach substantial completion we're expecting reimbursement for the state uh with in FY29. 9, which is to include two different things. It's

going to be to offset the debt service continually as we go for the future of the bonds, but also there's a catch-up payment. Um, and so we're using that as a debt stabilization, um, where we're going to be reapplying the the money, the catch-up payments throughout the terms of the bonds, um, along with the school housing aid reimbursement. So, at this current point, the estimated debt service for the school bonds, there's not going to be a need to increase taxes any further. um the way it's currently structured.

You you mind just repeating that or because I just want to make sure there's a lot of thought out there that you know we borrowed the first $100 million and you know the plan was to build the whole borrowing into the first of last year's um increase. Um, so as we go to borrow the second phase of that project, 100 million or whatever it is, 105 million, I'm not sure. Um, but that that that is built in already. And you just said it and I just want to make sure that and it's not it's not a chest pounding moment. It's more of anformational um educational um moment where you know cuz logically someone would say, "Oh, here here we go again. They're going to borrow another $105 million, but that's part of the whole um um school project that was approved. But this second phase, there is no tax increase shown. There was was originally about 300,000 or 400,000 that was that needed to be put in. Um I'm assuming that's that's that's resolved.

The last the last piece. Yes. Now we still So it's still three or 400,000 but to the point of and we'll get to that in a second, but that 100 million that second phase of 100 million is already built into the previous tax rate.

Correct. So, I guess the way I was envisioning this on my ride in this morning to explain it was we we split up the 190 million into two phases basically 50% 50%. The state of Rhode Island is reimbursing us 55%. So, we've already factored in the the 50% into taxes and then the re the second bond issue the state is going to reimburse us for. So we've essentially already built it in um so takes care of the debt

which takes care of the debt payment. So the way it's structured currently, the way forecasting is for the estimated when we go out to bond uh this summer or early fall uh is that we've set up the cash flow where we we do not need to increase property taxes. So when does that first bond reimbursement from the bond when does the town receive that? In fiscal year 2029.

It's all planning and timing. Um right and will one of the plans as we go through this we will how we did ARPA where we had an ARPA plan. I think we need to memorialize this in a way so that um if something shall change that the plan that we have adopted today has you know is memorialized in some manner so that whether it's a future administration or future council um they're aware of it and and understand this multi-year approach to solving the problem. So, so just even the sense um we're using fund balance and we need this for the rating agencies also because they're going to have to understand how we're managing this. We're going to use a big chunk of money to pay for principal and interest for a period of time so we don't raise taxes. Um but the goal is when we get that catch-up payment from the state that will go back and replenish the fund balance fund balance. This is and that's why it's great to have fund balance because now we're using that to essentially save the taxpayers dollars or not unnecessarily tax them, you know, and that that would be the next thing. Oh, they raised our taxes for this short-term thing. They'll never drop the taxes again because they'll use it to pay for something else. So, we're taking a very measured, deliberate, you know, disciplined approach to doing this. And I think just as when we originally conceived this project, make sure that yes, we built in the debt service payments, but we're I think Patrick in how to explain this using the reimbursement to pay for the second bond with the, you know, the money from the state is turned out to be a good approach and we we've we we're keeping things level. We're not we're not jerking jerking the the tax.

Sorry, interrupt the presentation. I want I thought it was a good opportunity to get to that point. It's very clear to the public that that's how that being replenish wash that out.

Y I was talking about this amount of money I was driving myself.

So that's that's really all all I had about the school school bond debt service. I know it's a the large jump in in that one year, but felt like the the explanation of that being supplemented from from fund balance. Um, so there's there's no I guess impact to the the taxpayer in the short term. I think it's probably one of the coolest parts of the budget just in a geeky kind of way. But it's cool like it's it it sort of all came together and uh we're delivering what we promised. Awesome. Okay. Thank you.

I want to make sure I use the right term, but when we took out the first bond, we get a premium, right? Is that correct? There is some premium. Yes. So, we're ear we're earning money too. What was the term you called that? Um, it's just interest. So, we So, money is being held by a trustee. Um, and that money Mark can explain where it's it's invested while it's idle. The idol cash is invested. So, that We've made significant money already on that which we're applying. Was it six or seven million? Uh it's about 5 million right now. We're right now we're we're making some decisions to put that back into the projects. We're going to get a 5% reimbursement. Right. Correct.

So um well when does that like when do we stop I guess we're going to earn we're going to continue to earn that well, right? even with the next bond we take out or we going to be in that spending mode where we're not going to really make that same the spending has increased but the money is with the trustee and I submit invoices to the trustee to pay and until that bond money is gone it will earn interest it has decreased because there's less money in at the trustee because we've paid invoices yeah and I believe and Patrick can correct me. Part of that interest is part of the the stabilization dollars that are in the chart. Correct.

Yeah. So that

note that interest I I while we are what we proposed when when the council approved that change order for the architects to look at Forest Avenue sort of capping cost at $6 million. Anything above that is in that magenta color stabilizing debt over the course of the payment again to try to not go back to the taxpayers to pay more for the $190 million that we're authorized to borrow. Then the reimbursement on that I thought it was genius because that not only you're making money on on those premium but now we're reinvesting those so those into the this if it's $6 million forest avenue we'll get a 55% reimbursement on that and then that'll either based on what's happening at the state either come to us in one year or three years.

Why do you steal my thunder? That's where I was told. Okay. doesn't matter as long because I like I said this is I think the coolest part of the budget is what's going on here. So I was saying it was genius because not only you're bringing that school up to bond now at no cost, right? No additional cost, you're getting 55% reimbursement on the money that you earn on income. So that 6 million is really costing you three million and your school's up to date. All right. Motion to adjurnn. No, I'm just kidding. Hey, there was a second. No,

I'm sorry. We get bond premium next time for the second one potentially. Yes. Well, we won't make as much though, right? Because we're going to be paying out the door quicker. Yeah. Um more market based. Yeah. Yeah. It will be Iume. Great. Okay. Anybody have any questions of our excellent finance director, Mrs. Dangway? Specifically,

just one thing for the council to be aware of. Um, one of the things I'll talk about in contingency, um, we did budget $70,000 for utilities, not knowing what is going to happen, you know, because of the war in Iran. Um, it's going to happen with what? Iran, the cost of energy. Oh, so we do have contracts right now that are fixed. So, we're somewhat protected. Some of those will expire. Uh but based on increased costs of potentially with electricity, natural gas, gas, diesel fuel, um we did set aside an additional $70,000 in the event that we need it. So

I think that's that's great planning because you don't know it. A lot of these macro issues that are going on where there's where it's a very volatile market right now or industry because of the war and and and the issues with oil. Um, I think if you don't uh budget for it, I think you'd be negligent in your duties. Have to scramble for it and uh you know rob sometimes we have to do that given things that arise. But you're not playing you know the old saying it's if you build a plan you plan to fail. Any other questions?

All right. Thank you. Who is Who is next? Town solicitor. Town council. We're going to motion to recess. All in favor?

Okay. Uh, we need a motion to get going. Okay, that's a great motion. I like it. All in favor? I Okay, Sean, we're gonna have Patrick talk a little bit about the hotel tax. Yes. That money increase and what the plan is for that money because I think that's that's important to get that out there immediately. Yep. So, last year we were successful at the general assembly of getting the state to amend the hotel tax law. Uh we were able to have them add an extra 1% that would go back to the municipality. It's unrestricted, so it's a general revenue of the town. Uh that is in the non-EP department. Uh

so before you get started with that, Patrick, Sean humbly said we, but he was the one up there testifying and I'm not sure if he dragged you along for uh not on that one, but you were the one that went up there and and secured that money for the town. So appreciate you being humble. That's what creates a great culture in in an organization, but I want to make sure the credit's due where it's due. Well, thank you. Welcome. Patrick will be dragged to the state house Thursday to help me testify in a number of bills. All right. Well, let's get moving. So, Patrick,

uh, so just Sean kind of alluded to it. So included in the non-EP department specific uh the the major changes are uh reducing the excess contribution for OPE and pension uh to help supplement uh some of the expenses in the general fund and included in there is also the 900,000 uh that the town is recording in revenue and then the expenditure is going to be transferred out to fund the CIP projects. uh for the hotel tax additional dollars. Uh included in here is also the 4% increase to the school department um from the superintendent and school committee's recommended budget to the council. And also in here is the 8% increase that the town is experiencing for property and liability insurance. um as well as the uh contingency that uh Sean has talked about for the energy uh escalation costs. Uh I think I think once we get to support services uh Ed Collins will talk more about the energy aggregation and portfolio like that.

Want to talk a little bit like talk a little bit about roads. Sure.

That's our roads. We had a difficult winter and our roads were in we we have a red road program um I should say a road paving uh program and it's green yellow red stop white red obviously be the worst and so we need to um pay uh hopefully put a little bit more into our roads this year because one not because it's election year because that's what the what the keyboard warriors are going to say uh but it's important that we've always had a program. Number one, and number two, that we recognize and realize that this money, this extra money is going to be used for capital for those if the council proves that for those or to improve some of those roads because some of these roads are in tough shape. And we got to uh we got to do everything we can to things get more expensive. today's dollars aren't going to get as much roads done as you know five t years ago but we still have to that still has to get done. We still have to take more closely and once we get to uh the DPW budget you'll see that uh so historically the town has funded approximately a $650,000 for roads. Uh and so you'll see that number has uh doubled to $1.3 million. um which could be correlated to the the additional 900,000 that's coming in from uh the hotel tax. So, I think once we get to DPW, the the specific roads and the the red roads or the yellow roads, um the DPW director will will talk more about that. But but yeah, you'll you'll see that maintaining repair roads is the budget amount for next year is

Yeah. And I think it's important Patrick and this isn't a shot at Bob or the DBW, but was there's there's a revenue side then there's expenses. Rob wanted you to speak about the revenue side because what the plan was for that Bob's the guy that'll that's the part one last piece related to the CIP. So the capital improvement program ordinance requires the town to make an increase in its appropriation uh from taxes to the CIP each year based on you know what the tax rate increase is. Right. Understanding that affordability is an issue. Since we're moving that $900,000 in from the hotel tax, we're going to include in the ordinance or what we're proposing in the ordinance is that we suspend that for one year. So, we're going to use that $900,000, you know, as a contribution to the CIP special revenue fund, but we're not going to increase it for, you know, tax people you this this one year. So, that would

that's smart. So, that's a change. I know that's been a concern of the councils in the past, but since we are increasing the contribution with the non- tax revenue, we we're we put in the the budget ordinance itself a one-year delay, you know, not delay, but a right reprieve from it for for one year. So that what's what Sean's basically saying is in 2002 to 2004, Bill Flynn was the council president, um created a U capital improvement u

started with a million dollars. started with a million dollars and um every year because it was it was tough to find money to put towards the schools or to put towards the roads or we kept finding ourselves chasing our tails chasing the money trail I guess trying to fund capital and as as expenses grew uh things became more expensive uh Bill came up with this idea which show hey look let's just make let's take a one time hit on this and the town did it a million dollars to I think we're all nervous about it back then, but you know, hindsight being 2020, it's it was a great move and every year that budget goes up, whatever the le goes up and that's that's policy and that's what Sean's speaking about. So what happens is this year because what he's saying is because of the increase of the money coming over from the new revenue of the hotel tax, some of that money is going to go towards there. He's asking to suspend the in levy increase toward the capital. It'll save a little bit the taxpayers because that additional revenue and it's not one-time revenue. We don't make decisions like that. I want to be clear about that. It's reoccurring revenue. So, it's it's a good it could be a good decision here to spend that for one year, that increase to the capital budget, whatever the levy ends up being, because that additional revenue is going to supplement that or smooth that out. Um, and with no cost or no increase. I think that's a good move. I think any little anytime we can do something like that, it's the right thing to do. I hope that the message is clear enough because sometimes it's difficult for us to understand it. I don't mind somebody just I know that the finance people in the room get it. They do it.

anyone said that. Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, speaking of the hotel tax, great job, Sean team, doing that. Um, helping to push that. Like, but one thing I learned out of that and please jump in and correct me, but that's like a lump sum payment. We don't really, some people may think that like, you know, when I go on travel like see the whole line of all tax. We don't even track it that way, right? The state doesn't track it that way. Is that correct to say? Like so are they is there a true accounting? Are we getting all the money we're supposed to be getting from the state of that tax? So we're not privy to the information because that's between the state and the hotel operator, right?

So that that's where that accounting takes place. We can if we believe that something's wrong, we can request an audit. But we are not privy to the the details because of the privacy that people get as far as filing their their tax returns with the states. You mean I say the hotel owners, right? Yeah. So I mean and do you think we're getting everything like resp I mean has there ever been a reason do you well it hasn't start this increase hasn't started but in the past has there been a reason to audit the state on

No I think we look at um the reports we get from discover Newport um they they have a lot of the information and you know from a reasonable standpoint the dollars pretty much match up between what what is being reported on the industry side as far as occupancy and revenues and what we're receiving. So, um, you know, I I think, uh, in a couple cases where we've referred or questioned whether or not someone was paying the tax were due, but but again, that audit function resides at the state if it doesn't it doesn't resolve at the local level.

I'm more concerned with making sure we're getting the money state I getting it. Again, I think looking at it from the, you know, what we receive versus what's like report on the discover Newport side, I think it looks reasonable.

Get that much from the state.

Mark's going to walk through the town solicitor, town council boards and committees. Start at page 57. There's a lot of different boards and committees in this department as well as a town solicitor. Town solicitors budget name. Overall, this uh town solicitor and the boards and committees increase is 112,843 or 32.4%. The majority of the increase is because of the elections as stated earlier and funding from the special revenue fund will be coming into the general fund to pay for the election of fees. There's also a affordable housing consultant and that's for the 351 East Main Road development and that's 46,000 increase in budget. So, can you just So, what I see it's $112,000 increase. Um, you're saying that half of that will

the affordable housing 35 is the election, 35 is affordable housing. I'm sorry. 77 is the election. 35 is the affordable housing consultant. So, so next year we should see a decrease of 77.

Correct. But as I said earlier, that 77 isn't a bump in the tax rate because we we we take a chunk out every year and put it into a special revenue fund and then when the big we have the election, we pull in the full amount. So it gets it gets smoothed out. Um you know what we do each year? Right. It's 3500,000.

Yeah. So, the expense for the election is we we we see it over the four year cycle is $35,000 a year. Then you would, you know, you'll see the the money come in here and then you'd see the other money come in with the presidential election. Anybody have any questions about how council If I remember correctly, Mark, this department was like when you showed uh current numbers, I think it was last summer, we we weren't spending anywhere near what the budget, but I don't know how the year end. It would have been I think we were overspent because of the solicitor's budget. We we've had a real high reliance on legal representation.

Was that all combined last year? All three of these were combined. Is that separate? No, it's all it's all in this one department. But I thought at one time though, okay, so at the end of the year we kind of we reconciled. Yeah. No, we we've had a lot of legal representation over the last couple years. Um, okay. Any questions? again 77 and the 35 is you know that's that's what's do we one last question like how long do you think we're going to have an affordable housing consultant

how many years do you think we'll have an affordable housing consultant the need for it so the work he's doing right now is primarily focused on 351 East Main Road um if we take on the West Main Road project we would you know I think we think what we've talked talked about internally is it's more focused on the projects than just randomly, you know, you know what I mean? It's it's specific. It's not a general open purchase order. So, not like we're going to hit 10% and then we're done. It's like we just have to gauge it what we need every year, right? We're never going to hit 10%.

So, and I I'll let Peter talk about this more. I mean, I think so, we have the specific project across the street. We have this specific project that we will probably undertake on West Main Road, but the reality of our our housing is going to be done through zoning and and Peter talked to me about this is that, you know, we would probably be better served doing a project where, you know, we go through a legal process looking at how we change our zoning uh to to create um affordable housing opportunities. We don't we don't have large tracks of land where you can get economies of scale to to build something that's going to quote unquote solve this problem. Um and that's where, you know, from a communication standpoint with the community, um that's the rub. You know, people aren't ready for ADUs to be built in their, you know, their neighbors backyards and and the perceptions of diminished property values and all of that. So, um I'll I'll let Peter talk about it more, but but for a community like Middletown, that is more more likely how we we create more housing opport that um the uh the 10% is it's the right word, but I've always wanted to make sure we focus on what the actual need is versus state, hey, we hit 10%. We may have a more

think we continue to chip away at it. I think there's going to be some more opportunity to go with Peter was there was there was company that did uh just did some housing in Providence building a couple weeks ago. It was who who potentially could do something here for it was impressive by Was it South City? Right. Right. Yes. One bedroom, two bedroom.

Hit me up, Paul. So, no. Just kidding. That is it.

What they do, father and son. And it was I I can't even describe it. It wasn't like a project, but they had sports complex, you know, for working out the building for the tenants. It was awesome. It was it was said that they was a higher we would want here. Good.

Okay. Um, any other questions about the town council council? All right. Next, do we have your excellent finance director?

Our excellent finance director, Mr. Tangway. Thank you, Sean. It's on page 115. My department is fully staffed now. We have 12 alto together. We have eight at town hall and four at the school department as the shared services model. the so most of the budget is based on compensation and benefits. Uh so that is the majority of the increase. The budget increase is $82,511 or 6.1% and mo most of it is contractual. The operating budget is increasing almost one $1,400. So the u shared services has been implemented successfully. We're always looking at ways to improve efficiencies. Uh we're back on track with the full staff as do we did the budget book, the revenue manual, your capital book, HR manual. HR is part of the finance office. We it was recruitment is very strong. Uh right now we're doing seasonal recruitment, beach and parks and wreck. Uh we also just had a benefits fair for the employees. Um also retirees could go to that. Um with the shortage of the school staff, we've helped the school this year with their budget. Uh we helped them with timelines and and and actually with compensation and benefits and we also continually help them with budget adjustments and whatever they need. In the upcoming year, we're going to have bond issues uh as we talked about with

the school department. We're also going to be moving into a new facility. Uh we have we're monitoring the risks associated with pension and oped other post-employment benefits as OPED um with the the market depend you know with the what's happening in the world the these trusts are dependent on what's happening in the markets in the investment markets uh the shared services model continues to grow. We're working with the facility uh shared facilities. uh next council meeting you have a an energy consultant in front of you. We're also been working with uh ED to have all the vendors like for HVAC all the different buildings go to one vendor instead of multiple multiple vendors. Uh finally Sean mentioned earlier cost allocation plan. So we've been working on that with shared uh services model happening more and more. It's important that we look at the true cost of each department and model in the town. Any questions?

Um, so Mark, when does um I know the library I think we're all a little disappointed with the time frame of that. It's still on budget, but not happy about the time frame due to Olis's time, you know, reviewing our plan. Sean, did you say January? January that'll be up.

Um, so how is that going to work? I know uh I forget is it 2500 ft of that is or 3,000 that is going to be some of your folks in your office and I think it's important that you kind of um elaborate a little bit on how that's going to work. Sure. So right now we have like uh eight from the town here and the four at the school department. Well, we'll all be in that one office suite now. So the school and town will move into the 110 Enterprise Center. So we'll all be together. Yes. Which will, I think, make it easier for the whole department.

Yes. Thank you. So how is that from an accounting standpoint where you know we're going to occupy that building over there from a town standpoint, the school's going to occupy it as well at the library? Are we going to have a conversation around how that is allocated within budgets? In other words, do we pay if it's a library building and we're paying rent to the library or is it we'll just establish a percentage of the expenses over there? We're having our office there. How's that work?

It's a town building and there will be an allocation. Uh we've also worked with Olis to get an allocation because they're working on the reimbursement piece is and that is part of the cost model that we're trying to we've been working on. So it will be allocated is your answer. Yes. I know we're one big budget in the end, right? So the money expenses. Yeah. The best of our ability to split them up, right? Because we we talked about that even with the maintenance department. You know, our maintenance department goes works with school maintenance department. Whose shovel broke? Was it their shovel that broke? You know, those types of things, but you guys are smoothing all that out. We're working. Yes. Okay.

I think there's there's two parts. So, one is the cost allocation model. Um, Carol is basically got the lead on that. I think we've got

I'm going to say we're 70 to 80% short. we need to go through a a process where we reconcile the methodologies that are running through the model. Um it's it's I would say it's simple and it's sophisticated at the same time but it's it's definitely manageable. Um the second part is internally I think we have to look at not so we talk about town school but basically does there need to be an internal service department which would be a sort of a third third part of how the town operates. So that facilities um the finance office potentially it becomes its own thing and then that gets costed out entirely. Um there's governance issues there that we we need to sort of work through but but we're having those conversations. So I think it's natural. This is nothing new but past whether it's each operation where some portion of public works come out of there whether it's engineer operation you allocate town never used to do that in the past but proper accounting um this is this is the bringing that to the next level so again there's a formal plan like I I think the report we have is like 125 pages right now and it's it's generated out but it's um there is a process and the methodologies ies we're using are the generally accept you know I'm not saying that what we're doing now is wrong but it's it's done on Excel sheets it's hard you know it's not hard to follow but you it's a lot of work and it's not as it's not as robust as it should be it's not what you would see in corporate America you know where where things are allocated out in in a in a proper way so this will help us internally um and then the next evolution on top of that would be it would help us with grants and things like that so we capture our administrative cost in the grant awards that we receive Um but again I you know and again it I haven't mentioned Carol today but you

know a lot of why today is going well and why you have this budget information is the work uh that Carol completes as our our budget analyst but but also has the capacity to take on this this cost allocation model. Um so this she does a tremendous amount of work that helps me out because I under the charter this is my only responsibility is to prepare a budget. Um, you know, and again, that hire helps my office out a lot. Uh, but it also, I think, helps out you and the community in making decisions by having this information available. So,

yeah, I mean, it's it's the staff behind you that helps a lot of these done. You know, I was getting around Matt earlier and I said, you know, yourself, you're one of those guys behind the scene. Carol, you're also one of those you know, makes us all look good. And um it's a multiplier. Sean's point. You don't see you, you don't hear you. Most people probably go, "Who's that?" Um but thank you.

Just to wrap up my thought, um you know, because the accountability is a legal thing, right? I mean, you've got to account for the town's expenses versus the school's expenses versus, you know, the library is part of the town. But we're we're using monies to, you know, build those schools. We're getting reimbursements. Do we have to break out from that library our percentage that we're using from for the town included the buildout? So say we take up 20% of the building for finance or 10% of the building. Does do we pay for 10% of the buildout over there? Yes,

we would get reimbursed by the state for that. No, we get reimbursed by the state for the library port. Okay. We've been working with this library organization uh with that percentage for them to approve the reimbursement.

So, where what's the budget that we're paying from the town standpoint for the library? What is the dollar amount? I think we're still working on the reimbursement percentage. So, it's it'll become shortly where about 10% around there of that portion is finance office. We don't have a set budget for that buildout right now. You're trying to figure out. Well, it's all a budget and the bond the bond is paying

money that's being used which is money will be used. Yes. Only certain amount of that money is reimbured to some of the library building that where you have the people reimburseable or not space to my knowledge is not not reimburseable. So there is a very detailed total project budget. There is an excruciatingly detailed review process by

to determine what they will reimburse, you know, and what actually is the library portion, which then leaves us with the the town portion as the remainder. Um I think we're negotiating the tail end of that right now of what those dollars will be and those will be finalized you know with the agreement that will be entered into between the town the library board of directors and the and state that should be here hopefully uh in the next next weeks uh hopefully sooner. Um, and then to Paul's point, the the project will be paid for with money from the PPD special revenue fund. At first, some of that will come from the uh fund balance in that fund. And then it will come from the ongoing uh revenues we receive from from the uh PPV, which will be greater because the police station will be paid off and uh reimbursement from the state once the uh the construction aid kicks up. And then just the last piece, we are we have legislation um as part of our testimony on Thursday night. Um where we're looking to the OIS, they they had fallen behind in their regulations to 2017. We are legislatively trying to bring those reimbursement amounts higher. Uh so they reflect current cost. Uh but we have based all of our budget estimates on the worst case scenario, which is the 2017 reimbursement. And then going forward when we're in the building we will participate from a town standpoint of electric bills and

and that's the costation model the same program. Yep. Okay. Great. And I just and I think just in this space that

the library is going to have questions about that when they they talk tonight uh this afternoon. Um we have the cost allocation model has to apply. We we need to develop it. This is why we started it across not only the town departments but also the enterprise funds. Um because we need to make sure that rateayers on the wastewater, the the refues um sewer fun are paying what they're supposed to. Uh because and not that I'm looking for this, but when I first got here, there was a large lawsuit where the sewer rateayers are suing the taxpayers. It was and I had to recreate 10 years of financial statements and it was a you know, and the only person who won was the uh the attorneys. They, you know, basically, you know, money came out of Sean's pocket, went back in Sean's pocket, and they I think the attorneys got $274,000 and mitigated. Um, that's fine. That's that's what the town wanted to do to itself. Um, but we have to get it right. And, uh, I I think again with the estimates we use right now, it's close. It's close enough. And, and I'll give an example. So, right now, So when we talk to the school department, they're going to get fully charged for the shared services for the finance office and the uh facilities cost. Uh and that's to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars that are being added to their their budget this year. We charged them I think 60% it was roughly 60% last year. The other 40% will be added. Currently the library is not paying for facility for the facility director's time or the finance office's time. That's one of those things that we need to reconcile. Um, I know there's been some emails going back and forth of whether or not facilities uh for the custodian should be 85.86% or 90%. A smaller percentage, it's all washing out right now. Um, but uh what

what I represented to the librarian director the other day is I mean when we do this, we have to do it right across the board to create something that's fair across the board. Um it's just a tremendous amount of detail. Um and we need to get not only the work done but then put out to everybody so they can review it so that we can implement this at a future date. So to your question, yes, the goal is to allocate that out so it's fair to the library, to the school department, to the sewer rate payer, to the person who's buying a beach sticker. And it's it's consistency. Yeah. and to the taxpayer because the taxpayer might be subsidizing the cost of

someone who has a you know who has sewer because 30% of the town doesn't have a they have septic tanks. So, Yep.

Okay. Thank you. Anyone else have any questions about excellent finance director as insurance as uh Mr. Tang my first stint as president 2004 2008 I was at some function and uh another council president said to me hey Paul said Oh,

so it back. So whatever the dynamic was that dynamic was but it was stuck in the back of my mind that you know when you have great people and doing their job that these are the results that we Thank you. staff is is incredible. Well, you know, it starts with leadership,

you know, and you got great people and and you have uh good leadership, great leadership that that's that kind of rolls down Hitler. None of us are perfect, but we make mistake. raise a hand. This is the kind of stuff that Who's next?

I'm sorry. Mr. Collins.

Morning, Ed.

You're doing good. I'm good. So because of um shared services and our ability to consolidate and standardize systems and equipments in the following areas like custodial supplies, elevator service, fire extinguishers, sprinkler inspection, fire extinguisher inspection, maintenance month, maintenance contracts for HVAC, pest control, soon to be utilities, and hopefully card access. we've been able to leverage that to hold all the vendors to stick to their current contracts for the next fiscal year. The increases obviously my part of uh I have a small part of everyone else's department's budget. The increases that come from my line items are basically due to general maintenance. We have systems and equipments that are at that 40 50% like the cost to repair versus replacing. So we're we're kind of in that mode right now where we're kind of at the end of our line with some things. So obviously general repairs are going to be up at this point. Do we transition into new equipment and a lot of the systems in the town and actually on the school side are are are in that phase right now. Um so that's kind of where we are with our budget. So for the most part, most of our contracts we've been able to hold the line. you'll see some increases in general maintenance and obviously it was mentioned because of utilities because the gas and electric one ends in December of 26, one ends in September of 26. So we need to make up for the remainder of that year for the physical year to cover any increases involved in that. Um we are looking to consolidate the purchasing of utilities with the schools. So hopefully when that goes down, we'll get the town utility contracts up to where the schools are going to end in 27 and we'll collectively go out to bid. And why we

did the school in 27 is because that's when the new school comes online and we're going to go from a 6040 split, right? 60 electric, 40 gas to probably 9010, 90 electric and gas. So we'll go out collectively. We'll start looking at that now. We'll keep following the market and hopefully we'll lock in at a good number. Um, and while we'll be going out collectively with an RFQ, they'll be separate. We'll have the town side, we'll have the school side, but the fact that we'll have all those things together will give us a better ability on purchasing. So, that's kind of the gist of the budget numbers. Obviously, there's some CIP requests that I've asked for. Um, one of the big ones is card access. Um, right now, as expected in any town or school, we're all over the place. We're not even from school to town. Even in school, I have two different card accesses. I don't know how we got there. I just know how to fix it. But that needs to all be roped in. We need to be standardized in the town where first providers, fire, police have one one card. It's it could be on their phone, it could be a fob, anything where they can get into any building. and we need to really start moving forward towards that in that direction. Um, on a good side of that is we have the new school turning over into that system. That system that we're putting in the new school is going to be able to pick up the card access that the police has. So, we don't have to change anything there. They're very comfortable with that system. The last thing I want to do is go change that. So, that system's able to pick that up. I will tell you it's important to get the fire department on roll with that and then start collectively adding the other buildings. So I guess maybe it's time to just feel some questions but

I could go on for a while with this. Um is that so that's a that's a one-time capital. Yes. So we'll see that 185 decrease next year. It's gone. That's for the installation of the new system. Now you're just supporting and system is for rest of the not the new buildings the existing buildings

that's the existing buildings and that would cover the whole I call it the fire DPDW complex town hall so once that's on board it's going to be on the same software backend as the school's going to be the brand new school so we're going to have efficiencies where we're not buying different support systems for all these different systems going on it's it's one sorry it's one system and that's going to create some cost advantage to us and and when you know when when you look at it um I in my opinion I would tell you there are there are the three most important buildings of the town are obviously fire and police and then the other one is going to be that school and why I say the school is because at any time it has more town occupancy in there than any other building or actually all of them combined so that's kind of why to get those three on board right now is important and the good part of that is like I said we can grab what the police has. So, there's no cost there. The school is being funded through the bond. So, it's a matter of grabbing that fire department, uh, that complex and bringing that on board, too. And then we would look to bring town hall on. Obviously, the new library is going to have the same system. So, we're going to be at a point again where providers don't administer anything. It's one device. We can get anywhere we want. And there's no now accessibility into our buildings is efficient. It's cost effective and it's it's not a stumbling block when someone needs to go somewhere.

It is and it's done and this is a secure manner too. You you presently in the fire department, it's a key system that the key system doesn't work anymore. First of all, that building's 247, meaning they're in and out of there 24 hours a day in different rooms and everything. and to be fumbling around for keys, who has a key, who doesn't have a key, it it I'm sure it it takes down the efficiency of that department's what they can do. Um, you know, the again, the police has a great system. They're very comfortable with it. So, there's no reason to invest any money in that, but we've picked a great system that's open architecture that we can just go grab those fobs. So, we're positioning ourselves. In the same line, we're doing the same thing with the camera system. Now, Matt's very comfortable. Oh, just just quickly, right, they it came up earlier that the the school department has no present IT director. Um, from the chair I sit in, it's Matt. Matt and um myself have dialogue weekly as to what's going on in the school. What's I bounce in if I'm not comfortable with something or I don't feel um or I need help with something, I go directly to him. What are you doing over there? What do you think should happen here? And it's all in line with this vision that everything's going to be on one system. So I use he I use him immensely. But again, back to the cameras, we're putting in a new camera system. Matt is comfortable with the town's camera system right now. I think the cameras they have is access, but the system, the platform we're buying at any point can go grab those cameras. If down the line Matt decides we want to transition, we're ready to go. If we don't decide that, that's okay. But we're positioning ourselves with a system that if needed or if wanted down the line, we can grab all that. But we're making decisions based on efficiency. But we're making decisions on looking forward down the road, two and three years. We're constantly

re-evaluating everything to make sure that we're positioning ourselves that if something needs to change, the money we've invested is ready to accept that change. Well, that certainly sounds good to me. Certainly a step in the right direction. Makes sense logically that he's one of those things we don't know. We don't see them at this level bring to our attention what direction we're going in which seems like the right direction here. The safety issue now fire will have access police already have access to certain things. there will be no cost with the new system, the new school, like you said, because it'll be on that same system. That makes a lot of sense. Um, as far as um the school goes and everything that you're doing, Ed, with uh your facilities, uh, it certainly gives myself, I can't speak for all my counselors, but I have a feeling they might feel the same way, a really good sense of of security on on from a capital standpoint, all the things you're doing now, some of these things you're saying that, you know, um 50% light of of a certain whatever it is. Uh and now you're already looking at that, those dollars spent today, if we don't do that and we don't have a guy like you looking at these things only going to cost us more money down the road. They're not addressed. This is where towns get in trouble. They don't address them or they defer this type of maintenance. Um, yes, there's a cost associated with it, but today's dollars cost is a lot less going to be a lot less in my opinion based on how you see things, industries going and cost increases versus tomorrow's dollars. So, you you get to a point where it's just not worth investing in the equipment

anymore. It's time to replace it. And I'm I'm very conscious and very aware that I'm not going to come up here and just ask and ask for everything. Everything is based on what needs to go now. What can we maybe get another year or two out of that's not going to kill us financially. So the it's the constant discussion that I'm having with Mark or Sean, Matt, you know what the areas, BPW, whatever it is as to where we are with all that. So when I come here, it's it's um you know, it's only my first time here, but I'm hope you're going to learn that coming here, these things I'm presenting, they have to open now. And we still have a whole host full of other things that are kind of in the queue waiting. Yeah.

Well, I hope you didn't say this your first time here looking for a little forgiveness because that's just not gonna happen. I don't expect having said having said that, you've been here before years ago and um uh but what I'm listening to when I'm listening to you and I listen to uh Matt early and I'm listening to other department heads, one of the things I keep hearing very current is communication.

Oh yeah. And I'm an IT guy now because 70% of it is communication. I learned that earlier. So take it easy guy. So um but no seriously when you when you have dysfunction in an organization I don't care whether it's private business or it's municipal business a lot of it a lot of those obstacles happen because the lack of communication or you know somebody doesn't get along with somebody I'm not going to talk to that person. That's not how we operate here. Again, we're not perfect. I might not like what you have to say. You might not like what Sean has to say, but we have to listen and communicate with each other to be able to get these things to happen. You know, Jay or or Rob could come up and say, "Hey, look, you know, I need a I need a new ladder truck and it's going to cost you two cost $2 million." Do we like to hear that? No, we don't. But we have to listen. We have to make those decisions based upon what we can and can't do. Um, and sometimes you have to do them even if you can't do them. You have to find out a way how to do them. And those are things that you communicate with to my point of I like what I'm hearing. In other words, because everybody seems to be communicating with everybody whether we like it or we don't or what they're saying. And there's a lot of good positive things that come out of communication and relationships build off communication. So that's important. That's critical for an organization to be successful and to survive. I guess I'm fortunate for the chair I sit in because I'm I'm half school, half town. So I've never felt like both both entities are kind of at disposal is a bad word, but I can pull on everybody. And that's kind of what's happening. I'll give you an example. Most of the low voltage and IT stuff that was originally designed in the new school, we tossed it all. It wasn't it wasn't a good system. It was proprietary and it had to be rebuilt from scratch. Matt played a big role in that. Just constantly bouncing stuff off. What do you think? I can tell you the last just this last week we had a whole dialogue

about what cable to run in the new building. So that that happens constantly constantly and I'm just I guess like I said I'm lucky I sit in this chair that has even though it's happening I have that ability because I'm an employee by both so I can just you know I'm I'm able to access whatever I need to access and everyone's doing fantastic. I'm glad you feel you're lucky, but I think we feel we're lucky because mutual

because you're a nononsense, no BS, get it done individually. You're going to do the right thing for the town because um that's just who you are. I've seen that in the past. We're seeing it with these monumental projects, these generational projects that are happening right now. That's critical because we're not making decisions for some might be small decisions for today. A lot of these decisions are decisions that are being made for down the road. And we're not experts up here by no means. So, we rely on folks like you and Sean and and and and Mark and and Carol and and Ed and Rob and Jay and all the department heads to bring us this information so we can make these decisions with no with no BS involved.

I can tell you from working in other municipalities very very strong team very president. We're lucky. That's why I say we're lucky.

Thanks, Paul. Um, Ed, thank you. Just a couple of things uh you had mentioned. Well, first I want to say seems like when we get people consol, you know, we're consolidating resources and sharing resources, it's working out well. You know, we're seeing a lot of benefit from it. A lot of the conversations and you know, in business, you know, some businesses have a bunch of silos No one's working issues with employees. It causes issues with the customer. models. We try to get business a little in regards to this uh card system itself. It sounds like we're going to be having this system which in Middletown Middle School High School. Then you want to basically use that as a a model to go to other buildings in the town where we can do better support. But this is something that could happen next year. It's not something that has to happen this year. Is that fair to say?

I with some of it I would say the flight of Palms probably. I I would I would not totally disagree with what you're saying, but I think it's important to have those by the end of and when that new school comes online, police and fire on the same board with that. So they there's one accessibility. The reality is that the fire department's going to be carrying that badge anyways to get in the new building. To not go back to their own building and not be able to use that efficiency there probably doesn't make a lot of sense. Though I would agree with some of that. I would tell you the fire department needs to go. Now, needs to happen.

The other thing I'd point out, the fire department is doing um a project that was approved in this year's budget, which is a station alerting system. So, doing that as part of an integrated project is the other factor. Um we we have a vendor coming in that's that's doing alerting but that that key access system should be integrated with uh the systems in the you know that are are are providing uh audio and visual use to people in the building. Something's going

I agree that the thing with the flight department is that that that train's already leaving. They need to be on that train. I would not although I would like to see town hall and everything come on there. I can't totally disagree with you. There are some things that Wait a little bit. Okay. Probably fight.

Thank you, Vice President. Um, thanks, Ed. How many total facilities is under your direction right now? Because I I see the town hall. I don't know how many historical properties there are. JFK building and then building there. It's while everything kind of falls underneath me, there are things that aren't directly supervised. So when you look at all the pump stations, those are under Mr. Yep. So I think they fall in there. Um we have four schools. We're going to be down to um three locations and then there are all the town buildings and there are two there are actually there are three historic properties, right? Windmill Witherby um

Paradise. I'm sorry. Thank you. So they, you know, I I I know I'm gonna probably get I'm going to get beat up for that one. Um, so there's the there's an historic uh committee that oversees that. I assist in helping them with it. So I would tell you I assist in everything I need. Now some buildings require more attention than others. That's just the reality. So he's in the back laughing when I said But you're doing this with yourself. You have an administrative assistant, right? And then I know the schools you you're involved with that go

Oh, it's me and my assistant, Chelsea. Um, we're overseeing the daily maintenance and operations of the building. We're running over $200 million in construction. No, overseeing $200 million in construction project. Yeah. Private industry. We call that lean to me. appreciate that there. Yeah, there's a lot going on, but um they're capable of doing. Thank you. Appreciate all you do.

Um so, when you're looking at this maintenance and you're saying, "Okay, this device is going to 5050." Where do you track this information? When do you what do you use as a system? So we um presently right now all the buildings are on our work order system, right? The school's been using it for a while. We've incorporated the town. Some of the towns have been a little bit more proactive with them. Some haven't. We need to kind of we're still evolving with that, but it's honestly I'm still I've been here maybe close to a year. So I'm probably at the point now where I feel I'm pretty knowledgeable about all the systems. It took a while to get there. Then when you do that, you start tracking. start looking at um every time there's a PM that goes out there as a service that comes back what's going on years of equipment. So that's being done internally. I hate to say it, a lot of it's kind of done up here. And I'm I'm like and it's up here and I'm I know I that we're going to have a problem here that's got to go pretty soon. And we're preparing.

I can tell you that if you went into my office, there's a lot of things sitting there that are all kind of prepared. They're all sitting in the queue, but some are not ready to pull the trigger on. Some are and there's a conversation with Mr. Brown about hey you know this needs to happen. I I will tell you one of the things probably coming up next would be this building the HVAC system in this building is at that point where these this we're close to being in a critical point where probably not worth investing in some of the equipment. Well, just again like you said, you know, a lot of it's in your head. It's on your desk. And

if you hit the lottery tomorrow and you've decided you're not having any fun at this, which I know you you I can tell you enjoy what you do. Where where would I where would I how does someone step in, you know, how does someone step in and know what you know? It's you know, it's all kept in file. Yeah. And everything by building. So if you go in a building, you pull up the fire department. Here we are. AC, electric, this this this and everything's in there. So, um it's it's all in there. Then there's also the five-year plan that we put out with things being projected and moving around. So, there's a number of drawing boards that are kept online that are constantly being manip.

Yeah. Yeah. Look, a lot of it doesn't need an elaborate

software thing. It's done on a spreadsheet. Well, it just comes down to project. You have a project, you have a budget for that project, and then you're going to add resources to that project. So, how do you track all that in regards to this department worked on it, this these group worked on it? And so, in the end, you can look at that project and say, you know, here's all the resources that we used, here was the initial cost, here's the ending cost of this project. And also out of that might come some reoccurring maintenance that needs to take place. So you got to kind of schedule that. We got to come out here every year to do something. At the end of the year at the beginning of next year, you run something that says here are all the maintenance things we have to do this year based on what we found last year. What can we do to make that easier?

So a bunch of stuff in that question. I would tell you the the best example of first projectwise would be the library. There are so many things going into the library, right? We have the money put up. We have grants coming in. We have donations coming in. So there there's just a budget sheet where you have this total bottom line number of 11 something million and and how much of that is sold cost of where the money's coming in. We have ad alternatives, how they getting funded. It's pretty much done on spreadsheet. Go back to the PM stuff. Every building has a file. Every equipment list is in there and life expectancy. and and it's kind of done on a spreadsheet where things are say we had a building and it had 10 rooftop units. Everything's on a spreadsheet and now I have two in 27, two in 28, two and 29, something just happened in 27, right? We thought we could get more out of that that 28's going to come. So they're done on basic spreadsheet. Um I don't need an elab I don't need a elaborate system for the town to spend money on for me to do this. pretty capable of creating that developing and monitoring that. So I would not sitting here telling you I need to I'm very reluctant um

spend money directly on something for me to to maybe with the perception that my life becomes easier. I'd rather put that into something that you know can actually see. It's also regards to the town being able to if you decide to move on to retire or you decide not to do it, we need to have assistance because someone could step in your shoes. I a lot of that too. How's that tying to our financials? How's that charge, you know, tying to our forecasting manual? It's done collectively what the town has in place right now to submit five year plans. So there's I I would tell you there's not much that I'm doing that I'm looking at that the two gentlemen on the side of me aren't somewhat aware of. They might not know the fine details until I kind of bring it to light. They're pretty much aware of what's going on. It's kept online. If someone if someone if if that is going to happen, I don't really see it happen. I could leave a password on the desk. They could open that file. Anyone else have any questions of um Mr. Colin?

Thank you, Ed. Thank you for all you do. You got a lot you got a lot on your plate right now with with what we're doing. So, but uh we know you can handle it and we feel very comfortable with you doing what you're doing. So, okay. Uh Sean, who is next? Fire chief. 197 Rob. Good morning. Good morning, everybody. Good. How about yourself? Good. I mean, I always I like to call you Rob because I've known you for so long, but out of respect, I need to get used to calling you chief. So, it's not unintentional or intentional. I should everything.

Thank you, sir. Call me.

All right. So, I'm going to try to cut out some of my fluff that I had in here, but uh just want to touch base real quick on the fire department overall. Uh pretty self-explanatory what we do, but uh just some extra functions that we do. Uh this year was one of the busiest years for the fire department. We responded to o over 4,500 calls for service, which is a continuing increase over the past five years of uh calls for service. Uh we responded to emergency medical calls, structure fires, other fire calls, uh things of that nature, hazardous materials, rope rescue and marine rescues as well. Uh members continue to respond uh professionally and meet the demands. Uh they continue with a strong focus on training uh operational readiness and the department's continued movement towards the paramedic level of service for the community. Uh the past year also brought some staffing challenges that we had uh including the loss of several firefighters to lateral transfers. Um however, with aggressive hiring efforts, we were able to bring on four new firefighters. Um and I can say for the first time in a in a little while that we're staffed at this time. Uh sitting here in uh in May, we got through the blizzard of 26, which was a uh a big big deal. So, uh, again, that was a multi-week ordeal working with all the departments, uh, police, public works, town administration, uh, emergency management, regional partners. Despite the high volume of calls, major weather event, and staffing transition, the department remains focused on service readiness and, uh, back in the community. So with my my fiscal uh 20 year uh 27year uh proposal uh the budget is built to maintain operations, protect firefighters and public safety and ensure the department remains compliant with required standards. The fire service does not have an option to operate with reduced reliability. Our equipment must work. Our facilities must support 24-hour workforce be trained and respond at all times. In developing this budget, we reviewed our current

operations, identified areas of risk, and focused our needs directly that directly impact safety response capabilities and long-term control adjustments were made where possible to limit increases, but core requirements were maintained. Uh just a quick uh overview of some of the things that we had. Uh you know, obviously everybody's talking about the primary cost drivers. Health insurance increased. Um workers comp compensation increased due to claims and risk pool adjustments. Um, one of the other things we're seeing is increased cost for equipment. Uh, we saw that with hose, uh, there was a, uh, increased cost to just have it shipped into the US that we have to pay. Um, so that's stuff that we have to take into account for now and delayed times in getting some of that equipment in is also having uh, capital improvement includes uh, locker room upgrades and marine equipment. Uh, the current female uh, locker room configuration really limits its use to a single female firefighter. uh requiring a modernization to meet the workforce standards. Uh cost control measures. The department reduced some salary expenses uh lowered some overtime projections, adjusted discretionary spending uh prior to any submissions. Reductions would increase operational risk, defer maintenance, reduce training, impact staffing and response capability. The 27 budget maintains current service levels while directly addressing safety, compliance, and operational needs. is built to ensure the department can continue to respond effectively, operate safely, operate safely, and support the personnel while on duty around the clock. I'm prepared to answer any questions that you may have.

Okay. Thank you, Rob. Does anybody have any questions of fire chief? Bud, thank you. Thanks, Chief. Um, we talked about this last year, mental health calls, things like that. You talking to story. I think you get a lot of that training how from where the the Rhode Islands where where do you get your mental health training?

Um so we get it from uh different places. So there's training that the fire service, the fire chiefs organization, uh the IFFF provide that our firefighters can go to. Uh Department of Health also puts out training that um is part of protocols for EMS resert like that. Uh so that's where a lot of our training is coming from. We're looking at different things. We just uh the the situation table uh which the board can talk about more has been a big success over the past year that's u allowed us an avenue to get uh some of these patients that we deal with on a daily basis the help that they really need that we weren't able to get to them. So that's been a huge uh benefit to have uh in our backyard. They meet there every Wednesday in the Middletown Fire Department. So, uh, clinicians, uh, other first responders, people from the community can get together and and get some of these people the help that they need

because you're still seeing a high number, right? Yeah, it's it's one of the things, uh, especially coming out of COVID. Uh, I can tell you with certainty that our call volume for mental health calls has definitely increased. Um, you know, we're averaging probably two to three mental health call a day. And when we do that started, do we also pull in the police department on a lot of those calls though? Often often it's a it's a collaboration between police and fire. Uh a lot of times it's it's comes from the police officer getting there realizing that this is not what they responded to. Maybe it's a mental health crisis or something that um and then typically we're brought in.

But a lot of times we transport directly from Newport County mental health, some of the Brown Medical things like that, the some of the doctor's offices respond And you think you're getting adequate training on that? Uh obviously we could do more. Uh that's with everything. Um right now we're we're it's kind of new uh especially in the fire service where we were kind of treat and transport. Um this is more uh longer term care and developing that type of thing.

Thank you. Um Rob, one of the things uh obviously system radio system whatever that's a that was $3.2 million whatever and your decrease. So we talked about health premiums and stuff like that. Nice. That's important work about now in retrospect. I watched not a lot of dollars. Um, but I know that you know safety workplace it's crit we should be doing it. Uh, I don't think so. Um, you know, I don't know exactly what the driving force is behind the the increase to the workers compensation end of it. Um, we've had a few injuries over the past year. Um, but minimally on duty. They've been all minor.

Yeah. One. And um we were all up there for the the roll in was pretty cool. Um you know it's one of those things in your life that you know is who gets so new but we just talk a little bit about what come down the road. Sure.

Yep. So, uh, last year we entered into an agreement to purchase, uh, two rescues. Uh, they were a 28month, uh, window for production. Uh, so that puts us in line to hopefully receive them, I'm going to say February of 2027. Uh, which will replace u one of our 2011 reserve rescues and one of our current 2018 rescues. Uh with that we also have the uh pumper tanker which is a another uh kind of hybrid between a class A engine and a and a tanker itself um to kind of fill the void of the tanker as it's aging and be able to respond with a little bit more water to our non-hydro air that was put into production last year that's slated to be delivered in December. Uh so at that point we will be pretty good with uh with the apparatus that we have. Uh the two new engines that we have have already we've seen a a little bit of a decrease in service. The problem is we had to get the other engines kind of back up to where they needed to be. So there was some money spent with that. Uh but the two new pumps we put into service have had very minimal issues. Um they've been remained in service since the day we pushed them in. So that's been a good thing. um you know once we kind of finish this cycle out of replacing the rescues in the in the other pumper like I said it should be um really a few more years before we even have to discuss replacing any apparatus at that

yeah and the reason I asked that Rob is because of the time by the time you know what the need is and you place that you spec it and you know goes through this process and it's approved to the time you actually see delivery of that equipment It's almost two and a half years. It's unbelievable.

It's uh so those the two pumps that we have now is actually longer than that. It was almost three and a half years. Um some of the forecasted timelines for uh apparatus build and everything else is still three and a half to four years. Uh that's for a custom truck. Uh some of the other non custom trucks you can get a little bit quicker. Uh but you're giving up on uh you know the ability to customize it to fit Middletown's needs. Uh that's the problem is we those trucks do a lot of things other than just put out fires. So having a custom truck is is what we have to do. Uh where we can maybe save some time, but it's not going to be a truck that feeds that fills the need of the community at that point.

One of the things I learned when I was there for that rolling ceremony was the amount of technology on these trucks now was incredible. I just I was dumbfounded by with I forget which by uh by a fighter was explaining it to I think it was might have been Brian Draighus. Um I'm not sure but explaining the technology that goes behind I'm like hey what's that you don't realize it until you're up to it these gadgets functions of this thing you said you have to customize them to what and we don't realize that until see it or you're up there experiencing or you know putting your eyes on it. Uh that's important but that's why I wanted you to talk about a little bit because everyone has an understanding. I know you do. We have a little bit of an understanding based upon the time frame that this takes. It's critical to have that because um look nothing nowadays is cheap, right? Especially especially equipment, but you have to have it. And we want to make sure that you have that equipment. Um, you know, be able to, you know, save save lives and take care of people that that have the needs. And Charlie's point is, you know, when Chief Assari was here and it was one of the things that always stuck in my mind years ago, he said, "Hey, one out of every four calls now is a mental health." And so, um, we need to, you know, need to make sure we're prepared for that. I know there's a lot of training that goes involved with that, not only the fire department, but as well as the police department. So, it's important you do that. And I'm just going to leave you, and I'm going to shut up on the note of a friend of mine. I hear it all the time. um friend of mine uh had a stroke two weeks ago, two and a half weeks ago and u he's okay, but he uh could him and his wife couldn't say enough nice things

about how your staff responded and how professional friendly they were and that that is the fa that's one of the faces of of the top middle. Anybody have any questions? Excellent fire chief Robert Okay, thank you. It was a really difficult,

you know, I think I think a lot of times uh you know, traditionally or historically department heads may come before the council and go, "Geez, I need this, but I don't want to ask for it." I'm not saying that's the case with you. If somebody needs something and it's a need and and the residents are going to benefit from that need and it makes your job easier and it makes the town safer, then that's what needs to happen. you know, we figure that stuff out as we go. There's always that cost associated with it, but that's part of doing business.

That's one quick little story to that that I wanted to add is the uh the the small pickup truck that we purchased back in September, I believe it was. Uh we weren't able to forecast what that truck would do, but I can tell you that that small pickup truck with a plow uh had a positive outcome on four patients during the post. So, that's something that we couldn't have forecast. That's something we could have looked at. Um, but that's something I wanted to share with you. We bought that with the with the intentions of being able to replace a a 1991 pickup truck uh that had kind of lived its life. Um, and that truck actually uh responded on four calls, one of them being cardiac related and the patient was able to get the the Charlton and receive the treatment that they needed. So, you know, that's the small things that you don't normally see every day, but um, you know, that's the benefit of having good equipment that works and doesn't.

Yeah. Another another thing, Rob. Another thing too is like I I travel in and out of town every day Monday and in my travels in the other day I saw the Middletown rescue going out a lot of people don't understand that piece of it. So if you quickly saying how that works and what you might say what's fire rescue doing in T going through Tivet and where are they going?

So um a lot of that is uh protocol driven. So uh STEMIS which is a cardiac arrest or or blockage or anything to that extent um they have to go to a cath lab. That cath lab is Charles we transport to fall river often. Uh any sort of uh EKG or anything that would indicate that they need to go there. That's where we go. We bypass Newport. Uh strokes and things like that will transport to Rhode Island Hospital. So uh trauma center everything else that goes to Rhode Island. When I first started, pretty much we always went to Newport. Uh that was the game plan. Whatever we had, we'd go to Newport. We'd let the doctors figure it out, and then if we needed to help, we would transport somewhere else. Uh is now these the firefighters that you have uh on duty today are are second to none. I mean, these guys diagnose, they they they see things in the field that I wasn't seeing 20 years ago. Um and they get them to the the appropriate medical treatment. and we have seen a a big spike in positive outcomes um you know from those type of things. And I'll go back to the other day. Uh the police responded to Home Depot. Uh there was a CPR. They got there first. They administered uh AED uh which got the rhythm back. We got there. We stabilized and by the time we got him to Charlton uh he was becoming awake and uh following command. So uh you know that took a long time. that probably that whole call from start to finish was an hour, hour and 10 minutes maybe uh because we have to transport off island and everything else. But uh positive outcomes is what we're after. So that's what we do.

Yeah. My my my fiance Diana works. She was there when this was helping this gentleman a manager on duty. She said, "Hey Paul, those guys won't." Yes. Said I couldn't. That's off to you folks. Thank you. Y any other questions? Thank you.

180.

I leaned over to the chief during when I was walking back to my bathroom break and I said, "Hey, did you get in trouble or something?" Because you were first last year. That's it. There you go. Well, it's it's amazing though, you know, kidding around like that. But it's amazing what other departments can learn from other departments that you may have seen through our budget chief. So, we have yourself, we have we have the deputy cliff, and we have 46-year employee assistant.

Oh, I said the reason the reason I said that, Jay, was because before the budget started, Lisa came and she was sitting there and I've known Lisa my whole life and I I was over there and I don't see her much. How's it going today? And uh so Lisa, how long you been here? Said that's that's unheard of. That's why I mentioned it was more of a tribute to Lisa and her her dedication and age related every day. Trust me, probably don't say it enough. We appreciate her every day.

Okay, so um jumping right in. first um increase was basically the tuition reimbursement program. That went up simply because the cost of college tuition is going up and we have more uh younger officers that are taking part in the program which is good thing. It's also going to be the similar answer for the increase for our professional developing more um some of the classes are becoming more savvy like right now we're really diving into cryptocurrency cryptocurrency is how solve those crimes we just recently had one case come in where a president was scammed approximately $320,000 into crypto we were able to recover about 270 but 270 out of 320 Unfortunately, we were able to get a good amount of that money back. Another increase that you may see on there is the maintenance to our maintenance and repairs to our radar units. Um, again, the cost of uh the variable message boards, speed feedback signs are in there, as well as the calibration for our sound meters and the calibration for our radar units. The cost for calibrating those units has increased and we are also looking at adding new radar equipment division radar units that are no longer really feasible to get fixed unit. So we're looking to just start

cycling in some new equipment into that line item there. Our uniform and wearing uh wearing apparel went up significantly in that first of all what was has always been in there has been the cost bulletproof vests which is covered% total amount is in there but that will come back in with any of the bulletproof vests purchase but also we're looking to outfit the department with some high visibility jackets detail job uniformility jackets right now. guys trying to buy an increase you also see is in the community poling budget was uh under the general supplies materials that uh was the anticipated cost of the food for the new comfort canine having to buy food for him but that dog had a very gracious offer from Wag Nation Newport. They offered to be blooming food. So that uh that significant increase that you see there is going to go down. And then lastly with our capital improvement program, we're simply looking to purchase two full vehicles and one vehicle. That's what we did for years. It always worked away from it for a little while and trying to cycle

with that question.

Okay. of the decrease. Excuse me. One of the decreases that I saw was um here it wasn't here. I saw it. It was um I think training or professional training was five. Anyway, I was as I always try to take notes. So, I'll get back. Um, can you explain the US? So that is a position that by Tyler Trot he's on the island fugitive task force and all the work basically that he does there is grant based or is reimbured. So we put in the the federal government uh use about 19,500 reimbursement whenever he goes off work or overtime asking for something that marshals.

Um one of the other questions I have J is staff Right now we have two recruits in the academy. They're scheduled to graduate May 22nd. And that would bring us up to 44. However, we next year the departure of another officer. Two more officers. What was the time frame? They're on their own. It's close to a year and a half. Uh by the time we started the application process in January last week's interviews checks and then the academy will actually start August 4th. That's six months. How was the uh how was the environment? I know years back negative stuff going on there. And how is it recruiting? Is the is the uh tough? We're still still struggling between that and the fact that there's only twomies being here. people that are applying. So

for instance this this process we only background process. Is there anything that you would need from us that you're not currently getting from

No, I I I think again the $5,000 bonus police department do recruiting where I don't if you're familiar now we call fit to serve basically running the physical agility test for everybody. written test. All the candidates are basically going to fit to serve and we open it up to any department football.

No. It really unfortunately is right now because some people are just

so so what so is it a is it a are we competitive wise? I thought we were. Um it's a state problem. I I sit on the police officer standard and training commission. Um I see all the laterals that take place and it you know to your example it it is like college sports and trading. Um we spend every a lot of time with officers transferring between departments. Um I hear the chiefs talking about problems in recruiting quality people. Um reviewing, you know, the status. So we also oversee the uh training process of the academy itself. It's just it's changed a lot. 15 years now. It's it's been a long time. So uh there's an evolution to it. And uh What would

just not the days when we would how? What would set us apart? What would make people well, you know what, I'm coming here versus there. I think a lot of it I it's it's trying to find people with a local connection because ultimately I think if you can you can recruit someone I I think one of the the good programs that we have is the the internship program. Trying to get you know local people to participate in that, get them connected to the department. That is probably I think one of the strongest things that we're doing. from that. I think that is because they get once they're there a little bit, they get a better feel for the environment.

Yeah. You know, one of the leadership of that program was to not only was to see future candidates, but was more to let them I would say like behind let them come in and see what it is probably not what you're getting in your criminal justice program at school. Traffic traffic getting a good feel what it is. I think it has paid off. The uh what are the two two of the two most recent hires? Let's see.

I may be a little biased. I I agree. But um it is giving good they know what they're getting into for them. They're investing a year and a half.

Thank you. Few things. Wag nation. Did we do a story on them or what they did?

That was really good. That's awesome. We have through um Luke's social media pages. He has several. Yeah. Thanks. You send a thank you from the dog. Yes. Yes. Did he get a choice? Did he have a choice of the food that he did?

Oh, the refrigerator. Oh. Yeah. And the other thing piqued my interest was the uh um the uh she said Bitcoin. You said it was our detectives that were able to recapture that money. We have one of the detectives. Yeah. He's on a task force. Just because they have more resources. Sure.

Everything seems to be

right. That's another just maybe shout out to the public, you know, be aware and if you do have issues, our we've got a well-trained staff to help police and so on and it's just going to get worse. I mean, more and more are coming. So, interesting. Yeah. Thanks. So, Jay, I know At least in my opinion,

I see. I think that's related to some of the Yeah, the ones that ones that are leaving if they are leaving.

Yes, sir. Thank you. Hey, Chief, thank you. Um, few questions for you. the staffing levels like how how do you guys decide that 44 like is it directed by federal agencies or like how does that is it by population it is based on population also serves

it's contract right it's it's but it's based it's based on population and and calls geography of the town the amount of area that we need to cover Um ultimately it gets negotiated minimum manning versus minimum staff based on the minimum heading number. Then we find the optimum number of officers to uh staff down over time and similar to the police chief as well or the fire chief, sorry. Um you know mental health calls like are you guys getting all the training you need for that? It sounds like you guys are going on the same ones and you face some things you probably never thought you faced.

Right. We are and and and like Chief Paul said, we've got a great working relationship with them. A lot of those calls we are there first and then we are calling them because reason disturbance or whatever it was that we got called to we get there and we realize guys work well together. I think for the training, yes, we um Department of Health training. We also have a collaboration of police officers throughout the state. They teach officers actually some of our officers backification CIT training CIT training we're finding is being more often now. My last one, probably one you're you really like talking about is speed cams. So, um I noticed in our

about them. Yes. Sorry. Tickets on uh 45 minutes till lunch.

Um I'm just noticing in our revenue manual that we got as well that for fiscal year 2027, we're estimating only 15. It actually went down 15,000 last year. 35,000 and I'm wondering like you hear a lot of talk out there the money grab this is all the stuff like that right um I personally think they're working um but I also understand some of the concerns people have as well and it might be something we have to look at as a council but are we underestimating do you think that 15,000 that revenue on speeding tickets we looked at the speed cameras and we we only we doubled the the revenue projection um I don't think we're at a point where we know where the ultimately the the revenue will go. I think it was high at the beginning as people um continue to drive fast through the school zones. Um they're going to turn off here with the school, you know, year coming to an end. So there there will be no tickets in uh some point July, August, September.

Talk to the public. A lot of confusion talk about that right now out there.

Yeah. And I think and I'm not sure it's on Matt. We have a frequently asked question sheet that Matt maintains on the website. So there's there is all, you know, we have that information. We can continue to promote it. Uh but at this point, you know, and and I would stress I Oh, I you know, other than discussing the the feedback from the community, I and my the fire uh police chief and I have never talked about the revenues. You know, it's it's never been a money grab. We don't sit in the finance office talking about it. Um and and I would say the only thing that we've talked about I can I can say this for the use of the revenues has been to add um school zone lights to the uh the valley road project. So you know we're basically looking at the revenue as a means of increasing safety within the school zones for students and drivers. So right now we used last year's estimate. We doubled it and I think part of that was just being conservative to figure out where this ultimately lands. Um and also so I have here that we had 35,000 budget 2025 3526 then it dropped 750. So, in the the revenue manual that you're referencing in January, so as we're developing this budget now in April or March,

uh in January the speed cameras weren't up and operating yet. So, we did a revaluation of it and so we're using a conservative 70,000. 70,000. Correct. That makes more sense. That's on page 73.

So, Uh so what happens to that that and again we've never talked about it as a as a revenue generator. We talked it as a safety issue because what's happened is we had a lot of complaints about speed. So as we did traffic coming um uh consultants measures the the consultants did those and came back with recommendations. respond to the problem of that. What I'm finding is is that people wanted measures in place to slow traffic down. But now what we're getting is some of the same folks that are were wanted those measures are complaining that they're getting ticked. So it tells me they could have been some of the ones that it typically is the ones that it's local a lot of times and a lot of times during the summertime it's not. I hate to say that but that's a fact. So complain about um speed levels and then when the town does something about it, they're complaining that we did something about it. So, having said that, um look, there's always going to be naysayers and you know, we stand behind trying to make it safer. Period. Nothing to do with money. Zero. I know a lot of people will say that and but there's there's very little what you could do with that money that's generated. And we're not looking to generate money. We're looking to slow it down. That's what we're looking to do, especially in the school zone. So, I've heard the stories of some people getting multiple tickets, some, you know, so hopefully it um um it works and it slows folks down. Um I still think it's the right thing to do. Um especially during school times. Um so, I just want to be clear about the money. You know, you see a lot of things. They all say 31 31 m 31 miles an hour. That's because it triggers my conversation with Jay. I called Jay and said, "Hey, how does this work?" We start getting a

bunch of emails about the speeding, especially on Purgator. Um, and it gives you a 10 mph buffer. It says 20 miles hour. You're not getting a ticket till you hit 31. That's why it says 31. That's why they all say 31. It could be more. Maybe they're going faster. I think it could 31 gave him a 10 I don't know was a safe it's a safety thing not money doesn't generate money that does generate money but not money that we could pave roads with or stuff like that it's where does that money go Sean it's an unrestricted revenue in the general fund

goes right to the general fund this year is projected at 35,000 next year as a full here and there's more campers being added projected at 70,000. So, you know, if we're going to generate if it is generating funds, which it sounds like it is, um then I think we need to make sure we're clear on where those funds are. Yes, sir.

Chief, thank you. Um couple years back we were talking about replenishment of cruisers. Have you seen that out? has moved out. We're not really not seeing a delay. Tariffs haven't really kicked in or anything like that. So, it for a while was the cars that were behind and then the cars caught up and then all everything we put in the cars chips. Yeah. It seems to have and that refresh cycle back in that standard refresh cycle now. Two march cars, one on March car. Perfect. There's there's not a spreadsheet for it, but it works. Just want to make sure we're keeping that flow.

If we stay with that cadence, it's you know, Jay had done a when he came on board had a big thing and I said, "Look, historically like two in one works." And I think as we looked at it, as long as we maintain that, then the fleet it works for Yeah. Carl's throwing, you know, some uh numbers around in regards to the tickets and I'm seeing different numbers from people in regards to how much actually was generated from the camp tickets this year.

As of the end of April, it was 124,000. So I thought it was a much bigger number than 50 70 much bigger number. And and I've been asked where is this money going? Where what are we doing with it? And I kind of like uh you know I agree with uh Paul in regards to we should identify where that's going. And my first thought is back to the school. You're protecting that school area. We should maybe increase, you know, I don't say signage because I think we got plenty of signage, but you know, I don't know. transportation, you know, maybe transportation for the kids, you know, something along those lines. But I think it's important for speeding. They get a ticket. feel bad about that, but maybe they'll understand that $50 is being used for a certain reset.

I do think that um I think somebody said it earlier that these these with the signage um in the past um motorists would include myself would identify a school zone with flashing. Um, hey, you're in school zone like does a really good job on West Main Road, you know, there's no way you can go drive through there and not know it's a school zone. Never mind the fact that everyone's going really slow when you have some vehicle, you know. So, people do it though. They do. They fly through.

They do. So I think I think yellow that's how that's how in the past people have identified including myself. I mean I see the big ugly neon signs. You can't miss them. So those are by statute. That's by state statute. It doesn't require the flashing. And that's just me thinking out loud. I'm not saying we'd have to, you know, figure that out, but I think that that's what people associate that. Maybe I can just get out there like this, Lisa, because that's what I Yeah, that's I talked it by hand.

And uh Chief, with that being said, I've had people approach me on Purgatory. They have the lights there, but they're not working. Well, St. George's own that they're responsible for the maintenance of it. We just met with uh their head of securityurities. All the parts have been ordered. He's anticipating maybe two more weeks that

question. Why do we have link? Because we had received reports of concerns of speed. And I just tell you that in the evening when it's dark does not help you see the speed limit. The reflection of the sign is way better than those things flashing face. And the wildlife they're not happy. They wildlife whisperer.

This kid talks. Um Jay, my final question about the uh about the um and I don't know if it's true or not, but you know, we all tend to look at social media to kind of, you know, um a lot of it's non-factual. Um but just we have to listen, right? Pay attention. So having said that, one area generating more purgatory has been higher than why do you think that is?

You think it's a A lot of the beach walk avoid traffic stop. Can I ask you a question about electric bikes? The electric bikes trigger some of those go pretty fast. Would they trigger the The violation itself is sorry the violation itself is vetted through the vendor and then it's sent to us in a package all the photographic evidence and then once the off issuing citation reviews the photographic evidence and ensures the calibration is up to date which it is because they're all brand new they issuing officer then issues the citation. So every every citation has ever been issued has been on a motor vehicle that bought two different sources.

So, so where the citations we're issuing citations to a vehicle, not a person. The register that's legal to do. The registered owner of the vehicle is who the citation goes to. Okay. Somebody had asked that. Hey, look, you're issuing a citation vehicle. He paid it, whatever, but I don't know statute dictates state statute dictates that you can citation of the vehicle based upon the license plate it's typically authorized by the statute and one of the reasons why that violation doesn't go by

similar to the parking ticket on your on your vehicle the parking it's not it's not considered a moving violation

no sir doesn't insurance wise it's not killing Make sure we get that out. We do have unfortunately all over. Yeah, certainly you can try different other apps. So, so the other part part about this that bothers me, I know it's probably state statue, is that, you know, a lot of the com we we see a I'm sure we see a large increase in traffic volume when the schools are closed, right, because it's summertime. Um, so you know, we would want to be able to slow that down as well. Um, and I'm not saying I'm just saying I don't know what the answer is, but I think, you know, a lot of the a lot of we have a lot of people out of town coming during during the off season and it's not just not just residents. Um, so it otherwise, you know, we're not we're not not slowing people down for slowing them down for nine months out of the year, I guess, but during the heavy traffic volume season, we're not. So, how do we state statute once again states that it can only be used during the 180day calendar school? Do you step up patrol in the areas

leading to the beach during that time? Yes, we do. Yeah, we have the SRO that they get reassigned full division and they responsible. Is that experience getting pulled over that slows down too? Is it I'm sorry. That experience of getting pulled over, that'll slow people down more than cameras probably.

Um, if I can just respond to this also. So, prior to the legislative session, I had sat down with uh Chief Ryan to look at the expansion of cameras in the areas that are impacted primarily in the summer, looking at the the routes to the beach, Paradise Avenue, Third Beach Road. And what we from an analytical standpoint, the issue that we run into is it's not so much the speed in those areas. It's and it's up, but again, we we deal with this this 10 mile an hour window. So now you're looking at speeds in excess of 35 miles an hour. Um it's more of a volume issue that that are impacting these neighborhoods. It's it's an elevated speed, but it's a it's the elevated activity that's that's causing the problem. Um when we looked at it, it didn't it wasn't we weren't going to be able to make a good argument to the general assembly to allow us to put cameras in those other areas. Um we would we would have had to seek special legislation to do that. So, but we did did spend some time looking specifically at what you're talking about is the complaints we get from Paradise Avenue, Third Beach Road, Green Avenue, as people, you know, saturate that that area of the town with traffic to get to the coastline. But from a practical standpoint, the way that the speed camera programs work, it did not seem to be something that I think the general assembly would support because we don't have the data to support um the generation of enough tickets to to make it, you know, worthwhile. So, so we end up going back to the, you know, patrolman who has to make the stops.

Thanks, Paul. Um, the old fashioned I think Tom brought that up. Having a speak something, you know, police officer sitting at one point, a car speed past them, camera car, that's police car that's quarter mile down the road, pulls them over, give them a We do that. We can do that. We have Yeah, we have officers most most often on Prospect Paradise. Paradise actually we think it slowed down a bit. Yeah. Did not get I think we're doing a lot of good things really. Yeah. Yeah.

You know what we're going to look at doing study on especially like if nothing right now so early.

So we're going to get a lot of excited people coming to the beach, right? It's that time of year. Everyone's going to be in a hurry. Got to get there. got to get in line or I gota you know and so I guess I would encourage maybe we set up some of these speed traps to you know show people to slow it down. I don't even know if it's possible where we can announce that there will be a speed trap on a certain road at a certain time warning the residents. Listen, be aware we're going to have a speed trap on Paradise or Purgatory or whatever between this time and this time. Well, if they happen to go down that road and and get a speeding ticket, it's really their own fault. So, I don't know. Just an idea.

Definitely advertise that we're going to be out on those streets. I don't know if I call it trap, but I would, you know, certainly advertise that speed control. Yeah, that are out there. Speed control. Yeah, speed. They see you early in the season, they're going to start thinking twice when they're coming. So, Jay, you

guys do a great job. Jay, do you think that you mentioned it earlier and now that you said it, it it kind of made a little sense to me that, you know, when we put the speed humps on some of these roads specifically, we actually added one. Bob added one last year. Um, and you said it seems to be slowing it down. Do you think would that be more effective than less invasive than than than speed cameras? I think it's less invasive in the sense that you can remove them in the winter. Right now, we can't put them up on those. We can't put the speed cameras up on any other road besides the school zone area. So, right now, I think it's a very solution. I guess my question is that is effective. study that shows

you can look at Forest Avenue the speed humps I mean the number of tickets are still the speed humps haven't sto you know we're still issuing tickets on Forest Avenue with the speed hump and the reason no you're right but the reason I mentioned purgatory because the amount of tickets and and we put those up there during the summer we have the craft the I like pillows. Sorry. Pillows. We want to use speed pillows. That's not speed homes. Anybody else have any further questions? Please.

Sorry, we needed you with that. We get a lot of Glad I brought that up. Thank you.

What do we have? Parks and Recreation. Is it Parks and Recreation? Parks and Rec. Oh, public works. I'm sorry. Wait. Bob, how you doing, sir? Morning.

Morning. Don, how you doing, sir? Morning. Excellent. We We have all the public works back to back, so I'll let Bob do director stuff. Public works first. Great. Um, yeah, our public works department, we maintain um an infrastructure. It's pretty simple. I mean, it's not complicated. About 90 miles of road, 30 mi of sidewalks. Um, you know, some of that infrastructure was original from the town, meaning the uh gutters, open gutters, and some of the roads that are original to the town. It's quite a daunting task, but it's pretty, you know, it's not a complicated. So, like we have our uh paving program. We um go through the town, myself and the town engineer to create that program. You talked about earlier Paul about the red road creating the red roads with certain criteria for these roads. In that time, we come up with a listing to have what we call red road. That would be a that needs post maintenance. So um in that process right now we got for the this f this budget we're going to do Jetson Lane Beacon Street Beacon uh terrace terrace we have Mitch Lane as a also in that feeding program we have the crack sealer program while cracks the roads try and preserve them and we also have that before last year was very successful.

Little more to do, but the outcome is much better. We try to do some patching this year also on some of the roads. Try and preserve them where the road's not 100% a red road, but it's getting there. So, maybe get a few more, five, six, eight more years out. In the process of public clerks, we also have small projects

that includes roadside gutter repairs, catch basins, eliminating some of these open swailes inside the roads. One of the projects we have coming up is going to be putting fiber to the 110 center. That was done by public works. Then also we're going to add a pedestrian across walkway. Also, one of our things we do is snow removal. This year was one of our busiest years since I've been there. 36 years, but we we got through it. Um equipment we good with our equipment held up. We had excellent staff.

Robert, can I just inter One of the things that has been on mind for a couple of months now is the outstanding job you and your department did during this winter, especially that blizzard. You guys were incredible. I know some people were complaining, "Oh, I didn't get my road. Somebody called me, I didn't get my road done." Well, guess what? Mine's not done either. You know, so there's no preferential treatment here. But, you know, these guys have to sleep. Um there was some somewhat strategic because at that point the radar was coming down. There was no sense of being out there. Safety was three or four inches.

Right. So but once you guys did get out there, you guys did an incredible job um of opening up these roads. It was just all winter long. But that blizzard is the one that just um really set set you guys apart. That's leadership. Um We've been trying to get Joan to recognize you. I know you're a little bit humble, but please come in. So,

um, it's important, you know, for morale of purpose of, you know, why people come to work being recognized that they do. So, um, even the sidewalks, people will say, well, why are they doing the state sidewalks? Because those are the main the state's not going to do them. And those are main arteries that people walk that don't have vehicles to grocery stores and to medical is places and and those kind of things. So not a middle town does everything that we could possibly do. We bought extra extra machine with a an extra boom. We have three of them now or two. Four. Okay. So my math fourth one comes in.

Yeah. So you'll have four once that comes in. Get this done quick.

So again, there's a cost associated with that. Um, and we go outside of our purview a little bit, state versus um, town from a budget perspective, but you know what? It's our town and it's our people, so it's important. You guys get recognized for for your efforts. That was that was impressive. But great things, you know, you're always going to get those few people that call and complain, and that's okay, but you got to educate them as to what's happening. uh and let him know that there's no reference or treatment whether your council president and your road's not done. That's not the way it works. I told the gentleman, I said, "Listen, all due respect, I don't know. I can't dictate the routes of what the public works do and they don't do that's not in our council, but I can guarantee you they'll do it. They'll do a good job, you know. So, get because people have the health of some of the for like Rob said during the storm that truck had So that's off to you and your team. I just wanted to stop you there before I work. Thank you.

Great. So in the process of the sor removal, we have the brine brining process. We brine roads uh prior to the storms, which is a valuable asset we have. It works. And uh so so involved with that also is storm water which includes our catch basin program cleaning storm water reviews outfall inspections maintenance of the BMPs preparation of that annual MS4 report that we have to emulate and also u application of the mosquito program. We uh put a biscuit in each catch each one of our 1200 catch bas. That's all done through the Rhode Island DM provides those biscuits. You do have to purchase half of the amount, half the third. Yeah, that's under the storm water. We have a few projects and you'll see in the budget that Shore Drive, Tuckerman A that'll address that flooding those areas, Colony Drive and Birkwood, Browns Lane also some area that we've been looking at last years there also. vehicles. We got some vehicles in the budget. replace some of the the winter. Like I say, the fleet was uh pretty taxed this

winter and it's amazing public works.

Okay. Uh so the budget increases the operating 777,000 the 600 whatever,000 back is being taken to that new revenue source from the 1% hotel tax increase and it's going to be put towards aing this year. So that that's where that's coming. Want to make sure 39,000 benefits increase. Um the overall increase it's um the current amended 2.6 budget to the proposed budget is about 614,000 but 650,000 of that is is the red road is the red road is the uh road paving increase capital increase from that new revenues. does show an increase. I want to make sure people understand that all of that is strong. I had also been doing a study at public works buildings building. Let

us finish the school. down the road. All right. Does anybody have any questions on the public?

Thank you, Bob. Thanks for coming in. Um, tracking our capital projects. Like, how are you guys are you able now to like dial in exactly where our costs are just so we can It's not to check on people. I want people to realize that. It's it's more to help us budget and so when we go out and do storm water things, we do maintenance things, we do capital improvement projects, like how are we tracking the the labor hours, equipment, material for those projects, but what what's being used is what's tracked. Yeah. We do a project, we budget so much for the project, quantities, the amount. Well, like with the staff, do they fill out a type card that shows what they're working on or

No, we don't use So, that's that's something I I would like to see that we try to institute here in this town is is just to track, you know, what we're working on. And it's and again, it's not it's not to check on people. It's to help us forecast budgets. There's a lot of apps. In fact, I think the town has an app already. You could we could do this pretty easy. We do separate on our billing all the projects.

Okay. Okay. Thank you.

That's a lot of that's the storm water. inction.

So, that one in particular, sorry, uh that one in particular is for the structural study that uh Bob alluded to earlier. Uh we have 50,000 budgeted there. And there's there's two main issues with the structural study. One is that we don't have enough buildings to store all of the equipment in a protected area. Uh the second is the existing garage. The the skin of the building is deteriorating. It needs to be replaced. So I think we're looking at a coming at you know a comprehensive plan for public works and also as we look at shared services um whether or not some of those services should be relocated. Currently, they'll go from Little Elephant to the high school, but there's probably equipment and space that should be allocated at the public works complex for school activities. Um, you know, we we we're talking to Salv about potentially them having a locker room building over at Guadet School, which would mean some of that storage would be lost over there. So, we could we could relocate that over to public works, but but we need to do some work and formalize that plan for our long-term plan and maintenance maintenance on the existing building.

The u the health and premium this percentage seems much higher. Is that contract driven? It's 23%.

It's difference in employees. We have a lot of new hires with families. So, it's it's there's some census data that's running through that line item. Thanks, Bob. I was going to say that, you know, they want to put a speed bump on Purgatory. I said, we got plenty of bumps on Purgatory. They don't have to worry about that. I don't know how they got going so fast to get all over. I know that's National Grid. That's not us. Um, kind of on Charlie And you know we do project management regards to what go to a project and then we know who are the resources that goes to that project. When did they start it when did they finish it? What type of equipment did they use? Did they have to go to the store and buy a wrench? You know they have to go get equipment more material and it just all you know has just a device that just key this in. So at the end there is a system that I think the school is I just don't know if that would make it easier you know especially if you got reoccurring each year you got certain services that you have to do certain pumps need to be looked at you know and so that helps you track that year we've got all this work we need to do this year it's got to be hard to do We keep a pretty good log on our RPM. Like I say, we do a project. We know what catch based referring to.

Yeah. Well, today they're writing it down, right? Then they come back to the shop and say and written. Then you're transcribing that onto something else. I know what they I know. Not not daily, but I know what the project took.

I just didn't know if it was any easier. I know it made it easier for our folks in the field because to get there, you know what project's going to be done, you know, what material needs to be at that how it's coming out the inventory. That we did, what materials we used. And so we see what the total cost of that project is and it posts to an account ledger account and it's all done through one entry. I just think something like that I know it helped us from a business standpoint because some counselors don't believe that public works vision. So either way I mean you you run the department. If it's a tool that you can benefit from I'm all for it. You don't think so?

Thank you. Tom

really quick. Sure. When we do storm water maintenance type stuff, is it ever caused by like a private owner that that's why we're you repeat that, please? Okay. So, say we have to go and repair something like there's been a wash out or something. Is it ever the cause of like a private owner that's causing the flooding or whatever we have to maintain or clean up? If we deem it to be, we we correct that like the sump pump washing outside of a road, we'll correct that. Homeowners get that problem. Okay. All right. Thank you.

Safety perspective. Some of those are you see the activity that goes on not a lot we're working on to maybe fill a lot of those in federal money. So, a few months back, I spoke to the council about this build grant that uh that we applied for with Ron Malansky, and you know, we'd get up to $5 million, and we'd have to put in a million dollars of town money, but that project is too clo to to put drainage in and and fill in the swelles at the side of the roads on both Third Beach Road and Paradise A, and that would solve a lot of problems. We'd also put sidewalks in to allow pedestrians to stay off the road and potentially widen the road for bike lanes as well.

So, we haven't heard back. We just applied a few months back. I think it was February 24th we applied. We haven't heard anything back. What is the Don't know. I don't have an answer for that. I'll ask Ron, but um I assume it's going to be months.

Want to go with the sewer over here? age 96. Middletown sewer system consists of 13 pump stations, 60 miles of sewer lines that out those 13 pump stations. They get pumped down the two stations, Cington and Wave Avenue pump to the city of Newport. Another project really on here upgrading our skater PLC's gator system alerts us of all the functions of the pump stations. uh 2008 they were installed. They're pretty much worn out of life expect. That's one of the big projects we have. Design engineering for the Browns Lane pump station is on this year's replacement 28 but the design is for this year. working on that SS study still. Hopefully phase two comes out we can money in there for that make repairs on the findings of that study. They'll keep up with our CTV lining and uh in place lining on tool lines.

Yeah. Well, the SS study will give us an idea of what areas in town have the highest infiltration rates and the highest inflow rates. So that the second phase, we'd be able to pinpoint the worst areas in town and come up with recommendations for rehabilitation to see which areas would would get us the biggest bang for the buck for our rehabilitation dollars. That that'll probably be about a year and a half down the road. So we'll be coming to you next year with hopefully with a budget for that. And we're also facilities plan update and on andm manual update. We're we're doing those as well. Once the facilities plan update is done, we'll be able to start the planning for the Cington coington highway pump station, which will divert half the flow from the interceptor down to Codington Highway, then to the wastewater plant and take it away from Wave A, which will really help us out at Wave A. So, those things are in the works as well. So the the SS uh study phase one I think was done actually executed probably 15 years ago or more now right?

It was about 20 years ago. Is it 20? Yeah. I'm old.

Yeah. So, and you can see that if you drive down like basically water to sew and causing a lot of extra water to be processed all the way up to Newport but potentially causing bad storms overflows at uh Dave Avenue. So that that's that costs a lot of extra money because you know all we have water a lot of it they're treating clear water regular ground water that's so that's really what this is about 20 years ago when they got raised up that was the most that area was the They came up. Those are things that are underground. But that's why it's important to educate people on this because we need to kind of stay ahead of that that curve as much as you can. Okay. Questions about the uh about the sewer fund.

And again, the major item just that we haven't discussed is the cost of the clarifier upgrade at the wastewater treatment plant. That's that's where I was just going to go. because you see an increase of 700 almost 719,000 or 9.1% increase but 691,000 of that is the the clarifier clarifier replacement with the city of Newport that directly we're obligated to pay for some of that. So that's what Sean's referring

and that is something that I I need to continue to monitor because Newport hasn't identified funding source yet for how they're going to pay for that. Um we have relied on them and you have a letter we we've sent a letter to the city. We've relied on them for pass through financing for our share of that. Uh because we can't go finance you can't I can't go finance a project that isn't my project. It has to go through the city. So um this is one of the obligations of being the regional wastewater uh service provider. So, um, they're working through politics in this city that will inevitably get them back to what they're responsible for, but it is a major item that we're we're monitoring because they have executed a contract for the work without the financing in place. So, um, different way of doing things, but that's what we're doing.

Any questions there? Let's move to then we'll break you want to do I don't think you're giving me the eye. No longer. It's your show, man. I don't blame you. Go ahead.

Uh with with parks, um our our big project for next year, uh next fiscal year will be the um installation of the pickle ball court uh behind the YMCA on uh John Clark. Um and you know beach operations are fall under the parks as well and um we plan to have the similar operation but no no huge increases there. um seasonal passes. Our staff down there, seasonal staff is down there. Um summer contest series.

It's a big five uh five Mondays I guess this summer. It's like a long It is. It is the longest longest beach each season with staff. Well, staffide competitive. We are competitive. Um, we are, you know. Yes. Yes, we are competitive and we're hiring. the only one.gov.

Mike Stall is our new beach manager. So that that so that's a change. Um he's getting his feet on the ground and and running. Yeah, he should be able to hit the ground fairly running. He has a he has a lot of history down there,

a lot of observations that he can now act on to make improvements down there both as a public works employee and as as a special directing traffic on the side of the road. So he has a think a realation for how people get to the beach and how we manage the weight times. Um just on the beach just a couple things. We are seeing expenses in wages mostly because of minimum wage being increased by a dollar each year. Uh so that is a uh that is the driving cost factor within the fund itself for compensation. We're seeing an increase of $24,000. Um and then just in addition to the capital item that will mention, there is a $150,000 item in to replace the Wyatt Road uh soccerfield irrigation system. uh the system that's there uh while it's done its job is requires significant repair poses significant risk of uh failure and on that particular property the uh we added a lot of sand to those those fields when we built them. So if uh they don't receive the irrigation the uh the turf burns quickly it it turns orange. Uh so there's an estimate of $150,000 to replace the irrigation system that's that's on the premises. Um we've put that off a number of years now. Uh so I think we're finally at the point where we we can't put it off any longer. So that is uh one of the uh proposals that's that's in the budget. um because of the uh so we have that and we also have the sales tax that we have to start collecting um which is new but we are proposing a fee increase for um at the beach u so it's partly to cover

again cost partly to cover the uh the tax on the daily parking so right now a resident pays $90 we're proposing that that increase to $100 for residents. We're keeping that the same um $85. Uh for resident motorcycles, going from $40 to $45. For non-residents, it would go from $180 to $200. Non-resident seniors would stay the same at $170. Uh and non-resident uh motorcycles would go from $80 to $90. Those would be the seasonal changes. And then on the weekdays, um the current rate for a weekday is $25. Um the proposed rate would be $284, which brings us to an even dollar amount of 30. Uh for the weekend's holidays, we would go from $35 to 40. That would include $262 for the tax. And for the motorcycle scooter, we'd go from 20 to 25, which would include the $164 for the tax. So, there are fee increases, which I think are moderate, modest. We haven't increase the beach in a while. So, uh, and again, uh, trying to keep it to even dollars so that if someone is paying with cash, uh, we're able to manage that. Uh, we are in the process of, uh, putting a point, you know, getting a point of sale system in place, uh, so that we can accept credit cards. So that that's ongoing and I think uh that will actually take hold probably around by the 1 of June. It may not be ready right away, but um we'll be able to take credit cards at the uh gazebo and at the gates for for cash payments.

So as I listen to you, I get annoyed getting annoyed because it's nothing to do with you. It's okay.

It has to Thank sorry. So I probably should have said that first. So, as I listened to the the tax from that the state is is digging into us now for the parking and I listened to earlier about the Taylor Swift tax with a million dollar houses valued at a million dollars or more. States's digging into the residents here about that a few years back they dug into the pockets of the of the building uh department for some type of permit or whatever it was. Didn't know the past five years or what it would how much what's changed how much are they generating for themselves over the back you can add hotel tax to that also

and hotel tax that's what I'm saying so if we look at that we could probably make a pretty good argument stop it's not just occupy because they can't manage themselves they dig into the pockets of the town really I got to I got to watch myself and probably should break the watch Because I'm serious because it's just when you think about it and it just started adding up in my head and as I was listening to small Taylor Swift I just you know I just want to know our state people need a little bit more help. It's not a shot at Louis. It's not a shot at anybody, but they need to see all these little things adding up all the time that benefiting other going to other place in the state instead of benefiting here in middle which is wrong. They were they were all on the call yesterday with the speaker um Alex uh did a great job and you know the speaker represented how the the Taylor Swift tax came into being and Alex corrected it. You know, these are some of these things are pieces of legislation that get added in at the very tail end of the session and we don't have a chance to comment on them. The speaker represented that we had ample opportunity to comment on the Taylor Swift tax and that wasn't the case. This was something add at the very end and it's the same with this parking. Parking was actually something that was proposed originally by the city of Newport as a local tax. the the city was going to tax and keep the the they were going to tax their own parking fees, I believe, and then keep the tax for themselves on top of it, but then the state sort of came in and scooped it for themselves. Um, actually Brett, Mayor, Mayor Smiley was proposing it for Providence too to try to balance the problems. I I agree. There's just there's, you know, and and then that was the argument that we brought forward with the hotel tax is we went through Uh Rick and I

went through and we looked at all, you know, what happens in the 50 states. And in most states, uh when a local community generates a hotel tax, they keep the money for themselves, doesn't go back to the state. Whereas in Rhode Island, we got 1% back. But the rest of it, you know, for for our money goes to support the state and it goes to support the local tourism uh agencies like Discover Newport. you know, it just doesn't make a lot of sense because again, you know, it's it's we have we have the cost burden and then and then the other thing which is coming up and this gets back to your the traffic discussion, residents are starting to get pissed off on this concept of over tourism. So, as you get the more and more of those cars flooding in down to Third Beach Road in Paradise and we hear from the residents, I can't get out of my driveway. We're getting no compensation for that. That compensation goes to Providence and then goes to the Urban Ring. That's not fair. like us versus

I think that some point in time we just say no the leverage they have

and that's what they do that's the double penalty which gets back We're going to reduce all that up. got something that it see all fired up over those taxes.

Yeah, we get now he knows what E's point feels like. The um Sean, I know we've asked this before. You said you were talking with the regards to us still needing to comply where residents get any non-residents each sticker can't be more than twice what the resident pays and I know for a long time you guys talking with folks about that at least last time I asked maybe update on that so we've been able to continue discussions a lot of that had to they were somewhat stalled or I wouldn't say stalled but became integrated with the discussion about Psyield um that became a broader negotiation discussion because the same people are involved. So now that Posi field is off off the table, uh we're able to accelerate the conversation. Uh we're in the process of exchanging some maps and some information related to work that public works is doing with the beach erosion study. Uh so we're we're dealing with providing that information at the federal level. I've had a conversation with Director Gray and um our lobbyist has talked to Director Gray. So, it's it's coming together. I would I would hope in the next few months that we can bring that to a conclusion. But what Dennis is talking about, we we received roughly 60 or 70,000 for beach improvements in the 70s, early 70s to make improvements to the parking lot into the beach building. Um, and what that did is we we can't discriminate based on where people live in charging people to use the beach. So, uh, we can't charge them a non-resident more than double the cost. So, if it cost $50 to park at the beach or your resident, it can't be more than $100 for a non-resident. Um, to undo that, uh, we had to do some

research to determine whether or not that memorialized through an agreement or through, uh, an easement actually put on the property. we determined that it's actually an agreement. Uh so now we need to align the discussion so that we can identify what we have to basically repay the government which um we've been working on. Peter as well as our attorneys down in Washington. I think we've identified the dollar amount. So now we just need to put the paperwork together to uh work it through the system. Okay. Thank you. Yep. Good. We move on to recycling.

Trash. Trash. Trash.

Just most of that. It's just all basically it's all $21,000 increase. It's $24,000 increase in minimum wage.

Minimum wage and salary. So it's got Refu uh refuge is um fairly basic. Uh we have contractual obligations and um yeah recycling rate is 33% one of the highest in the state. Um version rate which is recycling in yard 47%. Um you have five both ways to days. Another really popular event. Um yeah, not not a whole lot.

So we're proposing so well let me say one thing. Uh will Will has taken the lead and we've been working on it for a while now. uh working with our uh Asia Grow vendor as well as Republic uh using or implementing a system using artificial intelligence to monitor whether uh a user is using the yellow bags or not. Pretty simple where a camera can identify the yellow bags going into the truck. If there's no yellow bag, then we're able to automatically generate a warning or a ticket. Uh Will's been working on that. uh more or less we've been going through a costbenefit analysis to determine where our compliance level is and if we're issuing fines um or or warnings whether or not that will offset the cost of the system. So that that's ongoing and working with Republic on that. Um as far as fees, there is a proposal to increase the fees. Uh right now the fee for the permits $185, but proposing to increase that to $190. Um we also have a number of people a good number of people that are they have second sets of barrels which causes us to have additional stops. There's roughly 325 people that have a second set of barrels. So, we're proposing in the new year that we have a a $25 fee for the issuance of a second set of stickers to people uh to help offset the cost of the second tip that happens at that property. There's a $5 increase and then that additional fee for the second set of barrels, which also has a capital cost because we have to we have to we don't charge people for barrels. So, $5 help offset the replacement the additional time. So what is the four

uh Republic the truck trucks going around the annual contract change in contract? Yes, I believe there's also some tipping fees in there also. How many users we have? Uh 4,733. What's going on?

Has there ever been a thought to uh folks come back away from the winter? They do. They do. It's been press past practice that% so May 1st is the halfway point of the billing cycle. It just falls in 50%.

Yeah. To break it out into like quarters doesn't seem to make sense. But the the halfway point This works and you know it's only the back half of the year. We don't we have to have to enforce someone only using the first half.

We look at it. We look at increases. We're talking about increase tax increase. We're talking refuge increases. You can start looking 590,000 59,000 590 590

and we are using some of that to balance the fund out. So we are much Yeah. So, we're using 63,000 to balance out the operations of the fund this year. That includes the $5. Yes.

Yeah. We're sort of chasing this down because we had increases from the contract as well as tipping fees. So, we've been using fund balance. We've been drawing on the fund balance sort of constantly to keep the fee down. This is just a continuation of that. Do we have a policy in place for what the healthy fund balance should be in that fund or is it the same same policy for every fund like the general fund? Is it 8 to 16%? But the GFA would probably say 90 days of of operations that would be the the model. Uh so what is the total cost of the fund budget? It's about $1.5 million. The reserve should be about $370,000 according to the GFOA's practices.

Would that give us enough to in your opinion to if something happened or we change programs or I don't know or all of a sudden there's a significant increase in the next contractual

Yeah. it has. We've been running the fund and using that as a the model for the amount of money we keep. I think when I think back to when we sort of created the when Lynn, this goes back to when Lynn was the finance director that we created the reserve. Um, you know, I I think you know there was a point early on we were worried that all the totes would disappear on you know magically overnight. That hasn't happened that Will will fix his totes and you know we we replace them periodically. So, that's worked out well. Um, I I think trying to stick with that 368 $400,000 number is has worked out well for us.

What was the increase? $585.

Bag prices stay the same. And then if you have a an additional set of barrels, then there's a $25 fee. The additional barrels. So if you have four barrel, you know, two sets of barrels at your house. Some people have extra barrels. They they want an extra barrel. They throw out a lot of stuff. So, but we have an extra tip at that property. So, we would charge $25 a year for that extra the issuance of the second set of stickers and the use of the barrel. has two barrels barrels every year.

Well, I just looking at the only income if you call it that we get for recycling is the three $3 per credit, right? That's for median of 35% ratio. There's no there's no real recycling market right now, right? From from resource recovery you're talking about. Yeah. Yeah. The only revenue Yeah, that's correct. The market isn't a lot. There's been no profit share from resource recovery. How much room we got up there in Johnson? Like is that is this has this been talked about in around the state? Like what where many years we got left?

Um I don't know the what the latest is. I would say probably 15 years. But the fact that we have this page of throw program in place uh means that when that land does close, we're running we're running as lean like we're sending a little track.

Is that the highest they'd pay out? It's $3 a ton. I think if it's 35% 36%. Okay. Thank you.

Okay. Thank you very much. Appreciate all you guys do. So, we are running behind and we have folks sitting here. There was next Library.

Library. have our

Thank you. I gave them Yes, you do have that. Oh, are you okay? Because we don't want to follow. I'm good. I'm not mad at any state. It's just wrong. I mean, but anyway, you're in a bad mood. We don't want him. No, it's nothing to do with you. It's just me getting annoyed and acted up and we don't want you angry. We don't want you to be angry. Well, no.

Mrs. Bill was my ear. Say, "Listen, library's been waiting." I said, "Whatever you guys do, go. of what we do not conver have one left. Okay. Uh yes. So what do we have?

Okay. Um, so I h I have some prepared remarks and then Holly is going to add to that. Um, we we wonder if you could just hold your questions until we're both done and the staff will also be here, you know, are here to help us. Are you saying you want to be peppered at the end? Is that what you said? I'm sorry. You want to be peppered with questions at the end? Okay. Yeah, this kid.

Okay. Um, first and foremost, we thank you, the council and town administration, for your support of the library over the last few years with annual funding and collective bargaining contracts. We appreciate the difficulty you faced balancing the competing needs of all towns with affordability for town residents. town and its residents have invested significantly in the new library, new library building. And our mission this year is to turn a building into a library space into enhanced service. Service is the core of our mission and vision statements and our daily operation. In fiscal 25, the library had 6,336 card holders, provided 354 programs, and recorded over 88,000 visits. We restarted curbside service, reached out to families who homeschool, and upgraded our teen technology. These numbers testify to the library's value to the community and they will only grow once the new building is open. We also thank you for purchasing 110 Enterprise for the new library. Our current building continues to deteriorate. floor in the children's room is showing signs of weakness and we are monitoring it closely as we are concerned about further collapse.

Windows are separating from their frames and had to be nailed shut from the outside. They can no longer be opened. Our HVAC system is compromised. The approaching summer and winter seasons will be challenging. This is not a routine budget cycle for the library. So year-to-year comparisons are not the appropriate metric to evaluate our fiscal year 27 budget. We appreciate the town administration's proposed addition of a full-time teen librarian and custodian, but the key question before us today is not the percentage increase from last year, but whether the town administration's proposed budget for the library adequately supports our move into a much larger space. We will be operating part of the year in our current building and part in the new building which is two and a half times larger. It has new facility systems and new spaces. We'll be managing 20 bookable spaces versus five currently. New areas such as the teen center, innovation center, and children's programming room require additional staffing, supplies, materials. These are not optional enhancements. They are essential to operating the new building as defined. Um, I'm going to speak uh about personnel first. Um, and we have a couple of new requests which are on the hand handout in the bottom right hand corner.

Last February, the board budget subcommittee and staff had a preliminary budget discussion with the town administration finance department. And Paul, you were representing the town council. We discussed the challenge of estimating a surge in demand and how that would affect the timing of adding staff. Would the surge be on opening day and remain at that high level or grow slowly over time? We discussed spreading the expense of additional staff over fiscal years 27 and 28. Following that meeting, we analyzed data from the fisc year 25 OLAS annual survey on demand history for the Tiverton, Naragansa, and Jamestown libraries. They all had new library buildings. Um that data which is included in the in the handout the table um was a doubling doubling of visits with similar increases for programs and program attendees. These numbers are quite significant. By phasing in new staff, we were able to reduce our budget request for new um to 1.7 FTEES. Following a recent resignation, we identified efficiencies that will allow us to remove one position from our immediate priorities. In addition, we now expect the new building to open in early 2027. We do not need to fill the teen librarian position until the middle of

the year. We do need the part-time admin finance manager to start in July. And that's it. That position was not funded at all in the town administrations. So, as the handout shows, we're we're asking that we phase in the full-time teen librarian and add part-time admin finance manager. That will still cost an addition additional $10,000. Library services. We are puzzled, excuse me, by the town administration's proposal for non salary direct service line items such as library books, supplies and materials, wall, small equipment purchases, digital resources, software licenses, etc. By having these light items, it appears that the um town administration amounts do not reflect the adjustments that we had already made to these line items and therefore there was actually a decrease uh from 26 27. uh we believe it makes more sense to group these line items into one category and apply the 4% cap to that category as a whole. That way the staff can massage individual light line items so

that some things go down, some things go more up more than 4%. And that's will be based on best practice and cost efficiency. Um well, there was a $9,000 difference between Let me just what we requested and we're asking that that be restored. Uh but that will only level fund that expense category. that does not provide any additional funds for all the new programming that we anticipate having. Again, we expect a doubling demand. But for library facilities, library, I'm sorry, services, we are only even if we restore the uh $9,000, we will we will just be level funded. So, we'd like to work on that. That has to go up. I mean, probably that has to go up by for six months because we the new building will will only be in that for 6 months um by approximately another 19,000. Once again,

we respect the task you face balancing the competing needs of all town departments. But these challenges do not release the trustees from our responsibility to the library, the staff, patrons, and the taxpayers not only to advocate for library services, but to act manage the building and programs according to the best library science and safety standards. It would be irresponsible of us to operate without adequate staff and materials. New spaces would need to be closed. Programs and the capacity of programs reduced. Wait times for popular materials would be longer. If operations are underfunded, we may have to adjust hours of service. Perhaps for example closing early on Saturdays. No one wants to do that. But we would be remiss in terms of well your comments about communication if we didn't share this our burden with you. It's most likely we can expect a doubling of services and we just want to make sure that on the long awaited opening day which is going to be an exciting thing for all of Middleton all those spaces are open and they're ready. Wow. Um, we know you do as well and we're anxious to work with the council and town administration to resolve our concerns as quickly and cost effectively as possible.

I don't know how it came up.

I I don't I don't know. Um they did ask me to say a few words about the building and building services. So if you look at this um the spreadsheet kind of in the lower middle you see building services, building operations. Um there's a request increase of about $35,000 to 16.52% and that's largely going to be um the hiring of a custodian for the building that's two and a half size bigger than the building we have now. Um, if we had to, we currently use a contracted service and if we had to take them into a bigger building, we can anticipate that their fee would increase by two and a half times. So, we think the custodian will probably be more cost effective. And as Sean mentioned earlier, we'll be meeting with them to determine the exact um methods to hire, supervise, etc. Uh what we expect to be the addition of a custodian. So that it represents a staffing increase, but um it's really best compared in the building operations line. So, when you see that $35,000 in additional budget, um that's less than what it would cost us to contract for the additional work. So, um that that seems like a more than reasonable compromise. Um, also these building related expenses should ultimately be shared out at

about 85.33% is a number that we calculated based on square footage. And it's still, you know, we we still need to meet with the town to determine the exact amount. Um, and I have lots more words here, but I think that's uh I think that's essentially what I wanted to say about the building. Again, Joan talked to you about the most vital issues, which are funding the library services sufficiently to provide or what we want to be a surge in um provided to the community. and then um the staffing to be sufficient to manage that. But as she said again, we're very excited about going to the new building and increasing our services to the town of Thank you very much. Ask a question. Um, well, I think a lot of your presentation was based off of uh Joe, based off of what? We don't know that for a fact.

We don't know that for a fact. So, I think my approach would be okay. So, throwing dollars at it. You don't know what it's out versus adding. I think that Excuse me. I think that

just want to because I think that's a small more strategic approach to saying, "Okay, we think we're going to double. We don't know that. We don't we'll make decisions based on based upon accurate or measured projection. Sometimes they're good, sometimes they're not good. We don't know that. Sorry. Go ahead.

Um, well, I would say we, you know, when we put the budget together, that wasn't the only issue. The issue was the square footage and how we can have what we've promised in the design and that requires more staffs but we only need it initially six months. So essentially we are phasing it in. That's what we talked about in February. We're not and and then in fiscal 28 that will be decided according to what we then we will then have six months of experience and we will know do we need any more staff 28 maybe not so it's not just uh what's happened with other library but certainly we're going to there's great interest in the new library and the last thing that we want especially at the beginning in let's say we get into the new library in January especially then we don't want to lose people we don't want to have people showing up and things are closed off because we don't have the material I can um so our estimates were not based on doubling The visits, our estimates were based on the size of the building and the number of people required to run the building and run all the different rooms that are now going to be in the building and provide the programs for those rooms. That was what we based our staffing estimates. We scaled back our staffing estimates in response meeting with you in February. And so we've scaled back. We've tried to

consider when we need the people, how many people we absolutely have to have keep the library open for 54 hours a week, which is our current schedule. So our options are if we have fewer people, then we don't open some of the rooms, we don't provide some of the programs, or possibly we go back to the required minimum of 50 hours a week. We have to be open 50 hours a week. So those are our options and based on the budget, based on what we're able to manage, we will explore those options is to meet the budget. We will we will do everything that we can do with the money that um ends up in our budget.

I have two two questions. So why do you need a finance community? I would think that'd be the responsibility of the department.

No, the administr um so the admin finance assistant would be 25 hours a week, not full-time, not a full-time benefits package. Uh there's a lot of stuff that this position would be doing that would be that Sue and I currently run around trying to do because that we we actually asked for this position last year and that was the compromised that was the position we compromised on. Um, but between the three staff members that all of those things fall to, there's other things that all three of us need to be doing that we don't have time to do because we're doing payroll and doing the bills and um, you know, watching. Let me ask you what would a fun

scheduling payroll managing the 20 bookable spaces, managing the um the uh the food the the food drop off because we're going to have a little like food bank area. Um things like that and just managing the the the rooms itself. um the room requests going from one comm one bookable like community room right now to all of the community rooms we'll have is going to take an incredible amount of time. So Sue doesn't have time currently to do all the technology classes she's supposed to do. Um we just had a great uh staff training day on AI and we would like to start teaching the community about AI. We don't have time to do it. So um things like that. It's it's an admin finance assist. So it's like finance assistant, right?

When you when I heard that my business, I went person I took it as a managing the finances of the library. No. Okay.

No, it's helping it's helping with all those like clerical things. It's it's sort of the difference between um there's an executive assistant in the town administrator's office and then hiring an a deputy town administrator. It's the like those are two very different jobs. So what Sue and I do are it's very different than what this position should be doing. But because there's nobody doing that right now between our roles and then the other role that we had added last year. 35.

The second question is is about the custodian look at versus higher custodian with benefits all that have those costs. and I think Sean mentioned earlier that we'd be meeting with the town. Thank you for coming in tonight. Um, you know, I think I wasn't on the council when we decided to buy this property, but I was always concerned about this increase in size and and you guys have come before us a couple times. We've given you some salary increases a couple times and that this topic came up a lot like what does the staffing need to be? And so now we're seeing it and I don't know if the town and the library have been on the same page of this or not. like when we go and we increase a library two and a half times the size did we factor in that we are going to have to lab increase the labor I you know so I I understand where you're several times

okay I understand where you're coming from but at the same time like to to me as a resident taxpayer like I think that's why some people question why we're going to such a bigger library now um so you know I I I don't know I I got this one I think I got to dive into more um before I can really get behind it because you know I don't know if like these this data that you're presenting here the increases like where does this data come from which data the data that there's been increases in tiban and different libraries all of those reports are online on the website office of library and information services they're from the yearly reports

yeah I just I um you know I don't I I don't know if we can do shared services with janitors. I I don't know what we can do here to help. But like to me, we we've two and a half times increased our library. And uh I don't know if we factored in all it's obvious we didn't factor in the labor to that.

I I would just add that when we did our building plan that was but we we had a consultant who did that and we presented that twice because we updated it. But um it c that called for 30,000 square feet for a town this size. So that was best practice. That was not something that was um random or that oh okay here's the building is available now we have to grow into it. That's really what the similar libraries uh I mean sorry libraries in similar towns that's what that's their size we haven't agreed upon that yet that's where that's where

yeah it's fact there it's just not a now we're at that point where either we agree or we don't Sean what what are some of your of your thoughts on this budget because this there's there's a library side and there's what you your proposed site um I had given you a memo I had sent a memo to the council u I won't look at it just just in general um on the staffing side I had instructed the finance office to fund the increases is uh that have come before you recently. There were two two meetings with the library about uh contract. Uh so it was to fund those those uh contractual increases that you uh approved. I told them to factor in hiring an additional FTE. I I didn't get into the details. Um quite frankly, there were there were a number of meetings and it was just with the amount of time I had available. Um, I didn't spend a lot of time going through whether it was part-time or full-time or what the position was. So, I instructed them. I I think an important part here, this is like the school department where from my perspective, we we provide an appropriation to the library and as Joan and um said, the library board becomes responsible for managing that that bottom line. I don't don't control line items. Someone Matt, you know, pointed out I cut $6,000 from a line item. I can't do that for the library. That's that's done between uh the library board and the library director. But um on the funding side, I I added in an additional body for the uh for the staffing. again not knowing when the library was opening and I think a

similar approach to looking at adding opposed to over adding uh the staff was instructed to look at uh take the recommendations from the facilities director after reviewing the historical cost of operating the building to add those costs in what we thought they would be for natural gas and electricity those type of things um and in my email um earlier I had pointed out we had the $70,000 contingency for uh utilities So I would I would hedge or backs stop whatever the cost was for the library to operate in that respect. uh the other the the remaining line items we capped at 4% which is consistent with Senate you know the the 4% spending cap that we have uh which again similar to the school department you know and Greg Zimakam he's he's going to bring on the middle high school the consolidated elementary school and he'll have the the uh relocated Forest Avenue school next year but we're having a 4% conversation with all of that happening. So at the end of the day, uh this the 18 roughly percent appropriation increase in appropriation was a number. Uh again, I look at it from a gross basis, trying to balance it across the entire organization. And uh that was a recommendation that went into the budget. Again, trying to keep things affordable, trying to pay for all of the different things that are going on. Um just I you know Mark talks to Kim often so I am aware of the the details of of what's going on and the movement in line items but I think uh overall you know we're I'm a little bit concerned that for $20,000 we're we're shutting the library down for a day when there's a $20,000 contingency in their budget still being carried as a line item. So, you know, it's sort of a

seems like a rather extreme consideration where we've already cut out Sundays in the last couple years. Um, if we look at line items and what's still being carried in the library, there's a there's a $20,000 contingency being budgeted. So, there there is some contingency or slack in their budget. I just again when sitting here today if I hearing we're going to close down on Saturdays but there's a $20,000 contingency I I think there's there's there's contingencies in here I think again through communication um the library can can remain open the library can open successfully uh but we all and when I say all I think it's you know and the school committee will come up next and and I know there's significant and pressure cost pressures there. We we all have to work together to accomplish all of these ribbon cutings that are going to happen in the next year. It's just a reality. Uh and I think it's not going to be resolved this afternoon or on July 1st when the fiscal year goes on. It's going to be a continued process just and I'll just use the opening the building itself with um there's a process of revising the drawings. there's a process of revising the programs and how they're going to run them over there. Um there there's a revision of the the uh program itself. Um and there's there's going to be give and take with that. So that what are you what are your plans? If there's a $20,000 contingency and maybe I'm not understanding this right,

you can use that because it's a contingency for you have it for something else. not consider using it for parttime.

So the the contingency isn't usually put into a specific thing and we're it's not put into a line item. So it's not I I wouldn't say that we could go out and hire somebody and say we're just using net contingency. Um we're still in our current building for the next six months, so we're worried about that. Um, especially if anything worse happens with the floor and I think that's going to be more than $20,000. Understand what you're saying forward.

What? We're missing your We're miss we're missing miss is a part-time, right? Well, you have $20,000 that you could use towards that. Yeah. So, why why didn't we consider using that because it it's usually says for building related expenses on the line. Now, we can't it's not No, I mean we ended up it Okay, so let me rephrase my question. Could you use that for? Sure. That's allowed. Simple. Just to add something currently

like and maybe I'm missing something, but it seems like you want to reserve that and also be able to add a part timer um budget-wise on top of the 20,000 contingency and then say if I don't get it, we may have to close on Saturday. That folks that don't make a lot of sense. No, also we all want the bet. Well, look, we're all excited about this, right? because everyone's worked hard and you know things are moving forward and I don't want to burst anybody's bubble but when it comes to dollars and budgets we need to have these types of discussions and uh we also want that to be the best experience going forward. I think we all want that. We just need to figure out how we're going to get.

Absolutely. And along along the lines of how that money is being invested in this year, that money is going to pay our fundraiser who's with us on a short-term basis until the end of June, right? That's a decision you made, correct? That's with the 20,000 that's currently in the contingency fund for this year. So those dollars are being invested to help us to raise money towards the building on short amount of time. Correct. We don't Right. Well, that money would be freed up, right? But the budget ends June 30th. Yeah.

Yeah. Done. Done in I guess. Sorry. I just want to make sure we're Look, we're going to have some difficult conversations, but we'll figure it out. Can I just say one? Oh, go ahead.

I just want to The original 215 saved all this money. So it's hard for me to sit here. I'm just gonna try to open it up saying we didn't have enough staff. We just spent a big I promise you we're not going to spend it. I just After that show

I just wanted to make one more point about using net contingency for personnel is we want to make sure that we're able to carry them in FY28. So, um, you know, we're we're also worried about how much we know Paul cares about the percentage increase. So, we're we're just worried about being able to carry them additionally. It's more you guys are worried about we have everything we've had

uh in the budget that is the town administrator's budget. Um there is a position funded for about 55,000 new position. It's up to the library to determine which one that would be. already is an additional 55,000.

Yeah. So, to to fund both positions. One for six months full-time, one for full year part.

But you have 20,000. We can use the net contingency. I think I think it puts us in a worse position. Listen, it's going to be a great library. It's we're I mean, we're I don't know, you're more excited than we are because you live it every day. We're excited that where it's at and what's going to go on there. And you know, for the most part, we've been on the same page with we have to have these discussions that might not just add up. I'll figure it out. question right now.

Thank you. Oh, thank you. Are all your programs open every day? Are all of our programs? What? programs you have different set but currently each group you have open the library those programs open in that every day yes youth services is open every day in addition to youth services we have one public bookable space that's our main meeting room and that is open every day for the priority first of library programs and then when it's not in use for library programs Then there's a second tier for community and town programs.

Well, where is that 35 hour? I know you talk about, you know, I I'm trying to understand that is the question, why is the library standard that full-time is 35 hours? It just is. It just is. At every library I've worked at, it's been 35 hours. I don't know what to tell you.

Some li some smart librarian a long time ago. But I think that just I'm not being a wise guy. I just think, you know, you work in the library. You know how it operates. I don't bottom line. But you know, the average person on the street, okay, we're all always going to be asked to more with less. That's just the world we live in. So just because it's like that doesn't mean it has it's just my my just a just something to chew on. That's all.

I just I really want to stop coming before you guys begging for stuff. Like I'd love to I'd love to be the quick person that's here for two minutes and you and you guys all say we love you. Go home. So it's not that we see a difference in dollar. Are you are you suggesting that we fund our librarians at 40 hours a week as because you know they probably would take that extra five hours happily. It would cost us money. No doubt about and union negotiating but and union negoti

but it's not but it's not always about that money because if you're provide able to provide more services I think that's where the conversation's probably going. we're talking about cutting services, you don't get the funding you're requesting. So, that's not what we want to do, right? That's not what any of us want to do. So, if there's more hours allocated to a job based on how many x full-timers you have um that's able to provide more services because there's more hours,

ladies. Thank you. Well, at some point you'll be able to come take a a how to do AI class. Matt, you're gonna teach me AI? Yeah. I learned I'm 70% good literate. Just learned it today. Matt, that's you heard it here. You were here.

Thank you for your time. You ladies. Okay. So, so we're going to take a uh we're just going to grab something to eat. We're going to work through lunch and um we'll keep going so we can get people out here. So, five minutes. So, we have a motion to second to recess. All in favor? All right.

Okay, folks. We're going to uh we're going to get started. We're going to work right through lunch. So, um we have the uh senior center next, which I am going to step off. Wendy, if I can get a a recusal uh because that's my sister, I don't want to be uh have a conflict there. So, I can eat peace. You can't talk, right? There you go.

Hi. Hi. You ready? Are you happy now that you're full and you've eaten? Well, okay. You will be by the time I'm done. All right. I just want to say that thank you for listening to today's programs because it takes a lot of effort to be up there and do what you do. Patience is a virtue. I will tell you that. No fluff. Just get to the numbers.

Let me just tell you tell you this. Um the center has accomplished an awful lot this year and we've had unprecedented growth. Seriously, in all the years that I've been there, and this is going to be my 29th that I'm going into, I've never seen the membership grow in the fashion that it has the last year. We have 150 new members and we have we've had 24,739 individuals come into the center, whether looking for information or attending programs or events. But that's what we've done. We have two people, myself, Chris, and a half a person, Evan, that you gave us two years ago. Um, we also four years ago, I believe it is four years ago, that we opened a thrift shop in the Peekom side of the building. This thrift shop is thriving. It does very, very well. We get donations from all over Newport County and recently we were fortunate enough to get some incredible donations from the Newport Historical Society. Absolutely high-end stuff. So that's bringing in a different type of people into the thrift shop. With that, as you know, we just opened a month ago, as of April 1st, a food pantry. and the food pantry in 12 days has seen 31 patrons. So, there's a definite need out there and I'm so proud and so happy that we recognized it and we're able to serve residents, senior residents in our community. I don't think there's anything outstanding in my budget that I can um

take credit for. There is a $50,000 item that um Sean has suggested that I'm going to let Hidden speak on that because I'm not I know what it's for. I understand what it's for, but I didn't like it in my budget. Uh so in the operating budget, there's there's three items. Uh there's a $13,000 expense associated with copy machines. Um that's an allocation from the IT department. So, that's just a a reclassification of expense. U and then there's also a $3,000 increase in custodial supplies. And as Arlene pointed out, those are expenses related to operating on the uh opposite side of the building where the thrift shop and the pantry is located. So, those are the two operating expenses that she has. Uh there is a recommendation for a $50,000 structural study of the building. And this is very similar to public works in the sense that we want to uh engage somebody and the community at the senior center to determine where we're headed uh currently. Um on the uh Berkeley Peekom side of the building. Um we operate the thrift store, the pantry. It it it really is uh a testament to Arlene and this the the volunteers what they're doing. Uh but it is a substandard area. Um Arlene for for as long as I've known her has advocated for more space and uh even similar to what we just talked about with the library. Uh the way the process started was there was an evaluation of the current building and then there was a uh you know more or less a a partnership with the community to walk uh determine what is actually needed uh to determine what programs how much space uh to come up with a a building program per se. So

that's what that $50,000 would be. Uh we had anticipated when we were looking at affordable housing that there would be improvements and expansion of the building as part of that project but whereas uh we're not able to proceed because we don't have the appropriate density for affordable housing on that property this this becomes more important. So, uh, this is a planning item, uh, something that we need to complete to make sure that we're meeting the needs of the senior community. Um, but also from a planning, uh, capital standpoint, identify what we're going to do at that location or or elsewhere. But, but ultimately, you know, to have a facility that serves the needs of of our seniors. So that that is the the large item in here, $50,000 that's being funded from the capital improvement program.

As a followup to that, I just like to state also that the heating element, they're covered by grants. In fact, I have I believe um 37,557 grants that can that goes toward our programming. 29 something from the state, 2,000 from the Senate, and 4,000 from the legislators. And then we were able to obtain another $2500 from another grant, an anonymous company. So, we have $37,000 worth of grants that can go toward our bottom line. And I just like to say, Charlie, because you brought it up a number of times today about mental health. I think mental health is one of the major concerns of our seniors because all all of a sudden everybody's going along pretty well. They lose a spouse or a partner and their world is upside down and we deal with that. It's not only just about programs, activities, events. It's about taking care of our seniors. And this is where it's not a job. It becomes our passion because every day I see seniors that have been fine and then all of a sudd something something major happens in their life and you see a whole different person. So that's what I deal with. That's what Chris deals with and we do a pretty good job. I do have Newport County mental health. I do talk to visiting nurses. They're in our on our building on a monthly basis. So, I do get assistance, but I can't tell you how many times, and they call me the confessor at the center, how many times people are in my office just to talk about their problems, especially if they don't have any support from their family. And there's a number of seniors in our community do that do not have that vital support of a family to help

them along during hard times. So, um, it it's it's just way more than anybody ever thinks it is. And I'll tell you, when I opened the food pantry, I never thought it was going to be what it's turned out to be because the pantry is in the connector. So, I am constantly in the pantry in the thrift shop. I have to support um our volunteers so they feel confident in what they're doing all the time. So, we are constantly moving from one end of the building all the way to the other end of the building. And we do it because you we need to do it. That's the facility we have. We work with what we have and we always have. I have amazing volunteers and there are such a support system for me that I feel there's nothing I can't accomplish to tell you the truth with them and with my board of directors. So, um that's where we are. Do we need a bigger facility? Absolutely. We had 49 people in our um balance class this week twice and they said to me, "We're going to be in the parking lot pretty soon." I said, "Pull the tables aside. We'll make a little more room. Let's do what we have to do." And we do it. So, and every um every room is occupied with some type of programming. I just added six more programs this year because you have to be in tune to what the need is, what the different generations in the center are looking for, and provide that service to them so they stay healthy and well. And that's my story. I'm glad I'm glad you brought that up. So, a couple things. Um, are you getting training at all? Like, what what kind of trainer you have to help with that?

Life experience. That's what I have. And if I need help, I reach out immediately. I can't how tell you George Durgen from the tax assessor's office, he'll get a call from somebody that needs probably some extra support financially and he'll call me and he'll say, "Do you know these people? What is their situation?" And if I don't know them, I go out to their house and we Chris and I knock on their door and we sit and we talk to them. But no, just life experience.

Yeah. And I mean, so, you know, we have another department coming up after this and, you know, I think they can help, too. Middletown Prevention Coalition, you know, this is this is something that they could help with as well. Um, the other thing I'd say is what's our list like right now for seniors that need housing, that need affordable housing. How many how many do you have a list going? I'm listen, I put that down here because I was

We're on the same page today, Arlene. Hey, about that. Um, I was going to say the phys we we take care of them physically, mentally, and emotionally. And now there's a new aspect, affordability, housing. Every week I get calls on housing every single week. And there's nothing that I can offer, nothing I can do. I used to be able to call one of the um assisted livingings in the community and um talk to somebody there, but they're everything's so full and they're so backed up for at least three years or more. So, we're in desperate need of housing for seniors as well as other community members. Do

you have like a list do you keep of people that are looking of whom? Of people looking for housing. No, I do not keep a list. No. Thank you. So I I just want to applaud you. I think it's a gem out there. I think what you guys do staff resources you have I just give you an experience that I had. I was talking first time they ever went in shepherd them right into care of them sent them on their way. meaning they didn't know that

whatever we can do to help our seniors maybe% I I I echo Charlie's like I go and visit my father who's a CN right across the street got to as much energy and effort. Well, I think with all the the new proposed housing, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it'll be a couple years, but I the West Main Road has some affordability some. So, I'm going to see if I can't make a contact there. So, maybe we can get um some influence in helping our seniors in our own community first.

I agree. But I just wanted to compliment you and thank you for vaccination. Just one other

I do I am concerned about the building though, Arlene. Like I think like you paid me $50,000. I'll tell you to knock it down because I I think and hear me out here. Hear me out. It's it's that a lot of that school is in really bad shape. When I was in there a few years ago, we did a full tour of all the facilities. And I'm just wondering where that balancing act is in like maintaining a a building of that age, you know, and condition. So, I'm talking about the school. I'm not talking about the senior center itself. I'm talking about Berkeley Peekham School, right? Like how much money we're spending on just keeping that thing upright, you know? And that's that's where like I'd like to search out another option, you know? I don't know. Maybe another option. I'd love to sit down with you and talk to you about it. I don't want to scare you by saying I want to knock down the whole facility over there. But that building is there's areas of that building when I went through on that tour, I couldn't believe you guys were using and I saw I'll commend you for that, but like at the same time, I think we can do better.

Thank you. Let me just tell you honestly let me say this that the building the building the area that we used I know that second level is pretty bad but the area that we used we were able you weren't you didn't come to the opening of the food pantry um but those of you that didn't please stop by again I know you saw it the way it was before we we took it over and remodeled it and paint repainted it and upgraded it and the whole card from our senior center to the thrift shop. The upgraded, it looks really nice. I'm not saying structurally, I know have no idea what the structure how the structure is, but I do want to say this. If we're thinking of a new building, my input would be please keep us there and build a new building because it's so feasible for and easy for seniors to get to if they they're not shouldn't be driving but are still driving, they can use those back roads to get there and that's what they do. We have ample parking um and we have done a lot to it. We've built a gaze had a gazebo brought in. We're good at getting a new pigota on the cement block there so I can expand and do classes in the summertime outside under shelter and some fans. So, we've done a lot to the facil the grounds and we have a beautiful walking path. So, it's it's really a nice setup but with maybe different arrangements on on the lot.

Sorry, I had to work that day. Okay. coming today. So please

the next department is the Middletown Prevention Coalition on page 236. Hi Lori. Hello. How are you? Last but not least, All right. I want to start off and thank all of you for participating in the dodgeball tournament that Islanders Committed. Uh the God Islanders Committed group sponsored. We we appreciate your participation. I hope there were no injuries. It's my ego. I I had just one question. Did the town council team beat Matt's team? I forget.

Uh I'll let Matt reply to that. I recall doming him right off the coconut with one of those balls. Anyway, sorry. It was worth it. But I would But I would say the team that won was excellent. They were, weren't they? Loaded though. They came locked and loaded. They were ringers. They were rings. They had some ringers on that team. Yeah. Thank you for setting us up like that. I I had nothing to do with that. Talk to Randy Butler.

Yeah. Yeah. Okay, let's go. Okay. Um, so Sean just told you the page in the budget book. You also have a colored onepage handout like this that I will probably be speaking to. Um, I noticed that after I uh printed it out that the font on the top and black is hard to see. I gave Wendy some copies that have white font if you can't see. Um, but I'm going to continue. Um, so I just um just in review, just a quick overview. So the overall uh goal of the coalition, the mission of the coalition is to provide substance use prevention, mental health and wellness promotion in the community, community connection events, um youth leadership for some of our youth um in order to build a middle town where our kids can thrive. Um that's it at the heart. Um I want you to take a look at the colored handout. Let me start there. Um, let me just briefly highlight some of the major programs and uh, outreach accomplishments and then I'll quickly highlight the budget which is pretty simple this year as you probably can see. Um, um, on the bottom um, all of those outreach events, the numbers are listed next to them to date so far in 26 we have 4,233 content uh, contacts. Now, as you look closely at that, a thousand of them, for example, were family day at the beach. Um, there's other, you know, we've, uh, sent home family activity workbooks to the parents um, in grades K through preK through six. Um, wellness month, if you look at wellness month, it's a communitywide event, as you know, um, to introduce wellness practices and mental health resources in the town. Um this

year the program was more robust than other. There were 66 different programs and multiple workshops um reaching 351 participants across the board. And then underneath that that does not include the I'm sorry it does include um four school assemblies at Forest Avenue and Aquidnik reaching 593 students. Um the high school students, the Islanders Committed students at the high school um were really creative and they developed a wellness bingo game. Um and we had 28 students participate in that. Um they tied it to various different wellness topics and information that they wanted their peers to be mindful of. Um and the uh and the God Islanders committed group uh sponsored a wellness poster contest for the uh learning academy. So um that was open to 270 students in grades four and five and then they chose uh a first, second, and third place winner in grade four and grade five. Um, probably one of our major programs that we've been working on for the past three years is mental health first aid. You've heard just about all of the directors talk about the need for mental health services. Um, we have been working with the school department is our main uh partner for this because that's our access to both the teachers and to the students and partnering with Bradley Hospital who comes in and facilitates that training. Um to date we have 75 teachers trained in mental health first aid. Mental health first aid as you heard the police and fire say it's basically an early intervention program. It's designed to identify in this instance youth who may be experiencing a mental health problem or suicide

ideiation. Um and then how best to make that referral. Um new this year and this is one of the things that I'm most excited about. Last year we got had 5% of the high school teachers trained in mental health first aid which allowed us to implement the teen module of mental health first aid. So we have um 19 students at the high school. Um 32 kids actually came and were interested in it. 19 of them were chosen and we just completed the first almost completed. We have two we've completed two sessions. There's a third one coming. So 19 students will be trained up there to work with their student, their fellow peers, fellow students to identify some that may be experiencing problems. And you may recall from a couple of years ago, one of the things that they talked about caused them the most stress in our focus groups and in the survey was helping in addition to anxiety, depression, PTSD, and the other things that they identified was helping their peers with mental health issues. So, this really targets that that particular need. Um I was just talking to Donna. Um the um Bradley Hospital who provides the trainer um is writing a grant to another local foundation for uh monies enough to train an additional 70 students in mental health first aid over the next year. So really exciting stuff going on with mental health first aid in this community. We have, when you think about it, police, fire, um, teachers, students are all being trained in mental health first aid. We have a really strong safety net for our kids, uh, with mental health issues. Um, going down briefly, um, underneath that pre-promvention activity. Again,

this is sponsored by Islanders Committed up at the high school. Um, we partner with the Port Portsouth Police Department. They have a um an impaired go-kart. Um, it's a three-part program. Some of the students come and they participate in the impaired driving go-kart part of it while some are in a classroom uh lesson. And then our Middletown police do field sobriety tests with the drunk vision goggles for the students so they can experience what that's like. Um and then lastly on the bottom there are some um some of the other Islanders committed activities that the students have been involved in um over this last year. Um I just want to mention a couple uh one of the things also that we did um we provided self-defense training for the girls lacrosse team during wellness month. That has been received really well. Our hopes are to work with the athletic director um and other groups at the high school to see if they're interested because what Newport Martial Arts does is they really tie self-defense, how they teach it to academic success, which is I think really a a nice match for us. Um and then vaping. Um our superintendent actually experienced the God Islanders committed students as they were preparing their vaping lesson. We had a table with all of the chemicals that are in vape juice. Um eye opening to see the chemicals there. So, uh Mr. De Meer was passing by and they called him in to come and participate.

Oh, no, no, no. Oh, oh, oh, no. What's the deal here? All right.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. He didn't inhale. Um but it was creative, wasn't it? Yeah. Sorry. Um and I think I will leave it at that. Um I want to bounce up to the top of that uh colored handout to the budget. Our request this year uh the general fund request is 35535 that you'll see on the top of page 238 if you're looking at the budgetary breakouts. That's our general fund request. And then underneath that um you will recall that we part of our transition plan last year was to submit federal grants to make up for the loss of the town funding which we did. we received uh those federal grants. And so underneath that, you will see that we received the SAMA stop grant, which is a $60,000 grant for four years to reduce underage drinking for uh uh youth and young adults ages 12 to 20. So, we need to begin now to partner with some of the colleges in order to access that older population, which we're in the process of doing. We also received the SAMA Partnership for Success grant, a $250,000 grant for five years. That grant basically is an infrastructure grant. It's not just programmatic. It's designed to promote protective factors in the community, reduce risk factors, build resiliency for our um youth and young adults, um and also um what was my last point? Um yeah, build resiliency. uh for our young adults. Um and then we have a small grant from the Rhode Island Prevention Task Force. That's basically our Buddha monies, uh Department of Behavioral Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Hospitals. $11,000 that goes towards

salaries. Um you will see that our request um actually what I forgot was the Senate legislative grant. We have a small $4,500 grant that goes towards programs. actually uh we historically have given that money to uh the postp prom party planning committee. Um so that goes out of our hands to to the schools. Um and you'll see the $35,000 is basically for operating expenses. The two grants, federal grants that we got are prescriptive. There are certain things that we need to do as part of those grants. There are some of the things that we've been doing for years that are not under those umbrellas. And so um those if you look at the the line items um relate to uh programs, some of the consultants, some of the professional services um that are required to do those other than what's in those grants, i.e. family day wellness month. Uh guiding good choices is going to be a parent prevention initiative that we'll be doing this year. Any questions?

Bottom line here, Lori, is that um it's a 1% increase, $2765 after the grants um compensate for the additional operating cost. That's that's the way I'm reading this thing. So, any councils have any qu the uh SAMA grant? Lori, um you we you and I had talked about this a little bit. There's there's they're very strict about what you have to report back on that. Correct. Correct. Okay. Yes. So, but when I read this, it $250,000 out annually to create a comprehensive in infrastructure of substance use and mental health programs and services. Yep.

Does that grant allow you to maybe help Arlene at the senior center or other departments or, you know, the fire department, police department in in mental health training? Does it allow you to do that? It is designed to create an infrastructure in town. Um, I did not necessarily write that in. The two target pops that I wrote in were military and um uh uh military and um uh Latino population uh to provide mental health first aid. But I think that we could document that and put it in. It's about creating an infrastructure that serves us here.

I'll ask this kind of account. I'm kind of disappointed in our state senator supporting this flavored B. You and me both. So I mean with that like you guys I just you know I I know the problem's not going away. I have a son. I'm not going to mention his name because he'll be get mad at me. you know, it's I know it's a problem still and and we're uh yeah, they will um and you know, and in some cases it's even getting to the point which will you know, it the school is forced in some cases to close bathrooms, you know, just just fight it. And that's

what you need to know, what's important to know, and I have a meeting that I'm going to be meeting with that person. Um, that our NS rates have gone down consistently since they put that ban on flavors. Yes. I don't even like his rationale for why he's doing it, but that's a side story. I just it's something now that's going to create

more work for you. So, there was an article, as you probably saw in Newport this week. Um, we as the regional coalition, all of the municipal coalitions in Newport County are going to try to keep it in the paper to let people know what's going on. I have a call to action letter that I'm going to be pushing out to the coalition. I'll push out to you as well um if you're interested to write letters um to try. It's not it's not a separate um it's in the bill. What our understanding is it's being put into the budget. It's not a separate bill, the flavor part.

Does any confident have any question budget coalition? I would close by saying I would hope at the end of those federal grants that we could come back to you for an increase in our budget. four years. I would hope by the end of our our federal grants that we could come before you again for an increase to make up for that loss. You got it. Fair enough. Okay. Who's next? Sean,

we have the outreach department, um, which is the last of the town departments. As you're aware, Lori Turner has resigned from her position. So, um, that's a change on page 234. Second 234. We had a resation issue. Uh, one thing I have to add or amend, uh, we're missing the $50,000 that we paid to the city of Newport for the Florence Gray Center. That needs to be added to here. Expense missing. address that. Uh but basically the budget itself is funding the position of the outreach coordinator in the upcoming year. um the outreach department and I so I I went back and pulled out an email I sent back to you last May but you know basically it's it's there to respond to residents experiencing social or health uh crisis um so everyone understands it it's it's a lot of case management referrals the housing mental health it's the active type of department helping people navigation. A lot of it is building capacity profit partners situation table. We run a drop in operation at the library number of calls through my office directly reaching out but also from our community partners

in a place where they meet and it's not simple point of resources. department. The remainder is coming from also including this budget. What did you do? Or you have a copy of the committee. different people that have applied and this year their recommendation last year that the program that they're promising for the upcoming year strategy It's a necessary mental health issues address also serves as a services of the community. Fore

residents greater. What was working? What wasn't the upcoming year after not be available? So what I hear this fact offer money there's some good program work need to figure out what you think it'll get funded next or maybe certain things get fun don't it still a department or not? I don't know. Those are things that you figure out as far as we department. Was there how much overlap was there, you know, in this department with Lor's department, with Arlen's department, police department? I think I'll use the situation table. That's something that started with this department that will get handed over to Als if you look at what I wrote in May last year get to focusing people what they're supposed to be doing there there is really they don't overlap prevention coalition is sort of has a proactive approach looking at communitywide prevention and wellness.

Middletown outreach is the opposite to where it's reactive. It's not not promoting wellness. It's reacting to situation where someone's not well concentrating on the ongoing wellness lifestyle support members of the senior center. It doesn't necessarily have an out focus finding people in the community that don't belong to and then the school department has a focus on prevention and intervention within the school students themselves if we're not going to provide the service at least with an individual here we would have to reassign responsibilities I think come up with a better set of protocols for um someone is on the side of the road and is homeless as an example. Police department we've also identified people in the community that don't have homes or challenge. Those are the type of things that would manage something in my office. passed on looking at it. I don't I think where redundancy when we talk about the redundancy I think we create the redundancy where the administration or council we sort of push things to departments that at least while the four of them exist most belong and I'm and I'll just use a good example the 250th celebration it doesn't belong

in the belong there because it was convenient we will look at that budget that's in front of you as I said the current program I just want to thank Lori publicly for last three years. She had service. We actually started this outreach department in Middletown, formed it. I think the first year I requested it, it got denied. Second year I requested it, they put me in the budget as a line item in the department, but gave me no money. And the and the third year they gave us a study that we could do to reach out and it was mostly around the school. It was around trying to understand how our children may be slipping through the cracks. And we didn't didn't have a program to assist it. We actually did a study. They came back and said, "Yes, you've got you have gaps to fill." And so the council, you know, endorsed it and created a budget and we hired Lori to help participate in that. But we work very closely with the school. This has transitioned out to more of a public service offering. Lori was all she she was making this position up as she was going because like the situation table that all came out of a necessity in the community. They kept each department was working with the same people. Well, if we can get the person all the representation of the other

parts of our organization probably have a bigger impact all be on the same page. She's done a number of coat raises, Easter egg hunts, worked with the state on learn 365. She was super busy. She was super networked. When we went through all the civic appropriations, we sat and listened to every organization, what they used the money for, why are they asking for more money, what kinds of services are they providing? It was it was an eyeopener. And so kudos to her. She'll be missed. It's hurt. It is.

Okay. Thank you. Any other questions about the outreach? All right.

Mr. President, could you read number three in? Yes, we will read that in. Thank you. That's why you are the master clerk. Okay, let me read it in, folks, and we'll get started. Number three is communication of William Neee, superintendent of schools of reference to Middletown Public School budget fiscal year July 1st, 2026 through June 30th, 2027 in accordance with article 8 section 812 of the town charter. Motion to receive a motion, second receive. All in favor? I. Welcome. Thank you for having me. Good to see you. Tried to make this brief. I know it's been a long day for you. So, um, we're here to what?

Just so you know, you're not going to get off that easy, Billy. I know. I know. Try to make it brief. He says

I I've tried to pare it down to a a reasonable presentation. So, we're here to walk you through the uh FY27 budget and I wanted to start by saying uh this has been a very thorough and thoughtful process. Uh we know this budget extremely well. spent a lot of time going line by line asking hard questions and making sure that we're bringing what we're bringing forward is responsible. Um, first off, I'd like to thank my team, assistant superintendent, Michelle Fona, Warren Babett, who's acting business manager, Anthony Boio, our shared service director, and all our office building administrators. Um, it worked tirelessly to not only create a balanced budget, but managed to do it while creating accuracy in a new system. This was no small feat. Switched over to I'm sure you've heard of munus today and you have the munus report up there but we switched from visions over to munus. So we're kind of doing two things at once. Also delving into a new level of accuracy which we did not have. Um so it was a herculean task to say the least. Uh we've made real uh effort to work in partnership with the town whether it's through shared services operational efficiencies or looking for new ways to bring in revenue. We've tried to be as thoughtful and proactive as possible. We didn't start this process by asking for more. But we started by asking where can we do better. At the same time, we're dealing with some very real pressures. Things like healthcare, transportation, changes in state aid that are simply growing andor shrinking faster than our revenue. You know that operating under this proposed budget will be tough, a tough road to hoe, as my father would say. It's not an ideal state. Because of that, the budget does include reductions. I want to be clear about this. Those reductions were made across the board. Every area was looked at. Every area contributed about fairness and long-term sustainability to the district. The 4% requests we're bringing forward isn't about expanding programs at this point, about maintaining the essentials, which we have, and doing it well. We are tasked with keeping

students safe, providing services and programs that learning. It allows us to stay stable, meet our obligations, continue supporting our students in the way that community expects. We believe that this is a reasonable and responsible plan and we appreciate your consideration and support. Our focus at the center of the budget is a simple question. How do we best support student safety, well-being, and learning within our financial limits? This budget is built to maintain safe and supportive schools, protect core academic programming, align resources with student needs, provide clarity and transparency to all stakeholders as we have fully implemented the detailed levels of UCO reporting I mentioned before and the full implementation of MUNS for our new program. I would be remiss if I didn't thank Carol, Patrick, Mark, and Sean their help in this process. It's been tremendous. So, thank you guys. This is about delivering value to the community and its students. Next slide, Grace. Our budget drivers, we're managing several several significant cost pressures, many beyond our local control. In 27, state aid is reduced by $260,000. Healthcare costs are increasing by over 12%. Transportation costs are up 12%. Special education costs as usual this is every year know are unpredictable and challenging to sustain and we're in active contract negotiations with both our teachers and our teacher assistants. These increases alone exceed the growth in revenue. Proposed budget is not a result of a spending issue. It's a cost pressure reality. Next slide, Grace, please. We are requesting a 4% municipal increase, which equates to approximately $1.3 million. Even with that increase, state funding is declining. Onetime funding sources like fund balance are no

longer included in our budget. We're seeing a reduction federal grants. 4% again is not for expansion to maintain stability in the face of rising costs. We know that our enrollment has been dropping. We've had this conversation before. We know student need continues to rise. happening since we know some of these cuts will not be easy to manage. Friends here from the high school and some parents from the community uh in support of staff no doubt about that. Um we know this is not going to be even easy to manage even if the council crisis make significant cuts. Next slide. revenue and efficiency of efforts. Bringing forward any reductions. Before bringing forward the reductions, we focused on efficiency and revenue generation. We focused on a transportation study for cost efficiency within the transportation. We hired a third party to come in and evaluate not only next year's uh busing routes, but also what that looks like with our new school configuration. Right? So, they look beyond just bus stops and depots and stuff like that. They're going to look at start times and usually we run the middle school and the high school at the same time or do we run them separately? So, it's a good opportunity for us and a perfect time to do that. Um, we've been looking at the utility management improvements, the same same program that the town has been working on as well. Uh, we're working on Medicare billing optimization. learn things that way we can optimize essentially just that what we build to Medicare by where we put positions in grants or out of grants and increase revenues. Um we focused on grant writing expansion. Um you've heard a little bit from Mr. Collins on our new proposed CTE plan which I'm going to be presenting about on Monday. You're welcome to ask about it today but I speak more about that

on the books. Of course, we continue our shared service. Um, we provided early retirement options, incentives, teachers. Talk about that a little bit. We're already looking to the potential impact of the Blue Ribbon Commission's new funding formula. Try to get ahead of the game on that, learn about that, see what's entailed there, and how we can optimize that. A lot of what we report and how we report it. Again, accuracy becomes paramount working on and testifying on legislation to ensure better financial support for us, but all districts across the state as well. We did not begin with the cuts. We began with finding savings and we continuously look to increase revenue wherever possible. Next slide. about our expenditures. The total budget is actually decreasing by approximately $820,000. This is a reduction budget growth reducing our largest category compensation by nearly $900,000. Made a we've made difficult internal reductions many through natural attrition we have retirements to leave to stay within a responsible financial plan. Next slide. our spending breakdown. So we said had actually showed a similar slide in the past. 96% of our budget is directly tied people and services for students. Pretty powerful slide. There's very little discretionary spending in our budget. Budget almost entirely is entirely direct service. Next slide. Staffing. We showed again a similar slide before, but just wanted to drive this home because staffing represents the majority of our budget where many adjustments and reductions had to occur.

4% were reducing approximately 20 positions across the district. Many of these reductions were driven by enrollment. We talked about declining enrollment. Again, many through natural attrition, but we always want our staff members that are affected to claim them. As I presented last year, the majority of our teachers are on top staff as a cost attached to it. We're grateful that Middletown's a place where folks want to stay. Their expertise and dedication is appreciated. They're the ones making a difference every day. Can't do this without our teachers. So, these reductions that we're making were made across administration, across instructional staff, across support staff. in addition to purchase services across the board. So this a shared reduction across the organization 4% budget we were able to maintain core programming limit staffing reductions to what's necessary deeper impacts on student services. 4% budget represents while not ideal balanced manageable path forward. Next slide. This shows specifics within the reductions. So you can see here that there's a 4% 3% what a 2% increase from the town look like as impact on staffing go. This this does not include all the reductions we made outside of staff. Just wanted to replicate this. You can see uh at 3% we would need an additional $329,000 in reductions. These begin to impact student support roles, behavior and interventions mentioned before. We know that as enrollment goes down unfortunately this level begin to affect student

facing services more directly. for the position of a reading interventions interventionist behavior supports 2% scenario 2% reduction we exceed $650,000 that budget at this point we move beyond efficiency and meaningful active loss support very%ough Next slide please. Grace mentioned before enrollment is what drives this thus district enrollment is a key driver here. We're not unique in this. 27 of the 36 LEAs districts in the state experiencing compliance. Three quarters of the state, not just us. You know, the coastal town. You can see we're predicting less loss in our student population. Historically, we've been losing about 100 kids year-over-year. So, as far as an organization that always does our special regular enrollment. The numbers are looking a little better this year, but we'll see. We can never really tell with our military population. We always have folks that can go, but we have been um in addition to projections, we are proactive in that, you know, we pull our parents in the lower levels back next year. Um so one of the one of the benefits that we have this year in front of us is uh we've had a record in-house enrollment our CTE programs. So we historically have lost a lot of kids in Newport

65 eighth graders have signed up which is a record number for us. So for kind of changing the trajectory of things that have happened in the past where we hemorrhage kids import for their programs and we are fortunate to have those kids join us in our own programs obviously anticipate increase that's a revenue driver. So we're happy about that. We're aligning staffing and resources to enrollment just as any respons. Again these cuts that we're looking at aren't easy. a balanced responsible budget. Next slide, please. Grace, we recognize the pressures facing the town and the importance of a responsible budgeting. A taxpayer in a town where they're increasing taxes over 8% be able to keeply in my pocket. On the other hand, I know that Middletown's community that wants the best for children, their community. proposal reduces overall district spending includes districtwide reductions, maximizes efficiencies, export student services. We're requesting your support for the 4% municipal increase. Uh this will allow us to maintain stability, meet our obligations, continue providing the education the community expects without creating greater challenges. Any questions? This year we did uh last year we had high cost special ed that kind of got to us last minute. So we we pulled $500,000 from the fund balance into that. We don't want to plan on doing it this year. Avoid it. We do. We're above the legal

requirement. The number was 2%. It's what the 2% department. Great job. So, I want to talk a little bit about

transportation. So that's contractual, right? What do we have? What do you have? Threeear contract contract. So there's this is also a correction from the prior year. So

just want to so last year's budget we inherited a budget prepared by a consultant. So the prior budget number is so was making it up this year. Yes. A very robust process. Yes. Make sure everybody.

What is What is the transportation cost? Three million idea have it. That's fine.

3.1 3.2 million. Negotiating that or we go out to a bid with a number of other districts like a consortium. Yeah. We don't we don't go solo on that. So it's a lot of the East Bay district. Beyond that, we partner with Newport to do cost sharing. So, Newport has a bus that goes to Providence for a special placement way over simplifying this. We end up having a kid going that direction. We often share the split the split the bus aid if we have so bus.

Okay. So, uh Billy, my next question is the reduction in staff. you you you reduce 20 positions, right? So, um how do I say this? Does those 20 positions you obviously reduce uh program offerings or is it based off because you also said there's a decline in enrollment. So, or is the are those 20 positions um do they I'm trying to figure out the difference between the enrollment and you're trying to make that work versus course offering so to make the budget work. So, a lot of what we're doing

makes sense. I don't know if it came up. I'll let you jump in on this too, but a lot of what we're doing here is we are looking closely. You know, our elementary classrooms have typically been very tight. We always kind of I say play the game, but we always watch our elementary third grade follow make sure that our classes are full. Roberts brought this up last year as what's our teacher student ratio ask.

Yeah. And and that's and I don't know that I have the number specifically off top of my head, but that's one thing we look at. We look at how many kids are in seats and it's sometimes it's a tough call. So you're running a class with six kids. Different way to do that. That's something that's something that we just have to look at. Um

I could just add I mean we I think there when you look at the list um that if we were to get 4% we still have quite a bit of uh reduction in employees. I'd say half of that is based on looking at class size. We had to look really closely and as Superintendent Mim Meer mentioned 6 through 12 is an area that we've looked and examined a little bit more further in the last two years than we have in the past. um classes, you know, below five, below eight. I mean, those are the ones that jump out at us that say, you know, it's nice, for instance, to offer French, but if we don't have the students that are interested in taking the course, it's difficult to maintain a teacher in say French. Um, we've done the same thing looking at reductions in Spanish and reductions in math because we have classes that were running under 10 kids. So we have needed to sort of shift um math and social studies taking from those areas at high school but still allowing our same programming just larger class sizes that still are not as large as we're hosting at the elementary level. So it's kind of thinking about equity K through 12. Um our classes K through five are usually So we've had to look.

So So that begs the question then why we're full at the elementary level is it I mean some are going to go to S some are going to go wherever because I I think we get a quality education. I think it's I think with some of the programs that you're implementing I think it's going to get better. It's going to be more hands-on for some of these kids that don't have might not be a road scholar, you know what I mean? Where they gone. So, you know, so he's, you know, he's doing well. So,

so you know, I think we have to figure out why we're losing

or are we under are we underestimating when we rejection the new school um conversation was or some of it was around are we going to get some of these kids back some of this new program this new state-of-the-art school I don't know that's your expertise sure a lot of the conversations that we have with tendants particularly in coastal towns with rising property cost harder to have a family is part of it. We you know we've typically always lost again to your point having new CT programs that maybe appeal to kids that maybe don't afford there as far as CP goes for everybody. The other issue is um look

up here.

I would say it's here. It's in this. It's not not a year plus. Oh, when it opens. I know, but everything that we're going to buy and plan for, it's all going to be No, no. I I understand that. I'm sorry. I just I just want to make that point. over thing. I want to make Billy as nervous as possible. Right. So that I want to make Bill as as uneasy as possible.

You know, I mean, I'm looking at this thing going, you know, and I appreciate you doing this for three, two, that's important. Um, so we get a flavor for what it could look like um or not based upon. So you're already losing 260k to state a gate you know and over the years over the past 15 18 years whatever it's been when they started that initiative years ago Michelle I think it was 1.2 1.4 million already lost correct top of it. So having said that um I think you know it's kind of a difficult position to be in it is but it's difficult from budget standpoint decision standpoint me I think it's pretty simple because you cannot hey we're building this new state of the art facility oh by the way we're not going to fun that's not the way this is going to work my look if you didn't make any effort I mean you're knocking out 20 positions. Maybe knockout's not the right word. You're reducing 20 point positions not because you want to. Absolutely not. But I don't know. That's just kind of where I step with it. I just last last thing, Bill, I'd like to ask you about the what is the uh we talked about that a little this morning. We had our IT director here. I wanted to make sure aware speak a little bit. Yeah, it's a position that's been on hold all year director possibly into a shared service.

What happens that doesn't happen? got to have a plan, right? Like with everything else, I mean, we all do more with less. We've had conversations about this. I become the hardware guy. Michelle become this year. We we we've cobbled it together this year. Well, it's not a problem until something Yeah, you're right. It's not a problem until it

Everyone's hoping. Okay. We get by here. I'm not sure that's the way disagree at all, but I will say that really I think we all really um are admired and like the collaboration with the school and the town finance and facilities. I think it's I'll tell you what I think it's been pretty my own opinion um you guys are the ones doing the work here and just seeing what's happening. I think it's been pretty successful with the debt on board and um you know Mark the financial guys and Carol and Patrick. It's uh that's the way it should work. Everybody should be working together to make it better. Do more with less. Whatever the situation is, I think that's critical. I want to say thank you for allow the collaboration. I just like to say that listening Listen, you everyone for today. Not an easy process.

I've been through this a number of times. I I appreciate all their support as well for the beyond the bell and all the teachers who have helped after school programs and I know that was some volunteer work as well. Um, I think as a community, maybe we can find ways to work within the communities from volunteers that maybe are able to assist with some of this. You talk about learning French or Spanish and there's not enough kids to fund those classes, but is there a way maybe to offer that through a outsource kind of saw that in our sports where we didn't have enough children in our one sport, so we had to combine with another school to offer that. So just kind of some of that thinking and the uh learn 365 you know where education is seven days a week maybe and uh virtual courses I don't know how those have expanded this year you know do we have more virtual courses

we continue to run a virtual program

not and then um in regards to the academic advisory committee that's being formed today that's going to go forward and just look at regionalization. What what would education look like? I've been an advocate of saying this academic advisory council. I'm hoping whether we financially, call it whatever you want, regionalize financially with Newport. I think this academic advisory council hopefully will come back with a some recommendations of how we can maximize these two schools. They've got a beautifulundred $10 million school. We're going to have a $110 million school. They're going to offer culinary classes. They're going to offer uh wood shop. We're going to offer our CTE, which is great. Love to see us figure out how we can implement whether we financially do it together or we just continue to do it as we are today because we are doing that today. Hope you know, it sounds like you're keeping an eye on that as well. And um I'd like to see us open up in the evenings. I'd like to see if we can students who may leave and try something and then want to come back and learn a trade. We will be able to use the schools in the evenings to teach Spanish or English or how to weld for for students who are out of school and and maybe that's new direction they want to go.

Sure. On on Monday, I'll present on this. You know, so we applied for a grant through vaner within our budget. It's outside the budget, but part of this program that we're working on tied directly to the electric vote. I the council maybe you specifically mentioned I want to have adult education in the schools. It's going to be a great facility. So that's part of this. So, not only will our high school students have the opportunity to do an internship and then directly qualify to go right to like oh, we can run classes. Well, that's part of the design here. It's really out of a workforce study, not just school based. We do we're partnering right now. We're just ramping up on this, but partnerships with CCI offer.

It's great.

Transportation's a big transport. Um, and then one of the visions I had, it's it's funny. My, uh, when my son graduate from Middletown, senior year, sitting in the cafeteria, he said to me, I'm just sitting here really, just love to go down sway, but I can't sign out. He said, "Oh, well, I would have signed you out. You know, if you had asked me, I would give him the note." He says, "Yeah, but you know what, Dad? That's really interesting. It says, "I can't sign myself to go get a subway, but I could drop out of school without your signature."

Not like that anymore. Without a signature, just for the record. Any ideas? Um I see

self manage your time. Yeah, we I think that's that's a it's a great comment and I think Principal Sweet and her staff have been working on like you know work based learning and it's it's just that it's getting out there with a mentor. It's you know maybe getting maybe not learning a trade but getting experience in a trade, you know, just maybe it's something you like, maybe it's something you don't like, but probably better to make those decisions in high school and manage your time. Yep.

Centralized test maybe social they can take Spanish on a weekend virtually. So just some consideration thanks for what you guys do and I hope you can share with us the results of your grades because they all seem the results of the what all the educational the test. Okay.

Absolutely. want to thank you staff everybody. just seems like anybody but I really appreciate the collaboration staff and u it's very thoughtful and even more so be clear okayition because the classes it's just I think you and I talked the other day about not necessarily a great

it's I like to say it's not always good news but it's good information that's that's the benefit now we have we have accurate information

I just want to thank you staff public school Is there you still offer that based upon forms and stuff, right? things happen. I think you got to make the option. Well, thank you for the

Thank you for not using it this year. I think the kids need snow days. So, so having said that, um, so if there's a cost reduction, say it's Spanish or French or whatever it is, could that be offered? So, instead of you're looking at classroom sizes going, okay, there's only all math. There's only 10 kids in this advanced math class. Can we do it on or or the Spanish or French or whatever it is class? Can we offer that so it doesn't completely go away? And then what's the cost associated?

Well, yes, and we have that in our budget already. We have virtual course available for students. Not all students prefer that. Um, it works well for some students, but not all students. Um it's it's not our um number one choice to offer it virtually. We'd love to offer our programming in person, but as a backup, yes. I mean, if somebody wants to take Spanish 4 and we don't have enough students, we can offer Spanish 4 virtually. If we could if that could possibly or just be taken one step further that

we do not have that on budget but we I'm just I'm just don't have it we don't have it in the current budget but we do have it for I know a lot of in the past I know the grades the results have been much better the metric that they use I know at one point there was a lot of one of the one of the things that were hurting the ratings or the results were um you know folks that don't speak it. So those those kids were coming and they were dropping out and then probably going to work at an early age, right? Um so if we could offer that maybe for parents and students together.

We have uh we have offered some parent courses especially for uh second language students and their families. the MLL collaborative running and that offers parenting courses and support for families. Um and then we've had great results with our high school um students being able to graduate. Um we've we've really made some huge changes the last few years and and um happy to report that our success rate at students getting to graduation for the MLL group has has improved. So that's But yes, offering beyond the school day, offering the evening, those kind of things open up. Um, just like we talked about credit recovery in the past and navigating the summer after school, this with 4% down, we're able to run our summer program pretty robustly. Unfortunately, it does not include our program that we're not able to get that into the budget. revenue if that

can you can you talk about that a little more because you just you're alert you caught my ear but um I want I want to make sure I understand sure are beyond the the after school programs have gone away

so the currently we have everything right now but for next year's budget if you look at the the the uh square with the 4% from the town it reduces beyond the bell to summer only so we would be running our summer beyond the bell programming, but we would not have the funds to run our afterchool programming that we currently do. Learn 365 uh grant funding and our general fund have been supporting them and I've been in close contact with the governor's office on learn 365 and at this point they can't promise any funding for next year. However, if there any if any comes up, they will reach out to Middletown because we've been one of six districts that have used every dollar they gave us and actually they called us yesterday and gave us 4,000 more to spend till the end of the year. I mean, they know that we will spend it. So, we have the door open that we are ready to run those programs, but we don't have the funding for after school program in the budget. Michelle, how much how much are we talking about in dollars and how many children are affected?

So for the summer programming, we bring in about 450 students and that's we have that fund all those funds set aside. Talk about the after school. After school, we again about 400 students um sometimes a little more a little less about $150,000. 150,000 would fund Tuesday, Thursday after school with transportation. With transportation because if we don't provide the transportation, they don't stay for twice a week.

Correct. In every building. It targets students um who need intervention, but we also have social emotional programs that we run. What would you our children had to take up credit recovery?

So with 9 through 12 there are students that would not have graduated without the credit recovery. Correct. Quick impact field. Our summer program was analyzed by the Anna Berg Institute um this year and they looked at students who attended summer program last year versus students who did not and students who attended were able to eliminate the regression that students who did not attend um were faced with.

It combat summer slide. It combat summer slide.

So that is that's significant right there. Um, we knew that our summer program was probably the most important to keep intact. That's where we are are doing our credit recovery for 9 through 12. And that's where we also have a pretty robust 4-week very uh sort of centralized intensive program for K through 8 and then the credit recovery for 9 through 12. So, we're keeping that. We're running that in July this year. The after-school program is also super helpful. As you know, um extending the school day for students that need it is is important. It's just that this budget only allows for so much. I mean, we start to think about if we can't offer things we need to during the school day, then we have to take away the after school day to do that, right? It's it's a balancing act. We're going to continue to look for funding. Um, if I can get any kind of grant funds, we will run it in part or or in whole depending on what we're able to to um bring in for revenue.

Thank you again. I just want to echo everybody else. since uh Billy and and Michelle and team like it's just been work has done and I know you put a lot of work into the budget. So thank you for that. Um, if I'm reading this correctly though, we are adding a dean at the high school because what it said if we drop from 4% that would be a reduction of a dean middle school first square we have a dean at the middle

there is no de um health care costs consistently every department this town right now we're paying ridiculous increases are you guys are they all in the same healthare so I I do think as a council we should work with Sean to like we every department you know

because and it's not just you guys. It's like 12% across the It's a big jump this year. Yeah. Um I think earlier this winter you presented that we're paying this year Newport million dollars million that's pretty accurate right and if I heard the projections for the and this is for like for residents don't know ride creates this atmosphere I think where towns have to compete with each other instead of road I grew up in an area upstate New York where all CT was a company and everybody contribute to it.

Unfortunately here we we compete. So like you're saying there's 65 eighth graders coming in Newport. No, that sorry to clarify that's retaining our eighth graders that have signed up for RC. Oh, gotcha. Gotcha. We're essentially slowing the departure. When will you know like when outsider? So I mean I mean that might be a area where I we me personally would start with Newport to say can we can we work with you guys a big chunk right million dollars that we pay send kids over there maybe maybe that's an area

what happens I'm not talking realization here I'm talking collaboration we already have a good we already have a reduced rate So there's an agreed upon rate um on the east bay between island and I believe we kind of agree that we have we have a handshake deal have a reduced tuition that goes out right now it's like 18,000 165 right now for us to have the

um it's hard when one district has you district has a big problem or another. The last question is kind of a hard one. I won't hold you to it today, but you know unfunded mandates in the state. you know, they tell us we got to do this, put it in our schools, but then they don't want to pay us our money. So, is there a number like right now? What are their mandates that are

I have I can share this with you if I can find that on my desk. I have a a list. I think it's 18 pages long mandates that are unfunded. One that we're one that we had to kind of really get a handle on this year is we've talked about adopting high quality curriculum. So, we had esser money which was great. fantastic job identify what they want purchased. Now we're at this point cycle where there's renewals, you know, the digital component, there's workbooks, there's all these things. So as those that initial purchase wears out the science curriculum, we have to refresh that. We're also, you know, it's like fun mandate 2.0. like it just keeps going.

These are things, you know, we want to provide the best curriculum for our kids and we know we need to we will, but these are things that come at an expense. So, and I, you know, I saw some students here today coming because I think it's incredible that they would come to this and I have an assumption that maybe they came because of some of the cuts. Maybe I'm wrong in that. And I would encourage them and and to reach out to our state reps and say, you know, you guys are cutting us money from the state. You guys are taking money away. Sure.

So, you know, there's only so much we can do. We want to I think generally everybody up here can say, you know, we want we want our schools to rest. Appreciate it. But, you know, maybe maybe we all got to everybody every resident needs to reach out to their state reps. It starts in it starts in Providence. Really does. Thank you. So, first and foremost, thank you. I've only been up here a couple years. The sea change, not a transparency, like leaving their ego at a humble position. Usually, I appreciate all that. Hey, Charlie. Look, I was gonna say, but I I I want to stress last year. I'm not saying we follow suit there, but I think we have programs.

That's something we've been focusing on with the high school administration. We actually just had a conversation yesterday about advertising on Cox relentless.

Yeah. That hits all the local channels that really celebrates what we have going on here. We were actually just talking about how do we get images of the new building in with images. We don't necessarily, you know, we want to highlight what's coming. Um and there's been discussions among superintendents about that. You know, it's Newport has the benefit and not to knock Newport. I mean, they're very fortunate. They have a full-time director that can spend time building the schools. And we've talked about doing something a little more equitable for all districts. Like, so we've talked about having a fair all you know the whole island can be at you know so parents can come get a play for out there across the everybody's on a level playing field so absolutely noted we are on it

I don't want to feed into rid's version of the hunger games when it comes to CTE but the end of the day oh yeah it's a driving tremendous sad to see any sad to see students middle for anything.

I agree. Um, second bullet, tech director, it's got to hit on this. I have all the confidence in the world, right? But I'm I'm concerned in those states for one curriculum's heavily got to have a strategy sitting there. I really feel it's time. We've done a really good job. especially as you're going to make you just don't want to show up for not going to beat that up. Just two sense. Um and then the last thing I want to bring up soft. I just put on my business. I love this slide. This is not what I recall this was your favorite last year as well.

See, there's there's Don't know how you solve that retirement age. I mean, I know there's legislation out there right now to change the rules around the age that teachers can retire, and I think that right now there's teachers that would be ready to retire that can't. So, um, do feel like the the changes in Rhode Island retirement have had a lot more people staying at that step. So, is that a ride issue? Um,

there's a number of bills in legislation right now. Okay. That that are focusing on reducing the combined number of I started reading some of them. My eyes are bleed just like I'm all done reading these. It's not out there right now.

Yeah, there's there's folks out there I think with that changed a lot. But again, significant complence to what you've done. It's the whole staff shows in our school. It shows humanity that it shows amazing. Um Dean was brought up at the middle school, not a dean at the high school. Going forward back. Uh, we are not there yet. I mean, we have an opportunity to realize some savings when we combine the middle school and high school. So, not quite sure. We're starting to look at that now, but not quite sure what that looks like. The the dean came up because, you know, we have to go deeper. It's always a possibility. That's not possibility of reducing there are certain libraries measured by the number of employees by the space. Is that the same type of calculation or

No, there's no calculation there. It comes down to what services do you need to support the student? Obviously, somebody to support operations and discipline is we've had this conversation before is crucial. I just didn't know effectively they could only oversee so many kids. No, I don't I don't think there's nothing like that out there.

Yeah, sure. Then there's lots of opportunities there. You know, we we're reducing the number of administrators. We're reducing we're combining, you know, so For example, we have Spanish one at the middle. We also have Spanish one at the high school where can we save there just by being together. So there's a lot of opportunity here. So in the CT enrollment said it's wrong. We've we've increased just the number I cited was just our kids jumping into our CTE programs not going reduction. It is it could it very well could be a reduction in kids going into so that question enrollment setting let me say that the seat is the increase our own house those dollars an opportunity for those dollars to move in in a way somebody else this budget.

Sure. Because those 65 eighth graders that may or may not have gone elsewhere have a price tag attached to it. So they're staying with us and we're educating versus sending them somewhere else on the island or off island the tune of $16,000 a week. Just don't know what that number is yet. The number of students I can get that information. I'm just I'm just as of now we were budgets. Yes. If we reduce the number of students leaving increase students and more importantly bring kids in. Yeah. Generating revenue instead of generating. Exactly.

So this the only Does the same middle? Yes, ma'am.

The whole island. It's a one for one. Is that a state? I think I'm not sure who set the rate, but there is a there is a rate out there that's an agreement between districts on the island. Like I said, I believe Tibberan's included.

Um, so I say to Billy and your staff, really nicebody. the way out. So that's a good thing. Again, they make windshields bigger than rearview mirrors for a reason. It's got whatever we're doing. Great job. I can't not support Got to figure out the IT schools. There they are. We have our job. I'll give you the resources. I thought I

years later. So now he's an IT guy.

So but that's our job to be able to provide those resources if you do that through communicate good communication and feeling that we're getting to Billy and Wendy and You know, it does take a disagree on some things, but we agree on what we want, what best figure it out. Any further questions was gonna Oh, you know what? special ed special ed um and transportation and Billy mentioned that we are study with transportation right now this year but we go into schools special education last year finance committee had a proposal for how the state should fund special education that was uh on the agenda again this year and went up to testify uh and it very well Um but the thing that we don't know about yet is the blue ribbon panel uh the Rhode Island Foundation and David Sicilini was there testifying and I don't have I haven't seen the whole report yet and and actually Billy I could be going through that to see what the ramifications are but what I heard at the state house was that they would take over transportation

special education And so if that's true, we're going to be in a lot better shape. The other thing that I they said surprised me was the that blue ribbon panel is uh going to make it fair for everybody across the state is way the way it's funded because it'll based upon the revenue of each town and and everybody will I'll just say 3% everybody every town will pay 3% of the revenue and it's not based on property values. This is one of the big things takeways. So again, we we have a lot of homework to do on the blue ribbon to see what exact when when they say when you say the state taking that's that blue ribbon panel saying that again that's what was said at the I want what is the special we can figure that out. I think specifically with the blue ribbon one thing that we were reading is it's they're going to focus on like the high cost special education. So we have a pretty significant number of students that are sourced to whether it's a specialized school or a therapeutic school. Um so that our homeless population which is a pretty big you know we have students that are driven far far away at a very high expense those high cost things will be covered at the state level reimbured we'll have to we'll have to handle it but then there I think part of the bill is that it's you know we're guaranteed that we'll be reimbured in a timely manner

within the the fiscal year so still said uh like Mr. Hu had said we're still kind of waiting through that figure out all the in intricacies of it but just under two million special transport that special education way were funded for that. It's only after I think we see $70,000 per student per student then we would get after that we would get reimbured and it doesn't get reimbursed until the following fiscal year. If you have one high cost special ed student closure budget and that that's why we're trying to get the state how we can change how it's funded. The bigger schools don't want to do that because they've hired all the special education people and have that house. The other part of it is the Medicaid reimbursement which we had not done in the past. We're doing it now to get reimbursement from it.

Thank you. motion.

So, so I know

so just going forward uh the two public hearings is are the first one is May 20th, second one is May 27th and um it's your birthday is May 20th. We'll bring a cake. Um and so that's when the public will have the opportunity to speak. Um, and hopefully you're here to answer any questions that the public has that we cannot answer. Um, I appreciate everyone's time today on a Saturday. It's not ideal, but it's better than doing it and trying to get it hamming in and all these little meetings before. We do have a motion and a second to all in favor. Thank you everyone. actually like fully read it before I stand on it.

That's okay. I have to figure it out now. stuff like