City Council - Regular Meeting

Welcome to the June 8th, 2026 regular meeting of the Rochester Hills City Council. Ms. Bowen, would you take roll, please?

President Carlock.

Here.

Vice President Mangioli. Here. Mr. Blair. Here. Mr. Lindberg.

Here.

Ms. Menino. Here. Ms. Neubauer. Here. Mr. Scalzi.

Here.

President Carlock, we have a quorum.

Excellent. Thank you very much. And if everyone would rise while Ms. Pizzuti leads us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Approval of agenda. I have not been made aware of any changes to the agenda. I have a motion by Councilman Neubauer, seconded by Mr. Limburg. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? All right. We have an agenda for tonight. First up, council and youth committee reports. We'll start off with our youth council representative, Eliza Pizzuti.

All right. Good evening, President Carlock, Vice President Mangioli, Mayor Barnett, council members, and citizens of Rochester Hills. My name is Eliza Pizzuti, and I am a graduated senior from Rochester Adams High School. I'm in my fourth year as a member of the Rochester Hills Government Youth Council, and I serve on the sister city committee. I'm looking forward to making the most of my final two months as a youth council representative before I head to the University of Michigan in the fall to study biology and German. This past month, Youth Council has completed a cemetery beautification project with the Van Heusen Jones Cemetery where we planted flowers and cleaned up, and we volunteered with the Parks in their rock climbing wall at Oak in the Hills at Spencer Park. This month, we will be conducting interviews for the next group of youth council members for the 2026 and 2027 season, as well as volunteering at Festival of the Hills and the Brooklyn's Block Party in August. Our next meeting will be Wednesday, July 1st. Thank you so much for your time and have a great evening.

Thank you very much, Ms. Pizzuti. And we look forward to hearing back from you at some point in the future. I hope this is a farewell, not a goodbye. We do have some council comments. First up, Councilwoman Neubauer.

Thank you, President Kerlock. I wanted to start by congratulating our graduates from Youth Council, one of which is Eliza Pizzuti. I'm so excited for you. I know you're going to do amazing things. Oh, gosh. So our graduates are Isabella Blakely, Lucas DeGrandi, Janelle Harris, Eliza Pizzuti, Sid Seth, Yuna Wu and Drew Thomas. And I'm really proud of you guys, and I can't wait to see you do amazing things. And I'm so proud of you, and I'm so happy that I got to be with you guys in this last year. So thank you so much.

Oh, just kidding.

Wait, I got emotional and I forgot. Can you share my screen? So as Eliza mentioned, we went to the cemetery and planted flowers. And here are our amazing kids who had just taken the SATs and graduated and then spent their time making the cemetery more a place of comfort and beauty for the people who are coming to see it. And these kids broke a sweat. We were attacked by several ants, and I was advised not to kill the ants because they are creatures, and we love them, and we have to protect them no matter how many times they were biting us and eating us and crawling all over us. So here's some pictures. Mr. McKay was there. He was helping us as well, and there is Erin and her lovely father, Pat, taking charge of the kids, and we had a really good time. So that's all I have. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Ms. Neubauer. Next up, Vice President Mongioli.

Thank you, President Carlock. So I don't usually prepare a statement to read, but I had to do it tonight to make sure I covered everything. And it has to do with the Rochester Hills fire millage. Because at our last meeting, we moved it, and it was like 10.30 at night, and we moved it from November to August. And I wanted to explain a little bit about that. The motion was made by Councilman Neubauer, seconded by myself, and passed unanimously by City Council. As this happened at the end, there were people that had been asking questions. Why was it moved? They had not heard about the change, so I wanted to explain it. The fire millage ballot request was on the April 13th agenda with the target date of the November 3rd, 2026 ballot. There had been significant discussion prior to selecting the November date as there were other millage increases scheduled for the August ballot, which is a risk we had to consider. Finding the right time to ensure the fire millage receives the attention it deserves is extremely important. The fire department has data to show why this millage increase is needed now. This is not a wish list or a blank check, but a necessary increase in fire services to support our growing community. After city council approved the millage request for the November ballot, new information was brought forward and discussion by city staff about August versus November continued. It was determined that the August ballot has the greater advantage as it enables the city to pursue grant funding to align with the millage increase. As a result, City Council needed to take action when the fire millage would appear on the ballot and had to do it quickly. With only one City Council meeting in May, the change was done at the May 11 City Council meeting. I fully support moving forward with the fire millage, regardless of which ballot it is on. I have my personal opinion as to which is better. However, I am part of a City Council team and we work together to support our fire department. I fully support our fire department, the fire department leadership, and all of our fire staff. Safety first is a priority of city council as well as myself. My family has used the emergency responders more times than I wish we had, and each time the team has been amazing. So please watch for information about the fire millage leading up to the August 4th election. And you can request an absentee ballot from the clerk's office. Leanne would be more than happy, her staff, to help you get that absentee ballot to ensure that you vote on this very important issue and support our fire department. I wanted to make sure that was clarified because it was at the very end of our last meeting. Other items that I have for this evening, the OPC approved their budget at our meeting last week. Was it only last week, Diana? It was a blur last week. And we have some very interesting things coming up at the OPC. I'm going to not cover all of the activities because I think Diana has those covered. But the board has been very responsive to residents in our community about issues that are out there. And we are going to be tracking the number of residents versus non-residents participating in programs so that we can capture that data and decide if we have to make any adjustments to policies or procedures. And then also last week, Eliza was there. She was at our Sister City committee meeting, and we did get her to promise she'll come back in August, provided it's not before she has to be at school. But Sister City had a great presentation with priority waste. And Mr. Scalzi and I were there, as well as Eliza Pizzuti, and it was wonderful to hear all the information they have Eventually the contract will come to council because they are under new ownership. A minority elite owner became a majority owner. There are some new things that are coming. They bought hundreds of trucks and they talked to us about all the different reasons why your garbage may not be picked up or your recycling may not be picked up or your yard waste may not be picked up. And so one of the things that Mr. Quiddiquid suggested is that we have someone from Priority Waste come to the city to do a presentation on what constitutes a good bag of recycling that's out there. Because if you've put food waste in there or trash in it, they won't take your recycling and they have to send another truck back to take the recycling. And that's why you might think that your recycling is going into trash bin and it's because you put trash in the recycling bin. Same with yard waste. If they see that there's something that's making the yard waste skeptical, they'll hold off on it. But it was a great presentation and so President Kowak, I will be getting in touch with you and Clerk Scott to see when we can put a representative from Priority Waste to come to a city council meeting and talk to us about how we can make the best use of their services and not spoil the trash. Thank you very much.

Thank you. That sounds like a trashy conversation. Next up, it looks like Ms. Menino has some comments.

Yes, thank you, President Kerlach. Emma, can you please share my screen? Hopefully it's coming up. Okay, just a few updates on the OPC. So they had their annual 5K Run-Walk event, and that was last Saturday, June 6th. It was a great success, great day. More than 350 participants, some runners, some walkers. But in the end, they ended up raising $42,343, which is very significant, and it's all for their Meals on Wheels service that they provide out of the OPC. Everyone had a great time. I personally did not attend, but I know other people that did. The pancake breakfast was very good as well. So again, great success on that event. Their follow-up event, which is in June, on June 19th, and we can all still buy tickets, is the Feeling Groovy OPC Summer Soiree. So guests are invited for a wonderful night. There's going to be a strolling dinner hosted by Cruz and Mir doing the food, sparkling champagne reception. with an open bar as well they have live music and an exciting silent auction so please if you haven't taken advantage of this tickets are 125 per person again it's going toward a very good cause which is meals on wheels which is serviced out of the OPC servicing many seniors that need food delivered to them on a daily basis. So moving on to our friends historical happenings in Rochester Hills our friends over at the museum. Still going on is the Underground Railroad in Oakland County, which is a multi-community public history project to research and provide access to evidence-based historical or local Underground Railroad history. This is a six-panel display that's in the museum. It goes through June 30th and free admission, I believe it's on Saturdays and Sundays, so if you haven't had a chance, please check that out. Again, that's all centered around the celebration of America's 250th anniversary. And then lastly, since the kids are out of school, summer's upon us, there's a full summer of museum programs and events for everyone, and here's just a few of them here. The museum services, bike tours, walking tours, they got the schoolhouse there, Stony Creek Cemetery, Honey Harvest, very popular Wet and Wild Wednesdays for the kids, Stream Science Garden Walk, they do weekend tours, and Of course, the very fun vintage baseball. So please, if you're looking for something to do this summer with the kids when they're home, please check it out. They'd appreciate it. Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Mr. Blair. Thank you, President Carlock. Would you share my screen, please? Thank you. Wanted to thank the staff for putting on an amazing program at Spencer Park. Caleb is really excited to be there. If you don't know, Oak in the Hills is our annual kickoff to summer. We had kayaking, we had fishing, we had a climbing wall, we had cockroaches. Wait, it'll make sense. the whole family had a great time see cockroaches whole family had a great time coming out to kick off summer with some amazing Rochester Hills teammates and we're gonna have some beautiful weather and thankfully our lifeguards are all staffed up so we are in great shape for Spencer Park and all of our parks this year wanted to wish everyone a thing a happy Pride Month I really proud to represent a community that everyone can live openly and authentically. So if you celebrate with me, I'd appreciate it. If not, that's fine. But if you're not living authentically, or if you are, you may at some point wind up here. I have some updates on the Van Heusen Jones Cemetery. I am very proud to report that we have saved the ants, Councilwoman. We pulled that off. I know they did a beautiful job and we've completed our irrigation project on time and it will dramatically reduce the amount of labor that our team needs to put into maintaining our beautiful cemetery. It'll eliminate the safety hazard of the hoses being draped everywhere. This has been a huge project, so I want to thank Leanne especially and her team for seeing this through. And it wasn't just the clerk's office and the cemetery team. We even had our GIS staff map out every single sprinkler head location. Hats off to Doreen and Mitch, who did an amazing job. We've got this dialed into the point where we can save water in the shady areas. We can maximize the watering in the sunny areas. It really is an impressive system, and it's a great example of our city departments coming together on important projects. So thank you all. And that concludes my remarks. President.

Thank you very much, Mr. Blair. I don't see any further council comments or reports at this time. So we will move right along. Recognitions. Item 2026-0256. Proclamation in recognition of the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. So I'm going to read from this giant proclamation we have here. This will go with Mr. McKay and go and be presented, placed out at the museum, at the Van Heusen Museum out there. So I'm going to read this. This is from the office of the mayor. So just imagine wherever I say Brian K. Barnett, it is actually Jason K. Carlock. City of Rochester Hills Office of the Mayor Proclamation commemorating the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. By the way, this is the one and only time this will ever be done. Whereas the United States of America will observe the semi-quincentennial on July 4th, 2026, marking a quarter millennium since the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the birth of a nation dedicated to liberty, justice, and self-governance. And whereas this momentous occasion provides an opportunity to reflect upon our nation's profound historical journey, celebrate the enduring spirit of the American people and inspire future generations to uphold the values of democracy. And whereas the city of Rochester Hills and the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Heusen Farm embody the American spirit through their commitment to civic engagement and the preservation of local history, and whereas the Rochester Hills Historic Districts Commission is dedicated to protecting the architectural and cultural heritage of our community, serving as a tangible reminder of the generations who contributed to the development of both our loyalty, our locality, and our nation, and whereas the residents of the city's three historic districts, Stony Creek, Winkler Mill pond and the city's non contiguous historic district deserve special recognition for their tireless efforts in preserving the historical properties that anchor our communities identity and whereas the America to 50 celebration is designed to include all citizens. encouraging local engagement through educational programs, historical preservation, and community events that foster a deeper understanding of our shared past. Now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Brian K. Barnett, Mayor of Rochester Hills and the Rochester Hills City Council, on behalf of the City of Rochester Hills, the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Heusen Farm, and the Historic Districts Commission, do hereby proclaim 2026 as a year of America 250 commemoration in Rochester Hills. Be it further resolved that all citizens are encouraged to participate in local events and initiatives designed to observe this significant anniversary reflecting upon our shared heritage, celebrating the ideals of the American experiment and inspiring future generations to uphold the values of democracy. If that's not worthy of a clap, then I don't know. So we'll, we'll make sure this is, uh, put out where everybody can actually, uh, enjoy that. Take a breath now. Next up presentations item 2026 dash 0 2 6 7 presentation of the 2026 Earl Borden awards. Mr. McLeod.

Thank you, President Carlock, or Mr. Mayor tonight, as you said earlier. and rest of the city council. So to continue the theme of celebrating the history of America as well as the history of the city, I'm excited to be here tonight to present the Earl Borden Awards for 2026. I'm gonna give a brief overview of what that really means and then go and announce obviously who our award winners are. We have three outstanding organizations that really show what Rochester Hills is all about that the award is going to go to this year. So again, when the HTC took this up, the Historic District Commission took this up, they were very excited to present this award to them. So with that being said, I wanted to kind of go into what the Earl Borden Awards are. So one of the gentlemen here in the audience tonight, Mr. McKay, Mr. Patrick McKay was one of the founders of this award way back in 1989. So there's two different awards that can be granted. One is for an actual preservation effort in terms of a structure. And then the other one is in terms of leadership awards. So obviously a person or organization that has basically contributed to historic preservation or education of historic preservation within the community. And helping us all understand our past as well as making sure that we appreciate what the city is was built upon. And then from there. of the qualifications I won' t necessarily go into this too much but basically if it' s an award for an effort for a structure obviously has to be done within the city. The leadership award may be to individuals as well as organizations again promoting those historic rochester hills community so tonight's award goes it's a leadership award that has been granted to the stony creek chapter of the daughters of the american revolution the rochester hills museum at van heusen farm as well as rochester hills public library for their conjoined effort of bringing the American Revolution experience to the Rochester Hills Public Library earlier this year, right at the forefront, right up in January, where they provided an opportunity for the public to come in and see a traveling experience that's been put on by the Daughters of the Revolution. in conjunction with some other groups. But again, these three worked collectively to bring this. Not everyone gets to see this presentation. It's quite an amazing thing, because I didn't even know about it until the HTC brought this up. But in researching it, and the amount of information that's available, and there's an online version as well, that was brought to our library, was really an amazing thing. So the Sony Creek Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, part of their chapter messaging and part of their mission is to serve the Rochester and surrounding area. Obviously, it supports the mission of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and then obviously focuses on historic preservation, education, and patriotism as a whole. And then, in terms of those that are here tonight, we have Regent Barb Brown, Vice Regent Gail, I'm gonna mispronounce this, Petrizic? Okay, perfect. And Sarah Halfridge, who is the chair of the 250 Committee, America 250 Committee. So those wonderful ladies are gonna be coming up here in one moment to receive their award, and then ultimately get a picture here with City Council. So they're one third of the dynamic group that brought forward that exhibit. Pat McKay is part of the Van Heusen Farm, the museum at Van Heusen Farm. I'm not even gonna bother. Everyone knows how great the man is, so I'm not even gonna go into it. but obviously an integral part of historic preservation and telling the story of Rochester Hills over time. And Julianne Morian, the library director of Rochester Hills Public Library, obviously the library we have here, second to none in terms of the programming. They obviously hosted the event. They hosted the exhibit as part of the education, as part of the outreach of America 250. And obviously... all the different efforts that they do on a regular daily basis in addition to this. So what the American Revolution experience really is, is a combination of interactive kiosks, digital hubs that were brought in that people can interact with, custom panels that were obviously just there to read, and I'll show you one of those panels here in one moment. But it concentrated on the everyday heroes, and that's what I thought was kind of interesting. Lots of people know all the main names, and we learn all those in our history classes and things. But this exhibit really kind of digs down a little deeper and tells you the story of what real life kind of was. So I thought that was kind of interesting. And they always want to make sure that they're doing local partnership. So due to popular demand, it's my understanding that this has been extended. It was originally supposed to end in 2026, but there's so many people that wanted to bring this tour to their city. They had a waiting list and they've decided to extend it now for another year. So it's going to be touring through 2027 as well. It's gone to every single state within the country on his head. I believe it was 10 or 11 stops and they can correct me if I'm wrong within the state of Michigan. So again, Not every community is getting this, so we are one of the lucky ones that brought this forward. So some of these pictures I stole from the library Facebook page in terms of the opening efforts there for the American Daughters of the Revolution experience. Again, you can see very well attended. And even though he's not here tonight, you can actually see the mayor down here. But anyway, and those are those panels I was talking about in terms of the interactive displays in terms of not only being able to read them, but then there's an electronic portion as well. There is a full online version as well for anyone who, once they leave here tonight and has learned about this, wants to dive deeper. Again, there's an online version as well. And again, this kind of provides an example of some of the experience and some of the information that you can really learn when you really want to dive into this. It was here for just about a week, so those residents that were here got to experience it firsthand. I'm lucky for them. But with that, I would like to ask not only, and I forgot to mention, we have two HDC members here, Dr. Richard Stamps, injury grant them uh... two of our absolute all-star htc members uh... but those recipients of the word i'd like to have you come up and will present you the warden as council come down and we'll do it a photo opportunity if that's okay

Hello. Hi. Okay. I just wanted to make sure that I could see everyone. If you can't see me, I can't see you. Okay, you can take a couple.

One, two, three. Try one more. Okay, great, thank you.

Thank you. Thank you for the info. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

All right, well, it's going to be hard to follow that up. Item 2026-0266, presentation from Midwest Strategy Group. Mr. Wright.

Good evening. I appreciate you setting me up to fail already. Thank you. Hey, well, good evening, President Carlock, Vice President Mangioli, and council members, Adam Wright with Midwest Strategy Group. We're always so happy to be here, but also happy to represent you in our state capitol in Lansing. I wanted to come and provide you an update of some of the things that are happening in Lansing. So some of the things I'll talk about tonight, just kind of at a high level at first, is the fiscal year 2027 budget process. As you're aware, Governor Whitmer proposed a budget of $88.1 billion. The Senate proposed a budget of $88 billion. And the House of Representatives passed a $78 billion budget. So we're off. And so we have to reconcile those things. And this is the process that we're going through. And I'll talk a little bit about it in a little bit. For policy initiatives, it's important to point out that last year in this term, Governor Whitmer signed 76 bills into law. That's the fewest enacted laws in our state since 1842. So far this year, the governor has signed 12 bills into law. And so we're on pace to be even less than what the legislature did last year. So that's not all bad, right? Because sometimes they pass some stuff we don't love. But there are a lot of things that are out there that they could take up and pass that would be beneficial for local government. And then kind of what's next is budget adoption. And we have selection season, so primary and general elections. First of all, for the budget update, we had our second consensus revenue estimating conference in May. We do these twice a year, once in January, once in May. to help us determine how much revenue will be coming into the state of Michigan, and that way legislators know how much they have to spend on everything. While the revenue projections that came in in January disappointing they're a little rosier in May but there's still there's still a hole that has to be filled so we went up about a hundred and seventy four million dollars overall we expect the school aid fund to remain stable because it was pretty much shielded from all the tax changes during the road funding plan last year but still challenges that the legislature have to address in the budget revenue sharing what we're seeing is the House of Representatives increased city village township revenue sharing by almost 46 million and public safety revenue sharing by seven and a half million. The Senate budget, however, included the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund. And this is something that local governments and their associations, like MML, Michigan Townships Association, MAC, SEMCOG, have all been fighting for for a long time. And I'll talk about the bills later on, but it's good that the Senate included this because at least it's on the table. We'll talk a little bit more about the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund in a minute. And LDSI requests LDSI as legislatively directed spending item. We do have one in for Rochester Hills for the fire department. Um, and we're grateful to Senator Weber for him putting that in policy initiatives. I'm sure you've heard nothing about property taxes at all coming from Lansing. Um, obviously I'm joking, but the governor talked about it in her state of the state. And earlier this year, she wants to give seniors a property tax credit of up to 10%. We expect that to cost about $90 million. The Senate Appropriations Chair would like to expand the Homestead Property Tax Credit, which will be about $300 million. But the biggest property tax proposal out there is by Speaker of the House Matt Hall and House Republicans, which would reduce taxes by $5 billion and have a $4.7 billion replacement. What they're looking at doing is eliminating the state education tax, personal property tax, real estate transfer tax at the state, and eliminating the pop-up tax. So when you sell your house and your taxable value jumps up, they want to eliminate that to keep that low. That pop-up tax always remains a critical component for communities because while they don't really, they don't rely on it while someone's in their home, it is a measure of growth that is able to make up for cost increases that happen over time. So the house representative has passed the speaker's plan except for one bill. The one bill they didn't pass was the revenue replacement. So there are, A couple of things to think about with the revenue replacement is They're trying to determine which sales, how they will move the sales tax into services. And the speaker has classified these as luxury services, right? And so luxury items that only rich people use. And so it's not going to be that big of a deal. But they're having a hard time coming up with enough money with those luxury services. So one of the things I know the speaker mentioned specifically was limousines, that we're going to tax limousines. Like, okay, well, as they started digging into that more, they found out that a hearse is a limousine. Well, they don't want to tax hearse services, so they're excluding that. So they're going through right now what I understand to be a pretty painstaking process to figure out what they can actually tax and how they will do that. if you tax every service there was out there, they'd be about $15 billion additional that would come into the state of Michigan. But now the speaker has been very clear. He doesn't want to bring in an equal amount of money. He doesn't want to bring in more money. He wants to bring in less money. So it's a tax cut overall. Uh, and what we'll look at is schools in Michigan will be held harmless under this plan. And so any loss of revenue will come at, um, the peril of local governments. And so we are very interested in this discussion or having conversations with the speaker's team every week about this. And we're having conversations with the Senate. So this is the House GOP's number one priority. The Senate has really not engaged on this yet. The Senate Majority Leader has been clear that because there's not a revenue replacement mechanism, she doesn't see this as a viable plan. And the governor does not want this to be part of the budget negotiation that is ongoing. And the Speaker, however, said, couple weeks ago that he wants to make this the pinnacle part of the budget negotiations and so we will see how that goes but we are engaging on your behalf to make sure that we're at the table to have discussions about this other items housing remains a very hot topic in Lansing As you know, there are local government preemption bills that have been introduced, and there is not a day that goes by, whether I'm working in southeast Michigan, whether I'm working in Lansing, whether I'm working from home, whether it's Monday through Friday, Saturday, Sunday, that I don't talk to somebody about this housing package because it's that important to our local governments. And basically what it is is it would say that the state would decide a lot of things when it comes to housing in your community. So they would set minimum lot sizes, set minimum home sizes, make accessory dwelling units and duplexes by right, and also institute a shot clock for local governments to approve applications. So some of these things people say maybe don't sound so bad, but that's for you all to decide and your planning commissions to decide what is best for Rochester Hills. And that's what the message that we've been carrying forward to legislators. I think legislators, when they first saw the package, thought, you know, we need to do something on housing. Housing is an issue. Housing affordability is an issue. The preemption package that's been introduced, though, doesn't address housing affordability at all. It just guts the ability of local governments to decide what they want in their communities and how their communities should work. So minimum lot sizes, the current bill says you can't require a lot to be larger than 1,500 square feet. The minimum home size says you can't require a home larger than 500 square feet. ADUs would be by right, duplexes would be by right. You would have no say in those at all, in the placement of those within your community. So, it's not good. The shot clock, I mean, there are a lot of people in local government said, you know, we could work with a shot clock sort of thing. It would be good for predictability for those that are filing with the cities throughout the state. But the first question I ask legislators are, what happens if EGLE gets involved? in a project, that shot clock has to be thrown out the window because they dragged their feet for absolutely months and they drive the cost of projects through the roof. And so we've been pushing back and saying how frustrating it is that the state departments aren't being reined in like they're saying local government needs to. There is a partnership model that the Michigan Municipal League, MTA, and SEMCOG have been working on called the My Home Program, which incentivizes local governments to do some of these zoning changes. And it would incentivize developers in their communities and make them eligible, developers eligible, for grants and loans for housing. Because if we really want to tackle affordable housing, you have to incentivize the developer to do it. because it has to pencil out. Anybody who owns a business, anybody who bounces their checkbook at home, things have to pencil out and they have to math. And if they don't, people don't do them. And if they do, they get themselves into a lot of trouble. So there are two distinct plans out there. Both have been introduced. We have been, like you said, working on this every single day and we've made great progress. We've had legislators pull their names off of the bills, the preemption bills as co-sponsors and every week we're meeting with legislators who have been undecided or legislators who have been being yes on the bill to just say your communities don't support this and you need to listen to your communities. Next on the revenue sharing trust fund, these bills are critical and they would be huge for local government if we could get these. What they do is they earmark sales tax revenue and restrict that those funds be placed into a revenue sharing trust fund for local governments. Why is that important? Because every year there's a budget process. Part of my job on your behalf is to go and justify why Rochester Hills deserves to have revenue sharing. Job security for me, but not great, right? Revenue sharing is something that's there for local governments. What this does is it takes that process away where you have to go and justify your existence to the legislature every year. This will allow a revenue sharing trust fund that will earmark those sales tax dollars and make sure it's in that fund. And it's a little bit of a gamble, right? Because you're earmarking sales tax revenue. If the economy's good, that's great. If the economy's bad, it could go down. But if the economy's bad, you won't get gutted. It'll only be, you can't get gutted by the legislature. It'll only be based on how the revenue comes in. So this could be something that could play into a property tax plan if something comes to fruition because this is something that could be a tool that could benefit local governments because if we're expanding sales tax into services, that could theoretically bring in additional dollars for local governments throughout the state. What's next? Budget adoption. So Michigan, we have a constitutional deadline to adopt the state budget, which is October 1st. There's also a self-imposed statutory deadline, which is July 1st. There is zero consequence if the statutory deadline isn't met. We saw that last year, right? They did not adopt the actual budget until October 3rd. And so for the first time in the over 25 years I've worked in Lansing, we missed the actual constitutional deadline and had to pass a temporary budget for a couple of days to keep the state government going. Our hope is that they will get this done by June 30th, but we only have 22 days left. And session days are only three days a week. And we're hearing that the Senate is only here in session one day this week. So those numbers continue to dwindle. And as we tie the property tax issue to the budget, we hear the House Republicans want to tie a third grade reading bill to the budget. And there may be another issue that gets tied to the budget. It further complicates the ability of legislators to work together to get this done and pass a budget on time by June 30th. Primary and general elections are coming up. Clerk Scott couldn't be more excited. Such a fun year. Primary election, obviously, on August 4th for parties to choose their nominees for various offices throughout the state. Then a general election will be November 3rd, and that will help decide who will control the Michigan legislature, and that is really important for us to pay attention to. Obviously, we'll have a new governor, new secretary of state, attorney general, But we need to understand who is going to be in charge of the Michigan House of Representatives and the Michigan Senate because that's how we determine what our strategy is gonna be on behalf of Rochester Hills, who we talk to, who is gonna be, there'll be all new committee chairs for everyone that we talk to in regard to local government and the Appropriations Committee. So we will be sitting down with the mayor and his staff. Once we know who these folks are gonna be in these positions, and really developing a comprehensive strategy about how we will attack various issues that are important to Rochester Hills. And I put lame duck question mark because I don't know, right? The election's gonna happen on November 3rd. We have divided government. We don't know who the governor's gonna be. We don't know who's gonna control the House. We don't know who's gonna control the Senate. And I don't know if there's really going to be an incentive for a divided government to work together after the election. I'm not sure what issue is out there unless there's some sort of emergency that comes down and they need to pass a special appropriations bill. What issue is so big out there that the Speaker of the House is going to be like, yeah, I'm going to give the governor a win on the way out the door? I just don't know if I see it. So we'll keep you up to date on any sort of lame duck that may happen. And we did mention election year. The governor's race has gotten much more interesting with Mayor Duggan suspending his campaign and withdrawing from the election. Jocelyn Benson pretty much has this locked up for the Democrats. You're seeing a battle between John James, Perry Johnson, and Mike Cox on the Republican side. If you were today, I would say Congressman James would be the nominee, but we have a lot of time until the primary. And then for the U.S. Senate, we have Mike Rogers, who will be the Republican nominee, and then you have Abdul El-Sayed, Congresswoman Stevens, State Senator Mallory McMorrow that are running for the US Senate. And that has been quite a primary already. You're seeing a lot of outside money come in to spend for Congresswoman Stevens. And Mr. Syed seems to have more of a grassroots support from the Democratic side for him. So it's going to be interesting. There are two ballot initiatives we think will be on. Mop Up Michigan just submitted over half a million signatures. That's money out of politics. It's really focused on DTE and consumers and their ability to use money to influence the legislature. And then there's a citizen's voting initiative, ensuring that everyone has to be a citizen to vote, and prescribes various things under that if it passes. And with that, I'm happy to take any questions that

you may have. Thank you very much, Adam. Always insightful when you come. We do have some council comments and questions. We'll start with Vice President Mongioli.

So you knew I had to ask you some questions for tonight. And as I'm sitting here and you're talking about all those different housing bills, the one thing I want to make sure, I don't know if you've seen the full agenda or the residents have looked at it, but under the consent agreement tonight, and I didn't pull it from consent agreement because I knew I could talk to Adam about this, is we have a resolution in opposition to Michigan House Bills 5529, 5532, 5581, and 5585. And it's a resolution put together by SEMCOG saying, We don't want these. And I asked the mayor, how do we make sure we get on SEMCOG's list? So once we pass this under the consent agreement, we can get that out to SEMCOG to let them know that we are not supporting those bills. Because as I sat here listening to you, I started thinking of all the houses that I can see from my front yard. There are 18 that I can look at. Only three of those have turned over in the last 10 years. So most of them are homeowners like myself who've been in our house over 30 years. So even that pop-up tax, when a senior moves and suddenly the city gets a windfall because you go from my pre-proposal A property tax value to current value, you're talking thousands of dollars in taxes. If they prevent that from happening, there are 15 homeowners that are going to be able to sell their house really easy if they get to keep their old taxable value or taxes that they have on there. And there's only two more of them that have kids in school. So it's a very, we're very much a community where we're retiring in place. And that could have a significant impact on the city's future revenues because of saying that we're not going to get that pop up when somebody sells their home. I was also very glad to hear about their looking at the root cause of this affordability issue. Mrs. Menino and I went to a Greater Metropolitan Area Realtors event a couple of months ago, and they said when people are buying houses, they look at schools, They look at the community and then they look at the house. If we're not looking at how those factors play into different communities on affordability, if the schools aren't good or the community isn't as wonderful as we are, then people are going to look someplace else. So I'm glad to hear that they're looking for root causes of those items. More comment than question. So my question for you is, those two ballot initiatives, do you think the Secretary of State's ever going to sit there and validate the signatures? Because citizens-only voting submitted theirs back in March, and there's been no forward progress on those. So I'm just wondering if she'll get to either of them before the deadline for the ballot in November.

I think that would be hard for her to do as a candidate for governor, to not address those.

true, but it could also impact her on the other side if you do both of those initiatives on the ballot.

We would hope that she just does her job.

Does her job and lets them go. Okay. So we'll have to talk if it's going to be before or after the primary to see if she actually gets that done because she really has been sitting on them for at least the citizens only voting one for months now. And people have said, oh, it's just going to be because of all the petitions for the candidates that had to be validated. Now that's done and we have our ballot. So let's see if she gets to this. We'll have to have a bet on this, Adam, to see how soon she'll get this done. So thank you. It's always very insightful to have you come and talk to us and share because I hope the residents are. watching this part because of the impact that all of this has on our community, both pro and con financially, if some of these things happen. So thank you very much for all your work on our behalf. That's all I have, President Carlock.

Thanks very much, Ms. Mangioli. We do have some other council comments. Mr. Blair.

Thank you, President Carlock. You know, Adam, I work in an industry where you know, you're constantly having to take complex things, break them down for people to understand in a straightforward, truthful, clear manner. And I just, I envy your ability to do that. So you always appreciate your updates. Um, I'm going to dovetail onto what councilwoman Mungioli said about the local preemption, which, uh... horrifies me and it should anyone who learns about what that bill stands to achieve i think your point on eagle is excellent i would broadcast that as loud as we possibly can because we we see what it takes to engage eagle on our uh... remediation projects and if you extrapolate that across all the developments you've got big problem on your hand that's one of many things that i think they're not considering Um, you'd mentioned some, uh, some of the bill supporters have been pulling their names. Is it fair to say that it's losing traction or maybe on a better trajectory? I was trying to read what you were saying, but I'm, I'm unclear.

Sure. Yeah. So we've gotten several legislators to actually pull their name off of the bill as co-sponsors. And so we see that as positive. from a local government standpoint. And I think the more legislators understand and hear from their local governments, the less they like the preemption package. And so I give all of you credit. I mean, you have two legislators that were opposed out of the gate, but you didn't stop you from contacting them, which is important because you can never take that for granted. But we have had local governments all throughout the state from probably every single county in the state that have gotten a hold of their legislators to let them know how terrible it is. And in all the years that I've worked on local government issues, and we also represent MML, so as I sit with MML, they've said, I've never seen our members so ticked. right, literally so ticked off what this would do. And so I think that inspired them to really stand up and push back. And they've had two very successful press conferences where they've had people like local government officials from all over the state, from communities that are probably more conservative to communities that are more liberal, and they're all on the same page.

It was brought forward in a bipartisan fashion with supporters pulling their names. Is it starting to tilt and become lopsided one way or the other? Or is it still proceeding in a bipartisan fashion but with just fewer supporters overall?

I mean, there's still bipartisan sponsorship and co-sponsorship of the bills. But it has lost a lot of steam. And I will say that the governor is the one pushing this package. We've heard specifically from the speaker staff that if it passes, it passes. If it doesn't, it doesn't. It's not their top priority. They're focused on property taxes. We've heard from the Senate. The Senate doesn't want this package anywhere near them. And so it's the governor and her team that are pushing this the most.

Well, we appreciate your fight in the good fight, and it's always a pleasure to have you and hear you. So back to you, Pres.

Thank you very much, Mr. Blair. Next up, Ms. Menino.

Yes, thank you, President Carlock. And, Adam, thank you for coming tonight. I'm just going to follow up along the same lines with these housing bills. I'm more focused on understanding, again, timing. It's in committee right now. We're heading into the summer break, and then we've got the primaries. I mean, when is this all going to come to a fruition, I guess, and when would you expect that it's either going to move forward and be voted on or killed? I guess, do you have any insight on that?

So we have to fight the fight and run through the tape until December 31st until they are done for the year because at the conclusion of this term all bills will die and they have to reintroduce them in the next session. Right now we have individual timelines we're looking at. Right. So we're trying to get through. the end of June because theoretically then go on summer break to go campaign. So we're hoping to get through June without a committee hearing. We're working really hard on the committee and pushing back against them and hoping they will stand with us. We've had great success at the government operations committee. So that's kind of one of the timelines. But they have a scattered schedule for the summer. We don't expect them to be here much after they adopt the budget because it is an election year. So Once you get out of June, hopefully July, August, September, October, I don't expect a whole lot to happen because they're gonna be knocking doors and talking to voters. It's that lame duck period after the election where we have to be very focused and make sure that this doesn't come up, that the governor doesn't cut a deal for this for something else. But the way lame duck works is if the governor wants something, well, that means the speaker gets something that he wants and the Senate majority leader gets something she wants. So things get a lot more expensive and the deals get a lot bigger. And I'm just not sure you're going to see the will of the legislature after an election be like, this local preemption package is the thing we want to do. We are going to run through the tape for every single time we have a deadline that we've set for ourselves to make sure we can do it. Every Thursday is when the government operations committee meets in the house. Every Thursday we are in the committee room sitting there watching them so they know they can't just bring it up because we'll be there. and if they bring it up without posting it we're still going to sit there and we're going to let our communities know if they try to do that the other procedural thing they can do is they could discharge the committee of the bills and bring them right to the floor I feel like if they do that though based on conversations we've had with legislators I think that would be a detriment to the package because Half of these bills started out in the regulatory reform committee. And there was such huge pushback that they ended up moving them all to government operations. And the new ones that were introduced went to government operations. Reg reform is probably about 15, 16, 17 members, I think. So we killed it on that committee. We went and talked to all the legislators. government operations in the house is only five members so it's theoretically easier to get it through but trust me we are not letting up on them on government ops okay yep thank you that's that's all for me thank you very much uh miss neubauer thank you president carlock thank you

Mr. Wright, for being here, for your amazing presentation. Just like Councilman Blair said, you present it in a way that's easy to understand, so I appreciate that. I do have a couple questions. You talked about, again, with the housing package, possible incentives for developers and how we can get the actual goal accomplished of what the original package was supposed to be, right? It's not being accomplished. It's not even in the spectrum of what they're trying to do. But one of the things that I wanted to know was, do we have statistics or information on vacant, abandoned, dilapidated housing, those kind of things or properties that have been torn down? I know in the city of Detroit, when Mayor Duggan was in there, there was this huge thing about tearing down all of these houses and rebuilding them. And from what I understand, nothing was rebuilt so has anybody looked at that instead of a preemption and using that to incentivize the developers to build and rebuild what we have within the zoning regulations of the particular local governments rather than this gigantic elephant dart that they tried to do from lansing yeah i'm not certain that there's an actual statewide

list of all these properties but I know individual communities have a lot of those and county land banks will have them and county land banks will get properties and make sure that they can work with developers to repurpose those communities. But the My Home program that MML and MTA and SEMCOG have been pushing will start things like revolving loan programs so that it gives, because the incentive may not just be free dollars, it may be getting money at a lower interest rate because that may make it pencil out. And so if you can have a revolving loan fund where you pay that back and you have a lower interest rate, it keeps the program going for years to come and can be very helpful down the road. And so communities would just have to make some of these changes that are in the program to some of their zoning things, and they then would become eligible for any of these programs that would come through them.

It just would make sense to me that because Oakland County has the land bank, you know, every, we have a list of all the tax foreclosures. We have a list of all of the properties are being sold. We're being sold in the city of Detroit for a hundred dollars land, vacant land was being sold for a hundred dollars. And then if they're saying it takes $90,000 to develop one of these properties, why can't we just do it on those properties instead of what they're trying to propose? And I know it's a lot of work and I know not the government, not everybody in the government likes to work. but it would make sense to have a collective bank of all of this information per city, per county, so that individual governments and cities still get to make their own decisions and then the state can use You know, I mean, it's just logical. It's not rocket science. And I just hate this housing bill so much. And being on planning makes me hate it even more. So that's my first comment slash question. What can we do to continue to support your efforts to make sure that this fails and that if it is reintroduced next year, because it doesn't sound like we're too worried about it this year, but if it is reintroduced next year that it fails, what can we do?

Sure, I mean, continue to advocate with your legislators, obviously. Talk to other local elected officials that you know in surrounding communities. We're going to keep fighting this. I mean, this package started last term and died in lame duck last term and was reborn again this term. And so this, I think there are some things out there that that we hopefully will be able to move the needle on some smaller bills. I know that there are some housing tax incentive bills that have passed the House and there's some single staircase bills that MML has supported and local governments have supported. So there's some things that will incrementally move the needle, but it's not preemption because our message has been very clear to legislators is that local governments need tools to do their job. They know how to do their job, but they need tools from the state to be able to do things. They don't need mandates of how to do things.

Okay. And then my last question has to do with the safety revenue sharing. You'd mentioned that we have 7.5 million statewide, right? And I think that when we had spoken last time about this, that $50,000 were supposed to come to Rochester Hills and we had spoken about how they had cut one of our resource officers after Oakland County defunded the police department. So did we ever get that? Did we ever get the support? How do we make sure that we got our funding and that we can help with our fire and safety with those funds?

Yeah, I would assume that any sort of public safety revenue sharing dollars that you were slated to get, you would get. That's a good question for my good friend Joe Snyder. Okay. Because he will know specifically if you've gotten it, how much of it you've gotten, and how much you were slated to get.

Okay. Okay, thank you. That's all I have. Okay.

Thank you very much. You know, Adam, I think it's pretty obvious where we stand on these housing bills. Um, nobody, not one person talked about the budget, you know, everything was focused on ensuring that, uh, you know, we make it known to our legislators that we stand opposed to this. And as vice president Mungy always said, you know, there's a resolution in the consent agenda that, you know, kind of affirms that. So, um, again, thank you for coming out. Uh, it's always, uh, It's always interesting to hear what's going on because yeah, as residents, we, we sometimes get bits and pieces of it, but having it directly from people sitting in the room is, is helpful. So thank you.

You're welcome.

All right. Next up consent agenda. All matters under consent agenda are considered to be routine and will be enacted by one motion without discussion. If any council member or citizen requests discussion of an item, it will be removed from consent from consent agenda. for separate discussion. I have a motion by Vice President Mongioli, seconded by Councilwoman Neubauer. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes. Next up ordinance for introduction item 2026-0244 request for acceptance for first reading and ordinance to amend sections 54-741, 54-743, 54-744, 54-745, 54-746, 54-747, and 54-748 in chapter 54. Fees of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Rochester Hills, Oakland County, Michigan, to modify fees charged for water, sewage treatment, non-residential water, and high-strength surcharge, capital charges, lateral benefit charges, and tap charges, and to repeal conflicting ordinances and prescribe a penalty for violations. Mr. Schneider.

All right.

Well, thank you, President Carlock, Vice President Mangioli.

Good evening, City Council Members, Ms. Cedrovich and Ms. Pizzutti. Well, presented before you tonight is the first reading to amend the City of Rochester Hills water and sewer rate fee ordinances to become effective July 1st of 2026. Back in January of this year, 2026, the City of Rochester Hills selected Plant Moran to conduct a comprehensive water and sewer rate study. this was for a number of reasons but two among them to review and ensure that our city water and sanitary sewer rates are set appropriately to recommend established water and sewer rate setting best practices and throughout staff work closely with platte moran during the study providing data and feedback throughout. Then on April 29th, the Water System Advisory Council met to review the Plant Moran presentation and the rate-setting recommendations. And at the end of the meeting, the Water System Advisory Council discussed various scenarios for water and sewer rates, and the Advisory Council unanimously recommended the following rate structure. A water rate per unit increase of 5.5%, or 43 cents per unit. a sewer rate unit increase of 2.4% or 17 cents per unit and a ready to serve charge which is a per bill charge. On the water side an increase of 13% or 40 cents per bill and on the sewer side a decrease of 4.2% or a reduction of 13 cents per bill. Other charges proposed for this 2026 to 2027 rate year are various pass-through charges from the Great Lakes Water Authority to industrial and commercial customers, which average a 4.4% increase for industrial waste surcharges and an increase of 4.8% for pollutant surcharges. As well, the City performed a survey of 10 other Metro Detroit area municipalities regarding water and sewer rate changes, capital charges, lateral charges, and tap charges. the city' s charges for lateral charges and tap charges are set very competitively at the midpoint among all 10 communities served so no changes are being proposed there however we found that the city' s capital charges were set far below the midpoint and we were basically at the very bottom of the survey of the 10 communities surveyed by a rather wide margin. So it is proposed to increase the city's water and sewer capital charges to the midpoint of the community surveys. For water, that would mean a water capital charge recommended at $1,500. That would be an increase of $650, or 76%. And the sewer capital charge is recommended at $2,000. That's an increase of 74%, or $850. So bottom line for a typical water and sewer customer who uses the residential average of 12 units per billing cycle, their water and sewer bill is anticipated to change from currently $185 per two-month cycle to $192 per two-month billing cycle. That would be an increase of $7 for every two-month billing or around $3.50 per month or an increase of 4%. A copy of the proposed changes to the water and sewer fee ordinance is included in your packet. And as a reminder, this is a first reading. And if approved tonight, this item will be back at the next scheduled city council meeting on June 22nd for a second reading before the ordinance changes are formally approved prior to July 1st of 2026. And I'm available for any questions you may have.

Thank you very much, Mr. Schneider. We do have some questions. Vice President Mangioli.

Thank you very much, President Karlak. So Mr. Snyder, I just made a note to myself that this sounds really expensive. So help me understand the water capital charge and the sewer capital charge. Are those a one-time fee or is it every year?

That's a one-time fee for connecting to the system.

So an existing business already connected, all the schools, the hospitals, the mall, all of them already connected. So it's just if we have a new... New connections. Brand new or a redevelopment?

A brand new connection into the system.

So when was the last time we had a brand new commercial development in our community?

Oh, they have commercial developments come into the community throughout the year.

Commercial ones. Cause I'm, I'm thinking ground up.

So there is the new, this would be, this would be also new residential developments as well.

So they have to pay that tap charge to connect to the system.

And essentially what the capital charges, that's the cost of the system as a whole. So this is the pump stations, the pressure reducing valves, everything that gets the water to your house. It's basically the charge for joining the water and sewer club.

Joining the club.

Once you're already in the club, you've already paid your initiation dues, you're set.

Join the club. And then why did we do a plant moran water and sewer rate study? Why wasn't that done internal ourselves?

For the last 20 years, we've done it internally by ourselves. But it is best practice. Probably every five to ten years. It's just good practice to have someone else, a professional that does these great studies for a living, come in, audit you, look at how you're doing it to make sure, A, you're on the right track, and B, is there any way you can be doing things better? And they did both as part of their study.

And is any of this an administrative fee that we are, you know, covering our costs? Is it an administrative fee, or is this just a pass-through rate increase from GLIWA and City of Detroit?

That's probably about anywhere between two-thirds to three-quarters of the cost of the service is those charges from the service providers. Great Lakes Water Authority on the water side, Oakland County Water Sewer on the sewer disposal side. Then there's also with staff costs, materials, meters, reading the meter, everything that goes along, issuing the bill. And then as well, there's a third component, which is the replacement costs of the system as a whole. And this community is basically chosen, and the rate structure chosen was a rate structure that would be perpetually able to fund our capital projects without needing to go out for bonds for every single water and sewer system. So that's also the third major component of it.

And I know we have a lot of water and sewer or water work going on. That's an agenda topic that's later this evening is to talk about the water piece of it, the replacement, because we built up a nice fund balance to be able to use that to help us cover those costs.

Correct. Correct. And this community was really built. 50, 60 years ago in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, and all that water remain is coming due over the next 10 to 20 years.

We all just experienced what it's like when a main breaks and what happens. So we want to make sure we're taking care of them preemptively and not having to go through that again. So it's very important for us. But at the same time, so Two-thirds is administrative. One-third is the water rate from other way around.

Two-thirds is the water rate. Two-thirds is just the straight cost of the service. And the other third would be administrative, all the reading the meters, all the pipes and everything else, or I guess the meters, the equipment, and all that sort of thing, and then a component for the capital side to make sure we can perpetually reinvest into our system. Okay.

And the rate that Gliwa set was before their pipe broke or after the pipe broke?

I believe they set it before the pipe broke. Good to know. Yes.

Thank you. And we can justify to the residents on the administrative side that it's our cost. It's not that we're marking them up because I feel like I don't want to be like the county where we pass along administrative costs at an unjustified amount to a community. what the county did with the sheriff's department, so I don't want to do that with the water bill to our residents.

No, absolutely. I mean, that was another reason to have a third-party, very respective partner like Plant Moran, one of the better, if not best, better, one of the top, let's say, one of the top accounting firms that we work with come in and really kind of scrub through us and made sure everything is on the up and up and we're doing things right.

So I'm not going to move the resolution because I do want to hear from the other council members that were on the Water System Advisory Commission or committee that had to go through all of this. So I'm hoping they're buzzing in over here. Thank you very much, Mr. Snyder.

Yes. Thank you very much, Vice President Mangioli. You said one thing, and I want to just clarify it. So the $1,500 for the capital charge, that's because if we have to tap into the system, it's going to put additional strain on the existing system. And potentially we could need a bigger pump in an area to continue to supply the pressure we need in that area where they add new systems. Is that right?

That's very, very well said. Hopefully Ms. Balance is nodding her head behind me. Perfect, perfect.

Thank you very much. We do have some additional comments. Ms. Neubauer.

Thank you, President Carlock. I did send some questions to Mr. Snyder before. If you could incorporate those into the minutes, I would appreciate that. My question, and just so that I can get a better understanding, because I understand that everything goes up and obviously nobody wants to burden the residents with additional costs and fees, right? But one way or another, we have to pay this bill. And it's either we do it through this or it comes out of another part of our budget. And EVEN THOUGH WE DO, WE'RE VERY CONSERVATIVE IN HOW WE SPEND OUR BUDGET FUNDS, WE CAN'T KEEP SHIFTING STUFF AROUND. WE HAVE TO HAVE FUNDS SPECIFICALLY ALLOCATED FOR A SPECIFIC PURPOSE. Is that correct?

Oh, that's correct. The dollars that are deposited from water and sewer rate or bills into the water and sewer system stay in the water and sewer system.

Okay. And the way that it comes out, hold on, let me pull up my calculator again, but it's about a $50 difference a year for the residents, correct? On average.

Is that correct? Forty-five. Forty-two, somewhere in that range.

So that's going to be the impact per household that he has the average use is between $40 and $50 a year.

Correct. Over the course of 12 months, yes.

Right. So I just wanted to make sure that I understand the math correctly. I don't serve on the Water Committee, but I trust the people who do, just like I know that they trust us in planning and ZBA and things like that, because they do do their research, and I did ask super annoying questions, and then Mr. President, President Carlock presented his answers to me very gently before the meeting. But, you know, it's tough, everything's going up, but we just can't take money from one fund if it has to be paid it has to be paid it's not our increase it's our providers increase and there's nothing we can do about it so it's also not a 37 increase like what the sheriffs did it's a four percent increase and my understanding is if that we didn't do it this way the impact on the residents which actually have been a seven percent increase in the future is that correct seven ish percent or jason concur Remember how you were gently talking to me before the meeting?

We had talked about without changing the administrative fees, if it had just been a straight water increase, it would have been.

Correct. With the new methodology, yes, it's actually came down a little bit lower than the traditional way where it was much more of a pass-through. This looked more holistically, especially on our capital needs. And that's what helped probably bring the rates down to actually even we're passing along lower increases to our residents of what the city is being passed along as increases from our providers.

Right. And there was also, even though there was increases in some portions of it, there were actually decreases in others with this proposal. with the ordinance.

Yes, actually the sewer ready to serve charge is a decrease.

Yeah. So I just wanted to put all of that on the record. I know it's awful and the economy is tough, but we can't not have water and sewer services. We have to pay for it. We're getting billed what we're getting billed. It's not like we're asking for gold lined pipes. We're just asking for pipes. So, um, so that's all I have. Thank you so much.

Thank you very much. We do have some additional comments.

Mr. Lindberg. Yes, thank you very much, Mr. President. So Mr. Snyder, thank you very much for being here tonight. Just a couple questions for you for clarification, and it's already been touched on. But to be clear, my water and sewer bill is my highest bill, and it goes up every single year. Just to be clear, is it fair to say that the Great Lakes Water Authority, they're raising our rates on the city, and we are simply passing them through to the residents?

That would be very fair to say, yes, because I believe the Great Lakes Water Authority charged the Rochester Hills, I think, 5.5%.

Thank you. And then my other question is, you mentioned Plant Moran did a thorough looking over all of our books and whatnot. What were their comments regarding what they found?

They actually were kind of excited where we weren't – a mess. They were able to come in and provide some tweaks here and there, just some best practices from their 20 years of experience doing these sorts of things that they could bring to us. Probably the most significant would be the ready to serve charge, with changes by the size of the meter. And, you know, President Carlock, you made a great point on this. When a big customer comes in and taps into that meter, they're ready to serve charge will actually be a little higher than a residential because of the draw and the demands on the system. That was something we had not thought of before that they brought to the table. And this is very standard practice, not only in the industry, American Water Works Association, AWWA, this is according to their best practices. So they came in with some fresh ideas, some good ideas, and we had a good relationship that we weren't, they were happy to be able to come forward and say you don't need to raise rates 35% because you've been mismanaging your system over the last 20 years. You've been doing it right where you can tweak things a little bit to keep things rolling along.

Great. Thank you very much. That's all I had tonight.

Oh, and they were also very impressed that we had no debt. They'd never seen that before.

Thank you. Okay. Vice President Mangioli.

So thank you very much for that additional conversation on this whole process. Speaking of debt, I forgot to ask about that huge pipe that we have to help pay for that the county has had. Have we factored that into this bill yet?

Yes, we have.

Okay. With that, I'm move the resolution in our packet. I appreciate all the discussion that we've had up here at council and I appreciate all your answers for us. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Vice-President Mungioli, uh, Ms. Menino.

I don't have any further comments. I was going to move the motion cause I'm on the council, but Teresa already did.

Perfect. Thank you. So I have a motion by Vice-President Mungioli seconded by Ms. Menino. So I'll read the resolution here. Resolve that an ordinance to amend sections 54-741, 54-743, 54-744, 54-745, 54-746, 54-747, and 54-748 in Chapter 54, Fees of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Rochester Hills. Oakland County, Michigan, to modify fees charged for water, sewage treatment, non-residential water, and high-strength surcharge, capital charges, lateral benefit charges, and tap charges, and to repeal conflicting ordinances and prescribe a penalty for violations is hereby accepted for first reading. All those in favor?

Aye.

Any opposed? That motion passes. Thank you. We'll see you in two weeks. Next up, item 2026-0268, request for acceptance for first reading and ordinance to amend section 54-32 in chapter 54, fees of the code of ordinances of the city of Rochester Hills, Oakland County, Michigan, to modify fees charged for the cemetery, repeal conflicting ordinances, and prescribe a penalty for violations. Clerk Scott.

Thank you, President Karloff. I want to start out by saying we have not increased our cemetery fees in 10 years. So these are a bit past due. And these fee adjustments are not about maximizing profit, but they're about fiscal sustainability, fairness, and cost recovery. We're aligning our fees with regional neighbors as it relates to our spaces, our opening and closing fees, in addition to raising Saturday fees to absorb the actual overtime of our labor costs, and that will protect the Rochester Hills taxpayers. By raising resident spaces to $900, which is a mere $150 over the last 10 years, we are well below the private market average as we ensure our cemetery remains an affordable, beautifully maintained benefit for our community. So I do want to point one typo in the ordinance, and that is under the space fee. We're raising the residents from 750 to 900, keeping in with how we charge the difference between residents and non-residents. The non-resident price should not be 1,700. It should be going to 1,800. So I just want to point that out. And I am here to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you very much. Clerk Scott, uh, in just a point of personal reference here, I had a death in the family a couple of weeks ago and a private cemetery down in Clinton township charged us $3,500 for a, for an opening. So even with the increased fees here, we are, you know, as a municipality significantly lower cost. Um, we do have some council comments. Mr Blair.

Thank you President Carlock and Leanne very well stated that these are fees that are very in line with our neighbors. In fact we still remain a very competitive cemetery and these are also like Leanne said long overdue. But I did want to clarify the $750 if somebody sees this meeting and they want to act now while prices are low. How long do they have until it increases to 900?

And I've been telling everybody that for the last several months, actually, that comes in. So these will not go into effect until the beginning of July, much like your water rates.

Perfect. So don't flood. You've got a few days. And do take a look at the website. And if you're in the area, drive by. It's absolutely gorgeous. So I move this.

I hear there's ants.

We saved them, yes. We moved the resolution.

They're good ants.

Thank you, Mr. Blair. Motion by Mr. Blair, seconded by Councilwoman Neubauer. We'll read the resolution here. Resolved than an ordinance to amend sections, section 54 dash 32 in chapter 54 fees of the code of ordinances of the city of Rochester Hills, Oakland County, Michigan to modify fees, charge for the cemetery, repeal conflicting ordinances and prescribe a penalty for violation is hereby accepted for first reading with the amendment, the change that clerk Scott had proposed. All those in favor. Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes.

Thank you, counsel.

Next up, public comment for items not on the agenda. Public comment is limited to three minutes. I don't have any blue public comment cards and see nobody approaching the podium. So we will close public comment. Next up, legislative and administrative comments. I don't see anybody jumping here. So Ms. Sutrovich, administration.

IF YOU COULD SHARE MY SCREEN, PLEASE. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME. I'M HERE TO OFFER SOME ADMINISTRATIVE COMMENTS ON BEHALF OF MAYOR BURNETT TONIGHT. WHEN WE LAST MET, WE WERE AMIDST WATER RESTRICTIONS DUE TO THE MAIN BREAK IN AUBURN HILLS AND WE THOUGHT IT COULD TAKE UP TO TWO WEEKS TO RESOLVE BUT FORTUNATELY WE WERE Back to normal in about one week. These pictures here show the old pipe being removed and the brand new pipe being installed. We want to offer thanks again to our DPS team led by Tracy Ballant and Leon Ludeman for all their hard work in that effort. Also, a big thank you to the residents and employees for hosting the water distribution center. And we want to thank the Village of Rochester Hills for their partnership in granting us use of the Von Maurer parking lot. And of course, thanks to all of our amazing residents who weathered the storm with grit and grace. We are so appreciative and hope we don't have to deal with this again for another 50 to 100 years. As springtime showed up over these past few weeks, we had a chance to feature our amazing parks. On May 16th, we saw more than 1,000 people attend Oak in the Hills, which is a great kickoff event to the summer season. That was held at Spencer Park, and attendees had the opportunity to try everything from archery and kayaking to fishing and rock climbing, some of that you've already heard about this evening. Speaking of Spencer Park, this is the place to be for summer fun. In addition to its life-guarded beach, we are excited to announce that the new fishing pier is now open. The pier underwent an extensive renovation, is now about triple its original size. The park also just opened its new ADA accessible kayak launch, where personally owned non-motorized watercraft can launch on the southwest side of Carter Lake. You can view more information online at rochesterhills.org, but definitely go check that out. At the end of May, we hosted a ribbon cutting for the Brooklands Plaza on Auburn Road. In addition to the new playground, we unveiled artwork from Art on Auburn II and a beautiful mural on the wall of the building that borders the park to the west. Combined with a splash pad, this neighborhood park is really lovely and it will give our residents, especially those in the Brooklands neighborhood, a wonderful gathering place for years to come. I know many of you were there and it really was a nice night. We also participated in a chamber ribbon-cutting ceremony for the newly opened Wolfgang Bakery and Grooming in the Kroger Plaza at Livernois and Walton. This is for your furry, four-legged family members. In fact, as you can see here, Mayor Burnett brought along his dog, Hills, who was very impressed with the treat selection, as you can tell. SO WE CAN TRUST HIS NOSE. MAYOR AND THE PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TEAM HOSTED A MAYOR'S BUSINESS COUNCIL EVENT IN LATE MAY. IT FEATURED TWO FATHER-SON DUOS AND CHRIS AND JUSTIN PARIK FROM DAN'S EXCAVATING AND JOE AND MATT SARA FROM SARA AUTOMOTIVE. THEY SPOKE ABOUT THEIR HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL MULTI-GENERATIONAL BUSINESSES. IT WAS A GREAT CROWD AND WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE BOTH THE PARIK'S AND THE SARA'S FOR SHARING THEIR INSIGHTS. Mayor Barnett spoke at a special ceremony on Memorial Day at Veterans Memorial Point. Several council members were there. Several residents were there. We had probably about 350 or so people in attendance. This is an annual event that the city hosts and features music, remarks of veterans, and a fallen soldier display. It was a nice day to commemorate Another ceremony held during National Police Week last month was the Oakland County Sheriff's Awards. President Carlock represented the city, and we were able to honor officers from our Rochester Hills substation, as well as three residents who received Citizens Awards. Speaking of our Sheriff's Office substation, our latest podcast, Right Down the Street, features Captain Paul Workman, our substation commander. He and Mayor Barnett discuss the secret sauce behind Rochester Hills being named the safest city in the entire country. From community policing to neighborhood safety tips to digital defense, please tune in for an inside look at the dedication that keeps our city a national gold standard for safety. Switching gears to our fire department, you may have seen the new wraps on our ambulances that celebrate our nation's 250th anniversary. We're excited about how these turned out and offer another opportunity for us to celebrate this milestone year for our country. Please keep an eye out in the next Hills Herald and on our social media channels for information on our two millages that will be on the ballot in August, the pathway millage renewal and the additional millage for fire services. We've also created two websites that residents can visit to educate themselves, rochesterhills.org slash pathway millage and rochesterhills.org slash fire millage. Both websites include tax calculators that will allow you to see what this will mean for your property. So very informational and we hope people will check that out. RISING MARKET IS BACK. SOME OF YOU MAY REMEMBER THIS EFFORT FROM LAST YEAR, BUT WE'RE LOOKING FOR YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS BETWEEN THE AGES OF 10 AND 18 WHO HANDCRAFT THEIR OWN PRODUCTS OR PROVIDE SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY. I HAVE TO GO BACK AND TELL YOUTH COUNCIL. WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR FOR YOU TO BE CONSIDERED TO PARTICIPATE IN COMMUNITY EVENTS, SELL YOUR WEARS. YOU NEED TO FILL OUT AN APPLICATION BY JUNE 15TH. THE WEBSITE IS ROCHESTERHILLS.ORG SLASH RISING MARKET SIGN UP, AND THAT'S RISING WITH AN H, OF COURSE. And then finally, coming up on June 24th is our amazing Festival of the Hills fireworks show. We have a special America 250 themed surprise, so you don't want to miss out. And that concludes my presentation. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Ms. Sudrovich. I think Hills and I have something in common. We both like treats. And based on that picture of me with that suit coat that was a little tight, I should probably lay off those. It must be. It must be. Thank you very much. Next up, attorney's report. Ms. Christ.

I have nothing this evening.

Thank you very much. Nominations and appointments, item 2026-0261, nomination and appointment of one citizen representative to the Rochester Avon Recreation Authority for a three-year term to expire May 31st, 2029. We do have Vice President Mangioli with some comments.

Thank you very much, President Karlak. So I am the City Council representative to the RARA Board. And Emily Moreland-Scholler has been our citizen representative on the RARA BOARD FOR THIS WOULD BE HER SECOND TERM AND SHE HAS REALLY GROWN INTO THAT ROLE SHE'S NOW SERVING AS VICE PRESIDENT OF THE RARA BOARD AND IT'S BEEN A JOY TO HAVE HER THERE SHE'S STEPPED INTO THE PLACE OF THE PRESIDENT WHEN HE HAS NOT BEEN AVAILABLE AND SO I'M VERY GRATEFUL THAT SHE IS WILLING TO SERVE ANOTHER TERM ON THE RARA BOARD AND I WOULD NOMINATE EMILY MORELAND SCHOLAR TO BE THE ROCHESTER HILLS REPRESENTATIVE TO THE RARA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Thank you very much. I have a nomination for Ms. Scholar. I have a second by Mr. Blair. I will read the resolution here. Resolved that the Rochester Hills City Council hereby appoints Emily Moreland Scholar for a three-year term to expire May 31st, 2029. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed?

That passes. I don't have to take a roll call vote for that, right?

Good. We're good. Next up, new business, item 2026-0254, request for nonprofit designation for a charitable gaming license from the state of Michigan for the Rochester High School Athletic Booster Club. Clerk Scott.

Thank you, President Karlak, Vice President Mangioli, and City Council. With us this evening is Jason Parson. He is here on behalf of the Rochester High School Athletic Booster Club to request a nonprofit designation for a charitable gaming license from the state of Michigan. So if you would like to introduce yourself and let them know a little bit of your background, that'd be great.

JASON PARSONS, CO-TREASURER, ROCHESTER HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC BOOSTER CLUB Thank you very much, President, Vice President, Council Members. My name is Jason Parsons. I am the co-treasurer of the Rochester High School Athletic Booster Club. do a lot to support the athletic department at Rochester High. One of the things we do is a golf outing in August where we run a raffle and have some 50-50 and in order to continue to do that we've gotten pretty big, which is good, but we're now going through and making sure we've got all the right administrative things taken care of so that we can continue to to support the school. So I appreciate your time today and happy to answer any questions that you may have.

Thank you very much. We do have some council comments. Ms. Neubauer.

THANK YOU, PRESIDENT KARLAK. I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU GUYS DO FOR THE ROCHESTER HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES. SOME OF US HAVE KIDS IN YOUR ATHLETIC PROGRAM, AND WE KNOW THAT IT'S THANKLESS AND EXHAUSTING AND ALL VOLUNTEER, AND WE JUST REALLY APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING TO SUPPORT OUR KIDS. OUR KIDS KNOW IT, AND THEY KNOW THAT THEY'RE LOVED AND APPRECIATED. THEY'RE TOLD EVERY DAY THAT BY MR. RINKEL, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT, AND WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO MOVE THE MOTION.

Thank you very much. Motion by Ms. Neubauer, seconded by Mr. Blair. Next up, Mr. Limburg.

Yes, thank you very much, President Carlock. Thank you very much for being here tonight. Yes, I had two students at the high school. One just graduated. The other one's just finishing up her freshman year, and they were both multi-sport athletes, so I am well familiar with the operations of the Booster Club, and I have to say that it is run very well with integrity, and it benefits all the sports, both for boys and girls. It is fantastically run, so thank you very much. Thank you.

Seeing no other comments, I have a motion by Ms. Neubauer, seconded by Mr. Blair. Read the resolution. Resolved that the request from the Rochester High School Athletic Booster Club located at 1361 Walton Boulevard, Rochester Hills, Michigan, Oakland County, asking that they be recognized as a non-profit organization in the community for the purpose of a charitable gaming license be considered for approval and denial. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes. Thank you very much. I hope you're successful for sure. Next up. Item 2026-0248, request for purchase authorization fire, purchase of emergency extraction equipment, which includes six spreaders, six cutters, six rams, 28 replacement batteries, software and related accessories in the amount of $279,400, McQueen, Delafield, Wisconsin, Deputy Chief Cook.

good evening president carlock council members and mrs. Sidrich tonight the fire department is here requesting authorization to purchase new emergency extrication equipment and accessories from mcqueen for a total of $279,400 this purchase includes the six spreaders six cutters six rams and 28 replacement batteries all this equipment will be on our front line apparatus and we'll replace our existing equipment that's over 10 years old and is at its end of its service life. Maintaining brand standardization with Hearst tools across our fleet is a critical safety measure for our community, ensures that our firefighters can rely on pure muscle memory, and allows for 100% interchangeability of tools and batteries on high-stress emergency scenes. In addition to new technology integrated into the equipment, this will allow our staff to track real-time equipment health the maintenance logs on a single digital dashboard. So it has some new technologies that are included in this equipment that will help us keep this equipment up to date. While the total purchase price is for $279,400, we'll end up receiving a $28,000 credit for trade-in of older equipment. In addition to that, that will bring the net cost to $251,400. I did discover a typo on our agenda summary that I'd like to make a correction to. It was showing a total cost of $267,850, which we'd like to amend to that $279,400. Funding for this equipment is included in this year's adopted budget. With that, we're asking for approval this evening to authorize this purchase, and I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you very much, Chief Cook. I have one question. As you said, we'll get a discount for turning in some of the old equipment.

Yes.

Is there an overlap there? I assume we'll get the new equipment, we'll get it in operation, get it on the trucks, and then...

100%. Yeah, we will not go without having this equipment. It's critical in all of our trucks.

Perfect. Thank you. We do have some council comments and questions, starting with Mr. Blair.

Thank you very much. Aaron, would you share my screen, please? So I see in the, I see the typo, but here's the quote. This is $227,000. There's still a delta. What's the reason for that, Chief?

So we have, let me pull this up so I can walk through this with you.

Is there another,

So there's another quote as well for the battery batteries for 28,000.

Got it. Okay. Yeah. And there's one other question. Um, yes, this picture, is this one of your chiseled firefighters from the calendar using that equipment? Do you recognize?

He may look familiar. He might be sitting right across from me here.

This stuff is heavy. I don't know how you guys do it, but, uh, you guys do amazing work. It was a privilege to train alongside you guys years ago. And, uh, I hope the new council members get a chance to do that because it's a life-changing event.

Absolutely. I believe some letters just went out in regards to that. So did we have a motion on that already?

I'm going to go ahead and move that we get the firefighters the tools they need, President.

I have a motion by Mr. Blair, seconded by Vice President Mangioli. We do have some additional council comments and questions here. Next up, Ms. Neubauer.

I don't have a question. I just wanted to say thank you for everything you're doing. We love our fire department. We support our fire department. And we pray for all of you guys, for your safety, mental health, everything. So you're awesome. This is already budgeted. It's just... and we just are super thankful for you. And I did not look like that in the outfit. I looked like a five-year-old wearing my dad's clothes. So I don't have a picture to share. I will never share those pictures again, but thank you. I may. look i think what did jason say it looked like take your kids to work day when i came to fire ops but anyway you guys are awesome and we care and each and every one of you um we're thinking about you and praying for you thank you thank you absolutely thank you miss uh miss new bauer next up uh miss menino

Yes, thank you, President Kerlock. Mr. Cook, I think I just read the answer to my question in the right up here. You're doing only six sets right now. Correct. But I just read there's a total of 11. That's correct. That was my question. So eventually we'll be to the other five. I don't know the timing on that, but that's in the. the thought process.

The other five are on reserve apparatus right now. So the battery purchase actually is going to allow us to extend the life of that equipment out a little bit longer. So I'd like to get 15 years out of that if we could. So maybe in another five years we'll be back for that purchase.

That was my question. I wanted to understand the scope of the equipment, and he did. Thank you.

I think there is a typo on this, so Mr Blair pointed this out. The total was 227. 600 for the equipment and 23800 for the batteries. So the total with the discount is 251 400. The total before the discount is that 279 400.

Correct.

So we're approving tonight $251,400.

As I understand it, through purchasing, we had to approve the whole amount, and then they would give us that credit back.

Got it. Okay. I see Mr. Snyder giving me the thumbs up here. So got it. Okay. Understood. We do have additional comments. Mr. Scalzi.

Thank you, President Carlock. Question, what do you guys use the batteries for? This is just kind of a geeky question. I'm like, that's a lot of batteries.

It's a lot of batteries. So the battery-operated equipment replaced portable generators that we used to carry. So each piece of equipment has two batteries. It has a battery that's in the equipment, and then a battery is spare. as a backup. So if we were to run out of power during an operation, then we can quickly replace that additional battery. So what it's done for us is given us full maneuverability. And what I mean is we can take this equipment anywhere. We could take it inside a building. It's actually even submergible, so we could use it underwater if we needed to. And with the older equipment, we wouldn't be able to do that with the older hydraulically powered generator powered equipment.

Like how much of these batteries I'm thinking of like a little Ryobi battery I use for my weed whacker but it sounds like yours are a little bigger than that.

Yeah he's a little bit more powerful.

Thank you. Thank you Mr. Scalzi and when you get a chance to go to fire ops you'll see it's imagine your little Ryobi battery attached to a 97 pound cutter or spreader.

Which I carried mine myself.

You did. You did. Pictures or it never happened. I got pictures. I got pictures.

I did. Chief, didn't I? I carried it all myself.

She did you? Witnessed all this. Yeah, she did it, yeah. Vice President Mongioli.

Thank you very much, President Carlock. So let it be noted, I didn't have a question for you. Your details in your cover letter were so thorough about what you were planning to do with these and the fact that you... We're getting the discount on it, made it even more attractive, so that part was great. I just wanted to chime in on the yay, we support our fire department and you could ask for, well, we're not gonna give you gold plated ones, but you could ask for a lot more, but we know that you do a great job in our community and we thank you and the team for all the work that you do. And I will encourage the new council members to go to Fire Ops because it is an experience. I still have my helmet from that. I'm so glad that I wasn't the smallest one after Ms. Neubauer joined the team to do that. But thank you very much. Please thank the team, and we're glad to be able to do this for you. Sure. Thank you, ma'am.

Thank you very much. So we have a motion by Mr. Blair, seconded by Vice President Mongioli. I don't see any further council comments or questions, so I'll read the resolution here. Resolved that the Rochester Hills City Council hereby authorizes the purchase of emergency extraction equipment which includes six spreaders, six cutters, six rams, 28 replacement batteries, software, and related accessories to McQueen, Delafield, Wisconsin in the amount of $279,400. Further resolve that the city's acceptance of the proposal and approval of the order of contract shall be contingent and conditioned upon the party's entry into and execution of a written agreement acceptable to the city. All those in favor. I any opposed that motion passes. Thanks chief cook.

Thank you sir. Thank you council.

Next up item 2026 dash zero two four nine request for purchase authorization. MIS blanket purchase order contract for functional support and application lifecycle management support services. for the city's J.D. Edwards Enterprise Resource Planning software systems in the amount not to exceed $1,800,000 for a five-year contract term to expire June 30th, 2031, De Novo, Boulder, Colorado. Ms. Lyons.

Good evening, President Carlock, Vice President Mongioli, City Council members, and Ms. Sudrovich. I'm here tonight to request your authorization of a blanket purchase order for a five-year support services agreement with DeNovo to continue the hosting, functional support, and application lifestyle management of our J.D. Edwards financial ERP system for $1,800,000. jd edwards is the fundamental technological backbone that runs all of our city's financial operations. we migrated to this mission critical application to de novo's cloud environment in 2020 and we continue to be highly satisfied with their technical expertise and responsiveness. The managed service model eliminates the heavy capital expenses required to maintain complex in-house servers and provides the city with the experts that manage and maintain the environment for the highest functional and secure posture. this agreement also keeps us code current this ensures that our financial data remains secure and stable without forcing the city into costly and disruptive upgrades every few years. The request is fully budgeted across our current and projected fiscal years covering a predictable monthly managed hosting fees critical functional support and a necessary contingency for specialized departmental projects such as adapting the city and the city is committed to evolving leave legal requirements for reporting in our discussions with the novel to extend this partnership they've agreed to hold our current contract pricing and terms for the next 5 years. Locking in the stable rates with the provider that is serve the city well it is the most fiscally Because it's a five-year agreement, I'm asking for a waiver of the three-year contract requirement in order to enter into the longer-term agreement. And with that, I ask for your support of this, and I am happy to answer any questions that you may have.

Thank you very much, Ms. Lyons. We do have some council comments from, can you guess who? Mr. Blair.

Guilty. Thank you, Rochelle. We appreciate you laying that out so clearly. A couple questions. First, absolutely, we'll waive the three-year. That's fantastic that they're locking in the pricing. I can't think of a better reason to justify the waiver of that administrative policy. My question is more infrastructure related. So with our largest system having been migrated, to what extent are we relying on our internal hosting capacity? I know we've got a big HPE cluster server thing. Or is this just files and printing? Or do we have like other apps that are still in-house? And kind of what's the trajectory for that aspect of our infrastructure over the next, you know, five to ten years?

great question so we're currently i would say maybe 30 cloud hosted overall okay so we still have a significant amount of our infrastructure that is here in-house that we maintain and protect we don't go to cloud unless it makes sense to go to cloud so we look at the financial implications at the staff that we have to take care of, whatever it is we're looking to move to cloud, does it make fiscal sense to move to cloud? Can we back that up? Part of, with de novo, part of our, what we get from that is that ability to back up and recover quickly, should there be a failure. So we look at each situation independently. For example, our BSNA services, those are all in-house. Our GIS services are mostly in-house. Our file and print, all in-house. We have some other legacy systems that are all in-house. But we do look to those cloud-hosted applications where they make sense.

Now, as I'm sure you're aware, and maybe not everybody necessarily on this side of the dais, but these types of things all have a service level agreement of some sort. What level of availability are they promising, and what happens if they're not meeting those metrics?

Well, that would be a contractual problem that we would work with our purchasing department on that if they did not meet their SLA. SLA, I believe, is at 98%. Okay. And we have never had a problem with de novo.

98% is potentially six days in the year that they potentially now is that down for maintenance or is that down for, because you can, I mean 98% is nothing if it's like, Oh, we're going to take it down for this weekend for an upgrade or something. I'm talking about when it's supposed to be up and it's not. Yes. Is that four nines? Is that five nines? Are you sure? Do you know?

Well, I don't have that right here in front of me right now. It's been a long time since we looked at that. However, I can tell you that maintenance is done at off hours only through approval of my department and that is all We've had one service level interruption of one hour the entire time We've been with de novo and that had to do with a configuration change that happened between their pipe and our pipe We fixed it we got it back up and running and our our ERP was back online.

Well, appreciate all your diligence. And you know, that water main break was a reminder that stuff you count on all the time is great until it fails. It can be running and running and running. But one day, you know, it's not going to. So I appreciate your vigilance. I appreciate you breaking that down for everybody. And I move the motion, President Carlock.

Thank you very much. A motion by Mr. Blair, seconded by Vice President Mangioli. I do have some comments. Vice President Mangioli.

Thank you very much so much, Rochelle, for putting this all together for us. The question I have is, I know internal we're good, but RARAS also uses Rochester Hills as its fiduciary, and sometimes their systems don't always talk to our systems. Is that going to be corrected with this contract? Can you elaborate on that a little bit? I want to say it was timesheets, and maybe it's been a year or two since it's been a problem, but it was Some financial reporting that they had to do that required them to do double entry because their system their park software Didn't talk to our software.

I'm not familiar with what the problem was I know that there was an issue at one time it had to do with an ip address change on their end, and until we could chase that down, we couldn't make it so that they could securely talk to our system. So that was one thing that did happen, but that was quite a while ago.

Good. Glad to hear it's fixed. They haven't complained about it in a while, but they've also had a lot of other new software coming in there, so I wasn't sure which side addressed the issue, so thank you.

We work really closely with the accounting department and with them so that they can have the level of access that they need, and if they do have a problem, We have a liaison within our department that works directly between our team and DeNovo to make sure the issues are addressed, timely, documented, and taken care of. That's great.

Your team does a great job. So thank you very much. I'm very glad to second this motion. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Ms. Menino.

Yes. Thank you, President Carlock. Rachel, just have a quick question for you. Just to confirm, the scope of the JD Edwards, is it only financial management or is it including HR? It includes HR. And purchasing as well?

Yes. So it includes accounting, fiscal, purchasing, HR. Got it. Those are the key stakeholders. Okay. That's what I wanted to confirm.

Good. Sure. I'm fine.

Thanks.

Thank you very much. So we have a motion by Mr. Blair, seconded by Vice President Mangioli. I don't see any further council comments. Read the resolution. Resolved that the Rochester Hills City Council hereby waives Section 2-273B, the requirement for long-term contracts, under Section 2-281, which allows City Council the authority to waive any regulation or procedure pertaining to purchasing, deeming it to be in the best interest of the City. Further resolved that the Rochester Hills City Council hereby authorizes a Blanket Purchase Order contract for functional support and application lifecycle management support services for the city's jd edwards enterprise resource planning software system to de novo boulder colorado in the amount not to exceed 1,800,000 for a five-year contract term to expire june 30th 2031 and further authorizes the mayor to execute the contract addendum on behalf of the city all those in favor aye any opposed that motion passes thank you very much thank you Next up, item 2026-0190, request for acceptance of grant, parks, recommendation to accept the terms of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, fiscal year 26, one-time enhancement grant agreement, grant number E-2026-0105 between the City of Rochester Hills and the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity for roadway infrastructure and community gathering space at Nowicki Park in the amount of $2 million. State of Michigan, Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, Lansing, Michigan. Mr. Elworth.

Good evening, President Carlock, Vice President Mangioli, City Council, Ms. Sudrovich, and also Ms. Pizzuti. You have in front of you a request to approve the grant agreement for the $2 million. This is as Mr. Wright had referred to previously. This is an LDSI that the state puts into a grant. We were not expecting this. This is a great win for us on that, working with them and, of course, Representative Tisdall bringing this forward for us and championing it, and then Senator Weber co-sponsoring that. So we appreciate that. This goes... primarily to the community building at new wiki park and and also some design fees as well on that that were able to request for reimbursement some assuming it is approved tonight we'll we'll start to move on that reimbursement process as as soon as we're able.

With that I'll take any questions excellent well love to hear money coming this way so this one is this one is a good one. Vice President Mangioli.

Thank you, President Carlock. Mr. Elbert, thank you so much for your answer to my questions that I sent out previously. So, President Carlock, if we could include those in the minutes from today's meeting. You answered all my questions. I move the resolution in our packet. Thank you very much. And I'm glad to see that maybe we're a little less of a donor city from the state because of this appropriation. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I have a motion by Vice President Mangioli, seconded by Councilwoman Neubauer. I don't see any further council comments on this. Nobody's going to grill them? No?

OK.

So I have a motion by Vice President Mangioli, seconded by Councilwoman Neubauer, resolved that the Rochester Hills City Council accepts the terms of the grant agreement between the city and the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, fiscal year 26, one-time enhancement grant grant E 20, 26, zero one zero five for $2 million for roadway infrastructure and a community gathering space at Nowiki park and further authorizes the mayor to execute the agreement and any subsequent real required documentation on behalf of the city. All those in favor. Aye. Any opposed? All right. That motion passes. Thank you, Mr. Elwood. Next up item 2026 dash 0233 request for purchase authorization facilities. Blanket purchase order contract for as needed miscellaneous concrete work services in the amount not to exceed $270,000 through June 30th, 2029. Luigi Ferdinandi and son Cement Company, Roseville, Michigan. Mr Vizenko.

Good evening, President Carlock, Vice President Mangioli, City Council, and Mrs. Sedrovic. This is the item in front of you. Unfortunately, I'm not giving you money. I'm going to be asking for money. So that's a tough act to follow right there. This is for a three-year contract for concrete remove and replace for all the city buildings. And I'm here to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you very much, Mr. Vizanko. I have a motion by Councilwoman Neubauer, seconded by... Mr. Lindberg, I don't see any council comments or questions. So I'll read the resolution resolved that the Rochester Hills city council hereby authorizes, uh, authorizes award for as needed miscellaneous concrete work services to Luigi Ferdinandi and son cement company, Roseville, Michigan, and the amount not to exceed $270,000 through June 30th, 2029, and further authorizes the procurement manager to execute an agreement on behalf of the city. Further resolve that the city's acceptance of the proposal and approval of the award of a contract shall be contingent and conditioned upon the party's entry into an execution of a written agreement acceptable to the city. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes. Thank you. Thank you. Next up. Item 2026-0243, request to authorize a six-year extension of the Clinton River Watershed Council CRWC lease of the city-owned building located at 1115 West Avon Road. Mr. Vizenko and Mr. Schneider.

Okay.

Well, I'll kind of take over here, Mr. Vizenko and myself, as well as Mr. Christ, kind of work to help put this six-year lease together, but... Again, thank you, President Carlock, Vice President Mangioli, and good evening, City Council and Mr. Drovich. Presented before you tonight is a request for City Council to authorize a six-year extension of the Clinton River Watershed Council lease of the city-owned building located at 1115 West Avon Road. building right here in front of city hall starting july first of 2026 all the way through june thirtieth of 2032. The clinton river watershed council has been a tenant at one one one five west avon road since february first of the clinton river watershed council as well as the city both appreciate the strong partnership we've had over this past decade plus there have been no problems or concerns with the occupancy of this building over the past 15 years from the city's perspective and the annual lease payments from the clinton river watershed council have fully covered any and all city costs related to the facility each year. This new six year lease extension has been reviewed and updated by both the city of rochester hills and the Clinton River Watershed Council's respective legal counsels. The monthly rent will be increasing by $250 per month from the current levels for years one through two. additional $250 per month in years three and four and then an additional $250 per month on top of that in years five and six the Clinton River Watershed Council board approved the new six-year lease extension at their May 6th 2026 meeting and Myself mr. Vizenko and mrs. Crist are here if there's any questions on the contract itself. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Mr. Snyder Don't see any comments or questions I have a motion by Vice President Mangioli, seconded by Councilwoman Neubauer. I don't see any council comments or questions. Resolved that the Rochester Hill City Council hereby authorizes a six-year extension on the Clinton River Watershed Council CRWC lease for the building located at 1115 West Avon Road and further authorizes the mayor to execute the lease. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes. Thank you very much. Thank you. Next up, item 2026-0251, Request for Purchase Authorization, DPS Engineering, Contract Blanket Purchase Order for Design Engineering Services for the Rochester Road M150 Sanitary System Rehabilitation Project in the amount not to exceed $67,000, Hubbell, Roth & Clark, Inc., Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Ms. Ballant.

Good evening, Council President. Carlock, Vice President Mangioli, City Council, and Mr. Drovich. The Department of Public Services is seeking approval for a $67,000 contract with HRC to design repairs for a sanitary sewer system along Rochester Road. By coordinating with MDOT's upcoming road resurfacing and reconstruction project scheduled for 2027 and 2028, we can complete these utility repairs while the pavement is already removed. This proactive approach will save money the city's significant road restoration costs in the future. HRC is currently managing other city projects within this corridor and has access to MDOT's design plans. This positioning allows them to meet a tight deadline required to meet the state's November 2026 bid opening, so it's pretty quick. With that, I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Thank you very much. I don't see any council comments or questions. I have a motion by Vice President Mongioli, seconded by Mr. Limburg. I will read this. Resolved that the Rochester Hills City Council hereby authorizes a contract blanket purchase order for design engineering services for the Rochester Road M-150 Sanitary System Rehabilitation Project to Hubbell, Roth, and Clark, Inc., Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, in the amount not to exceed $67,000, and further authorizes the procurement manager to execute an agreement on behalf of the city. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes. And it looks like you're not going anywhere.

Nope.

Got a few more here. Okay. Item 2026-0258, request for purchase authorization, DPS engineering contract blanket purchase order for the Dutton Road water main replacement project. in the amount of $973,761.44 with a 10% project contingency in the amount of $97,376.14 for a total not to exceed project amount of $1,071,137.58. Bidegare Contractors, Inc., Plymouth, Michigan. Thank you.

The Department of Public Services recommends moving forward with bidigary contractors for the Dutton Road water main replacement project by exercising our second and final contract renewal option. We have worked with bidigary contractors for several years and they do really good work. This particular project involves replacing the existing water main infrastructure along Dutton Road from Wales Drive to Adams Road to ensure long-term service reliability. The work is expected to begin in September and take approximately five weeks to complete. Please note that the timing of the plan, the timing has been extended a little bit to start the work in September due to plan completion and permitting took a little longer than expected and the contractor had already commenced another project in another community. So with that, I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Thank you very much. We do have some council comments. Ms. Mangioli.

Thank you, President Karlak. Thank you, Ms. Balint, for answering my questions I had on this issue as far as the detours and the timing of the project and when we would see it as well as some of the other projects you'd mentioned in the executive summary. So I appreciate that. And President Karlak, if we could put those as part of the minutes for tonight's meeting, that would be great. And with that, I move the resolution in our packet.

Thank you very much. I have a motion by Ms. Mangioli, seconded by Ms. Neubauer. I don't see any council comments or questions. Read the resolution. Resolved that the Rochester Hill City Council hereby authorizes a contract blanket purchase order for the Dutton Road water main replacement project to bid a Gary contractors Inc Plymouth, Michigan in the amount of $973,761.44 with a 10% project contingency in the amount of $97,376.14 for a total not to exceed project amount of $1,071,137.58 and further authorizes the mayor to execute an agreement on behalf of the city. Further resolve that the city's acceptance of the proposal and approval of the award of a contract shall be contingent and conditioned upon the party's entry into an execution of a written agreement acceptable to the city. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes. Next up. is item 2026-0247, Request for Purchase Authorization, DPS Engineering, Contract Blanket Purchase Order for Cross-Connection Program Management Services in the amount not to exceed $265,000 through June 30, 2028, HydroCorp, Troy, Michigan.

The Department of Public Services is requesting to renew our contract with HydroCorp for an additional two years extending the partnership through June, 2028. This contract ensures the city remains fully compliant with the Michigan safe drinking water act through the management of our mandated drinking water safety and cross connection control program. Hydro core has agreed to maintain their current pricing, allowing us to continue this essential service without a budget increase. Having partnered with hydro core for the last decade, we have consistently seen excellent results. They've been really good to work with. So please let me know if you have any questions.

I don't see any council comment questions. I have a motion by Councilman Neubauer, seconded by Vice President Mangioli. Resolved that the Rochester Hills City Council hereby authorizes a contract blanket purchase order for cross-connection program management services to Hydro Corp. Troy, Michigan in the amount not to exceed $265,000 through June 30, 2028 and further authorizes the procurement manager to execute an agreement on behalf of the city. Further resolve that the city's acceptance of the proposal and approval of the award of a contract shall be contingent and conditioned upon the party's entry into and execution of a written agreement acceptable to the city. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes. Scratching them off here.

For me.

Item 2026-0250, request for purchase authorization DPS garage. Blanket purchase order for the purchase of rock salt. Already?

Yeah.

All right. For the purchase of rock salt for the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 winter seasons in the amount not to exceed $650,000. $668.20 through June 30th, 2028, the Detroit salt company, Detroit, Michigan.

DPS is proposing to secure our winter road salt. Unfortunately already supply for the next two seasons by joining a 26 community purchasing cooperative led by Farmington Hills. By participating in the joint effort, we can lock in pricing from the Detroit salt company at $71 in 81 cents per ton for the upcoming winter and $75.40 per ton for the following year. A significant benefit of this cooperative is the built-in flexibility which allows us to adjust our assault orders by up to 30% without affecting the contracted rate. This provides a vital safety net given the unpredictability of Michigan's winter weather. Please let me know if you have any questions.

So I do have one question. So when we enter into this agreement, You said we can adjust it by up to 30%.

Our order.

So we can increase or decrease it without affecting the pricing.

That's my understanding.

Okay. Okay. I have a motion by Mr. Lindbergh, seconded by Councilwoman Neubauer. Oh, and I do have some comments. Mr. Scalzi.

Last year there was a salt shortage. Were we affected by that at all? No.

We weren't, um, there was concern that we would be, but we did have enough that, um, in stock that we were okay. Um, again, we were very concerned. We were communicating with Detroit salt, you know, through Farmington Hills. Um, but it worked out okay for, for Rochester Hills.

So does this like initiative, does it like safeguard against a shortage at all? I mean,

I don't want to say it doesn't. I think the winter was pretty unpredictable and the use was more than what was expected. Right. My understanding also had to do maybe not necessarily, don't quote me, with the salt itself, but with the trucking and getting the salt to the communities in time.

Okay. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I don't see any further council comments or questions. I have a motion by Mr. Lindbergh, seconded by Ms. Neubauer. Resolved that the Rochester Hills City Council hereby authorizes a blanket purchase order for the purchase of rock salt for the 2026, 2027, and 2027, 2028 winter season to the Detroit Salt Company, Detroit, Michigan, in the amount not to exceed $650,668.20 through June 30th, 2028. Further, resolved that the city's acceptance of the proposal and approval of the award of a contract shall be contingent and conditioned upon the party's entry into and execution of a written agreement acceptable to the city. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes. Next up, item 2026-0253, request for purchase authorization DPS fleet purchase of one new 2026 Elgin Regen X1 regenerative air street sweeper in the amount of $392,446, Mack Queen Group, Lake Orion, Michigan.

DPS is requesting to replace an aging street sweeper that has reached the end of its reliable lifespan. Staff have selected a specific replacement model that matches our existing freight liner fleet and is expected to reduce future engine maintenance and fuel consumption by half. Street sweepers are essential for maintaining clean roads, preventing local street flooding, and capturing contaminants before they enter into the local watershed. All debris collected and is transported to an improved landfill for proper disposal. Currently, DPS cleans the streets approximately twice a year, MANSELLA LOCAL AND MAJOR ROADS. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WE DO HAVE SOME COUNCIL COMMENTS. VICE PRESIDENT MANGIOLI.

THANK YOU, PRESIDENT KARDLIK. AGAIN, THANK YOU, MS. BELIN, FOR ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS. IF WE COULD PUT THOSE INTO THE RECORD. MY QUESTION HAD BEEN ABOUT, ALL RIGHT, SO HOW DOES THIS STREET SWEEPER DO ALL THIS WORK? AND YOU SAY IT ONLY GETS ON THE STREETS TWICE A YEAR, SO THESE micro particles and seasonal debris. By the time you get around to me, the salt that was put down on the road in January, you might not get to my street till June. So how do we keep some of that debris? That part, I just couldn't quite understand if this is required by the state.

Sure, that's a good question. It's spring and fall. So in the spring, we're getting the... you know salt and other debris through the winter and then fall before going into winter we're getting the other debris and there's also a lot of like exhaust like fluids and stuff that are on the ground and the street sweeper actually is not sweeping just sweeping right it is actually sucking up this debris and that's why the debris is taken to an approved landfill so it's doing more like we do have sweepers that will like go sweep off gravel like at the edge of a gravel road to paved road, this is actually like a vacuum sweeper. And that's how it's removing the debris. But they do specifically go in the spring and the fall. And it seems like the timing. And sometimes some of the roads we are able to hit three times a year. We focus like on the major roads might get three times a year versus the locals and two times a year because that's where you're going to get more debris, right? It's most likely on the major roads.

Right, because when I was a kid, it used to be such fun to watch the street sweeper come down the street and clean and relieve the path of water like it was a trail down the street. So it was a great thing because you didn't see it very often. But when I saw all the things that we were supposed to do about vehicular emissions and microscopic tire particles, I'm like, okay, that I had to find out a little bit more on how we're doing that piece. And knowing we get it twice a year, that's good. One of the things that former Councilman Moreland used to add, is that Moreland? stuff marita used to ask for is when we get new trucks can we get pictures of them can we get you know an invitation down to dps to come see this this thing before you put it out on the road um will it be at tons of trucks at the end well you won't have it in time yeah probably not what will we do with the old street sweeper it's my understanding you put it to auction like they do with the other equipment you can buy it run it up and down your street good When I asked, I thought she was going to say put it out to pasture, and I was worried. Well, maybe.

It does sound like it's pretty aged.

Well, I hope you're entertaining children for generations to come with the street sweeper going down the road. And with that, I move the resolution in our packet. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Vice President Mangioli. I have a motion by Vice President Mangioli, seconded by Councilwoman Neubauer. Ms. Ballard, I had one quick question. Do we run them twice a year, or are they running continuously and just pass every house twice a year? I just did a quick Google, and I guess we have somewhere around 260 miles of roads.

Yeah, we have a set route. And in the spring, they do the route once. And then in the fall, they do the route for a second time. But then in between, I don't know, timing exactly I know they sometimes will hit the third but it's like a specific I don't recall exactly like how long that takes but I know they do one whole route in the in the spring and one entire route in the fall got it yeah yeah that was my thought yeah I thought maybe I'm like do we have multiple street sweepers but it's just the one just one oh okay so all right

Okay, no further council comments or questions. I have a motion by Vice President Mangioli, seconded by Councilwoman Neubauer, resolved that the Rochester Hills City Council hereby authorizes the purchase of one new 2026 Elgin Regen X1 Regenerative Air Street Sweeper to Mack Queen Group, Lake Orion, Michigan, in the amount of $392,446. Further resolved that the city's acceptance of the proposal and approval of the award of a contract shall be contingent and conditioned upon the party's entry into and execution of a written agreement acceptable to the city all those in favor aye any opposed that motion passes thank you very much thank you Next up, item 2026-0242, request for purchase authorization fiscal, approval of renewal of insurance coverage, general liability, motor vehicle physical damage, property and crime coverage, pool contributions costs, stop loss coverage, SIR, self-insured retention fund replenishment, legal defense, And risk management consulting in the amount of $530,000 for the period July 1, 2026 through July 1, 2027. Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority, MMRMA, Livonia, Michigan. Mr. Schneider.

Okay. Well, thank you again, President Carlock, Vice President Mangioli. Good evening again, city council members and Mr. Drovich. Yeah, not as exciting as a street sweeper, but insurance is important. And presented before you tonight's request for the Rochester Hills City Council to renew the city's insurance policy with the Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority, hereby known as MMRMA, for a one-year period beginning July 1st, 2026 through July 1st of 2027. The contract is in the amount of $509,482, and that represents a 3.6% increase from last year. However, occasionally there are some adjustments made to the city's insurance policy over the course of the year. So just because of that, the full adopted budget amount of $530,000 is being requested to be approved tonight just in case there's any valuation changes or additional assets added to the policy. The MMRMA provides assistance to local units of government in the states to provide assistance with administrative claims, legal defense, risk management consultation, as well as loss control services. The city of Rochester Hills has been a member of the MMRMA self-insurance pool since 1985, so we are a longtime member. And with that long-time member status, that provides the city with a long-term member share of net asset distributions, which are shared by the MMRMA back to its member communities. the city has been a form that upon successful renewal of our twenty twenty six twenty twenty seven policy then our may will send the city a net asset distribution uh... check or now they actually do it electronically so we get a rebate check in the amount of two hundred and twenty eight thousand six hundred forty four dollars which would uh... result in a net cost for citywide insurance of two hundred eighty thousand dollars this year which is actually just slightly lower than our net cost of insurance last year And so with that, I'm available for any questions you may have.

Thank you very much, Mr. Schneider. Can we not get them to bring a big check? I just like it.

Just put it in my account. Otherwise, I've got to go to the ATM. Yeah, it's difficult.

Yeah, I agree. I agree. We do have some council comments. Mr. Blair.

Every time this item comes for approval, I drill into the attachments, and I'm reminded of just what an incredible deal this is. I've pulled up kind of our vehicle roster, and just the passenger vehicles alone, we've got 24 of them. to insure those for a year, about $12,000, and we get like half of that back. That's remarkable, and it's just a testament to what you can achieve against big business when you all come together. So very much in support of this. I appreciate you bringing it to us, and the President and I move this for approval.

Thank you very much, Mr. Blair. So the motion by Mr. Blair, seconded by Mr. Lindberg. I don't see any other council comments, resolved that the city of Rochester Hills City Council hereby authorizes a blanket purchase order contribution to the Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority, MMRMA, of Livonia, Michigan, for general liability, motor vehicle physical damage, property and crime coverage, pool contributions, stop-loss coverage, SIR, self-insured retention, fund replenishment, and risk management consulting in the amount not to exceed $530,000 for the period of July 1st, 2026 through July 1st, 2027. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes. Thank you. Thank you. Next and... hopefully final here, 2026-0271, Strategic Planning and Policy Review Committee's Recommendation of the City Council's Goals and Objectives for Fiscal Year 2027.

Okay, well, I'll just kind of start this off because this is City Council's Goals and Objectives, so I'll stay on my piece and let you guys finish, but presented before you tonight are the proposed City Council's Strategic Goals and Objectives for Fiscal Year 2027. On both May 11th and June 1st, the City Council Strategic Planning and Policy Technical Review Committee, comprised of Vice President Mangioli, Mr. Blair, and Ms. Menino, met to review, discuss, and evaluate the City Council's strategic goals and objectives for the upcoming fiscal year 2027. And it's really the confirmation of the City Council's strategic goals and objectives for the upcoming year that provides the important direction to city staff. And that direction from City Council leads to administration's strategic development of the upcoming three-year budget. This time we'll cover 2027 to 2029. And that's administration's multi-year action plan for accomplishing the specific objectives listed in pursuit of the City Council's strategic goals. and talking to my peers around the state of Michigan, I strongly believe this very step which leads into strict administrations uh... strategic budget development process is a major factor why city council administration have such a positive working relationship it affirms that we are all on the same page regarding the future priorities of the city of rochester hills right at the beginning and it really gives administration are marching orders for the upcoming three-year budget plan so uh... administration i we truly appreciate the time attention uh... discussions had by city council strategic planning and policy technical review committee and reviewing their goals and objectives for the upcoming year. And with that, I will turn it back over to the city council or any members from the committee to make any comments.

Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Snyder. We do have some council comments. Vice President Mangioli.

Thank you, President Karlak. I have to tell you, this was such a fun committee to be on. This is my third year on it, and we did a complete tear-up of the strategic objectives. I sat in the... went through it today and I was highlighting the different areas of what was added, what we moved, what we reworded. There are very few objectives that didn't have something. And I have to thank David Blair's mother for being such an exceptional English teacher because he would get us with how many times is that word in a sentence and where did that comma supposed to go and really helped us streamline the wording of some of the objectives. GET TO THE ROOT CAUSE OF SOME OF THE WHY WE PUT THE OBJECTIVE IN TO MAKE US HONE IN. MS. MANINO BROUGHT IN HER PERSPECTIVE OF FINANCE SO WE STARTED ADDING SOME DIFFERENT ONES IN THERE. IT WAS TRULY A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT. OUR LAST MEETING WAS AN HOUR AND A HALF. WE REALLY WENT THROUGH EVERY ONE OF THESE. MY CONTRIBUTION WAS THE TOP PARAGRAPH BECAUSE I felt it needed something to say what these are. If somebody picked up the strategic objectives, they would know that it is the city council strategic planning goals and objectives to reflect the city council priorities for fiscal year 2027. Community with residents and businesses, staff and the city services and infrastructure are the priority of city council and guide investing in oversight of the community's tax dollars. We must ensure Rochester Hills continues to be the preeminent place residents and businesses want to live, work, and play. So from there, it builds in on our goals of public safety, fiscal management, infrastructure, EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE, RECREATION PARKS AND NATURAL RESOURCES, COMMUNITY NEIGHBORHOODS AND CULTURAL ECONOMIC TAX BASE, THE CITY WORKFORCE AND THE COMMUNITY TRUST AND PARTICIPATION. AND WE REALLY WENT THROUGH EVERY ONE OF THESE. SO FOR COUNCIL TO THE ONES WHO WERE NOT ON THE COMMITTEE, YOU MISSED OUT ON A GREAT OPPORTUNITY to really get to what we what we believe in what we want to focus on and and i'm going to enjoy going to the budget committee and the budget workshop in august to see how these words translate into action from the staff and hopefully if they have questions for us they'll come back because we did change things i mean even the names of the goals we changed and we added cultural and we moved added in what changed recreation parks and natural resources. I mean, we focused in on so many different pieces of what we thought were the original intention of the goals, but then became our wording. So this council's wording. in what we want to do going forward. So I truly enjoyed working with Mr. Blair and Ms. Menino on developing this as well as Mr. Snyder who was trying to be our scribe in as we were moving things around and changing and I went through just to make sure did he catch everything that we were moving and you did an exceptional job. So thank you very much for doing that. And with that, I will move the resolution in our packet, but gladly answer any questions from council members relative to what we did here.

Thank you very much. I have a motion by Vice President Mongioli, seconded by Mr. Blair. Did you use AI to reword anything?

No, we didn't. We actually wrote the words ourselves.

H-I, human intelligence. Human intelligence. Love it, love it. Maybe inspired by it.

And it was some of the dialogue that was so great as far as seeing where David and Diana brought in their views and taking what we had in the past to be able to come up with these. It was just it was very energizing to do this. So thank you.

Excellent. Excellent. Thank you. We do have some further council comments and questions. Mr. Blair.

Thank you, President Carlock. I'll tack on to what Vice President Mangioli said. It was really an honor to be on this committee. I've seen this agenda item presented six times so far, and to actually be involved in crafting it and knowing that that's going to serve as kind of a rubric for the next council is very humbling. I will pass on accolades to my mother. She will appreciate that very much. And Joe, you were doing a fantastic job keeping up with the barrage of edits. So well done. I'm happy to approve this tonight, and I'm happy to answer any questions as well. Back to you, Prez.

Thank you very much, Mr. Blair. Mr. Lindberg.

Yes, thank you very much, President Karlak. I want to congratulate the committee on writing this. When I was reading through them, everything made very clear. clear sense to me, very clear, concise. There are no questions about what the goals are, the objectives are for each section. It just read very well and I wholeheartedly support it.

Thank you very much. Ms. Menino.

thank you president carlock I just as the third member of the committee I wanted to chime into and again thank you want to thank joe for facilitating I think he really helped us also focus in and it was part of the discussion but I do like my counterparts believe that this is a very important upfront process it sets the direction it signals to the administration into the residents what we believe are the strategic goals of the city. And it's highly visible, so if there's any questions, concerns, we didn't do something, we missed something, we are definitely open to taking suggestions. This can be a living document into the next budget or even this one. But I just wanted to reiterate that it was a great exercise. I really enjoyed working with my team here. And I look forward to the results and see what the budget looks like in August. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I don't see any further Council comments or questions here. I have a motion by Vice President Mangioli, seconded by Mr. Blair. I'll read the resolution. Whereas the Rochester Hills City Council strategic planning goals and objectives reflect the City Council's priorities for fiscal year 2027, community, residents, and businesses, staff, and the city's services and infrastructure are the priority of City Council and guide investing and oversight of the community's tax dollars. We must ensure Rochester Hills continues to be the preeminent place residents and businesses want to live, work, and play. Resolved that the Rochester Hill City Council establishes the following as its fiscal year 2027 goals and objectives as printed in the resolution contained in your packet. All three pages and nine goals and sub objectives. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes. Thank you, council. Thank you.

All right, let's get budgeting.

Let's get it.

We actually dropped the goal because Mr. Blair helped us reword things and move the tenth goal into other places. Excellent.

Excellent. Okay. At this time, I don't have any further business in front of the Rochester Hills City Council. Next meeting date is regular meeting Monday, June 27, 2026, 7 p.m. here in the auditorium. I have a motion by Councilwoman Neuber, seconded by Vice President Mangioli of adjournment. All those in favor?

Aye.

Any opposed? I didn't think so. See you all in a couple weeks.