City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening everyone. I'm Allen Joines, mayor  of Winston Salem. It's my pleasure to call to   order this May 4th meeting of the Winston -Salem City Council. Somebody's got to say   it. May the 4th again. Welcome tonight. I'll  ask the city council or city clerk to call the   role please. Council member Joiner present.  Council member Clark here. Council member   Andree Bowen here. Council member Scippio  present. Mayor Pro Tempore Adams here. Council   member Taylor present. Council member Hall  present. And council member Burke here.   Thank you very much. Would you please join  the city council me in a moment of silence? Thank you. Would you please join the city  council me in the pledge of 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. Thank you very much. Our sergeant-at-arms tonight  is Lieutenant Joshua Caffy and our   fire marshall tonight is Pete Gyke. Thank you for  being with us, keeping us safe here in our meeting   tonight. Uh our meeting is being televised live  tonight on TV 13 as well as on the city's YouTube   page and it will be replayed on uh tomorrow at  9:00 a.m. and again Wednesday night at 900 PM.   Of course, as you know, copies of our agenda as  well as videos of previous meetings are always   available online on the city's website and just  click on the watch meetings online option. Now,   I'd like to recognize our city manager, Mr.  Pate, for presentation. Uh, thank you, mayor.   A couple of u general items. First, today marks  the start of public service recognition week,  

which is celebrated nationally the first full  week of May each year to honor the people who   serve our nation as federal, state, local, and  tribal government employees. This includes all   of our tremendous city of Winston Salem staff  members whose dedication supports the quality   of life for our residents every day. Public  service servants provide the essential services   that keep our communities running. Both those  that are public facing and also those that are   behind the scenes. We have a remarkable team  of professionals who have chosen a career in   local government service that are serving you and  our residents. It's my honor to publicly express   appreciation for the city all of the city of  Winston Salem employees and to reaffirm our shared   commitment to sustaining a strong respected public  workforce. and I thank council's involvement in   helping make that happen. The uh city's 2025  water quality report has been released. It's a   snapshot of last year's water quality and includes  details about the sources of your drinking water,   how it is treated, what it contains, and exactly  how it compares to standards set by state and   federal regulatory agencies. for 2025. As in  previous years, our treatment facilities have   met or surpassed all state and federal require  requirements and standards for drinking water   quality. This accomplishments reflects the quality  and dedication of these employees working for you   each and every day of the year to make sure we  have clean and good drinking water. That report   is available on our website if anyone wants  to read. We also want to make sure everyone   knows that applications are now open on our city  website for the city of Winston Salem University.   This is an educational program designed to  help residents gain a better understanding   of the functions and roles of city government and  the responsibilities of our various departments.  

This once a year 12-week course is free and  meets each week on Thursdays from 6 to 9.   Classes will be held at city hall and other city  locations. Those classes begin on August 20th,   but class size is limited. So, we encourage people  to apply and you can begin. The deadline to apply   is on Monday, July 6th. Um, a couple of events to  make sure that you are aware of and the and the   community. The Foresight County Law Enforcement  Memorial Service will be held on Tuesday, May 5th.   tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. at Two Cities Church  located at 101 or 101 North Patterson Avenue   in Winston Salem. The service will honor the lives  and legacy of local law enforcement officers who   have lost their lives in the line of duty. This  annual event is a collaborative effort among all   law enforcement agencies in Foresight County.  The service is open to the public and lunch   will be provided for all attendees following  the ceremony. The North Carolina department   another event the North Carolina Department of  Transportation and the city of Winston Salem   are proposing to construct a new sidewalk along  the east and west sides of Jonestown Road which   is State Road 1122 from US 421 to Country Club  Road. The purpose of this project is to improve   pedestrian safety by completing missing segments  of sidewalk along both sides of Jonestown Road.   Public meeting on this will be held again  tomorrow, Tuesday, May 5th, from 4:30 to 6:30   at Little Creek Recreation Center at 610 Fox Cross  Fox Croft Drive here in Winston Salem. This coming   Thursday at May on May 7th, coffee wall cop coffee  with a cop will take place from 8 to 11 at Toasted   Winston Salem at 526 North Liberty Street. This  is a drop-in event for community members to get  

to know our law enforcement personnel a little  better. And then on this Saturday, the May 9th   at 10 p.m. at Winston Lake Park, you can get ready  to sink or swim at Keep Winston Salem Beautiful's   cardboard riato. So, we're challenging everyone  to build a functional vessel using only three   ingredients: cardboard, duct tape, and water solub  soluble paint. Whether you're an amateur architect   or just looking for a splashy afternoon, Riata  is all about engineering, teamwork, and it says a   little bit of luck. But some of those ones that I  saw, they they had a lot of engineering into them   last year. Uh, but we encourage folks if uh you  want to do that, that's a a fun way to to spend   a few hours. To me, it looked like a lot of family  projects putting those boats together last year.   Also, during the month of May, residents have an  opportunity to learn how the neighborhood services   department can assist with code enforcement  concerns, homeowners lending opportunities,   affordable housing questions, and more. There's  an open house series that allows residents to   talk one-on-one with subject matter experts. The  time for all meetings is between 6:00 and 7 and   they're going to be at there's four different  locations. May 18th at Mini Lee Davis Harris   Community Center on the 19th at the Sprag Street  Community Center on May 20th at the Hannes Hosery   Community Center. And on May 24th 21st at Carl  Russell Community Center. That's four days in a   row, 18th, 19th, 20, and 21st. And I'm sure you  can find additional information on our website   if you are looking for specifics on that.  Um, a couple of quick recognitions. One,   um, in case you don't know, Governor Josh Stein  appointed our own Winston Salem Mayor Allan Joins  

to the North Carolina Local Government Employees  Retirement System Board of Trustees. Um he fills a   seat that was vacated by former mayor Nancy Vaughn  with a term of service running through March 31st,   2028. So we congratulate Mayor Joins and  thank him for being willing to look after our and as I think most of you are aware, our  current chief financial officer, Kelly Laam,   is retiring uh Friday. In accordance with  the North Carolina general statutes, the city   must have a chief financial officer. So, Deputy  Finance Officer DP Singa has been appointed as the   interim chief financial officer effective April  27th, but I think Kelly's in the room. And so,   I I don't I didn't tell her she was going to  have a chance to say anything or or do anything,   but I I would ask her just to stand at  least and be recognized and thank her for I I'll give you the floor if you want it, Kelly. Thank you. That that's that's all I have unless  there are other questions from council. Thank you,   Mr. P. Any questions for Mr. Pate? Mr.  Clark, I would just like to say a comment   because Miss Leam has to put up with me  as the U head of the finance committee,   but she's done a wonderful job. Uh we've  had a audited financial statement every   year. We've kept our AAA bond rating. Uh  and things have been very very smooth. We   just you don't hear a lot from her because  she takes care of business. But we're going   to miss you. Good luck on the next chapter of  your life and please come visit every now and   then. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Clark.  Good point. We have item H1, please. Item H1, resolution declaring May 2026 historic  preservation month in Winston Salem, North   Carolina. Whereas the city of Winston Salem joins  cities and counties across the United States in a  

nationwide celebration of historic preservation  month. And whereas historic preservation is an   effective tool for economic development, tourism  promotion, revital revitalizing neighborhoods,   fostering local pride and maintaining community  character while enhancing livability. And whereas   historic preservation month is sponsored by the  Foresight County Historic Resources Commission.   And whereas the Historic Resources Commission's  mission is to con protect and enrich the city and   county's cultural, historical, architectural,  and archaeological heritage through the   identification, designation, and preservation  of historic resources. And whereas the Historic   Resources Commission strives to promote the  use and conservation of historic properties   for the education, pleasure, and enrichment of  the residents of Winston Salem and Foresight   County. And whereas the Historic Resources  Commission strives to educate the public   about the history of Winston Salem and Foresight  County's built environment both extent and gone,   and to amplify the voices and stories of  persons and places traditionally excluded   from the historic preservation narrative. And  now therefore, be it resolved that the mayor   and city council of the city of Winston Salem do  hereby declare the month of May 2026 as historic   preservation month and call upon the people of  Winston Salem to join their fellow citizens across   the United States in recognizing and participating  in this special observance. Be it further resolved   that this resolution be spread upon the minutes  of the city council and that a copy be furnished   to the Foresight County Historic Resources  Commission. Is there a motion? So move second.   Motion second by council and motion by mayor pro  Tim. All in favor of the motion please say I. I.   That is unanimous. We have with us tonight CJ  Idol who is the chair of the historic resources  

commission. Of course Michelle Mala is your chief  staff person or director of our human resources   as well. Mayor joins Mayor Pim Adams city council  and city staff. Thank you for this resolution and   this opportunity to speak before you. I think  I'm going to get the resolution first. Yes. So is with um I'm here with a little bit  of mixed emotion tonight because my term   on the historic resources commission does end  at this with this year. So this is my last time   speaking before you in this capacity. Um, and  I just wanted to take a few moments briefly   to express my gratitude to all of city council  for your support for the HRC. Um, prior to my   coming on and especially over these last seven  and a half years. Um, when I first started,   I didn't get it. I didn't understand what this  was about. Um, I was a historic archaeologist. Um,   I was taught about this opportunity. I took it  and through um the leadership of Michelle and her   taking me under the wing, I get the importance of  the HRC and what we do for the community now. And   there's just a couple stories from my time I'd  like to share. Um the most impactful of which   um deals with our historic marker program. Um the  Piedmont organization of the Liberian organization   of the Piedmont has turned one of our historic  markers into a space for them. It's a space   in Happy Hill, a space that used to represent  enslavement, Jim Crow, redlinining, and they've   turned this into a place of celebration where they  can come and celebrate their community and their   heritage. And I attended one of those meetings one  time. I'm probably the only white person there,   and they accepted me into their organ, into  their culture, and let me celebrate with them and   celebrate the story of liberation and freedom that  that marker came to represent. And that's just  

some of the work that the HRC gets to be part of.  And I'm so proud to have been part of leaving that   legacy and this place and placemaking that we get  to do in sharing the story of Winston of all the   people who have called Winston Salem and for Scive  County home. It's it's not just my community. It's   not just y'all's community. It really belongs  to the people and that's I think the work of   the HRC. Even though we mostly focus on buildings  and trying to preserve the built land, the built   and architectural and landscapes, it's about the  people and the people who have lived there and the   people who live there now. and serving saving that  for the future so that these places can be areas   where the past and the present and the future  all come together and just thank you so much for   such for supporting an organization like this and  then to know that places like our local historic   landmark Greyland will be home to the German  national team this summer and that it's a place   where history is still happening and that we're  able to bring everybody together to celebrate this   history. um just thank you from the bottom of my  heart for your support and I hope you continue to   support this and we have you have such a wonderful  staff with the HRC. Um I've got to work with a lot   of different public servants over the years  in my various roles from museum director to   um archaeologist and HRC staff is the best I've  ever worked with and it just um they're so great   and they've taught me so much over the last seven  and a half years and y'all have taught me a lot.   um, Mayor Pro Tim Adams at our 75th anniversary a  couple years ago. Um, just having to follow up her   in a speech is an unenviable task, but you always  learn something when Mayor Pro Tim shows up and   um, Councilwoman Scipio seems to be at all of our  um, Marco unveilings and it's just such a wonder   to hear you talk about the East W and interact  with your constituents. It just thank you all   so much for everything. Um, so in 2025, thank  you for allowing me that little diet tribe. Um,  

speaking of our um, marketer program, Clemens has  now copied us. They've seen what success we have.   It's pro, it's still a very competitive program.  Um, four or five applicants a year. I never   know which way it's going to go. Um, I always  feel bad for the ones who don't get selected,   but they do have opportunities to continue. So,  Clemens has now copied us and they've been working   with staff to fill out their own program.  Um, and again, oh, and welcome Miss Isabelle   Kleti to staff. She's a recent hire. Um, and one  statistic I point to that highlights how strong   our staff is. If you look at our major works  category, we only denied three COAs in 2025.   That's a testament to the hard work staff puts  in working with the applicants, making sure that   before they get a chance to present to us, we have  an application that's approvable, that they know   what they're getting into, and staff puts in a lot  of hard work that's not necessarily reflected in   the record of the meetings to make sure that  those applications are to up to the standard   we need them to be to approve them. So if you just  look at the statistics and if you go back and look   at previous years, we generally don't deny a lot  of applications because they come to us in such   great state. So thank you to Michelle and Isabelle  and the rest of the planning department for making   that happen. Um I am the Kernville chair, so there  is some Kernville bias that's happened over the   last year. I'll fully admit that. Um we partnered  with Kerners Folly in a new program they do on the   first Saturday of every month called their taste  of history. Michelle came out and gave a great   program educating people on historic preservation  as part of last year's historic preservation month   celebrations. Um, and part of that was the kickoff  for a walking tour where we highlight our local   landmarks in the other communities. Kernisville  was the first because of the connection with the   Folly and me. And um, we've since adapted that to  other communities, Walkertown, Bethania um, and   maybe eventually we'll do a couple for Winston.  Winston's just a lot bigger chunk. There's a lot  

there's a lot going on in Winston. There's a lot  more history here and a lot more architecture. So,   um there's that. Um historic marker programs  continue going on. Last year's unveiling of the   Happy Hill Cemetery was well attended and we had  one this past weekend um that Councilwoman Burke   and Councilwoman Scipio attended. That was a a  great time um and great to see the community.   And then um Bethabra Park, if you haven't been  out there recently, they've received a certified   local government grant to do some restoration  work out there and done some great jobs. So   um that's just kind of a highlight of what's  been going on around the county with the HRC. Do   you have any questions for me? Any questions, Mr.  Idol? Thank you. We certainly appreciate the great   work of the commission and you personally for  leading. Oh, and I almost forgot. End of the month   civil rights trail marker. Please come out. It's  a great time. These are fun markers. Um, and uh,   the markers are where the real history of Winston  Salem gets told. So, thank you all. Thank you,   Mr. Idol. Right. Tonight's agenda is comprised of  two parts. The general agenda and consent agenda.   And of course, it's always the practice of the  city council to state the consent agenda is the   first order of business. Items on this agenda have  been unanimously recommended by committee of the   city council or are being submitted in accordance  with established city procedure. There'll be no   discussion of the items on this agenda unless  the council member serve request which time the   item will be removed from the consent agenda and  considered individually. Item is not removed for   consent agenda will be enacted with one motion. Uh  council members may prom suggestion I believe that   items C5 through C11 are all housing projects that  really will have a huge impact on our city. So,   she suggested that we might ask Michael Blair if  it's okay, Miss Laneir, assistant city manager uh   to uh kind of review very briefly just the sort of  the impact of each one of those projects. And with  

that, we'll pull those and then there's a motion.  Is there a motion on a balance? Motion to approve   the balance of the consent agenda. Second. Motion  and second by council member Hall. All those in   favor the motion say I. I. Anyone opposed? And  that's approved unanimously. Now, Mr. Blair. Uh, thank you, Mayor Joins. Mayor Pro Tim  Adams, council members, Michael Blair,   housing development director. Um, I don't have  the PowerPoint up, but I guess I could say just   in brief, um, we started the process in February  to put out, uh, basically a request for proposals   for city lots as well as for, um, affordable, uh,  either home ownership or rental properties. Um,   received those, uh, RFP results in early March,  May 5th or March 5th. um went through a process   which included making sure that all of the new  construction had some sort of contact with the   neighborhood association that may exist in  that area that that that project was in. So,   we made an effort. We've learned we've learned  some things about that. We're going to change that   a little bit going forward, but I think it's going  to be an effective way of of finding out what fits   well in this program in different neighborhoods.  Um then at the end of March we had a meeting   with the affordable housing coalition who we  brought to these pro we brought these projects   and actually had several of the applicants that  were there that got to speak on their project.   We have actually some of these uh developers  are here tonight if you have any questions   about any specific projects. um they approved  those projects and then it went to committee   uh in April and um now we're here and uh basically  you have about um let me pull this up real quick.

There are 22 um single family lots or or  single family home ownership projects.   There's one that's on um Urban Street that's a  a Habitat and True Homes project that's got 14   units in it. The others are um True Homes and  uh Prosperity Alliance, eight properties that   you conveyed the lots last uh iteration of this  RFP process. And now we're giving them $30,000   per unit to actually build the houses. So those  will start construction soon. There we go. Um so   um I kind of went through basically you know what  what we've done uh that process the timeline. Um   so we actually had 27 submitted. This is a wrong  slide but um what what that meant was 11 completed   applications. An application was basically broken  into you could put three lots in it. And um how   that worked out was that the projects that had  good outreach uh to the neighborhood as well as a   complete application in neighborly were generally  the ones selected. The ones that were rejected   generally almost throughout had either no outreach  to the neighborhood or an application that was not   understandable. We we offered people the ability  to ask us questions before the application date.   And we had several approaches and we did work with  people to try to help them with the application.   So um the valuation was again a scoring matrix.  Um but the scoring that the city does is not   like the housing finance agency. Uh the housing  finance agency has to have a scoring matrix for   rural projects, urban projects, and it has to be  for everything in the state and all 100 counties.   Ours is very localized. So you'll see scores  that are not the same. We had about $3 million  

for the affordable housing and $500,000 for the  uh single family uh production for single family   home ownership. Um that's the scoring matrix in  general. Uh anybody has any questions? That's   fine. If not, I'll move on. There we go. Multif  family recommendations. Um five properties we had   anchor um that that was the 28 units um which  is the Vespers, Green Residential, 60 units,   ThirdWave Housing LLC 62 units, TWWG uh management  148 units, and Wallak asset management which was   60 units. So, we had 358 units total that were  being touched by this program in this this cycle.   Um there's the breakout. Uh several of the one  of the projects already has its tax credits,   already has some home funding in it. Uh so, this  funding will actually make it start. Um the others   uh like let's say just for example TWWG  development on the 148 units is actually   a bond tax exempt bond project with a 4% credit  which is by right so that one will go forward as   well. Um this is the vespers which is anchor.  Um this is going to be a uh 9% rehabilitation   application that's due on May 15th to actually  bring this project um pretty much rebuild it. Um   it'll be about 10 to 15 million project on these  28 units were built in 1977 serve elderly folks.   There we go. That's the location. That's what the  conditions are now. That's the actual location   on the map. Nice corner lot. it will actually  impact uh the neighborhood. Um and and I think   it'll change the look on that street. Greenway  Residential Sage Point Apartments. They've applied   three times. This is the third time for credits.  They didn't get them the first time, the second   time. If they get the if they don't get them the  third time, they said they were going to abandon  

the project. I think they're competitive. They  should get the funding. We will, you know, keep   our fingers crossed uh in August. But that's uh  60 units. Nice design. Um it's kind of an odd lot,   but I think it'll turn out nice once it's done.  It's very close to some of the other projects that   we've funded over the years. There's the actual  site on the map. Um third wave housing, that's 600   Peters Creek um which really has changed that  intersection over the years. The city has put   um a lot of uh support towards that project. This  is the final amount that will be needed to close   out and turn it into permanent financing for the  project. Um, everybody knows where that is. So,   on the map, um, TWWG, this is on three large lots  the city owns. Um, this is actually going to be   an incredible project because it opens up the  other privatelyowned lots that are around it,   which will also be probably more affordable  housing that's built there, too. Um, so it's   a kind of a win-win for the person that owns the  property company that owns those lots around it.   There's going to be access to both. Um, so it's  it's kind of a a redevelopment there that will   um hopefully really uh increase the supply of  affordable and also kind of mid-market single   family houses around it. And here's Zachary Point.  They've already got their credits. This will push   them over the top. They should be able to start  construction. They um applied two years ago and   got their um tax credits last year. And one word  about tax credits real quick. It's at 82 cents   right now. uh which every dollar that's given to  a tax credit project usually when it's around 90   cents you could almost do a tax credit project  by itself with a construction loan once it starts   dipping around 80 the gaps start appearing in  these projects so I just want you to know that  

going forward if that goes down further it could  become an issue uh single family lots um Habitat   for Humanity that's the 14 units Prosperity  Alliance 8 units that's in hab um Then then that's   again the slide was the wrong slide. Um but uh  that's the general breakdown. They everybody asked   for 40. We basically split it up and gave them  30 offered 30 and they can make those work. This   is the town urban um urban street town homes uh  which is again is Habitat with Habitat Buyers but   True Homes will be doing the the contracting and  general contracting on it. That's the location. So you can see a little better there. Again,  it's kind of a I think a um visible location   and it will be a visible type project. And  here's the Happy Hill lots. You can see the are   uh blue right there. Those will all then  hopefully start construction very soon   um because they were conveyed  in the last uh iteration of lots   in the RFP and now they've got  the funding to get those going. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Michael. Any  questions? No questions, mayor. Just a comment.   Okay. Can we get a motion on the floor? I'm I'm  going to do that, too. Okay. I'd like to move that   we uh approve C5, C6, C7, C8, C9, C10, and C11.  Is there a second? Second. All right. You want   to make your comment? Yes. Thank you. Um, again, a  lot of you have heard me over time say that we're   doing these houses and these projects and we're  talking about roughly what 380 housing units or  

properties approximately. Yeah. Uh, I always  see in the news my our counterparts around us,   they always make sure they let the  public know that they are building,   they approve projects. And even though this came  through committee, I do believe it's important   that during our council meetings because  it got approved in committee. I know we,   you know, we like to get these consent agendas  done, but I believe going forward in the future,   as long as I'm here, we're going to talk about  this housing and our council meetings as well,   so the public can see that we are serious about  what we're attempting to do. And we can't do it   without community. We can't do it with without  the collaboration of all of the partners and   developers, builders, contractors, all of you  to make this happen. And I want to thank you on   behalf of the city council. Thank you. Thank you,  Council Joiner. I just want to make a note um of   clarity. Um this is really a a great thing. you're  you're talking about more than 200 375 units   um added to not just rep repairing something but  adding to uh h a some aging stock of housing that   we have. And so to have new housing coming in,  new units coming in, it does not meet our goal,   but it sure does get us a lot closer to  it. And we still got a lot of ways to go.   But I appreciate what what has happened here  tonight and I think it's to be noted the the   the actual number of units put in. So thank  you very much for your help. Thank you. Thank   Jordan. All those in favor of the motion, please  indicate by voting yes. Anyone opposed, vote no.

That is unanimous. Thank you very much. Thank you,  Mayor Potim. We'll now go to the general agenda   which is includes four public hearings relative  to demolition ordinances as well as a preview of   the fiscal year 2627 proposed budget. Uh when the  public hearings are called, persons in the council   chamber will be given an opportunity to speak. If  uh there is opposition to the item, the proponents   and opponents will each be given 15 minutes for  presentation and three minutes for rebuttal. If   no one wishes to speak, I'll close the public  hearing and the city council will consider the   item. May we have item G1, please? Item G1, public  hearing and consideration of an ordinance ordering   the demolition and removal of a structure located  at 633 Malberry Street located in the South Ward.   Thank you. This is a public hearing. Is anyone  wish to be heard on this proposed demolition? Yes, if you give your name and address for the  record, please. Hi, my name is Tammy Watson. I   want to give greetings to Mayor Jonah um  pro Mayor Promp um Miss Adams and also my   um ward which is um Councilman Jonah  and all the councilmen. First of all,   I do want to say thank you so much for giving  me this opportunity to come and um share. Um,   thank you so much for um, giving me some time  before um, I did get a chance to go through the   process and I am going to be doing the demolition  on the property. Only makes sense for me to do   that. Um, so what I'm asking is for a continuous  because I'm working with a contractor. He needs   more time because he working on projects and so  probably about 60 days because of the demolition   and then all the things that we're going to do.  Um, so I need time for money. I need time also   for him to get back with me. And so that's what  I'm asking for continues for 60 days. Of course,  

if this is approved tonight, it' be about 60-day  period before we would actually move on as well.   But I defer to council member Joiner. So So tell  me, what do you mean? I'm sorry. I want to make   sure I understand. Well, the today basically  starts the clock ticking uh for 60 days for   the house to be demolished itself. But okay, I  understand what you're saying. You'd like to do   it yourself obviously. Yes. But I do need more  time so he can get cuz he was very specific to   me of his project what he has to do and then he  needs to get with the people to do the demolition.   So I'm just saying if it's 60 days basically  60 days if I guess I guess that's correct for   continues. I guess when the I guess you can help  me out. Him and I been having conversation. Well,   excuse me. Uh when you render when you render  the vote uh state your name, we know who you are,   but give us your name. I'm sorry. Brian Cheney,  Neighborhood Services. Okay. Go ahead. Uh when you   render the vote today, she's actually going to get  90 90 days. 90 days before. So we could go ahead   and approve it tonight and Okay. Okay. He knows.  Yes. Okay. All right. You're okay. I'm good.   Is that all right? Okay. Thank you. All right.  Thank you. Anyone else want to be heard? Well,   I'll close the public hearing and I'll recognize  I know this came from our general committee, but   I'll recognize council joiner for a motion. She's  ready. Thank you, mayor. Um, if I have a moment,   I think that um, Miss Watson has uh, I appreciate  you coming in today. And just to note that uh if   this is approved to go through then the clock  does start and 90 days is what you have which   is more than the 60 that you were asking for. Um  90 days would have I I I take uh no exception. Uh  

it is a challenging thing for me to ask for  or make a motion to um de demolish a house.   Um it is especially as we've just gone through the  historical preservation part the house be being   built in 1910 um in a um in an area of the city  that has a very diverse and very colorful history.   It takes no pleasure and no small um easy thought  to push to get this done. But there's been a lot   of time that has gone by and that neighborhood  deserves to be um improved and I hope that you are   as you have always shown in the past to do what  you say you're going to do and um I look forward   to the pro progress. So thank you for showing up  tonight. Mayor, I would make a motion to approve   for the demolition and removal of the structure.  Is there a second? Second. Second by council   member Burka. Council member Andre. Thank you, Mr.  Mayor. Um I just have a quick if we are delaying   or postponing this for 90 days. I see that we have  continued this from our last council meeting. Are   we continuing it from today or from that original  meeting? We're approving the the demolition   tonight. It's just that they be 90 days before.  Got it. Thank you. Any other questions? If not,   all is a favor the motion, please indicate  by voting yes. Anyone opposed, vote no. That is unanimous. Thank you,  Council Joiner. Item G2, please.  

Item G2, public hearing in consideration of an  ordinance ordering the demolition and removal of   a structure located at 844 Rich Avenue located  in the East Ward. Thank you. This is a public   hearing. Is there anyone in Council Turbo who  wishes to be heard on this proposed demolition? Seeing no one, I'll declare the public hearing  closed and I'd recognize Council Cipio. Your   word, although it did come from our general  government. Oh, you got the motion right there.   Thank you. Okay. Go ahead if you don't  mind. I move for approval of G1 of G2.   Second motion. Second to approve uh item G2. Any  discussion, questions? All those favor the motion,   please indicate by voting yes.  Anyone opposed, vote no. Sorry. And that is unanimous. Thank you. Item G3.  Item G3, public hearing and consideration   of an ordinance ordering the demolition and  removal of a structure located at 1457 Hattie   Avenue located in the northeast ward. Again,  this is a public hearing. Is there anyone in   the council chamber who wishes to be heard  on this proposed demolition? Seeing no one,   I declare a public hearing closed. I recognize  council member Bertup. I move for approval of   item G3. Is there a second? Second. Second by  council member Hall. Any discussion? All those   in favor of the motion, please indicate  voting yes. Anyone opposed, vote no. And that is unanimous. Thank you.  Item G4. Item G4, public hearing   in consideration of an ordinance ordering  the demolition and removal of a structure   located at 4541 Indiana Avenue. Thank  you. This is a public hearing. Is there  

anyone in the council chamber who wishes  to be heard on this proposed demolition? Seeing no one, I'll declare a public hearing  close and I will recognize Tim Adams. Thank   you. I move for the approval of agenda item  uh G4, the demolition ordinance for 4541   Indiana Avenue. Is there a second? Second.  Second by council. Any discussion? None. All   those fail the motion. Please indicate  by voting yes. Anyone opposed, vote no. And that is unanimous. Thank you. And item G5.  Item G5, city manager presentation of fiscal   year 202627 annual proposed budget.  Recognize our city manager, Mr. Pton. Thank you. I I was thinking there as I was coming  up, it it's hard to to to talk about where we're   at in the process with the budget. The budget  takes it takes a year of preparation. So, we're   always in budget preparation. So, this is neither  the start nor the finish of anything related to   the budget. Um, I know that the public generally  doesn't understand the amount of time and   effort that you as the elected officials of this  community put into working on the budget issues on   an annual basis. Uh, but you've spent tremendous  hours already in retreat settings, in committee   meetings, and council meetings, listening to the  community, uh, pouring over the surveys that we do   to understand what this community wants and needs.  And this is just one step that's required uh by   statute for me to present to you a balanced budget  that you can then begin your final deliberations  

on what our budget will be for the next fiscal  year beginning July 1. I will commend council that   uh that you did adopt your budget well in  advance last year as you were supposed to.   And unfortunately, as we stand here today, we are  still waiting for the state of North Carolina to   adopt a budget that we would know exactly what is  what is going on. Couple of things on this one. I   I'll just say that the bottom line up front. Uh  Scott Tesh calls this our no frills budget. Uh   that's what you're going to see tonight. I'm going  to spend time talking about the things that we're   been doing, the things that you've been approving,  the the ways that we're trying to move this   community forward, but there are not a lot of new  initiatives and new programs in here besides the   ones that you've already approved. Um, I want to  I thank you as the governing body for adopting a   strategic plan that sets forth the priorities that  you see as important for this community. Those   are our guiding lights and you'll hear me talk  about those more as we make this presentation and   moving forward. That is the most important things  that we have in terms of making us an efficient   and effective government that's delivering the  services that your residents want us to deliver.   Your policy direction is helping make us a  community of choice, an employer of choice,   addressing strategic issues, as you've talked a  lot about tonight, like affordable housing, like   promoting community safety, making sure that we  have a community that appears well, that we have   a great community appearance, and ensuring that  we have proper financial management and direction.   So, thank you for all of those and we'll I will  say that we're this is going to be a just a   highlight. We're not expecting a lot of questions  or information today. Uh again, the public doesn't  

see the books in front of you that have a a  operating budget and a capital improvement   budget. That's hundreds of pages that you get to  read between now and our first budget work session   uh in uh one week. As I mentioned, there are four  there's several key project budget priorities,   but four main ones that we're that you'll really  see throughout as themes throughout this budget.   One is the compensation and benefits to be  a regional employer of choice. You've made   decisions related to uh to our firefighters. Most  recently, we've got our CDL drivers coming up and   a commitment to do all of the organization over  the next three-year period, which is really two   more years from now, to make sure that we continue  to be a place that can attract the best and the   brightest employees to join those that are already  here that are dedicated to this mission of public   service. We're working very hard on maintaining  our current service levels. So, in this budget,   you'll see there there's some right sizing in a  few places of of of dollars for things that that   we can do that with, but for the vast majority of  the time, what you'll see is a continuation of the   services that you have authorized us to provide  based on your knowledge of what the community   wants. So, you'll continue to see those. We're  not talking about eliminating any of our current   programs and strategic investments. So, we've  talked about that and we'll talk more about the   the strategic plan and the key things that you  were asking us to do with those investments and   the few places that we were able to to make  some headway in those areas. And finally,   one that again doesn't get a lot of press, but I  I applaud you for allowing us to work on dealing   with our debt funded priorities and looking at how  we're managing debt in this community. Um we're   we're taking a lot of actions to basically prepare  us so that we will be able to issue debt at a  

good rate in the future to maintain our AAA bond  rating as the finance chair mentioned earlier that   doing those things that are important to keep our  metrics uh in the right places they need to be. Having said that, there are some specific  city budget pressures that I'm going to uh   bring back up again uh with you that again are  pushing this budget. One is inflation is always   talked a lot about and we're all feeling that  inflation particularly at the gas pumps right   now. Uh we see that in our food prices and  and other things. But consumer inflation and   government inflation are two different items. We  as a government are not buying consumer goods for   the most part. We're buying specific services  and products that are aimed at the governmental   sector. So our inflation rate is running higher  than the typical consumer CPI rates that you see   out there. Unfortunately, our revenue bases are  also not keeping up with that inflation rate.   We have numbers from the county as late as Friday  on what they think our property evaluations are   going to be for next year. Right now we're looking  at based on the county projections about a half   a percent 1 half of a percent of growth in our  property tax base. That does not mean that we   do not have construction and other things going on  in this community because we do. But a fair amount   of that because of our state statutes are in areas  that are taxexempt. Whether that's because they're   nonprofits or they've got other exemptions as  the hospital nonprofits or their universities.   There's a lot of good things going on in our  community, but most of that are not adding to   the tax base except for the housing that you're  approving. So those things are positive as as  

you see in all the meetings when you go out and  meet with constituents and we see in our meetings   the demand for our current services remains  high and quite honestly most people stand up   at this podium and ask you for increased service  levels in a variety of area across the community.   So we know that that demand is there for what  we're doing and to continue moving forward with   that. And then finally, we do know that there's  some potential changes going on in the general   assembly. Several of us will be in Raleigh in  the next couple of days uh talking with our   uh general with our senators and representatives  and listening to the lead municipalities talk   about some of those challenges that we're  facing. We do know that there's a likelihood   that a constitutional amendment may come  this November that will limit your ability   to meet the needs of your constituents. It will  basically take away your authority potentially   to decide what services you want to provide to  the community. We don't know what the details   of that are and the devil's always in the  details. We also know that reassessment is   uh under attack. The issue with assessments  are a fairness issue for our communities.   When t when your value goes up and relative to  other properties then most of the service we   provide public safety transportation are related  to the value of your property. If you're police   and fire are great examples of we're protecting  your property from from a variety of of different   issues that are out there. We have always based in  local government in North Carolina our our paying   for those based on the value of our property.  Assessments were put in place to make sure that   there was fairness in those assessments. You  can look at other states across the country   that have limited those assessments and you can  see what impact that has because two neighbors  

can live right beside each other. one paying  an assessment from 10, 20, 30 years ago because   they haven't sold their house and one paying a  different assessment because they've moved in.   And so the tax burden is on those new residents.  So dealing with that those kind of issues on   assessments can have a very negative impact  on us attracting people into our community. Continuing on that concept of rising costs and  our stagnant revenues a little bit just to give   you some numbers on inflation during this period  from 2019 to 2026 consumer inflation grew by 30%.   If you look at our cost the cost for a police  officer during that same period grew by 43%. A   cost for a fire truck grew by 96%. Garbage trucks  grew by almost 60%. and our building construction   grew by 86%. During that same time period, if  you look at the chart that's uh to my right,   that shows you the CPI versus our revaluation  adjusted growth. So, how much we were getting   in real growth in our tax base. And you can  see if you add up all those columns, it's 17%.   Only in one of those uh seven or eight years  did we beat the inflation, the just the consumer   inflation rate with the property tax rate. And  that is why you've seen increases in the tax rate   over the last several years. Um basically to pay  for the services that the community has asked for.   I'm going to spend a few minutes talking about  a resident satisfaction survey and uh because   this is some some good news items. One is our  community our residents perceive our community   as a great place to live to work to raise children  and appreciate the quality of services. You can  

see we beat national and regional averages  in all of those areas. In addition, when you   look at drill that down to particular services  for the vast majority of services we deliver,   we also beat national and state averages on  how residents perceive the services that we're   getting. We're showing a few there. Fire, solid  waste, water, sewer, police, recreation, and   parks. That is a a good story to tell and that's  directly attributed to to your leadership and   to the staff that is providing services in those  departments. A resident survey though also tells   us where the community would like to see us put  some attention. So we so we're not only looking   at the good, but we're also looking at the areas  where they have said they want to see us place   some priorities. And most of these areas you are  paying attention to transportation infrastructure.   A lot of that goes to resurfacing and roads.  You've added additional funds towards resurfacing   and we're maintaining those funds this year.  Community aesthetics. You want us to be a cleaner   community. We are putting additional effort into  making sure that we're keeping our community clean   and our neighborhoods clean. Crime prevention and  police visibility. In the crime prevention, you've   got money in this budget and you've approved  us looking at new technology for the police   department to use to better deliver services. And  in terms of visibility, you've a you've allowed us   to put in the pay ranges that are necessary  for us to this year, for the first time,   I think in a decade that we have actually increase  the number of police officers on our force. So,   we're headed in the right direction on police  visibility. We've spent a tremendous amount of   time on public transit and looking at new ways  to deliver those services within the resources   that you've given us. We've increased those  over the last couple years. We're maintaining   those in this year, but delivering those cross  uh city routes and opportunities for people to  

get from where they are to where they want to  be in as quick a time as possible with better   headways. Parks and facilities maintenance is  being improved. We still have area we're working   on uh our assessment of all our facilities. So,  we'll continue to bring back issues there. in   parking operations. Uh despite the what you hear  on on both sides, you have modernized the parking   operations system so that the vast majority of  folks that go ahead and use the apps are tell us   that this is a much easier way to do to do parking  and as we go to other communities, we know parking   is not free anywhere. So this we're we're doing  the right things to modernize and those folks   as once they learn how to use the systems, I  think they'll be appreciative of those as well.   housing affordability. You've talked about that  now just a moment ago. Over the last two years,   including the things that you've adopted tonight,  when we look at things that have actually been   put in place that are under construction or  that you've approved to be to be constructed,   that's almost a thousand units of affordable  housing that you have approved and participated   in providing to the community. Uh that doesn't  include the things that are privately funded by   themselves. So there are other projects out there  but just ones that you've publicly participated   in has been almost a thousand units and youth  programming is getting a lot of attention. We   do have a variety of things going on uh including  in our own uh the organization for pools parks   uh programs for summer programs. We hire over a  hundred youth every year to work in the city. So,   I know there's going to be efforts to to do  perhaps more of that and invite the community   to do more, but we are doing a lot to help with  uh youth programming. The other thing we do is   an employee survey. I'm not going to spend  as much time on this, but there's key things   that our employees are looking for. One is to be  recognized for the good work that they do, and I  

appreciate your efforts in helping us do that. and  efforts like our employee engagement team and our   HR department that are working on efforts to to  recognize uh and reward our employees for the good   work they do. They want the equipment, tools, and  resources necessary to do their jobs. And again,   we're continuing that enhancement, particularly  on our equipment, on our IT side to put those   resources in place to help our employees do what  they need to do. They want to be informed about   what's going on, just like our constituents. So  we're doing a lot of extra effort in terms of   communicating with the departments and providing  the IT resources that are necessary to get   the information they need so they know what's  going on. And then in professional development,   um I think probably uh every last one of you have  asked me to continue to focus on training our   employees so they're el so they're able to take on  new responsibilities and to do their jobs better   than they're doing today. Not that they're doing  I think our employees are doing a great job today,   but this is continuing to move the bar and to move  them up. So, there is additional funding that we   scraped in to this budget to provide professional  more professional development throughout the   organization. I mentioned before our strategic  plan and here's the four focus areas that are   there. I'm going to spend a just a few minutes  talking about uh each of those as we go through.   Economic prosperity. Here's where we see a lot of  our affordable housing. You you did it says 356   units. I think it was closer to there's a couple  extra ones added in there about 380 tonight on the   agenda that you approved. We've you've approved  uh expanding our turn program which is helping us   to help those residents that need a little bit of  rehab help on their houses to keep them in place   to to work with them on doing that. We've created  speculative building loan program. I talked about   our tax base is not growing as fast as we would  like it to and so we need to continue to work  

on things that will help push that economic  development needle forward and this is a big   one that's there. We have about $17 million worth  of economic development project funding that's in   the in the hopper ready to go. So, we're going to  be continuing to work with you and through our CIP   project on looking at how we put those dollars  to the best use to make sure that we're adding   sustainable growth into our community. And then  I'm going to talk a little bit more later about   sustainable funding for our housing needs, but you  had put together $10 million. You spent, I think,   a little over uh three and a half million tonight  of those funds, assuming all those projects go   through. And we probably have a couple of million  dollars left. But long term, we're going to need   a more sustainable source of funding for our  housing programs and looking at having a livable   community. Uh there's a variety of things that  have gone on. U we have the downtown amphitheater   project that's that's being pursued right now.  Uh there's some tremendous improvements have been   made at Winston Lake Golf Course. There's more to  come there. There's a whole variety of parks that   we have made some effort at at bringing them up  to speed and up to date. There's more to be done   there, no doubt about that. But we are making  improvements. As I mentioned, we're funding law   enforcement technologies to respond faster. Uh the  drone program allows us to see what's happening   in particular areas and understand what we need to  send in terms of officers and not sending officers   that we don't need to be there or helping the  officers when they go be able to get to the spot   they need to so they can apprehend whoever they  they need to to be. uh looking for our transit   zones, our routes, the and the microtransit uh  zones are new innovations that are going on in   our transit system that should bring significant  benefits to our ridership. They also automated and  

put in a new web package for that that I know at  least one council member has has taken advantage   of and used and uh to ride the the bus system  and has has said that it works really easily. So,   we encourage people to do that. So, there are lots  of different capital projects that we're looking   at to make this a livable community. In terms of  community advocacy and engagement, as I mentioned,   we're going to Raleigh uh this week to to engage  with our leaders. You've also you've had our state   leaders here um already this month before the the  general session started to talk about priorities   and needs of our community. You've done the same  with our federal officials both in Washington and   here locally. Uh, one of our congressmen is going  to be coming to visit the Real Time Crime Center   just this week to see what's going on and how  we can they perhaps can either model what we're   doing or provide additional resources to help  with where we're doing. We held a city services   expo where we had all departments available for  the community to come out and understand and ask   questions about what services are being provided.  Uh we hope to continue that and and continue   increasing the number of folks that come out uh  to to take advantage of that opportunity. We're   using every effort to engage in social media  to get city information out to our community   uh developing grant strategies and doing  additional grant writing and reporting as   uh many of you have asked us to continue to  emphasize. And then finally, in good government,   which is our broad area, and I've mentioned  several of these, we've lowered our debt matrix,   uh, and which is a great thing that will allow us  to keep our AAA bond rating and to issue debt as   it's needed. We have done compass studies for 27%  of our employees and at the end of this next year,   we'll be at twothirds, 67% of our employees will  have had a recent job classification review.  

We're improving our equipment replacement  schedules. We're making enhancements to our   procurement efforts to make them uh seamless and  to get more biders. We're working on completing   the capital projects that you've got in place,  including energy reduction and sustainability   efforts. And we're working the community  facility assessment that you approved last   year is underway. And our consultant is on site  reviewing those our buildings right now at the   first phase and we'll continue to do that. so that  this fall we'll have a significant report to bring   back to you on what we can accomplish and look to  see in these areas. So, just a little bit about   the numbers because Scott's going to do a a much  better job of going through all the details on   this and we want to give you some opportunity to  get through the budget and and to read those. But   so this is it really is just a summary of where  we're at and looking at uh funds because unlike   the private sector we as a public sector have  to operate under uh the governmental accounting   standards which means we have to group things by  funds and keep the funds separated. So the general   fund is the one that most people understand and  we talk a lot about. That's where your police,   your fire, your sanitation, transportation,  parks and recreation, all those major services   that we do is in the general fund. That fund is  increasing by 3.1%. There are some accounting   changes in there. And so, and we'll talk about  some of those more in a minute. So, if you if   you kind of did it apples to apples, it would be  close to 5%, but 3.1% is is what the number is   going up. our special revenue and enterprise funds  or our utilities, uh, storm water, our solid,   uh, waste landfill, uh, those types of activities,  those are going up 4.1%. Our debt funds, as we've   talked about, we've restructured our debt. Those  things that are short-term debt, we've paid those   off so that we're not continuing to pay interest  on things like cars and desk and uh, other things  

that really don't have a long 20, 30 year useful  life. We those are being paid off. We're going   to do those as pay as you go financing and then  we're going to look at using our debt service as   was intended to do long-term projects that will  benefit the community for 30 plus years. If you   look at that, that looks like a 65% reduction, but  that's because we getting rid of that short-term   debt and the interest payments along with that.  If you look again at apples to apples, it's about   a 2% increase. So, we're maintaining our debt  service on our long-term capital debt and capacity   to issue debt in the future, but eliminating some  of that short-term debt. And then capital projects   is is basically about the same. There's a little  bit of change over there from year to year. Quite   honestly, a large part of that is in our utilities  funds who who does have some variation from year   to year as we go along. And then I should have  said o overall you'll see that our adjusted J   change in our all of our funds is like 3.5%. Even  though it shows a slight uh negative if you're   just looking at the raw numbers. What does this  mean on the revenue side? As I mentioned uh based   on our assessment growth that we have in property  taxes, we've worked very hard to try to keep the   property tax increase in line with inflation. So,  what we're recommending is a 4.6% increase in our   property tax assessment. So, the average homeowner  would actually see about a five a little less than   $5.50 increase per month for this increase.  This is 2.6 cents off of our uh total uh rate,   which is currently 56.7 cents. So, it'd be 59.3  cents or 2.6 6 cent increase or this as I said a  

little less than $5.50 a month. The water and  sewer the utility commission has recommended a   5% increase in our utility fees which will amount  to about $3 a month for again an average household   residential user of our water and sewer services.  Solid waste disposal. That's when folks come out   to the landfill. There's a $1 increase in that.  Most residents won't see that at all. uh except   for it does impact us because the vast majority  of the waste that goes there comes from our solid   waste trucks. So, we'll be paying a little more to  do that. The landfill is one of those areas that   we'll be coming back this fall to talk a lot about  with you because we're going to need to expand the   landfill at some time in the near future. And  a landfill expansion project is a 10 to 15 year   horizon to do. So, that takes a long time. And  so we're we're looking at some additional sales   and some additional opportunities that we'll be  bringing back to you. Storm water is a 4% increase   again in line with the utility that we typically  do. And there's a few other small fees that are   in there like picnic shelters that are basically  intended for the those are when somebody rents   those to use those. Uh that's just to keep up with  uh the inflationary cost to provide the services   to do that. Special programs the same way. some  of those programs that we have to try to make   sure that they're affordable to the community, but  also that we're recovering the costs. Typically,   to open up a building to make sure some you got  to have a staff member there, you got to clean it   up afterwards. So, just to recover those costs,  some of the other fees are the same things are   just small items that we're trying to keep up with  our inflationary cost. We're in the home stretch,   so strategic priorities and decisions. A couple  of things that I just want to continue to make   sure or to make sure is at the forefront of your  thought as you're reading through the budget. One,  

as we talked about affordable housing and the  need for a sustainable long-term funding source,   um I am recommending that you consider a half  cent increase in the property tax rate to be   dedicated toward housing and unhoused services.  Um I think you all know the need that's out   there. You've heard your residents talk about uh  constituents talk about the need for these things,   whether that's helping the folks that are unhoused  or helping the folks that are spending more than   30% of their income on housing to continue the  program that we have. We need a sustainable   funding source. So that that's the easy one that  council can debate and vote up or down and decide   to add to it or partially add to it or or do some  other numbers. Most of our counterparts across the   state have usually 1 cent dedicated to affordable  housing. So, this would be a step in that   direction if council wants to do that this year.  I've talked about future funding for facility   upgrades. I I know most of you, if not all of you,  went out to see some of our facilities. We have   some facilities that are in very poor condition.  We are working on those right now. We have moved   staff out of some of those worst buildings,  but we're still work to do. The Lowry Street,   we know the facility assessment study will come  back and give us some information, but we do know   that our city needs to be moved, period. And so,  we're working very hard on that one. Lowry Street   will be the place where most of those folks end  up going, but that is going to take some dollars   to do that. Uh resurfacing. I mentioned before  we're maintaining those dollars that we've got for   resurfacing, but we'd like to have resurfacing at  a 30-year schedule, meaning that the typical road   in the city would expect to be resurfaced once  every 30 years. Now, that still means some heavily  

traveled roads get done more, and if you're on a  culde-sac, you might be done less. But to do that,   we would need to increase the funds we've  got set aside for resurfacing from the 7.2   2 million we have now to about $12 million. So  that's a big lift. We don't have that in there   this year, but we know that that's a concern  that the community continues to ask us to look   at. How do we improve that and we're looking  at a variety of ways of doing that? But just   to make sure you understand, we are underfunded  in what we should be doing there. And then as   I've mentioned before, our employee benefits  uh cost acrruels and uh total compensation.   uh you you've taken a first step this year  and we've dealt with us uh one portion of the   workforce. Uh significant another portion will  be coming to you uh next uh spring to be a part   of the next budget cycle. But but we have you've  established a pattern and we certainly appreciate   that of saying we want to be competitive in the  market. So we'll have to continue to do that and   competitive and total compensation means both  benefits and salary. Part of our issue in this   in our workforce is that we've we've we've been  out of balance a little bit with more on benefits   and less on salary. We're trying to bring those  both back into alignment. I will tell council that   one of the big drivers of our cost this year is  healthc care benefits. Uh fortunately for staff,   we've been able to absorb health care increases  for probably the last 8 to 10 years. This year,   the budget in front of you goes back to providing  a split of those costs. Roughly 75% of the   employer paying it and 25% of the employee paying  those to get that back to a a reasonable kind of   uh expectation of where we're going to go  there. So, we'll have more information on that,   but that actually won't take effect until the next  calendar year. So, it' go in effect in January of  

27. Uh but that but that is a a a major driver in  our budget. I think benefits are up probably $8   million six to eight million dollars overall. Just  as a to help with the community watching this and   others to we do have a whole variety of of council  work sessions that are coming up. There are some   other opportunities where we're out in the in the  public when we have public meetings asking people   for input on what they would like to see enhanced  or reduced as a part of services. I will tell you   that we generally get a lot more of enhancement  requests. Uh very few to limit it. Um and and that   depends on where where you're at which which those  items change from place to place. But just as a   reminder, we have a budget workshop starting on  the 12th at 2 p.m. uh here in city hall. A second   one on the 14th. And we'll cover the operating  the capital budget uh nonprofit agencies and most   of the details in the budget between those  two sessions. There will be a actual public   hearing on the budget for the for the community  on May 18th. That's required by state statute.   And then on 21st, you'll have a final workshop to  review all of the information that you've gotten   so far and that you questions that you might have  asked from us. And then this is with a anticipated   adoption of the budget at your council meeting on  June 1st. So I I appreciate your your attendance.   I I certainly appreciate all of the work that  you have already put into helping us put this   budget on the table and uh and I'll thank you in  advance for the time you're going to be spending   in reading and looking over all this material. If  specific questions come up as you're reading that,   I do encourage you to to let me or Scott or one  of the ACMs know uh so we can be better prepared   to answer those questions for you in the budget  work sessions. And if you have a question, likely   some of your colleagues have the same questions.  So, it's helpful for us to to know those and to  

get you the best information we can. Um, we were  not planning on taking any any questions today,   but if there's something that's burning, I'll I'll  do that. Hall's got one burning. I do. Thank you,   Mayor Joins. Uh, manager P. Thank you. Glad that  you're drinking water. Take time to do that as   I'm talking. But real quick, seems like in the  past that in between some of these meetings,   there may have been an opportunity for community  members to have maybe a popup session or maybe   there was some information or something on  social. Is that in between these meetings   or has that been done or did I miss that? But  both. Okay. Um we've done several of those.   We've been out at a variety of community meetings  um already. the um the the ma big public meeting   that we had obviously was was on on the budget um  last week or the week before. Uh there's at least   two more meetings that uh Scott and his staff  have planned to be in attendance at that's on   their I think it's on their website that that  talks about where you can go and provide input.   The the documents all of the documents will be  available right now uh tomorrow on our website   and available for the public to look at. So  we encourage folks to to read the documents.   ask send in questions or comments and ask us uh  provide their input on the on the budget. So yes,   there will be several opportunities for  the community to provide input. Any other   burning questions? Uh Council Member Clark say  briefly, we do have a number of meetings as you   see on there. Uh y'all all know where my office  is. If you do have any questions or concerns,   please bring them to me. I do try to incorporate  everyone's ideas, thoughts, or whatever. Uh I   do think while every year is is is an important  budget, I think we're being watched very carefully  

uh by folks in Raleigh. Um I won't get into  what happened last year. It wasn't our fault,   but the average citizen saw a a mighty big number  uh because we followed the the plan that the state   put together which required a revaluation of  property. So anyway, we won't get into that   either. But anyway, I am available anytime.  So, please come see me if you have questions   or comments. And I uh do invite all council  members, not just the uh finance committee,   but all council members to join us for these  budget sessions because I really need everyone's   input because I'm going to need everybody's  support at the end. Thank you. Thank you,   Council Clark. All right. Thank you, Mr. P. I'm  I'm going to say to Council Member Clark's point,   assessments would be better than done more often  instead of less often. Yeah, that's right. Yeah,   because if you'd actually do them on an annual  basis or bannual, then you wouldn't see these   huge increases from year to year. Box surprise.  Yeah. Thank you. All right, council members,   that's all on our agenda. Uh I have one more  thing. Okay, Mr. Clerk, just to get my uh   time in today, um we talked all about housing  earlier just as another data point. Uh I have   two new projects getting ready to start in the  West Ward. These do not require council approval   because the land's already zone RS9. Uh they're  both out in the Metallark area. Collectively,   I would say it's 350 homes. Probably in the 4 to  450 range. Close. Close enough. Um but just want   to let you know there's there's houses popping  up in a lot of places. It doesn't always make   the paper or make this meeting. Uh again, the site  plan has to be approved by our planning department   uh and planning board, but the there's no  council need need for council approval,   so you normally would not hear about them.  Anyway, they're they're coming. Thank you,  

Mr. Clark. Is there a motion to adjurnn? So move.  Motion by second. Proam, second by council member   Joiner. All those in favor of adjourning, please  say I. I oppose. No. We are adjourned. All righty.