Speakers labeled via automated voice-based diarization + AI name-matching against the city's official roster. Automated transcription can still mis-hear a name during fast speech (e.g. a rapid roll-call vote) -- clear near-misses are auto-corrected, but this is not manually verified line-by-line. Treat names as a strong best guess, not an official record. Home addresses that residents give are left out of this page.
[9:39] David Marshall: Well, the role of Mr. Cushing, President, Mr. Trimble, and Gary's here, and the Treasurer here, and the Administrator's here. Thank you. We'll turn it over to the Administrator, and welcome.
[9:56] Blair Tinkham: Good morning, Commission. We have probate this morning. Should the laws have been put so that we can get her back to the court and the Sheriff after that? There are three divisions. We'll follow that up with finance and I.T. That should build up the department. Thank you. We'll start with probate. Looking at welcome register. Good morning, Mr. Very. Okay, looking at personnel and payroll, the major change from last year to this year, it will be $17,000. And then obviously, when we added and corrected the health insurance and benefits, it was the $75,000 plus up on that one. Okay. I don't see revenues on this page. I'm sure it's in the house, but I would need to go with the flow, and then we'll get to that. So is there any questions on personnel pay and benefits from the commission? We'll move to operating costs. The big jump you'll see there is the court-appointed attorneys. It's a $20,000 increase there for next year. Really, that's essentially it,
[11:47] Speaker C (unidentified): except for the minor.
[11:49] David Marshall: And that is really what is obligated on us by the state. So that fits right into that.
[11:54] Andre Cushing: So where are we spending this year? I mean, in the budget, in the real world, it's a bad issue.
[11:59] Speaker E (unidentified): So we're most likely, I will be honest and say, we will be over budget this year. We have had numerous contested cases where if you have a minor guardianship, you have, say, a grandparent coming in, petitioning for guardianship. You have mom and dad that are not able to take care of the minor but don't want to give guardianship to the petitioner, and we have to if they request we have to appoint a court-appointed attorney for both the parents so then sometimes we're appointing attorneys not just for the parents but for the children the gal so it is adding up this year compared to last year we've had numerous cases that have been three or four day hearings so when you have three or four appointed attorneys in a three-day hearing
[12:47] Andre Cushing: our fees add up. So we try to add a comparable race to what we have to support for this attorney.
[12:58] Speaker F (unidentified): No, we pay the same. We
[13:03] Speaker E (unidentified): were fired. Well, they're technically an attorney for the church. It's just a different. They're advocating for the child.
[13:12] Speaker F (unidentified): I hope that's their journey, that's right.
[13:14] Andre Cushing: If you had any discussions with your colleagues and other counties as to how they address ad litems versus the attorney? Because I know there are some people who become qualified as ad litems that are not attorneys.
[13:28] Speaker E (unidentified): Correct, we do not. Our ad litems are attorneys, the ones that we have in the area. That has been a struggle as far as finding JALs and attorneys. We're hopefully the first in the year going to roll something out because we are going to be losing one of our big court-appointed attorneys January. Like that's going to be a hardship on us also. I will say our judge has kind of shifted gears and hoping maybe this will change things too is send parties to mediation opposed to coming for it so maybe they can sell like outside of court. There is a fee still to that, but it's less fee than others any chance the
[14:16] Andre Cushing: judge when he is back in the legal world would be a corner for his attorney
[14:22] Speaker E (unidentified): there is a high possibility
[14:27] Andre Cushing: one last question not directly related to budget but does your association have regular meetings
[14:34] Speaker E (unidentified): Yes, we actually have one. Well, the judges have a meeting tomorrow and all the registrars are invited to continue.
[14:44] Blair Tinkham: Thank you. Any other questions from the Commission on this operating line? Moving to capital. It has two lines on the capital, probably not on the seat, but it's on the lead right now. Now, increases to 3 [Speaker C (unidentified):,500 next year.] These are the items. Now to Reveno. Can you click on Reveno?
[15:18] Andre Cushing: I'm curious what this year is tracking versus budget.
[15:28] Speaker E (unidentified): So I think as far as number wise, I know we are down as far as cases, dockets. Okay. But again, a lot of our across this year is going out with the contested cases as far as that. But I think we're kind of a little too behind revenue wise, but I don't think it's very helpful.
[15:58] Andre Cushing: Did we not budget revenue last year? Yeah, we did. Okay, just a second. What was the budget? Can you recall? What was it? 288.4 you have the third quarter yet no but sorry I don't
[16:24] Speaker F (unidentified): feel like that jason and stuff but for so through september so your budgeted revenue was 288 371 collected 202
[16:53] Blair Tinkham: so yeah you're a little a little short probably not bad so 202 through the third quarter yep
[17:02] Andre Cushing: Yeah, through September,, so that would give us 202 attended to 88 and change was the budget. That's 70% of budget. Yeah, we're 75% 70% of budget for
[17:51] Blair Tinkham: an entry question on contract services line, My current six were projected to be over by $54,000 a year.
[18:09] David Marshall: What is it, $64,000?
[18:16] Blair Tinkham: It's that state, right? We're looking at projections based on that.
[18:22] Andre Cushing: Do we have any historical summit before the quarter is with dollar on the day, sir?
[18:28] Blair Tinkham: We've got a seven-year history.
[18:33] Andre Cushing: I'm probably costing $4,000.
[18:57] Speaker E (unidentified): And also, I just want to let you know, it's not just court appointed attorneys that go into this bucket. It's also into the check. So anyone that comes in with a fee waiver or for petitions or for visitor fees or anything along those lines, that will seem to get to
[19:15] Andre Cushing: the bucket also. So that reduces your revenue line, correct? Yes. How does that get determined?
[19:24] Speaker E (unidentified): So they have to submit a financial affidavit with their finances on it and then that goes to the judge. Yeah so some of the cases that say might waive some fees say it's an adult guardianship and conservatorship they waive the funds at the beginning we can recapture those fees at the end when the final order comes in or conservatorship we can put in this order that these fees are paid back with the conservatorship funds so the conservatorship is our few parts and please
[20:14] David Marshall: for a while thank you commission no questions here for the question dan any produce is there a
[20:21] Andre Cushing: motion yeah i would move we accept the 27th budget for the survey as presented it's been
[20:28] David Marshall: moved second consecutive all those in favor all right pass us through thank you very much and Thank you for your budget to present patients today. Yes, sir. We'll move to the chair. Oh, yeah. Good morning. We don't like. Yeah. Great. All right. Okay. Okay. Stay in the background. That's it. Morning. Okay.
[21:29] Blair Tinkham: Ministry. All right. All right. So we'll start with, obviously, the first two lines, full-time wages and overtime. We'll see a $488,000 roughly increase and $100,000 based on overtime projections for 2027. Is there any questions or concerns there?
[21:49] Andre Cushing: Yeah, on the overtime figures. Looking through six months, it looks like we're actually at the end of it. But was there a big change in the third quarter?
[21:59] Speaker C (unidentified): are we could be under budget again unfortunately our autonomous so we have any bigger events from now until the end of the year thank you functionally significantly they also have looked at the averages over the last several years and what we've paid and we're trying to get by with data would want to sell them Right, we do. We have four on employment right now, so we're not going all of that. It does impact us a lot, working out the benefits.
[22:43] Andre Cushing: What do we carry for expenses on benefits?
[22:47] Speaker C (unidentified): It depends on the individual. Just like an HR or finance group, I'll talk better than I can.
[23:04] Blair Tinkham: We need to track that a little bit closer. They get their TRICARE six months prior to when and then six months after they come home. So we need to look at that a little bit closer from each other to make sure that we expenses.
[23:26] Andre Cushing: What about retirement, refurge, or other, I mean, how does that prove?
[23:33] Blair Tinkham: That's probably an HR question. Are you sure that continues to prove? They get their vacations on, they're sickly, they don't get care?
[23:44] Speaker F (unidentified): It's based on wages. So if they don't earn anything from us in a month, we don't pay anything to make furs. I think there's something at some point that they ask for, but that would be a question for HR.
[24:04] Blair Tinkham: It went fast yesterday, as you know, and we added the buyback in there that wasn't budgeted last year. So it's in the budget this year, and we're looking at historical average with this division. Health insurance increased by 71,000. That's because ADMP added the numbers right and that's what it looks like in 2027. An increase in change of $892,000 for payrolls and benefits for 2027. Is there any lines which you would like us to look further at?
[25:26] Andre Cushing: I didn't know I didn't have a health insurance on the screen. My insurance increase is under $29,000, and the borrowing increase is under $15,000. Are we getting an old book?
[25:39] Blair Tinkham: We might have an old book. We have the live. I'm clicked on the live one.
[25:43] Andre Cushing: So this health insurance number that you made. We made some updates yesterday. So what was the figure for health insurance? Okay. Okay. So there's eight. Well, the total for this for this year. Salaries and benefits.
[26:01] Blair Tinkham: Oh, eight something. Eight nine two zero ninety. Okay.
[26:09] Andre Cushing: You're not obligated to spend on that.
[26:18] David Marshall: Okay. Moving on to operating lines.
[26:24] Speaker G (unidentified): Obviously, fuel and maintenance.
[26:30] Andre Cushing: On that or he does speak on that we corrected commissioner ballachi's concern about oil and increased finite vehicle fueling maintenance. Yeah again that's kind of an
[26:47] Speaker C (unidentified): It's an unpredictable why they stop inflation what's occurring in the current market
[26:51] Andre Cushing: We're still obligated to that even though we're on the fleet services for some of you I know, obviously, yes, [Speaker H (unidentified): It's totally it] Was hard for asking this question, but this includes what we need to do to these vehicles to get them ready.
[27:19] Speaker C (unidentified): Well, this would include the operating cost on that. As for the lights and all that, 's a bit cheap.
[27:30] Andre Cushing: But i assume it's factored in because we're not buying the these books this year we're leasing them so that would be the capital one that's working okay these are operating okay yeah
[27:45] Speaker C (unidentified): There's talking maintenance you're talking about breaks, tires, spoils, so that the normal
[27:50] Andre Cushing: operational cost is different that covers the full fleet, not just the new right here.
[28:02] Blair Tinkham: So in our offering lines, we have an increase of 75,000, 20.6 to 20.7.
[28:08] Speaker C (unidentified): Are there any questions about any of the specific lines and the operation lines?
[28:16] Speaker I (unidentified): Well, I
[28:22] Blair Tinkham: don't have any questions about the operation.
[28:25] Andre Cushing: I know you've combined food, insurance, and medical and the diet, but it's a huge item. Do we have any I
[28:36] Speaker C (unidentified): think we have it broken down so you can, you can see the actual cost for each to understand what the cost of the food is.
[28:45] Andre Cushing: I'm not looking for that degree, I just didn't know if historically
[28:49] Blair Tinkham: medical that's not showing a medical point. Okay, moving to capital with a $225,000 increase, move down here, shrink this a little bit. This is the breakdown of that capital improvement, so projected $570,000 for 10 vehicles.
[29:31] David Marshall: Vehicles that backlighted here we can't see, it's that window scared, see that? Yeah, I can see it in
[29:39] Andre Cushing: my chair, it's easier and any better the other way, that's better, thank you, or did it the light
[29:49] David Marshall: it's from this one right here, no but where I'm from I can see it, I can see it now, you see it, oh
[30:00] Speaker I (unidentified): Oh, yeah, all right.
[30:03] David Marshall: Okay. Could you just scroll? Could you scroll up? Is that the, I'm going to see the first.
[30:11] Andre Cushing: It's the window, but right now you want to go stand in front of the. Okay.
[30:20] David Marshall: Okay, so this is. Now, we're going to need to, we're going to need to like that. Phone I
[30:34] Andre Cushing: mean we need to like hurry up, yeah, it's not overhead lights that's we're fighting, it's
[30:39] David Marshall: the window, it's changing, so this they almost had lights, we need maybe, yeah, we're all just
[30:48] Speaker G (unidentified): I'm all set, you all said dame, I'm good, and for pants as
[30:56] Blair Tinkham: we've discussed in previous departments, this is, this is the sheriff's plan, continue to improve our government that we lost the last five
[31:08] Speaker C (unidentified): Correct. So if you look at the cost of ammo, I'll give you a prime example. We've been cutting ammo for probably the past five years. We've depleted our stock, which we didn't have stock because we've been asked year after year to be trying to find certain places. So ammo, we went down to the bear bin, made it up to do some specially training with the SRT, and then qualify all close to 60 employees every single year. That has put us in a position now for our ammo crisis to throw significantly just to get through the minute to bring some hand with it. The vehicle cost previously, what we were doing was in our fee we would plus the vehicle and the equipment. The equipment should be in the capital, so we've shifted the cost of that up then. So if you take 10 vehicles and you're going to have that 10 of them, you can talk 11 to 12 000. So instead of having that vehicle stay in the vehicle pond, we're more transparent like back into our capital where it should be, equipment things like that. So you're talking about $100,000 just there for that particular increase. It's either going to be there or it's going to be still there. Taser is another issue that we're having. So you look at our force continuum and what we're required to do when it comes to the heat support on the street. Our tasers are part of that continuum. It's part of our policy. It's recommended to have that less lethal option to mitigate risk on the street for our staff, but here when we went to tasers years ago, we came in and asked for this big pot of money that wasn't budgeted. This was one big deal with this plan and the convention was approved, but now we're at that point we're contracted out and we're looking at 80 000 a year possible contract to maintain these tasers. Well, you got one for every deputy supervisor, and I think there's 60 in the jail itself,
[33:27] Blair Tinkham: so it's significant. Probably 70.
[33:32] Andre Cushing: So. Probably, for the most part, probably 70.
[33:36] Speaker C (unidentified): I would say, no, I would say it's probably in the high 40s and 50s. Detectives don't use them and have some less than a boss, but taser is also proprietary and sold social contracts, so there's no competition for us to renegotiate somebody else to reduce that cost. So that is going to be a minimum. We are in the process of negotiating them trying to get them to get this down, so that is a significant hit to go from I think we're paying 40 something now looking at possibly 80 just because of changes in the contract. So we haven't signed off on any of that but our worst case scenario is it's going to be 83 to continue with that
[34:25] Andre Cushing: Is there a state source good price what
[34:30] Speaker C (unidentified): Is and again, we're similar to the state police. We have our costs come from individual costs and what we have. The bank will cost more than I assumed in the past years. You know, change that with changes. And all of that when I have deputies. [David Marshall: Physically, distantly away.] So I have to buy every deputy, right? I have to buy every deputy in AD. I have to buy every deputy in Swank Strip.
[34:58] David Marshall: That's a nature of the opportunity.
[35:00] Speaker C (unidentified): So that's what we did.
[35:03] Andre Cushing: So fortunately, we have that state subsidy to help stuff.
[35:07] Speaker C (unidentified): So again, when you're looking at the cost, the increase, it's increasing that capital accounts, but that cost was somewhere else. Other lines of reference. We're trying with the county administrator's assistance, we're trying to get this capital should be account.
[35:27] David Marshall: Well, reestablishing the AMO account was pretty critical.
[35:31] Speaker C (unidentified): We are at a very critical state right now just minimum mandatory, you know, we have falls and we have to do everything, it's expensive, thank you. The other thing I've added to the animal account also, it's not just rounds for the weapon systems, we have gone to a less people philosophy in this agency where we are using 40-millimeter impact rounds and things like that. We have other options for the distance that mitigate risk and lessens our use of deadly force. But unfortunately, we have five or six of those systems that now each one of those operators has to train them in their expense. And they have their operational load that they have to carry. So, again, that adds to our game.
[36:30] Andre Cushing: Did we do eight? How many did we do? We did eight. And I thought that was, that was what we were going to have. So what's ten?
[36:41] Speaker C (unidentified): Eight we were able to get by this year, but next year we're definitely desperate for ten. Our fleet is aged. We're going to have probably the highest percentage of seating vehicles over 100,000 on this section before travel.
[36:58] Andre Cushing: In the eight we did this year, we leased all eight. I think the plan was not to be leasing on term. Personally, I'd like to see us phase out of it, maybe lead to a hybrid in 27 and lease some and buy some.
[37:15] Speaker F (unidentified): So that's exactly what I was in there right now was to purchase five, use five additional.
[37:23] Andre Cushing: I thought it was just 10, 57,000 apiece.
[37:27] Speaker F (unidentified): Well, okay, but that's the equipment. So as the chief was explaining, it's way cheaper for us to negotiate upgrades to the cars outside
[37:42] Andre Cushing: side of the lease so that can't so great for me yeah 27 piece well that includes
[37:53] Speaker F (unidentified): So we still have to pay with we're paying 140 000 issues right now right and we'll pay
[38:04] Blair Tinkham: But you have a, we can get you the worksheet, we take a note here. She's gotta break, she's broken
[38:09] Speaker F (unidentified): it down to the next five years and doing things like that, phasing out with these
[38:17] Andre Cushing: and we can, you know, maneuver it however. Yeah, obviously we've got the cost of initiatives. Yeah, so I think, and some of those are like, some couple of those which is like, yeah, so it depends on how we estimate, right? Yeah, that's how they determine. I mean, like the sheriff said, I agree. It's me. Yeah, we just want to talk. Yeah, no, it seems like it was a good thing to do this year. So we could survive financially.
[38:55] Speaker F (unidentified): But we do have flexibility and that has been the tour so far working with this structure. Structure. But yeah, as far as the outfitting, we aren't, we're paid for that.
[39:10] Speaker C (unidentified): And we're probably, we're, you're saving significantly by doing that compared to some of the other companies that are authentic. So that's why we didn't want enterprise to get involved in it. So it's probably we're saving 50% on insurance. We
[39:28] Blair Tinkham: took a novel provided that the breakdown will not be
[39:32] David Marshall: in time, you've already figured out the phases, right? You've already protected that out. Yeah.
[39:39] Speaker F (unidentified): And like I said, I can spread shade so we can, you know, play with that however
[39:44] Andre Cushing: how much of this type, that's what it was, I think they're about
[39:52] David Marshall: probably about 1200, 12,000 a piece, something like that, I think that could probably qualify
[40:00] Speaker C (unidentified): off. Well, we actually, we're in the process, we have a couple of congressional grants that have ones already signed off, all right, through appropriations, and Brenda and I don't want to just notify about the state that money should be dropping fairly soon, and I think fightbacks would be part of that request, so we might be able to offset some of the budget this particular grant. But until we see that money, I can't. We're supplementing a lot. One of them is the Jared Golden Grant. MBTs, that's the high dollar value BOST account. It was $560,000. $582,000. But we still have a process to get those funds. So some of this might be offset and it might not have to use some of this.
[41:05] Andre Cushing: Is that one time or is that multiple?
[41:12] Blair Tinkham: They're moving to revenue? Yeah. The cash is on revenue. Revenue is not changing.
[41:18] Andre Cushing: No contracts that are. The
[41:23] Speaker C (unidentified): numbers of what are set right now.
[41:26] Speaker F (unidentified): They all updated their contracts last year.
[41:28] Andre Cushing: It's been three years, okay, and you factored in the cold sun, well, yeah, so
[41:39] Blair Tinkham: if there's no more questions followable to settle, give
[41:48] Andre Cushing: my keys to my time, very sure
[42:03] David Marshall: Perry announced today, so we'll start fun. Should be dropping this week, I think, the revenue sharing statement to give these problems, and that's what we drop in the schools.
[42:20] Speaker I (unidentified): Revenue sharing. No. Well, I said.
[42:24] David Marshall: Yeah, I mentioned this time.
[42:26] Speaker G (unidentified): I don't know what that's about. Welcome back.
[42:33] Blair Tinkham: Oh, so the increase is 40,000 payroll and benefits. That's any questions on any of the specific ones.
[42:45] Andre Cushing: Yeah, total 7.6% change. Correct. Question that looks different screen, because I'm showing them. It must be helpful if it's a changing. Okay, that's the change. But on the part time we budgeted last year 25 to six months but spent three less than three thousand and we're increasing that line by ten thousand
[43:15] Speaker C (unidentified): so we've added Chris Watson back to the team as a part-time officer. What we've learned is when our full-time staff is going on vacation we're losing revenue because we're losing the server, and so we kind of have Chris in our bullpen so when they take their vacation he can come in as a part-timer and continue their services to take the correct revenue. Yeah, so we have two part-timers. Correct. Any
[43:54] Blair Tinkham: questions? Any remaining questions on payroll benefits? Civil move to the operating lines. 14 000 increase on the operating lines. Are
[44:17] Andre Cushing: we sending that much more in postage or is it postage rate increases?
[44:23] Speaker J (unidentified): The post office box fee went up and also the postage went up. We've adjusted the postage to the client. We do a lot of...
[44:35] Speaker I (unidentified): I guess you're probably going to be
[44:46] Blair Tinkham: the capital 17,000, 215,000 increase.
[45:06] Andre Cushing: There's no figure in 26, so you're going to see a full increase in 27. He scrolled. It's below there. I was referring to the capital line.
[45:30] Blair Tinkham: Well, in forecasting 27.
[45:33] Andre Cushing: Right there. See, you get no 26.
[45:36] Blair Tinkham: Oh, that's here today. Yeah. I'm sorry. It's okay. Oh, that's well. So $25,000 for a new vehicle and $20,000 carryover for $20,000. This is your budget.
[46:13] Speaker F (unidentified): So you've got to get a new car. You need a new car. That's a good one.
[46:19] Speaker C (unidentified): So we've got one vehicle that's got 197,000 miles on it. It's already got a one-inch squall. And it got towed again this weekend to Bookshare because it's on service. So it's, again, you start getting up to $180,000, $190,000, $200,000, it's lifespan is pretty much done. The other thing is that we're kind of trying to look at this, talked about the leasing option also, was just to start offsetting, you know, the two vehicles, the two main vehicles that we had initially were two of our, so those vehicles were bought almost at the same time, which means their lifespans probably go to die around the same time. Man, and now you're double cost, whereas we could stagger it, even if it's a year difference. Yeah, right, you know, I'll take it to the same, just some things that we've been taught moving
[47:18] Andre Cushing: on to revenue. No increase in revenue vector 2027. Here we go, tracking for shizzle so far this year.
[47:49] Blair Tinkham: What I'm looking at with our tool from Derrigo, they're 124% increase, they're at 580s per
[47:59] Andre Cushing: for year-to-date or? Year-to-date.
[48:05] Speaker F (unidentified): Good thing. Yeah, so they were already over what was budgeted?
[48:13] Andre Cushing: They have reached the old civil fees track,
[48:18] Speaker I (unidentified): if you can calculate that.
[48:19] Speaker C (unidentified): I will tell you that the civil fees and their charters, I know that they're gonna come and speak to you about that, because there is a way to increase that revenue. I'm not the expert on it and misspeak, but I will say that there is a way to help us with that revenue. I think that would be better. Again, it's up to the commissioners, so, but that would be for Lucas video, it'll share, you're developing a proposal. Yes, and it's all within statute. Yeah, I just think we
[49:01] Andre Cushing: probably are better off to book historic numbers rather than estimate an increase, because you could use surpluses
[49:12] Speaker C (unidentified): yeah, because I and again I can't talk about this year or last year, but I know historically, you know, you know, also breaking. Yeah. Yeah. We're in Boston. It's a, it's a service of the five. Yeah. Right.
[49:47] Blair Tinkham: Right. Right. There's no more questions on civil, will move to jail. Bill?
[50:01] Speaker F (unidentified): Another point. Does it put it? I can't watch.
[50:11] Andre Cushing: I just feel. I think we're also going to save all the Christmas.
[50:14] David Marshall: You don't catch 21. We're also playing the role of Christmas. You know, that's. Oh, okay. No.
[50:29] Blair Tinkham: Okay. Wages and overtime. You have a 3.7% increase for 205,000. Thousand five hundred eighty nine for full-time wages, and over time there's a 21 percent increase of 159,087, and then we increase our time to
[51:01] Andre Cushing: meet operational needs of 85. So if I'm looking at overtime correctly, we were somewhat on target. Yeah, as of July 1st, 750, half of that would be about 375, so it's slightly under. Yeah, do
[51:26] Blair Tinkham: we know if it's over time a 750,000 year date, we're at 540.
[51:33] Andre Cushing: Yeah, so yeah, that's your September, yes, yeah, so that's have it on target, yeah, even the templates 540. Yeah, three quarters to 72 percent so
[51:55] Blair Tinkham: You look at this tool, which is the tool for all the problems and analysis of the tool, the sheriff's office, all the three divisions, and help us for the current business situation. So, it should be noted, but as an operation, we
[52:26] Speaker F (unidentified): can't take that away. So part of what's driving that increase here is we're anticipating we put in a 7% increase for the branch and its offices, so we don't have a contract anymore, so sorry, but we do expect an increase again that
[53:02] Andre Cushing: would bring them up two years of no closeness, correct
[53:08] Speaker C (unidentified): It's unpredictable because you've got to get to the table
[53:13] Andre Cushing: No, I think we're going to get that, we're not right now, I think we're going to get the arbitration is what we're at, that's that's the sticking, so but it's hard to predict that [Speaker C (unidentified): By category there's] some factors that need to change to balance that, the other thing is still
[53:39] Speaker C (unidentified): I will go on again, this is this is Captain Bullies Lane, but he and I work together a lot, but I when you start looking at the open top of the van, it's just again it's unpredictability, they are saying so I think they're down almost 12 positions a few weeks ago. So we're going to be paying some more time when that occurs, but it fluctuates quickly, right? They get back on the train, they're ready to go, and all of a sudden it changes. So you're going to have that fluctuation throughout the year, depending on staff. I don't know if they're down right now. I know a few weeks ago they were down almost 12.
[54:20] Andre Cushing: Well so but between the canyons, yes, okay
[54:27] Speaker C (unidentified): So I think I think you would average, I would say probably they'd probably average between being down six to twenty in their average with retirement resignation so
[54:46] Blair Tinkham: It's four and eighty nine thousand dollar increase point twenty seven table about this. It's factoring in two union contract negotiations, which Supervisory Lines requested us to start the discussion soon. Actually requested it yesterday. Okay, moving to Operating Lines, overall increase is 99,000, operating from 26 to 27. Any specific questions on Operating Lines? The overall increase of $355,000 in operating lines, [Speaker I (unidentified): 6].2% change.
[56:08] David Marshall: Yeah, that's what I see that here, so it's $354,000, all continuing, okay,
[56:15] Speaker I (unidentified): and
[56:20] Speaker G (unidentified): no questions on cooperation in the biggest part of the medical part. Correct. Moving
[56:36] Blair Tinkham: to capital. is the breakdown of the capital increase is
[56:49] Andre Cushing: That 25 would carry over from the prior line where you showed 20,000 credit. No, that wasn't a civil budget, I'm sorry. That's right. Okay, so this is again when
[57:01] Speaker C (unidentified): you start talking about the bands. We bought two new bands again. You replace the two vehicles at the exact same time. Yeah, and the bands are expensive, and then you have the inserts that always changing. So I think what they're trying to do is to again build that up when you start looking at your strategic plan, that five to ten year period, you want to be staggered. Yeah.
[57:26] Andre Cushing: Well, strategically too, if we take one of the bands out of regular service when it still is functional and maintain it, if you've got a breakdown you've still got. Yeah, I asked what
[57:41] Speaker C (unidentified): their operational needs and how they functioned in mission. I think I'd always be able to move it all the time down for something for
[58:01] Blair Tinkham: revenue you can try two million eight hundred thousand
[58:08] Speaker H (unidentified): at least here
[58:11] Andre Cushing: we'll see that is that in line with what we got this year it
[58:18] Speaker J (unidentified): was a little bit lower
[58:19] Speaker F (unidentified): The last pink we got in was for $100,000 once and been talking with the sheriff for students
[58:30] Speaker E (unidentified): who bet it's just bed count.
[58:32] Andre Cushing: Yeah, it's a reduction based on your running bed count.
[58:36] Speaker F (unidentified): So it would be a little conservative.
[58:41] Andre Cushing: No, it's smart because we start the year $800 million less from the state overall or $8 million dollars less from the state overall and that translates to us annually at about a million dollars speaking. Okay, we got four ninety and five something from them in those two supplemental
[59:08] David Marshall: tranches. This is the boarding line in this question. Where's the boarding line? What is it?
[59:16] Andre Cushing: This is revenue. Yes. Yeah, go back up. I just have one
[59:26] Speaker G (unidentified): no
[59:37] David Marshall: is that it's 53 2 000 40 pretty good they lost the expenses the other one.
[1:00:06] Andre Cushing: Do you have the 30-year-old figures on boarding class yet? They don't. But did we decide to do contracts? The bills are just coming in. They just got
[1:00:20] Speaker J (unidentified): on today we are down in that category but we are also running at our state maximum
[1:00:28] Andre Cushing: too so that's dangerous are we just dealing with one facility or
[1:00:35] Speaker J (unidentified): the last month we've had three right two bridges somerset and remember [Speaker E (unidentified): sometimes we] have to send them home depending on the case and if these other people are in the gym when they
[1:00:48] Speaker E (unidentified): camping initiative. And
[1:00:54] Andre Cushing: these are all MOUs, there's no contracts with them, so.
[1:01:11] Blair Tinkham: Okay, any other questions on jail?
[1:01:18] Andre Cushing: I am hearing a discussion among sheriffs of increased boarding fees, I mean, maybe we're going to contract for July. We just had a total of the last two. Two
[1:01:48] David Marshall: bridges. Yes. I think they want to. What can what can I?
[1:02:04] Speaker C (unidentified): You don't so. But again, the category of people will burst. Right.
[1:02:14] Andre Cushing: No. Then an annual contract. No, just decide. Messiah. Zero. Make sure we get Christmas credit. Or have a schedule. You don't need the sheriff's office anymore.
[1:02:43] Speaker I (unidentified): One. Thank you.
[1:02:46] David Marshall: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Do
[1:02:55] Blair Tinkham: you want to have any discussion on the jail cap? All right. So as we discussed yesterday, in order to meet expenses, we're going to need a jail cap. I don't know what that percent is, but four percent of the deal cap of $14,211,447.
[1:03:51] Andre Cushing: What's the new figure?
[1:03:59] Blair Tinkham: That's really a caveat, though, based on our conversation yesterday, if you want to start addressing a fund balance with the public.
[1:04:08] David Marshall: Yeah, and that's within the statutory authorization.
[1:04:12] Blair Tinkham: We have to validate it.
[1:04:17] Andre Cushing: What would you anticipate that should be if we were going to try and recapture a 10-year basis
[1:04:24] Speaker I (unidentified): A million dollars, yeah.
[1:04:33] Speaker F (unidentified): This is just to break the way it's
[1:04:39] David Marshall: If, yeah.
[1:04:40] Speaker I (unidentified): Yeah, we
[1:04:51] Andre Cushing: Don't address the deficit to fund balance. It's not good. It's not going to end. We're
[1:05:01] Blair Tinkham: Going to be together with some budgets which has a lot of stress. That's the culprit for the most part.
[1:05:08] Andre Cushing: Right there, I [Speaker I (unidentified): Mean] So the jail has skated on the county taxpayer number of years. I
[1:05:30] Blair Tinkham: Say that's part of the process for the last 20 years. That's also true. Okay, moving to unless there's any questions on the jail tax. We'll move to finance.
[1:06:32] Andre Cushing: We have someone in that department. We do. So
[1:06:38] Blair Tinkham: This is, this is the addition if you look at the full-time wages and salaries. Is the addition of one more, two more, one grant manager, one more position for finance to effectively meet our operational needs, which is an increase of 87.3 percent.
[1:07:01] Andre Cushing: Okay, so we're not at UT Bridge, but I'm watching for it. So go ahead. Okay.
[1:07:18] Blair Tinkham: And really that's a significant change, obviously, with the adjustments to the plan folks and step increases that are scheduled and incorporating buyback that has 279,136 to the budget and
[1:07:40] Andre Cushing: That would be increasing by one position because
[1:07:45] Blair Tinkham: Grants, which grant, our grant manager, you know, 26 was paid out of our funds since we discussed, we have [Andre Cushing: Nobody in this] We'll have to talk about that. Nobody, and the stress that it puts on those two ladies every day.
[1:08:12] Andre Cushing: I understand that. I guess where I'm going with this is how easy is it going to be to find somebody?
[1:08:19] Speaker F (unidentified): Well, I've got two people I want to meet. Okay. Good.
[1:08:31] Blair Tinkham: Well, the announcement's out and two people apply.
[1:08:34] Andre Cushing: Yeah. So when would we start them? I mean, do we still have something in this budget year? Year. How much is October?
[1:08:44] Blair Tinkham: I think we sat at $30,000. $30,000 with the rest budget for that.
[1:08:55] Andre Cushing: Is that from ARPA still? Or is that going to come up? It's coming. [Speaker I (unidentified): So we] expanded all of the ARPA funding is gone. So if you've brought somebody on for the full year, wait until the half year for the second position. Yes. Everything
[1:09:38] Speaker F (unidentified): else. Yeah, the grant manager is the critical one right now. He's periodically trying to pick up the pieces, but it's navigating federal websites. Yeah.
[1:10:01] Blair Tinkham: Any questions on payroll and services compliance?
[1:10:04] Andre Cushing: I would just like to consider moving the second grant manager to a half year.
[1:10:13] Blair Tinkham: The second position is not a grant manager.
[1:10:17] Andre Cushing: Okay, so it's one grant manager. That's a good tool. If we're looking for chunks, that would be one. went on. What is your what is the second position, something you filled with Tina? Martinez at HR? Do you have somebody in mind for the second? No,. So the position that I'm
[1:10:49] Speaker F (unidentified): looking for is operation in the way that they gave us to split the department day to day, which is the AP and payroll and receivable, and then have audits, budgets, reconciliations, and other reporting, you know, reporting or project based on what I'm signed. yeah because i am i'm so bogged down day-to-day that i don't have time to do the other
[1:11:34] Andre Cushing: where is the deer go contracting their
[1:11:41] Blair Tinkham: contract with me right yeah okay put them on departmental
[1:11:48] Andre Cushing: it's yeah so it's in the 27th it is but we also have a good one Yeah, but then they share it. We don't have a lot of air. We do. So I'm probably right at the best course. Yeah.
[1:12:06] Blair Tinkham: Well, once they complete the 25, we as a bring out for 8,000.
[1:12:16] Speaker G (unidentified): Yeah, three questions in a row. Yeah.
[1:12:25] Andre Cushing: Could that help me to finance in the future or maybe we'd have it as a contract?
[1:12:32] Blair Tinkham: Well, you know, obviously we have a 28 contract with them. So they're building blocks for us. As Derrida said, we or they can fill that contract at any time at a 30-day notice. It's a big prioritization that we discussed that they built for us was a strategic strategy to go from calendar year to fiscal year, which you need to really look at that. This provisor committee needs to look at that and see if there's any holes in it. And it built, so we'll go ahead and look. After that, they're really on retainer to help fill this gap. Okay.
[1:13:26] Andre Cushing: Do we project that they will assist you with the 26th audit prep too?
[1:13:35] Speaker F (unidentified): So as of right now, the way it stands is, you know, we obviously need to get through 25. And I believe the thought was that they were going to give us some of the products that they've been working on to facilitate 26. So I'm hopeful I don't need them, at least to the extent we have for 24 and 25 audits. But it's a little open-ended right now.
[1:14:05] Speaker I (unidentified): So
[1:14:11] Blair Tinkham: back to the spreadsheet for operating lines, it's an increase of $37,590 for finance and operating lines. Is there any questions on operating lines?
[1:14:31] Andre Cushing: He's talking about TANs, Wiggle assistance. How do we budget that? We must pay, obviously, more than $2,000 for the shipments. But $6,000 seems appropriate. How do we get paid? Is it paid under budget for that?
[1:14:49] Blair Tinkham: All right, well, I didn't know we needed it. That's the new guy, and then I got educated, so we okay.
[1:14:56] Andre Cushing: Robin Winchell, yeah, it was okay, so now, yeah, it's too much, right, yeah, what's the Chinese, please, okay, so there are two. [Speaker C (unidentified): I was] approached by another lending institution that said, well, we go out for our tan. We maybe something for us to consider any questions on the offer you want.
[1:15:50] Speaker G (unidentified): will
[1:15:52] Blair Tinkham: be capital with 2000 over a new desk and chair that may have to go to 4 000.
[1:16:05] Speaker F (unidentified): Well, I have one empty desk, I have one spot, it's ready to go, it's needed body.
[1:16:12] Blair Tinkham: Okay. All right. I stand corrected. That completes finance. You don't have any weapons. Okay. Moving to UT.
[1:16:37] Speaker C (unidentified): I think you need or something.
[1:16:45] Blair Tinkham: They were out there. [Speaker I (unidentified): There were increasing] full-time wages by $59,000 because the road
[1:17:02] Andre Cushing: commissioner is going part-time.
[1:17:06] Blair Tinkham: And we have disagreed upon the contract with the new UT director. She will start from the second.
[1:17:18] Andre Cushing: At less than the current, it means greater. In other words, the wage that we had within at George's scale will not be the same for the new UT director.
[1:17:35] David Marshall: There's no scale.
[1:17:37] Blair Tinkham: This is a problem. This worked.
[1:17:40] Andre Cushing: Well, what you negotiated for her to accept the package is less than what we've been paying.
[1:17:47] Speaker F (unidentified): Okay. Okay, there were two full-time employees, and now it will be a full-time part-time.
[1:17:57] Blair Tinkham: Thank you, so right, the goodness stores here is 150 000 change, but to the black, that's great for
[1:18:08] Andre Cushing: the UT, it doesn't do us any good, we put a part-time deputy in there, all
[1:18:19] Blair Tinkham: right, moving to the operating
[1:18:21] Andre Cushing: I guess my only question is, that significant reduction going to come back and on test with the legislature. Later on, we've got to add. Do we do any grants in the UT. To my knowledge, we do have the new scholarship.
[1:18:52] Speaker F (unidentified): Well, that's under the tip, which is, this is UT administration, right?
[1:19:01] Andre Cushing: So, does that come out of the county budget then? It's paid by UT, right? Yeah. So this is for the fiscal year stats next July. This doesn't start January 1st is UT budget. Yes, this is department 14 under the county. So it's really just, well, currently it's basically the administrative cost of the UT. When is it? I just have July. So this budget committee doesn't even have the appropriate.
[1:19:32] Speaker F (unidentified): I believe they do. Well, this is the same, but not the UT.
[1:19:37] Andre Cushing: T is a total separate entity. I said this will be paid for by the did if you look at this line and takes get up now to 41. That's what the UT pays the county for these expenses that are going to be in our January 1 budget. I understand this term. Yeah. Okay. Yes. But you were talking about sound and we switched somebody part time there's no there's nothing on the part time machine. Does it show up on yours now? It's in the combined payroll.
[1:20:10] Blair Tinkham: It does show up on mine now. Okay, I'll update it. She answered? Okay. Okay, excellent.
[1:20:26] Andre Cushing: So we're still netting $241,000, even though we reduced the expense?
[1:20:35] Blair Tinkham: So we're going to have to look at that administrative percentage. What was your question?
[1:20:39] Andre Cushing: My question is, if we have reduced the payroll expenses for the UT, t that is that going to affect the revenue side should that could be 40 000 or so less is just i mean that's that's a chunk of money if we can still book the same revenue since it's not on the budget here i'll take it but i think you need to take a look at that and see if we you've got an offset. Yeah, because
[1:21:21] David Marshall: it's a percentage of your T-budget.
[1:21:23] Andre Cushing: Is it a percentage of your T-budget? I think so. I don't remember what the time period says. It's a 10% fee. I think 10%
[1:21:32] Speaker F (unidentified): of the T-budget. But it's not
[1:21:36] Andre Cushing: a percentage, is it? We do get an admin fee, which is a percentage. Is that statutory? tory
[1:21:46] David Marshall: you
[1:21:50] Blair Tinkham: guys ask those kind of questions i'm assuming based on tenure of the questions
[1:21:57] Andre Cushing: people don't know that we'll check it out well i am not an expert on ut all i know is there's some formula that is impacted by what you book for expenses and if our expenses are going down particularly related to payroll then we should be aware of that or you end up with another holding good budget on the county side yes concurrent concur now if statutorily we are not limited to 10 fee it might be helpful to consider adjusting that fee for the administrative costs, because we have George. Okay. Oh, you're just calling. We're just
[1:22:51] Blair Tinkham: Calling. He's bailing me out. Call a friend. 5% of the overall UT budget in the administrative cost goes to the county. No matter what the county is paying the director and deputy director, that 5% stays. So you're looking at around 140,000 there, and there's built-in statute with a hundred thousand dollars for the road agent, so the 241,000 is not going to be reduced. If you reduce the payroll, it's built
[1:23:26] Andre Cushing: into the statute. Do we do any grants for your UT work? Yeah,
[1:23:33] Speaker H (unidentified): but that would be all through you.
[1:23:34] Andre Cushing: This is just the administrative side. It's not even easy at all. No, I understand it, but if we're taking a reduction in salaries and there are percentages related to that, then the revenue that we're booking based on prior years would need to be adjusted, if I'm not mistaken.
[1:23:56] Blair Tinkham: No, but your 5% of the UT budget is administrative costs. No matter what, 5% of the UT budget. Utility budget this year is $2.8 million, $233,000. So sometime in July that will increase because the utility budget is going to increase. That's in statute. And then the $100,000 for the road agent is also there. There's no removing that. There's no reducing that.
[1:24:25] Andre Cushing: Okay. Okay. 100,000. Is that how many thousand? That's just a set figure, regardless of what your costs are.
[1:24:39] Blair Tinkham: It was $70,000 for several years. We moved it to $100,000 three years ago. And conversations with the state, because of our nine contract and the miles of road we have, justifies the cost.
[1:24:54] Andre Cushing: Well, fuel's gone up. Can we justify it going up? Everything
[1:25:02] Blair Tinkham: else has gone up. The budget's going to be increased. We only milk it just so much.
[1:25:09] Andre Cushing: Okay. All right. Well, I appreciate that. Sounds like you've got some fiscal experience. There may be an application process for finance if you want to pick up a little extra time.
[1:25:21] Speaker I (unidentified): Well, it's not that I'd like to compete with you. I appreciate it.
[1:25:26] Blair Tinkham: Thanks for phoning in and saving a friend.
[1:25:31] Speaker J (unidentified): Yeah, I'll be expecting you back in a half.
[1:25:33] Andre Cushing: Okay, so out of that 214,100 is a is a set amount. Yeah, okay, now you're all UT experts. I move approval of UT Advising as presented by the UT Administrative Committee.
[1:26:02] David Marshall: It's been moved. Seconded. Seconded. Moved and seconded. Any further discussion? All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Aye. Ms. Jananis, thank you.
[1:26:11] Blair Tinkham: And just to recap, you've approved Deeds. Deeds. UT. UT.
[1:26:21] Andre Cushing: Probate. Probate. Probably did we not improve stuff yesterday with the group we learned the stuff for both
[1:26:32] Blair Tinkham: DA, HR, in addition to these three. Yeah, Dan had a couple of questions. Yeah.
[1:26:54] Andre Cushing: I was not here for those, so I would just take care of what about I think we had a nice system out with me. So it was a couple of different things that the question that the answer Yes, I'm not Did
[1:27:15] Blair Tinkham: a question on stipends? Oh, yeah, and then we deleted a line 27 Okay It's 231 Is the increase? By 231 501. It's the increase of the chains. So then we did
[1:27:52] Andre Cushing: out of like all seven correct okay i mean basically all the major changes that nice system which we got for free this year we get to do we'd have to pay next year so i would approve the district attorney's budget as corrected i would second that moved and
[1:28:14] David Marshall: seconded any further discussion no further discussion i'll call for law All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Aye. Tune in, please. Thank you, gentlemen.
[1:28:25] Speaker G (unidentified): Good. What was the other one? We're going to do IT. Definitely.
[1:28:32] David Marshall: IT. IT. Can you spell that one?
[1:28:50] Blair Tinkham: No. Only question I had for the commission is do you have any questions and debate over SCAPL?
[1:28:59] Andre Cushing: That's the only one I had to take any note of, SCAPL. I just said, we could tweak it a little bit, maybe reduce it by 50 overall, if we cut the first, keep the second, Sheriff's Office mobile penetrator, maybe just cut the DEL request in half and cut the service, serve request in half and then get them back to those levels and 28. But again, it's just 50,000. That seemed like a lot. But 50,000 years. So what were you looking at? Just under the price set, at 60, go 30 for the computers. So 30 instead of 50? Yeah. And I think he said, he said it might be a grant coming in for some of those. Is there a grant, a possible grant for some of those? Yeah, I said,
[1:30:02] Speaker H (unidentified): Yeah, so like I kind of mentioned, like you mentioned, that grant is going to replace some years. Honestly, if we want to talk about like, capital, we can hold off due to replacements for the chair next year. But I didn't realize how many positions there are going to be apartments. So, I think a better, we could change the line item once in 20 grand, you know, if they didn't come up with better servers. But if I wanted to buy new servers and 50 grand over 5 years, we could reduce that.
[1:30:43] David Marshall: That works for me.
[1:30:44] Andre Cushing: That saves us $10,000 or more. So, we just reduce the line for the number one line and keep the two or three where they were. So you're saying you're comfortable dropping to 10 replacements at 2,000, so 20,000 per person?
[1:31:02] Speaker H (unidentified): 20,000 per person, yep.
[1:31:05] Andre Cushing: So that saves us 40, where was the other? Oh, okay, I thought you wanted to reduce it. Do you need the full 50 in I3, you think?
[1:31:14] Speaker H (unidentified): So we can draw that, we just have to have the understanding that 's going to increase next year. Right, yeah, so I mean if you drop that to maybe if we drop to like 25, then next year I think it's 56.
[1:31:28] Blair Tinkham: So right now that's projected 250 000 cost five years over five hours, yeah, so let's just reduce it to 40.
[1:31:37] Andre Cushing: When we can get it back up next year, that'd be that would be good. Okay, so we would drop line two by forty thousand dollars, line one or sixty, line three, line one by forty, line three by ten. Exactly, okay, you ladies tracking that? So can we do that on the screen or again I can, the quantity is going to go to 10. There's no formula, just change the title 20. And then that line would drop to 40. I'm not sure if he's good comfortable with that, everyone else is okay, all right, I would move we approve it as
[1:32:48] David Marshall: Offended second the movement, secondly any further discussion? None. Call for the vote. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Chair Namas? Moving
[1:33:01] Speaker I (unidentified): to HR. I think, yeah. Oh.
[1:33:06] Andre Cushing: Yeah, good. I'm gonna have to vote here. HR? Yep. Yeah. Let's see here.
[1:33:30] Blair Tinkham: Any, obviously we increased, well,
[1:33:35] David Marshall: we increased it by one position. I was
[1:33:44] Andre Cushing: here for that. I would move acceptance as presented for
[1:33:52] Speaker F (unidentified): HR. I did update their salaries for the positions that they filled yesterday. So that's a little bit different.
[1:34:02] Andre Cushing: So these positions, are they filled right now?
[1:34:07] Blair Tinkham: So you have the new system which is on board starting this week. And then the movement will change with the ut change in january, so that position without a
[1:34:20] Speaker I (unidentified): change from the ut but
[1:34:25] Blair Tinkham: we have a plan 2027 with the change so
[1:34:57] Andre Cushing: the two new positions would be
[1:34:58] Speaker H (unidentified): for a full year it's
[1:35:06] Blair Tinkham: two for 26. It's almost 26. 26 it's three, did you have that four words, any further questions
[1:35:40] Speaker I (unidentified): share
[1:35:55] Andre Cushing: some promotion or do you vote? I believe I made a motion that we would accept the HR budget as amended. It's been moved. I mean, it seems like we're not thrilled about it. I think we're still in the position, but I just think, you know, we're struggling with the budget. And that's an increase of over 15% of our budget. Because, I mean, so you're moving people around. We're moving somebody from the apartment that's being paid by UT. UT down to the tax dollars. HR.
[1:36:28] David Marshall: for the balance of this year, and then it's three full-time positions beginning in 2017. Right.
[1:36:39] Blair Tinkham: Well, just to recap that, obviously we're trying to meet the operational needs defined behind HR, which generated the increase, which is why I'm moving this direction.
[1:37:01] David Marshall: Yeah. You've indicated that before. It's been moved and seconded. Any further discussion? Call for the vote. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Two to one. Two to one. Would you like to vote on finance? Yeah, let's bring that back up again, please. Wow, seven. That includes the to the two positions the grant manager correct
[1:37:38] Andre Cushing: What about the other summary bridges and retirement and whatnot do we want to push that out
[1:38:19] Blair Tinkham: So your goal for next Thursday would be to vote on PRCNC, facilities, EMA, changes there, finance, administration, and the sheriff, the jail, the file, and your non-apartment
[1:38:57] Andre Cushing: Does that include some of the departmental lines that we've covered, like the programs and would you talk about that in the department?
[1:39:06] Speaker C (unidentified): Hold on, I don't think we can see it. Yes. At
[1:39:19] Speaker F (unidentified): The end. It's actually at the very beginning.
[1:39:46] Blair Tinkham: I don't think there's much consensus. Consensus? Well, I think there's two. Obviously, the PRCC loan,
[1:40:03] Andre Cushing: There's no really good things in there. Yeah, I mean, there's fixed costs in here. Retirement, county insurance, bridge account, loans and interest, extension service, this soil conservation district, your weight adjustment, oh, the bottom line, the three,
[1:40:33] Blair Tinkham: I guess the only one that may
[1:40:38] Andre Cushing: Be discussed, up for discussion, is donations and your wage [Speaker I (unidentified): Line and] That accounts for [Blair Tinkham: About $400,000.] And I know we can't gut that. We can't gut that $400,000. Is that a new line that we have? Yes. Department 40 was always our wage adjustment line. What he's done is divided it into two sections, Dan. If you look at the weight adjustment reserves at five grand and then you look at his proposal the administrative proposal of 300 right so
[1:41:30] Blair Tinkham: If i can permit i think it's up for discussions development core program donations on opposite county extension chemquist your soil conservation in the wage adjustments
[1:41:43] Andre Cushing: Everything else is fixed yeah so again that would that would put us closer to half a million dollars well are we able to go i don't know what statutory requirement is for minnesota county extension service for the soil conservation district
[1:42:04] David Marshall: We need to yeah until we find out what our statutory obligations are i think we should
[1:42:10] Blair Tinkham: So where would I research statutory requirements, because I've been asking questions on it since I got here, on these specific lines, and there's an expectation from these entities, but I have seen a good thing in 30A that statutory requires you to do the same.
[1:42:33] David Marshall: Well, that's my question. Is there a statutory obligation here? If there's not a statutory obligation, given the financial situation of the county, I'm not in.
[1:43:25] Speaker F (unidentified): So it's an allocation. So I have a file I can show you. I just use flash chairs percentage.
[1:43:36] Blair Tinkham: You know, we have a history of, I don't know, so I'm asking. And the other factor, and it's when our line, I don't know what to do, this is. Yeah, it's actually a diner grab. I'm going to do this. Greece.
[1:44:04] Speaker C (unidentified): The point set up
[1:44:07] Blair Tinkham: Historically of those lines.
[1:44:11] David Marshall: Well, I'm not
[1:44:13] Andre Cushing: Fully listening. What dues are we MCC? Okay, if anything, you see roughly 4% next year.
[1:44:24] Blair Tinkham: 4% increase in MCCA, do we have that for the clinic? Is there a richer model or other uses?
[1:44:33] Andre Cushing: This is why I was so silent. Do we have many other uses?
[1:44:38] Blair Tinkham: Well, we've got an ACAM, we've got some other professional associations.
[1:44:45] Andre Cushing: According to what I have just AI'd here, this agency, the 16th Solar and Water Conservation Districts are political subdivisions of the state of Maine, and governed under Maine Department of Ag, Conservation, and Forestry. Districts operate primarily through state appropriations, the fund to encourage little soil and water conservation projects, federal programs, competitive grants, and voluntary contributions rather than mandatory county tax allocations. While individual district field offices generally correspond to counties, county commissioners are not legally mandated to provide operational or baseline funding. That is, soil and water, then in Maine, do counties have an obligation, do counties have an obligation to pay the cooperative extension services, any funds? Maine County do not have an obligation to mandatory, absolute mandatory obligation to fund cooperative extension services as the decision rests on the discretion of the county. So if we were to consider a reduction in those two lines, they're both at about $100,000.
[1:46:39] Blair Tinkham: It's $107,500, which would contribute to other entities.
[1:46:47] Andre Cushing: If we did it 25%, that would be almost $100,000.
[1:46:55] Blair Tinkham: Well, look, this is where the discussion needs to go. We came in with a plan to right-size the ship based on all of the various things that we have been dealing with for the last five years and longer with a progressive plan on a capital starting this year. So if this number isn't going to pass, which Richard Jumbo has said, so it's not going to pass. I don't know how we're going to laser through this unless we start lasering through it. You guys make some conscious decisions on what's going to go. Because you're talking, you know, the other day about roughly $4 million in office budget. But that's a big number based on everything we're going to do.
[1:47:58] Andre Cushing: So you bring it back up again, of course, but going and going through all the budgets, I still haven't come up with this inquiry. I know we've got a backfill subset, but to get that we've got to 8 million. I think a lot of maybe it was the jail ones, and that's what 1.6 in the jail. So that's a substantial part of it, and an increase as well, and like in this budget. I don't remember seeing the line item for the year. We're out right now for a bit for security, for campus security. Is that a line item in here somewhere?
[1:48:34] Blair Tinkham: I have not. We have multiple RFPs we're addressing right now for facilities, and security is one of them. The environmental RFP, we're looking at other RFP facilities, those, but specifically for the security sign, I don't know if you voted in, I didn't put it in here. So just your, I mean, just your benefit line that we had to readjust tireless, it's close to $250,000 forecast in the budget. So if you look at this tool, if you look at this tool that Darago helped us build, you can see our errors. We have fixed that, 's what it says in the budget. So, which is what TIF has allowed us to do, is to compensate for these errors.
[1:49:38] Andre Cushing: If I recollect from the discussion yesterday, we used a figure of somewhere around $2 million on the 26th budget that we're having to serve on the 27th.
[1:49:50] Blair Tinkham: It's probably, Brenda said it's probably split there.
[1:49:56] Andre Cushing: So, just using my napkin calculations, if you look at it, about $300,000 equals one point increase in the budget, that's seven points minimum to cover. So, seven out of 31 drops us down to 24, which is still not great. Right? But when your patient is sick, you don't treat it with aspirin advantage.
[1:50:48] Blair Tinkham: No, I would just like to be able to come in with some recommendations for the commission so that you can look at it. I'm not quite clear where we're going. That's why I'm having some conversation, but I need to take it for both of us.
[1:51:03] David Marshall: Yeah. Thank you. While you're doing that, would you pull up the donations again?
[1:51:09] Andre Cushing: Non department. Yeah, but non department. [Speaker I (unidentified): Okay, well,] you can't. You take 2.6 off the table. Out of that number to begin because you can't do anything about your loan in prison.
[1:54:26] David Marshall: Like, no,, no wages, stipends.
[1:54:30] Andre Cushing: Okay, let's let's start with what we're talking about in programs. If we take 50,000 from the development. development work, we take 25,000 from donations, 100, yeah, 100, take 50. We're looking at taking 25% off that. So if you could put a formula in that line, this would be the box 27.5. And then a box tank. Oh, I mean, 37.5. 25%. At least 37.5. Right. Equals. So it would be the sum equals parentheses. Okay. I'm 75%. I'm 75%. Yep.
[1:55:19] David Marshall: Reducing at 20 to
[1:55:20] Andre Cushing: just 25%. Yeah. Okay, so use that same formula program donations, county extensions, and inquest and so on the box patients. So just yeah.
[1:55:38] Speaker F (unidentified): Get undue. You did something funky.
[1:55:41] Andre Cushing: Do you just you just deleted your
[1:55:56] Speaker F (unidentified): Yeah, again, I don't know what you did.
[1:56:01] Andre Cushing: Okay, now copy that and then paste it to the, there you go. Keep going on more. Yep. And then your department had wages we would have. Yeah, okay.
[1:56:36] David Marshall: You know, a lot of municipalities that have donated here are completely eliminated from all of their budget, [Blair Tinkham: their austerity.] We've been listed on by any chance state, but do we have any way of finding out what municipalities who have been donated to those who have been eliminated, are their contributions because of financial consideration?
[1:57:10] Andre Cushing: They don't have any of our municipalities. balance they don't donate to them because now his values have ever donated if you can do a summary also because those numbers are [Speaker I (unidentified): something right click] does that 331 for the 3 million is that got a formula in it because if so you could just copy and paste it. The non-departmental sub-tuple. Click on that cell. Okay, there's your sum. Right click and copy and then paste it right there. Did you say $368,000? No, because that shows what the total, that doesn't show the reduction, that shows what the new, the new cost. The only one that may break would be the $150,000. That's an actual deduction. So what you could do is take it.
[1:58:24] Blair Tinkham: Based on what you guys used for formulas. That's a new number.
[1:58:29] Andre Cushing: That would be a new aggregate, but it's not reducing by that amount. Okay. So what do you need to do with it?
[1:58:42] Speaker F (unidentified): So in column F, we could do the difference.
[1:58:46] Speaker I (unidentified): yeah what
[1:58:50] Andre Cushing: I'm going to suggest is I'm lucky to do it this way, but if you take column D and do no, get rid of that, just click on the 50,000 column D and just change it to 37. Well, no, you don't want to. What we're trying to do is figure out what the differential is here, so you need to, so the 368 copy that and then just bring it over. Hey, Mr. Gazelle, she does. Oh, yeah, so we're about 400 million dollars that we just came up. Wow, did you go see Mike Johnson? No. All right, there I feel better about you, a long way from make emotionally [Speaker I (unidentified): we] should also talk today that there isn't about that [Speaker G (unidentified): yeah some of] those statutes pretty clear for something like it's obvious if we overturn the budget to be pessimistic, but in my opinion I don't think they could just say cut a million dollars. I think they have to go say we're going to cut this item. I don't think they could just say it's kind of back to you got kind of like not like it's perceptible to handle, but we probably, I have a moderator who's familiar with budgetary pride, which is to run things, and we're not happy with last year. All right.
[2:02:09] Speaker C (unidentified): Well, I guess my question
[2:02:11] Blair Tinkham: do you want me to do it? No, you may have to answer the question. I guess my question here is if we go through this process where we send one, two, three, four, five, six department budgets to the budget committee, we give them a week to answer questions and then bring them in and we address those questions, then they will like that we talk to the budget and
[2:02:40] Andre Cushing: advisory committee or the budget committee. So as I understood it, you're sending this
[2:02:47] Blair Tinkham: information to the advisory, you know, this is a budget. Well, but the bison committee has had this since you got it. They had the updates. No, so I guess my question is I can reach out to the fiscal advisory committee on strategies on how to produce
[2:03:10] Speaker I (unidentified): use much. I
[2:03:16] Andre Cushing: think the narrative needs to convey to them that 2 million of this is from 26
[2:03:23] Blair Tinkham: areas. We have done that. Indeed. Let's go by that. Okay. So back to the budget committee many, because that's the question. They're going to get seven. We send it out tomorrow. We give them three or four days to send questions back to us.
[2:03:51] Speaker G (unidentified): We'll address those questions in a formal
[2:03:53] Blair Tinkham: setting, and then they vote on those seven departments. Is that how you guys see it?
[2:03:58] David Marshall: We did it all together at one time, at one meeting list.
[2:04:05] Blair Tinkham: Okay. We can do it any way you want to do it. I'm just affording the budget committee the opportunity to digest the material.
[2:04:13] David Marshall: No, I agree. And this is a good format.
[2:04:15] Blair Tinkham: Ask the questions and then have us come in and address those questions and then they vote. And so it's not getting thrown at them. That's one large chunk of paper. So that's the thought.
[2:04:28] Andre Cushing: office. It's going to be a little bit more than us. Just to clarify, as the current budget committee asked for us to send it in crunches rather than in a full format. It's the fiscal advisory committee's recommendation.
[2:04:43] Blair Tinkham: Okay. Your budget might be relatively renewable to people.
[2:04:48] Andre Cushing: And I'm going to ask you, the length of when do we get to appoint the local officials and get to each? I appointed two last year. Can I just replace one as well if that's what somebody is saying? If they either have not come or can't come this year. Like last year I had somebody who replaced them with the surrogates for the temple. Yeah, I think you could do that for the elected ones too if they didn't show up. Right. Yeah, this is
[2:05:22] David Marshall: the point where I just somebody I want to make this. Well I've checked with my elected official
[2:05:27] Andre Cushing: he's going to be he's going to be here. The only reservation I have about this, if the budget committee has not been advised that this is how we're going to do it this year, you may get some push back from some of them saying I want to see the whole thing. I'm not going to let you manage me by doing any chunks. Okay, just based upon what went on last year, you're going to have some. Yeah, I don't know what you think gentlemen, but I think sending it to them in pieces so they can digest it is good and you're saying the fiscal advisory committee recommended this course of action. We presented it to them when they
[2:06:11] Blair Tinkham: articulated getting the budget whatever time you gave it to them, bringing them in, asking me
[2:06:20] Andre Cushing: to vote is the long one in a one in a one right before they can vote on one budget. They've got to see the whole budget. They can get the budget pieces. So if they come in for their first meeting and they're going to vote on it, they get at that point, see, they're going to vote. They can't vote on one department. I think that's where you run into some real friction is if you try to get them to vote on sections of the budget, they're going to feel like we're stage managing it. I don't think that creates
[2:06:56] Blair Tinkham: The... Okay, so we can send these departments to them, have them send us their questions back. Once you get your questions back, you can send them the rest. So soon by that time, you should be able to quote it. Ask them for the questions. You can bring them all back in at one time, address all the questions, and have them vote. Does that work?
[2:07:23] David Marshall: I think that's, I think that, and the way that would work different from last year and the previous years is they will have had time to digest. That was the, that was the, that was the, seemed to be the complaint at the time that was so much there going through in one, in one meeting, going through line by line and all of those budgets unseen to that point was a bit overwhelming. Well, this approach that you're taking, sending them a lot of time to digest the budget ahead of time with time to comment and then and then meeting in that meeting to improve the budget gives them the time they needed and the ability to digest and identify and raise questions that otherwise wasn't afforded to them.
[2:08:17] Speaker G (unidentified): Before okay so when
[2:08:22] Blair Tinkham: I've talked on fiscal advisory committee no one on that ones that show up that does not understand how we got to live with that the question is what message what layout of the problem are we going to give the budget these are elected officials who don't have the frame my reference potentially these fiscal people who manage money for our municipalities have they knew about jail tax there wasn't one that I have talked to in the last eight months that didn't know that error so I'm sitting there Going which I was shocked because I'm the new guy so I'm sitting there going okay you've got people within your municipalities that know what happened. How much does the budget committee know? Because this commission is relatively three years old as a whole, right? Look at the tenure of the commission. The decisions of the tax studies, decisions that were made by the previous commission, I can only make assumptions based on what I'm seeing from that. But you can look at repair costs of work addressed. You can look at things that we didn't address. There was constant decisions not to address. So I guess my question is, how bad do you want to paint that picture? Because it needs to be painted for an informed budget committee to vote on this budget. Who's going to do it? I laid out the narrative for you, but do you want me to send that to the budget committee? With the timeline of things?
[2:10:17] Andre Cushing: I think from a transparency standpoint, they need to absorb that to understand what the shaping of this budget is intended to do. That's my opinion. I don't think glossing over anything is healthy.
[2:10:40] Blair Tinkham: So tomorrow, 23rd, we're going to send those departments that you approve to the budget committee. We're going to give them until the 29th. Excuse me. I'm tired. The 16th. We're going to give them until the 23rd to those departments that you voted on today. Them.
[2:11:50] Andre Cushing: Send us their questions. And they get hard copies, emails,
[2:11:54] Blair Tinkham: or any emails. They
[2:11:58] Andre Cushing: can come in and pick up a hard copy. We
[2:12:00] Blair Tinkham: don't have an assistant for the next six weeks. Because what they
[2:12:05] Andre Cushing: need, they're going to have to have a hard copy budget. I mean, assume that you can use an assistant for the next six weeks. Well, I mean, this is, I'm not being facetious. I'm I'm saying you've got a budget process that's going to require some administrative work. I would suggest doing what we've done for Deeds and others in the past. We've called one of the temp agencies to see if we could get someone in here for six weeks. To get the books? Well, to do whatever he needs to facilitate the process. I mean, we've done it for Deeds. We've done it for other departments. We've called a professional agency and brought somebody in.
[2:12:51] Blair Tinkham: Well, I don't know the demographics. As you can see, I'm not looking at a book. I'm going through this video, I'm looking at Excel spreadsheets. I understand. So there's a populace of people that prefer Excel spreadsheets.
[2:13:04] Andre Cushing: I'm not just talking about photocopying what you've got in Excel. I'm talking about if you need somebody to do the responsibilities that your admin did, find somebody.
[2:13:16] Blair Tinkham: Yeah, I'll fix it. Well, we get the binders. I just was trying to understand why we need to build binders. It seems to be a norm for the commission.
[2:13:28] Andre Cushing: I don't think we necessarily need binders for them to get the different distributions. When it comes, I mean, based on who we have here that night, they're going to have an expectation that they have a current version of the book to go through when they come in for the meeting. Okay, some of them still live in the 20th century and want a hard copy. Got it, put
[2:14:02] Blair Tinkham: that on record so they can all totally focus on it. But I'm just, you know, we're we're looking to create
[2:14:11] Andre Cushing: create an atmosphere where people understand we're solving a problem, and for some of them, if they're not comfortable in the manner in which they've done it before, they're gonna
[2:14:24] Blair Tinkham: Question everything. Got it. So we will build the binders. Well, my intent was to send it out digitally.
[2:14:31] Speaker F (unidentified): I think that's appropriate.
[2:14:33] David Marshall: That's perfect. Send it out digitally.
[2:14:35] Blair Tinkham: So, by the 23rd, we'll get all the questions back to the first set of departments. You're voting on the 21st, so the second set of departments should go back up to them in the 23rd.
[2:14:50] Andre Cushing: Which should be about 90%. If we don't vote for our 21st, we're going to have a special meeting. 20 seconds, excuse me. 20 seconds.
[2:15:03] David Marshall: Who would vote? Yeah, two. Two. 20 seconds. Well, what's up 2 o'clock on the 22nd? Yeah, so that's what we talked about.
[2:15:12] Blair Tinkham: I shouldn't send money in bio. So we give them until the 30th for the second set. Is your voting on this second set?
[2:15:26] Andre Cushing: 27. Do you anticipate those? It would be the larger.
[2:15:31] Blair Tinkham: So that's where the chunk of this problem stands.
[2:15:36] Andre Cushing: And have we scheduled the actual meeting for the budget committee?
[2:15:42] Blair Tinkham: No, because I'm still working through process with you here. So I wanted to make sure. So by the 30th, we should have all our questions back in the second set. Then we can set a meeting for the budget committee at the beginning of November. So ideally, if we need one to two weeks to go through some new ones for that, you will have an improved budget by mid-November. Brenda's looking at me and wants to punch me for it.
[2:16:16] Andre Cushing: Oh, we've got to get it. We've got to spend this damn process to make it go better.
[2:16:19] David Marshall: And you're going to have your public hearing in a second?
[2:16:22] Andre Cushing: On what? On hearing what the budget's going to be. So, to that end, since the latter part of that month is a holiday season, and in other words, you're not going to make any friends the week of the 23rd.
[2:16:48] Blair Tinkham: I was hoping we would be done before 16th of November. Before the meeting?
[2:16:56] Andre Cushing: No. Totally. It was not okay. So you're saying that we would then meet the week of the 9th. I'm saying with
[2:17:05] Blair Tinkham: the budget committee. I'm saying potentially that we meet on November 4th with the budget
[2:17:13] Andre Cushing: okay, which is the commissioning day. No, it's very common in the past we'd be right at the day after. I think so. So that's right. So when was fourth? So that would be evening. Yeah. I think we need to schedule two nights.
[2:17:30] David Marshall: Okay. What is that? What? Six? Two nights consecutive. We're down by the pit.
[2:17:45] Blair Tinkham: So your budget will be approved by the 5th of November. Right.
[2:17:50] Speaker I (unidentified): And then you get a public hearing.
[2:17:58] Andre Cushing: That doesn't require the budget committee. No. What do you mean by a public hearing? For us, the commissioners today. The three commissioners. So that could be scheduled on the 18th?
[2:18:13] Speaker G (unidentified): For the 11th because it was social media, that's all.
[2:18:18] Andre Cushing: Oh, that's right. So I guess my question, just looking at the dynamics
[2:18:24] Speaker G (unidentified): of this, if we do
[2:18:26] Andre Cushing: back-to-back nights, the 4th and the 5th, what happens if we run into questions [Blair Tinkham: that they're not] satisfied with and we're asking them on the next night to
[2:18:48] Blair Tinkham: to vote on the final package well this is your committee gentlemen we're providing you a level of detail you've never had yes my question is what do you envision this committee
[2:19:00] Andre Cushing: having the questions that we need i think they're going to have to make it i mean i think last year it was a little too easy with them saying people saying i've got a question any more time i agree to say listen this is a time frame it's good you've got all the you've had time to ask questions Because, you know, it's a tough decision. You've just got to take a vote because we've got to meet and approve it in a couple weeks. So, I mean, if they vote to do something now, that's fine. And we'll have to decide how we're going to go about it when we meet, you know, whatever areas. But I think we have to tell them by Thursday night at whatever time they need to have their decisions made. Maybe tell them at the beginning of the meeting on Wednesday. When the letter is out to them, say, your work needs to be finished by the evening of the 5th. Yeah. The only question I have is, so we're going to share this with them over the next two weeks. And we anticipate we will have all departments voted on by the second meeting.
[2:20:21] David Marshall: the first on the fourth the second and final on the fifth no i'm talking about me as the
[2:20:27] Andre Cushing: commissioners going through this process next thursday next thursday was the finish which would be the 21st the 22nd and we give them to the 30th to ask questions on that set so they've had it at that point okay i think we need to explain in the cover letter both what you have provided in that email in saying accelerated this because we have to go out for a tax anticipation note to be prepared in january so the budget must be completed by early november i'm just trying to set the stage for these people so they understand why there's such a press time because we went into the seventh last year we can't believe this i can't afford to do that
[2:21:34] Blair Tinkham: Can you describe that to me a little bit so I understand, because you were interviewing me, so I wasn't, I guess my question, we didn't saw that, my question is, why did it take so long, but.
[2:21:55] Andre Cushing: Because we gave it to them, we did not have an administrator to manage this. So what we ended up with was providing them a budget at the last minute. In its entirety with no, when 1 meeting. But they did meet with me and tell me I had three days to come up with the development. Yeah. Okay. But the secret sauce here is you have involved administrators and finance directors who I think drove some of that resistance last year because they were feeling disengaged from the process. So what we started in June is the healthier dynamic. [Speaker I (unidentified): I'm] just saying the letter that goes out with this first front needs to explain that this is timeline this is how the project has evolved I even meaning with the administrators finance director These are the problems we identified in the 26 budget that we're having to serve 27 This is the time frame that we are giving you but we must complete this by early November member so we can go out to our lenders for a tax anticipation note because it's critical that we have those funds available starting in january can i
[2:23:57] Speaker F (unidentified): bring up one thing on here so the soil conservation that is entirely one person's salary for them which is what makes that and that's $129.75 then that number should update to $109.
[2:24:19] Andre Cushing: So either we don't, we don't pay them directly, we give them the money and they pay it right. So I mean, they could maybe find some money, settle that. So maybe we should have a conversation with them. that is a department of the state that oversees it if you gentlemen are ready we can we can't increase soil conservation
[2:25:15] David Marshall: we're not legally obligated hey just represents it doesn't matter we don't control them
[2:25:24] Andre Cushing: we don't hire well i'm responding i guess out of respect it's we should find out what happens if we're going to need to cut i think i agree with katie that we can't just summarily do this without notifying someone if it's going to affect the position So when you do the others, I'll come back to that.
[2:25:48] Blair Tinkham: How long have you been supporting that button?
[2:25:50] Andre Cushing: Since I had hair, you know, probably at least 20 years, I would guess. I think cutting it without notifying them is not good form.
[2:26:12] David Marshall: Well, okay. Let me ask you about what constitutes notifying.
[2:26:16] Andre Cushing: right. Well, this constitutes a lot of fun.
[2:26:23] David Marshall: But I think we should just have the conversation
[2:26:25] Andre Cushing: With cutting in to eliminate the position or to find funds that sell for itself to sell for, you know, what's the impact of that? Because that doesn't work with this. That's different. We could do the other, but there's So we're issuing a check directly to the individual in that department.
[2:26:52] Blair Tinkham: So they're getting our county benefits.
[2:26:55] Andre Cushing: Oh, okay, we do pay the person. Yes, you're welcome.
[2:26:59] Blair Tinkham: Well, that needs to go back. What was that?
[2:27:02] Andre Cushing: So we need to find out if that's
[2:27:13] David Marshall: Yeah, you've been playing with that figure.
[2:27:16] Andre Cushing: Oh, no, you just changed. There you go. Nope. Do we know where they're located? I mean, the county extension is under the university. University. So that may be a.
[2:27:44] David Marshall: You're talking about a small conservation district.
[2:27:47] Andre Cushing: I'm looking at the Penobscot County Extension is under. That's UOMO. Yes, that's a UOMO. Because they tried to. They tried to get us to add 25 grand one year to buy him a
[2:27:59] David Marshall: copy. It's like I don't buy a copy of it. Yeah, OK.
[2:28:04] Blair Tinkham: I told them what's on Broadway. What we had in the budget. Nobody asked. We were in such a class. University of Maine.
[2:28:23] Andre Cushing: I'm less compassionate about their needs than I am about whacking an individual into one.
[2:28:36] David Marshall: Okay, where do we stand on here?
[2:28:37] Andre Cushing: I don't know that we're ready to vote on this until we get support to add. We can do this next service. We can wait until Thursday.
[2:28:50] Blair Tinkham: So, can I give you an unbiased? Yes. Or a bias? Yeah, give me a bias. Your non-departmental contributions should not, in my opinion, should not take precedent over our operation needs and the additions that we need to add and build capability from upstate. But that doesn't take into consideration the lens that you guys have. I'm just going to give you the county administrative plans. We're adding positions. And if you're going to take those away over the non-departmental, I think it's a trash state. Because this is an incredible city. These are the first things to go in the operation of these with a budget. And so I guess that's the thing that I wanted to bring up on public forum. I don't understand why we would cut what the departments need over this. Just so you guys can decide.
[2:29:44] Andre Cushing: We're not cutting anything. That's what we don't have. These would be actual cuts. The other thing is additions. These have been in the budget for 50 years. These are additions to the program.
[2:29:57] David Marshall: And my question is, Commissioner H, why have these been in the budget so long? I mean, the fact that they've been there, when I look at this, given the financial situation of this county, I'm not prepared to support any monies to outside organizations, no matter how worthy they are. I understand the impact, but we have an obligation as commissioners to make sure that the monies that are raised by county taxes to fund county government go to doing that, county government not being diverted to other organizations. Organizations. And I'm not going to support, I'll tell you right now, I'm not going to support any of these outside organizations at the expense of the county needs and the expense of the county taxpayer.
[2:30:40] Andre Cushing: So to reflect on King's...
[2:30:42] David Marshall: So we can vote on this now. I don't know if you know who I'm going to vote. We have in the skirt today.
[2:30:49] Blair Tinkham: We're not going to digest it.
[2:30:51] Andre Cushing: Yeah, I think we're having what are important conversations and his observation that we need to determine what our priorities are rather than the historic version of let's see if we can fit things into the box that we have to fit into financially is a more prudent approach if we're going to right the ship. By that I mean, what are our priorities for the appropriate operation of county government, and that would include our capital needs, our employment needs, and really returning us to fiscal health. And that comes down to recapturing fund balance in some way and changing the fiscal year. Those are the only two major steps that we can take in the next year to stop the bleeding.
[2:31:49] Blair Tinkham: And just to add to that, your areas that we need to look at is the additions we made personnel-wise, what we're doing for salary increases this there's there's room there in my opinion it's not a popular but there's salary discussions when I see when I say I'm saying for your non-salary people there's room in the capital lines. And there's some things that we've done that I'm uncomfortable with that don't make financial sense from my lens, but if we've done that for years, it's going to cause some issues and concerns. But that is part of the culture of Penobscot County and our government is there seem to be decided on that. When we make those changes are going to not second and for sure the price in the workforce. Yeah, so I just I mean there's room. Brenda's did some quick math. I'm hesitant to share it with you to show you some things that we could potentially cut just based on her and then she gave me another email. But then I guess the question is that what you're looking for from us because I'm sitting there going you've made some cultural decisions last since the county's been around that the workforce is expected. Yep, so if you're adding a three and a half percent COLA consistent with these across the organization then it's off the tape. You don't need to talk about it and so but I need that kind of feedback from the commission so that we can come so we can formulate some recommendations to you. See if there's a percentage by department you want us to cut for capital. I need that feedback so there's 800 000 right roughly that we've increased capital no for overall for the overall budget. So you can put a summary right here. 831 600 is the capital that we have added to the budget. So all legitimate needs in my opinion. So I guess your operating costs increase which I think the department has done an exceptional job. Yeah that's six hundred and eight thousand that's just the cost of doing business. What we did like what we talked about is those changes in the salary and benefits that we have to add to the budget so I need some guidance on where do you want me
[2:35:01] David Marshall: we build your recommendation.
[2:35:06] Blair Tinkham: We don't necessarily need it now. I just need to think about it so that I can start moving on.
[2:35:15] Andre Cushing: Well, if we're gonna make substantial changes, I mean, I would be comfortable looking at, not knowing what the change is, but I'd like to see what we're talking about. But if we kept the capital, even had it at 200,000 increasing,. But it's not eliminating it. It's just not increasing it. So I would like to see what the impact would be. I said, okay, the capital's going to stay the same. The capital's going to increase by 200 versus ADA. What's that actually mean? What's that do to the budget? I know it has to do with the budget, but what's it do to the capital? Why don't we talk about not funding? That's an aggregate of all your departments, right? And we got those today. We got 50 today, but you've thrown out one number. Dan has suggested a number that he feels needs to be reduced. If you've got it, that you still aren't at that, and I don't see how you come up with even a quarter. I don't know if we even get. Yeah. And what is the long term? If we're just dealing with numbers, okay, we can do what we did in programs and cut a percentage. But as folks here have pointed out, that has an effect on people outside of the county. If we start putting in the personnel area here, that has a direct impact on our operations. And well, I bring back we have people
[2:37:08] Blair Tinkham: that we're talking with right now, don't we? Enormous values are going. That number is accepted. This is part of the advisory committee. Yes, advisory committee. That's what these numbers, the impact, that percentage, that's political ramifications. I got, but when you start talking about what it costs each constituent in your three districts, we should. This is
[2:37:40] David Marshall: what it's looking for, an increase. That's a real implication. We also really in
[2:37:45] Andre Cushing: that we don't talk about the Senate's Austin about. So the city of Anger is going to say we're going to have an increase in a county bill of two million dollars. That's how, that's the reality. City of Angers and seating of $2 million in the county tax bill. So that's just, that's the reality. Joe Smith pays $5 more.
[2:38:18] David Marshall: You projected that out? No. As it relates to Bangor? Yes.
[2:38:25] Andre Cushing: But I can't. But it would be based on Bangor's ratio of $25 million. But again, I say that worksheet up, city of Edgelord county tax was about 37. I think the political ramification is when does somebody call the bank or daily start talking pretty much any reason. But that's what I said, actually. But you couldn't get back up before November. I think our votes are dropped. All right. Exactly what the jail, the jail looks in trouble if that becomes the talking
[2:39:26] Blair Tinkham: we're in workshops, so I would hope somebody did not throw that number up. No, but the whole budget
[2:39:32] Andre Cushing: The budget advisory group's got it, that's funny. Yeah, they got it. Yeah. But they've gotten it early enough to understand.
[2:39:42] Blair Tinkham: We met with them. We laid out what we have identified as the major issues. Identified the unforecasted cost. We identified the years of repair deferment. We laid out all the things that you've been prevented various sessions so that they had a clear understanding there was no shop places in that room. Commissioner, you were in that room, so I guess so. When you're in the room, Brennan, you're in that room. I didn't see you, I didn't see anybody going. Yeah, this is, yeah, okay. It was a lot of compliments to Brent after that conversation.
[2:40:30] Andre Cushing: Well, this is the first time that I've seen numbers that I can take comfort in reducing. We probably ought to reflect on how we're going to approach this. Are we going to approach it on a sheer on the numbers basis, or are we going to prioritize what our duties are to the county?
[2:40:58] Speaker G (unidentified): Well, you have the advantage.
[2:41:01] Blair Tinkham: We built you an expense prioritization framework. I would look at that if you're looking at how simple that is. [Speaker G (unidentified): So your] prioritization, in my opinion, needs to be your emergency response. Your services that you provide to people not stuck together. Tier 1 is your sheriff's office, PRCC, D-Ed, and then you've got some statutory powers with deeds as well that are in that team that should probably I'm going to send back out to you, but we've spent a lot of time looking to still use it, but that is how we prioritize how we spend at least successfully. That's what we're going to test a week should be how we factor in our expenses. Yeah.
[2:42:05] Andre Cushing: Public safety is most of our I would move to adjourn.
[2:42:29] Blair Tinkham: When is the commission going to get back to me? It's time. I'll be building solutions for you. I gave you a lot to think about, but you only need to get it out.
[2:42:43] Andre Cushing: Thursday? Or maybe you should start with my Thursday?
[2:42:46] Blair Tinkham: Yeah. Yeah, you're going to vote on Thursday. We have to present the solutions to you. They should start out to maneuver through whatever the end state.
[2:42:57] Andre Cushing: Oh, we have to have a collective ask. Yes. So would you order response by Monday?
[2:43:06] Speaker I (unidentified): That would be helpful.