On the agenda

1. 1Call to Order - Roll Call▶ 0:00
2. 2

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   Review of Proposed FY19 Department Budgets

   discussed

   Department heads presented FY19 budget proposals for Development, Library, Technology Solutions, and Police departments during a work session. Key requests included a part-time receptionist at City Hall, expanded library staffing hours, IT infrastructure upgrades for Tyler Technologies transition, and significant police capital expenditures for replacing the obsolete key scan/sally port systems and upgrading records servers. No formal votes were taken; this was a preliminary review.

   • direction:Council requested to see the Zephyrhills library agreement with Pasco County to understand funding arrangements before further library partnership discussions. (none)

   🏢Brighthouse🏢FLA🏢Florida Department of Law Enforcement🏢Florida Department of State🏢Ford🏢Fortis🏢Microsoft🏢OCLC🏢Pasco County Library System🏢SunGuard🏢Tampa Bay Library Consortium (TBLC)🏢Tyler Technologies👤Andy👤Brian👤Elaine👤Jana#Account 3499 Contractual Services#Account 4134 Data Lines#Account 4211 Postage#Account 4481/4623 Lease Copiers#Account 5243 Computers and Operating Supplies#Account 5290 Operational Supplies SNAP#Account 5411 Dues and Memberships#Account 6672 Library Materials with State Aid#Chapter 175 funds#Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)#Core network switch replacement#Department 61 Police Supervision#Department 62 Communications and Records#Department 63 Detective Division#Department 64 Patrol#Detective vehicle replacement ($27,000)#FY19 Budget#Forensic photograph storage software ($21,000)#In-car router system#Key scan system replacement#Library renovations ($300,000 FY18-19, $300,000 following year)#MDM (Mobile Device Management) solution#Police records server upgrade ($30,000)#SNAP grant#Sally port replacement#State Aid to Libraries grant ($27,549)

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   [00:00:17] We have a very limited number of things on the agenda tonight. [00:00:20] The first being the review of departmental budgets. [00:00:24] This is the second half. [00:00:26] Second, third. [00:00:27] Yes, the second. And we do the third half next week. [00:00:32] Yes, sir, Mr. Mayor. [00:00:33] Take it away. [00:00:34] All right, if you'd allow me to begin, I'd like to introduce the development department's budget. [00:00:43] The department head's salary is reduced somewhat to reflect the fact that the new department director will not be starting at the salary [00:00:56] that the former development director ended at. [00:01:01] Our regular exempt salaries are pretty much the same, as well as our regular full-time wages, [00:01:11] which are down slightly, and they're down as a result of the fact that we changed the pay in one of the positions in the department. [00:01:25] We are, though, asking for an appropriation in the amount of $13,400 for the purpose of establishing a part-time receptionist at City Hall. [00:01:39] Over the past year, we have relied on volunteers to staff that position, and we've met a lot of really nice ladies. [00:01:48] But we're looking for someone that can be more hands-on with some of the support services that are needed in the development department, [00:01:58] so we're asking that you restore that position to part-time. [00:02:05] Our plan is to have someone here every day of the week, but during our core hours, you know, 10 to 3, 3.30 every day. [00:02:20] The other expenditure which I'd like to bring to your attention is a gas car allowance, [00:02:27] and that is part of a negotiated benefit that I extended to our new community development director who will start with the city on August 6th. [00:02:41] The other benefit amounts are consistent with previous years. [00:02:51] In terms of the operations of the department, we are requesting an appropriation of $40,000 for city engineering. [00:03:01] We are recommending that you allow us to continue funding in the amount of $35,000 to support professional planning services. [00:03:12] We have planning professional services miscellaneous and contractual services, which with the addition of the contractual services miscellaneous, [00:03:25] we've reduced that fee by $15,000 this year. [00:03:32] The other expenditures in the operations category are consistent with what's been provided in previous years. [00:03:43] You'll notice an increase in housing incentives offered through support of the community development block grant funding. [00:03:54] This year, we're expecting to receive $125,000 in funds, which is an increase over what has been received in previous years. [00:04:07] The other expenditures are consistent with the spending that occurred during the 17-18 fiscal year, [00:04:14] and I'm prepared to respond to any questions that you may have of me related to either the staff or the operating expenditures. [00:04:29] Is that the figure for the CDBG funds that represents all of what you're anticipating getting in the current year? [00:04:36] That's how much we'll be receiving through participation in the consortium with the county. [00:04:44] The state money will come into the city during the same fiscal year, but it will be at the end of the fiscal year. [00:04:53] And we're not sure if it's September or October, so we haven't budgeted for it. [00:04:57] Thank you. [00:05:05] I'd like to ask the library director to join us up front for presentation of the library budget. [00:05:19] Thank you, Andy. [00:05:23] Thank you. [00:05:30] Your New Port Richey Library plays a valued and dynamic role in your community. [00:05:36] And while the core mission remains, the library is proud to serve as a valued asset in helping meet the community's goals. [00:05:47] With that, I'd like to go over a few of the changes in our budget requests for this year. [00:05:55] Starting with some of the personnel requests, we've requested some increased positions due to our increase in hours [00:06:11] and responsibilities that are required to cover those extended hours. [00:06:18] And that would include expanding the part-time librarian position to a full-time position, [00:06:25] and including a part-time employee to help out with coverage at the membership desk to help with marketing [00:06:34] and getting the word out about all the great resources that the library does have. [00:06:39] And also changing a 20-hour-per-week position to an additional 29 hours, [00:06:46] just to help with the coverage of those open hours of the library. [00:06:53] These changes are still at a level that are below the recommended standards that the state library has recommended, [00:07:04] but it would be a great and very helpful addition to being able to fully support the needs of the community. [00:07:18] Next is in line 3499, contractual services. [00:07:30] There is a slight increase in that due to TBLC setholds, Catexpress, and batch loading mark record expenses. [00:07:43] It's just an increase, a slight increase. [00:07:46] Another change is on 4134 for data lines. [00:07:53] And this request comes from an increase in additional hotspots. [00:08:01] Our Wi-Fi hotspots help meet the needs of our people in our community that do not have internet access at home, [00:08:12] and they are incredibly popular and helpful, [00:08:15] especially to a lot of students that work on projects from home and need that internet access. [00:08:27] 4211, there's a decrease in postage. [00:08:33] We've had a little bit of a savings due to changing full-size letter confirmations to postcards, [00:08:45] so that saved us some money, and additional changes with interlibrary loans and homebound services. [00:08:54] There's been a change, let's see, with the lease copiers and maintenance and repairs. [00:09:00] 4481 and 4623, and the IT department is pursuing pricing with our leasing company, [00:09:11] and so that's where some of those changes are coming from. [00:09:18] 5290 is part of the SNAP grant, Operational Supplies Miscellaneous SNAP grant program cost. [00:09:35] And there is a significant change there from the previous year, [00:09:39] and that's just because part of the SNAP grant has concluded, [00:09:45] and we have used up that portion of the grant funding. [00:09:48] There is still the remaining section of the funds that we are utilizing for the rest of the fiscal year. [00:10:02] 5243 is Computers and Operating Supplies. [00:10:09] There is a slight increase in that just because technology seems to always become more and more costly. [00:10:17] We would also like to add a new technology resource for children as well as adults. [00:10:29] It is a preloaded content on a launch pad that does not require Wi-Fi or Internet. [00:10:38] It's safe to use, and it's preloaded with games and learning types of activities related to STEM, [00:10:47] learning languages, ACT, SAT preparation. [00:10:54] 5411, Dues and Memberships. [00:10:57] There have been some increases in some of the library's dues and memberships belonging to professional organizations [00:11:05] like OCLC, FLA, and some TBLC, which is a Tampa Bay Library Consortium. [00:11:13] And then finally 6672, Library Materials with State Aid. [00:11:21] This changes from year to year, and it's based on funding that we receive from the state aid through annual grant application. [00:11:31] This year's award was actually, we received it recently, and it was $27,549, [00:11:41] $10,000 of which we use in line item 5293 to assist with our programs, [00:11:49] our special programs and events that the library hosts. [00:11:57] And I'm here to answer any other questions that you may have. [00:12:06] I have a question. [00:12:13] You came from Zephyrhills, is that correct, from the library system? [00:12:16] Was that the county library system or the city library system over there? [00:12:20] It's the city library, but it is in the cooperative with Pasco County. [00:12:26] So that funding works a little, or quite a bit differently than our funding system. [00:12:32] Are you familiar with how that funding worked, or did they? [00:12:38] I was informed that there were actual county employees who worked in the library with city employees. [00:12:44] Is that correct? [00:12:45] That's true, that's true. [00:12:47] And in return for that, that library state aid, our application, [00:12:54] all of that was in turn given to the Pasco County library system. [00:13:00] So the library did not receive, or the city did not receive a check from the Department of State, [00:13:11] but instead it was given directly to Pasco County to help fund all the services that were provided, [00:13:20] like the ILS system and some of the computer reservation system, the online event calendar, that type of thing. [00:13:31] So many resources were shared. [00:13:35] I know that our budgets that we're looking at are pretty just a bare bones number, [00:13:42] and the changes that you have when the ultimate budget book is completed, [00:13:47] I'm assuming we'll have that same listing of employees and how many last year and how many this year, [00:13:52] and also on the revenue side and the general fund revenue. [00:13:57] So just as a note, when we see the revenues and we get a whole picture, [00:14:04] then that's probably a better time to discuss the dynamics of the budget to me. [00:14:10] So I appreciate the input. [00:14:15] Mr. Mayor, this is intended to be just a preliminary introduction to where we are, [00:14:21] and we will be prepared to give you more backup as we get further along in the budget process, [00:14:27] but we're, of course, interested in what comments you have for us at this time as well. [00:14:31] I may be jumping the gun. [00:15:00] We actually finished up the capital budget just this week, so I'm hopeful that I'll [00:15:10] be able to get the draft document out to you by the end of the week. [00:15:17] As it applies to the library, do you call off-hand the short-term fixes? [00:15:30] In the 2018-19 fiscal year, we proposed an appropriation of $300,000 to support those [00:15:39] renovations at the library, and we propose an additional $300,000 for the following fiscal [00:15:44] year. [00:15:45] We've got a couple of the library people sitting back there, so I figured they'd know. [00:15:51] That's where we are currently, until we learn more from the consultant. [00:15:57] Any other questions? [00:16:00] No, again, I think when we get to the point of having a hearty discussion amongst us all [00:16:07] related to levels of funding and long-term planning and all of that, and again, at the [00:16:13] last meeting, we discussed the bond issues that are floating out there that will not [00:16:19] accrue to the city, that will be taxes to the city, and I believe a calculation that [00:16:26] was in print was somewhere around $350 per household per year as a tax that would be [00:16:38] added for the county facilities, and so I think that kind of is part of why I'm trying [00:16:45] to figure out what our approach. [00:16:51] No talk of letting the library go out of the city's hands, but perhaps time for us to talk [00:16:58] to the county about our partnership that they were crowing about when we met the last [00:17:04] time. [00:17:15] I would like, I think, maybe to, Mr. Mayor, to see that agreement that they did carve [00:17:22] out with Zephyrhills, where the city retained ownership and there was some funding agreement, [00:17:28] but I'm not sure what it is, but I'd like to see what it is and whether or not, because [00:17:32] of that agreement, the Zephyrhills library could get some of that money that we don't, [00:17:37] but I think we need to get all the facts on the table if we can as that's coming up. [00:17:49] Thank you very much, Andy. [00:17:50] Brian, can you join us up front? [00:18:09] Overall, the technology solutions department has about a 20 percent reduction in our 18-19 [00:18:15] budget. Most of this comes from the reduction in capital as Tyler Technologies moves forward [00:18:20] to completion. Personnel costs remain relatively the same. There is a notation for an employee [00:18:27] that was split between, a full-time employee that was split between my department and the [00:18:32] Recreation and Aquatics Division, Department, sorry Elaine, that was no longer with the [00:18:39] organization so that was moved to a part-time position. Under operating expenditures, there's [00:18:45] a reduction in contractual services of $20,000. There was a slight increase in travel and [00:18:51] training of $1,000 based on a software expense for online training. Our telephone local services [00:18:58] has a slight increase of about $400. Our data line services increased $10,000 on an annual [00:19:05] basis. That was due to the establishment of a true enterprise-level internet connection [00:19:13] that established at the Rec Center. In the past, we relied on the same Brighthouse connection [00:19:18] you'd use for your home service to provide internet to the city and this was the establishment [00:19:23] of a true enterprise-level dedicated ethernet connection with a true service-level agreement [00:19:31] instead of a best effort agreement. My software rent was reduced by about $52,000. That comes [00:19:40] mostly from the reduction in maintenance costs as we start to move on to Tyler Technologies [00:19:46] and phase off sections of SunGuard. There's a reduction in services there. There was a [00:19:52] slight increase to our AV as we have to make some small repairs to the audio-video system [00:19:59] and then the remainder part of operations remains the same. [00:20:05] Moving into capital, data processing equipment is $108,500. That breaks down into three projects. [00:20:20] The first project is to replace the core switches that connect the buildings. Some of these [00:20:24] switches are very old and needed to be replaced for a while. That's one project. Another project [00:20:31] is the MDM solution or mobile management device solution. As we deploy more smartphones, more [00:20:37] tablets, we need a management control system in place to secure the devices and manage [00:20:42] the software. The last solution is the replacement of the servers and storage array out at the [00:20:49] Recreation and Aquatic Center, which will be the redundant solution to the system we're [00:20:54] putting in at City Hall. And then the remainder is software costs for Tyler Technologies and [00:21:01] that'll be depleted as we move forward to completion of the project. I can answer any [00:21:07] questions. [00:21:38] As you know, the police department has a number of different departments within it, so what [00:21:59] I'll do is go department by department. And my plan is to simply point out the things [00:22:06] where there's been a significant change over last year or something new that is being added. [00:22:13] And please interrupt me whenever you have a question. The first I'm going to start with [00:22:21] is Department 61, which is actually the department that I'm in and Jana works out of that office [00:22:29] as well. But it also has costs that are department wide that can't be assigned just individually [00:22:35] to the other departments. And I'm going to move, personnel services stayed pretty much [00:22:43] the same, so I'm going to move right down to the next category, the operating expenses. [00:22:51] And the first thing that pops out is you'll see that the telephone costs increased $20,000. [00:23:00] That is if we go with a new in-car router system that I'll speak to you about later. [00:23:08] In order to manage that system it takes, we have to elevate our number of phone allocations [00:23:18] if you will. The next one with a significant change is, it's a little bit of a change, [00:23:31] we've upgraded our lease copier that's account 481. And I don't see any other significant [00:23:47] changes in my budget that I plan to mention. But I'll take you down to the special purpose [00:23:53] equipment that falls under my category. There are three things that I'm asking to be able [00:23:59] to repair, to replace. And that first one is our key scan system. That's our access [00:24:07] to the doors. Our system is as old as our building. And that technology has failed us [00:24:12] repeatedly for a significant length of time. When it malfunctions, its parts are obsolete, [00:24:21] it costs us a significant amount to try to repair them and then it doesn't last. Today [00:24:27] it's to the point where it can't be repaired due to the outdated hardware and the operating [00:24:32] system, the software that manages it. The second item that is in that figure is the [00:24:41] sally port. Our sally port right now does not function. This is the secure area where [00:24:46] we bring prisoners in. The doors are locked up in the up position and we can't roll them [00:24:52] down. Normally you pull in the police car with your prisoner, you roll down those doors, [00:24:55] you have a secure environment, and then you get them out of the car and you take them [00:24:58] in. Again, the system is obsolete, we cannot get parts, we have already tried to do that [00:25:06] and can't. The sally port and the key scan system are tied together. So they're two things [00:25:13] that have to be done at the same time. And one of the pieces to that is that communications [00:25:19] is supposed to be able to operate that sally port doors. And today, and it has been for [00:25:23] the last year or so, they can't. The third thing is we have a severe need for an upgraded [00:25:33] server. Brian's been doing patchwork on our server system for as long as I've been there. [00:25:41] And we need a server that is going to accommodate our record keeping system. We almost lost [00:25:49] years of data in there because of the servers that we have now and the fact that they continue [00:25:55] to fail. So unless you have a question on police supervision, that's what I intended [00:26:01] to mention. The second area is account 62. That includes communications and records. [00:26:15] There's a change to the salaries if we go into the personnel costs. You'll see under [00:26:23] account 99, the full-time wages went up slightly and the part-time wages went down slightly. [00:26:31] The reason for that is that in our crime scene, we have two crime scene technicians. [00:26:41] One of them has been full-time and the other one has been part-time. They have worked diligently [00:26:47] trying to clean up our property section, disposing of old property. And they have a significant [00:26:55] number of call-outs that when they go out to a crime scene, they really do a number [00:27:01] on it. And we've made a lot of cases because of the expertise of the two people that we [00:27:05] have now. We've made more arrests off of their fingerprinting ability, their DNA collection [00:27:12] ability than the department has ever done. And there is a need to increase that one CST [00:27:18] into full-time. So that's what I'm asking to do. Going down these columns, there are [00:27:25] no real significant changes until you get down to the account number 41, which is licensing [00:27:34] and ID materials. With the more technology that has become available to the police department, [00:27:40] we have linked in with other sources for our, well, collecting police-related information [00:27:50] that we need on suspects and to track people down and that type of thing. So those licensing [00:27:56] fees, based on the number of people that have to have access to it, has increased. Under [00:28:04] our capital section, you'll see that in fiscal year 16-17, I did ask for some money there. [00:28:17] And so then last year, there was nothing. This year, we're asking for approximately [00:28:22] $52,000. And that is because our police records right now are in Fortis, which is a software [00:28:30] program. The records from 1996 to 2006 are in Fortis. That company no longer supports [00:28:39] its software, and the resident server is no longer supported by Microsoft. The records [00:28:45] are at risk of being permanently lost, and it does not meet, the system itself does not [00:28:49] meet changes that have been required by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for [00:28:55] their mandatory security levels. So that particular project is $30,000 to accomplish [00:29:06] that. That's one piece of this. The second one is approximately $21,000, and that is [00:29:19] going to be for a software that stores all of our forensic photographs, where we can [00:29:27] trace from the...so that there can be no mistake and no accusation that anyone else accessed [00:29:35] those photographs and was able to alter them in any way. It's an evidence security measure. [00:29:43] We just had some...the system that we've been using, which is a pretty much makeshift...actually [00:29:51] didn't work too well this year, and we ended up having to pay a company to try to recover, [00:29:56] and they did. They're in the middle of recovering some photographs. [00:30:00] So, I'm trying to heighten that level of security. [00:30:08] So with that, that's communications records and... [00:30:13] Brian, on the server, what operating system is... [00:30:21] The Fortis database that he's referring to [00:30:24] is running on a Windows 2003 server. [00:30:27] So, yeah, and it's been virtualized, [00:30:30] so it was moved over to that standpoint, [00:30:32] but unfortunately, that company no longer exists. [00:30:37] Maintenance for that program [00:30:38] has not been updated in several years, [00:30:41] and it's imperative we get that data out of that database. [00:30:44] 2003 hasn't been supported for security patches [00:30:47] or anything from Microsoft for ages. [00:30:50] Yes, sir. [00:30:51] Yeah, that needs to go. [00:30:53] Okay, that answers my question. [00:30:56] Anybody else? [00:30:59] All right, next. [00:31:01] Category is account 63. [00:31:03] That is our detective division, [00:31:05] which includes our victim advocate, our... [00:31:15] So this is our detective division. [00:31:21] The only thing that I see that jumps out at me with this [00:31:26] is going to be down there in capital. [00:31:28] You'll see that there's $27,000 that I've asked for. [00:31:32] That is for vehicles, a vehicle. [00:31:35] Our detective vehicles are due to be replaced. [00:31:40] They're mileage in excess of 100,000 miles, [00:31:43] and I'm trying to start bringing those up [00:31:46] to a better level, more dependable level. [00:31:49] And what we're looking at purchasing is a 2018 Ford Fusion. [00:32:02] Under the state contract, you would be floored [00:32:07] at the prices that we can buy as a government agency [00:32:10] as opposed to what we can buy as a single facility. [00:32:15] That's... [00:32:20] I have nothing else to comment about with this one [00:32:22] unless you have a question. [00:32:28] The next is 64. [00:32:32] This is my biggie. [00:32:33] This is patrol. [00:32:35] And... [00:32:42] With that, the first thing that I see [00:32:47] that I was going to mention is, [00:32:50] if you'll go down to account number 41. [00:32:56] Jana's pointing out something. [00:32:59] Well... [00:33:02] Jana just pointed out, and I should mention this, [00:33:05] is you'll see that the retirement fund contribution [00:33:09] has dropped significantly, and that's in every one [00:33:13] of our categories where there has been, [00:33:15] where we have officers, so. [00:33:19] The percentage went from 32% down to 14.1%. [00:33:23] And that's a result of the fact that in our negotiations, [00:33:27] the city kept the state's shared revenue. [00:33:34] Chapter 175 funds, yeah. [00:33:36] Yeah, thanks. [00:33:38] And so then back down to account number 41, [00:33:40] which is small tools and implements. [00:33:42] It's a little bit of a catch-all account for us. [00:33:47] $60,000 of that, $85,000, $60,000 of that, [00:33:53] $60,000 of that, I intend to use from other monies, [00:33:57] which is our forfeiture monies, [00:33:59] our abandoned property monies, [00:34:04] and our unclaimed evidence. [00:34:08] And that is to purchase vehicle perimeter sensors [00:34:11] for all of our police cars, so people can't walk up [00:34:14] to the side of a police car and the officer not know it. [00:34:18] There have been a number of murders [00:34:22] of police officers across the country [00:34:24] where people have just walked up on the car [00:34:26] while the officer's typing a report or on the radio. [00:34:31] So I will use other monies to accomplish that, [00:34:34] but I have to show it in here [00:34:36] that I'm gonna be asking you for that later. [00:34:40] The next account is going to be down there under capital. [00:34:47] Under account number 413. [00:34:51] That $61,000 that I'm asking for is for in-car routers. [00:34:56] Our computers quit on us all the time. [00:34:59] Our system has been outdated. [00:35:01] It was outdated before I even came here. [00:35:04] Brian has done his best at trying to patchwork it up, [00:35:07] and we need to get into the 21st century [00:35:10] with what goes on in our police cars. [00:35:13] So what will happen is this will improve [00:35:16] their signal quality and reliability in all the cars. [00:35:20] The Wi-Fi system currently in use [00:35:22] regularly loses connections, [00:35:24] affecting efficiency and the ability [00:35:26] to locate officers' vehicles. [00:35:28] Brian, are these cellular? [00:35:33] Yes, they're cellular-based, [00:35:35] but instead of the Wi-Fi units [00:35:37] that they're currently using right now, [00:35:40] which signal strength depends on where they have it in the car, [00:35:43] what the strength of the battery is, [00:35:45] so on and so forth, the location of the vehicle, [00:35:47] they're actually a router mounted on the vehicle at the top [00:35:51] with an enhanced booster [00:35:53] so that they get better signal in the car. [00:35:55] And it runs on a machine-to-machine network [00:35:57] instead of the regular voice network. [00:36:00] Is this one of the commercial networks that we're looking at? [00:36:05] This is what every other police department [00:36:07] that I know of has on their vehicles. [00:36:10] This is the type of system that should have been on ours a long time ago. [00:36:14] The reason I was asking is because there are sections in New Port Richey [00:36:18] that at least my cell service is useless. [00:36:22] Yes, and that will still to some degree pose a problem, [00:36:26] but it will definitely increase their conductivity in the car. [00:36:30] Other questions? [00:36:32] I have one more thing here that I wanted to mention, [00:36:35] and that is under Automobiles 414, [00:36:38] I'm asking for two SUVs to replace some high mileage vehicles. [00:36:44] So they would be $90,000. [00:36:48] That includes all the equipment necessary to output it. [00:36:53] That was going to be my next question. [00:36:56] You read my mind. [00:36:57] Any other questions on this one? [00:37:00] Go ahead. [00:37:01] Yes, I had a quick one. [00:37:02] I'm looking at your overtime wages, [00:37:05] and is there a certain ratio or something you go by that says, [00:37:08] hey, we're spending so much on overtime, [00:37:11] would it benefit to just hire another person, [00:37:13] or is it so spread out over so many people that it just wouldn't be feasible? [00:37:17] Councilman, that is a very solid question, [00:37:21] and it's something that I do ask myself every time we prepare a budget like this. [00:37:27] The cost of an officer. [00:37:31] I could maybe get an officer and a half, maybe two officers for that amount of money. [00:37:36] And so by managing the overtime, [00:37:39] the officer gets a late call and they have to stay a couple hours extra, [00:37:42] or we have to call somebody in to fill a shift where somebody is off on vacation. [00:37:47] The total cost to the city at this point with the monies that I have here, [00:37:54] I think it's absolutely the best way to go to manage it. [00:37:57] If I turned around and asked you guys for two more officers, [00:38:02] I would have no overtime, and how am I going to handle that call that comes in, [00:38:06] that homicide case, or that extended call for service that we have? [00:38:11] I wouldn't be able to do it. [00:38:15] So I think it's a reasonable amount based on our history. [00:38:18] If you look across the line there, and we do manage it, [00:38:23] we do watch it closely, I send people home, supervisors do that. [00:38:27] You'll see that along with that now, I think based on Councilman Hoffman's comments, [00:38:35] there is a line there showing the overtime wages, special events, [00:38:40] where we've allocated monies there. [00:38:43] We'll be able to track that even better going forward than we have up to this point [00:38:49] and see what specifically is used for those types of events. [00:38:55] Thank you. [00:38:57] Questions? [00:38:59] The off-duty time is in here, and that's $160,000. [00:39:08] Extra duty? [00:39:10] Off-duty pay. [00:39:12] I know what it is. [00:39:14] It would be for the hospital or if the bar or anybody else [00:39:18] or whoever contracted with the city to have police with. [00:39:24] How does the rate for off-duty pay compare to the overtime rate [00:39:29] when it comes to what you charge the hospital for whatever for pay? [00:39:34] I think my response, and I fully understand, Mayor, [00:39:38] the reasons that in 2014 the special events strategy of the city changed. [00:39:46] We heard yesterday at the little people places a question about the costs [00:39:53] when an event wants to come that they would suffer or have to pay [00:40:00] when you go through your special events committee that's existing now. [00:40:07] Some of what I said the other day as I look back to it, Mayor, you were correct, [00:40:10] because what I was referencing was the old law that all went out [00:40:14] and replaced by a new law in 2014. [00:40:17] So the things that I mentioned about not having civic organizations pay for [00:40:23] or a number of things that I recall from my research are gone. [00:40:29] All of those are empty, and now you have this new procedure. [00:40:32] My question is, this special events, I'm assuming all special events, [00:40:40] including ones, let's just say we have a big crowd at the park for the movies [00:40:45] or we have the concert series, which have really outperformed some of the special events [00:40:51] that have been presented because they're free maybe [00:40:55] and also because they're promoted through what's been working well. [00:41:01] Differentiating whether it's a city-sponsored or it's a special event that's not city-sponsored, [00:41:09] you all have, you look at all these events and you staff up for them or whatever. [00:41:16] I just would like to kind of explore the potential that when we have 10 or 12 officers assigned to an event [00:41:27] that may or may not have a problem, whether or not the option is there for off-duty pay [00:41:34] to be contracted directly by somebody versus coming through, [00:41:38] how many people ready to arrest or use their police powers versus how much is needed for deterrence. [00:41:48] We look at that closely. [00:41:51] When they have their meetings ahead of time, when the event is planned out, [00:41:55] the good thing about our city is that we have history with almost every one of these events that come up. [00:42:02] Occasionally we get a brand new one for our city and we have to, of course, look at that. [00:42:07] But we know historically what we need for Chasco. [00:42:11] We know historically what we need for one of the parades and events like that. [00:42:16] If we have an event going on in the park, if it's something, this movie night, [00:42:20] obviously that's a different circumstance than a rock and roll concert. [00:42:24] Beer or liquor or whatever. [00:42:26] And whether or not alcohol is being served. [00:42:28] But let me kind of give you an example. [00:42:31] When we do Chasco, when the parade is going on, the day of the parade, the entire day of the parade, [00:42:37] that's on our dime for my officers. [00:42:40] But the rest of the week as the event is going on, that's on the event to pay extra duty, [00:42:49] rate of pay, which is $35 an hour, for those officers. [00:42:53] And how that benefits, how it keeps me from going into a huge hole [00:42:58] is that we don't have to contribute to the pension fund for that money that's earned. [00:43:03] Officers volunteer to work that. [00:43:06] So they are off-duty then? [00:43:08] Yes. [00:43:09] That was my question, I guess. [00:43:11] So when you say overtime pay, special events, I'm thinking overtime pay as in on-duty overtime. [00:43:20] And that's another component of it. [00:43:22] Is that correct? [00:43:23] I'm just trying to understand, if you'll bear with me. [00:43:38] Maybe my request would be to just mull that over again [00:43:43] and determine from an economic standpoint whether or not there are options that we could look at [00:43:48] to make these especially smaller events. [00:43:50] Or somebody wanting to start an event, they don't have a, you know. [00:43:54] You brought this up a couple times, and I'm not quite sure what you're getting at. [00:43:57] So I'm going to ask you directly. [00:43:58] Yeah, yeah. [00:43:59] Are you looking into maybe exploring options to hire like a security guard firm for our events? [00:44:05] Not for me to hire anybody. [00:44:07] I'm looking at options for events that want to take place [00:44:11] and determining how much law enforcement we need, the rest power, [00:44:14] and how much potentially second tier. [00:44:19] What do you mean by second tier? [00:44:20] I guess that's what I'm asking. [00:44:21] Somebody who's not on duty to make arrests. [00:44:26] Security guards. [00:44:27] That'd be security guards. [00:44:29] And what else is there? [00:44:30] What do you mean it doesn't work? [00:44:32] We don't have security guards. [00:44:33] Right, right. [00:44:34] I know. [00:44:35] I'm just saying that an event could hire a security guard [00:44:38] and that you all are there for your law enforcement processes, not just for. [00:44:44] Somebody did that, and it was years ago. [00:44:47] And as I recall, it didn't end well. [00:44:50] We need instant communications with everybody that's out there. [00:44:54] Every law enforcement officer has a radio on their head. [00:44:56] Usually there's like six or eight of them altogether when they're walking around. [00:45:00] There are times when we're doing that, and that's intentional. [00:45:02] When we have bike week and those other... [00:45:03] To show some power, yeah. [00:45:05] Well, it's... [00:45:05] Whatever. [00:45:06] That is a super deterrent. [00:45:08] But there are other times when we're having an event where it's a big, [00:45:11] just simply a huge crowd, and they're dispersed out there, [00:45:15] usually with two officers together. [00:45:16] If it's a big crowd, there ought to be money being made, [00:45:18] and it ought to be able to afford it. [00:45:20] I think I'm just looking at whether or not... [00:45:22] If someone's off duty, like at the hospital and there's an incident, [00:45:26] do they go into automatic law enforcement mode? [00:45:30] We used to hire folks at the communities that I worked at, [00:45:33] and they would be off-duty police, and they would come to these parties [00:45:37] that sometimes got out of control in these CDDs. [00:45:40] And I remember the provision that if there was an event, [00:45:45] they had to switch off, off-duty, and on to on-duty. [00:45:49] Is that kind of a... [00:45:50] We don't do that. [00:45:51] I mean, at the hospital, we have a number of incidents that occur there [00:45:55] where we take in a Baker Act that has to be evaluated first. [00:45:59] Medical clearance, and that person may misbehave. [00:46:06] That's you as a policeman taking them in, not an off-duty... [00:46:10] Well, there's an extra-duty off... [00:46:11] There's an off-duty officer there at the hospital. [00:46:13] So if our other officers... [00:46:16] If something happens... [00:46:18] Let me just back up a little bit, because I was making a confusing situation. [00:46:21] Let's say that they have a patient that comes in to the emergency room, [00:46:25] and there's an extra-duty officer there. [00:46:28] An off-duty officer. [00:46:30] That patient misbehaves and becomes violent. [00:46:36] That officer jumps in, takes care of it, calls for backup. [00:46:41] Patrol responds as their backup. [00:46:43] But that person also is responsible for walking the halls of the hospital. [00:46:47] We're looking for people that are smuggling in drugs to patients, [00:46:51] because that's been an ongoing problem that the hospital has asked us to pay attention to. [00:46:55] So they are being a cop the whole time they're there, [00:46:59] but there's times when you have to actually be physical. [00:47:02] If they make an arrest, they may detain somebody, [00:47:06] and the patrol officer from the outside may be the one who does the transport. [00:47:10] Take some... [00:47:10] So additional question on that. [00:47:12] Like an example, like you were saying, are you on-duty or off-duty? [00:47:15] Like the Southgate Shopping Center has decided to employ an off-duty officer, [00:47:20] which has helped tremendously, but there's still a lot to be done at the shopping center, [00:47:24] as we all know. [00:47:26] So tying in his question to Councilman Ullman's question, [00:47:31] if that's an off-duty officer being paid by the owner of the Southgate Shopping Center, [00:47:35] he sees someone doing something bad, [00:47:39] does he have the ability to arrest that person and take him to the police station, [00:47:42] or does he just detain that person as an off-duty officer, [00:47:45] call an active officer to the scene to take him in? [00:47:49] How does that work? [00:47:50] I'm just curious. [00:47:51] I haven't personally ever really paid attention to what happens with that. [00:47:56] I know that the arrest gets made, and the person ends up in the jail. [00:48:00] I don't know how to do a budget. [00:48:01] I'm just curious. [00:48:01] You kind of brought it up as a similar situation. [00:48:04] My operations commander is here, and he absolutely can answer that question. [00:48:08] That Southgate, the owner of Southgate Shopping Center... [00:48:09] Could you come up to the microphone? [00:48:11] ...officer, so... [00:48:15] First time I've ever asked a policeman to come up to the microphone. [00:48:19] Probably the last time, too. [00:48:23] Councilman, to answer your question, [00:48:26] the off-duty officer who provides security at Southgate, [00:48:30] they will initiate an arrest. [00:48:34] They will do all the paperwork. [00:48:35] What we try to do is we try to ask patrol to do the transport [00:48:40] so that officer doesn't leave that post unattended, [00:48:43] being paid off-duty by the vendor or the... [00:48:48] Property owner. [00:48:49] ...yeah, the property owner. [00:48:52] During that, we don't switch them over to police department payroll, [00:48:55] and then as soon as they're done with the paperwork, [00:48:56] then they go back to the business. [00:49:01] It would be a very challenging process. [00:49:03] They're still off-duty the whole time, yeah. [00:49:05] They're still off-duty the whole time that they're there. [00:49:07] And they should be. [00:49:08] That's too much confusion. [00:49:11] I think the only thing I'm asking is that there was a time in the city [00:49:17] where money was tight, we used to give away these services, [00:49:22] it became a drain on the budget, and this law, apparently, [00:49:26] Mayor, you were probably in on it, was created in order to assist that. [00:49:31] Now we've got this time where we've got commentary that was made even last night [00:49:35] about events we might have and going through this process [00:49:38] and how much it might cost them. [00:49:39] So I'm simply asking for you to give us your professional opinion [00:49:43] on whether or not we can either have a mix of off-duty, [00:49:48] and if you've still got seven policemen on duty, [00:49:52] treat some of these maybe smaller events like you would publics or something [00:49:56] to say they're dressed, you're uniformed, you're there. [00:50:00] How much arrest power and hauling off do we need [00:50:06] versus how much of purposeful show of force do we need? [00:50:10] Let me try to explain this. [00:50:15] Patrol has anywhere from four to maybe six, [00:50:20] potentially seven, depending on the shift, officers working. [00:50:24] The nature of the types of calls that we respond to, many of them, [00:50:29] someone's totally smashed on drugs or an alcoholic situation [00:50:34] or there's domestic violence or it's some other battery situation, [00:50:38] to where a lot of our calls require more than two officers to respond initially. [00:50:44] And as soon as they're able to, they get freed up because there's other calls waiting. [00:50:50] And so the patrol itself is very busy. [00:50:53] If something breaks in the park, if we had some, just a fight to break out, [00:50:59] the cops that are there are the ones that are going to deal with that. [00:51:02] And it'll be self-contained. [00:51:04] Unless it just simply got so big and there were officers available out in patrol, [00:51:09] they would respond as backup. [00:51:10] If those other officers were calling for help, more would come in. [00:51:13] But I cannot rely safely on the officers in patrol [00:51:20] to be engaged in the park activities when we have events going on. [00:51:23] And on top of that, too, I understand where you're going. [00:51:26] Like, are there looking at ways to save money with our officers during these events? [00:51:30] But unfortunately, the lack of respect that your officers get, [00:51:34] along with the lack of respect that officers, in my opinion, across the nation get, [00:51:39] it's mind-boggling to me. [00:51:41] And you get some drunk guy in the park or some kid that has no respect [00:51:45] for the police officers that's on drugs, maybe. [00:51:49] It's already a tough enough job. [00:51:51] You throw a security guard-type person in that park during an event, [00:51:54] they're not going to give a hoot. [00:51:56] I mean, in my opinion, I don't think having security guards in the park during events, [00:52:01] to me, is just not the way to go. [00:52:03] Well, we do have security as volunteer, though, you know. [00:52:06] Well, they have no authority to do anything. [00:52:08] Well, so that's not my question, though, Councilman. [00:52:10] It really was looking at your budget, [00:52:12] looking at your functions in terms of off-duty versus other. [00:52:16] What a person who's in a special event is going to see when they come and talk to you [00:52:20] is that this is coming into overtime wages for special events. [00:52:24] And that in itself is saying that we're not just getting a policeman, [00:52:29] but we have to pay overtime to get them. [00:52:31] So it's hard enough when you have 10 times 35, 350. [00:52:35] You've got six, eight of them again. [00:52:37] You've got $3,000, $4,000 a night in billing. [00:52:41] And maybe 35 isn't your overtime rate. [00:52:43] I don't know what... [00:52:44] If you checked with the other departments in our area, [00:52:47] you're going to find out their rate for off-duty officers is higher than ours. [00:52:52] Is $35 the off-duty rate? [00:52:55] We only recently raised it from $25 to $35. [00:52:58] I'm not complaining about that. [00:53:00] I'm asking, this says overtime. [00:53:03] So should it say off-duty special events or should it say overtime? [00:53:10] Overtime wages, special events. [00:53:12] I didn't understand where you were going with this until... [00:53:13] That's all I'm asking. [00:53:14] If I'm looking... [00:53:15] I thought you were looking for an alternative to having officers in the park during events. [00:53:18] Well, I'm exploring. [00:53:19] I'm just trying to stimulate conversation to see if there's any... [00:53:22] Well, he's sorting... [00:53:24] We could label that line extra duty or off-duty. [00:53:28] Or you could mix it up, however you do it. [00:53:30] I guess special event, patrol, special event, home, you know? [00:53:34] No, that's down below. [00:53:36] Sorry. [00:53:37] The issue that was broached yesterday really had nothing to do [00:53:47] with the police coverage. [00:53:50] The art folks wanted to do some stuff in conjunction with painting the crosswalk. [00:54:00] And this was literally the week before Chasco. [00:54:03] And if they had gone in and done a big production in the park while the Chasco people are actually [00:54:12] preliminarily starting to move in, it could have gotten real interesting real fast. [00:54:17] And we encouraged them to do it in the parking lot where they basically wouldn't be in the way [00:54:25] and wouldn't get underfoot. [00:54:26] Yeah, I think later on, as the gal was talking, she talked about that being prohibitive [00:54:31] when somebody said we could do it. [00:54:32] It's like, well, when you meet and you've got to pay for the toilet paper and the paper towels and this and that. [00:54:38] I was in there last night. [00:54:39] Can you kind of elaborate a little bit more? [00:54:40] Yeah, I know it was about public art and whatnot. [00:54:43] So a young girl from the art community stood up. [00:54:46] I'm Jeannie Pearl. [00:54:47] Jeannie Pearl, what was her concern then? [00:54:49] She actually overstated, in my opinion, a conversation that she had in which she thought that the city staff would charge her $5,000 in conjunction with her event for overtime. [00:55:06] And that's just way inappropriate. [00:55:08] The paint, the- [00:55:10] The one she had? [00:55:11] Yes. [00:55:11] Okay. [00:55:14] Someone wanted to do art in the park. [00:55:16] And so this came as a result of that conversation about having another March on Art or another large event where the people would be around the lake and in the park. [00:55:25] And so her comment was related to that. [00:55:26] They moved out of the park because of the fees in the park and because of the structure of the fees. [00:55:32] Now, I'm not having this discussion just because of that. [00:55:34] It just kind of stimulated it. [00:55:36] And so I'm only questioning that we should give the right, and I'm sure that you work hard to give the right amount of response to these events. [00:55:44] So I'm not trying to be critical, just saying, you know, if it's overtime, it sounds as if they're charged extra in overtime versus they're just charged for a security service or police or patrol or whatever you want to call it. [00:55:58] Maybe there's some confusion on what this line means. [00:56:02] Because if you look down to line 28, that's off-duty. [00:56:08] That's extra duty. [00:56:09] That is the hospital, the apartment complexes that we provide security for and all that. [00:56:19] You're talking about where it says- [00:56:21] Off-duty pay. [00:56:21] Off-duty pay. [00:56:23] I'm confused now because if that's, like, compared to Southgate and apartment complexes, that's being paid by the property owner and by the hospital, right? [00:56:34] Right, and this would be paid by the event person. [00:56:37] So they come in. [00:56:37] If they don't get sponsored by us or we don't give them a sponsorship, they have to pay the fee for the event, correct? [00:56:46] And so when we tell them what they're paying for, I'm just questioning whether or not that line item would be considered a special event. [00:56:53] And that assessment, which you're trying to break out so it's easier for us to understand, would be easier to, you know, manage. [00:57:00] There's been a couple of times over the years that we've looked at these and said, that doesn't make sense. [00:57:06] You know, the word that's being used is not the best word to describe what, in fact, that line item is. [00:57:11] I'm terrified for me because accounting is not my specialty, as I've made clear several times. [00:57:17] It's in here, when I read it, it looks like it's costing the city $160,000 for off-duty pay, yet we just said that. [00:57:24] It's a revenue item that matches it. [00:57:25] Just because it's a revenue item, that's the only reason. [00:57:27] There's, on the other place, it matches it, so it zeroes it out. [00:57:30] But it'd be contractual off-duty line. [00:57:34] Contractual in front of it? [00:57:36] Yeah, because it is paid through the... [00:57:39] If we just simply added that word, it would take that question out of this. [00:57:43] But not out of my line for special events that I've been referencing to. [00:57:48] And that's why I'm asking, can we call it special events and put your cost of patrol, special event patrol, special event whatever it is? [00:57:58] When we've had all in people as a result, like let's say, for instance, a parade. [00:58:04] And that day, we call in all of our troops, everybody who's available, works that. [00:58:13] Everybody works that. [00:58:14] And if it pushes us into overtime, my thought is that that's where that should go. [00:58:21] There's never been a clear definition of what this line is for. [00:58:26] If you're working with the finance department, you all can come up with that. [00:58:29] And so, back again, we're referencing part of that $60,000 from the first... [00:58:33] Yeah, we're just trying to track that, because we've never tracked it before. [00:58:36] And it's just something that I question whether it was double booked as an expense, because it's in our city council budget. [00:58:44] We have $60,000. [00:58:46] Some of that is going for in-kind, but I guess, Debbie, you referred us to the cultural activities part of the budget, which is maybe more of a cash contribution. [00:59:00] It is. [00:59:01] And then, you know, we've got the art budget, and we've got a few others, but... [00:59:04] Based on that discussion, that's why we moved this overtime wages special events into the police department budget, as we have the other budgets. [00:59:13] So, if we just didn't call it overtime, and you just called it special event, it could be used for... [00:59:22] You could handle it however you do, contracting, and it should be the least expensive to the event, if possible, if they've got some... [00:59:30] You have to look at your cost of a policeman versus an off-duty. [00:59:35] What's the cost of a patrolman on off-duty? [00:59:39] I mean, on overtime. [00:59:42] I don't know what those hourly rates are. [00:59:43] It's more than $35. [00:59:44] It's more than that. [00:59:45] So, that's what I'm saying, Councilman, is, you know, maybe we can try to work back towards the middle between we give it away, we charge premium, we find a way to manage it. [01:00:00] We can continue to look at that, but the line item still represents in-kind support to events, and we're using it to pay overtime to police officers. [01:00:15] I don't agree that we should pay overtime for it if it's less expensive to do off-duty, and the event is the one that's going to be required to do it. [01:00:23] Let the event be charged for off-duty, and let us, you know, take that out of the check that we've agreed to give them out of our sponsorship. [01:00:33] I think we should find the least expensive way to do this. [01:00:36] I don't know why we would charge the events more than we have to. [01:00:39] If we have policemen who are all part of the same radio, we're not talking about hiring a separate securities force. [01:00:47] If you guys have that system down already and it's working in other places, can we think about implementing that to the benefit of those who want to put special events on it? [01:00:57] And I think we understand your point now, and we will look at that. [01:01:00] Thank you. [01:01:11] The next one, 65, code enforcement. [01:01:15] The only significant increase that I see here, or adjustment, is going to be for postage, and that has to do with our civil citation, our municipal infraction program. [01:01:30] It's both civil. [01:01:32] Because there's a number of requirements of where we have to signify registered mail, certified mail, and it costs us to do that. [01:01:41] Are we looking at some discussion on having our code enforcement cars just have a place where they can do it all in the car, rather than... [01:01:53] Are we doing that yet? [01:01:54] Yes, there is discussion. [01:01:55] We are working very hard to make it self-contained in the car until Tyler is up and running for us. [01:02:01] We can't do that. [01:02:03] When they go back to the office and have to fill out the report, that's them off the street, right? [01:02:08] There's two parts. [01:02:09] Go ahead, Chief. [01:02:10] Let me respond to this, please, because I want to make sure that everybody understands with code, there's a number of things that they can do in the car. [01:02:17] With all the technology that we're going to have in there with Tyler, they're going to be able to track what it is that they do. [01:02:22] But there's a whole other hat that they wear, and that is they have to prepare these cases to come before the magistrate or become before a judge. [01:02:33] And what that requires is a huge amount of copying and numbering of pages and making sure that each pile is in order, because they have to give a complete copy to the defendant. [01:02:44] They do more work than a police officer does for a first-degree felony arrest just to prepare for one of their cases. [01:02:52] It's unbelievable the amount of work. [01:02:54] And so they can't do it all in the car. [01:02:57] I don't want you to think that when Tyler is up and running... [01:02:59] I'm not talking about preparing a court case in the car. [01:03:04] I know now, but my only point being there was discussion about giving them a little bit more technology on scene that would prevent them from having to go back to the station and do so much. [01:03:13] Right. [01:03:14] There's great efficiency in them using the technology. [01:03:18] On end, absolutely. [01:03:20] Another thing I think that helps code enforcement is, and Ms. Manz and I have had this discussion. [01:03:25] I'm sure you guys talk about this at your department head meetings, but there's so many times, and Debbie will vouch for this, that I feel like I'm bugging her because I'm constantly sending her pictures of a guy sleeping on a bench, a shopping cart, a couch in front of a yard. [01:03:40] I feel like I'm like a pro bono code enforcement officer, and I'm okay being that because it's something I'm passionate about beautifying and improving our city. [01:03:50] I just want to be sure all our city employees are on the same page. [01:03:54] Just because you work in Parks and Rec or just because you work in City Hall, if you're driving down the road and you see something that's not going right, that they know to notify the police department or notify code enforcement because there's a very limited number of people in our code enforcement for the amount of space area they have to cover. [01:04:12] You know what I mean? [01:04:13] I see myself doing it all the time. [01:04:16] I was driving to work one day, and I looked over the Cody River or the boat ramp into the park, and there's a homeless guy sleeping on a bench. [01:04:24] People are jogging and walking, and I see people, Parks and Rec or Public Works, up by the bandshell in plain sight of this guy, and I'm thinking to myself, why are they not notifying the police to get down here and get this guy out of the park? [01:04:39] No shoes on. [01:04:40] He was just drugged out or hadn't slept on. [01:04:42] He shouldn't have been sleeping on the park bench at the river first thing in the morning. [01:04:47] He shouldn't have been there. [01:04:48] And when I see other city employees there, and I'm not pointing the finger at any department or anyone in particular, I'm just saying, let's make sure everyone's on the same page. [01:04:55] What the goal is with code enforcement and policing, and our goal as a city in general, to improve our city, the aesthetics of our city, the people we're trying to recruit here to live and do business and work and play in our city, because the police presence in the park has been tremendous during the week. [01:05:15] But we don't do that on Sunday, right? [01:05:16] No. [01:05:19] No, right? [01:05:20] I hate bringing this stuff up publicly. [01:05:22] I'm just going to make my point, though. [01:05:24] I'm leaving B4 Radius with my kids, and there's a guy with his shoes off, asleep, passed out probably on pills, on the bench at the Sims Park entrance on a Sunday afternoon. [01:05:34] And he was there when I went in, and he was there when I came out. [01:05:37] And then I texted Debbie a picture of him. [01:05:39] I got it on my phone, and I called it in the police department. [01:05:43] Stuff like that shouldn't go on and on and on with the amount of city employees we have and people that are all hopefully working together. [01:05:50] So I'm not knocking anybody. [01:05:52] I'm just saying if you work in the IT department and you see a shopping cart on your way to work, you may want to notify code enforcement and use their shopping cart. [01:05:59] I see it all the time, this poor guy that owns this business next to this wonderful convenience store across the street. [01:06:06] There's vagrants that sit out on the side of his business on a regular basis. [01:06:10] You see them if you work in City Hall. [01:06:11] Brian probably sees them on a daily basis, drinking alcohol in these big cans on the guy's property on the weekends and after hours. [01:06:18] So my only point being, and I've had this discussion with Debbie, and I'm not saying you guys are doing anything wrong or any other department. [01:06:23] I just want to be sure all of our staff are on the same page. [01:06:26] That if you see something that doesn't look right, no matter what department you work in, let someone know that can go and act on it. [01:06:32] Because you guys can't be everywhere. [01:06:34] Code enforcement can't be everywhere. [01:06:35] I'm just asking that all of our employees as a city, just because you work in one department, if you see something that's not right, be vocal about it. [01:06:42] You know what I mean? [01:06:43] Does that make sense? [01:06:44] It does make sense. [01:06:45] And it's a culture that we're trying to foster. [01:06:47] But you're right, we're not there yet. [01:06:51] I had a good idea that went around like something in a punch bowl. [01:06:56] But years back, and so just to make you feel good, I remember there was a point when we talked about having some little transit in town, [01:07:07] like a little tram to take people around to town or whatever. [01:07:13] And I had suggested that we have law enforcement drive the bus because they'd be watching the streets and traveling all the time, [01:07:21] which you do in the cars anyway, but it didn't go over too good. [01:07:24] But I thought we might as well drive people around. [01:07:28] You never know who might get in there. [01:07:29] But sometimes we think beyond what's practical. [01:07:35] I think that was an example of one of those ideas the mayor always reminds me. [01:07:39] We may come up with a time for those trams yet, though. [01:07:44] Maybe we won't have a law enforcement officer in it, but. [01:07:48] Perhaps not. [01:07:49] Councilman Altman, I would also draw your attention to line 43, 431. [01:07:55] If you want to rail against the county basically double taxing the citizens of the city of New Port Richey for a county service they're already paying for, [01:08:05] that's one of them. [01:08:08] The line item? [01:08:09] The animal control service. [01:08:10] Animal control. [01:08:11] Because we're paying for it in our county taxes now, and they're insisting on soaking us for another $100,000 a year for services we're already paying for as county taxpayers. [01:08:23] On a different occasion in the very near future, I hope we will address this whole county working with them. [01:08:30] That was a big part of my platform, trying to improve those relations. [01:08:34] And I think the time has come for us to sit down and have a let's put all our cards on the table. [01:08:39] What do you think you're getting taken advantage of, and where do you think we are? [01:08:43] So add that one to the collection. [01:08:47] Yeah. [01:08:48] Okay. [01:08:53] Back to police though, huh? [01:08:55] Last but not least is 67, which is our red light camera program. [01:09:05] And I see no significant changes to that, so I don't need to have a comment about it. [01:09:16] I'll give you a break on that one today, and I'll keep my powder dry. [01:09:25] There will come a day when those get banned at the state level. [01:09:28] I am positive of it. [01:09:30] It's just a question of when. [01:09:34] Now that you've said something, I can't hold myself back. [01:09:38] When I was driving out Ridge Road to Highway 19, and you have at that point a right turn that goes into a lane that ultimately merges. [01:09:52] Or if you're taking Ridge Road onto Little Road, there is an actual turn light. [01:09:58] It's an access lane. [01:09:59] It's an access lane. [01:10:00] It even has a little light that tells you it's green, you can go, you can't go. [01:10:04] And I'm not trying to cut the revenue. [01:10:07] I'm just trying to see if maybe the solution, instead of worrying about people training them, maybe we should look at the amount of space. [01:10:16] When you turn right, I guess they want to be able to let you turn into that first business and then turn into the FI grade. [01:10:24] But it seems to me if you go out 19 and make that right, you still have to go through that get off lane before you can get onto the highway. [01:10:33] So you've got to kind of hop two lanes to get out there. [01:10:36] Maybe we ought to just have somebody look at the design of that because it's so inviting for people to make that turn. [01:10:43] And yet it's, and maybe it's as big, Ridge Road has got more traffic than Main Street. [01:10:49] We put those white vertical divider things there because people were taking that corner at sometimes 20 and 25 miles an hour. [01:11:00] And before those things were put there, what we wanted to do was to make sure that they came all the way up to the intersection. [01:11:07] So you've made my case then, thank you. [01:11:10] So we should look at that intersection. [01:11:12] Let me finish my point. [01:11:13] Oh, I'm sorry. [01:11:14] No, here's the point with that right on red and someone running at full blast. [01:11:18] And, you know, we're, we like lead the state in fatalities on 19 because of 19. [01:11:25] So there's a lot of traffic issues out there, not just, you know, at the intersections. [01:11:30] We being the city? [01:11:31] Yes. [01:11:32] I forget what that ranking was, but it was huge. [01:11:36] I forwarded it to Debbie. [01:11:37] An article coming out regarding pedestrian deaths in the same area. [01:11:41] But let me finish my point. [01:11:43] When someone comes up to that intersection, I'd encourage you to sit there as I have and watch as the traffic loads up on Main [01:11:51] and it's coming to that traffic light. [01:11:53] And you see there's now three lanes of vehicles parked there. [01:11:58] And we have pedestrians trying to cross, some in wheelchairs, some pushing a bicycle, some handicapped that are crossing there. [01:12:05] And they cannot be seen. [01:12:07] I challenge you to be able to see them while you're doing that 15-mile-an-hour no-stop turn because they all of a sudden appear. [01:12:17] Yeah, there's no excuse for that. [01:12:19] I think it would be the design on that intersection was changed once already from a resident in the audience [01:12:26] who noticed the two lanes coming across Main from the other direction. [01:12:30] Seems like the whole intersection might want to be looked at. [01:12:35] But other than that, the only other thing I could suggest is you use that big sign you have that tells people to put their seatbelts on [01:12:42] or ha-ha that we got you or something and turn it around and say, beware, stop at the light, you know, [01:12:51] and at least try to change that behavior if that's our goal. [01:12:55] Well, it is. [01:12:56] It's all about changing behavior. [01:12:58] I'm tired of trying to explain why we have all these fatalities out there. [01:13:06] Give them good warning. [01:13:08] And we will do that. [01:13:09] I will change that sign. [01:13:11] Just to give it a shot. [01:13:12] Well, we try to move them around, put different messages on them. [01:13:14] That's a great idea. [01:13:15] And if you do think of more like that or something humorous to put there, I'd be happy to do it. [01:13:19] Oh, then when people complain, you can say, yes, we put lights out there, we put signs out there, we've told you. [01:13:22] It's funny, too. [01:13:23] You know, full stop ahead or you'll pay or whatever. [01:13:25] Yeah. [01:13:26] Well, we have one guy that does those things. [01:13:27] He's pretty clever with the way he works. [01:13:29] Do a Dr. Seuss on that one. [01:13:30] Yeah. [01:13:31] Okay. [01:13:32] Anything else on this? [01:13:34] Chief, thank you. [01:13:36] I think that's what we've got. [01:13:38] That concludes our presentation for this evening. [01:13:40] Very good. [01:13:41] Just quick communications. [01:13:43] It's not on here, but I wanted to thank Mrs. Manns for doing what I thought was a phenomenal presentation last night at People Places. [01:13:53] It laid out in chapter and verse the fact that New Port Richey is actually a leader for a city of its size in trying to encourage the arts, part of what makes us what we are. [01:14:08] So I thought it was pretty cool. [01:14:09] Deputy Mayor? [01:14:10] I'm not surprised at all that you did a phenomenal job. [01:14:12] I appreciate all your kind words. [01:14:14] Sorry I wasn't there. [01:14:17] Back to the food trucks real quick, because we still haven't had the first ordinance or reading without Councilman Davis being here. [01:14:24] But I got a report back from Gary, who owns the lobster truck, and he brought as much food to the back of Ordinance 1 on Thursday night that he brings to his events that he goes to once a month in Tarpon Springs. [01:14:36] They were supposed to be open 5 to 9. [01:14:38] They ran out of food at 7.30. [01:14:41] You'll have a hard time convincing me that all those people that showed up to eat were stolen away from local restaurants. [01:14:48] They wouldn't have been here if that lobster truck wasn't there and it wasn't advertised on Facebook. [01:14:53] That is the sole reason they were there. [01:14:54] The majority of people inside Ordinance 1, a lot of them, had said they didn't want to eat. [01:15:00] hadn't been in Ordinance One before, they just followed the lobster truck, and many [01:15:03] of them had not been to downtown Newport, there was overflow because they ran out of [01:15:07] food where people went to Fitzgerald's and other restaurants, it was so busy inside Ordinance [01:15:11] One people couldn't get a drink, you know, in a timely manner. [01:15:15] They went to other establishments. [01:15:17] So you're going to have to really, really convince me that food trucks are taking business [01:15:21] away from our restaurants, if anything they're bringing business to our restaurants in my [01:15:25] opinion. [01:15:26] I'd like to follow up on that. [01:15:27] I spoke to the gentleman from Rose's Bistro that came in and spoke to us again, and he [01:15:32] indicated to me that he did not have a problem with that lobster truck over there at Ordinance [01:15:38] One, if it was on their property, which it may well have been, I'm not sure. [01:15:43] But the suggestion, because I talked to him, I said, you don't want to chase these things [01:15:47] out of the downtown and have them out at Southgate or somewhere else if you can get them downtown [01:15:52] and brings people downtown. [01:15:53] And he was in agreement, I think, and he's suggesting that we consider a location for [01:15:59] it, like, you know, whether it be around the lake or on private property. [01:16:02] Well, it's already built into the ordinance, so as such, if it's on private property, if [01:16:06] you're not on private property, you have to be at least 30 feet or 30 yards from any other [01:16:11] business that turns food, right? [01:16:13] On public property? [01:16:14] Public property, right. [01:16:15] It was originally set at 100 feet, and based on a suggestion by Councilman Davis, that [01:16:23] was removed, the 100 feet restriction. [01:16:25] So it can be anywhere on public property in proximity to another business that may serve [01:16:29] food? [01:16:30] It currently is. [01:16:32] I also spoke to my former partners, the McGurns, on the Main Street Landing, and again, for [01:16:38] the record, I have no interest in that property or the project at all anymore, but I think [01:16:46] I got sent a copy of the ordinance from Gainesville, and he owned the land in their downtown by [01:16:53] the Hippodrome Theater there, and he was refusing the trucks to park on his parking spaces in [01:17:01] deference to his tenants, but the trucks, the business people, and the city came to [01:17:09] an agreement. [01:17:10] And I think, again, I haven't read it yet, but it's on my desk, so I'd ask if I give [01:17:15] it back, maybe, to have it distributed to all of us to look at, but because this is [01:17:20] just another... [01:17:21] That's Gainesville's food truck ordinance? [01:17:22] Yeah. [01:17:23] So I'm going to pass it over to whoever wants to get it. [01:17:27] I think for the record, either it goes to the clerk or to the city manager, and I think [01:17:32] that there are going to be options, like, do we want to just tell them to go around [01:17:36] the lake, or do we want to tell them, you know, stay downtown in certain areas or whatever? [01:17:41] I did hear a complaint tonight when I stopped for pizza downtown, and he was not real thrilled [01:17:49] with the food truck being on the other side, but he conceded there were a whole lot of [01:17:54] people at it. [01:17:56] His bigger point, and it's something, since we've got a representative from Main Street [01:18:02] in the audience, the last Main Street event that they had, where they had all the food [01:18:09] vendors in the park, he saw his sales go through the floor during that weekend. [01:18:17] So this is an example of a special event that did not help at least one restaurant, and [01:18:24] he indicated also, during Chaska, we did great on the two Saturdays, and then was shocked [01:18:31] when he looked at the entire week and realized he'd only made a couple hundred bucks more [01:18:35] because what happened was he did phenomenal business on the two days with the parades, [01:18:42] but during the week, just cratered on him. [01:18:45] And that's an issue with the events in the park, and one of the reasons that I have been [01:18:51] encouraging, particularly the Main Street folks, to look at doing stuff that's right [01:18:57] in the business district itself to keep from sucking people out of there. [01:19:04] And I would like to also just let Councilman Starkey know, I agree with you. [01:19:08] I think I made a comment at that first meeting, you know, sort of in defense of let's not [01:19:12] push out these things if they're popular and they draw in a younger crowd or whatever. [01:19:18] But I think that it's not just comparing. [01:19:22] This day, I didn't get much business. [01:19:24] It's this day, a bunch of people came in and went to that lobster truck, and then they [01:19:28] saw the downtown, and they're going to come back. [01:19:30] So that's the unknown. [01:19:32] That's the other benefit that I think they may bring that is not readily available. [01:19:37] It's just bringing people downtown that would not have come. [01:19:40] Haven't been here before. [01:19:42] That's the biggest thing that I saw. [01:19:43] I had an event beforehand. [01:19:44] By the time I got down there, they were sold out. [01:19:47] And so I stopped, and I said, hey, I said, you know, how'd it go? [01:19:50] What happened? [01:19:51] He said that he probably knew 10% of the people that were there from regular. [01:19:56] I mean, that's how many new people had showed up. [01:20:00] And so, I mean, that says a lot as far as bringing the new people in, and they do see [01:20:03] what else is here. [01:20:04] They wouldn't regularly come down. [01:20:05] So, I mean, I know there's pros and cons, but I think we're going to get a bigger benefit [01:20:10] out of it then. [01:20:11] And I think doing some of these in the downtown proper, as opposed to in the park, actually [01:20:17] will help the restaurants and the other businesses in the long term. [01:20:23] And there is a Shop and Sip this Friday night, which is, don't hold me to the exact times, [01:20:32] but 6 to 9 or something like that. [01:20:36] It's on Facebook if you look for New Portage's Shop and Sip. [01:20:40] The art gallery is going to be involved, the restaurants have got specials going on, [01:20:43] and a lot of the retail businesses will be open special hours and handing out wine and [01:20:49] cheese and all that. [01:20:50] So, it should be a fun Friday night in town, and then, of course, we've got the concert [01:20:56] Saturday night. [01:20:57] So, anything else? [01:21:02] That case? [01:21:03] Entertain a motion to adjourn?

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3. 3Adjournment