Funding priorities feedback and closing remarks

2:30:52So have we have we Done a good job of targeting those enough, do you think? I mean we we had a lot longer list and um and we pared it down, but did we Do you have any suggestions for us? And you know, I would ask the representatives and their their uh folks that are here what are their number one priorities and can and maybe some of the ones that we don't have on here. We want to be smart. Um maybe we can align better with some of our other projects that align with some of our representatives.

2:31:24I want to just touch on this project a little

2:31:25bit further

2:31:26before we break away. I think you have

2:31:27support.

2:31:27So oh no, I know, but but something else.

2:31:32Don't knock yourself out of the

2:31:36barbell. I'm the sales for you, come out and go. That's like you did. That's it. No no we're gonna we're gonna well we're actually gonna work to rewrite it. We're gonna work to rewrite it a little bit better because one of the things that's gonna benefit this, what we haven't been able to do is accept it to sewer project.

2:31:50We haven't done one conversion and it's

2:31:52we've done a submittal for that. David Allen's working on that already with another another set of projects. So that's going on forward. And what that'll also enable me to do is we've much wanted to pave these roads too, but we didn't want to do that with these roads always going. underwater. during Tropical Storm Debbie many years ago when that storm came in, I think it was that I think that was a storm. It damaged so many roads with the trucks driving over it.

2:32:16lightly paves some of the roads in there but the rest of 'em are in terrible shape. So this is really gonna help elevate the community and effectively take subsequent sewer projects which a coastal project really help out the area for the water quality.

2:32:32Lightly paved But for Gebby, we actually had PP money that we used for FEMA didn't help us at all

2:32:41with

2:32:42those roads.

2:32:43How much of the county's reserve funds do we use after the two nerd major hurricanes? Is that your

2:32:49report? Um

2:32:52Speaking offhand, I think my budget director is in here as well, but I I know that we are estimating Andy, we're estimating uh total costs right now, what right roughly about fifty million. with with glass storm. So we've we have been paying for that either out of general fund, solid waste reserves wherever it's appropriate. So

2:33:11how big is the reserve?

2:33:12reserve funding right now on the general fund probably eighty million.

2:33:16Um but there's Are those unrest We park money in the reserve fund for large projects. So is that including those large projects or you know

2:33:29So no, I mean those would be our those would be our reserves what we have set. We we earmarked them, you know, in in a spreadsheet off when we we we look at projects. So I mean those are the numbers. I mean and and we project what those numbers are going to be and we have a number of operational expenses because we we do a five to ten year outlook of how we those numbers are going to get spent down and and they do they actually do go down.

2:33:51Simple question I think representative office one how much money can you add in reserves that's truly reserved that's unrestricted. Yeah right twenty million, fifteen million, what's not encouraged

2:34:00uh I was what do you I think I I would say that probably uh I can't give you an exact number, we can we can get back to that, but I will tell you we target to have sixty days of operations set aside for what you just saw happen a couple of months ago. The rest of that is is uh a planned expenditure usually for something.

2:34:21Right, and all these projects are really important. So I was just wondering if they aren't fully funded or um don't get funding at all, are we gonna look into having some of the reserves?

2:34:33We would we would have to make hard decisions, hard budgeting decisions like we do every year.

2:34:37Sir don't don't you have uh is there a statute where you're required to maintain a certain uh level of reserv of reserves in general.

2:34:44I don't know if it's a statutory, it's more of uh what we would call good practice in the in the governmental accounting world, which is A minimum of sixteen point seven six seven percent. And that's a minimum.

2:35:00It's not about you guys.

2:35:02Correct.

2:35:03Yeah, I was just gonna say it's about that.

2:35:04That would have bid us that would have come back and bid us in October. I would have promised you that.

2:35:09Only I'm gonna say from the house side why uh Yeah. Out the LA here. Um, you know, I have two projects in my district. I know what number one is for mine's pretty easy, right? Um I would get with them and I would rank these. I mean I think what they're asking is I'm only gonna get one. What am I getting why what do you what do I gotta go fight for? And I think I would uh I mean I pretty well know mine, it's pretty simple.

2:35:40But we also look at it. I mean we'll be well I'm sure we'll have the same discussion at the delegation meeting, right? Where we'll be able to talk about all of us. um to be able to discuss some of these. But I would get that was counting, I would get with each of the members that all these numbers in, go talk to them and say, hey, this is what I gotta have. Right? Money opens up whatever the world does, I don't know. This is hair trial reading. And that's my suggestion out of it. So we've heard from what my side of it is. Um

2:36:11We're gonna find out more as we get into it. We're gonna start committee week, I think the eighth, something like that of January. Then everything's just gonna complete So we're gonna know a lot more about it, right? But he's already told us and I think the chair said it and he's gonna be a part of it. More cut. Sorry. That's my suggestion on the outside.

2:36:33Just To to close, just thank you both for being here, thank you, the Senate and the House. and uh we don't capture any funding, at least from my perspective, if we're able to to check off a number of these policy Plitch bill items, they're just as important because there's you know, monetary ties to to these decisions. And so anything we can do is a a win in my book and be grateful for any help that we can we can get along the way. So look forward for to

2:37:04a good session and appreciate y'all's support and at this

2:37:06point

2:37:07where we can.

2:37:08I think the good news is you're one of the fastest growing counties in the nation. The bad news is you want to pass the

2:37:16that comes with a lot of uh A lot of things that pop up quicker than you anticipated. Absolutely. Yeah.

2:37:29from the legis from the legislative delegation side. This this was really a good meeting. This was an opportunity. We would never have this opportunity to sit as a group and talk about um priorities and and policy issues. Otherwise we can't do it at a delegation meeting. Um that's more for the citizens to express their

2:37:53I thank you all for coordinating this. Ralph, thank you for MCing it uh and and uh allowing us to sit down as a group and and just openly chat. This this is what a workshop ought to be. Thank you all very much.

2:38:09Yeah. We are very grateful to everyone. And um please get back to us if you have more questions or if you need more information. We're gonna fix the numbers on the ones that aren't matching up right and get them back out to you. Um And again

2:38:25I think we heard you know. Prioritize, you know. Don't ask for the world, but Go back in and prioritize, make sure you have those matches, make sure Um you know, that It it cannot be funded out of The the reserve or or or uh other other pots of money. But again, that's why we d we set this up so we could get that kind of feedback uh as we move forward. And uh we we again appreciate you all both being here and please

2:38:54for some of you that have not been through s legislative budgeting process. Don't panic when the first budget comes out if your five million dollar item set to two hundred fifty thousand. Don't panic. Uh it's way too early to panic. It uh those numbers change dramatically from week three to week seven. Um First budget's gonna come out week three to session.

2:39:19Uh well that's that's good advice.

2:39:22A lot of people in there look like, Well this doesn't help me at all. Just forget about it. It's like

2:39:28Well I guess the question is when they start panicking, probably when you need to start panicking. I'm just gonna ask them if they wanna say anything.

2:39:38I think that's uh that's a scary thing to a lot of people to react to.

2:39:53Mike, you need a mic. Mike more southern group. Yeah, it happened many times last year. And I'm sure Sean can attest to this as well where I had projects with some of her clients that came in at two fifty, came in at five, and eventually it got up to two, two and a half million dollars, you know. So yeah, don't panic. If you if it's in there as a placeholder, you're good. I just want to

2:40:13plug for them that they're not magicians. It's just gonna be a day, you know, you guys can't make you know things appear it is gonna be a different type of year. So

2:40:22um I do think um it's important for us to hear from our other representatives that aren't here today what their priorities are and where their priorities w where they feel we are on this list and make sure we're Uh in unison on on what we're asking for and if we need to pivot. We wanna be as successful as we can, obviously, for our constituents who are your constituents too. We will and uh make it get past the governor's pen. So um we d we

2:40:52actually spend a lot of time and do a a lot of work on coming up with our our lists and um we appreciate working with you guys. to help uh bring bring home some some positive results for for our citizens, sure. We want we want you to be successful too. So do we. Yeah.

2:41:15Okay. Is any any other comments?

2:41:17Nope, just Merry

2:41:18Christmas. Merry Merry Christmas, everybody. It's been uh Oh, did you want to look at this or no?