I'll call the regular meeting to order. To make it easier for residents to voice their comments, there will be two public comment periods. There will be one at the beginning of the meeting designated for comments related to items on the agenda and one at the end of the meeting for general public comment. Public comment for designated public hearing items will be heard when the item is called. Speakers will be limited to three minutes to state their comments. This meeting is being video recorded and streamed live on the internet. Mr. Valdez, please confirm posting and roll call. Mayor, this meeting has been posted in accordance with the Nevada Open Meeting Law, with the exception of Council Member Seabach, who's excused. All members of the Council are present, and you have a quorum. Thank you. I would like to invite Reverend Mariano Ordonez, pastor of the Henderson United Presbyterian Church, to the podium to give the invocation, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance by Scout Troop 37. Let us pray. Dear wise and loving Father, first, let me say thank you on behalf of all who are gathered here today. Thank you for your many and abundant blessings. Thank you for what you did for all as we remember this Holy Week, your sacrifice, death, and resurrection that frees us from the bondage of sin and death. Thank you for life itself, for the measure of health, We need to fulfill our callings for sustenance and for friendship. Thank you for the ability to be involved in useful work and for the honor of bearing appropriate responsibilities. Thanks as well for the freedom to embrace you or the freedom to reject you. Thank you for loving us even so from your boundless and gracious nature. In the scriptures, you have said that citizens ought to obey the governing authorities since you have established those very authorities to promote peace and order and justice. Therefore, I pray for our mayor, for the various levels of city officials, and in particular, for this assembled council. I'm asking that you graciously grant them wisdom to govern amid the conflicting interests and issues of our times, a sense of the welfare and true needs of our people, a keen thirst for justice and rightness, confidence in what is good and fitting, the ability to work together in harmony even when there is honest disagreement, personal peace in their lives and joy in their tasks. I pray for the agenda set before them today. Please give an assurance of what would please you and what would benefit those who live and work in and around our beloved city of Henderson. It is in your most blessed name I pray. Amen. Mr. Sarmento, please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. And before you leave, can we just have Troop 37 stand up and be recognized. Thank you for being here tonight. Now is the time for our first public comment. Before we begin, the City Clerk will make an announcement. All communications with the City Council and staff using email, text messages, and social media platforms is subject to the Nevada Public Records Act. and the Nevada Open Meeting Law on all personal and city issued devices. Please set your electronic devices to silent starting now. The City Council is legally limited in their ability to respond to public comment. Questions and requests from the public will be referred to the appropriate City Department for their review. Please do not sit stand or block the aisles, walkways or doorways. And as a reminder, the vestibule at the back of the chambers is reserved for working city staff and public safety personnel only. For persons requiring ADA accommodations, please contact a deputy city clerk for assistance. To participate in public comment, please register your name and zip code with the clerk managing the public comment queue at the back table in the vestibule. Please note that public comment during meetings is reserved for designated public hearing items only. When your name is called, please stand in front of the podium, speak directly into the microphone, and please remember to state your first and last name for the record. You will have three minutes to speak. And Mayor, in the first public comment queue, we have two persons who would like to speak on items number 34 and 35, but they will be withdrawn as a result of the previous discussion. Anybody else for public comment? The names are Gina Griesen and Melanie Shana. But as I said, those items will be withdrawn. Yes. Yes, ma'am. Good evening, Mayor and Council. Again, for the record, Gina Griesen, Nevada Voters for Animals. Really disappointed about the vote you just took in the last meeting. I wish you would have just postponed it for two weeks and then in two weeks just came back and did what you were talking about, which was to remove the items that are related to Title 19 and just pulled out Title 7, and I'll tell you why. Like, I was telling you about Lily, the dog that baked to death in her backyard in North Las Vegas. It's getting hot already. We're already having unseasonably hot temperatures. We're in the 90s this week. I'd like to remind you that the Clark County Police Office, or the... CCSD police dog that died, died in November when it was 65 degrees. It doesn't take much. It is already hot. Animals are already going to start dying. And there's a lot of protections in there that protect a lot of the domestic pets. I'm not aware that we're killing, you know, farm animals at the shelter. you know, in a crisis like we are dogs and cats and other, you know, animals that are kept for companionship or pleasure. So I'm not sure how long, how long is it going to take to bring this back? Does it have to be renoticed? Because by the time you guys look at this, I heard someone say three months, we're already in extreme temperatures and animals are already dying because someone wants to have a petting zoo. Sorry, that feels very unfair. Seems to me you guys can You know, a lot of smart people up here could rework it to where you could make it, where you're going to protect the animals that need your protection, that have no voice, and then work it out for people that want to make money off of animals. You know, that's kind of sad. Anyway, thank you. Yeah, and just for clarification, they are bringing back sooner than later the parts that affect everybody. How soon? As soon as she can put it together. Does it have to be reposted for 30 days? No. Okay. So we can do this maybe again in two weeks or three? We heard a lot of numbers. We heard three months. We will have to get back to you because I don't know how the cycle works in terms of whether or not we've missed the deadline for the next meeting, so we'll have to take a look. The next person is Melanie Shana. It's actually Shane. Shane, apologies. My writing's really bad. I was doing it really quick. So my name is Melanie and I run Kiss My Paws Rescue. This is actually the first time I've spoken in front of you guys. Normally I speak at city and council meetings, city and county meetings. I just want to say that we're in a huge animal, specifically dog and cat crisis. So many dogs being euthanized, abused, dumped, et cetera. And as a rescue, we're running on a hamster wheel trying to save everyone that we possibly can. I understand you will revisit this issue, but every day a dog or cat that you euthanize for space is just not right. Camels and goats are not being euthanized at the shelter. So I implore you when she does come back to please, if we can get this passed as soon as possible, to just eliminate the amount of animals that are being euthanized. That would be great. Thank you. Mayor, there's no one else in the first public comment queue. Thank you. I'll close public comment. Ms. Garcia-Vos, are there any changes to the agenda? Yes, Mayor Romero, there are changes to the agenda. Items 34 and 35 are being withdrawn by staff. Items 38 and 39 will be continued to the May 6, 2025 regular City Council meeting at the request of staff. Thank you, ma'am. A motion to accept the agenda as amended. Please vote. All council members voted in favor of the motion made by Councilwoman Larson and it carries. Item number one is a proclamation for Autism Awareness Month. Our first item this afternoon is this proclamation declaring April 2025 as Autism Awareness Month. According to national statistics, about one in 36 children have been identified with autism spectrum disorder. That equates to approximately 10,000 children that have been impacted in our state. Gary and Debbie Ackerman and Dr. Julie Beasley with the Grant-a-Gift Autism Foundation Ackerman Center are here to accept the proclamation. Grant-a-Gift Autism Foundation is Nevada's largest nonprofit provider of multidisciplinary clinical care for neurodevelopmental disabilities, providing better outcomes for individuals and families affected by autism in our community. Henderson residents Gary and Debbie Ackerman are at the heart of this mission, fueling the center's growth and impact since it began in 2016. Through their dedication, generosity, advocacy, and philanthropic leadership. Because of their efforts to raise significant funding to expand services in Southern Nevada, Dr. Beasley and our team have provided more than 15,000 families with life-changing clinical care, guidance, and resources that empower children and young adults affected by autism to reach their full potential. The Ackermans' generous support ensures that every individual affected by autism in our community, regardless of financial means, has the opportunity to thrive. I'd like to welcome the Ackermans and Executive Director, Dr. Julie Beasley, and invite the Mayor and Council to the gallery to present the proclamation. Thank you so much to the Ackermans and clearly you're not Dr. Julie Beasley so. Brian Hager, President and CEO of Grana Gap. I want to recognize this group for the incredible work they have done to make sure that those in our community who sometimes are voiceless have the services they need to be able to play a part in our society. You have been so incredible in the work that you've done. You've done it selflessly and you've impacted thousands in our community. Thank you for the work that you do and continue to do. It is our honor to recognize you for the work that you have done and to present you with this proclamation thanking you for everything that you have contributed to our community. Thank you, Mayor, and thank you, members of the council. Appreciate the the nod. Just some late breaking news I wanted and I'll get out of your way because I know everybody's been here a long time already. We're currently negotiating a lease on a building in Henderson so that we can expand our services to the city of Henderson directly. Hopefully we'll have a satellite center open and actually negotiated for in the city of Henderson in the next week or so and then we have to convert the building into medical usage, but we're looking forward to bringing it right home to the city. So thank you again. We appreciate it. Council, if you'll remain in the gallery. Item number two is a proclamation. It is declaring April 29th, 2025 as Fentanyl Awareness Day to acknowledge the devastating impact of fentanyl in our community and across the nation. Although fatal opioid overdoses are down nationally, Southern Nevada rates remain high. along with an increase in non-fatal overdoses. To combat this issue, the second Fentanyl Awareness Summit was held on February 12, 2025 at World Market Center. More than 200 professionals were in attendance as national, state, and regional leaders came together to update community stakeholders on progress made to reduce youth overdoses, share updates on drug trends, and discuss opportunities to intervene through the criminal justice system to treat opioid use disorder. Additionally, the City of Henderson continues its fentanyl awareness campaign, Don't Risk It All, that highlights positive reasons to stay away from drugs, especially the dangers of illicit fentanyl in the market. Foundation for Recovery is Nevada's statewide recovery community organization, a community nonprofit led by volunteers and staff in recovery for mental health and substance use disorders. They focus on strength-based support for anyone in need, promoting and enhancing recovery support systems across Nevada. The recognition of Fentanyl Awareness Day presents an opportunity to refocus our efforts, foster continued dialogue, and further promote actions that mitigate the risks associated with fentanyl. I'd like to invite the Office of Community and Neighborhood Programs Mobile Crisis Intervention Team, Clinical Supervisor Lisa Kelso, and the Executive Director of Foundation for Recovery, Sean O'Donnell, to join the Mayor and Council in the gallery to accept the proclamation. Again, we have another group that is doing so much for our community. Earlier, what date was it that we had the risk at all, don't risk at all? February. In February of this year, this team put together the most incredible coming together of people who are, have experienced firsthand what happens when fentanyl enters your life. And it was, It was really eye opening. It was sobering. And one death is one too many in our community. And the Foundation for Recovery is doing all that they can to prevent that from happening. I want to give a shout out to Lisa Corrado, to the entire team at the City of Henderson who work hard every day and to Foundation for Recovery for the efforts you make to ensure that our community is as safe as it possibly can from the dangers of fentanyl. So it is my pleasure on behalf of the Council to present you with this proclamation for Fentanyl Awareness Day. Thank you, Mayor and Council, for all your support for the Fentanyl Awareness Summit, as well as recognition of Fentanyl Awareness Day. Substance use is a public health crisis that requires collaboration between our law enforcement, our healthcare providers, and our mental health professionals. Our mobile crisis intervention team works to respond to individuals in crisis due to substance use in the community, and we are fortunate to partner with Foundation for Recovery. Foundation for Recovery is our statewide community recovery organization. They are committed to providing programs to individuals who are impacted by substance use, including programs for individuals in the criminal justice system, programs in our emergency departments, and programs for our families. Thank you so much to Sean and his team for partnering with us and collaborating with us in our continued fight in the opioid epidemic. Mayor and Council, if you'll remain in the gallery for one final presentation. Item number three is the 2025 Wastewater Professional of the Year Award from the Nevada Water Environment Association. We have a recognition of Christopher Cohan. Wastewater Operator 2-C with the Department of Utilities Services. Christopher has been named as the 2025 Wastewater Professional of the Year by the Nevada Water Environment Association, recognizing his knowledge of wastewater treatment processes and advanced mechanical repair practices at the City of Henderson's Kurt R. Segler Water Reclamation Facility, the Southwest Water Reclamation Facility, 16 lift stations, and three reclaimed water pump stations. His efforts to further develop his team's mechanical and technical skills were also a key factor in his selection. Christopher received this award at the recent statewide NWEA conference in Reno, where he proudly represented the city of Henderson and our dedication to providing premier water and wastewater services. Congratulations, Christopher. Congratulations, Christopher. Another prime example of the stellar employees we have here at the city. We're so proud of the work that you have done. You work hard to make us look good, even if it's wastewater. We want to be the best at wastewater. So thank you for making us part of that. And congratulations. And would you like to say a few words? Thank you, Mayor and Council, for having me up here and recognizing me for all my hard work. Thank you to my coworkers and leadership. for giving me this opportunity. Still the best job I've ever had. Thank you to my wife, my daughter, and my dad for being here today and putting up with all my long hours that I put in to get here. Thank you. Mayor and Council, the next item on your agenda is the City Manager's Report. Good evening, Mayor and Council. To recognize National Crime Victims Week, the City Hall campus went purple. To show our support and bring awareness to the resources available for victims of crimes, approved by voters in 2018, Marcy's Law created constitutional protections for victims through the judicial process, including victims and survivors of domestic violence. This week we celebrate National Animal Care and Control Officers Week. Thank you to the compassionate staff in Animal Control for bravely rescuing animals that are stray, sick, or injured, as well as for protecting human life from animals that may be aggressive or have contagious diseases. We appreciate your dedicated service. This week we celebrate National Public Safety Telecommunications Week. Please join me in honoring the courageous dispatchers who are the silent heroes behind the scenes and play a pivotal role as the link between our residents and our Henderson Fire and Police departments. Thank you to all of our dispatchers for your service to keep Henderson safe. It is now my honor to announce the retirement of Brian Jenkins from Utility Services. Thank you for your dedicated service to our community. We wish you the very best. Thank you, Mayor and Council. That concludes the City Manager's report. Thank you. Next on your agenda is the Consent Agenda, consisting of Items 5 through 25. Unless an item is pulled for discussion, Council will take action on all Consent Agenda items with one motion. May I have a motion? All Council members voted in favor of the motion made by Councilwoman Cox, and it carries. Next on your agenda are public hearings. Item number 26 is a public hearing for the 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan and 2025 Annual Action Plan from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funding approval. Claudia Young, and the recommendation is to approve. Claudia Young, Housing and Grants Coordinator from the Office of Community and Neighborhood Programs, is here to provide an overview. Claudia. Good afternoon, Mayor and Council. This serves as a public hearing for our five-year consolidated plan that covers our community development block grant funds and our home investment partnership funds. This plan includes our citizen participation plan and our first-year action plan. The citizen participation portion has been met with public noticing and staff has received no comments. Thank you. This is a public hearing which I'll now open. Is there anyone wishing to speak on this item? Mayor, there is no one in the public comment queue for item number 27. Thank you. I'll close the public hearing. 26, sorry. Do we do or do we do? There's no one in item number 26. My apologies, yes. May I have a motion? Please vote. All council members voted in favor of the motion made by Councilwoman Cox and it carries. The next section of your agenda is bills referred from committee for adoption as ordinance. Item number 27 is bill number 3827, ZCA-201800276-A19, a zone change amendment for the Inspirata Town Center, removing 2.6 acres, and the recommendation is to adopt as ordinance number 4068. Regular, I'm sorry, this regular meeting, items 27, 28, and 29, bill for zone changes related to community ambulance. Items 27, 28, and 29 are bills that codify map and zone changes for property near VN. and via Centro. That property will serve as a new headquarters for community ambulance, and I need to disclose that my son-in-law and daughter work for community ambulance. Their employment with community ambulance is a conflict of interest that could be perceived by a reasonable person to affect the independence of my judgment on these matters. Therefore, I will abstain from deliberation and voting on items number 27, 28, and 29. Thank you. May I have a motion on item 27? Please vote. With the exception of Councilwoman Cox, who abstained, all members voted in favor of the motion made by Councilman Stewart, and it carries. Item number 28 is bill number 3828, ZCA-2009-660018-A13 a zone change amendment, West Henderson Global Business District 2.9839. 2.93 acres removed and the recommendation is to adopt as ordinance number 4069. May I have a motion? Please vote. With the exception of Councilwoman Cox who abstained, all council members voted in favor of the motion made by Councilwoman Larson and it carries. Item number 29 is bill number 3829 ZCA-2024-015-221. 155 Community Ambulance, and the recommendation is to adopt as ordinance number 4070. Please vote. With the exception of Councilwoman Cox, who abstained, all Councilmembers voted in favor of the motion made by Councilman Stewart, and it carries. Item number 30 is Bill number 3830, ZCA-2024-016067, Larson in Bermuda, and the recommendation is to adopt as ordinance number 4071. We have a motion. Please vote. All council members voted in favor of the motion made by Councilwoman Larson, and it carries. Item number 31 is bill number 3831, ZCA-2023, 01-2292-A1, Mosaic West Henderson, and the recommendation to is adopt as ordinance number 4072. We have a motion. So moved. Please vote. All council members voted in favor of the motion made by Councilwoman Cox, and it carries. Item number 32 is Bill number 3832, DEV-2024, 015949, Mosaic Development Agreement, and the recommendation is to adopt as ordinance number 4073. May I have a motion? Please vote. All council members voted in favor of the motion made by Councilwoman Larson, and it carries. Item number 33 is Bill number 3833, amend Henderson Municipal Code Chapter 4.32, Gambling, Regulations and Licenses. The recommendation is to adopt as Ordinance number 4074. We have a motion. Please vote. All council members voted in favor of the motion made by Councilwoman Larson and it carries. As a reminder, items 34 and 35 were withdrawn. And that takes us to new business. Item number 36 is a presentation. City of Henderson's tentative budget for the fiscal year 2025-26. The recommendation will be to accept. And David is here to do a brief presentation. Good afternoon, Mayor and Council. My name is David Weiser. I am the Assistant Director of Finance, and today I'm going to be presenting on the tentative budget for fiscal year 2026. This year's budget is about maximizing efficiency in a changing fiscal landscape. As economic conditions continue to evolve, one thing remains clear, and that is our city's commitment to high quality services for our residents, maintaining financial responsibility, and taking a proactive approach to our changing fiscal realities. As part of this budget development process, I would like to thank our city leadership and our department heads because this year's budget required innovation, collaboration, as well as a renewed focus on efficiency. Looking ahead to fiscal year 2026, One of our city's key strengths is our ability to maintain a balanced and fiscally responsible budget while maintaining one of the lowest property tax rates among major Nevada cities. At 77 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, we are significantly lower than the city of Reno at 96 cents, city of Las Vegas at $1.06, and the city of North Las Vegas at $1.16. At the same time, we're able to provide efficient services with having one of the leanest government workforces in the region. Our employee to citizen ratio is 6.7 employees per 1,000 residents, lower than Boulder City, City of Las Vegas, as well as the City of Mesquite. We're able to do more with less here at the city of Henderson, and the proof is in the results. As far as our high-performing public service, we have a 95% citizen satisfaction rate. We are a Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award winner, and I'm proud to say one of my personal favorite awards is that we are a triple crown winner, one of only two cities from the state of Nevada, recognized by the Government Finance Officers Association for excellence in financial reporting and budgeting as well. So simply put, we're able to do more with less. So getting into our fiscal year 2026 budget, total revenues are anticipated to be $409.2 million. The largest share of that is consolidated tax at 43%. The second largest revenue stream is property tax at 29%. So between those two, 72% of our total general fund revenues is comprised of consolidated tax and property tax. General fund budgeted expenditures is anticipated to be $409.2 million, the largest share of which is public safety. So this year's budget continues our commitment to public safety with 59% of general fund expenditures dedicated to it. The pie chart on the right hand side is the same general fund expenditures just broken out a little bit differently for you. As you can see, 49% of the budget is dedicated to salaries with 31% dedicated to benefits. So combined 80% of our general fund expenditures is dedicated to personnel costs. Now we talk a lot about the general fund because that is our city's primary operating fund. It is our fund responsible for the majority of our city's departments. But we do receive special revenues from other sources as well. A good example of that is a redevelopment agency where we receive additional property tax increment revenues and those revenues are legally restricted and must be reused in those geographic areas. We often get questions from residents and employees as to how does the city have money for something like the Fiesta site where those funds came from our redevelopment agency. We can't transfer them to subsidize the cost in our general fund operations or salaries. We also receive capital funding. This is primarily through the issuance of bonds. So when we issue a bond, we identify specific projects that the city has committed to building. And again, we can't transfer these sources of funds to subsidize our general fund operations or salaries. So they are restricted as far as what we can actually use them for. When we think about some financial considerations as we built this budget, these challenges are not unique to us at the City of Henderson. This is something being experienced throughout our region. First and foremost, we've seen decreased consolidated tax revenue for the three-year period from fiscal year 2024 through 2026. Our projected consolidated tax growth rate is only 1.5%. That is quite dismal when you consider our pre-pandemic averages of 3% to 5% per year, and now we're seeing a 1.5% growth over three years. In addition to consolidated tax, we're seeing our revenues slow, but at the same time, we're seeing our expenditures rise. As I mentioned, 80% of our general fund expenditures are personnel costs, and one of the largest components of that is benefit costs, and we're seeing the PERS contribution rates increase for the upcoming fiscal year as well. Public safety is going from 50% to 58.75% contribution rates. Non-public safety is going from 33.5% to 36%. 6.75 percent. Total citywide fiscal impact is $6.2 million. At the same time we're seeing these PERS contribution rates increase, we are also seeing significant costs in our workers' compensation liability and rising health care costs as well. For workers' compensation and health care, we are self-funded here at the City of Henderson, so us as the employer have to bear those costs. As you can see, our workers' compensation liability has more than tripled over the last five years, and we are anticipating an 8% increase in our health care costs for the upcoming budget year as well. So since consolidated tax is our largest revenue stream at about 43% of our total general fund revenues, what exactly is it? Well, it's made up of these six components, liquor tax, cigarette tax, government services tax, real property transfer tax. And these last two components, basic city county relief and supplemental city county relief, are essentially fancy words of saying sales tax, which means that this revenue stream is high. highly volatile to how well consumer spending and how well the local economy is doing. And what we've seen over the last few years and what we are projecting is that the sales tax is remaining relatively flat. This chart here shows you the anticipated growth in the consolidated tax for fiscal year 2026. But zooming out, if you look at the 2024 through 2026 period, only a 1.5% growth rate. As I mentioned, pre-pandemic, our normal averages were 3% to 5% per year. Dating back to our Great Recession was the last time we saw negative growth comparable to how dismal this showing is. Now, it is important to note that these estimates are provided to us by the Nevada Department of Taxation for fiscal year 2025 as well as 2026, and they are currently undergoing a new accounting system. So if any of these estimates change, we'll be sure to update you on that as well. Now, property tax is our second largest revenue stream and assessed valuation is a key component of what drives that. As you can see for 2025, the assessed valuation grew by 12%. However, for 2026, the anticipated assessed valuation growth is only 2% for the city of Henderson. Now, typically we have property taxes here at 3% for residential and 8% for commercial. So typically, we don't see a one-for-one correlation between the assessed valuation growth and our property tax growth. For instance, if we have a 12% increase in assessed valuation, we would anticipate that to be lower than 12% due to the property tax caps. This year, however, we are seeing the reverse. If you take a look at that orange bar for 2025, we had $51.2 million abated off the tax rolls. For 2026, that number is down to 40%. $7 million decrease there. At the same time, our property tax revenues are increasing from 123.5 to 134.2 million. So the city is having an increase of about $10 million, of which $7 million is due to the declining abatement. Overall, property taxes are anticipated to go up 8.7%, which is good news and helps to soften the blow from the slowing consolidated tax. Since personnel costs are the largest component of our budget, about 80% of our general fund expenditures are personnel costs, we wanted to give you an update on our unions. Three of four are currently under negotiations. So we have HPOA, HPSA, and Teamsters, all three of which are currently under contract negotiations. So whatever the ultimate outcome of these negotiations could have a material impact on our budget. But those agreements would be submitted at a later date. Now I mentioned this budget was really focused on efficiencies. We wanted to ensure we were maximizing our resources while maintaining our service levels for our residents. One of the key things that we did as part of this budget cycle was we worked with city leadership. We worked with our various department directors in a financial efficiencies exercise. As part of this financial efficiencies exercise, we did a strategic review of vacant general fund positions of greater than six months. We reviewed open purchase orders to identify if we could disencumber the existing budget. And we looked at our underutilized fleet as well to ensure if we could take advantage of a reduced fleet. So based on those measures, we were able to create for you today a structurally balanced budget, one in which our recurring revenues match our recurring expenditures. That being said, this budget is not what without highlights first and foremost proud to say that it promotes fiscal sustainability through our ending fund reserves and and stabilization fund we set aside 8.3 percent of our general fund revenue in our ending fund balance within the general fund in addition to that we also set aside 8.3 percent of our general fund revenues in a rainy day fund so we are fully reserved and this is a best practice by the government finance officers association as well this budget also includes continued funding for council priorities such as the henderson homeless response team our police cadet program as well as capital renovations for fire station 84. all this while being one of the most efficient in the region with a low employee to citizen ratio and one of the lowest property taxes in the region so once again proud to say we at the city of henderson are able to do more with less As far as next steps for this budget process, the tentative budget is now available on the city's website. Right now, we'll go back and work with senior leadership to finalize the budget. And then on May 20th, we will have a public hearing and ultimately council adoption of the budget because on June 1st, we are required to submit the budget to the Department of Taxation. So with that, I'd be happy to answer any questions. Thank you, David, and thank you for the whole finance team for working this out and for the city to come together. This has been a very unusual budget preparation year, especially with the inconsistencies from the state level and the difficulties they're having with their finances. Many don't know it, but we have had very inconsistent and inaccurate decisions distributions of funding and that's what we have to base our budgets on and many of the increases that we're experiencing are also out of our control. They're due to state legislation that has been put into place especially in regards to the workers comp which has created contingent liabilities that are significant that we also have to account for. So I want to thank you for the work you've done to recognize those liabilities to make sure that we are prepared for the future. ensure that we have a balanced budget, that we're still able to move forward with our priorities for the city, that our departments have identified those things that are priorities, but also identified those things that can wait. And we were very good at making sure it was things that are absolutely needed versus things that would be nice to have. And I think that's sometimes a very difficult thing to do. And yet everybody came to the table and did it. So thank you so much to everyone for that. And with that, are there any questions or comments? I just wanted to also say thank you. I know this has been a challenging time and year, but you all did it. And so I'm grateful and I feel confident going forward. Thank you to the team. Okay. May I have one to say? Thanks, David, for your presentation. I appreciate that. Let's go back to the projected revenues, if we might. What's the nexus, if there is any, between what you're using as projected revenues versus economic forums projections that will come out here in a couple of months, 1st of May, that the state has to use for their budget? Yeah, so the next economic forum, I believe, is on May 1st. So they'll release updated revenue projections, including sales tax. And since sales tax is a the largest component of the consolidated tax, we would imagine there to be a strong correlation between the two. That being said, the last economic form I believe might have been in December or November, they had a 4% growth rate for the sales tax, which is significantly higher than what the Department of Taxation has provided us. So not to get into the minutia, but in our budget Remind me again what we showed as an increase. Half a percent, right? Half a percent for three years. For the increase from fiscal 2025 to 2026 was 1.6%. What I showed was zooming out over the span of three years because we actually are projecting a decline from 24 to 25, just very slightly 0.1%, and then going up 1.6% from 25 to 26. Again, not to get... far into the weeds here because I know we've been here a long time tonight. So when the economic forums projections come out, does that affect, because this is tentative and I think the final comes before us like May 20th or something, but will that affect you in any way your budget? So the Department of Taxation expects us to use their final revenue estimates. If there are significant changes with the economic form estimates, we could submit a letter to the Department of Taxation explaining our rationale from deviating from their projections. Okay. One last question, and the mayor brought this up. We have the best government affairs team in the state, but even they can only do so much, and we're always in everybody's, you know, cautious, very cautious when the legislature's in session. And the mayor brought up, for instance, we saw the huge rise in workers' compensation in just two years or three years. It's like tripled. And a good share of that is because of the unfunded mandates that the legislature enacts that then we have to, as a city, follow the law. I'm just wondering, without getting too specific, how have you factored what may or may not happen up in Carson City into your budget? Yeah, good question. So when we build the budget, we rely on the actuarial report that the city does on an annual basis. So any future potential unfunded mandates, we would have to take back to council to augment the budget at this point. I'll leave you alone. Thanks for your help. I have a quick question, if I may, on the C-tax being flat. I know we don't, do we deal with futurists at all at the city? I've heard we do, and then I've heard we don't. As part of our strategic planning process, I know we incorporate a futurist within that. Wonderful. So, and I know it's just kind of a lot of times a guess, but based on a lot of good data, you know, what going forward, moving forward, 27, 28. I mean, are we looking at that sea tax ever moving out of its funk? Because, you know, with the economy being so uncertain, What is a futurist? Have we talked to them about that? It's always challenging to forecast the future with economic recessions. One thing that we do do is we do take a five-year look. We're taking into consideration where we think our expenditures are going to go. We're looking at the historical revenues, the production the historical growth rates. So we are factoring that into our long-range forecast planning as part of the budget development process. We're also having our departments submit to us a five-year outlook of where they think their departments are going to need to be over the upcoming five years as well. So we are collecting that data and planning for it. Awesome. Thank you. Thank you. May I have a motion to accept the tentative budget? Please vote. Can I have a voice vote? All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? All members voted in favor of the motion made by Councilwoman Larson and it carries. Item number 37 is a resolution and notice of intent to lease a ground lease agreement, Green Valley High School parking lot, Clark County School District, and the recommendation is to adopt. Mayor, members of Council, this is a resolution and notice intent to enter into a ground lease agreement with the Clark County School District. It's approximately .52 acres for a parking lot of Green Valley High School. The property is encumbered by SNWA easements for underground utilities, and it's not needed for city purposes. The school's been leasing this property for the past 25 years, and the lease has now expired. So the new lease retains the same nominal rent payment from the original lease, which is $1 per year for the initial four years, and then it can have four additional four-year terms at renewals. So staff recommends to adopt. Thank you. Any questions or comments? May I have a motion? So moved. We're going to do a voice vote again. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? All members voted in favor of the motion made by Councilwoman Cox and it carries. As a reminder, items number 38 and 39 have been continued at the request of staff. Thank you. Now's the time for Mayor and Council comments. Are there any comments? Next, I will set the City Council regular meeting for May 6th, 2025. And now is the time for our final public comment. If you wish to make a public comment, please come to the podium, speak directly into the mic and state your name and zip code. And you will have three minutes to speak. Mayor, there are three people in the second public comment queue. The first person is Amanda Swartz, followed by Wigan-Torre. Good evening. Amanda Swartz, 89044. My police department P number was 2698. I'm here tonight to express my profound disappointment in Ms. Garcia-Vaz's decision to eliminate my service from the city. I gave over 4,000 hours over five years, which saved the city approximately $130,000. There's no reason for... my dismissal. I would love to hear what the issue was. You took away from me something that I loved. I was exceptional at it. My track record is exemplary. Nothing but positivity from officers, the public, and other law enforcement agencies. I cultivated strong professional relationships with officers, detectives, the public, outside entities and law enforcement agencies that spanned two countries. I was an interpreter for Spanish, French, and German speakers, and I did this all out of happiness in the bottom of my heart because I wanted to serve at this stage in my life. I was a point of contact for citizens who had questions, needed information, and needed to speak. I got answers for people. I believe my termination was in retaliation for speaking up, demanding transparency, and holding city leadership accountable. I spoke in support of Chief Chadwick, and in the end, the issue was that I opened my mouth, and I spoke up, and I stood up. In the last meeting, I discussed a contract in which the city hired a consultant for $30,000. This is all available to the public. There was nothing that's not out there for anybody to find. There's another contract in which $50,000 was written to another consultant for mediation between Chief Chadwick and Ms. Garcia-Vaas, and we all know how that worked out. So real quick, I questioned our elected officials on the lack of action and demands for transparency. You're elected by the people. You're not elected to serve yourselves. or your own interests and I hope you all remember that. The buzzword is transparency, so why not do just that? Give us what your citizens and your taxpayers merit, each and every one of us, it doesn't matter who we are. You know, you sit there behind, seemingly, a wall of silence and it seems to me, personally, that your constituents don't matter, that you're not listening, that you don't care. I didn't want any of this. I just wanted to do what I did at the department, but I dared to speak up. I dared to do the right thing. And you took away so much from the department and from me. Next person is Wigan Ture.