[Music] [Music] [Music] Good morning, Witchaw. Good morning  to all of you here in the city hall   chambers. I call this meeting to order.  With us this morning is Father David Lee   of Catholic Dascese of Witchah to provide  our invocation. Following that invitation,   we will have the pledge of allegiance.  And we ask that you please stand for both. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of  the Holy Spirit. Amen. Good and gracious God,   we ask that you send your holy spirit upon the  proceedings of this meeting today, upon our   elected officials and those who bring matters  of concern to them today. We pray that through   their work, our city may enjoy your peace and  your concord. We ask God for blessings upon all   of those special needs that will be represented,  for peace upon our city, for an end to violence   and strife, for wholeness in our families, uh  for strong marriages. Uh we pray especially at   the outset of this school year for blessings upon  students, teachers, our school administrators and   all those who support the education of our young  people that they might grow strong. We ask God   for blessings upon any um capital improvement  projects that are taking place in our city for   all those efforts to make the structures in which  we live sound and efficient. uh ask your blessing   upon all those that we are aware of who need  prayers, those who have come to us seeking   uh our prayerful support for them at this time,  especially those who who are sick and struggling   with health. Uh Lord, bless them and give them  the strength to endure their tribulations. Father,   you sent your son Jesus to save us and your holy  spirit to sanctify us. You are God living and   reigning forever and ever. Amen. In the name  of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy   Spirit. Amen. I pledge algiance 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, Father Lee. Madame clerk, can you  please call the first item? Approve the minutes   of the regular meeting, August 12th, 2025. Are  there any changes to the August 12th meeting   minutes? I see none. I move to approve the meeting  minutes for August 12th, 2025. Second. Motion and   a second. Any further discussion? I see none.  Madame clerk, can you please open the role?   Just to clarify, mayor, was that  motion for the 12th and the 19th? I amend my motion. Uh, the motion is to  approve the meeting minutes for August   12th and August 19th. Second. Motion and a  second. All those um you can vote by machine. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk, can you please  call the next item? Public agenda. The public   agenda allows for up to five speakers to have  five minutes each to address the council. No   action will be taken relative to items on the  public agenda other than referral to the city   manager for information as necessary.  Speakers will please state their name   and address for the record. A time clock will  display the speaker's remaining time to speak.   Order and rules of decorum will be observed.  We do not have any presscheduled speakers   this morning. Would anyone from the audience  like to address the council at this moment? Good morning. Diana Tedlock in Maggie's district.  A year ago in October, the city and WPD announced   a new structure promising betterments at the  Witchaw Animal Shelter. Those promises are not   reflected in the proposed 2026 budget before  you. New positions were announced as well as   a review of a KState report with the promise  recommendations will be added and prioritized   and then implemented in the city's capital  improvements and budget. The 2026 proposed   budget is does reflect an increase in the overall  total dollars from the 2025 adopted budget of   12.7% as some of you have pointed out to your  constituents. However, the breakdown between labor   and non- labor dollars is critical. Labor dollars  increased by almost 22% with no increase in heads.   Non- labor dollars decreased by 9.2%. The largest  contributing factor for the labor dollar increase   is the $225,000 associated with the transfer  of the wages and benefits for the non-dedicated   captain position into the animal services budget.  The original the orchestra since 2023 has had 31   full-time equivalent heads in the animal services  budget with one non-dedicated captain accounted   for in a separate bucket for a total of 32 heads.  31 + one. You've taken this head and you've put   it in this bucket and you've combined it. You  don't have 32 heads, you have 31 heads. That is   a reduction in headc count. That is a reduction  in resources and that's without accounting for   the new positions announced such as the shelter  rescue coordinator, the administrative assistant   and the city fellow which were all absorbed in  the headcount of 31 or that does no longer exist.   I know all of you are aware of the report from  KState as it has been mentioned numerous times   but in the spirit of non-transparency the city  and WPD have denied public access to that report   per kora 24-3109 I therefore I've not seen the  report however for the public's knowledge I'm   going to share what Erin Walker the CEO of Kansas  Humane Society's thoughts were about the report   in an email from August of 2024 Four. When they  KSU visited Was they noted severe deficiencies in   the level of care provided, noting that in many  ways the level does not meet minimal standards   for humane care that is required to have an animal  sheltering license. We know that this is because   they aren't fully staffed. not only vacancies in  the staffing they should have, but because they   are staffed so far below what would be considered  minimally compliant just for cleaning and   providing for the animals basic needs. And yet the  council has effectively reduced heads as well as   non- labor dollars and there are no CIP projects  in the current cycle. In addition, where are the   initiatives asked for at the city council meeting  on August 12th from Emily Hurst? Are those going   to be pushed off a year and then once again not  be included in the budget cycle? There is not one   tactic in the 2026 proposed budget for betterments  at the Witchaw animal shelter. How long must the   community wait for the city to honor their words  and reflect support of the animal shelter in the   budget process? How many lives are lost while  we wait? 1,029 animals have been killed at the   Witchaw Animal Shelter through July of this  year. That's what Broken Promises looks like. Council member Hoheisle. Thank you, Mayor. Um,  and perhaps if I could get staff to help with   this. Um, I look at our budget and we have 31  positions last year and 31 this year as well.   Um last year we had um or in 2024 we had the  police lieutenant which in the 2025 budget it   bumped up to police captain. So I don't think  the entire um increase there is just simply   from one position. Um it has been spread out  a little bit as well. Um points taken on some   of the other stuff. I know uh Captain Moses did  give us a response to your email yesterday. Um,   Captain, if you do you want to come down and uh  respond to some of what uh Miss Tedlock is saying? Thank you, Captain Moses. We'll ask our speaker  to sit down so that there's only one speaker at   the microphone. I'll be happy to answer some of  the uh more procedural high level questions and   of course Emily Hurst the director is here and she  can speak more on the shelter function regarding   the non- labor funds. That's an important one to  hit on. Um there's not been a reduction in non-   labor funds. What we did at the police department  holistically uh after Captain Kulie took over   administrative services is we looked at those  non- labor funds organizationwide and we moved   them so they're not gone. And what we did is we  moved them into a different pool so that we had   better flexibility as an a as an agency to be  better stewards of taxpayer dollars as we saw   needs arise in other areas within the department.  Having all of those funds in one place allows us   to be more agile and allocate funds as needed  to to certain projects. Uh so the movement of   those funds does not mean that animal services is  not going to receive the support and the funding   that they need when there are improvements that  need to be made. and Emily can speak to some of   the improvements that are currently underway.  I think it's also important that Emily can talk   about what our what our shelter is designed to  do, the the service that our shelter is designed   to serve versus a shelter like the Humane Society.  I think that's important for people to understand.   I'll let Emily speak about that. Uh on the topic  of the captain, uh what's being portrayed is not   accurate. Uh there was a captain in the chain of  command for animal services always. That captain   was the administrative services captain. that  captain had other duties. We all do. Um there   are 14 captains on the Witchaw Police Department.  We all do multiple things. Uh I know many of you   interact with me and you know that I have many  different jobs that I do. That's no different   for this position. What Chief Sullivan did is  he elevated what was a lieutenant position and   changed it to a captain position. that captain  worked at the facility full-time and that allowed   that captain at the facility to make those ma  those large administrative decisions without   having to come talk to a captain who worked at  city hall who wasn't in the building at animal   services who didn't have a pulse on what  was happening every day. So there was no   dedicated captain to animal services. There  was a captain over administrative services   that oversaw through the chain of command  animal services. Additionally, creating a   dedicated captain for animal services allowed  us to onboard someone like Emily and assist   with that transition as she got her feet under  her and learned how our shelter operated. Uh,   and she's made some incredible improvements at the  shelter along with that captain. So, I'll let her   speak to those, but I wanted to answer those two  sort of uh highlevel budgetary questions first. Hi guys. Did you have any specific questions  regarding that before I move on to other   things? Okay. Um I just want to talk about we  the changes um internally within the shelter   operations that I don't think uh the public gets  to see quite as much just in relation they talk   about budget shifts and changes and as you guys  know the uh Witchaw animal shelter has undergone   um a lot of changes in leadership um after being  transferred to the Witchaw Police Department as   they look to navigate operating a place  like that and they built the new shelter   um campus with Kansas Humane Society. I think  they started back in 2009. Um so a lot have   changes happened actually under Captain Purscell  which were part of long-term plans. Thankfully   Captain Purcell and I did get to work with each  other. He was um the lieutenant at the time when   I was at the Kansas Humane Society and that's  what actually spurred a lot of these projects.   um he was very receptive to what I had to say um  working at the Kansas Humane Society and talking   about some of the potential changes that we could  have had um at Witchaw Animal Services. So, just   so we know, he worked on moving all of our shelter  documents um and operations and forms from paper   files to electronic. That was a huge undertaking.  Not only did it require lots of specific changes   within our software, um, but a massive change  with staff training over seven days a week,   24-hour shifts, right? Um, he installed new  cleaning hardware so that we could provide   the proper disinfectants to the shelter, which  effectively reduced disease because animal uh   diseases are a lot more complicated and you just  can't use any cleaner and we had to have a way to   apply those. Um, he also worked really diligently  on cleaning up our data. Uh so over the years with   different leaders the data changed a lot and  that doesn't allow you to have very transparent   or accurate data and so he began that process  of implementing that system so that now we know   that the numbers what we we are looking at are  correct and they're clear and we know the income   the intake types and the outcome types of what's  happening with our animals in the shelter which   makes a huge difference. We just got Wi-Fi in  the shelter last year. I know that's like crazy,   but it's a big concrete building and that has  made a huge impact on overall operations and   being able to work with the animals. That  was step one of like a 7-year project so   that we can implement other items in the actual  care of our animals. Um, and as you guys know,   uh, the internet and Wi-Fi and concrete buildings  aren't always agreeable. So, we're still having   challenges, but we're working through it thanks to  the IT department. uh the KStates visit and report   that was referenced that was actually I when I was  at the Kansas Humane Society um I had my vets had   recommended the KState shelter medicine program.  They have an entire program dedicated just to   shelter veterinarians which is a very specialized  uh group and so I was working with them and some   other national shelter organizations. I invited  them into the shelter at the Kansas Humane Society   to be able to go to o an overview of us. When  Derek arrived, I shared with him what I learned   um what they provided and Dererick took it  upon his own initiative. He started attending   um the shelter medicine classes at Kate working  with their program. He invited them to come and   do an audit of the shelter so he could build  build his master plan of exactly what was being   done. And so we have a lot of background projects  and things that we've began. And then of course   my onboarding along with um uh the administrative  assistant that started four months ago has allowed   us to better prioritize decide exactly what  projects we're going to undertake which is a   lot and it is a many multi-year plan that we can  talk about in our workshop a bit more. But I feel   like we've been able to make a lot of progress.  We've held several um staff training days. The   staff are hungry and excited for change and we're  looking to sit forward to the progress that we can   make. Any questions? Uh yeah, just um a couple  I mean I'm reading the email here. It looks like   we're currently collecting quotes for pressure  washers and currently collecting quotes for um new   blankets of toys being trained on the radios. Um I  am curious whenever the workshop does come up. You   you talk about long-term projects. Yeah. So those  will be presented at the workshop. Yeah, I sure   do. um anything that can possibly get into the  CIP to help save the lives of animals and um what   we can do to make sure that they have just a good  quality of life while they are in the shelter. Um   so any of that, please make sure to include that  in uh the workshop coming up. Okay. Um you talk   a little bit about the volunteer program that um  that's something we do have to eventually get to.   Um there's some other stuff in the air right now  that we're trying to clear before we get that. Can   you give a little update on that one? Right. So  um I I always like to uh not assume that I know   what's best for an organization. Right. When I hop  in, I want to understand it a little bit more. Um   I've run volunteer programs for the last 15 years  of my career. So I do have a lot of experience   with it. um as well as in the animal shelter  volunteers which is just a different breed because   you're dealing with live animals. Um, in in in my  analysis of the current operations at the Witchaw   Animal Services, volunteers is something that  we want to explore, but I don't believe bringing   volunteers into a system that is systematically  changing drastically is going to be good for the   animals or for the staff because it creates room  for errors and not taking care of the animals   first. Um, so I want to I really want to make sure  that we have a solid foundation so we can bring   volunteers in so they get properly trained. Okay.  Thank you. Um, also last question here. Um, what's   the employment status out there? You have I think  we talked last time and you said that you were   just about full as far as maybe the animal control  officer. I'm sorry. Am I I am fully staffed as of   this week for the first time in forever. So it's  very exciting. Um our we're our Kindle Talk techs   uh were fully staffed about a month ago and so  they're currently in training. Um they're still of   great help and it's going to be really exciting to  see the things we can do with that fully staffed   and then my last uh acco position started last  week and so hopefully everybody sticks around   and works out well and we can keep going from  there. Do you think combining the kennel tech   positions to full-time was effective as far as  keeping Kennel techs around? Absolutely. I don't   uh think that that those position they were never  able to hold on to anybody for very long and the   people people that they were able to attract um  just it wasn't a lot of consistency. So having   full-time staff there that are able to fully be a  part of the team seems to make a difference both   in attracting quality employees and retaining  them. Okay. Do we have a date for the workshop   yet? October. Okay. All right. Um I think there's  a couple more questions up here. Absolutely. And   just to clarify, you mentioned um the radios. The  staff have all always been trained on radios. Um   I requested cell phones for the staff members  which the WPD granted and we just completed   uh cell phone training on those. That's part of  a multiffold pro project to make improvements   with our software, photos of the animals, and  contacts with getting a hold of owners in the   field. Yeah. Council member Ballard. Thank  you, Mayor. My question is for Captain Moses. You mentioned a little bit about um and I'm sorry  if I just missed this. I just need you to explain   it a little bit more. Transferring money from what  bucket to what bucket and what was that for and   who made those decisions and why. Yeah. So what  we did is we looked at our agency as a whole and   a lot of those non- labor funds, I think training,  infrastructure, things like that, uh equipment.   We pulled all of that money in one place under  the administrative services captain. Uh he he   oversees sort of our budget process and our budget  implementation process for the chief. So he has   his pulse on where funds need to be allocated,  including animal services. So those those funds   were not cut. What we did is we looked at a way  to be more efficient and be better stewards of   taxpayer dollars. Uh because what we found is  we would have, you know, a one-off purchase here   for something that someone somewhere else in the  department also was looking to purchase. And we   can obviously purchase more things at once. Same  thing. Typically, you can get lower cost. It's   also allowed us to work very diligently on Chief  Sullivan's uh initiative to make sure we're a very   well-trained department. That was a big push  for that, too, is to pull those funds and make   sure we're equitably allocating training funds  as well. Thank you. Thank you, Captain Moses,   and thank you, Emily. We have four more spots if  anyone would like to speak during public agenda. Good morning, mayor and council members. My name  is Janice Thacker and I live at 1537 North Yel   Boulevard. And I'm here today to speak for our  organization, Art That Touches Your Heart. I   brought my graduation gown because with school  started, graduation is always the prime goal. We've incorporated this gown with family  pictures to connect students to who helped   them get there. Sometimes they think  they made it there by themselves. Now,   as you know, art has changed. It used to  be in the museum or in homes and now it's   on buildings, grain elevators, and thanks  to Goreate, now I have pictures on my gown. So, this is warned graduation, but it's only  we use black thread for the top and we use   um a tan thread for the inside.  So, that my parents on here,   my friends, people that have helped  me along the way, the sorority. So,   all of it ties together to not only help them  have a connection to the family, but have them   connection to Witchita. Art can in fact help  stop violence, help students build self-esteem,   create a family understanding because art is a  teacher without words. Are there any questions? Thank you. Thank you. Would any other three individuals  like to speak? If not, we will close public   agenda. Madame clerk, can you please call the next  item? Consent agenda items 1 through 12. Are there   any items to be pulled? I see none. I move to  approve the consent agenda items 1- 12. Second.   Motion and a second. Any further discussion? I  see none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Mot motion passes 70. Madame clerk,  please call the next item. Board of   bids and contracts dated August 18th,  2025. Morning, mayor, city council,   Josh Lober, Department of Finance. Board  of Bids and Contracts convened yesterday,   August 25th for the following items.  For engineering, we have Mount Vernon   from South East Boulevard to Oliver for Prao  Construction LLC in the amount of 4,321,749.50. I'm awarding this subject to your approval new   engineers estimate in a budget  authorization on September 2nd. I don't know what. There we go. Uh  for purchasing, we have the valves,   angle ball valves and brass curb  stop ball valves change order for   Mountainland Supply Company LLC for  an amended amount of $95,687.50. This is how to become a vendor with the  city. This is our purchasing calendar of   small resource partner events we're hosting  or participating in as the city. And this is   our open public opportunities out on the  street today. and I'd be happy to try to   answer any of your questions and I recommend  your approval. Questions for staff? I see   none. I move to approve the board of bids and  contracts dated August 18th, 2025. Second.   Motion and a second. Any further discussion? I  see none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk,  please call the next item.   Petitions for public improvements. Good morning,  mayor, city council members. I have one new   petition for your consideration this morning.  Paul Gunsman, public works and utilities. The   signatures on the petitions represent 100% of the  improvement district and the petitions are valid   per Kansas statute. Young second edition located  in district 2. The project will provide water,   sewer, drainage, and paving improvements  required for a new residential development. It is recommended that the city council  approve the new petitions and budgets,   adopt the new resolutions, and authorize the  necessary signatures. And I will stand for   questions. And Paul, just as a reminder, this  is 100% specials. Yes, that is correct. Thank   you. I see no questions. I move to approve  the petitions for public improvements. Second   motion and a second. Any further discussion?  I see none. Madam clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk, please call the  next item. Revenue neutral rate self-supported   municipal improvement district 2026 budget. Well,  good morning, mayor, members of the city council.   I'm Mark Manning with the Department of Finance.  Well, uh, today's the big day. Today is the day   that we will, uh, present to you the 2026 budget  and the CIP for adoption. Uh, this is a day we've   been working towards basically since January of  this year. But before we can get to that agenda   item, there are two other pieces of business that  we need to take care of, and that's consideration   of the revenue neutral rate. Again, state  statute dictates that we consider those prior   to our uh being able to consider the proposed  budget. So, we have two of those this morning   uh for one is for the self-supporting municipal  improvement district or what we like to call the   Schmid and then after this hearing, we'll have  another hearing for the actual city as a whole. So just a reminder on July 15th when the  manager presented his proposed budget as   he statutoily required to do and at that date we  set the public hearing for the RNR hearing and   the budget for today August 26th. Now the RNR  is very important in determining the level of   property tax funding available in this case uh to  the Schmid which then uh passes it through to the   Witchaw Downtown Development Corporation. And  again this hearing is required by statute. is   required to occur prior to your consideration  of the Schmid budget. So the downtown Witchaw   Schmidt advisory board uh typically each year  requests a budget from the city council. The   city council's function is actually to levy the  taxes on behalf of the Schmid advisory board.   Uh you have the discretion to set that level  at whatever you choose. Uh but typically it's   uh influenced by the recommendations of  the Schmid advisory board. Uh this year   the Schmid advisory board has recommended a budget  funded with 10 mills. 10 mills by the way is the   uh limit in city uh code that can be levied for  this uh improvement district. Uh primarily that   recommendation is based on the uh desire  of downtown Witchaw to implement what they   call the clean and safe program. I think  they've done some pilot work on this and   uh they would like to expand that uh to our  entire downtown area. And I should point out   this tax only impacts the district which is  primarily the central business district uh in   downtown Witchaw. Uh so again this would levy 10  mills in this area. Uh by contrast the levy last   year was 6.8 mills. Uh this chart here just kind  of shows some metrics. Uh if the revenue neutral   rate was maintained uh for 2026, that means  taxes levied would stay exactly the same as   last year at about $880,000. Uh if the levy was  increased consistent to what was levied in 2025,   uh that would increase the property taxes for  the Schmid by about 60ome,000 to $950,000.   They have requested a levy of 10 mills which as  you can see here would generate approximately   400,000 which would allow them to implement  again the clean and safe program. So with that   uh I think Heather Schroeder is here from  downtown Witchaw and I'd like to invite   her up to uh provide some information to  you about their clean and safe program. Thank you, Mark. Good morning, council and Mayor  Woo. So, just by way of background information,   um we downtown Witchaw do contract with the  city of Witchaw to provide development services   in the city's core and that is funded through  the Smid. uh property owners within the SMID   pay a self-imposed downtown special assessment in  addition to their regular property taxes and that   Smid area is designated um as the geographic  area bounded by Washington Street, Central A,   Kellogg Aav and the RANS River. Oops. Let's see.  Does this advance? There we go. Um so this spring   we instituted a pilot program uh for our downtown  clean team as we've called it this spring. This   was funded by a grant from Fidelity Bank and the  purpose of the pilot program is to supplement the   city services that are provided in the core.  Recognizing that the city of Witchah is a vast   geographic area and that our city departments  can't pay close attention to downtown every day.   We wanted to provide some extra eyes and extra  services within the core. Um that being said,   we've been coordinating very closely with city  departments including uh WPD uh parks and public   works. Uh for example, um before engaging in tree  trimming activities, we called forestry and said,   you know, what are what are our parameters?  And they said, anything less than one inch in   diameter, you can do with your with your loopers  and and your and your trimmers. Anything bigger   than that, call in the big guns. calling the  experts at forestry. Um similarly, we coordinated   with the department of public works um to get  the exact materials that that they use during our   annual downtown volunteer cleanup um for graffiti  removal wipes and uh spray paint to cover up   uh stickers and graffiti that are a little too  stubborn. Um so we've been making sure to have   that close level of coordination. Um we've also  worked with uh the HOT team uh to report homeless   encampments and make sure that we're connecting  individuals to services. Um, so I wanted to   clarify that this is by no means a replacement for  city services in the core. This is an augmentation   um that's actually I I believe resulted in greater  city services provided in the core this spring.   Um we've seen um uh great response to our teams  reporting through the city of Witchaw CClick Fix   app. Um, and again, it's those larger issues  that that our staff can't handle. Um, such as   heaving pavement that poses a tripping hazard or  um, you know, addressing homeless encampments or,   uh, trimming large trees or taking care of kind of  those those large swaths of graffiti that are on   uh, public property. Um so to give you a sense  of the success of the program in the first eight   weeks um we have we have one part-time staff  member who's worked for 28 hours a week and in   the first eight weeks he covered 458 blocks.  There are only 100 blocks downtown. So that   indicates the level of circulation that we've  been able to achieve. Um and then we also keep   data on all those individual metrics of graffiti  tags, weed killer applied. Um, I do want to note   for the record that the weed killer that we use is  an organic um, uh, people and pet safe solvent um,   made of vinegar, dish soap, and salt. Um, so  no concerns there for for public health. Um,   tree trimming, uh, trash, gallons of trash  picked up, and of course those reports to city   departments through the city of Witchah app. Uh so  in sharing this program with with some members of   council this spring, we were encouraged um to to  expand the program. Um and when asked what what it   would take to make that expansion um you know,  we realized that um you know, in in not taking   the full mill levy, we were missing out on an  opportunity to provide these additional services   um to the property owners who who pay for those  services. So um with that, see if I can advance   this. So you can see here what our budget was um  in our current fiscal year 2025 and then we had   proposed um for 2026 the 7% increase in assessed  value would have yielded this budget of $1,19,0001   196 and then at a mill levy of 10 mills uh we  would fully capture that increase to support a   full-time clean and safe program. Um so what does  a clean and safe program do? A lot of our peer   cities throughout North America, so um both US and  Canadian uh downtowns are are avid users of clean   and safe programs. Um we're providing again those  additional services. So the vast majority will   go towards employment of local people to do the  work. Uh we also have a you know smaller portion   of the budget um to store equipment, to acquire  equipment um and to administer the program. Whoops. And those services are are vast as  you can see here. Um, extending the program   to full-time allows us to really focus on  um, you know, some of the the more regular   um, uh, cleaning of of sidewalks. For example,  there's there's a piece of equipment called a   billy goat that has a vacuum attached  that can do this much more efficiently.   um you know, we'd be looking at sweeping our our  whole sidewalk system downtown on a weekly basis   uh through this program. In addition, our  ambassador services would be able to expand   um including um engagement with business owners,  making sure that we're checking in to to find out,   well, what challenges are you experiencing? You  know, are there are there loitering issues? Are   there potholes in front of your business? Um uh  let's see, uh safety escorts. So, um, just as it   as you know, when you when you go shopping at the  Ace Hardware and they say, "Do you know need help   finding something?" And they walk you to to  the, you know, um, to the fixtures aisle. Uh,   that's what our ambassadors will do. They'll make  sure that you have a friendly face helping you   find what you're looking for downtown. U, whether  that's where you left your car in the parking lot,   um, or finding that that business where  you're going to find the perfect gift. to give you some examples of our peer cities that  have already implemented these programs. Um here's   that Billy Goat machine uh at work in downtown  Tulsa. Downtown Tulsa adopted an ambassador   program about three years ago. Um they've been  very pleased with their success and also down the   street, Kansas City has an ambassador program.  Theirs is quite extensive, 60 ambassadors. uh   we're not going to have the budget to provide that  level, but we're we're confident um that with the   the FTEEs we've budgeted, we'll be able to make  a significant visible impact in our downtown. And   Oklahoma City also um adopted a clean team about  a year and a half ago. I've spoken extensively   with our peers there about lessons learned and  guidance going forward. Um, you know, appropriate   appropriate budgeting uh and feel confident that  we have great partners down the road to to help   us as we implement this. And so with that, I'm  happy to entertain any questions. Thank you,   Heather. I have multiple questions regarding  this program, but I'll let my uh fellow council   members pass first. Council member Ho Heisel.  Thank you, Mayor. Um, have you had any property   owners within the Smid reach out um hesitant  to have the the increase in the mill levy? No,   we've had conversations with um all of our um  I guess properties with significant holdings in   the district who would see the biggest impact of  the mill levy increase um and walked through what   additional services they'll receive and what  impact it'll have on their on their finances.   And we have not received any um opposition.  Okay. Thank you, Council Member Tuttle. Uh,   Council Member Hisel stole my question. I was  going to see what type of community engagement   you've had and what interaction with community  members. I also did just want to make a comment.   Thank you for being here, Heather, and thank you  for all you're doing. You're just a delight and   just a true true um blessing not only to downtown  Witchaw, but also to our community. It's been a   pleasure to get to know you. I am going to put  in a shameless plug for you. I participated in   the cleanup this spring. Um it was a great  opportunity and uh Jennifer in legal and I   ran around with scrapers and got off stickers and  painted things. Um and you're having another one   September 12th from 9 to noon if anyone wants to  sign up. It was just a great opportunity not only   to put in some sweat equity for our downtown,  but to interact with people who were downtown   on a Saturday morning while we were doing it and  you know got questions of hey what's going on. So,   um, just a great idea and I think this is a  really interesting and exciting program. So,   thank you. Thank you very much. And we did plan  this fall cleanup for Friday to help engage with   members of our business community who may not have  an opportunity to come downtown on the weekend. Thank you, Heather. Here are multiple questions I  have for you. I wanted to know how the ambassadors   will be selected in this program. Sure. So,  um, in the pilot program, you know, we've been,   uh, we we hired in-house for the,  um, for the full-time program,   we've talked with national providers who  work in Oklahoma City and Tulsa and found   that they can provide services much more  efficiently. Um, so we would contract with   one of these thirdparty groups. Um there are a  couple national providers and um they kind of   handle all the administrative components of of  the program. Um so they would they would handle   um posting the position. Uh we would write the  job description in partnership with them to meet   the needs of our community and then we would sit  on on interviews and make sure that we're hiring   um you know the best people available for the job.  So, what types of uh skills and talents does this   individual have to have and how will they be  compensated? They have to love downtown. Um,   you know, one of the questions that we ask in  every interview is um, what are your favorite   places downtown and why? And where do you take  your friends and family downtown? If they don't   have answers to that question, they're not a fit.  Um, we want to make sure that people already,   you know, have an appreciation for and passion  for the core of our city. Um, in terms of uh   compensation, you know, this is about a $45,000  a year position uh with full benefits. How many   FTEEs do you expect to have? Four FTEES um at the  staff level and then at the management level. one, I would highly encourage um maybe an idea that  I saw um helping some of our individuals who are   um staying at Second Light, our individuals  facing homelessness have opportunities to also   help clean. I know that there are other cities  that have done that. What have you guys found   in terms of engaging our uh population that is  homeless? One thing that we've made sure to do is   uh post on every job description uh that people  with a criminal record are welcome to apply. Um   we have had applications with people who meet that  criteria or that criterion. Um it's important to   us to um you know help build skills and also  provide second chances uh for people who may   have faced challenges earlier in their career. Um  so if if we have um residents of Second Light who   would be um interested in the position, we would  certainly encourage them to apply regardless of   their criminal background. Have the ambassadors  connected individuals facing homelessness with   Second Light or are you just simply reporting  homeless encampments? We are engaging directly   with the HOT team and encouraging uh those  connections with our experts. Council member Ho   Heisel. Thank you, mayor. Uh, when you're talking  about some of the cleanup projects and whatnot,   have you engaged um members of the community  who are active um in certain areas to maybe   collaborate and cooperate and schedule some times  to do the cleanups of some of our public places   around downtown by members of the community,  which I'm not sure which groups you're Well,   we have volunteer groups that water along Douglas,  for example, water the flowers. Um we have some   groups that do park cleanups. Um just groups like  that. Yes, we've we've engaged with the United Way   through their volunteer platform as well as with  members of Witchto Clean Streams. Okay, thank you.   Couple more questions. Do you foresee using some  of the Smid dollars to assist with the efforts at   Second Light? Um Second Light is located outside  of the geographic boundary of the Smid. Um,   so unfortunately these dollars are not eligible  for direct application north of central app. Uh,   open door is within the Oh, I'm sorry. Open door.  No, I did ask about Second Light. So, my second   question following up to that is what about Open  Door, which is within the Smid. Again, we're happy   to collaborate with organizations that have  referrals of staff members or um to, you know,   refer individuals who may be in need of services  to our local providers. And this is a follow-up   question to council member Hohheisle. Um I know  that in your budget you do talk about flowers on   Douglas. However, there are volunteer groups  that are not um doing this with any taxpayer   dollars including a group um with Celeste Ret and  the sister cities. I wanted to know um how will   you be engaging with those nonprofits or those  groups? We're we're always happy to work with   community partners. um Flowers on Douglas, what's  represented in our budget is half the cost of that   program. Uh the remaining cost is fully fundraised  by community members. I know that this is an   increase um just specific to the property owners  in the downtown area, so it will not be other   uh districts in the community. Can you um again  explain the boundaries so that people understand   this is simply one area um that these property  owners are asking also for clean and safe um   streets. Sure. So, um, when the when the SMID was  instituted in 2002, the geographic boundaries that   were defined for that area were the R Kansas River  on the west, uh, Kellogg Street to the south,   Washington to the east, and Central A to the  north. Um, I do have one request. Um, I know that   this is an increase again in the Smid. Um, and  it is for a clean and safe program. So my request   um is that there are two reports a year about  the progress of clean and safe. I think uh the   public deserves to know uh how those dollars are  being spent and what just like you gave uh in the   pilot program. I'd like to see progress reports  um twice a year. Absolutely. Thank you. Thank   you. I see no further questions from the bench. We  will now open it up for public comment. Thank you. Good morning, Celeste, Witchaw native. I  appreciate the comments that were made. Uh,   council member Hohisel, we have not  been contacted about this. Mayor Woo,   you're correct. Witchaw Sister Cities and Save  Century 2 adopted a large section of deserted   flower beds around the Jon of Arc statue. We  also adopted the circular flower beds going up   to Century 2 along Talapana Drive which is  named after Mexico sister city and heroes.   Uh we received the Lowe's home improvement  heroes project about three years ago which was   $15,000 and we had 60 volunteers and a  th000 flowers and we spent countless hours   um planting flowers and mulching a Price Woodard  Park. To my dismay all of this work we did there   has been no irrigation all summer none. So the  flowers that we planted in a Price Woodard Park,   which as you know is named after our first black  mayor of Witchah, he was a great man. My father   knew him. That park has trash, graffiti, it  looks appalling, and we've had meetings with   uh Reggie Davidson and Gary Ferris to find out why  trees have been cut down, tree stumps are left,   trashed in all the flower beds, and we're supposed  to have a follow-up meeting. So even graffiti as   we went to music theater of Witchaw on Saturday  was still prominent on the backside of the   restrooms down there at Price Woodard as you come  across the Douglas Bridge. It's appalling. And   so as we do what little we can with none of the  funding that this group receives, we were working   Saturday to plant flowers and here came visitors  to Witchah and saw me and my husband, though we   also had um volunteers from sister cities planting  flowers, too. and they commented on the beauty of   the flower beds in front of 223 South Main where  the Jon of Arvar statue is. And I let them know   we do this on our own. The city doesn't give  us funds. We don't get help. We don't even get   irrigation turned on. And what we do sometimes  turns into disaster. And so, Councilman Johnston,   they're in your district. Um, some of them were  in your district. You're going to be getting an   email where they're going to say, "Thank you to us  for the work we do." But back to this Schmid. So,   I appreciate your questions because the problem  when we give money to private entities is I   can't core them. I can't core to find out what was  truly spent on irrigation, what was truly spent on   flowers? It's like visit Witchah. It's impossible  to cor a private entity. So my question to you is,   do all of the homeowners in this Schmid and  the boundaries were defined like at Waterwalk,   do these people of these condos realize they're  going to pay this increased levy, property tax   levy? That's my first question. Two, I hope that  these bianual reports you've requested, Mayor Woo,   have details so that we don't get into a situation  like we have with Visit Witchaw where salaries are   exorbitant or we don't RFP the workout. we get  stuck time and time again using the same entity   over and over again. That's my second question. I  want to see the detail in that bianual report. And   three, why have we cut park staff when we used to  have 158 people to barely a hundred when we still   have 5,000 acres of park space to take care  of? Parks are the gateway to this great city.   And it is so horrifying to go to Music Theater  of Witchah to support the symphony, to go to   concerts, and the first thing I see is gang  graffiti that's been there over two weeks. Yes,   I did go to the website. Yes, I did file  a request to clean up the graffiti. Yes,   I was told, "Oh, file a report. We'll fix it right  away." And here we are two weeks later, and that's   what I see when I go to Music Theater of Witchdaw  crossing the Douglas Bridge. So I while I applaud   their efforts because I do think the baskets are  beautiful. Cindy Carneahan started that and I've   always given her kudos. There's a lot of us that  work hard with no money, endless hours, and we   see our work destroyed by lack of care and upkeep  by the city of Witchah. So, I ask you, could this   $500 million increase be spent on more staff  for parks, more staff for street maintenance,   or more staff for people who actually care about  our city? That's my question I'll put back to you   today, but thank you for your thoughtful comments.  I'll stand for questions. Thank you, Celeste. Uh,   first question before I go on to the board. Uh,  city manager Leighton, I think Reggie responded   specifically to a price woodard. Can you uh  give any updates regarding a price woodard? So, as the last mentioned, we met her and her team  out at uh the park to look at some of the concerns   that they had that were there. And one of them was  the sprinkler system being turned back on there,   and we looked into that and found that there were  some issues with some of the piping. They were   on site. So, we're working with public works to  have that repaired. Uh, one of the challenges we   ran into is that the sprinkler system there is  attached to the fountain, uh, which was one of   the one the items that were turned off during  the stage two drought, uh, restrictions. So,   we're working with them to do that as well as  working with volunteer groups to restore the space   that's there, address some of the trash concerns  that that you mentioned as well. And the graffiti.   Yes. So, the graffiti is typically covered within  48 hours. Not sure why that particular one wasn't,   but we have a team member out today checking. So,  graffiti is often removed within 48 hours. Is that   That is correct. That's typically our window time  frame that we have someone out that uh address   graffiti when it's reported. So, this was reported  two weeks ago and today this will be resolved. Is   that correct? That is correct. Thank you, Council  Member Ballard. Thank you, Mayor. Uh Reggie, just   a couple questions. Um I know the irrigation or I  assume the irrigation and fountains have not been   working and operating due to the drought. Is that  something that the fountains will be on turn on   this year with changes that are possibly coming as  far as water restrictions or will it be next year?   So we uh actually uh Gary uh Jansen and I spoke  yesterday to look at what our next steps will be   with fountains. Uh they actually manage the  fountains through public works and we do the   irrigation systems to park. So as the restrictions  are being removed, we'll look at what the options   are with moving forward with getting the fountains  back on board. Uh one of the challenges is that   we're getting towards the time of the year where  we would start doing the winterization, right? So   if we put the efforts into them now and then turn  them off, may end up planning to make sure they're   prepared for next season. Okay, great. That was  one of my questions. Um, could you speak to the   um the stumps just how you guys usually plant  during one season and address stumps in another?   Sure. So, typically what we do is we a lot of  those are handled through our contractors that   comes out and does the uh stump removals. So, once  they're actually uh cut down, then we coordinate   with the uh contractors that goes through and  doing particular zones when we have it done. So,   we normally do that in the October time frame and  start looking at doing those stomp removals. Okay.   And last question is, could you address some of  Celeste's questions about park staffing? So, um,   we have some challenges with being able to fill  some of our positions. It's gotten a whole lot   better than what we have in the last few years and  we leverage the resources that we have currently   along with working with volunteer groups like  Celeste. And one of the things we're putting a big   effort towards now is uh our adopt a park program.  And we're looking at working at neighborhood   associations and neighborhood groups to be able to  get them connected with our park resources as well   as volunteer support to help with some of the  things that we need to have done in our parks.   Do you think one of the main hurdles is um wages  or salary or is there just not a lot of people   applying because it's 300° outside or I mean  is there is there a thing that can be helped   without you know maybe that we could help with?  I think it's a combination of both. Uh one of the   challenges we have is that uh uh sometimes we get  in staff that gets in and get the experience and   then they're able to go to the private sector  that they may be to get paid more. So we're   looking at ways that how we can transition some  of our seasonal employees that we have that come   in and then hire them on to be able to work. Uh  we had one young man that I spoke with this week   when I was out and about in the park that uh did  a uh internship program in Hayesville and we were   able to hire him on as a full-time staff. So,  we're looking at ways we're doing that. We're   working with the school district and then other  uh entities in the community that may not have   full-time positions that we can transition to work  with us. Thank you very much, Council Member Brick   Glass. Thank you, Reggie. I have a few questions  for you and then I might have a few questions for   Bob as well. So, I'm looking at probably all  the parks within this area. Looks like Maple   Grove or the mayor's Maple Grove, Heritage  Square, Nascer, A Price Woodard, Finley Ross,   and Chester Lewis. Would there be any other ones  off the top of your head? Those are the main ones   that I can think of as well. Not anything else can  take off top. Um, regarding the bathrooms by uh   a Price Woodard Park. Um, I know that I was doing  a art installation walk on the West Bank from all   the areas that were looking at or establishing  some of the art installations in the future on   the West Bank. You could see the dilapidated  bathroom. When was the last time that was open?   Now that there is the uh Portland Lou that's  near that facility too, do we have plans to just   demolish that building and when was the last time  that it was used? It hasn't been open I would say   probably within uh I don't know specifically  because public works normally manage with   uh open and closing those particular one  but I would say within the last year. Uh,   one of the challenges we have with that particular  location, a lot of the utilities that operate the   electrical components in that area is located in  that same site. So, we've been exploring options   of seeing how we can put a separate structure  to protect that area and then look at whether   we demolish that since it's not something  that's being currently used since we have   another option in the park. Okay. The last two  questions I really have for you, um, regarding,   and this is more of a comment, the graffiti that's  covered, I often see it really doesn't match the   building and we just paint over it with white and  it doesn't doesn't necessarily look any better. We   might remove the graffiti tags, but it doesn't  look better. So, I don't know how we curb that   in the future if we use more graffiti resistant  paint instead of just going over, but that's more   of a comment. Um, less of a question. And then  this morning I was out running um and noticed   two of the water fountains. I haven't reported  this vap so this is me just saying now two of   the water fountains weren't working and just want  to make sure that all the amenities in our parks   are actively working. One was at NASCAR Park uh  wasn't on this morning and there was another one   um right by the keeper that wasn't on as well. Um  and I know that seems to be a regular occurrence,   but if we have these amenities, people count  on these amenities. I was counting on them when   running uh based on my brakes and they weren't  working. And so just wanted to make note of that   as well. Sure. And and just to comment on that,  typically the way that we're aware of when those   items aren't working is through see click and fix.  So we try to encourage the communities to report   it there and that gives us uh a time to be able to  time date stamp once we receive it so that we can   hold our account team members accountable once we  address it. Okay. Um these will be questions more   for uh Bob or for someone with the submit as well.  Um, regarding the money uh that the Smid levies,   that money has to be spent within the SMID  as well. Yes, that's my understanding. And   then regarding communication with residents, just  like we communicate regarding the revenue neutral   for the larger exceeding of revenue neutral,  it's the same way you submit it to the clerk.   The clerk sends out notices to uh owners. Has  to be published in the Eagle twice. Correct.   Plus, everyone in the area should have received a  written notice. All the property owners. So, any   property owner in the SMID would have received a  written notice that they could have brought today   to also express interest. Okay. Thank you, Council  Member Hoheisle. Thank you, Mayor. Uh Bob or Mark,   um is there a different level of oversight on  something like this compared to Visit Witchah? um   seeing how this is uh taxes directly coming out of  a certain location and going to an organization.   Mark, help me. Um you have to approve the Smid  budget every year. So yes, there is I would say   a higher level of um accountability to the council  because of that. Do we get a line item breakdown   of how they utilize the funding? I'm not sure  to what kind of detail level, but it's u Mark. Uh yes, council member. They do not submit  that level of line item detail to this to us.   Uh I don't know that we've asked for it. uh they  typically you know they they have a relationship   with the council where they present uh their  requests each year and they present outcomes   to you and the letter that they present to you  typically in May and if that's the time that they   provide you their detailed budget for the prior  year which uh which Heather showed on the screen   today. Uh again I don't know that we have asked  them for any financial report specifically related   to that. We treat them like we would any other  contractor. We provide them uh uh the amount that   we've agreed to and we expect them to produce the  outcomes based on that contractual relationship. Okay. I appreciate that. That might be something  that we look into here in the next year or so   just to give extra transparency to the taxpayers.  So appreciate that. I will follow up to Council   Member Hohheisel's uh comment. I don't want  to just look at it. I want to ask for it. So,   I'm going to ask staff to directly ask for  more detail um regarding the SMID. Um again,   I want to see line item uh information regarding  salaries. Um, and then I still want to see a   public twice a year um, open report about the  clean and safe program because again $364,656 will go to a new clean and safe program that is  supposed to help with downtown Witchaw become   that destination location that we want. And so I  want to see those results. And so those are two   requests. one on a more detailed level that the  city uh staff will receive and then one that is   public regarding the results of clean and safe  uh twice a year. Council member Johnson. Thanks,   Mayor. Just just to add to that, there  are three council members that serve on   the partnership board downtown. So  we actually see those district one,   district six and I believe district four or the  third the third district rotates but we actually   see those numbers. So that might be something we  can also just share with the council and we get   those regularly uh at the meetings. Again I would  like uh finance to receive that information so   that that is again corabled um if individuals  in the community want to see greater detail.   With that, uh, we'll continue with public comment. Jan Manlo, uh, I just wanted to comment. You  were talking about the maintenance of parks   and I don't know if anybody's driven by down Maple  by the Equity Ballpark Stadium. The all the beds   around that ballpark are horrendously overgrown  with weeds. Um it is embarrassing to me as a   citizen of Seduit County to have our tourist  attractions look like the city doesn't care.   I don't know whether that's a ballpark. I tried to  I left a message with the ballpark. I've contacted   Equity Bank and commented that the building that  they have their name on doesn't look very nice to   um visitors to that facility. So, I just wanted  to bring Equity Ballpark Stadium up if that's a   city responsibility. I never got an answer  from the ballpark to see if it was theirs.   Thank you. Council member Glass. Thank you. Quick  question, Jan. Did you say it was on the Maple   Street portion? Correct. like around the equity  sign at Central and Sycamore and then down Maple   uh along the parking lot and along the  building in the tree plantings. Okay,   I think you have a few questions for staff. Uh  Mr. Manager, would that be with our would we be   in charge of the maintenance for that? Would  that be Equity Bank Park? My recollection is   they're responsible for it, but we'll we'll  work through it with them. Okay. Well, Jan,   we'll make sure uh we reach out to Equity  Bank Park. I'll do that as well. I know that   I had messaged uh the manager earlier last week  about the maintenance of the beds down Douglas   um and that those are not being maintained right  now and I know that we have a plan to get those um   spruced up in the next month. So hopefully Douglas  will also be maintained uh from Mlan to Meridian. Vice Mayor Johnston. Thank you, Mayor. Uh  Jan, I went to the game Friday night and I   walked by that and I took pictures of it to  turn it in and it's two to three feet tall.   Um it's just ridiculous and all the way down  the sidewalk. So yeah, I I did took pictures   and I will turn those in. So we'll find out.  Thank you. We'll continue with public comment. Janice Stacker back with my graduation robe. I  wanted to talk speak about art and supporting   the arts. Um right now we're trying to do  Ruby's culture campus and they're shipping   containers at 14th 13th and green. And uh we've  been having uh events for the community. We have   a Halloween event. We have student exhibits,  student art there. And then at 13th in Erie,   we have a VP. There are two letters and  it's a free photo op for the city. You   stand in the middle and you become the I  in the VIP. So yesterday we had a memorial   service for Anthony Gunther who was hit by a car  trying to cross the street. This was in 2017,   but it's taken that long to pull. I had to  first find the mom, which took seven years,   and then to have uh Connie Dempse constructed  the sculpture. Witchah State University   uh uh did the drawings so the city could  approve installation and we had bought the   land. So my point is when we all work together  as a community and the arts I had said before   is an instant teacher then we all have better  results. My other comment is about painting the   buildings dark colors. The dark colors draw the  sun in and makes the buildings hotter. So, if you   want to clue uh cool the climate for Witchah, you  need to paint on white. Thank you. Any questions? Thank you. We'll continue with public comment. I  see none. I close public comment and bring it back   to the bench. Um Council Member Johnson. Thanks,  Mayor. Um just want to say I am in support of the   uh increase. This pilot has been a good one.  I remember receiving a phone call when this   got started about uh pure cities and doing the  same type of thing and seeing the type of work   that's happening downtown has been great. Um  hearing the report out at our meeting also was   great. But I think this is a really good thing.  Some of the criticisms that we've heard today,   this program actually would help with addressing  some of those sooner. Um, this actually u part of   it was talked about some years ago, 2018 or so, 18  or 19 when the Douglas Design District had talked   about doing some of the same work uh to clean up  Douglas and to address some of these issues. So,   it's something that has been talked about for  a while. This pilot, I think, was successful   and looking forward to seeing um this enacted in  perpetuity downtown. So, I'll be supportive today. I see no one else on the board, so I'll just add  a couple of comments. Um, first I would like to   thank uh downtown Witchaw for coming up with the  clean and safe program. Um, more specifically,   I want to thank Dean who is part of the clean and  safe pilot program. I know that Dean um is retired   from the city of Witchah and chose to come back  uh to work and help connect people in the downtown   area with a friendly face and also clean up  downtown. And I see the results and I think that   that is exactly what we need. We need a clean and  safe downtown so that the investments that have   been made downtown will continue. Um, as a matter  of fact, 30 minutes ago, the last beam of the   $300 million biomed campus was just raised. And  so, it is a signal that this community is making   investments in the core, which is everyone's  backyard, as has been mentioned multiple times.   Um, but I want to make sure that we're good  partners and that includes um when there are   community members who care like Cindy Carneahan  who started uh with those flowers with Celeste   and her team at Safe Century 2 and Sister Cities.  We want to be good partners. So, I would highly   encourage uh the open communication between uh  the nonprofits or groups that are very active in   helping beautify downtown because again, this is  a they're doing a clean and safe program out of   the kindness of their heart. Um so, I want them to  be able to be part of the clean and safe program   together. Um and I know that this investment is  in a $364,000 investment. So, I want to make sure   that again those dollars are being spent on clean  and safe uh initiatives in the downtown SMID core.   Um and again, it's the property owners of just  that area. Um so I am going to be supportive of   this and I hope that we will get the next report  in six months when uh it is up and running and we   get good results of uh people uh seeing that their  parks and the flower beds especially in the Smid   are looking beautiful and uh people are invited to  come downtown. So with that I see no one else on   the board. So, I will move that the city council  close the public hearing record, approve the   resolution to exceed the revenue neutral rate  for the self-supported municipal improvement   district or SMID, conclude the public hearing,  and authorize the necessary signatures. Second   motion and a second. Any further discussion? I see  none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Mayor,   or we have to do a a voice vote. Uh, do we just  ask each council members? Yes, it's a roll call   vote by council member. A roll call vote starting  with council member Hohheisel. I. Council member   Ballard. I. Council member Glascott. I. Vice Mayor  Johnston. I. Council member Johnson. I. Council   member Tuttle. I. Mayor Woo. I. Motion passes  70. Madame clerk, please call the next item. Revenue neutral rate, city of  Witchah 2026 proposed budget. Uh good morning, mayor, members of the city  council. I'm Mark Manning with the department   of finance. Uh today is our second revenue neutral  rate hearing. Uh this time this hearing is on our   city Witchaw budget. Uh, as I noted before, we  set this hearing date on July 15th is when you   approve today as the hearing date. The RNR  is very important. It's going to determine   the level of funding that we have available to  finance community priorities that are included in   the proposed budget. And it's also important that  we have this hearing prior to your consideration   of the budget. So, uh, let's talk a little bit  about what the RNR does, what the limitations in   the RNR statute are. The RNR allows zero growth in  property tax revenue. Uh our property tax revenue,   if we complied with the RNR, would be exactly  the same as last year. That means there's no   allowance for expansions to the tax base due to  new construction or due to annexation or due to   expiring tax abatements or things of that nature.  Uh the RNR does not allow us to capture any of   that growth. It also doesn't have a mechanism for  us to consider uh taxes levied for any community   priorities or to address inflation or anything  like that. So essentially our tax levied would   be exactly the same as last year if we complied  with the RNR. Property tax revenue is important   uh to particularly two funds the general fund  and the debt service fund. Uh both of those funds   obviously fund our priorities uh predominantly  public safety. It's a majority of the property tax   expenditures in both of those funds is for public  safety. Debt service fund also of course has a   tilt towards maintenance uh as well that's funded  with our property tax revenues. Incidentally,   in the general fund, I think property tax revenue  is about 38% of our revenue stream and in the debt   service fund, I believe it's closer to about  45%. Uh this chart shows you what I spoke about   earlier. Our levy last year was somewhere in the  neighborhood of 164 million. uh if we choose to   uh comply with the RNR statute, we would levy $164  million in 2026. Now, the 26 proposed budget that   the manager presented to you several weeks ago  has a levy of $175 million or approximately 11   million 500,000 or so higher than what we levied  last year. Uh however, I think it's important to   point out uh that that levy is based on a mill  levy reduction in 2026. We would reduce our mill   levy uh by one approximately a half a mill uh  based on the proposed budget. But again, if uh   we chose not to exceed the revenue neutral rate,  essentially we would need to reduce our general   fund budget and debt service fund budget by a  cumulative 11 and a half or so million dollars.   Uh so I thought it might be interesting to look  at what some of our other uh peer counties in the   state of Kansas do. So I chose the three largest  counties in the state. Uh you can see universally   the counties in the state have all voted to  exceed the RNR. Same is true of school districts.   Uh generally what we found is that the primary  entities that have con complied with the RNR   are very small municipalities across the  state. Uh for example in Seduit County   uh last year I believe it was Malvane, Clearwater  and Viola. Malvane has about 8,000 residents for   example to give you a little frame of reference.  Uh same story in Shaune County. Uh very uh small   towns. Uh no disrespect to the smaller towns.  Some of these towns I've never even heard of and   I lived in Shaune County for 5 years. Willard,  Kansas, for example, was one of Shaune County.   Silver Lake. Uh so anyway, basically it's smaller,  very very small taxing jurisdictions are the ones   uh that are not exceeding RNR generally  across the state of Kansas. Uh again,   uh everything we're doing is driven by  state statute. we needed to provide certain   notifications. We met that requirement on July  5th, provided notification to the county clerk   in a timely timely manner and we provided  notice of today's public hearing. We have   to hold that public hearing which obviously  we're doing right now and then the last step   that we need to accomplish in our RNR checklist  is to approve a resolution by roll call vote   again to exceed the RNR. And uh after action on  this, we will proceed to the actual city budget. Thank you, Mark. Council member Glasco. Thank you,  Mayor. Mark, one quick question. You briefly hit   on it that the manager's proposed budget reduces  the mill levy by.5, confirming that this is the   first time in more than three decades that is  the case. Well, actually, I was going to talk   about that in the next PowerPoint, but yes,  sir. Uh I did some uh research on that and   the short version is for the last 31 years  we have adopted budgets with the mill levy   exactly the same as the prior year. So this will  be the first time we've deviated from that policy   and actually adopted a budget with a reduced mill  levy rate. Now, if you really want the background,   the last time that the mill levy rate actually  decreased based on policy action in the city,   uh, aside from reappraisal 35 years ago, which  kind of messed with our mill levy a little bit,   was actually 1986. And you may recall that is  the year after the city supported the countywide   sales tax. We used our half of our portion of the  countywide sales tax to reduce our city mill levy.   That was in 1986. So, for context to everybody  listening, I was not born yet the last time the   city reduced the mill levy. Um, and we codified  that on July 15th that guaranteed the reduction   of the 0.5 because that is what we sent to the  state. Correct. Uh, yes. Yes. You do not have the   flexibility to increase the mill levy over what  we set as the maximum amount and that maximum   amount is a reduction of 1/2. You could go even  lower, I suppose, but you could not go any higher.   Thank you for your work on this. Thank uh to  the manager for proposing um the budget with a   reduction as well. So appreciate all the answers  to questions. Council member Johnson. Thanks,   Mayor. Appreciate the um presentation, Mark. Just  a quick question. Since 1986, off the top, do you   think our population has increased? Uh yes, sir.  I would guess that it has increased quite a bit.   Okay. Just wondering. I mean, we're reducing the  mill levy. We have a lot of needs in the city and   our population has increased and some investments  need to be made. But just wanted to ask that. Mark, one last question. Uh this is something  I brought up last year and it still is a   concern. Uh if you go to slide back to slide  number 42, um even if you levied $1 more,   you would be exceeding revenue neutral. Um,  and we all know that at the very least even   inflation would bring that number up. That's  right. Can you explain the challenge of a   budget that one that I wanted, which is one  that only took into account new construction   and inflation roughly? What's that percentage  versus this one? What's that percentage? Uh,   yes ma'am. We looked at that earlier. Uh if  you consider an inflation rate of around 3%,   new construction varies in the city somewhere  between 1 and 2%. Uh so we would probably use   an average of about one and a half percent  which is to say that we would capture about   4 and a.5% of assessed valuation growth uh if we  chose to go with uh that methodology. Uh so the   uh the proposed budget actually our total assessed  valuation from Seduit County that we received in   July our valuation increased about 8.7%. Again we  did not capture all of that growth by reducing the   mill levy by 1/ half. Uh the equivalent amount of  growth that we would be capturing by reducing the   mill levy by 1/ half is approximately 7% of that  growth. Uh again, if we went with a proposal to   only capture inflation and new construction, uh  you'd be closer to about four and a half% growth,   and that would be taxes levied to somewhere  in the neighborhood of $171.5 million or   so. Uh which would be what about four about $4  million less than what's in the proposed budget. And that would have been an even greater challenge   uh the $4 million to find in reducing services.  So therefore it was very difficult to come up   with a budget that did that. Can I ask the  city manager um what are steps though that   we are as a city taking to try to still  keep services but also be more efficient? U Mayor, great question and that actually is  going to be addressed in the next um PowerPoint,   but quickly um recognizing the concerns about  um the what we were facing for 26 and 27 and   into the future, council asked us to start um  some initiatives early. And so in 25 we had a a   number of uh projects and uh program changes that  we analyzed and then have implemented uh or in the   process of implementing. One of the larger ones is  the centralization of our financial services and   that will lead to uh significant administrative  savings. We also have uh tried to rightsize uh   some of our activities in street maintenance.  Um, Mark, help me. I think we had some we also   trimmed park maintenance court and that's right,  made significant changes in court to recognize   changes in activity levels in the court system.  So, those are some of the bigger projects that   we took on in order again to be able to get us to  the point where we had a balanced budget for 26.   It still gives me concern um knowing that we heard  from individuals regarding the 8.7% increase and   while this one is a reduction, it's still an  increase. Um and so I will just challenge staff   uh to again next year during the next  budget cycle to also consider these   um more conservative u increases that  are responsible and in line with simply   inflation and new construction um as  another challenge for next year. I see   no further comments from the board. We  will now open it up for public comment. I see no public comment. We'll  bring it back to the bench. No comments from the bench. Um, this one gave me  a little bit uh pause um again because I am the   one who asked for a budget that only captured  construction, new construction and inflation   and that would have been about 4.5% versus  the 7% that we're capturing. So with that,   I will not be able to move this motion. So, I will  right see if there are other council members who   would like to do that. I will move it. I I'll  move we do the recommended action, close the   public hearing, approve the resolution to exceed  the revenue neutral rate for the city of Witchah,   and conclude the public hearing, and authorize  the necessary signatures. Second motion and a   second. Any further discussion? I will add one  more comment. Um, thank you, Vice Mayor Johnston,   for moving that item. Um, I am very glad to see  that under the uh leadership of Mark Manning and   several others um on this bench, this is a mill  levy reduction, but still an increase for the rest   of our community. So it's historic that we are  reducing the mill levy and we are headed in the   right direction but we still need to continue  in that direction because we will be facing a   budget deficit in the coming years. So again,  um, with that, Council Member Johnson. Thanks,   Mayor. Just to add to the conversation for  everyone, the average Witchin is seeing a benefit   of $14. And government will have to try to find a  way to maintain or improve services going forward.   And that is a reduction of millions of dollars  while you get a benefit of 14 for the average   Widgetton. So continue to keep that in mind um  as this goes forward and you engage with the   council in future years on the budget. Vice Mayor  Johnston. Thank you, Mayor. I'd also say that we   are investing heavily in public safety u both fire  department. We've retained the 42 positions that   were grant funded and they'll be paid for in this  budget. Uh we've also invested in police salaries   which has led to full police recruiting classes uh  and fire recruiting classes too. So we're invested   that the citizens have also made it known that  they want uh better streets and we're putting more   money into streets. So that's that's where this  increase is going as to public safety and streets.   So this is what people said they wanted. Uh until  they changed their mind uh we will funneled that.   Council member Glas, the number one thing I hear  from residents when I go and talk to people is   that property taxes are quite literally taxing  people out of their homes. And this savings is   a savings in their property taxes. I think  everybody at this bench needs to realize   this is not our money. This is not the city of  Witchaw's institutions money. This is the taxpayer   dollars. And I am very supportive of the historic  property tax decrease that we're looking at today.   Council member Johnson. Thanks, Mayor. Uh, I  definitely agree. We should um recognize that I   own property. I pay property tax as well. Um, but  again, those of us in the core who look to these   services to help them when we had our windstorm in  these branches, all of these things that we could   be providing, we're going to see a reduction  in governmental service because that large   um impact to the budget. And again, $14 dollar  something a month versus what you get out of   investing in government, I think is it's a big  deal. Libraries, parks, all of these things   that we can make these strategic investments in  that the community asked us for. And while some   of us here cut, I've not heard that. Most of the  people I've talked to in my district and even out   of my district are supportive of maintaining or  increasing our mill levy. So there are opposing   views out there. We all have our own views. But  again, as I continue to talk about the impact to   service levels could be drastic in future years  if we continue to go down this path. We cannot   cut our way into having a great city. What we  can do is make strategic investments in the   things that provide the best services for folks in  our community. And that's what I think we should   do. Council member Hoheisle. Thank you, Mayor.  Um, let me th this is a difficult one because   I do hear from a lot of people about the need for  additional services. Um, I also know that there's   a lot of people in my district who are making it  by the skin of their teeth right now as is. Um,   there are better ways and if we move forward  in the future at looking at any other um,   tax reductions to make it targeted and to make it  more impactful for people. Again, I bring up the   homestead tax relief matching the um the state  program on that and that could result in up to   $250 by our finance department's estimations for  seniors who need this. So, let let's be smart and   strategic about aiming any future tax decreases um  to people who really need and people who it could   really help and in a way that is meaningful. Um,  again, it's it's difficult to to govern. This is   definitely something I've learned over the last  four years, uh, just how difficult it is because   you have to balance a lot of different interests  up here. But again, let's let's be smart about it   in the future about how we can meaningfully  impact people's lives. Vice Mayor Johnston, you know, District 5 has the least amount  of crime in the city. We also have probably   have the least amount of police officers in the  city. We should have a good core area. We should   spend money on core area, but district 5, we are  supporting the core area. Um the taxes we pay.   So Frank commit Councilman Johnson, you mentioned  that that the population is less. I will I will   uh challenge that and say as a city spreads out,  we have more tax revenue with more people that do   support the core area. So it's important that we  don't end up like a St. Louis or somewhere where   that they haven't captured that growth in the  area to support the core. So I I'm I'm for that.   But we've also got to find a different way to  fund the city other than relying primarily on   property taxes. Um that's why we need to have  a discussion about possibly a city-wise sales   tax and cash fund some of our public safety  infrastructure like fire and police stations   and directly reduce the mill levy. So, I think  that would accomplish a lot uh reduce our debt   load for the city and would also uh reduce the  burden of of tax of of homeowners on the on the   property tax. Council member Johnston. Thanks,  Vice Mayor. Thank you, Mayor. Um just to clarify,   I mentioned to Mark, my question was about if our  population had increased since ' 86. So, I'm 39.   That was the year I was born in. So, in the last  39 years, has our population increased? And he   indicated it did. I know that we've went through  a um period of time where our city spread farther   east and west. Um it's always easier to develop  green field than in the core. Um but with that,   anytime we talk about how much a district pays in  property tax, it gets a little odd to me because   of course wealthier areas are going to pay more.  And if some of that's concentrated in certain   parts of the city, you'll see those numbers higher  than anywhere else. Um, I personally don't give   a lot of weight to that because everyone who  owns property will pay a property tax. One of   the things that was very interesting to me as we  talk about this investment of the people's money,   um, when we did city to city San Antonio  2019, the council member that represented   the wealthiest district in San Antonio began  to talk to us about the importance of investing   back into the lower income areas. And although  his district was taxed more, they felt, I mean,   it was equal rate, but they paid more because they  owned more. They saw benefits in the community   because of those strategic investments. Is it a  tough conversation to have? Yes. No one wants to   pay more in taxes. But is it something that  benefits people when you put more money into   public works? When you put more money in the  arts, when you put more money in the parks,   your city transforms and it really makes a a  real impact. And that investment is for the   people of that community, not for outside folks.  And you can see that in these different spaces.   Even here in Witchah. Again, the investments we've  made over the years, we're seeing crime rates go   down. There may be a trend of things that we see  in the news, but overall that's down. It's because   of all the working parts of the investments  from public safety as far as law enforcement,   but also public safety and parks and arts and  everything else we're doing. All the things that   we continue to talk about that are important are  impacted by these investments. And as we continue   to say we're going to cut the budget, then we have  to start prioritizing things a little differently.   And we'll get to a point and I always bring this  up about the 90s when the federal government   funded weed and seed. A lot of great things were  happening. People were empowered. Young people had   opportunities. These programs were funded and  then they pulled that away and municipalities   throughout the country didn't all keep up those  programs and support. The private sector didn't   fund that. So then you see crime trends start to  change and shift back to what they were. Right now   we are making some really good investments in  these different things. The things that we all   care about. We hear public safety from this bench.  Everyone talks about public safety. Some people   talk about that only fire and police. Again, it's  more than that. But if we begin to say we're just   going to start cutting, then we start pitting  fire, police, public works versus parks versus   arts. And that's going to be something that I  think future councils are going to struggle with.   But again, in these different cities, San  Antonio, other spaces where the council   members of these wealthy areas also understand  that these investments benefit everyone. It may   not be that. When it comes to the point you made  about law enforcement, there's parts of District 1   where people have told the chief they never see an  officer. They're out there. They're riding around   um going from call to call to call. You may not  see them sitting there, but they really police   this community about the same. There's probably  a few more in the core because population is a   little denser, but those officers are out there.  And if people only feel safe when they see that,   then again, we're going to have these different  budget discussions going forward about does one   department get so much more than these others that  all contribute to public safety as a whole. So,   the point I've just continued to make um today,  and I'll probably say it again on the next item,   is as we look at these historic decisions,  one that gives you another $14 in your pocket,   um it's going to impact future investment in the  things that you care about as a taxpayer. So my   opinion doesn't matter up here um after a few  months, but the things that you care about that   you want to see invested in that are important to  you. It's going to come up in a few years as this   budget continues to get cut. So that $14 may  become 20 at some point and that's great. Half   a tank of gas, one drink at Starbucks, or if you  go to another business, you might get two drinks,   but your benefit and the services that you may  receive from the city of Witchah might be impacted   more greatly. And I think that's something that  people just need to consider. It's not just one   side that we're hearing from that just wants to  cut and cut and cut. Some people who say that   don't understand 80% of our budget is salaries.  So we're talking about cutting people. And when   we begin to have those different conversations  and we talk about the service loads, the people   who continue to say they want their street swept,  but it hasn't happened in a while. When people say   they want new playground equipment, but it hasn't  happened in a while, we can start looking at the   budget. And as we continue to cut, yeah, we feel  good and government's reducing our tax burden,   but also where are those investments happening?  And those investments don't always happen in the   areas we want them to. They happen in different  areas. So, just want to continue to highlight and   make that point, and I hope the public continues  to have this um conversation around our budget. I see no further discussion.  We have a motion and a second.   It requires another roll call. Madame  Clerk, can you do the roll call? Vice Mayor Johnston. Council member Johnson. Yes. Hi,  Council Member Tuttle. I. Council   member Hisel. I. Council member Glascock.  I. Council member Ballard. I. Mayor Woo.   Nay. Vote passes. 6 to1. Madame  clerk, please call the next item. 2026 annual operating budget and 2026  to 2035 capital improvement program. Well, good morning again, mayor, members of  the city council. I'm still Mark Manning with   the department of finance. Uh so today  uh now we actually can have our budget   hearing on the proposed 2026 budget and the  proposed 202635 capital improvement program.   So today basically marks the pinnacle of  our long annual journey to develop a city   budget. Uh our process to do that is designed  based on community priorities. It's guided by   the strategic plan that the city council  developed during this budget process and   it funds a variety of tactics which basically  serves as a work plan guide for departments. Uh   we've been at this as I mentioned for about  eight months. Uh we presented the proposed   budget to you or the manager presented the  proposed budget to you on July 15th and today   August 26th is the day that we will ask you  to consider and adopt uh the proposed budget. So I mentioned the importance of community  priorities. Uh we typically use the citizen survey   as a baseline to determine those priorities. We  do the survey approximately once a year. Uh we ask   residents fundamentally two questions. What how do  you rank the importance of the services we provide   and how do you rank the quality of the services  that we provide? Uh we produce this matrix and   you've seen this numerous times throughout the  budget process. uh it's uh got importance level on   the uh x axis and it has uh quality on the y axis.  Uh we've typically focused on the magenta quadrant   which is over in the lower right hand corner.  Those are services that our residents tell us are   really important to them but maybe we have some  room for improvement. uh so we tend to focus a lot   of our energy there and uh also in the quadrant  directly above that of higher importance items   that we do that we perform uh higher quality work  on. Uh so again let's drill down on this quadrant.   You see things like uh uh street repair, economic  development, uh homeless support, affordable   housing, crime prevention. Again, those are the  areas uh which receive a lot of focus in our   proposed budget. And the reason is is because our  residents tell us that they're of high importance   and that we have some opportunities there. Uh we  normally use a lot of other mechanisms to gain   uh feedback as well. Uh we go present the budget  to the all the district advisory boards each year,   gather feedback there. We have a number of  workshops. I think we had four workshops this   year. Uh all of those are available on YouTube  and all of the material that we provide at those   workshops is also available on our city website.  But over the last couple years, we've also used   another mechanism to gather community feedback.  That is our online budget simulator. Uh this year   we had over 1,000 budgets created uh during the  time period in which the simulator was active. And   basically we asked people, here's a service. Would  you like us to increase the level of funding or   decrease the level of funding or leave it alone?  U now a few things about the budget simulator. Uh   yes, it's a useful tool to gather uh feedback. Uh  but it does have a few uh issues that we're aware   of. It is not statistically valid. The citizen  survey is statistically val valid. The budget uh   simulator is not. That's primarily because it's  a voluntary uh platform. It's not a sampling   platform. Uh so again you have to take the results  with a little bit of grain of salt there. Uh so   it's not statistically valid. We also do not block  IP addresses which means that uh you can submit   multiple uh surveys from the same IP address. Uh  we do that uh intentionally because it's available   at our neighborhood city halls and a variety of  other public facilities. So we don't want to block   the IP address for those locations. uh but that  does uh provide perhaps some opportunity for maybe   multiple responses from the same individuals. So  again for that reason yes it's provides feedback   uh but you have to understand it does have some  limitations there. So uh let me go through the   slides real quick. I think I have three slides  that basically summarize areas that RSN told us   they would like to increase funding and areas in  which they recommended decreasing funding. Uh now   it's no surprise to me that the area in which was  number one on increased funding is street repair.   I just mentioned that's in the magenta quadrant  and it's one that we spend a lot of time talking   about one that we hear a lot about when we go out  to district advisory boards and I know all of you   do too. Uh so that's very consistent with the  results we get from the community survey. You   can see the other areas here that u uh were  recommended for higher funding. By the way,   we put the base expenditures there to give  you a little bit of order of magnitude. Uh,   and that's relevant here. On the next slide, I'm  going to show you. Uh, now we've transitioned   to areas where residents uh suggested reduced  funding. Uh, we would not expect to see a lot of   these in the higher area of importance. That's a  little bit different than the community uh survey   results. And you start to see a few of those  creep in uh particularly on this page. Again,   our mechanism forces you to balance a budget.  I think we probably have a bias towards people   going to the highest dollar amount area  in order to balance their budget in order   to complete it. Uh but again, take it for what  it's worth. Just additional community feedback. So another uh big initiative of this budget  was the development of our strategic plan.   uh we started that in January and we talked  about that in three workshops and basically those   workshops uh developed a strategic plan based  on pillars, goals, strategies and tactics. This   was instrumental in the development of the budget  and the CIP as you'll see in a few slides. Uh but   it was very important to uh to uh guide our work  product on a departmental level and to guide the   uh development of the budget. So uh you've seen  this slide several times so I won't go into a   whole lot of detail uh but just uh simplicit  simplistically uh a pillar really represents uh   things that we uh want to achieve. Uh for example  we want to be a well-run city. I'll use examples   familiar to me in the finance department. A goal  is uh really an area that is kind of a specific   area of focus within a pillar. Uh for example uh  in the finance department uh one that's relevant   to us is uh we want to manage our city in a  financially viable pract manner based on best   practices. A strategy is a more concrete plan that  uh allows us to progress towards that goal. Uh for   example the manager mentioned a little bit earlier  uh one of the strategies included in our strategic   plan is uh centralization of financial services.  And then a tactic is something we develop at the   departmental level. It's kind of our actionable  work plan of what we expect to get accomplished   uh based on the funding levels in the adopted  budget and based on the strategic plan and   specifically to the finance department. My  example uh that manifestation of that would   be the uh item that you approved a couple weeks  ago where we launched our centralization effort   with our electronic timekeeping software purchased  and our with our uh engagement of a consultant to   help us study our structure. So that's basically  how our strategic plan works. very powerful tool,   very very instrumental in the development of our  budget this year and you'll hear that probably   three or four more times in the presentation  this morning. Uh so let's look at our city   uh budget here by pie chart. Now out of deference  to the city manager, if by my count I believe this   is the 17th budget that he has presented for the  city council. If my count is correct and I know   he likes pie charts, so I've included a few.  Now, I'm not going to make any promises on how   many pie charts will be next year when we present  the budget, but again, out of deference to him,   we do have a few pie charts this morning to  show. Uh, so our budget is somewhere in the   neighborhood of 70 776 million or thereabouts.  Uh, you can see the pie chart on the left shows   our various revenue streams. I'll focus on two. We  run some very large business units. Think of our   water and sewer utility. Those generate charges  for services. That's why you see that 39% of our   revenues are charges for services. Property tax  is also an important revenue stream. I mentioned   previously for the debt service fund and the  general fund. That's about 23% of our revenue   portfolio. And you can see the other sources  listed there. Now on the expenditure side, uh   salaries and benefits is the largest expenditure  for the entire city and as was noted earlier,   you're going to see it's an even larger percentage  when we get to the general fund. Uh another large   portion that you can see on this chart is debt  service. Uh our major business units water and   sewer are also very very capital intensive. So we  do a lot of capital improvement investment and we   also issue a lot of debt for our water and sewer  utility. Most of that debt services coming out of   that and you'll see that here on the CIP slides  in a few slides from now. So uh let's drill down   on the uh general fund revenue sources. You see I  mentioned earlier property taxes is approximately   38% of our revenue stream and we get material  amounts from franchise fees and a pretty good   portion from the uh our portion of the local  1 cent sales tax at Sedick County levies. This shows our expenditures on the right again  you can see the relevance of salaries and wages.   Uh that's because while the uh CIP as we'll see  is tilted more towards uh capital expenditures   uh tangible assets the operating budget is focused  more on operating expenditures which generally   means people police officers firefighters park  maintenance staff things of that nature. So we are   uh labor intensive on the general fund that's  why it represents about 76% of our expenditures.   Uh on the left hand side, I think this was alluded  to earlier, approximately 64% of our expenditures   are for public safety. Public safety being defined  here is the police and fire department. Uh if you   add in public works and park, uh you're getting  into the mid80s percents of those four large   operating departments. That basically leaves 17%  for everything else, which is things like our   cultural uh facilities budget, our library, our  court, our finance department, law department, C   manager's office, jail fees, planning department,  transit. All of those make up the remainder of the   17% out of the general fund. Uh we talked about  this a little bit earlier. This chart shows you   the proposed mill levy that is included in this  proposed budget. recognize we have two taxing   funds, the debt service fund and the general fund.  Uh but the important takeaway is bolded down there   at the bottom. The mill levy rate would go to an  estimated 32.316 uh which is a 1 half mil less   than what the mill levy rate was in uh 2025. Uh  so it's also really important we tend to focus on   2026 because that's the legal budget we have  to prepare. Uh but it's really important for   us to focus long term for a variety of reasons.  Uh so that's what this chart here shows you. We   expect to be balanced in 2026 and 2027. Uh but we  do have some potential challenges on the horizon.   It's not uncommon for us to present forecast like  this. Uh basically for two fundamental reasons. Uh   when you get outside the cone of certainty, it's  more challenging to project. That's particularly   true on our revenue side because there are many  many variables that affect a lot of our revenue   streams. expenditures are a little bit more  predictable since it's people and we can kind   of project what those costs are going to be. Uh  so we probably take a little bit of a conservative   tilt particularly on the revenue side. The second  factor that influences this is generally speaking   organically our revenue growth is typically less  than our expenditure growth because expenditures   is driven by salaries and wages. So both of those  generally give us a tilt towards a structurally   imbalanced position in the outy years and you can  see that reflected here. Uh does that mean we will   have a deficit in 2028? Uh most likely not.  We have a very long history as was alluded to   earlier this morning of taking actions necessary  in order to balance our budget. And as the manager   mentioned, we also have a very long history  of continuously improving our organizational   performance and seeking additional efficiencies.  and he gave you several examples of that. So   again, just take this for what it is. It's a very  preliminary forecast of what our future could look   like if no policy direction is implemented. We do  exactly what we're doing now and our forecasts are   is correct. So that's the purpose of this slide.  Uh so we talked about this previously so I won't   uh reiterate too much about this but generally  uh we came into this year with a deficit position   projected and I'll show you that slide in just a  couple minutes. Uh but to the mayor's point how   did we cover that deficit? Uh fundamentally we  did three things. We conducted a lot of research   on some of the topics that were presented  last year as process improvements and I think   we presented that to you in February if I recall  correctly and a lot of those process improvements   are incorporated in the proposed budget and  that helped us shrink our expenditure base a   little bit. We also came with a second round of  adjustments proposed at the May 27th workshop.   A lot of those were focused more on efficiency  improvements and and uh non-public safety,   non-publicfacing adjustments and adjustments in  areas that were of lower strategic significance   based on our strategic plan. But basically  those two areas are what allowed us to get to   a balanced budget. Uh here's the two categories.  As the manager mentioned these earlier, about two   and a half million from process improvements  and about another million8 from just general   budget reductions in areas where activity levels  or processes dictated that we could uh reduce our   budget. Here's what it looks like. The top line  is where we started out initially back in January.   And again, that forecast was based on one year  ago, August of 2025, when you adopted the 2025   budget. Again, a fairly significant uh deficit  position. uh a lot of things change. Again,   the budget process improvements were uh items  presented by staff that were uh included in the   proposed budget based on the feedback we received.  That alone was the bulk of what allowed us to   balance this year uh your direction and action on  those items. And then we also obviously throughout   that uh we look at a variety of technical uh  areas of the budget and are constantly tweaking   our assumptions based on new information. That's  basically what the base adjustments are. So this   slide shows you how we got to zero essentially.  So I mentioned the strategic plan and the powerful   uh nature of the strategic plan. It's going to  basically guide our work over the next year or   so. Uh you've seen a lot of these. I think this  is probably at least the fourth or fifth time   that you've seen them. So I won't touch on every  one of them. But I just wanted to highlight a few   areas of of the work plan that will guide uh city  staff in this proposed budget. Uh we'll look at   our cost recovery. uh you know we use what we call  the cost pyramid. Generally the concept is broad   public benefit items should have little or no cost  recovery. Items we produce that are have a very   narrow customer base probably should have higher  cost recovery. We'll examine our uh fee structure   and try to adhere to that model. Uh we mentioned  centralization of financial services which has a   huge potential to uh transform our organization  I think and make us a lot more efficient.   We'll also look at our employee benefit uh  design. Right now, we've got a lot of legacy   benefit programs and our rhetorical question is  is are those programs relevant uh for our 21st   century workforce going forward? Is that what our  employees want for the future to help us attract   and retain employees? Uh the keep safe area.  Again, we mentioned most of these. A lot of these   involve technology in the police department, which  is really exciting. the drone as first responder,   the real-time information center, even the risk  train modeling uh tactic. Uh all very powerful   ways to use technology hopefully to enhance our  responsiveness and and to gain efficiency there.   Uh a few examples here in the grow our economy.  We'll look at our cultural funding program and see   what revisions we need to make there. We'll  look at our transit network and of course   we'll continue to focus on affordable housing uh  infrastructure. Uh we'll look at reuse options for   uh water uh which will help us on the conservation  side perhaps and we'll see about expanding our DST   or decision support methodology that we utilize in  public works into the park department to help us   maintain and uh replace our park infrastructure  perhaps more efficiently. And finally on living   well again we've talked about most of these a lot.  We've talked about the importance of childhood   reading childhood literacy and the importance that  has on future outcomes. Uh so we'll focus on that   and again we'll build on our past successes in  the area of shelter and support services and   supportive housing. So again that's a uh hopefully  a relatively quick rundown of our 2026 proposed   budget particularly in the general fund. Uh next  I'm going to pivot to the Schmid. I only have one   slide on the Schmid because we talked about it  a lot previously and then we'll transition into   the capital improvement program and I promise you  the pace will pick up a little bit from here. So   apologize for the length of the presentation  this morning. We talked about the Schmid   uh the budget as has been presented to you is  based on a mill levy rate of 10 mills. Uh you have   the ability to do that since we have exceeded the  RNR. Uh that would increase the mill levy from 6.8   8 to 10 and again it would be funded it would fund  the clean and safe program that Heather outlined   to you a few moments ago. So let's transition  to the capital improvement program. Now the   capital improvement program is a 10-year plan  for improvements in our community and these are   uh physical assets, buildings, roads, uh water  plants, things of that nature, large uh capital   assets. Uh this plan's about $3 billion over  the next 10 years. So it's very sizable. You can   see the revenue stream on this slide. Our water  utilities I mentioned were capital intensive. So   they are the bulk of CIP funding approximately  a third somewhere in the neighborhood of $850   million. Uh our portion of the local sales tax  which we pledged to highways, bridges, and roads   in 1986 is a significant portion of our funding.  Uh let me refer you to the 2:00 position here, Geo   at large. Uh what you're seeing there is basically  the seven mills that we levy in property tax   revenue. That's basically funding the go at large  pie slice there. Let's flip to the expenditure   side as you would expect. Water and sewer again  about a third of our capital improvement program.   Streets is a very significant portion about $500  million north of that. Again most of that's funded   with local sales tax. Uh you'll see we have  pretty aggressive freeway amount here. A lot of   that's K96. Most of that is funded with uh state  resources and I mentioned the importance of GEO   funding. Uh that primarily funds public safety  which is roughly $200 million. I mentioned the   GEO portion is 380. Uh so you can see there  public safety consumes a little over half   of our entire geo at large portion of our CIP.  Other large components of GEO funding are heavy   equipment which is things that we buy for street  maintenance crews and also park and recreation. So the capital improvement program uh has a levy  of seven mills as I noted in 2026. It also is   guided by the strategic plan uh as I'll show you a  couple minutes. It's also influenced very heavily   by the community investments plan which is an even  longer term plan 20 and 30 years that basically   has two areas of prioritization. They categorize  the type of expenditure and they categorize   maintenance as priority number one. You'll see  that influence in our capital improvement program.   Maintenance is priority number one in our capital  improvement program. Represents a little less than   half of all our expenditures. Uh the community  investments plan also categorizes expenditures by   category and over 63% of our capital improvement  program is in the high and very high categories of   the community investment plan. Those categories  are things like water supply, streets, bridges,   and public safety. Our CIP has debt maintained at  levels that are consistent with our guidelines.   Generally speaking, we like to target about  50% debt, 50% cash. uh they're consistent with   our our guidelines and our fund balances are  maintained at the appropriate level. Uh again,   the CIP is designed to be fiscally sustainable.  Uh you'll recognize some of these is coming out   of our strategic plan. It's designed to help  us maintain timely emergency responses and a   few other things shown on this slide here.  Some of the specifics, uh we will continue   our police station building program. As you know,  we have two, one that's completed and one that's   uh I think under construction now out west Patrol  West. Uh we have a very aggressive fire apparatus   replacement program. We invest millions of dollars  in apparatus for our firefighters. I think that's   somewhere north of $45 million. And then we have  a police training facility budgeted in the outy   years. Uh we invest heavily in maintenance.  We've got large allocations for maintenance   for our city facilities and for city hall for a  variety of other uh areas. Uh we also I mentioned   K96 expansion and we've got numerous street  projects three prominent ones which are listed   on this slide. And then the living well category  again we spend a lot of maintenance money on our   cultural facilities as you can see here. We also  have allocations for Sentry 2 specifically and   for some of our city-owned cultural facilities  specifically. And a new project we included this   year which is pretty exciting is a Dr. Glenn  Dy sports complex. Uh lot largely that's funded   with other funding donations but we do have a a go  component in that for uh planning and so that is   new to our CIP this year. Well we're almost done.  Uh so I'm just going to finish up here with a few   uh housekeeping things on what we need to do  to approve our budget and CIP. A lot of what   we do is dictated by state statute. And uh so  that's a lot of the steps that I'll outline for   you. Uh the reason that we do what we do, uh  it's necessary for you to approve the second   reading of some ordinances that you approved a  week or so ago. Those ordinances again basically   are required by the state and they set the taxes  levied for our taxing funds and they also deal   with our tiffs and set the estimated increment  levels in our tax increment financing funds. Uh   there's also four funds that we're making slight  revisions to that you approved last year generally   because of activity levels generally increases  our expenditures and revenues to offset them. Uh   things like Sentry 2 for example is one of them.  Again, that'll just help ensure that we have the   legal budget authority in order to accommodate  all the expenditures there if our if our activity   levels increase. There's also a number of steps  that we take in order to implement your budget.   A lot of those again dictated by state statute. We  have to fill out a lot of state forms uh and they   have a lot of nuances in completing those forms.  So, we uh take our time and uh complete those   forms. We'll also ask you to adopt the proposed  uh CIP. Now, we would recommend that after you   approve those items that you have a separate  motion uh to approve the WSU mill levy. Uh now,   the county actually levies the one and a half  mills. Uh they levy that on behalf of the city   of Witchaw. expanded it to the entire county  I think in 1989 uh to expand the tax base for   Witchaw State but the city still retains the  approval authority for the portion of WSU's mil   levy request that is reflected in our assessed  valuation proportion which is basically 75%. Uh   I'm sure you've noticed in the back of our budget  book, we present to you the WSU budget request   and uh it's uh requested that you approve uh  their request uh that they made so that they can   allocate those uh taxing funds based on what they  presented to to us. Uh so before I wrap up now,   I think it'd be appropriate to acknowledge a lot  of people that have contributed to the development   of our budget process here. Uh obviously  this wouldn't be possible without the city   manager's office and some key support personnel  there. Recognize that in finance our role is to   support the city manager who has the statutory  obligation to create your proposed budget for you.   Our job is to support him in that quest. A lot of  staff help us. A lot of departmental staff help   help us do that. Uh but primarily that obligation  falls on our budget office and our budget officer   Elizabeth Golry uh who does a excellent job and  works tirelessly to make sure that we support   the manager in the development of his budget. So  I would like to acknowledge her this morning. Uh   mayor, that's the end of my presentation. Uh  sorry I was so longwinded this morning. Uh but   I'd be happy to answer any questions. Thank you  very much and thank you to your entire team. Um,   I know that this process started immediately  after last year's budget was approved. So,   uh, your team has been working hard at this  and we appreciate it. We'll begin with Council   Member Tuttle. Thank you, Mark, and thank you for  the presentation, and I'll have lots more kudos   and and comments later, but you highlighted  it, and I just wanted to mention again, um,   and and I'm sure this will be lots of discussion,  but if we take the recommended actions, whoever   makes the motion, if we could take the recommended  actions one through four and have a vote,   and then if we can take five separately, um,  and I will be abstaining from number five due   to a conflict of interest. Thank you, Vice Mayor  Johnston. Thank you, Mayor, and thank you, Mark,   for your work. Um, question for Mark, maybe city  manager, too, is we get the did we get the proced   wetlands project put in the CIP down the line? I'm  sorry. Which project? This the procked wetlands. I think we have uh no mayor, if I could,   we decided to wait until we have the results  back from the update of the park master plan   to see how that priority fit with other  recommendations in that report. Okay. I   would like to see that in future years.  And the second question is, did we get   $5,000 transferred to the Northwest Expressway?  Yes. Yes, we did. We did. Okay. Thank you. Mark, I have a couple questions.  Can you go back to slide number 62? That's there we go. Thank you. Um,   obviously this concerns me. Um and I  think you mentioned that in 2027.17 mills will be shifted to the general fund. Is  that to make sure that we are balanced in 27?   Uh no. That's reflective of the discussion  we had about reducing the cultural arts   funding percentage in the capital improvement  program. That 1% is approximately $900,000. So   to move that to the general fund, we would  reduce the debt service fund and increase   the general fund levy. Perfect. Thank you  very much. And then uh slide number 60. Can you address the other city services? Um  I know that a lot of folks may not know how   many departments the city has, but uh can you  address what other city services uh pertains   to 11% of the operating budget? Uh yes ma'am.  Uh I believe we have 16 operating departments.   Uh other is areas like city council has a small  budget, city manager, finance department, HR,   law. Uh and then as I mentioned, we have separate  allocations uh not specific to departments,   but we spend money on jail fees at Seduit County.  We spend an allocation to support the planning   department, which we operate jointly with the  county, flood control. Uh we also provide an   allocation to Witchaw Transit. All of those  uh things are in the other category there.   Thank you very much. And then  can we go to slide number 80? Yes, sir. Cultural facilities maintenance uh in  particular. Um, so in March I had my state of   the city address at the former central library and  that is one of the cultural facilities that again   I just threw out an idea which was to renovate  it to um have a police station there. However,   there was no interest amongst many folks.  So, I still believe that that is an asset   that the community has invested in, but it's been  shuttered for multiple years. And so, um, I did   ask the city manager to come up with some ideas  of how to activate that space so that it can,   um, become an asset again for the community. City  manager, can you address that? I can, mayor. Thank   you. um in reviewing this issue with staff. Um  we we too share the concern about having an empty   public building. Um and um that our thought was  energizing that building, reutilizing it um would   be in the benefit of not just the city but the  community as a whole. And it seemed to make sense   to activate that space with u in partnership  with ASM who manages Century 2 for us. Um,   I think they've done a a wonderful job in terms  of turning our facility our facility around terms   of not just C2 but Bob Brown and we asked them to  start working on a proposal on what it would take   to activate um the building from a business  standpoint. uh they put together a proposal   and frankly just finished uh gave us the a final  copy of a concept uh last week and so I apologize   for the late um uh presentation of this but they  believe that we could activate the first floor   uh create two primary event spaces each of about  6,500 square feet u you could call those ballrooms   if you'd like and then also utilize a central  library or excuse the central lobby for uh some   uh purposes. Um and that there's a target market  for this amount of space primarily in the wedding   uh banquet and corporate meeting um areas. In  order to do that, it would take about $2 million   uh in improvements so that the space could  be utilized for that purpose. And so, um,   recognizing we don't have a final proposal or  negotiated arrangement, um, it seemed appropriate   to suggest that we modify the CIP to allow for  $2 million to be utilized in 2026 to be able to,   uh, activate this space and make it a productive  use. the $2 million that uh is shared. Can you   just address some of the improvements that  would be made so that only the first floor   would be activated and rentable for the community?  Yes, mayor. Thank you. Um probably one of the   most significant expenses would to uh construct  mainfloor restrooms that are accessible and can   accommodate uh meetings of this size. We also  um would have some work to do um wall repairs,   uh window repairs, um uh new uh uh carp carpets  um and then number of other some outside work that   needs to be done um including um activating the  patio space and um many other things that you've   heard before when we talked about this building.  some improvements to HVAC, some things we have to   do in plumbing. We would not put a full kitchen  in. We would c so all the events would have to be   catered, but there would be a functional space uh  for the caterer. Um I think that's pretty much it,   mayor, in terms of what what the major um  issues are. Also, we would have uh FF and E   expenses that would allow us then to have tables,  chairs, and what we need to activate that space.   and city manager. I know that the rest of the  council doesn't have this information. So, um,   would it be possible? By the way, full disclosure,  the city manager sent this to me last night at   6:07 p.m. Um, so this is very new to me, too. And  so, I just wanted to share that improvements to   just the first floor itself are approximately 1.5  million. And then the patio repairs would be about   300,000. So number one, I want to know could it  come under the two million versus setting it at   2 million and then people thinking that that  is our actual budget. I just want to make sure   that we're responsible with taxpayer dollars. In  addition, I want to know where could those dollars   come from. Mayor, I'm probably most comfortable  having a placeholder at 2 million. First of all,   we're dealing with an old building and I have  no idea what will happen when we get into some   of that space. Um, I think the patio space is  optional. That's $300,000. That would get us   to about a $1.8 million estimate. This doesn't  include any architectural fees. So, we'd want to   uh include that in there. So, again, this is very  preliminary. And I'd like to have a placeholder   that is adequate and we don't fall short when  we get into the remodel. Um what um I'm glad   you called up this slide. Um we have $16 million  budgeted over the 10 years for cultural facilities   maintenance and that would be funded through the  transient guest tax. And our thought is that the   first year of that ex of those expenditures, we  would put $2 million in transient guest tax into   this building, leaving 14 million for cultural  facility maintenance going forward. And then you   also have the ability next year when you're going  through the CIP to adjust priorities and determine   how you want to spend uh transient guest tax going  forward. Right now, there aren't any specific   projects designated. we just have a lump sum in  each year recognizing that our cultural facilities   are aging and need maintenance work. You also um  as a side note update us on the prominade, the C2   prominade. Is Lindsay here? I'm gonna ask Lindsay  to talk about the progress on that project. Good morning, Mayor Council Lindsay Banaka with  the city manager's office. Not sure if there's a   specific question about the prominade, but  I can give kind of an overview if that's   what you're looking for. Uh, so it is uh funded  out of 2025 and 2026. I believe there's partial   funding in both years for this project. Uh, but  it's in partnership with Hyatt. So we do have a   contract with Hyatt that the conditions of the  prominade which the city currently owns has to   be the same aesthetic standard as the hotel. So  as the hotel goes under a rebranding of its rooms   and ballrooms, we want to make sure that the  prominade fits that. So we're working with the   Hyatt as well as ASM who are property managers of  the space uh to make um kind of a a plan in terms   of rolling out what those aesthetic modifications  are. So it is budgeted. We're working with both   parties on a timeline kind of that's our big kind  of holdup right now is because the space is used   constantly when can we carve out time in order to  make those um accommodations or those renovations   needed. But it's really aesthetic. It's it's uh  flooring, wall covering, um some tech updates.   We're simultaneously working on HVAC updates  uh through ASM. Uh but primarily it's aesthetic   upgrades that we're working with both parties on.  Does that answer your question? Does. Thank you,   Lindsay. Council member Tuttle. Thank you. This  is on a different topic and Vice Mayor Johnston   brought up about the Northwest bypass and then  somebody just texted me and asked, "So, when   last year's recommendation, it was $5,000 over  the 10-year CIP." So, was that $5,000? Is that   what you were asking if the $5,000 was allocated?  It it moved it from We moved it from one project   in my district to $5,000 to fund it for this  year, coming year for this year. because it   was just $5,000 over the 10-year CIP is what was  last year's recommendation, not $5,000 annually.   It moved $5,000 in the first year. Okay. And they  just wanted to know too, where did the check go?   Is did it go to the county for um acquisition of  rightway or No, we have not spent that $5,000.   The $5,000 was a placeholder in the capital  improvement program last year and now it's moving   to the operating budget in engineering. Uh but  we haven't spent that and it's there's no earmark   for it at this time. It's simply a placeholder.  Thank you very much. Just wanted to be responsive. And last question is for Mark. Um, I know we're  talking about some improvement districts and um,   a local television station brought up an issue  uh, regarding sales taxes in a specific area.   Can you address how those uh, because that  taxing jurisdiction was supposed to end um,   October 1st of 2022, can you just address what has  happened since learning about this issue? Uh, yes,   ma'am. Uh, mayor, you're talking about the K96  uh star community improvement district or SID   that was graded as part of our development out  there. Uh, basically it was a SID that helped   fund a portion of the interchange project there  at K96 in Green Witch. Uh, the city is obviously   responsible for uh approving and implementing  a SID, which we did uh several years ago. Uh   the SID was very successful as is everything out  in that area and so that we had collected enough   revenue in order to uh service the remaining  debt uh throughout the term of the debt. Uh so   actually the developer came to us and recommended  that we terminate the SID uh which we presented   to the city council I believe on June 14th of  2022. Uh it was approved by the city council.   Uh now I think it's important to recognize that uh  the city's responsibility is to create the SID and   to terminate the SID. Uh we have absolutely zero  responsibility for collecting the SID and that's   based on state statute. There's really one entity  who's responsible for collecting sales tax in the   state of Kansas and that is our partners at the  Kansas Department of Revenue. We work very closely   with them and they are excellent partners to us  but it is their responsibility to collect the SID.   So after it was terminated by the city council  uh you have to provide revenue 90 days notice   and they typically uh want that quarterly. So, in  order to have the tax terminate on September 30th   of 2022 or October 1st, the next day, we needed  to provide them notification prior to July 1st,   which we did. And they did in fact uh terminate uh  the tax. In fact, I believe they sent taxpayers in   that district a notification of the tax rate  change, which is common for them to do. They   typically post that online as well. Again, that  is their responsibility to notify taxpayers. And   uh I can tell you that incremental SID revenues  to the city of Witchaw did cease there shortly   after. Now there's always a tail on sales  tax collections. They tend to lag. So we did   receive a little bit in October and a little bit  in November and then just a very small amount in   December and that's normal but effectively the  city of Witsto has received no revenues into our   K96 star bond SID fund since uh the fall of uh  2022. Uh so that's what we know about it. Again,   the count the state administers the sales tax uh  you know whether or not academy was collecting   it. How they were remitting it to the state is  far beyond the purview of me to know. Uh I think   those questions would be better directed to the  department of revenue. But I can tell you and I   have spoken with them a little bit. Uh, I can  tell you that the city has received virtually   no revenues from the K96 Starbond SID since  the fourth quarter of 2022. Thank you, Mark,   for addressing that. um on behalf of citizens  of Witchah uh knowing that that SID continued   at one specific retailer um and while the city  of Witchah did not receive any of those proceeds,   I'd like to know where those proceeds went  then. Um, so if there's a followup with,   again, those are the state individuals. I'd  like to know what happened to those dollars   that were collected and did not come to the city  of Witchah or benefited the citizens of Witchah.   We can explore that with the state. Again, they  are responsible for the collection of the tax. Uh,   and you know, understandably so. Sometimes they're  a little reluctant to overshare information   because a lot of information about taxpayers is  very confidential and which we respect. But yeah,   we'll visit with the state and see what we can  find out. Thank you very much, Mark. I see no   further questions regarding the budget from the  bench. We will now open it up for public comment. I see no public comment. I'll bring it back to the  bench. Oh, thought there was going to be a rush. One public comment. Unbelievable. Mayor,  vice mayor, city council, city manager,   city legal. I come before you for budget concerns.  We were losing$1 to2 million per year at animal   services for because we weren't collect well the  city was for not collecting dog license fees. Uh   we're making baby steps towards getting some of  that money. So I appreciate that. Um our animal   services work 8 hours. So let's just say 8 to 4 8  hours. Um, but they get a paid lunch because they   go home after those eight hours. They tell me  that they eat at their desks as they work. I'm   from Missouri, the show me state. We need an audit  because I if you leave there to go eat anywhere,   it's more than more than whatever they're  saying. So, anyhow, we need to I don't think   they should be getting paid for their lunch. Um,  on that same realm of thinking, my wife and I,   we go to Freddy's three to four times, one on  Rock Road, and um, we've noticed two officers   eating there two out of those three or four times  we went. And although it's in their contract that   they are on the radio and good to go for an  emergency, all I'm asking if they don't go   anywhere for a call any time during that hour that  they stay stay over an hour to help Witchah cuz   we're short offices. So if they got their lunch  paid for and they didn't have to go anywhere,   but they were under radio so they're legal. But  I think that would go a long way for us thinking   well of the police when they don't take their on a  call on their lunch. All right. Um I have honeydew   lists and I tell my wife that she doesn't  have to keep reminding me every six months.   So thinking about future savings. Two weeks  ago, a citizen wouldn't leave the podium area   and security had to escort her away. One city  councilman said he appreciated her and was in   favor of reparations and another council person  said he was willing to have the conversation.   Could we ask that person that disrespected our  mayor and our city council by not sitting down   how much she is requesting so we can plan for  that in payment for future budgets? And then   city manager to you in your honor I will push to  have the city keep Mark's pie charts. Thank you.   C. Thank you, Council Member Johnson. Thanks,  Mayor. Just for clarification, Elder Dean wasn't   asking for a dollar amount. The ordinance she  was requesting would uh create a commission on   reparations, which the council would appoint  to, and then they would look at how to address   reparations. There wasn't a dollar amount.  [Music] We'll continue with public comment. I see none. We will close public  comment for the budget and multiple   um action items. So I will officially close  public comment. Bringing it back to the bench. We'll start with discussion. Council member  Johnson. Thanks Mayor U. Mark team Bob. Appreciate   your work on uh the budget. Bob reminded me before  the meeting this is my last budget to vote on.   So, it's my eighth budget. There's a lot of good  things in this budget, so I'll be supportive. Um,   a lot of good work. Many remember I did vote  against the mill levy decrease, but that wasn't   a reflection of the budget. It was just about  that. But there's a lot of good things in here,   a lot of good investments that I think um  will set us up really well in the future.   Um, I do just want to again highlight that as on  the citizen survey as you saw crime prevention   being so high. Crime prevention is not just  law enforcement and they would tell you that   same thing. Often times when they're out in  the community and dealing with the situation,   they call partners to help out. Those partners  could be city facilities, libraries or parks,   or it could be nonprofit organizations that  they work with. So, we're not trying to   arrest our way out of everything, but really  trying to to partner. With that being said,   there are some really good investments again  in libraries, parks, arts, all of the things   that matter. And my encouragement because I did  hear that there was an item that highlights in   27 a reduction in arts funding is that this  council not do that. I hope um in the future   the council fully funds the 2% and not drops to  1%. Again, all of these things are connected.   And the more investments we continue to make  in quality parks, quality libraries, arts,   things like that, uh it's going to be better as we  look at valuing the team Witchah, our employees,   paying them living wages, not surviving  wages, and we continue to pay our staff more,   but we're it's going to get more competitive in  the future. So again, just looking at making the   right investments, not only into team Witchah,  but also our city with your tax dollars and what   that's going to look like and investing in these  different areas, whether it's affordable housing,   all of these things play a role in making our  community better. And I will say as people debate   what crime prevention really is, crime prevention  truly outside of law enforcement is a young person   or young adult having an opportunity to go fall  in love with reading at a library or going to   fall in love with astronomy like I did going to  the library, being able to go to a quality park   in their neighborhood. And because we have over  100 parks throughout our city, that means parks   are accessible and we should keep those up. We  shouldn't reduce those. That means someone like   me who could go walk the streets in other areas,  maybe go into Red Bud Park to play 5,000 if you   know what that is. Get a football, throw it into  a group, see who can catch it. It's those types   of things that really keep young people out of  trouble. It gives them something to do. It's these   community centers with cultural um not cultural,  culinary arts opportunities to maybe learn how   to cook something differently or healthy. is  providing these opportunities for many people in   our community to make different choices rather  than some that might be detrimental to their   present and future. So, I'm supportive of this  because we are making a a lot of those investments   and my encouragement is as we go forward, we think  about making more of those investments because if   we don't, we will see trends change back and some  will ask what happened and I'll always be able to   point to it's in the budget. So, I'm hoping that  going forward we continue some of the good work   that we have been doing and increase. Um, but I  will be supportive today on my final budget. Um,   because there are some good things and always  appreciate the work that the management manager   and finance team do to present the best budget  possible. Council member Tuttle, thank you. Um,   I appreciate that. Um, this is my seventh budget  that I've had the opportunity to be engaged in.   I liked the way I was going to say loved. I  could probably go with loved. I loved the way   that we tied everything to the mission and the  four pillars. Um, that was really important to   me. I heard lots of good comments from staff  that they also appreciated that. It just kept   everything grounded of why we do what we do  every day at the city of Witchah. Um, I just   want to give a shout out to staff. This has been,  as someone mentioned, nine months. Um, you know,   we'll give you maybe like a few weeks, um, Mark  and Elizabeth, and then we're going to start this   all over again, getting ready for the next year.  But I know this is a labor of love and certainly,   um, something that you're quite proud of and you  should be quite proud of as well. Um, I also want   to thank the community for providing input. Again,  I think we had over 20 different opportunities   for the community to be involved in some level. of  course always just reaching out to us, but we have   district advisory board meetings and the budget  simulator and you know all the different things   that we had. And so for the community members that  took their time, we are grateful and we heard you   and we listen to you. Um also want to thank  Bob. It's your 17th year uh with a budget in   the city of Witchaw, but your 47th budget within  a municipality. So that certainly deserves kudos   and recognition. Thank you for being a true public  servant. you are appreciated and respected. Um,   I've said this every year. This is I mentioned  my seventh year. Where you allocate your time   and treasure is a reflection of your values and I  think that this budget is a true reflection of the   city of Witchah and what we think the community  wants us to do. So, I will be supportive of this   budget today. And just a friendly reminder, if  we can take the four first four actions in one   bundle and take the the fifth one separately.  Thank you. Council member Glascott. Thank you,   Mayor. We're about to deliver the first property  tax cut um cutting the millie by half a mill since   1986. And I think that's something we should all  be proud of while we're still protecting the core   services that people count on. This proves that  I think government can live within its means,   stay focused on safety streets while also  maintaining our shared spaces and amenities.   Some people think that city hall may be here to  solve every problem, but leadership is not just   about government responsibility, but making sure  that we can't we don't make promises that we can't   keep to individuals. Um, others, I think, want to  continue reducing costs and taxes in the future   with no plan, and that's just irresponsible.  And I think that's why we must look at revenue   replacements where and when it makes sense to  property taxes. I think this budget shows that   we can chart a better course and we can respect  property tax owners. And while not part of this   budget process, an independent group of citizens  presented efficiencies at city hall. I want to   thank them for their work on this as well. And  I hope while I'm not going to be doing it today,   that over the course of the year, we look at  some of these recommendations and we examine   each in their own merit. just some of them that I  look forward to having future discussions about.   Require competitive bidding for all purchases over  50,000. Consolidate PECard and one-time vendors   into formal contracts. Conduct quarterly reviews  of contract utilization. Enforce clawbacks within   six months for underperforming developers. Require  developers with debts over 50,000 to be disclosed   in public financial reports. Prohibit deals with  vendors or developers who are in litigation with   the city. Publish an annual efficiency audit  highlighting contractual utilization. clawback   enforcement of vendor compliance, post major  development agreements and disclosures online in a   searchable format, re-examine feasibility studies,  consulting contracts, and I can continue to go on,   but I believe that we're called from this bench  to deliver essential services efficiently,   spend responsibly, and build public trust.  And I want to thank Mark Manning. I want   to thank Bob. I believe this budget does  just that. And uh congratulations, I think,   on uh presenting a well-rounded document to this  body to consider. Thank you. I also uh would   like to echo some of those same um sentiments and  because of that I mentioned it during the previous   vote. What concerns me was the slide regarding  a budget deficit and it will always concern me   because again while every year we have to pass a  balanced budget that is a requirement we do pass a   balanced budget but what I think about are future  years and those are the ones that concern me   um and with that that's part of the reason why I  will not be voting in favor of this budget because   I want to make sure that we are always cognizant  that there are not unlimited dollars that we can   collect from taxpayers, especially as Council  Member Glascock has said, um, and individuals   that have come up to us and shared their concerns  about living in their homes and being overt taxed   or feeling like they're being taxed out of  their homes. for me. Um I've asked and was not   um approved by this council to look at a budget  that was just at inflation and new construction   which would have been 4.5% um and a major  reduction in the budget of $4 million. And I know   that that was hard. But because that was not um  the proposal that's in front of me, I cannot pass   this budget with my yay vote. Um, and so I will  not be moving item number one, but I will be able   to move other items. And so I I see that there are  other council members that want to speak. U, but I   would like to move other items before moving the  budget. Council member Glascon. Thank you. Mayor,   it's a question for you. Are you going to be  proposing any cuts to the budget? I actually   will make an adjustment to uh not the budget,  but the CIP. So you will be proposing those? I   will be making a change to the CIP only but no  changes to the budget. Changes to the budget. So with that um I will start with the CIP.  So out of order, but um I would like to   close public comment. adopt the 2026 2035  proposed capital improvement program with   an amendment to the CIP to include $2 million  in transit transient guest tax funding in the   2026 cultural facilities maintenance project for  the renovation of the downtown library building. Second motion and a second. Any further  discussion? I see none. Madame clerk,   please open the role. Motion passes 70. I will close public I move to  close the public hearing and approve the use of   local funds derived from property within  the corporate limits for the Witchah State   University Board of Trustees interlocal  agreement between city and county. Second   motion and a second. Any further discussion? I  see none. Madame clerk, please open the role. [Music]   Council member Todd, I was just going to make the  statement. I know I said it again, but just to be   redundant, due to a personal conflict of interest,  I will be abstaining from this vote. Thank you. Motion passes 6 with one abstension. And with  that, uh, the next three items can be part of one   motion if, um, someone would like to read it. I'll  I'll make that, please. Uh, I will, uh, motion   we make the recommended action. Adopt the 2026  proposed budget. Approve the second reading of   the necessary budget ordinances, including those  for the tax incremental financing districts and   the SMID. Approve the amending 2025 budget for the  ice rink century 2 sewer and affordable housing   funds. Authorizes staff to take the necessary  steps to implement the budget, including the   budget adjustments, expenditure control levels,  budget administration procedures, and adjustments   outlined in the agenda report, and to make any  technical adjustments necessary to complete and   submit the state certification forms. Second.  motion and a second. Any further discussion? I   see none. I simply want to say again, thank you  to the staff for getting us to this position   where there is going to be a mill levy reduction  in over 30 years. This is of note for our city and   I'm very grateful that this council um had lots  of open conversation with the community regarding   the budget. Again, I just want to give a warning  that right now it's projected that we will have   a $3.9 million budget deficit in 28 and a $7.1  million budget deficit in 2029. Um, so with that,   we have a motion and a second and no further  discussion. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 61. Madame clerk,  please call the next item. Approved that pursuant to section 204090, council  member Hohheisel's travel expenses as estimated   on the travel authorization and expense form  to attend the Altus Lackland civic leader tour   in San Antonio, Texas September 16th through  18, 2025 for the purpose of representing the   city of Witchaw consistent with AR 3.1 be  approved. Upon return from travel, actual   expenses shall be reported to the controllers's  office. I move to approve that travel. Second.   Motion and a second. Any discussion? I see  none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk, please  call the next item. Approve that pursuant   to section 204090, Vice Mayor Johnston's  travel expense as estimated on the travel   authorization and expense form to attend Smoky  Hill Air National Guard range tour in Salena,   Kansas October 22nd, 2025 for the purpose  of representing the city of Witchaw, Kansas,   consistent with AR 3.1 be approved. Upon  return from travel, actual expenses shall   be reported to the controllers's office. I  move to approve that travel. Second motion   and a second. Any further discussion? I see  none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Madame clerk, please call the next item. approved to exceed the gift limit established  by the ethics ordinance for Mayor Woo to accept   travel and expenses to attend the 2025 Hunt  Mayor's Leadership Fellowship October 23rd   through 24th, 2025 in Fort Worth, Texas for  the purpose of representing the city. The   mayor fellowship is hosted by a nonprofit, the  Hunt Institute for the purpose of education,   collaboration, professional development.  The estimated gift amount or for travel,   hotel, and meals is $1,600. Estimated costs  covered by the city for mayor Woo is zero   dollars. I will just add a comment. Um I'm very  grateful that I got asked to participate in the   Hunt Mayor's Leadership Fellowship and I  have accepted that uh invitation with the   vote if approved for this gift exceeding  limit. I move that we approve it. Second   motion and a second. Any further discussion? I  see none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk, please call  the next item. Council member, appointments   and comments. Council members, any appointments.  I have one appointment that I sent via email. Um,   I move to or I would like to appoint  and move to appoint Teresa Ortega for   the Witchaw Airport Advisory Board um on  behalf of Cedric County District 3. Second   motion and a second. Any further discussion? I  see none. Madame Clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk,  please Oh, sorry. Council members,   any comments? I see no comments. I will move  to adjourn our meeting. Second. Motion and   a second. Any further discussion? I see  none. Madam clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Thank you very much.