e e e e e e e e e e e e e e special call council meeting before mayor Parker calls the meeting to order we ask that you please silence all electronic devices for those of you who have requested to speak there are two podiums in the chambers the podium in the back is for individuals with Mobility concerns we ask all others to step forward to the front Podium each Podium has a countdown clock located to the speaker's right that we hope is working tonight but it may not so bear with us a bell will sound when you have 30 seconds left and a bell will sound when your time has ended each speaker will be given three minutes thank you good evening and welcome to this special called meeting related to the city of for Budget we appreciate all of you attending with that I will turn it back over to our esteemed City Secretary Janette thank you mayor Parker our first item is a public hearing 24- 4628 with staff report by Christy lemon all right good evening mayor and Council my name is Christy lemon I'm the assistant director in the Fort Worth lab and I will be presenting information on the recommended property tax rate for fiscal year uh 2025 how do I move it okay thank you the recommended property tax rate for fiscal year 2025 is 67.2 C per $100 valuation this is the same property tax rate that was adopted in fiscal year 2024 each year the recommended property tax rate is calculated once the city receives certified appraisal values of real property from the appraisal districts for fiscal year 2025 the total net taxable value for the city increased 5% over over fiscal year 2024 um to a value of $11.9 billion of that increase new construction added $3.6 billion in value to the tax roll with the other 2.6 billion coming from reappraised values on existing property based on the $21.9 billion valuation the recommended tax rate of 67.2 cents the city expects to collect nearly $778 million in property tax revenue this Revenue funds the city's General debt obligations and the general fund including payo expenditures the property tax rate of 67.2 cents per $100 valuation is allocated between operations and maintenance or o andm and debt the debt portion is anticipated to meet the city's General debt obligations which includes the bonds issued for propositions approved by voters FY 25 recommended debt rate Remains the Same at as FY 24 at 14.75 cents and this rate of 14.75 cents is anticipated to be sufficient to fund a future Bond program the portion for operations and maintenance is the largest funding source for the general fund which houses a significant portion of the operating activity for the city the recommended on andm rate is 52.5 cents within this onm rate the city allocates a portion to cash funded Capital infrastructure maintenance which is often referred to as pigo for FY 2025 that allocation has increased to 7.25 cents the remaining portion of 4.25 cents is dedicated to the general fund which is the city's largest operating fund this is a decrease of a quarter Cent from fy2 24 I'd like to take a moment to highlight another important action taken by the mayor and Council this year in June the council approved an increase to the over 65 in disabled residential homestead exemption pushing the exemption from $60,000 to $80,000 this is the second year in a row that the council has increased this exemption and it offers property tax relief to some of our most vulnerable residents the council also approved a property tax exemption for child care centers for fy2 and this is the first year that the tax exemption was exemption was made available by the state to date we've hosted 12 public engagement meetings held numerous budget work sessions with the city council and conducted a public hearing on the recommended budget last week this public hearing on the tax rate is the next step in the budget process before the council is presented with the opportunity to vote on various ordinances and resolutions on today's agenda to adopt the fy2 recommended budget and tax rate of 67.2 cents per $100 valuation thank you for your time and attention and special thanks to everyone who engaged and contributed this budget season thank you Christie we have a few speakers correct Janette yes we have two on this item there thank you our first is Adrien Smith who will be followed by Stan Johnson who's by phone worth time Adrien Smith I am one with the people so this particular discussion conduct a public hearing first of all let me say thank you to the staff for uh the hard work and dedication and commitment that you have uh continuously do as it relates to moving the city forward so as it way conduct a public hearing on the proposed 2024 tax rate public hearing I don't see any any other public here I see the staff and I see a handful of the usuals you know the ones who are committed to the cause but I don't see any any of the public here shame ER it's a shame how you all do things down here but as far as the tax rate when you all just do this just do this vote don't get up here and do the grand standing and you know the what we did what we did because we know that the state the state is the ones who started this the state started this um tax rate uh decrease it started with the state moved down to the county now the county you all had to F follow the county so really truthfully we we need to be thanking the county and the state for getting us to this point because had the county increased in its uh tax rate valuations than you all would have so so sir can I speak can I speak I do not yield any of my time to anyone on this diet yes thank you thank you Mr Williams this is my time sir thank you so again thank you to the county for all that they have done to get us to this place and this point as it relates to this tax rate now as far as this uh tax rate and if you want to educate me Mr William by all means when I take my seat it lightly educate on the tax rate Adrian so again check check your counsil mayor don't don't check me Dr Williams is doing just fine so again again mayor this is what you all do typically typical Behavior try to take people off their talking points but it's all good it's been recorded it's been documented and Mr William you already know what time it is I already put you on notice so and again um like I say to the tax rate let's hopefully going forward in this next year you all are physically responsible as it relates to every decision that you all are making because since I've been coming down here you haven't been you haven't been and it's it's all a reflection on you mayor everything begins begins and ends with you and you are a bad mayor so well thank you for hearing me out and by all me Mr Mr W the floor is yours our next speaker is Stan Johnson by phone Mr Johnson Stanley Johnson for worth go ahead you have three minutes for your time and efforts uh a member of the public and very pleased with what yall are doing uh no further comment thank you Mr Johnson Council that is the conclusion of our speakers on item number 24- 4628 which is our public hearing on the proposed 2024 tax rate at this time we can take Council action to close the public hearing got a motion and a second Council any other discussion please vote I've got two yeses from Lars dorf and crane thank you and motion approved next will be public hearing MNC 24- 076 with staff report by Lorraine Coleman good afternoon mayor and members of the city council I'm Lorraine Coleman administrative services manager with the police department and I'm here to review the fiscal year 2025 recommended budget for the crime control and prevention District or ccpd city council approval is the third and final step in the budget process yes the initial funding application was approved by city council for submission to the ccpd board on August 13th in the amount of 133,134 on August 20th the board adopted the fiscal year 25 ccpd budget in the amount of 135 m867 123 the increase from the original funding application represents a use of fund of available unencumbered fund balance for the cost of pay increases associated with the new meet and confer labor agreement which is currently being finalized funded by the half cent sales tax this Revenue provides resources to implement enhanced crime reduction strategies and Community Partnerships the fiscal year 2025 recommended operating budget is 135 million and of that 31% is for Equipment Technology and infrastructure 24% for enhanced response 23% for neighborhood crime prevention 11% for Recruitment and training and 9% goes to the partners with a shared mission in comparison to fiscal year 24 the 25 recommended budget represents a $4.3 million increase overall we added 11 new sworn positions highlighted on the next slide decreases in Recruitment and training are attributable to changes in our budgeting strategies in the new officer training and 911 call taker program the leveling out of the sales tax impacted our capacity this year however with various strategies and adjustments to to this budget it provides additional support to Key Programs it includes additions in the enhanced response Initiative for school resource officers bike teams and a new crossing guards contract the neighborhood crime prevention initiative includes additional npos and the training and recruitment initiative includes a new sergeant in the wellness program we also have a 5-year Capital Improvement plan and in fiscal year 2025 we plan to invest 21.5 million in vehicles technology and Equipment the next steps for today are to complete the public hearing process and take action on the MNC and FY 2025 budget this concludes the staff report thank you Lorraine Council we have a few speakers on this item unless there's any questions for Miss Coleman okay thank you our next speaker is Chris Wood who will be followed by Bob Willoughby hi I'm Chris Wood I did not know the effect that career criminals had on society until October 2021 when my stalker first knocked on my door my stalker is a very powerful career criminal Chris I hate to interrupt you but we are sticking comments tonight that pertain to the Crime Control provinci District budget if you have any comments related to that thank you well I wanted to talk about the importance of fighting career criminals let's do that let's get to that part thank you okay I'm kind of confused just tell me what I need to they just make that applicable to the ccpd budget that would be very helpful thank you Miss Wood it's applicable because I'm talking about career criminals how much time do I have left now okay two minutes okay I had made complaints against my stalker's boys and he was pretty mad what unfolded for me was an unrelenting onslaught of harassment and Terror as he attempted to silence me and make me pay for what I had done you may live in a nice neighborhood away from high crime areas but do not fool yourself into thinking you are safe from dangerous criminals when my stalker first went after me I was walking for Uber and my passengers and food delivery customers lived in nice parts of the Metroplex so his attacks on me happened any time any day anywhere and here's the thing about my stalker he will throw a grenade when a bullet will do one time he tried to get me to wreck my car in 20 and I nearly collided with a semi do you think if that semi would have collided with my car that I would have been the only one hurt or killed certainly not and this is just one of the many examples when my stalker had no regard for the lives of those around those around me my stalker only cares about hit hitting his Target if others get hurt or killed in the process oh well as a matter of fact someone else died one time when my stalker was trying to get to me I was the intended target but someone else died so don't fool El into thinking that crimes in other areas do not affect you directly in the area where you live so any money time and effort put into preventing and stopping career criminals is crucial to the well-being of society and that's I thought that's what I was talking about approve this budget thank you Miss Wood our next speaker is Bob Willoughby followed by Adrien Smith Adrian it's fine if you film do you mind coming over here he's just really bright light it might be better view anyway from this media dis I know he is it just I can't Bob would you like to speak that'd be great thanks can we get this on the screen please or did you shut me down already I can I can still speak okay very good can we get this on the screen please I know you are just go ahead I got confidence in you your three minutes is starting thank you so uh another thing is uh your 3 minutes is going so it's fine it's working from right here I can see your 3 minutes please start the time okay oh the the second thing I want to say please mayor uh the video that people see on the on the city website should be the same video here so that picture when you get it up here if you will get it up here before you start my time because that's the whole thing I'm talking about you know and uh I sure we Lo it up before you start my time okay very good and uh so um so this is what you should see on the city website you go watch us meeting and MADD you mess you edit my videos you cut me last week so anyway I appreciate just leave I wish I had the time to edit I don't here's what I'm talking about here's what I've been asking and asking over and over and and Carlos would you hear the repeat what you told me in the hallway you said that my information was wrong and you said that you answer me you never answered me would you PR do that clly okay here it is with the ccpd funds nothing should be moving until a full investigation's done this company one of them I here called coming up got $1.6 million it says here the maximum request is 300,000 and you'll be denied if you ask for more than that I simply asked Carlos three months ago what is this explain this to me okay he doesn't answer he runs away mayor M Parker you sat on this board you're the mayor of the city why don't you answer about this you're just everybody sets on this board and that's another thing I learned from a friend I brought down came down here two things about these ccpd funds when this been in place it was supp before a city city of a population over a million we were under a million when they put this in place so it's in violation second thing that's in violation there and I can't think now went blank but anyway there are plenty of things in violation the first thing we need is a full full investigation on where all this money going there six of them got more even ISD got1 point something million dollars this only says 300,000 clearly you think because you don't answer I'm just going to drop it and go away I don't do that other people might but I don't I'm going to stay with it like a little pit Bulldog Carlos do you answer or you answer mayor it's your responsibility it's all your responsibility that's on that board you sit on the board and you're the mayor of the city one thank you Bob appreciate that is my time out or not I hope so 52 seconds please Contin 52 49 keep going you know what I appreciate crane not being here in me counting down like it is last time at the last Mee that was very disrespectful 43 41 look I want yall to notice 39 38 37 36 now would you call that disrespectful to us or not4 call call you're the one that has the power to tell him to stop and you what do else do you have to say for the next 25 seconds I want to come back what else I want to talk to you about the CC there was two things that was in violation one was that it shouldn't be and the second thing I'm sorry I went blank I guess I'm getting olded but um okay well what we want is an answer I don't want none of the none of this money should be moving uh until you answer we have a right to know and the people in here if they don't call you our next speaker is Adrien Smith thank you so my uh the ccpd funding I just had question as to how much input other than the vote you all gave how much input you do you all have as it relates to the allocations of the funds in the various um in the various uh scope of the programs that the ccpd fund helps to helps to um sorry man I'm being sensical I'm being sensical man I'm sorry you know I just I'm being sensical I'm sorry but again I just want to speak to the ccpd funding and asked uh is there a way we can get domestic violence and Victim Assistance funded more because the money that's allocated toward toward it is ISO um I'm looking at the what else did I see that's important oh that's what the CIT Crisis intervent interv Intervention team program is underfunded so I would like to know what we could do about that getting getting it making sure it gets more funding the we dealing with crime initiatives here so those two stick out to me the most and we know that domestic violence has a tendency to uh lead to what this lady what what Miss Miss she was speaking on you know because stalking can lead to domestic situations so when it comes to domestic violence we know that that's a that's a a bad bad stench in society as relates to protecting the livelihoods of women so what can we do to get ensure that it gets more funding uh May Parker going forward who makes the decisions as far as how these funds are allocated uh on the ccpd is it through the police department or what I'm GNA wait till you're finished I don't want to interrupt your time you can you can have some of my time you got 30 seconds go ahead go ahead are you done are you done speaking we I'll just going to wait till your time's expired and I'll use my time thank you okay okay I think that's a conclusion of Adrian's time thank you very much I think our um Police Department should be commended for the many Partnerships they have with both one safe place and Safe Haven um we are collocated in the one safe place building and um there's an ample opportunity you're up here quite a bit Adrian if that was an issue that you wanted to work on but yes our Police Department I'm very proud of that work so with that Council that's the last of our speakers on this item are there any discussion items we'd like to take on before we take a motion and vote yes please go ahead Carlos first and then Council rebec all right uh very briefly M I'd like to say this as the chair of the ccpd uh board you know we are all board members of that organization our meetings are public okay so we're very transparent in our processes this proposed fy2 budget keeps our commitments uh to crime prevention program and their updated policies and I hope everyone's listening to that part updated policies additional Patrol officers investment in bike patrols and uh Staffing and uh needed equipment and to those that are wondering about what more we can fund you know when it comes to domestic abuse programs and the prevention of domestic abuse stay tuned MNC 24767 is an execution of an agreement with safe cities for more than $400,000 and that addresses that particular point so I'm prepared to make a motion but I think uh mayor protim Gina bibbens had something to say and mayor protim and then to council M back and I think Council Williams thank you and thank you for your comments councilman Flores uh I always tell constituents if you have a complaint about the budget by the time we get ready to vote you've missed many opportunities to participate and engage but I would like for chief NOS to come to the microphone for just a couple of questions I am more than proud because of the efforts I see extended by the police department and other partners Chief can you talk a bit about domestic violence and how it's incorporated into these recommendations absolutely maryan Council thank you for the opportunity domestic violence is something that uh countries or cities across the country trying to find new and innovative ways to deal with because it's happening behind closed doors it's not often a crime that happens out in public like other crimes so it adds an element of difficulty to First detecting then solving those crimes and holding those responsible accountable and that's why with the ccpd funding and with the Partnerships that mayor Parker mentioned with organization like one safe place we're actually take it able to take another step we're actually able to invest in prevention by investing in the lives of those who are victims of domestic violence to make sure they don't become victims over and over and over again which unfortunately sometimes leads even to deadly consequences thank you chief for those comments and with all concern to Mr Adrien Smith one thing I can tell you and anybody here is if you know of any specific instances where we really do need to hone in we are Nimble we are flexible and I would ask that you share that information with the appropriate staff and everybody has access to the Chief and so there's no idea that is valid that will go unheard or un acted on for a lack of a better phrase Chief thank you for your passion thank you for being here and I just want to thank all the staffers who work with these various Partners we have to make sure we are doing all that we can to protect those who need protection but again we need input before the vote not when we're about to take that vote but again I know you're open to anyone who has anything to add that maybe we missed out because they didn't engage and I thank you in advance for being available thank you Chief thank you mayor protan thank you and Council M back to and Council Williams uh Mr Smith I just uh really want to say I think we're on the same page this one about this one and making sure that we are um funding uh prevention of domestic violence not just the the the care of those women that have experienced but how we can best prevent it in our community which is why I am proud to be a co-chair of this year's women of Hope breakfast to support one safe place and the amazing work that they do and I would invite you um to turn that concern into action and consider being a sponsor serve that particular breakfast as well thank you Council Williams um yeah I'll just be really brief um Chief noes and chief Aldridge and Keith Morris and de and thank you for all of the work that you all um did on this budget and I just wanted to particularly commend yall um you know ensuring that our officers um you know are paid competitively um especially we know how important um the service they provide for our city is and I'm I'm just really excited that we're able to do that as well as a addressing um compression issues for the entire department so um Kudos um it's very much so needed and and just really grateful for what y'all did in this budget any other comments from Council Council Flores are you good make sure it's still green yes we thank you council with that I'll entertain a motion so Move Motion in a second either discussion please vote got a yes from Council M lorf and a yes from Council crane oh he's got like a fancy a thumbs up that's kind of fun wow look at that okay I know okay motion carries thank you sorry easily distracted the next item is 24- 4623 and there I believe we're going to have a motion to continue this item yes I believe that's correct uh Council M Block I believe has our motion to continue so we have a motion to continue I motion to continue ordinance 24- 4623 to the September 24 2024 special called council meeting set to begin at 5:30 p.m. got a motion a second either discussion please vote two yeses and motion carries next item is 24- 462 four I believe we have one speaker we do Adrien Smith Mr Smith I want to apologize to miss Woods uh Chris Woods for um we met at a previous council meeting I just her name just blanked in my in my head but I wanted to let people know that her what she's going through is is you know you have to make it personal to be concerned about it so I wanted to add value to her name because I did meet her and I and I wanted her to know that I stand with you so um as in relation to this the budget let's talk about the budget operating budget for 2025 my question to the council and the mayor have we have we been physically responsible as it relates to the tax dollars that you all are responsible for ensuring that they are used for the purpose purposes in which you receive them for have we been physically responsible as a councel anyone anyone no one is speaking I will say no I will say no because since you all have taken position of this city you all have diluted the process in which how we do things down here mayor you remember we used to go we used to vote on these things line by line go through each agenda item discuss some etc etc and then vote but now with a single vote you all push tax dollars all over the place without no accountability without no uh checks and balances so again I asked the question we're going into 2025 have we been physically responsible with the tax dollars that come into the city that would been mayor I don't respect the I don't expect the response but I had to ask so hopefully going forward in 20 the 25 there will be more checks and balances there will be a greater accountability for how we allocate funding for various priorities as relates to this city because if you ask me it's a lot of wasteful spending that's going on and I feel there are a lot of hands being greased if you ask me oh yeah I know how how money can just get funnel through various uh means so mayor I got I have 17 seconds you answer me the last time any one of you when I take my seat answer that question have you all been responsible as it relates to the tax dollars that are allocated to the city we know what you did with the federal money thank you Council that's the last uh item or ask speaker on this this item if anybody has any comments the only comment I have is we have been very fiscally responsible yes I can entertain a motion Council Motion in a second please vote motion carries Council next item is 24- 46 25 we have one speaker on this item and I'm going to butcher his last name I may we don't he's on he's on the next item I'm sorry I was too far ahead you're on two two6 I see go ahead so we can entertain a motion yes yes excellent got a motion a second please vote who made the second crane is a yes motion carries next item is 24- 4626 thank you Janette our speaker is Mark ilam mowitz I'm so sorry he's going to correct me I hope is it pretty close okay good my name is markwitz or bovich just depends whether it's European or English uh I have my business address that I gave was 3437 East Victory in Chris Nells district and I've been in business 52 years and held a job for a total of 10 months for someone else and I come here to talk about all this uh federal debt that the city of SE of uh Fort wor is accepting I spoke against the when mayor mon Cree they got $500 million for Panther Island and another 500 million dollar for Panther Island and then under Betsy price they got a total of 500 million and then another 500 and then mayor Parker I read in the paper where y'all got 400 million and all that this does is buy inflation and it creates a false real estate boom you it's it's caused a lot of uh people that have kept the Stockyards going are going to be pushed out and a lot of small business owners that house their business on the North side are being displaced and uh uh the thing about Panther Island it should have been if y'all wanted it it should have been about a bond isue called not about getting federal debt y'all call it grants I call it federal debt and buy an inflation and I've made it upon myself because no one seems to be talking about what's causing the debt in this country and on that handout they have it on the thing uh you know councilman Flores will verify with me that the new coins the new pennies that we have aren't good conductors of electricity because they have no copper in them you there's two pennies that are about the size of a half dollar that are prior to 1850 okay the silver dollar has 0.95 is 9500s of an ounce the sandwich coin the Eisen hour dollar is085 uh it's just there's no uh value in that you take four of those to buy a newspaper the silver dollar used to buy a uh a 2third of a month subscription to a daily paper and these other coins here are deteriorated that came out of the washing machine drain that have no copper in them the ones on the bottom have copper in them they're defaced a little bit but they're still intact and somewhere people are going have to stop accepting all this federal debt thank you Mark Council that is the conclusion of our speakers on this item any discussion from Council got a got a motion to approve in a second please vote Council motion carries mayor that concludes the items for the 5m thank you I just want to make note of our city staff most of which are over here in a budget office and management office and other departments we know how hard you worked over the last really the six months to get us to this point um we're very thankful for your expertise and your leadership in conducting business on behalf of the city importantly um I think drafting what has been one of our best budgets in a really difficult year so for for that we're thankful and to my colleagues on Council you helped us find consensus on a budget very early on and we should be proud of that especially as you look across the country and there's a lot of division and working with you has been a pleasure and we've done some big things in this budget um with revenues down at the same time which I know we're all proud of so I don't need to belabor the point I just really wanted to say thank you um and look forward to enacting this Budget moving forward as a fiscal year starts on October 1st and seeing our city staff do excellent work across um across City of Fort Worth so thank you all with no other comments Council we're adjourned and we'll start back again at 6