Mar 03, 2026 Caroline County Commissioners Meeting

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PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.

TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT IS ONE NATION, INDIVISIBLE. I HAVE A CLOSE OUT, CLOSE SESSION REPORT OUT STATEMENT. DURING THE FEBRUARY 17TH, 2026 MEETING.

THE BOARD MET IN CLOSED SESSION UNDER GENERAL PROVISIONS 3-305B7 TO CONSULT WITH COUNSEL REGARDING A LEGAL MATTER. THE ATTENDEES WERE THE COMMISSIONERS, STUART BARROW, DANIEL FOX, AND JENNIFER RILEY. I BELIEVE KATHLEEN FREEMAN WAS ALSO THERE. OKAY, FOR THE... THE BENEFIT OF EVERYONE WATCHING ONLINE, I WILL REMIND EVERYBODY. SOME OF THE MICS ARE OLDER AND A LITTLE MORE SENSITIVE, SO TRY TO GET THOSE CLOSE TO YOU AND SPEAK INTO THE MICROPHONE SO PEOPLE WATCHING ONLINE CAN HEAR CLEARLY.

WE'LL, I GUESS, START OFF WITH OUR FISCAL YEAR 2027 BUDGET WORKSHOP, BUDGET ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION.

DANNY, DID YOU WANT TO SAY ANYTHING BEFORE WE...

YEAH, WE CERTAINLY CAN. FIRST AND FOREMOST, THANK YOU FOR THE DEPARTMENTS AND THE AGENCIES THAT ARE HERE AT THIS TIME FOR ATTENDING OUR FY27 BUDGET ROUNDTABLE. HISTORICALLY, WE'VE TAKEN THIS TIME TO GO THROUGH EACH DEPARTMENT AND AGENCY AND ALLOW THE COMMISSIONERS TO ASK QUESTIONS AND TO HEAR FROM THE DEPARTMENTS ABOUT THEIR BUDGET. THIS YEAR, IN DISCUSSION WITH THE COMMISSIONERS AND TRYING TO STREAMLINE THE PROCESS A LITTLE BIT, IF YOU HAVE A FLAT BUDGET OR... I'M GOING TO SAY A SMALL, MODEST INCREASE. MORE THAN LIKELY, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO DIVE INTO A 10-MINUTE CONVERSATION OVER $400. SO PLEASE KEEP YOUR COMMENTS DIRECTED TOWARD THE BUDGET AND THE INCREASES THAT YOU HAVE AND SEE. WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO PRESIDENT BREEDON. OKAY, THANK YOU. EITHER ONE OF YOU, GENTLEMEN, WANT TO SAY ANYTHING BEFORE WE GET STARTED? GOOD TO GO. OKAY. ALL RIGHT, FIRST UP, WE HAVE THE COUNTY COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE. I'LL PINCH HIT FOR MS. FREEMAN THIS MORNING IN REGARDS TO THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.

SO THIS YEAR, WE HAVE AN ABOVE FLAT REQUEST OF JUST OVER $46,000, AND REALLY, THAT'S ATTRIBUTABLE TO TWO MAIN LINE ITEMS. THE FIRST BEING THE PAB EXPENSE THAT YOU SEE INSIDE THE COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE BUDGET.

SO YOU'LL PROBABLY HEAR THIS AS A REOCCURRING THEME THROUGHOUT THE BUDGET HEARING THIS MORNING. THE PAC GRANT THAT...

ASSISTED WITH PAB EXPENSES OVER THE YEARS WAS CUT IN HALF LAST FISCAL YEAR. AND THIS YEAR WE ARE BUDGETING FOR THAT TO BE REMOVED COMPLETELY FROM THE STATE'S BUDGET. SO INSIDE OF THE COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE BUDGET, YOU HAVE ABOUT FIFTEEN, SIXTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS WORTH OF EXPENSES THAT WERE USED TO BEING REIMBURSED BY THE GRANT. THAT NOW WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO EAT INSIDE THE GENERAL FUND. SO THAT'S REALLY THE FIRST ONE.

THE SECOND IS CONTRACTUAL SERVICES. YOU SEE AN INCREASE THERE. THERE ARE TWO MAIN ITEMS THAT COME OUT CONTRACTUAL SERVICES. THE FIRST BEING OUR LOBBYIST. SO WE CURRENTLY HAVE TWO ON CONTRACT. THEY HAVE CONTRACTUAL INCREASES FOR ORIGINAL CONTRACTS. AND THE SECOND, AND PROBABLY LARGEST PORTION IS THE VIDEO STREAMING SERVICE. SO WE RECEIVED A QUOTE LAST MONTH. AND THAT'S GOING UP TREMENDOUSLY EACH YEAR. AND IT SEEMS TO BE A CONSISTENT PATTERN WITH A LOT OF THE SOFTWARE COMPANIES THAT WE'VE BEEN ENGAGED WITH. SO THOSE TWO ITEMS TOGETHER. TOGETHER. COME TO ABOUT $46,000, WHAT'S INCLUDED IN THE COMMISSIONER'S BUDGET.

OKAY. THANK YOU. I BELIEVE.

ANY QUESTIONS ON THE COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE? SO, DANNY, THE PAB GRANT, AGAIN, WAS HALF. CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT AGAIN? YES. SO, HISTORICALLY, WHEN THE PAB WAS INITIATED AND THE LAW CHANGED THERE, WE WERE ABLE TO RECOUP JUST ABOUT 100% OF OUR OUT-OF-POCKET EXPENSES TOWARDS THAT. SO I BELIEVE IT WAS. JUST OVER $100,000 OR SO THAT WE GOT EACH YEAR. LAST YEAR, THEY REACHED OUT AND SAID, HEY, WE'RE GOING TO OFFER THAT 50%, SO IT DROPPED DOWN TO ABOUT $55,000. AND THEN THIS YEAR, WE SEE THAT IT'S BEING COMPLETELY REMOVED FROM THE GOVERNOR'S BUDGET, SO THERE WILL BE ZERO ASSISTANCE.

SO THE USUAL BAIT AND SWITCH WITH GETTING SOMETHING.

STARTED WITH A GRANT, AND THEN TAKING THAT GRANT AWAY AND HAVING US... ANY QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONER BARKS? NO. GOOD.

OKAY. DANNY, I BELIEVE YOU'RE UP AGAIN, OFFICE OF FINANCE.

OKAY. KEEP IT ROLLING. SO, JUST LIKE THE COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE, THE OFFICE OF FINANCE HAS TWO... THAT REALLY ACCOUNT FOR THE LARGEST PORTION OF THE $24,000. THAT IS DATA

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AND THEN THE SECOND PIECE IS THE AUDIT. SO THE AUDIT IS A BID PROCESS, BUT INSIDE OF THE CONTRACT THERE, WE HAVE... CONTRACTUAL INCREASES THAT ATTRIBUTE TO THE COST GOING UP. AND ADD THOSE TOGETHER AND SOME SMALL ADJUSTMENTS THAT WE'VE DONE INTERNALLY. AND YOU GET TO THE $24,000 AND IT INCREASES. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. ANY QUESTIONS ON FINANCE? MR. BARKS, GOT ANYTHING? NO. THAT'S GOOD. I'M GOOD. OKAY. SOMEONE ELSE GETS A TURN? MR. BARROW, YOU'RE UP.

OFFICE ALONE. THANK YOU, PRESIDENT BREEDING. THE DEPARTMENT'S REQUEST IS $26,520 ABOVE LAST YEAR. LAST YEAR WAS AN UNUSUAL YEAR BECAUSE WE WERE GOING BACK AND FORTH ABOUT WHERE THE OFFICE OF LAW WAS GOING TO BE. TO THE EXTENT THAT POSSIBLY ANOTHER INSIDE COUNCIL BEING HIRED.

THE MAIN DIFFERENCE IS THE RENT. WE HAVE BEEN MOVED OUT OF THE IT BUILDING, WHICH IS OWNED BY THE COUNTY, SO WE ARE NOW PAYING RENT FOR ANOTHER OFFICE, AND THAT'S THE LARGEST PART THERE. WE'VE REDUCED SOME OF THESE. LINE ITEMS, A COUPLE OF INCREASES JUST TO REFLECT THE ACTUAL EXPENSES.

OKAY. THANK YOU. ANY QUESTIONS FOR MR. BARROW? GOOD. GOOD.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES. MORNING, DENISE. GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING, COMMISSIONERS. CAN YOU HEAR ME? YEAH. OKAY, GREAT.

FOR THE OFFICE OF HR, WE'RE LOOKING FOR AN INCREASE. IT'S ABOUT $40-SOME THOUSAND, AND THAT INCREASE IS SPECIFICALLY FOR THE INTEGRATION OF THE HRIS AND THE PAYROLL SYSTEMS. CURRENTLY, WE'RE WORKING WITH THREE SYSTEMS. WE'RE LOOKING TO INTEGRATE TWO OF THE THREE TO STREAMLINE PROCESSES AND CLEAN UP THE DATA THAT'S IN THE SYSTEM. OKAY. SO WILL THOSE... WILL THERE BE OVERLAPPING SUBSCRIPTIONS THEN, WHILE YOU HAVE TWO PROGRAMS THAT YOU'RE SUBSCRIBED TO UNTIL YOU CAN GET OUT ALL THE YEAR? FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, YES. WE'RE NOT LOOKING TO MAKE THE MOVE UNTIL THE NEW YEAR STARTS. OKAY. AND YOU'LL BE DOING AWAY WITH ONE SYSTEM AND BASICALLY PROCESSING EVERYTHING IN NEOGOV? CORRECT. OKAY. CORRECT. OKAY.

ALL RIGHT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I DON'T. GOOD. DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING? NO. OKAY. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. PLANNING AND CODES.

CRYSTAL. GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING, COMMISSIONERS.

PLANNING AND CODES IS REQUESTING A FLAT BUDGET. WE DID SOME MINOR LINE ITEM ADJUSTMENTS TO BETTER REFLECT OUR SPENDING INTERNALLY AND WORK WITH OFFICE OF FINANCE ON THAT, BUT FLAT BUDGET.

OKAY. THANK YOU. PUBLIC WORKS.

ROBIN. GOOD MORNING, COMMISSIONERS. YEAH, AS YOU'LL SEE, IN MY BUDGET, IT'S BASICALLY A $26,610 INCREASE, BUT THROUGHOUT PUBLIC WORKS, LIKE IN ADMINISTRATION, WE REDUCED EXPENDITURES BY A LITTLE OVER $2,000, BUT THEN SOME OF MY INCREASES, CLOSE TO $9,000 IS AUTO INSURANCE ALONE, AND THEN THE OTHER $20,000 IS WHAT WE'VE DISCUSSED ABOUT THE... POSSIBILITY OF EMERGENCY OPERATIONS TO SECURE CONTRACTORS THROUGH A LOCAL REQUEST PROCESS. OKAY.

ANY QUESTIONS FOR ROBIN? I DON'T AT THIS POINT. NO? ROBIN, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING IN THERE FOR ANY ADDITIONAL TREE TRIMMING? IS THAT STILL IN THE BUDGET? THERE WAS.

THERE'S $50,000 IN THERE.

OKAY. IT WAS $100,000, AND THEN YOU GUYS GAVE ME A LITTLE MORE AFTER LAST YEAR'S BUDGET TO HIT IT.

BUT WE'RE BRINGING THAT IN SOME, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, SO WE HAVE THE $50,000 IN THERE PRIMARILY FOR...

LARGER MERCY TREES BECAUSE OUR BUCKET TRUCK ISN'T TALL ENOUGH TO BE SAFE IF THERE WAS A LARGE, DEAD TREE. SO WE CALL IN THE CONTRACTOR FOR THOSE.

THAT'S KIND OF HOW WE'RE LOOKING AT IT MOVING FORWARD, AND WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO START TO UTILIZE A FOUR-MAN CREW WITH THAT. HEY, Y'ALL. OKAY,

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MORNING. THERE WE GO. OKAY.

EXCUSE ME ONE SECOND. YEP.

OKAY, ON THE RECREATION SIDE, WE WERE INITIALLY ASKING FOR A $19,000 INCREASE. THE MAJORITY OF THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN AN OVERLAP OF A RETIRING EMPLOYEE AND A NEW HIRE.

HOWEVER, THAT RETIREMENT HAS BEEN MOVED UP, SO THE MAJORITY OF THE INCREASE FOR RECREATION AND PARKS IS GOING TO BE, HMM. JUST ABOUT $2,000 FOR COST OF LIVING INCREASES.

ON THE PARK SIDE, WE HAVE INCREASES IN THE MOWING SERVICE. THAT'S BRINGING A NEW CONTRACTOR ON, AS WELL AS BRINGING SHARP ROAD ONLINE. WE HAVE INCREASES IN REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE, COST OF LIVING. WE HAVE INCREASES IN SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS. AND THE ONE INCREASE THAT WE ARE REQUESTING THIS YEAR IS UNDER HOURS FOR, IT'S CONSIDERED HOURS FOR PART-TIME MOWING, BUT IT'S ACTUALLY TWO-FOLD.

OUR CURRENT ALLOCATION WITH PART-TIME EMPLOYEES IS $21,872. FOR THAT TO BE ACTUAL COST, IT NEEDS TO BE AN ADDITIONAL $8,278. SO THAT WOULD LEAVE US AT ACTUAL COST. WHAT WE ARE REQUESTING THIS YEAR IS AN INCREASE. ON TOP OF THAT IS $8,400 FOR AN ADDITIONAL 28 WEEKS OF 20 HOURS OF WEEKLY PART-TIME MOWING. SO WE WOULD HAVE THOSE PEOPLE AVAILABLE TO GO AND HIT SPOTS THAT WE DON'T CURRENTLY HAVE UNDER CONTRACT, ASSIST WITH.

THINGS THAT ARE GROWING FASTER THAN WE HAVE. SOUTH COUNTY PARK. LAST YEAR, WE ADDED JUST ABOUT 10 ACRES OF USABLE, MULTI-PURPOSE FIELD SPACE THAT WE DIDN'T NECESSARILY ACCOUNT FOR IN LAST YEAR'S BUDGET WITH RESPECT TO MOWING. SO IT WOULD GIVE US SOME MORE TIME TO BE ABLE TO CARE AND FEED THAT AS WELL.

OKAY, THANK YOU. ANY QUESTIONS? SO THE RECREATION...

ABOVE FLAT IS IN OUR BOOK IS 19. YOU SAY I'LL BE REDUCED TO TWO, CORRECT. IS THAT CORRECT? AND THE NUMBERS THAT ARE REFLECTED HERE DO THEY? HOPEFULLY, WITH NORTH COUNTY PARK COMING ON, YES, SO SOME OF THE SOME OF THE UTILITY COSTS COMING ON.

WE DON'T ANTICIPATE. WE WOULDN'T ANTICIPATE MOWING UNTIL, YOU KNOW, MID 2027, SO WE WOULDN'T. WE WON'T NECESSARILY HAVE A COST FOR THAT, BUT WE'LL PICK THAT UP UNTIL THE NEXT BUDGET CYCLE WITH THE EQUIPMENT THAT WE DO HAVE. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.

OKAY. THANK YOU. MR. BARKS, RIGHT? THANK YOU, JAMIE. NEXT UP EMERGENCY SERVICES, MARK MORNING COMMISSIONERS. AS ALWAYS, WE WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT.

OUR BUDGET THIS YEAR HAS A INCREASE OF $20,294 OVER FLAT.

WITH TWO AREAS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THAT, MOSTLY CONTRACTUAL SERVICES AND AN INCREASE FOR THE MEDICAL DIRECTOR'S MALPRACTICE INSURANCE. THOSE ARE THE TWO BIG ITEMS. OKAY.

THANK YOU. QUESTIONS FOR MARK? YOU GOT ANYTHING? WHAT CONTRACTUAL SERVICES ARE WE USING? SO IT'S SOFTWARE, YOU KNOW, JUST THE NORMAL STUFF THAT...

CHRIS IS GOING TO TALK ABOUT EVERYTHING CONTRACTUAL.

AND THEN SOME OF OUR EQUIPMENT WHERE WE HAVE MAINTENANCE CONTRACTS ON OUR MONITORS BECAUSE THAT WAS THE FIRST YEAR THE CONTRACT FOR THE MONITORS IS PAID FOR.

AFTER THAT, WE HAVE TO INITIATE OUR CONTRACT. SO JUST MAINLY HOUSEKEEPING CONTRACT. SO I TOLD DEPUTY COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR FOX THAT I DID WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THE NUMBERS BOARD HAS SORT OF CHANGED THEIR PROCESS. I

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ONCE THAT MONEY IS GONE, YOU'RE PUSHED TO THE NEXT MEETING. I ANTICIPATE, AND SOME OF IT I AGREE WITH, THAT A LOT OF 911 CENTERS, THERE'S A LOT OF REDUNDANCY OF EQUIPMENT AND REDUNDANCY OF SOFTWARE. AND I THINK THEY'RE JUST TRYING TO STREAMLINE SOME OF THAT IN, BUT I DO BELIEVE THAT MAYBE THAT FUNDING MECHANISM MAY BE COMING TO AN END, OR AT LEAST NOT AS MUCH AS IT IS NOW. SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THEY PROBABLY WON'T PAY FOR DOWN THE ROAD IS PROBABLY LIKE FURNITURE. I THINK THEY'LL KEEP MOST OF THE MAINTENANCE AND SOFTWARE STUFF. BUT I DO BELIEVE THAT WE'RE GOING TO SEE SOME OF THAT PUSH BACK ON THE COUNTY EXPENSES. JUST A HEADS UP. AND THERE'S ALSO A BILL THAT'S BEEN INTRODUCED THAT'S GOING TO RAID THE 911 MONEY AS WELL. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE STATUS IS OF IT, BUT HOPEFULLY IT WON'T PASS.

IT'S CONCERNING. YES, IT IS VERY CONCERNING. JUST AS A NOTE, INSIDE THE COMMUNICATIONS BUDGET, WE TYPICALLY BUDGET ABOUT $150,000 WORTH OF ITEMS THAT ARE REIMBURSED THROUGH THE NUMBERS BOARD.

SO, AGAIN, I'M NOT SAYING ALL OF IT'S GOING TO GO AWAY, BUT WE PROBABLY SHOULD START TRACKING WHAT'S LOSING IN THERE. OKAY. ARE WE TALKING ABOUT CAPITAL? YEAH, I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT THAT. WE PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE DONE THAT WITH EACH DEPARTMENT. OR WE CAN GO BACK. I MEAN, WE'RE BREEZING THROUGH THIS.

WE CAN FINISH GOING THROUGH GENERAL AND THEN GO BACK AND GO THROUGH CAPITAL WITH EACH PERSON. THAT WAY, WE DON'T HAVE TO FLIP. OKAY.

DO IT THAT WAY THEN, SO NOBODY LEAVE. OKAY, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS AS FAR AS THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR MARK? YEAH, OKAY, THANK YOU, MARK.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, BOB? THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME TODAY. NO CAPITAL REQUESTS. SO WE ARE REQUESTING $11,000 OVER FLAT, AND THAT WOULD BE TO HIRE DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR AN INTERN FROM CAROLINE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR UP TO 15 HOURS A WEEK DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR. SO THAT WOULD BE $10,000 IN SALARY.

AND THEN ANOTHER $1,000 FOR EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT. THAT WOULD BE SO THAT THE BENEFIT, THE INTERN, WOULD RECEIVE AN INDUSTRY-RECOGNIZED CREDENTIAL.

COULD BE ANY NUMBER OF THINGS, MAYBE MICROSOFT OFFICE SUITE, CERTIFICATION, ADOBE, PRIMARILY ADMINISTRATIVE TASKS, AND ALSO COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING. OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS FOR BOB? I DON'T.

GOOD. OKAY. THANK YOU, BOB.

THANK YOU. OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY, CHRIS. GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING. OUR INCREASE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2027 IS $147,000 OVER FISCAL YEAR 2026. MAJORITY OF THOSE COSTS ARE, AS YOU'VE HEARD FROM PRETTY MUCH EVERYBODY HERE TODAY, INCREASED SOFTWARE COSTS.

THAT'S WHERE A MAJORITY OF OUR COSTS COME IN. WE DID RAISE OUR EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT AND OUR MILEAGE AND COVERAGE EXPENSES DUE TO HAVING AN ADDITIONAL EMPLOYEE OVER FISCAL YEAR 2026. SO. THAT EMPLOYEE WILL ALSO BE INVOLVED IN THAT TRAINING AS WELL. SO THAT IS WHERE THE MAJORITY OF OUR COSTS ARE COMING IN, 20 OPERATING COSTS FOR US.

OVERALL, IT'S ABOUT 20% OVER LAST YEAR. IT SEEMS TO BE THE ONGOING NUMBER, WHERE 18 TO 22 IS WHERE IT ENDED UP, AND IT ENDED UP AT 20 THIS YEAR. SO THAT'S WHERE WE ARE. GO AHEAD. QUESTIONS FOR CHRIS ON OPERATING. I'M ASSUMING THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN REALLY DO. I MEAN, IT'S JUST LIKE WITH THE SWAGIT, RIGHT? THAT OUR VIDEO SYSTEM IS THROUGH. THESE CALLS ARE JUST AND I, THESE CALLS ARE WHAT THE BUSINESSES COME IN TO. RIGHT.

I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY BUZZ OR ANY...

INSULTING, OR ANY GROUP OUT THERE THAT'S SAYING THESE COSTS ARE GOING TO STOP. RIGHT. I JUST DON'T SEE IT. YEAH. THE ONLY WAY THAT I KNOW TO STOP IT IS TO START CUTTING SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING.

AND THAT'S A WHOLE OTHER DISCUSSION. RIGHT. OKAY.

SOUNDS GOOD. AND THEN WARDEN SCOTT, GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING. MORNING. CORRECTIONS ARE REQUESTED IN 50. THIS IS FORGETTING. WE HAVE ADDITIONAL

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INSTEAD OF A POSITION, WE REQUESTED A PROMOTION BECAUSE WE NEEDED AN ADDITIONAL INDIVIDUAL TO HELP OUT WITH COMPLIANCE. AS FAR AS THE DATA AND ALL THE REPORTING WE HAVE TO DO, LAST YEAR THE ARTIST REALLY WAS TOLD ON THE ONE PERSON. WE HAD TO SEND OUT REPORTS AND DATA TO THE LOCALE, TO STATE OF MARYLAND. SO THAT WOULD COST US $10,791 OF A CO2 POSITION.

THAT HAS TO, IF YOU WANT SOMEBODY IN THERE THAT HAS FACILITY, BECAUSE YOU HAVE ACCESS TO A LOT OF TRAINING.

OTHERWISE, WE HAVE... UNIFORMS THAT'S JUST COST A LIVING.

PHONES, WE HAD ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL APPROVED LAST YEAR, SO THAT TOOK US OVER ON OUR PHONE BUDGET. WE HAD A PHONE FOR A FEW TIMES. THAT'S PRETTY MUCH IT. WE MADE AN ADJUSTMENT WITH THE INMATE SUPPLIES AND...

YEAH, YOU CAN ROLL RIGHT INTO THAT. DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE WARDEN ON OPERATING? YEAH. GO AHEAD. I HAVE A COUPLE. WARDEN, WE'VE TALKED IN THE PAST ABOUT THE INMATE POPULATION GOING DOWN.

EXPLAIN TO ME THE CONTRACTS FOR FOOD AND MEDICINE. SO IF WE HAVE LESS PEOPLE, LESS INMATES, SHOULDN'T THOSE CONTRACTS GO DOWN? I MEAN, ARE THEY EVEN MORE, OR WHAT ARE WE DOING? SO WHEN WE HAVE MORE INDIVIDUALS, YOUR PRICE PER MEAL GOES UP, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU GIVE A LITTLE, LIKE, 50. WE GET DOWN TO 20 PEOPLE, IT'S PROBABLY 08,000. I DON'T WANT TO BE IN THAT BUSINESS. SO I GUESS MY QUESTION IS, THE COSTS ARE NOT... ARE NOT RELEVANT TO THE NUMBER OF THEM. I MEAN, THE CONTRACTS ARE NOT REALLY GONNA FLUCTUATE.

IT IS, BUT UNTIL YOU GET OVER 100, MAYBE PAYING $1.75 A MONTH, WE'RE PAYING THE PRICE. SAME THING WITH MEDICINE. WELL, MEDICATION, IT'S BASED ON THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS YOU HAVE AT THE FACILITY. BUT ALSO YOU HAVE TWO CONTRACTS. YOU HAVE YOUR PROVIDER, AND THEN YOU HAVE YOUR PROVIDER. AND DEPENDING ON WHAT TYPE OF INDIVIDUALS YOU GET IN THE FACILITY, WE'VE HAD INDIVIDUALS COME IN AND THE MEDICATION REQUIRED FOR WHATEVER THEY HAVE GOING ON. MAYBE $7,000 A MONTH. AND THAT'S WHERE THE PRE-SCREENING COMES IN, WHERE YOU HAVE TO EVALUATE WHAT THAT PERSON NEEDS FROM THE MEDICAL CENTER.

WELL, WE DO THAT. YEAH. YEARS

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USUALLY, THEY DON'T STAY WITH US, BUT WE CAN. THEY CAN STAY WITH US, BUT THE CHALLENGE IS THAT WE PETITION TO THE COURT. WE PETITION TO THE HEALTH OF OUR PREACHER.

I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAD THIS NUMBER RIGHT OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD, BUT WHAT IS IT CURRENTLY, WHAT'S OUR RATIO OF INMATES TO GUARDS? 38 TOTAL EMPLOYEES IN YOUR. 38 TOTAL. YES. BUT WE HAVE TWO VACANCIES. SO THAT WE'RE ALIVE. BUT A LOT OF THAT IS MANAGING THE PEOPLE ON PRE-TRIAL RELEASE. SO THAT'S NOT, HOW MANY DO YOU HAVE ON PRE-TRIAL RELEASE? TWO MANAGEMENT PEOPLE. RIGHT.

WHICH IS, WE HAVE LIKE 50, 60.

SO WE'VE GOT MORE ON PRETRIAL RELEASE THAN WE DO INCARCERATED. AND NOW, MOST PEOPLE, MOST OF THE FACILITIES ARE SET UP BY CLEAN HANDS. YOU CAN'T COUNT THEM BECAUSE EVERYBODY HAS MORE ON PRETRIAL. AND THAT PRETRIAL, DEPENDING ON WHAT THE JUDGE'S ORDERS ARE, MAY INCLUDE GPS TRACKING, DRUG TESTING. REQUIRES THEM TO COME TO THE FACILITY A COUPLE TIMES A WEEK. MAYBE THREE TIMES A WEEK. RIGHT.

IT'S A COMPLICATED PICTURE TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT. WELL, THIS IS IT. SO WE WORK A 12-HOUR SHIFT. YOU HAVE ABOUT SIX PEOPLE ON THE SHIFT. WHEN YOU ROTATE IN, THE DAY'S OFF, AND WE'RE 24 HOURS OFF. EVEN THOUGH WE MAY HAVE 45 STAFF, REALLY, YOU HAVE SIX PEOPLE TO DEAL WITH. ONE IS THE SUPERVISOR, ONE IS RUNNING THE CONTROL ROOM, ONE IS DOING INTAKE AND RELEASES DOWNSTAIRS. AND THE OTHER INDIVIDUAL, YOU KNOW, WE WALK THE FLOORS AND WE HAVE TO DO CHECKS TO MAKE SURE NOBODY'S NOT HARMING THEMSELVES, NOT BEING TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF.

OVER THE LAST, WHATEVER, I MEAN, PERIOD OF TIME, DO WE SEE IT BEING STABLE, THE POPULATION, INMATE POPULATION? OR DO YOU THINK IT'S GOING UP OR DOWN, OR PRETTY MUCH STAYING THE SAME? SO ONCE WE WERE DEALING WITH COVID AND EVERYTHING KIND OF FELL APART. WE DO A LOT OF VIRTUAL HEARINGS, BUT IT TAKES A LONG TIME FOR INDIVIDUALS TO TRY. AND THAT'S WHY THERE'S A LOT OF LEGISLATION FOR PORTABLE BOMBS AND YOU GET MORE PEOPLE ON PRE-TRIAL. BUT OTHERWISE, IN THE FACILITY, IT DEPENDS ON THE COURTS FOR THAT THING.

AND HOW CRAZY EVERYBODY GETS.

YEAH, AND A LITTLE CAN GET A CHARGE. HE STOLE A CANDY BAR.

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BUT I THINK... I THINK FROM THE NUMBERS THAT I'VE SEEN IN THE CONVERSATIONS I'VE HAD WITH THE WARDEN, I THINK IT COULD SPIKE AS HIGH AS 60. YOU REALLY DON'T SEE IT GET OVER, YOU DON'T EVER SEE IT GET OVER 60 ANYMORE, NOT RARELY.

AND IT COULD BE AS LOW AS IN THE 30S, RIGHT? IT'S BEEN HIGHER THAN 60 IN THE PAST.

YEAH. BUT SINCE COVID, YOU PROBABLY HAVEN'T GONE OVER 60. AND HOW MANY, AND THESE ARE PRETTY, I KNOW THESE ARE PRETTY SIMPLE, SIMPLISTIC QUESTIONS, BUT HOW MANY CELLS, HOW MANY LOCKUPS CELLS DO WE HAVE? AND HOW MANY DO WE HAVE PRISONERS IN RIGHT NOW? WELL, THE FACILITY HOLDS ABOUT 70.

FOR OUR CELLS, WE PROBABLY HAVE ABOUT 60, PROBABLY ABOUT 60, SOME OF THE CELLS, 60 HOUSING UNIT CELLS. THESE ARE IN HOUSING UNITS. THAT'S NOT COUNTING THE THREE CELLS IN INTAKE WHERE YOU FIRST FOUND THEM. THAT'S NOT MEANT FOR HOUSING ON A DAILY BASIS OR TO ISOLATION. SO THE THING ABOUT A FACILITY, WHICH I SAID BEFORE, YOU CAN'T HAVE IT, IT CAN'T BE FULL. YOU HAVE TO HAVE VACANT CELLS BECAUSE EVERYBODY CAN'T BE HOUSED.

JUVENILES, YOU MAY HAVE SIX, YOU MAY HAVE FOUR, YOU MAY HAVE 12. IF YOU'RE A HUMAN, YOU CANNOT BE HOUSED, YOU SHOULD NOT BE HOUSED WITH AN INDIVIDUAL THAT IS TOTALLY CAPABLE OF TRAVELING. SO WE HAVE A CLASSIFICATION PERSON.

THEY HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHO CAN BE HOUSED AND WHO.

IF IN THE FACILITY, THEN THE INDIVIDUAL IS KEPT SEPARATE FOR THE REST OF THE TIME. SO THEY CAN NEVER BE HOUSED WITH THAT INDIVIDUAL AGAIN IN A GENERAL POPULATION.

OKAY, ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU.

MR. BARTZ, YOU GOT ANYTHING? NO, JUST THE ONLY THING. I'M JUST AMAZED AT THE SOCIAL EXPERIMENT THAT THE STATE OF MARYLAND HAS PLACED UPON YOU FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS. I MEAN, IT'S LIKE YOU'RE RUNNING TWO DIFFERENT BUSINESSES. YOU'VE GOT A LAW OFFICE PRETRIAL ON ONE SIDE, AND YOU'VE GOT A DETENTION CENTER ON THE OTHER. AND THE TAXPAYER GETS HIT WITH THIS.

WE HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO THE TAXPAYER, LIKE, WELL, YOU ONLY GOT 45 PEOPLE IN THE DETENTION CENTER. WHY IS YOUR BUDGET SO HIGH? AND WE SAY, WELL, WE'VE GOT TO TAKE CARE OF ALL THE PRETRIAL STUFF.

AND, YOU KNOW, WE GET HIT WITH IT ALL THE TIME WHERE PEOPLE ARE JUST, THEY'VE HAD ENOUGH. I MEAN, I JUST, IT'S NOTHING TO GET YOU WORRIED. YOU GUYS, I KNOW A LOT OF YOUR GUYS THAT WORK THERE, YOU GUYS DO A GREAT JOB. BUT THE BURDEN THAT'S PLACED UPON YOU IS ABSURD. I MEAN, ON ANY GIVEN DAY, WE'RE DEALING WITH, YOU KNOW, LIKE A HUNDRED PEOPLE. YEAH.

BETWEEN THE PEOPLE THAT ARE INCARCERATED AND THE PEOPLE THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH.

RIGHT. YOU KNOW, I WANT TO PREACH ON IT. I KNOW.

WELL, THE MATH I'M DOING, YOU'RE ONLY ASKING FOR A LITTLE LESS THAN 1% ABOVE FLAT. SO, I MEAN, IT'S A MODEST ASK OVER WHAT YOU GOT LAST YEAR.

DID YOU OVERSPEND ON BUILDING MAINTENANCE LAST YEAR? ARE YOU TRACKING ABOUT ALL OF THAT? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA? WHERE?

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OKAY. YEAH. .A. LOT OF THAT KIND OF STUFF. .AND.

THE WHISTLE. OKAY. THAT MAY BE SOMETHING WE NEED TO COORDINATE WITH DES AND TRYING TO GET GRANT MONEY TO REPLACE THAT GENERATOR.

SOMETHING WE NEED TO LOOK AT.

AND THEN ALSO THE OPERATING. I MEAN, I KNOW FINANCE WILL DO THIS, BUT PULL AS MUCH OUT OF OPIOID AS WE CAN. TO SUPPLEMENT OR HANDLE COST INCREASES ON THE MAP PROGRAM AND ALL THOSE TYPES OF THINGS. I KNOW STACY AND DANNY WILL DO THAT. WE'VE BEEN VERY ACTIVE HERE OVER THE LAST MONTH OR SO, WITH THE WARDEN AND DEPUTY WARDEN IN REGARDS TO MAP. AND REALLY TRYING TO USE SOME OF THE OPIOIDS. AND THAT'S ANOTHER PROGRAM THAT THE STATE STOOD UP THROUGH STATE STATUTE. HELPED US FUND OUT OF THE GATE AND NOW HAVE WALKED AWAY FROM IT, RIGHT? AND LEFT IT UP TO THE COUNTIES TO FUND IT.

RIGHT. YOU KNOW, THEY BASICALLY, THEM HELPING US FUND IT IS THEM MAKING $8 MILLION WORTH OF GRANTS FOR THAT.

BUT THERE'S A LOT OF FACILITIES AND IT'S A COST, EVERYTHING, IT CHANGES.

MM-HM, YEAH. OKAY, ALRIGHT, ANYTHING ELSE? YOU SAID IT WAS $10,000 FOR MAINTENANCE? YOU'RE ALLOTTED FOR... I MEAN, I'M JUST... WELL, FOR THE HEATING SYSTEM AND ALL THAT, YOU THINK THAT'S... I MEAN, I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN A GOOD JOB, JUST LIMPING ALONG. I JUST, YOU KNOW, DON'T WANT TO GET, YOU KNOW... I MEAN, IT'S CURRENTLY AT... WE'RE CURRENTLY AT $1,000. OKAY, OKAY, ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT. OKAY, ALL RIGHT, THANKS, WARDEN. I GUESS WITH THAT, WE'LL JUST GO THROUGH YOUR CAPITAL, SINCE YOU WERE THE LAST ONE ON THE LIST HERE. MY CAPITAL WAS TO BASICALLY CONTINUING WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING. WE WERE DOING THE CAMERA MAINTENANCE.

SO ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO, I REQUESTED 20,000 A YEAR FOR SWAPPING OUT CAMERAS, WE STILL HAD A LOT OF OLD ANALOG CAMERAS, CAMERAS THAT WEREN'T WORKING.

SO I PUT IN A REQUEST FOR $25 A YEAR FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS TO CONTINUE THAT. OKAY. SHOULD WE PUT SOMETHING IN FOR DESIGN? I'M SORRY, IT ESCAPES ME WHAT IT WAS.

PART ONE, PART TWO, STUDIES FOR THE NEW DETENTION CENTER.

YES, WE CAN CERTAINLY DISCUSS WHERE WE WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THAT OUT OF. IT WOULD DEFINITELY BE A CAPITAL ITEM THAT WE COULD PUT IN THERE. I BELIEVE IN OUR COMMUNICATION, I THINK THE PROPOSALS THAT WE'VE REQUESTED ARE DUE BACK NEXT FRIDAY. SO BY THEN, WE PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE A GOOD IDEA WHERE THAT'S GOING TO FALL FOR NEXT FISCAL YEAR. ALL RIGHT, WE'RE SOLICITING THREE PROPOSALS, RIGHT, TO COMPLETE THE PART 1 AND PART 2 STUDIES FOR... POTENTIALLY A NEW DETENTION CENTER BILL, WHICH I STILL FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT WE NEED TO BUILD A NEW DETENTION CENTER. I THINK WITH THE LOCKERMAN SCHOOL AND SOME OTHER FINANCIAL PRESSURES, WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO SAVE AS MUCH MONEY AS WE CAN. WE MIGHT HAVE TO DELAY IT A YEAR OR TWO, WHICH OUR UNDERSTANDING IS THE STATE'S FIVE YEARS OUT ON FUNDING IT ANYWAY, RIGHT? SO, BUT I STILL MAINTAIN THE STATEMENT THAT WE'VE. BEEN IN THAT BUILDING AS LONG AS WE CAN. AND A HECK OF A LOT LONGER THAN PRETTY MUCH EVERY OTHER JURISDICTION IN THE STATE.

IT'S DEFINITELY THE OLDEST. I MEAN, THE INITIAL PORTION OF IT IS DEFINITELY THE OLDEST IN THE STATE. RIGHT. SO, THERE'S NO ROOM TO GO UP. YOU CAN'T GO UP BECAUSE IT'S RIGHT ON THE EDGE OF THE RIVER. THE FOUNDATION ORIGINALLY WAS NOT DESIGNED TO GO ANY HIGHER.

[00:40:02]

SO, EVEN THOUGH THE NUMBERS ARE DOWN, THE RESPONSIBILITY OF CORRECTIONS HAS CHANGED A LOT.

TO WHERE YOU NEED MORE PROGRAM SPACE TO REHABILITATE PEOPLE AND PROVIDE WORKFORCE TRAINING AND OTHER SOCIAL SKILLS. SO I THINK... I THINK WE STILL NEED TO PURSUE THAT. IT MAY JUST GET, YOU KNOW, DELAYED A LITTLE BIT BY NOT ONLY THE STATE, BUT ALSO BY OUR FUNDING CONSTRAINTS.

AND, YOU KNOW, WE GET THROUGH THIS PART 1, PART 2 STUDY, START TO GET THE PLANS DEVELOPED. WE CAN ALSO SOLICIT FEDERAL AGENCIES TO HOPEFULLY TRY TO FIND SOME MONEY AND HELP US GET THIS DONE. SO I THINK WE SHOULD BUDGET. I THINK ONCE YOU GET THOSE BACK, I THINK WE SHOULD PROBABLY ADD SOMETHING IN. I'M ASSUMING IT WOULD FALL IN CAPITAL. YEAH. TO DO THAT.

YOU GUYS OKAY WITH THAT? YOU GOOD WITH THAT? YEAH, DEFINITELY. YOU GOOD WITH THAT, COMMISSIONER PORTER? YEAH. SO, OKAY. SO JUST CAMERA, BASICALLY REPLACEMENT OF CAMERAS. DID YOU GET... ARE YOU STILL USING THE MAGNETS, OR DID YOU GET AN ELECTRONIC CONTROL SYSTEM TO OPEN AND CLOSE THE DOORS? BEST STORY EVER. IS THAT A SECURITY? THE MAIN PART, THEY'RE STILL DOING A LITTLE TWEAKING, PUTTING IN, WORKING ALL THE DOORS, SOME WIRING STUFF. OKAY. THE MAJORITY OF IT. OKAY. OKAY.

AND I THINK FOR LONG-TERM CAPITAL PLANNING, I MEAN, DEFINITELY WE NEED TO PLAN TO BE THERE FIVE, SIX, SEVEN YEARS YET. ABSOLUTELY.

SO, YOU KNOW, WORKING THROUGH A GENERATOR, I DON'T KNOW IF WE FEEL LIKE THE GENERATOR THAT WE HAVE CAN LAST THAT LONG, IF THE ROOF NEEDS WORK. I WOULD KIND OF LIKE TO SEE SOMETHING ALSO IN THERE FOR FIXING THE SOFFIT ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE BUILDING. I MEAN, SQUIRRELS RUNNING IN AND OUT OF OUR SOFFIT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO ME. SO I THINK WE SHOULD PROBABLY TAKE A LOOK AT THAT. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S COORDINATION WITH ROBIN SHOP, WITH FACILITIES OR WHAT. YOU KNOW, GETTING THE SIDE OF THAT BUILDING CLEANED UP, I GUESS IT WOULD BE THE WEST SIDE WHERE THE IVY, OR THE EAST SIDE WHERE THE IVY AND ALL IS GROWING UP. AND THE SOFFITS IN ROUGH SHAPE. I THINK IT'S SOMETHING WE NEED TO LOOK AT.

WE CAN'T LET IT CONTINUE TO DETERIORATE IF WE'RE GOING TO BE THERE THAT LONG. SIR? I JUST WILL SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, FROM A NEW FACILITY STANDPOINT, WITH THE SCHOOL COMING, I DON'T ENVISION THAT, I THINK WE WOULD... BE ABLE TO DO THIS WITHIN FIVE YEARS. I THINK WE'RE LOOKING AT STRETCHING THAT OUT.

BUT I AGREE, I THINK THERE NEEDS TO BE A NEW FACILITY, BUT I JUST DON'T THINK, I DON'T THINK IN FIVE YEARS IS REASONABLE TO ME, REALISTICALLY. WELL, IF WE GET A 50-50 SPLIT AND WE CAN GET SOME FEDERAL FUNDING, WE JUST HAVE TO SEE HOW IT GOES. FIVE YEARS IS AN ETERNITY, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE DO NEED TO PLAN TO BE THERE.

I DON'T THINK... I THINK THE BUILDING WOULD BE RENOVATED. I CAN'T SEE A SCENARIO WHERE THAT BUILDING WOULD GET TORN DOWN OR SOMETHING ANYWAY. SO ANY IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE MADE TO THE OUTSIDE OF IT WOULD LAST, ASSUMING THAT WE WOULD KEEP THE BUILDING THERE FOR SOMETHING. ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU, WARDEN. I GUESS, JAMIE, WE CAN GO OVER YOURS NEXT. OKAY. GOOD.

WE HAVE A... TOTAL CAPITAL REQUEST OF $116,523. THE FIRST OF THAT, AND THE FIRST PRIORITY, IS A PICKUP REPLACEMENT. I THINK IT'S A 2014 OR 2015 WITH OVER 199,000 MILES ON IT. THE SECOND REQUEST IS A MATCH FOR THE ANTICIPATED PROGRAM, OPEN SPACE FUNDS. THAT ANTICIPATED AWARD FROM DNR IS $265,223, WHICH REQUIRES A 10% MATCH, SO I'M REQUESTING $26,523 TO MATCH THE PROGRAM OPEN SPACE FUNDS. AND I'M REQUESTING $10,000 FOR AN ADDITIONAL FIELD DRAG AS WE BRING MORE FIELDS ONLINE. AND WE HAVE SOME NEW GROUPS IN CAROLINE COUNTY SUPPORTING BASEBALL. WE'RE GOING TO NEED A LITTLE MORE EQUIPMENT

[00:45:03]

OKAY. THAT'S A... HOW'S THAT COMPARED TO LAST YEAR? IT'S A $100,000 BUMP, $130,000 BUMP FROM LAST YEAR. EVERYBODY'S PRETTY HAPPY ABOUT THAT.

OF COURSE, IT DOESN'T HURT THAT IT'S ELECTION YEAR, BUT WE'RE GOING TO TAKE IT. IS THAT THE ACQUISITION AND THE...

THAT'S CORRECT.

BUT WE CAN USE THE ACQUISITION FOR IMPROVEMENTS BECAUSE OF THAT LEGISLATION? PROBABLY. YEAH. BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO BUY ANYTHING ELSE. NO, BUT I MEAN, YOU... YOU DID A GOOD JOB PLATING FOR THAT. HE DID, ABSOLUTELY. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WOULD RECOMMEND AS WE GET FURTHER DOWN THE ROAD IS SETTING JUST A SMALL PORTION OF THAT ASIDE FOR LPPRP NEXT TIME. SO WE SET A SMALL INCREMENT ASIDE BECAUSE OF PLANNING AN ACQUISITION THAT WILL PAY FOR THE NEXT LPPRP.

THAT WAS THE SECOND YEAR, RIGHT? THAT WAS TWO YEARS AGO.

WE ASKED FOR THAT. THE FIRST YEAR, WE GOT THE DAF LEGISLATION THROUGH THE STATE. THE SECOND YEAR WE DID THE PROGRAM OPEN SPACE. WAS THIS FISCAL YEAR? YEAH, AND THIS YEAR I'M TRYING TO GET DOG LICENSES REMOVED. I MEAN, PRIORITIES. BUT, NO, I MEAN, THAT'S USED NOT HAVING TO CONTINUE TO PUT THAT ACQUISITION MONEY AWAY. SO, I MEAN, EVEN THOUGH WE ARE HEARING FROM A LOT OF YOUTH ATHLETIC ORGANIZATIONS THAT THEY NEED MORE PLAYING SPACE, YOU KNOW, BUT. WE NEED TO BUILD OUT WHAT WE GOT FIRST, SO THAT WAS BIG, SO THANK YOU. AND THEN I DO HAVE TWO 4-H PARK REQUESTS, THE FIRST OF WHICH I THINK HAS BEEN DISCUSSED A LITTLE BIT WITH THE COMMISSIONERS, PARTICULARLY AS WE'VE HAD SOME UNFAVORABLE WEATHER AND CONCERN ABOUT HOUSING PEOPLE OR HAVING A SPACE FOR PEOPLE TO GO. WHEN THEY LOSE THEIR POWER AND THAT SORT OF THING. SO WE HAVE A $40,000 REQUEST FOR A BACKUP GENERATOR FOR THE 4-H PARK. TO BE ABLE TO SHELTER PEOPLE AND OR HAVE HEATING AND COOLING CENTERS.

WHEN WE DO HAVE THOSE EMERGENCIES. AND THE 4-H PARK IS ALSO REQUESTING A NEW ROOF ON THE WILLIAMS CENTER, ON THE WILLIAMS BUILDING.

OKAY. THESE ARE 4-H PARK REQUESTS OR PARK BOARD REQUESTS? THE PARK BOARD IS REQUESTING THE WILLIAMS. WILLIAMS ROOF. WILLIAMS ROOF.

OKAY. TO THE TUNE OF $20,000.

AND THEY'RE REQUESTING THAT FROM CAPITAL AND NOT THE WILLIAMS FUND? THAT IS CORRECT.

HOW MUCH IS IN THE WILLIAMS FUND, THEN? SINCE WE HAVE, I'M GOING TO SAY, NOT BEEN HANDS-ON WITH THAT, I DON'T HAVE AN EXACT TO THE PENNY, BUT I BELIEVE IN COMMUNICATION. I SENT YOU THE EMAIL. I BELIEVE WHEN THEY WERE IN FRONT OF YOU A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, THEY SAID ABOUT $125,000. THAT WAS AVAILABLE TO THEM. I AM THE MESSENGER.

WHICH ONE'S THE WILLIAMS BUILDING? FIRST ONE ON THE LEFT? IT'S THE LITTLE ONE. IT'S THE LITTLE BUILDING ON THE LEFT. WHERE THEY HAVE THE ICE CREAM AND ALL THAT STUFF? WE DIPPED ICE CREAM IN THERE. DO YOU KNOW HOW OLD THAT BUILDING IS? I DIDN'T THINK THE ROOF LOOKED THAT BAD, BUT MAYBE IT IS. WHAT'S THAT? I DIDN'T THINK THE ROOF LOOKED THAT BAD. I MEAN, IT DIDN'T JUMP OUT AT ME, BUT I DIDN'T LOOK AT IT.

YEAH. IT'S NEVER CLOSE, EITHER. WELL, JACK SEEMS TO ASSERT IT'S PRETTY SIGNIFICANT.

WELL, THE WILLIAMS FUND IS SUPPOSED TO BE USED FOR...

MAINTENANCE AND UPKEEP OF THE BUILDING, RIGHT? BUILDING, CORRECT. YEAH. I THINK WE NEED TO GO BACK TO ASK WHY THE WILLIAMS FUND IS NOT BEING USED FOR THE WILLIAMS BUILDING. YEP. OKAY, GREAT. I COULD LEND SOME INSIGHT AS WELL ON THE GENERATOR. I THINK FOR YOUR INFORMATION, THERE'S BEEN, I DON'T WANT TO SAY A MISCONCEPTION, BUT JUST AN UPDATE. IN WHERE WE ACTUALLY HAVE FACILITIES IN THE COUNTIES THAT RUN OFF GENERATOR AND CAN BE USED FOR EMERGENCY SHELTER LOCATIONS. FOR A LONG TIME, GREENSBORO ELEMENTARY WAS REALLY OUR NORTH AND CENTRAL COUNTY LOCATION. WHEN THAT BUILDING WAS REPLACED, THE GENERATOR THAT WAS INSTALLED AT THE NEW SCHOOL, DOES NOT HAVE THE CAPACITY TO RUN ALL ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS OF THE BUILDING. SO IT IS NO LONGER IN USE OR BE AVAILABLE TO US IN SITUATIONS. SO I SEE MARK SITTING HERE. WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS A LOT, JAMIE AS WELL, ABOUT REALLY NOT HAVING ANYTHING IN CENTRAL COUNTY OR NORTH THAT'S REALLY AT OUR DISPOSAL TO USE.

OBVIOUSLY, WE HAVE COUNTY FACILITIES. BUT IT'S TOUGH TO RUN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION, LET ALONE HOUSE PEOPLE AT THE SAME LOCATION THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO RUN OUT OF. I THINK FOR US, THE GENERATOR AT THE 4-H PARK MAKES A LOT OF SENSE AND POWER FOR THE COUNTY. SO WE'VE THROWN

[00:50:03]

THAT WAS OPERATIONAL IN THE OLD SCHOOL, BUT THE NEW SCHOOL ISN'T. THAT IS OUR UNDERSTANDING. THAT'S POOR PLANNING. YEAH, THAT'S POOR PLANNING. I MEAN, THERE'S NO EXCUSE FOR THAT. I MEAN, SO IT. IT DOES HAVE A BACKUP GENERATOR, BUT THE THE THINGS THAT YOU WOULD NEED FOR SHELTERING, IT DOES EMPOWER THOSE SPECIFIC AREAS, SO GOOD FOR THE SCHOOL, NOT GOOD FOR SHELTER. WASN'T GOLDSBORO FIREHOUSE USED AS A SHELTER AS WELL? I BELIEVE SO, YES. THEY DON'T HAVE A GENERATOR THERE? THEY DO. I THINK THEY DO.

YES. AND THAT'S CONVERSATIONS THAT WE COULD HAVE. I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY A CONVERSATION WE COULD HAVE WITH GOLDSBORO.

IF THEY WANT TO CONTINUE TO DO THAT, OBVIOUSLY WE'D TAKE AN MOU IN THE COUNTY. JUST FROM THE LIABILITY STANDPOINT, WHEN YOU START TAKING, IF SOMEBODY FALLS OR SOMETHING HAPPENS TO SOMEBODY, WHO'S LIABLE TO THAT, IS IT THE GOLDBERG FIRE COMPANY OR IS IT THE COUNTY BECAUSE IT'S BEING OPERATED AS A COUNTY SHELTER? SO IT'S JUST AN AGREEMENT CONVERSATION. WELL, SO HERE'S MY CONCERN WITH THE GENERAL.

WHERE I'M AT IS, IF YOU COULD GET... GRANT MONEY TO PURCHASE IT, BUT IT'S ALSO GOING TO ADD RECURRING COSTS, BECAUSE THEN YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT EVERY YEAR TO SERVICE IT AND START IT.

AND LET'S FACE IT, HOW OFTEN HAVE WE ACTIVATED A SHELTER AND HAD ANYBODY ACTUALLY SHOW UP? NOT VERY OFTEN. RIGHT. AS WE DISCUSSED IN THIS LAST STORM.

WHEN I WAS A KID, IN THE 70S AND 80S, SHELTERS WERE A BIG THING.

PEOPLE WOULD SHELTER UP. NOW YOU HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE WHO DON'T REALLY WANT TO GO TO SHELTER. AND THEN, IS IT PET FRIENDLY? SO IF THEY HAVE PETS, THEY'RE NOT LEAVING THEIR PETS IF THEY HAVE TO SHELTER. SO IT'S JUST NOT THE MINDSET OF PEOPLE TODAY AS IT WAS YEARS AGO. RIGHT. I THINK OUR BIGGEST CONCERN IS JUST HAVING A PLACE. LIKE ON THOSE HOT DAYS, LIKE WHEN WE LOST ELECTRIC LAST SUMMER, WHERE WE, YOU KNOW, IN DENTON, WHERE WE WERE HAVING ALL THE POWER FAILURES, AND THEN WE DIDN'T HAVE SOMEWHERE FOR A COOLANT SENSOR, SOMEBODY TO COME OUT, YOU KNOW. RIGHT.

WE USED THE FREDERICK BUILDING, DIDN'T WE, FOR A LITTLE WHILE, BUT DIDN'T REALLY HAVE ANYBODY SHOW UP.

MOST OF THE TIME, THE FREDERICK CAN BE USED. WHEN WE GET INTO AN EMERGENCY SITUATION, THE FREDERICK IS DESIGNATED FOR THE NATIONAL GUARD. IF THEY HAVE TO COME IN EN MASSE.

RIGHT. SO IT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T HAVE BOTH. YOU CAN'T HAVE A SHELTER AND THE NATIONAL GUARD TAKING UP ALL THE SPACE EITHER. RIGHT. SO DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER SCHOOLS THAT HAVE GENERATORS CAPABLE OF KERNEL? SO WE'D HAVE TO USE KERNEL. THAT'S IT.

THAT'S OUR ONLY OPTION, THEN, FROM A SCHOOL SYSTEM STANDPOINT. SO WE GOT THE FREDERICK BUILDING AND KERNEL.

THAT'S IT. OKAY. HOW ABOUT HERE? THIS BUILDING? IT IS A GENERATOR, RIGHT? YEAH, IT DOES. IS IT A FULL BUILDING, THOUGH? YEAH, I THINK WE HAVE TWO BUILDING MODELS AND ONE PARTIAL BUILDING. CORRECT.

OKAY. ALRIGHT, WELL, THAT'S JUST KIND OF WHERE I'M AT WITH IT. I MEAN, YOU GET IT, BUT THEN WHAT'S A MAINTENANCE CONTRACT ON A GENERATOR GOING TO COST US A YEAR? YEAH.

YEAH, I MEAN, WE OBVIOUSLY HAVE- THE BEST GENERATOR FOR REALLY EMERGENCY SITUATIONS IS IF IT'S A NATURAL GAS, YOU HAVE NATURAL GAS SET UP.

DIESEL WOULD SIT AND IT'S NOT RUN, MAINTAINED. THERE'S ALWAYS THAT POSSIBILITY THAT IT COULD NOT- START OR- START OR WHATEVER. YEAH. STACY JUST BROUGHT UP. IT'S ALSO SOMETHING WE MAY WANT TO CONSIDER WITH LOUGHBOROUGH MIDDLE SCHOOL. I MEAN, IF WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH A NEW CONSTRUCTION PROJECT, THEY'RE TRYING TO ENSURE THAT MAYBE THAT HAS FULL CAPACITY AS WELL. SO BEING PRETTY MUCH CENTRAL TO THE WHOLE COUNTY, YEAH, DR. SIMMONS BROUGHT THAT UP, OKAY, SO MAYBE WE CAN ADDRESS IT THROUGH THE SCHOOL BILL OR A GRANT, ALL RIGHT. ANYTHING ELSE FOR JAMIE? NO. GOOD. OKAY.

THANK YOU, JAMIE. BOB DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING. CRYSTAL, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING? NO. CHRIS, YOU'RE UP. YEAH, WE'VE GOT...

[00:55:02]

USUALLY WE'LL GET FIVE TO SIX YEARS OUT OF THEM, SO WE'RE RIGHT AT THAT POINT WHERE WE THREE OF THEM. WHERE YOU ADD ON THIS SHEET, WHAT PAGE IS HE ON, DAVE? PAGE THREE, ALL RIGHT. I'M SORRY. I'M TRYING TO CHECK OFF, MAKE SURE I GOT EVERYBODY, AND LOOK THROUGH MY LIST HERE. THREE SERVERS. YEP. OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT ONE? WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THE OLD ONES? SHIP THEM OFF. WHO WON THEM? HIT THEM WITH A HAMMER. YEAH. SO THEY'RE BASICALLY WORTHLESS WHEN YOU'RE DONE WITH THEM? YOU JUST WIPE THEM? YEAH, WE'LL HARVEST THE DRIVES OUT OF THEM. WHEN THE RACEMEN KNOW THEY'RE NOT WORTH IT. GOTCHA.

OKAY, ANY QUESTIONS THERE? NO? GOOD TO GO. THANK YOU, CHRIS. DES. WE'LL MAKE UP THE MAJORITY OF THE CAPITAL, I GUESS, BETWEEN US AND PUBLIC WORKS. BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS, OUR CAPITAL ASSETS ARE $2.3 MILLION. 425,000, THAT IS AN AMBULANCE, WHICH IS ALREADY THE MONEY SHOULD ALREADY BE IN THE ESPP FUND, SO THAT SHOULD BE GRANT FUNDED.

OUR PARAMEDIC 10, WHICH IS OUR SUPERVISOR TRUCK. WE HAVE PUT THAT IN THE BUDGET FOR NEXT YEAR. IT'S SITTING AT A HUNDRED THOUSAND MILES RIGHT NOW, IT'S RUNNING ABOUT 2,000 MILES A WEEK. $1,500 TO $2,000 A WEEK, SO IT WOULD PROBABLY COME IN THE LATTER PART OF NEXT BUDGET YEAR IF WE DID THAT REPLACEMENT. OKAY, SO WHAT DO YOU THINK IT'LL HAVE ON IT BY THAT TIME, $150,000, $170,000? IT'LL BE, YEAH.

IT'LL BE OVER $150,000? IT'LL BE CLOSE TO $160,000 THAT YOU WERE LOOKING AT, THAT WOULD BE THE TARGET. AND WHO RUNS THAT? IS IT ASSIGNED TO ONE EMPLOYEE? YEAH, SO IT'S OUR SUPERVISOR RIG THAT RUNS OUT OF TOWN. OKAY, SO IT'S RUNNING EVERY DAY, SUPERVISORS IN IT. 24 HOURS, PRETTY MUCH.

OKAY. SO IT'LL CARRY OUR WHOLE VEHICLE IN THE COUNTY. YEAH.

IT'S OUR SUPERVISORS AND LIEUTENANTS AND SERGEANTS WHO RUN THAT. OKAY. WOULD YOU GET RID OF THE ONE YOU HAVE, OR WOULD YOU GET RID OF SOMETHING ELSE, THE DERANGER? YEAH, WE WOULD GET RID OF THAT. THAT UNIT.

OKAY. GOTCHA. AND THEN THE SECOND PHASE, OBVIOUSLY, OF OUR PORTABLE RADIO REPLACEMENT IS.

A A BIG CHUNK OF THIS BUDGET IS $1.7 MILLION, AND THAT'S THE RADIUS OF THE FIRE SERVICE IN THIS SECOND PHASE. AND THEN THE OTHER PROJECT, THIS IS ANOTHER PROJECT THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON WITH THE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT, WITH SHERIFF BAKER AND CAPTAIN HELMER. THIS IS LOOKING AT A MOBILE COMMAND UNIT.

RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE A... A SETUP WHERE WE RUN A TRAILER TO PULL BEHIND WITH A PICKUP. WE'RE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING THAT CAN BE MOBILE. WHAT WE WOULD DO IS USE THIS AS A RESOURCE FOR THE 911 CENTER IF WE HAD AN ISSUE UPSTAIRS WHERE WE NEEDED TO VACATE THE BUILDING. ONLY WOULD BE IF WE COULD FIND SOMETHING AND USE OUR GRANT FUNDING THAT WE GET. SO REMEMBER, WE USED TO USE THE LATPP MONEY, WHERE WE WOULD GIVE TO EACH MUNICIPAL POLICE DEPARTMENT.

WE'VE NOW PULLED THOSE FUNDS BACK. WE'RE LOOKING AT PUTTING THAT MONEY IN USE TO LARGER PROJECTS. SO THE LION'S SHARE OF THIS WOULDN'T COME OUT OF COUNTY FUNDS ANYWAY. NO, IT WOULD COME OUT OF OUR...

HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT MONEY? YES. OKAY. AND WE HAVE HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH LOCAL POLICE AGENCIES AND THE CHIEFS MEETINGS. THEY'RE ALL ON BOARD WITH IT. BECAUSE THIS COULD BE USED IF WE HAD A BARRICADE SITUATION IN A MUNICIPALITY, THIS COMMAND UNIT COULD GO THERE, RIGHT? IT COULD BE USED THERE. IT COULD BE USED AT SUMMERFEST, ANY OTHER FUNCTION THE COUNTY HAS. RIGHT. BUT IT'S BASICALLY A JOINT VENTURE BETWEEN US AND THE COUNTY SHERIFFS. OKAY. THAT'S BASICALLY OUR ASK. OKAY, THE RADIO REPLACEMENT, YOU SAID THAT'S FOR THE VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENTS? THAT'LL COVER ALL OF THEIR RADIOS? WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF DOING OURS NOW? YES. HAVE WE ACTUALLY GOT, WHERE ARE WE IN THAT PROCESS? THEY'RE BEING PROGRAMMED, SET UP. I BELIEVE WE'RE DOING, I THINK TRAINING'S EITHER ROLLING OUT IN MARCH OR APRIL TO DES. BECAUSE THEY ARE A LITTLE DIFFERENT, THERE'S SOME NEW FEATURES AND STUFF. WE'LL DO SOME HANDS-ON TRAINING.

OKAY. AND THEN THIS WILL BRING THE FIRE DEPARTMENTS UP.

OKAY. AND WE'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING WITH THE SHERIFF'S RADIOS YET? THEY WERE IN THIS FIRST. THEY WERE IN THE FIRST. YEP. OKAY.

[01:00:01]

THIS, THE AMBULANCE THAT IT WILL BE REPLACING, IS IT LIKE A SPARE RIGHT NOW, OR IS IT? SO WE HAVE TWO SPARE, TWO RESERVE UNITS RIGHT NOW, ONE AT 185,000 MILES AND TWO 19. OKAY. AND IT'LL BE PROBABLY ANOTHER YEAR FOR US. RIGHT. SO IT COULD HAVE 250 ON IT. YEP.

YEAH. BY THE TIME WE GO TO GET RID OF IT. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? IN YOUR, IN YOUR, YOUR BUDGET DOCUMENT? YOU'VE GOT FOUR HUNDRED, YOU GOT FORTY SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS UNDER COMMUNICATIONS FOR PARTS FOR NEW PORTABLE RADIOS. YES, SO THAT'S IN ADDITION TO THE ONE WAS A MILLION, 1.7 MILLION. YES, BECAUSE REMEMBER WHEN WE HAVE NOW, WHEN WE CHANGE RADIOS, ALL THOSE ANTICIPATED PARTS, IF WE WOULD NEED PARTS, ANYTHING MICS, SPARE PARTS, ALL THOSE WOULD BE DIFFERENT.

IT'S A DIFFERENT STYLE RADIO, IT'S A DIFFERENT FORMAT. SO UNFORTUNATELY, I DON'T ANTICIPATE US NEEDING ANY OF THAT, BUT WE DON'T PUT SOMETHING IN THERE AND THEN WE START BREAKING MICS AND WE HAVE PARTS THAT WE NEED. THAT'S PURCHASED AS NEEDED. IT'S NOT LIKE YOU'VE GOT A STOCKER IN SOMEWHERE. AND DID WE? CAN I GO BACK TO CHRIS FOR JUST A SECOND? DID WE FIND AN ANSWER TO OUR MYSTERY QUESTION HERE ABOUT THE CELL TOWER? I HAVE NOT RECEIVED A CONFIRMATION ON THAT. BUT I WILL FOLLOW UP WITH THEM. I KNOW THEY SAID IT WOULD BE A COUPLE DAYS BEFORE THEY WOULD GET BACK WITH US. WELL, AND IT'S VERIZON TOO, SO. YEAH, WELL.

HOLD YOUR BREATH. WE NEED AN ANSWER FASTER THAN A COUPLE DAYS. THE PROBLEM WAS THAT WHEN WE LOST POWER IN THIS LATEST STORM, CELL PHONE SERVICE WAS NOT AVAILABLE TO NORTH END OF THE COUNTY.

WHERE IS THAT TOWER AT? NORTH END OF THE COUNTY. IT'S ONE WE OWN? IT'S ONE THE COUNTY OWNS? WE DON'T KNOW YET. WE DON'T KNOW. 51 WAS MARRIED NOW? WE DON'T KNOW. YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT TIRE IT WAS? I JUST KNOW NORTH COUNTY. YEAH. OKAY. IT'S EITHER GOTTA BE GOLDSBORO FIREHOUSE OR WALKER RIGHT NOW.

I DON'T KNOW. WE HAVE ANOTHER CELL TOWER ON 311. BUT WE DON'T OWN ANYTHING UP THERE. THE ONLY ONE WE OWN IS THAT KERNEL, CORRECT? THAT'S THE ONLY ONE.

YEAH. THAT'S WHY WE'RE REACHING TO VERIZON TO SEE IF THEIR GENERATOR WORKED OR SOMETHING.

WE CAN'T HAVE PEOPLE WITHOUT CELL TOWERS IN IT.

WOULDN'T POWER SHUT OFF? WOULDN'T THEY LOSE POWER? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. BECAUSE THAT'S THE MAIN, MOST PEOPLE ONLY HAVE CELL PHONES NOW.

THEY'VE GOT TO BE ABLE TO CALL OUT EMERGENCIES. GOTCHA.

VERIZON DOESN'T TAKE A COUPLE DAYS TO BILL, SO THEY SHOULDN'T TAKE A COUPLE DAYS TO GIVE US AN ANSWER. THAT'S INTERESTING. THAT'S A TRUE STORY. ALL RIGHT, ANYTHING ELSE? FOR ANYBODY HERE? OKAY, ALRIGHT. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS DON'T HAVE ANYTHING IN CAPITAL, RIGHT? OFFICE OF FINANCE, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING IN CAPITAL? OFFICE OF LAW, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING IN CAPITAL? HUMAN RESOURCES? NOTHING.

PUBLIC WORKS? GOOD LORD. SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST. YEAH, HE DID. BAD FOR YOU. YOU WANT IT? HE'S THE LAST ONE. YOU WANT TO GO THROUGH THE TERMINAL? NO, I CAN WAIT. ALL RIGHT.

WHAT DO WE GOT, ROB? NO. SO I ALWAYS HAVE THE PHILOSOPHY THAT IT'S MY RESPONSIBILITY TO SHOW YOU EVERYTHING THAT I FEEL WE NEED TO DO. AND THEN WE GO THROUGH IT. AND I DON'T TAKE IT PERSONAL. WE CUT THINGS OUT.

AND THEN NEXT YEAR IT WILL GO BACK IN AND WE WORK THROUGH IT AGAIN. SO, YES, ON THE ROADSIDE. LET ME START, I THINK THAT'S WHAT I, YEAH,

[01:05:02]

THE ROADSIDE WITH CAPITAL PROJECTS IS PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD TO WHAT IT'S BEEN THE LAST FEW YEARS WITH THE... 2 MILLION FOR ROAD PATCHING, 1.5 MILLION FOR RESURFACING. WE'LL HAVE DISCUSSIONS ON SOME STANDARDS FOR THOSE PROCESSES HERE IN THE NEAR FUTURE. A COUPLE OF THINGS FOR THE DPW BUILDINGS THAT WE'VE LOOKING AT IS RIGHT NOW WE HAVE. WE BUY COLD PATCH ON PALLETS AND PROBABLY PAY DOUBLE, AS IF WE BOUGHT IT IN BULK IN A DUMP TRUCK.

BUT OUR PROBLEM IS, IF IT SITS OUT IN THE OPEN, RAIN AND SUN DETERIORATE IT.

SO LOOKING AT PUTTING IN A SMALL COLD PATCH BUILDING.

THAT'S, WHERE'S THAT AT? THAT'S IN FACILITIES? NO, THAT'S ACTUALLY IN THE DPW CAPITAL. THE WAY YOUR CAPITAL SHEETS ARE WORKING OUT. RIGHT. OKAY, COLD PATCH BUILDING. YEAH, ALL RIGHT, I SEE IT. YEP. GUYS, THAT'S...

THE PROBLEM IS SPACE. WHERE WOULD YOU PUT IT IN YOUR YARD? YOU DON'T HAVE A LOT OF SPACE. RIGHT, ALL THE WAY IN THE BACK, PROBABLY.

IT'S JUST A CONCRETE OUTER STRUCTURE WITH A HOOP OVER TOP OF IT. OKAY, BACK ALL THE WAY IN THE BACK, STONE LOCKS. AND THE CURTAIN WOULD DROP DOWN.

SO, LIKE I SAY, IT JUST PROTECTS IT FROM THE WEATHER. IT'LL PAY FOR ITSELF IN A COUPLE YEARS, QUITE HONESTLY. THAT'S A SMALL PIECE OF THAT CAPITAL. THE OTHER ONE IS... AN EVENTUAL TYPE OF CLEAN BAY. WE'VE DISCUSSED THIS IN THE PAST.

YOU KNOW, WE ARE DOING THAT OUTSIDE CURRENTLY. UM, AFTER SNOW STORMS, YOU KNOW, WASHING DOWN TRUCKS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, AND WE'RE BUILDING UP DIRT ROADS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. SO, UM, AND THEN THE DESIGN ENGINEER FOR FUTURE BRIDGES, I MEAN, THAT'S ALL PART OF. THAT'S PRETTY STANDARD IN THERE. AND UM, YOU KNOW, IS NEEDED, AS WE NOW HAVE EIGHT BRIDGES LINED UP TO HAVE SOME SORT OF EITHER REPLACEMENT OR ENGINEERING DONE TO THEM. AND MOST OF THOSE GOT 100% FEDERAL FUNDING, CORRECT? YES. I THINK WE HAVE SEVEN OF THE EIGHT ARE THAT, AND THE OTHER ONE IS 80-20.

AND WE CAN SWITCH THAT OVER TO 100 DURING THE PROCESS.

FOR INFORMATION AS WELL, WE HAVE HISTORICALLY SET MONEY ASIDE FOR DESIGN AND ENGINEERING AND CAPITAL RESERVES. SO RIGHT NOW, THERE'S ABOUT, I BELIEVE, $580,000 THAT WE CAN USE TODAY FOR MATCH. WELL, WE HAVEN'T HAD A SCENARIO WHERE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WAS PICKING UP 100% OF THE COST TO REPLACE, EITHER. SO WHAT OTHER BRIDGES DO YOU HAVE IN MIND? I KNOW WE'RE KNOCKING, I KNOW THAT'S A LOADED QUESTION, BUT WE'VE GOT A LOT OF...

BRIDGES IS ON THE LIST NOW.

IT'S LIKE EIGHT OF THEM.

YEAH, EIGHT TOTAL. TWO COULD START REPLACEMENT THIS SUMMER, AND THE OTHER SIX WE HAVE TO CHOOSE ENGINEER FIRMS FOR THIS SUMMER AND START THAT PROCESS. WHAT ARE THE TWO THAT ARE CLOSEST TO BEING DONE? SMITHVILLE AND LONGSWATH.

OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO THAT ONE MAY NOT BE IN. WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS THAT MAY NOT NECESSARY, BE NECESSARY TO PUT THAT HUNDRED THOUSAND IN THAT LINE. I KNOW THAT WOULD BE. YOU GOT YOU GOT A HALF A MIL THERE NOW TO USE FOR ANYTHING, RIGHT? IF THEY STAY AT A HUNDRED PERCENT.

WE'LL RIDE THAT AS LONG AS WE CAN. OKAY. ALL RIGHT, WE GOT COMMISSIONER PORTER LOOKING AT THE DCT, ALRIGHT, SO WE'RE OVER ON FACILITIES SIDE NOW. I HAVE IT IN TWO DIFFERENT FORMATS, THAT'S ALL. YEAH, DCT BUILDING, THERE'S WHAT, THREE... I'M SORRY? 255,000.

MOST OF THAT IS A ROOF RESURFACING? YES, 165,000. YEAH, THERE'S SOME LEAKS IN THAT ROOF. THE PORTION OF THE BUILDING IS, THEY PUT BUSES IN ANYWAY, I MEAN, IT'S AN OUT... YOU DON'T WANT ROOF LEAKING, TOO, YOU KNOW, THE LEAKS WILL GET BIGGER AND BIGGER AND BIGGER, AND IT BECOMES LARGER AND LARGER PROPS. SO THAT'S WHAT THAT IS.

THREE OVERHEAD DOORS. YEP, THREE OVERHEAD DOORS. EXTERIOR PAINTING. AND EXTERIOR PAINTING. SO JUST HASN'T BEEN ANYTHING DONE TO THAT BUILDING IN SEVERAL YEARS. IT'S JUST

[01:10:01]

DANNY, HELP ME OUT HERE WITH WHAT WE PAY, CAROLINE COUNTY. AS THE OWNER OF THE BUILDING, WE HAVE TO PROVIDE THE BUILDING. I BELIEVE THE CONTRACT OR THE AGREEMENT STATES THAT WE PROVIDE OR GO THROUGH THE LARGER CAPITAL UPDATES AND UPGRADES.

OBVIOUSLY, THEY'RE ON THE HOOK IF THEY'RE GOING TO REPLACE A LIGHT BULB OR DO ANY SMALL, MINOR. UPDATES, BUT ANYTHING THAT'S GOING TO FALL IN THE CAPITAL BUDGET IS SOLELY OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO FUND. LIKE I SAID, WE OWN THE BUILDING AND I SEE IT AS A GROWTH POTENTIAL BECAUSE WE'RE ONLY REQUIRED TO GIVE THEM SO MUCH SPACE IN THAT BUILDING. AND THERE'S A LOT. RIGHT, ELECTIONS COULD USE IT FOR STORAGE, IF NEED BE.

DDS, ARE YOU STILL USING IT? YEAH, WELL, WE WORKED IN THE WAREHOUSE. I SEE YOU CAN EVEN BREAK IT UP AND EVEN PUT SOME OFFICES IN THERE IN THE FUTURE, IF NEED BE.

YEAH, SO JUST IDEAS. WE'VE HAD SIMILAR CONVERSATIONS AND HAD AN ENGINEER GO IN AND LOOK AT THAT. WE JUST GOT A LOT OF KICKBACK FROM DCT, WHICH, YES. BUT, I MEAN, IT'S STILL OUR BUILDING, BUT, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF RESISTANCE FROM LAST TIME WE TRIED TO.

AND I THINK THE ENGINEER HAD SOME ASTRONOMICAL FIGURE ON REFIGURING OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. I BELIEVE AT THE TIME WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT BOTH HR, OFFICE OF LAW, AND I BELIEVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BEING PLACED IN AND DOING THE RENOVATIONS, IT WAS A LARGER FIGURE. THE HVAC AT THE PRESTON TOWER, THAT'S THE COLONEL RICHARDSON TOWER? THAT IS MY UNDERSTANDING. IS THAT RIGHT? YES. HAVE WE HAD PROBLEMS WITH THOSE? I MEAN, HOW EMINENT IS IT? PRESTON TOWER, I'M NOT, I DON'T BELIEVE ANYTHING THAT'S BEEN. IT'S THE ORIGINAL UNIT. YEAH, IT'S THE ORIGINAL UNIT. WE LEARNED A LITTLE BIT THE PAST TWO SUMMERS, WE'VE LOST AIR CONDITIONS.

SIMILAR BUILDINGS AT TOWERS, SO WE JUST KIND OF WANT TO GET AHEAD ON THAT ONE. SO WE'RE NOT IN THE MIDDLE OF SUMMER TRYING TO. WE WERE ABLE TO, LIKE, STICK IN QUICK TEMPORARY COOLING SYSTEMS TO KEEP THEM COOL WHILE WE WAITED ON THE NEW UNITS TO BE INSTALLED, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO GET AHEAD ON THIS ONE. AND COLESBORO AND PRESTON HAVE BEEN DONE. I'M SORRY, COLESBORO AND DENTON HAVE BEEN DONE RECENTLY. YES.

EVEN ONE RIGHT THERE, ON THE STATE HIGHWAY PROPERTY HERE IN DENTON. OKAY, GOTCHA. ALL RIGHT. I THINK DCT IS A...

YEAH, YOU GUYS HAVE THE NUMBER OF THE PRIORITIES THAT ARE BESIDE THERE. I MEAN, WHEN IT COMES TO DCT, THE BIGGEST PRIORITY IS JUST THE ROOF. ONCE YOU LOSE THE ROOF, YOU START HAVING OTHER ISSUES IN THE BUILDING. IT'S A PRIORITY. FOUR. THE INTERNATIONAL DUMP TRUCKS. SO WE HAVE TWO TEN WHEELERS RIGHT NOW, CORRECT? AND YOU WANT TO REPLACE BOTH OF THOSE? OR ONE? YOU'VE GOT ONE, OKAY. I'VE GOT TWO IN THERE, BUT AS I SAY, IF I DON'T ASK, I DON'T GET. YEP. SO, ONE.

LARGE COMMERCIAL OR LARGE LIFT, CAPACITY LIFT, IS THAT THE TRUCK LIFT IN THE SHOP? SO IF YOU'VE BEEN IN A SHOP, WE HAVE TWO SETS OF THESE FOUR UNITS. THEY'RE PRETTY BIG SYSTEMS. ALL FOUR OF THEM ARE LINKED TOGETHER THROUGH A COMPUTER SO THAT THEY CAN LIFT BUSES AND THE DUMP TRUCKS AND CAN BE MOVED AROUND.

THEY'RE MOBILE. ONE OF THOSE SYSTEMS IS LIKE 15 YEARS OLD, AND PRETTY WELL THE LAST TIME THEY WERE KIND OF SERVICED, THE COMPANY SAID THAT THE... TECHNOLOGY IN IT IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE, AND WE'VE PRETTY WELL PUT THEM OUT OF SERVICE OURSELVES. SO WE'VE SURVIVED, BUT IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE THAT SECOND SET WHEN WE'RE HERE. BECAUSE WE'VE HAD TO TAKE A DUMP TRUCK WE ALREADY HAVE UP IN THE AIR, LOWER IT DOWN, MOVE THEM AROUND. BECAUSE A BUS

[01:15:01]

BUT IT'S GOTTEN TO THE POINT WHERE WE'RE DOING A LOT OF BUSES AND OUR OWN DUMP TRUCKS.

OKAY, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? NO. YES, AS YOU KNOW, I MEAN, LAST YEAR WE HAD A DUMP TRUCK IN, BUT I CAME TO YOU AS FEELING. THE PRIORITY WAS THE BOOM MOWER TO HELP US WITH OUR TREE CONCERNS. I THINK, I MEAN, THAT WAS A GOOD CHANGE OUT, AND WE'VE GOTTEN A LOT DONE WITH THAT. OKAY. YOU'VE GOT THE JOHN DEERE TRACTOR AS A PRIORITY ONE. THAT'S FACILITIES. THAT'S ON THE FACILITIES SIDE. OKAY, THAT'S FACILITIES, TRACTOR.

IT'S THE ONE YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN SITTING AT THE COURTHOUSE RECENTLY.

THERE'S NO REMOVAL THERE. WHAT ELSE DO WE USE THAT FOR? THEY CARRY IT TO HODOS, CLEAN UP HODOS WITH IT AT TIMES. THEY BRING IT OVER. I MEAN, DURING ALL THE SNOWS, IT COMES IN THOSE HEATERS.

THEY USE IT FOR OUR...

TO MAINTAIN OUR FACILITY, THE PUBLIC WORKS FACILITIES AREA, YOU KNOW, THE PARKING LOT AREA FOR THE DUMP TRUCKS AND THOSE TYPES OF THINGS. ALRIGHT, AND YOU'D LIKE TO GET ONE THAT'S LARGER, BIGGER ONE? IT'S NOT MUCH LARGER. I THINK THE HORSEPOWER ONLY JUMPS UP, FIVE HORSEPOWER IS WHAT IT WAS.

OKAY. BUT VERY SIMILAR. I THINK IT EVEN HAS A... IT HAS A CAB.

IT'S THE SMALLEST ONE THAT CAN HAVE A CAB. OKAY. I COULDN'T EVEN TELL THE OTHER DAY WHEN I CAME UP HERE, WHO WAS RUNNING THE THING.

THEY WERE BUNDLED UP SO MUCH IN IT. CLEANING UP THIS PARKING LOT. ALL RIGHT. AND THE PLOWS.

ONE THING I'VE NOTICED IS STATE HIGHWAY IS USING A WIDER PLOW NOW. THEY CAN GET CLOSER TO THE EDGE. OR ACTUALLY, WHEN THEY MAKE A PASS, IT ACTUALLY GETS THE SNOW OFF ALL THE WAY TO THE SHOULDER, WITHOUT THE TRUCK TIRES HAVING TO GET CLOSE TO THE ASPHALT.

YOU'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE WING, RIGHT? NO.

OKAY. I'M TALKING ABOUT THE ACTUAL PLOW ON THE FRONT IS ACTUALLY TWO OR THREE.

IF YOU NOTICE, THEY'RE A LOT WIDER THAN THE ONES WE HAVE.

ALL OF OURS ARE PRETTY MUCH 8 FOOT OR 10 FOOT. YEAH. AND THEN WHEN YOU ANGLE IT, YOU'RE BASICALLY THE EDGE OF THE... THE PLOW IS EVEN WITH THE TIRES. AND AND YOU KNOW, IF YOU LOOK AT IT, I WOULD LOOK AT GETTING WIDER ONES SO THE TRUCK CAN STAY AWAY FROM THE EDGE. AND MAYBE YOU'LL HAVE LESS. I DON'T THINK RUNNING OFF THE ROAD A STEEP INCREASE IN COST BY ADDING, YOU KNOW, MAYBE A LITTLE WIDER. SO, YEAH, DO YOU? DO YOU HAVE ANY MILES ON THE ROLL-OFF TRUCK? IT'S A 2006. FRANK, I DID. OKAY. WE JUST DISCUSSED THIS. SO HOW MANY DO YOU HAVE? I CAN GET BACK TO YOU WITH THAT. WHAT'S THAT? HOW MANY DO YOU HAVE? JUST THE TWO. TWO OF THEM.

YEAH. AND RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE THE LANDFILL'S IN DENTON, WE DON'T GET IN A LOT OF TROUBLE, BUT AT SOME POINT, YOU KNOW, IT MOVES OUT OF COUNTY, WE'RE DEFINITELY GOING TO NEED MORE RELIABLE VEHICLES.

SO, I MEAN, 2006, I MEAN, BUT YOU'RE KEEPING IT CLOSE, RIGHT? YEAH. SO IT'S 20 YEARS OLD. YEAH. YEAH. IT'S...

SHOWING, WE JUST IN THE FRAME, IT'S... YEAH. I MEAN, RIGHT NOW, IT'S USED AS THE SPARE. I MEAN, IF THE OTHER TRUCK GOES DOWN, WE'LL... HYDRAULICS OR SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, DIESEL IS ALL FLUID. A DEAF ISSUE, YEAH, ENGINE ISSUES. SO HOW MANY ARE ON THE OTHER MILES, ON THE OTHER ONE, YOU KNOW, OR YOU DON'T HAVE ANY? NOT ALL THE TIME, MAN, FRANK, I CAN GET THAT INFORMATION BACK TO YOU.

SO ONCE THE PETER BELT WANTS TO BREAK LAUNDRY, YEAH. ONCE NEW, A COUPLE YEARS OLD, THE OTHER ONE'S NOT TOO OLD. I MEAN, THAT ONE'S JUST A SPARE.

THAT'S WHY HE'S GOT IT DOWN.

YEAH, IT DOESN'T RUN, IT MAY NOT RUN FOR MONTHS ON END, RIGHT? IT ONLY RUNS WHEN SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH THE OTHER ONE. IT'S GETTING SERVICED. PRIMARILY, OR, YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE THIS WEATHER WE WERE WHEN I NEED TO RUN TO THEM TO CATCH UP ON. RIGHT? YEAH, THE SLIDING SALT SPREADERS, YOU ALREADY HAVE ONE RIGHT THERE.

NOW WE HAVE TO DO OKAY, JUST TO REPLACE ONE, OR JUST A WHOLE ANOTHER FIRST.

SO THE ADDITIONAL ONE, ADDITIONAL WORD, YEAH. WE'RE GOING ALL THE WAY FROM FETTLESBURG, ALL THE WAY UP TO GOLDSBORO.

WITHIN THE TIMES SPREAD TO VARIOUS PLACES. AND WE

[01:20:02]

ALRIGHT, ANYTHING ELSE? I DO.

OKAY. UM... I'M NOT, JUST WHILE COMMISSIONER BARTZ IS THINKING, I'M NOT TOO CRAZY ABOUT THE SLIDE-IN SALT SPREADERS. JUST BECAUSE THOSE UTILITY BODIES HAVE A TENDENCY TO RUST OUT ANYWAY. AND YOU ADD SALT AND A THING IN THE BACK OF THEM.

BUT IF THAT'S ALL WE GOT, IF THAT'S THE ONLY WAY WE CAN DO IT. I'M NOT SAYING I'M A HUGE FAN EITHER. AND IT PUTS A LOT OF STRESS ON THE FRAMES.

THERE'S A LOT OF WEIGHT IN THE BACK OF THOSE TRUCKS WITH SALT. I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANOTHER OPTION. I DON'T KNOW. IF WE GOT A CYCLONE SPREADER AND JUST LEFT A TRACTOR DOWN AT SOME OF THOSE FACILITIES AND PUT THE SALT OUT THAT WAY.

BUT I THINK THOSE ARE ALSO, EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT RIGHT NOW IS PROBABLY A LEASED TRUCK, ARE ALL THOSE LEASED? WE'D HAVE TO REVIEW THE LIST. I'VE KIND OF LOST TOUCH SINCE WE'VE SOLD SOME OFF AND BACK AND FORTH. IF WE EAT OUT THE BODY ON AN ENTERPRISE TRUCK, I DON'T REALLY CARE. BUT IF IT'S A TRUCK WE'RE LOOKING TO GET RID OF EVENTUALLY, I'D LIKE TO TRY TO TAKE CARE OF THEM. WE CAN CHECK THE SPLITS ON THAT. ROBIN, I MEAN, IT'S A TYPO, OBVIOUSLY, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE A PRIORITY.

ONE AT THE ROOTS. IT GOES 2, 03, 4, 5, 6, 7. IT WOULD BE THE 10-WHEEL DUMP TRUCK AT THE TOP.

I THINK THE DESCRIPTION WOULD BE COPIED AND PASTED FROM THE PRIORITY FOUR. SO THAT'S ONE, AND THE OTHER ONE'S A FOUR.

YES, SIR. I'M SORRY ABOUT THAT. ALL RIGHT, THAT'S ALL I GOT. ALL RIGHT, JUST THINKING ABOUT THE LEASE VEHICLES, THE ONE MARK WOULD BE GETTING RID OF, IS IT A LEASE? I THINK THAT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST ONES WE BOUGHT.

PACK IS NEW. WE'LL DOUBLE CHECK. OH, IS IT REALLY? WE HAVE A LIST OF IT, OF ALL THE LEASED AND OWNED.

ALRIGHT, JAMIE'S IS PROBABLY PRIOR TO THE LEASE, IF IT'S GOT $200,000. YEAH, THAT ONE WE OWN. I'M JUST CURIOUS WHICH ONES ARE THE LEASE. I'D LIKE TO GET THESE LEASE VEHICLES OUT, BECAUSE WE'RE PAYING $25 A MONTH FOR NOTHING. YES, SIR.

TO ENTERPRISE. YES, SIR. IT'S UNFORTUNATE, BUT THESE ARE PROBABLY ALL OWNED BY US THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT REPLACING HERE. EACH VAC SYSTEM IS THE TOWER AT PRESTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

OH, I FORGOT ABOUT THAT. WE OWN THAT CELL PHONE TOWER, TOO. SO WE HAVE TWO. I FORGOT ABOUT THAT ONE ALTOGETHER. THE ONES WE OWN IS THE COLONEL AND PRESTON. ORDER TWO, OKAY. AND THAT'S WHERE THE HVAC IS? IS THAT PRESTON? YES. THE MAJOR HVAC WOULD BE IN PRESTON THAT WE'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR. WE'RE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COLONEL. OKAY, ALRIGHT. SOUNDS GOOD. WELL... THANK YOU ALL FOR WORKING THROUGH THIS PROCESS AND FIELDING OUR QUESTIONS. I'M SURE THERE WILL BE MORE. WE WILL CALL YOU AND ASK YOU AS THEY COME UP.

BUT THANK YOU FOR KEEPING YOUR BUDGETS AS REASONABLE AS YOU CAN HERE. SO IT SHOWS, AND WE APPRECIATE THAT.

ANYTHING ELSE? ALL RIGHT, LET'S TAKE A RECESS WHILE WE SWITCH.

[01:31:31]

[01:31:32]

AND IT APPEARS THE FIRST ONE ON THE LIST IS THE CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE PRICE. YES, GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY. GOOD MORNING. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME HERE THIS MORNING. THERE'S REALLY NOTHING MUCH IN THE BUDGET TO SPEAK OF.

SOME MINOR. SOME MINOR BUMPS IN SOME CATEGORIES, BUT IT'S THE JUDICIAL ASSISTANT REQUEST THAT'S HERE.

THAT'S NOTHING NEW FOR YOU GUYS, THAT BIG REQUEST FOR AN ADDITIONAL POSITION.

IT'S THE SAME ONE. I'D BE HAPPY TO GO OVER THAT AGAIN IF YOU WANT.

OTHERWISE, WE JUST HAVE THE MAINTENANCE CONTRACT, WHICH IS AN INCREASE, AND THAT'S AN INCREASE UP TO $13,500. AND BASICALLY, THAT WILL GET REIMBURSED. IT HAS EVERY YEAR BY MEMORANDUM, BEEN REIMBURSED TO THE COUNTY FOR THAT EXPENSE. SO THE EXPENSE HAS GONE UP BECAUSE WE'VE GOT A NEW SYSTEM INSTALLED, AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ALL REMEMBER THAT. COURT SMART IS HOW WE RECORD EVERYTHING GOING ON IN THE COURTROOM, AND PEOPLE MAKE TRANSCRIPTS FROM THAT RECORDING, SO IT'S A PRETTY INTEGRAL PART.

THIS BUDGET, THERE'S A QUOTE FOR IT, $12,991. SO TEAMING IS JUST $13,500, JUST A LITTLE CUSHION IN CASE THERE'S SOME EXTRA EXPENSE THERE. JURORS, THE REQUESTED LINE ITEM INCREASE HERE FROM $32.42, AND THIS USUALLY GETS REIMBURSED, TOO. WE PAY ONLY REALLY FOR MAILINGS AND SNACKS. WE'VE GOT TO HAVE GOOD SNACKS FOR JURIES. BUT WE'RE ASKING FOR MORE BECAUSE WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF VERY GOOD... WE HAVE TO CALL IN MORE THAN THE NORMAL. WE HAD 120, WE HAD TO CALL IN ALREADY TWICE THIS YEAR.

WE'RE HAVING A THIRD ONE THIS WEEK. SO IT'S MORE MONEY. SO WE'RE HOPING THEY CAN JUST PUT THAT ASIDE, AND WE NEED IT, THOUGH. YOU ALL WILL HAVE IT AND THEN GET REIMBURSED.

THERE'S A NEW LINE ITEM FOR COURT EVENTS, AND THESE ARE SOME THINGS THAT OTHER JURISDICTIONS DO THAT I'VE BEEN TOSSING AROUND DOING. I'M FIVE YEARS ON THE BENCH NOW. IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE, BUT THESE ARE SOME PROGRAMS I'D LIKE TO DEVELOP OVER TIME, WHICH IS ADOPTION DAY, THE ANNUAL BOOKMARK CONTEST, AND THEN LAW DAY WITH THE BOARD OF EDUCATION. AND TRY TO TALK TO THE SUPERINTENDENT ABOUT THAT. SO THOSE WOULD JUST BE STARTING THE PROCESS OF GETTING THOSE PROGRAMS. I'D LIKE TO INVOLVE THE COMMUNITY AND SOME YOUNG FOLKS IN UNDERSTANDING WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE COURTHOUSE. OTHER THAN THAT, THAT JUDICIAL ASSISTANT AND THEN THE USUAL QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSIONS WE HAVE ABOUT COURTHOUSE. OKAY.

ANYTHING NEW? DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME? AND YOU ALSO HAVE A CAPITAL REQUEST FOR PARKING LOT CONSTRUCTION.

RIGHT. WHICH IS THAT JUST RECONFIGURING THE BACK.

PARKING LOT OR IS THAT AN EXPANSION OF THE PARKING LOT OUT INTO THE GREEN? DO YOU KNOW? SO I BELIEVE THE QUOTE WE WERE WORKING ON WHERE THE 160 CAME FROM WITH LAST YEAR WAS THE RECONFIGURATION OF THE CURRENT PARKING LOT.

RIGHT. REMOVING THE GRASS MEDIUM BETWEEN THE TWO AND REALLY MAKING IT MORE LIKE A U-SHAPE AND ADDING SOME ADDITIONAL PARKING IN THERE.

OKAY. I THINK IT WOULD ADD 11 ADDITIONAL SPOTS, I THINK.

YES, THAT IS CORRECT. REALLY? WE WERE GETTING 11 ADDITIONAL SPOTS IN THAT ADDITION. AND IT WOULD ALLOW FOR THE AREA TO BE FENCED IN? THE DISCUSSION WAS, YES, THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE IT FENCED IN, EVEN IF IT WAS JUST A PORTION FOR CERTAIN SELECT EMPLOYEES

[01:35:01]

AND THAT FENCING IS STATE-FUNDED ELIGIBILITY ONCE WE DO THE RECONFIGURATION, IF WE DO IT? YES. OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS FOR JUDGE PRICE? JUST A COUPLE. GOOD MORNING, YOUR HONOR. THE CAN YOU JUST TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE DUTIES AND QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE JUDICIAL ASSISTANT? YES, SIR, I SURE CAN. I THINK I HAD SOMETHING LAST YEAR FOR YOU ALL THAT I HANDED OUT, AND I SHOULD HAVE BROUGHT IT WITH ME AGAIN. IT'S A FULL-TIME JOB. AND SOME OF THE THINGS THEY WOULD DO, JUST DAY-TO-DAY OPERATION OF MY CHAMBERS, MINIMAL OVERSIGHT, REALLY. IT'S A PERSON THAT WOULD NEED TO FUNCTION ON THEIR OWN, MAINTAINING DATABASES, ELECTRONIC FILES, SUMMARIZING MATERIALS, PREPARING THE SPREADSHEETS I USE. I HAVE TO USE A CERTAIN FORMAT IN SPREADSHEET TRACKING, SEARCH WARRANTS, ALL THE DIFFERENT VARIOUS TYPES.

SEARCH WORDS THAT HAVE TO BE BY LAW TRACKED AND TURNED IN DOWNSTAIRS. THE CLERK'S OFFICE, THEY WOULD HELP ME WITH THAT. WORKING TASKS IN OUR QUEUE FOR ODYSSEY, WHICH IS HOW TASKS COME TO ME THROUGH THE CLERK'S OFFICE. SO I HAVE ALL THE CLERKS DOWN THERE THAT GET INFORMATION FILED ELECTRONICALLY OR IN PERSON. UNDERSTAND WHERE IT SHOULD. DEGREE IS A MINIMUM EDUCATION REQUIRED, SO LEGAL WORK WOULD BE GREAT EXPERIENCE, AND A BACHELOR'S IS PREFERRED. I CAN CERTAINLY SEND THIS BACK OUT AGAIN. WOULD THAT BE HELPFUL? IT WOULD. I CAN GUARANTEE YOU, IF YOU GAVE IT TO ME LAST YEAR, I DON'T KNOW WHERE IT IS THIS YEAR. WHO DOES THAT FOR YOU NOW, YOUR HONOR? WELL, IT'S DIVIDED UP ON THE ASSIGNMENT CLERK, AS WELL AS THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR AND THE LAW CLERK. SO I HAVE TO DIVIDE MYSELF. I DO A LOT OF FIELD AWAY SEARCH JOBS THAT I THINK FIT ANY OTHER CATEGORIES TO HELP. REALLY, JUST EVERYBODY'S TRYING TO. AND DO YOU KNOW, IN GOING THROUGH THE BILLS THAT HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED IN THE LEGISLATURE, HOUSE BILL 492 WAS A COURTHOUSE SECURITY MINIMUM STANDARD. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE STATUS, HAVE YOU HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT THE STATUS? I HAVE NOT HEARD ANYTHING DIRECTLY FROM THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE COURTS ON THAT. I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S BEEN CROSS-FILED.

I'M NOT SURE IF IT HAS OR NOT.

I DON'T KNOW, BUT I CAN CHECK ON THAT. IF THERE'S ANY INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO ME, I CAN FORWARD IT. IT'S HOUSE BILL 492. AGAIN, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S A SENATE VERSION OR NOT. I'M SORRY. IT WAS CROSS-FILED WITH SENATE BILL 544. OKAY. I WILL LOOK AT THAT. OKAY. THANK YOU.

COMMISSIONER BURKS? I ALREADY IS. GOOD. YOUR HONOR, MY MAIN CONCERN IS, WHERE WOULD YOU PUT THE ADDITIONAL PERSON? IT IS A CONCERN. YEAH. SO, WE WERE HAVING SOME SPACE AVAILABLE, AND YOU ALL SHOULD COME UP AND SEE IT SOMETIME UP THERE, AND I'D BE GLAD TO KIND OF LAY IT OUT. WHERE EVERYBODY IS, WHERE THEY GO. I'M TELLING YOU, IF I HAD TO, I'D MOVE THE PERSON INTO MY OFFICE BECAUSE IT'S SUCH A VALUABLE ROLE. A SKILL SET WOULD BE SOMETHING I'D USE ALMOST CONSTANTLY. I KNOW IT'S AN ONGOING CONVERSATION, OR CONSTANT POINT OF CONVERSATION, I SHOULD SAY, ABOUT SPACE IN THE COURTHOUSE. AS EVERYONE KNOWS, WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THE LOCKERMAN SCHOOL BUILD. THAT BUILDING'S GONNA COME AVAILABLE. THERE REALLY IS NO SPACE AROUND THEN, REASONABLE OFFICE SPACE ANYWHERE. WE PURSUED THAT RECENTLY WITH THE OFFICE OF LAW RELOCATION. AND WE CAN SEE BUILDINGS THAT ARE POTENTIALLY GONNA COME BACK TO THE COUNTY, THAT. YOU KNOW, WE'LL BE VACANT THAT WE CAN USE FOR OTHER THINGS. SO I WOULD LIKE TO, YOU KNOW, HOLD ON.

JUST LET EVERYBODY KNOW THAT WE'VE GOT TO HOLD ON TO WHAT WE GOT AND JUST DEAL WITH IT. AT LEAST UNTIL WE GET THROUGH THIS LOCKER ROOM BUILD

[01:40:01]

RIGHT. OKAY. I KNOW THAT YOU ALL HAVE TOUGH JOBS. YEAH.

AND, YOU KNOW, I USED TO BE HERE DOING THIS FOR A LITTLE OVER 10 YEARS, ABOUT 10 YEARS, SO I UNDERSTAND THE DIFFICULTIES THAT YOU HAVE DOING THIS. THIS BUDGET, AND I TRULY SUPPORT ANY OF THE SUPPORT YOU GIVE TO ME AND TO THE OFFICE. AND I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU TREATING THE STAFF, THE CHAMBER STAFF, LIKE YOUR OTHER COURT EMPLOYEES WHEN IT COMES TO CERTAIN TIMES OF THE YEAR. AND I REALLY DO APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE DONE FOR THE OFFICE AND CONTINUE TO DO, BUT I KNOW THAT YOU CAN'T.

WELL, THE PARKING LOT IS GETTING AGED. I MEAN, THE ASPHALT IS CRACKING UP.

THE CURB'S IN BAD SHAPE.

SIDEWALKS. SO IT MAY BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT. SO SOMETHING WE CAN LOOK AT IF THAT'S A HIGHER PRIORITY. I THINK BECAUSE OTHER PEOPLE COULD BENEFIT, TOO, THAT IT WOULD BE A HIGHER PRIORITY.

AND IT WOULD ALSO ALLOW US TO GET SOME MONEY OUT OF THE STATE, POTENTIALLY DOWN THE ROAD, TO DO SOME OTHER SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS. OKAY.

ALL RIGHT. ANYTHING ELSE? THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR. THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR. NEXT UP, SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT. GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING. SO YOU HAVE, I'M SURE, IN FRONT OF YOU, THE PROPOSED BUDGET.

THERE ARE, BESIDES SALARY INCREASES THAT THE COUNTY HAS RECOMMENDED, WE DO HAVE AN INCREASE TO REIMBURSEMENT OVER TIME.

WHICH IS $65,000. THAT IS BASICALLY A NUMBER THAT REALLY DOESN'T GET USED, BUT IT HAS TO GO IN THERE FOR COUNTY PURPOSES.

ACTUALLY, LAST YEAR, IF OUR CALCULATIONS ARE RIGHT, WE ACTUALLY BROUGHT $32,154 INTO THE COUNTY COFFERS AS A RESULT OF REIMBURSABLE OVERTIME. SO THAT NUMBER SITS THERE, I GUESS, FOR THE COUNTY PURPOSES OF IN CASE THEY WERE TO DEFAULT. AND THE COUNTY HAD TO PUT THAT MONEY BACK INTO THE OVERTIME.

BUT NORMALLY THAT $200,000 IS THERE AND THEN IT GOES BACK TO THE COUNTY, AM I CORRECT, DANNY? YEAH, SO INSIDE OF YOUR ABOVE FLAT, WE DO NOT INCLUDE THAT, AS SHERIFF BAKER WAS JUST EXPLAINING. WE GET OFFSET BY THE BILLING THAT GOES OUT TO WHETHER IT'S THE SCHOOL, MUNICIPALITIES THAT ARE HAVING OVERTIME WORK. POULTRY.

POULTRY GROWERS, THAT'S PROBABLY THE BIGGEST ONE NOW.

YEAH, IT'S BEEN BIG HERE RECENTLY. WITH THE AVIAN FLU.

SO THE NUMBER THAT WE CAME TO THIS YEAR WAS REALLY JUST A REFLECTION OF ACTUAL SPEND AND PROJECTED SPEND. AND CATCHING THAT LINEUP TO COMMISERATE WITH ACTUAL SPENDING. AND THEN THE REVENUE OFFSETS THAT. SO IT'S REALLY A NET GAIN FOR US WHEN WE DO THOSE TYPES OF SERVICES.

BUT WHERE DOES IT GO? BACK TO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT. AND SITS AND DOES WHAT? IS IT EARMARKED FOR ANYTHING OR NO? IT JUST GOES INTO GENERAL FUND? GENERAL FUND. OKAY. YEAH, GENERAL FUND. SO IT SHOWS AS AN ABOVE FLAT, BUT IT'S REALLY NOT. IT'S REIMBURSED. IT WILL SHOW ABOVE LAST YEAR'S BUDGET, BUT WE DO NOT SHOW IT AS AN ABOVE FLAT. ANY ITEM THAT'S REALLY A MATCH LIKE THAT, WE DON'T SHOW AS AN ABOVE FLAT. ALL RIGHT. ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE SHERIFF ON OPERATING? THEN WE'LL GO TO HIS CAPITAL. SHERIFF, YOU AND I HAVE TALKED A COUPLE OF TIMES AND THIS WILL KIND OF DOVETAIL INTO THE ELECTIONS BOARD AS WELL. LOOKS LIKE THERE'S A CHANCE THAT THERE WILL BE A BILL PASSED ABOUT HAVING TO HAVE POLICE OFFICERS AT A POLLING PLACE. IF THAT PASSES, WHICH I HOPE IT DOESN'T, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S GOING TO, WILL THAT HAVE ANY FINANCIAL IMPACT ON YOU AT THIS POINT? YEAH, IT ABSOLUTELY WILL. I MEAN, IF WE HAVE TO HAVE A DEPUTY AT EVERY POLLING PLACE WITHIN THE COUNTY, THAT ABSOLUTELY WILL HAVE A FUN VERSION. YEAH, AND I DON'T SEE ANY FISCAL NOTE HERE ON WHAT IT'S GONNA COST. THE STATE DOESN'T CARE. THEY JUST.

PASSED THE BILL. YEAH, AND THE SAME THING WITH THE BILL THAT YOU MENTIONED AS FAR AS COURTHOUSE SECURITY. I MEAN, THAT BILL HAS NO MATCHING FUNDS, AND RIGHT NOW, MY UNDERSTANDING FROM THE SHERIFF'S ASSOCIATION IS THAT IT IS GOING TO BE RECOMMENDED NUMBERS, BUT IT'S NOT GOING TO REQUIRE THE COUNTY TO PUT THAT BILL. NOW, DOWN THE ROAD, I DO BELIEVE THAT IT PROBABLY WILL, BUT, I MEAN, THAT WOULD PROBABLY HAVE TO AT LEAST, YOU KNOW, HAVE US TO HAVE AT LEAST ONE OR TWO, IF NOT MORE, DEPUTIES IN THE COURTHOUSE. RIGHT. AND THE CURRENT SITUATION THAT WE HAVE NOW WITH DEPUTIES AT POLLING PLACES, CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT THAT IS? I

[01:45:03]

BUT RIGHT NOW, WHAT WE DO IS... IS NORMALLY DURING THE ELECTION DAY, AS WE HAVE DEPUTIES ROAMING TO GO TO THE POLLING PLACES.

THAT'S JUST A SECURITY FOR THE OFFICE, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S NO ISSUE TO CHECK IN WITH THE POWERS.

TO BE AT THE ELECTION SITE JUST TO MAKE SURE THERE'S NOTHING WRONG, BUT WE DON'T HAVE DEPUTIES STAY OR STATIONED AT ELECTION POLLS. I WILL SAY THAT AS FAR AS I KNOW OF IN MY TENURE IN CAROLINE COUNTY, WE'VE NEVER, REALLY, EVER HAD A PROBLEM AT ELECTION. AND ONE OF THE MOST, ONE OF THE MORE CONCERNING PARTS OF THIS IS THAT THE LOCAL BOARD EMPLOYEES WOULD HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO HAVE YOUR DEPUTY ARREST SOMEONE. WELL, THAT'S PROPOSED. AGAIN, I THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE A HUGE LIABILITY FOR THE STATE, FOR THE ELECTION WORKER. AS WELL AS A CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUE AS FAR AS THE OFFICE OF SHERIFF GOES. SO I THINK THAT'S MORE OF A WISH LIST FOR THE LEGISLATURE, ALTHOUGH THEY DO PASS SOME CRAZY LAWS IN ANNAPOLIS. BUT I DO THINK THAT'S A WISH LIST, AND I THINK THAT COMMON SENSE PREVAILS IN CAROLINE COUNTY, AND I'VE WORKED WITH THE ELECTION BOARD BEFORE, AND I THINK THAT COMMON SENSE WOULD PREVAIL HERE IN CAROLINE. I WOULD DEFINITELY TAKE ISSUE WITH, IF THERE WAS A DEPUTY WHO DISAGREED WITH SOMEONE SAYING TO BE ARRESTED, WE WOULD DEFINITELY HAVE THAT CONVERSATION. OKAY, THAT'S ALL I HAVE, THANK YOU. OKAY, MR. BURKS. I JUST APPRECIATE YOU, SHERIFF BAKER. LOOKS LIKE YOU WENT THROUGH THERE WITH A SHARP PENCIL. DID YOU? ON SOME OF THE ITEMS, SO I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR... CONTINUED EFFORT ON THAT. THANK YOU. YEAH, I MEAN, LOOK, THERE'S SOME MINOR ADJUSTMENTS HERE AS FAR AS INFLATION AND THINGS LIKE THAT. BUT, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THE ONLY BIG ASK THAT WE WERE ASKING FOR THIS YEAR IS THREE VEHICLES, TWO FOR PATROL AND ONE FOR ANIMAL PATROL. AND ALL THE OTHER ASKS ARE WHAT THE PROPOSED SALARY INCREASES ARE.

BUT WE ARE DEFINITELY TRYING TO BE GOOD FISCAL SERVICE. THE POLICE... THE POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY GRANT. SO I NOTICED THAT'S GOING AWAY FROM AN OFFICE OF LAW FUNDING STANDPOINT AND ALSO THE MONEY THAT THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT RECEIVES. WHAT IS THAT GOING TOWARDS? IT GOES TOWARDS THE SOFTWARE, THE ONLINE REPORTING SYSTEM? IS THAT WHAT THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT IS? YEAH, WE CALL IT IAPRO IN OUR EARLY WARNING SYSTEM.

SO ANY COMPLAINTS AND THINGS THAT WE GET. WE PUT THAT INTO OUR DATABASE. IT WAS REQUIRED IN THE LAW TO HAVE SOME TYPE OF DATABASE THAT TRACKED COMPLAINTS. SO IT IS. OKAY, WELL, THAT ANSWERS MY QUESTION. WE CAN'T GO TO A PAPER SYSTEM AND CUT OUT THE SUBSCRIPTION. THAT WOULD BE TOO LOGICAL TO DO FOR A COUNTY THAT. HOW MANY COMPLAINTS HAVE YOU HAD THIS YEAR? WE'VE HAD NONE. ALL RIGHT, SO WE'RE PAYING A SOFTWARE SUBSCRIPTION FOR A PROGRAM THAT DOES NOTHING.

YES. THE SHERIFF'S BUDGET REQUESTS. DOWN UNDER TECHNICAL SUPPORT, REALLY MAKE IT A LINE ITEM.

MARKUP THIS FOR ONBOARDING OF THAT SOFT. I MEAN, HOW HARD IS IT TO SEND A LETTER AND WITH A COMPLAINT? WHY DO YOU NEED AN ONLINE WELL? WELL, THE WELL? THE LAW ALSO REQUIRES THAT THE PUBLIC HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO ONTO A WEBSITE, WHETHER THAT BE WITH THEIR NAME OR ANONYMOUSLY.

SO WE HAVE TO HAVE THAT AVAILABILITY.

RIGHT, BUT WE COULD DO THAT.

CHRIS COULD DO THAT WITHOUT HAVING A PROGRAM. I WILL SAY THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT A CHEAPER VERSION OF THAT.

CAPTAIN HELMER. HOW ABOUT A NO VERSION? YEAH. HOW ABOUT AN IN-HOUSE VERSION? YEAH, I MEAN, LOOK, WE WOULD LOOK AT EVERY OPTION. CHRIS IS LAUGHING BACK THERE. LOOK, LET ME SAY, LOOK, I WILL, AND NO JOKES, JUST NOT BECAUSE CHRIS IS IN THE ROOM. THOSE GUYS DO A PHENOMENAL JOB FOR US. WE HAVE ASKED THEM TO TAKE A HUGE LIFT WITH SOME OF THE TOWNS HERE RECENTLY, AND I'M SURE THEIR PLATE IS FULL.

BUT I DO APPRECIATE THEM MORE THAN WORDS CAN EXPRESS. THEY DO A GREAT JOB. RIGHT. I DON'T KNOW. I JUST HAVE A PROBLEM PAYING. HOW MUCH IS IT? WE'RE ASKING FOR $16,000 OVER WHAT WE HAVE. SO, HOW MUCH IS THE OFFICE OF LAW'S SIDE OF IT? SIXTEEN, ANOTHER SAYS.

SO WE'RE PAYING 32,000 FOR A PROGRAM THAT DOESN'T GET USED.

I DON'T THINK THREE TIMES A YEAR THAT WAS IN THE COMPLAINT. NO, NO, THEY DID NOT HAVE A SOFTWARE.

THEY DON'T HAVE A SOFTWARE.

OH, YES, YEAH, I'M NOT SAYING THAT THAT GRANT GOT CUT OUT.

GRANTS ARE STARTING NOW, SO WE CAN LOOK AT OTHER FUNDING SOURCES FOR THAT AS WELL. THE PROBLEM

[01:50:02]

OKAY. WELL, THIS ENTIRE PROGRAM WAS A SOLUTION, LOOKING FOR A PROBLEM, AND WE KNEW THAT IN THE BEGINNING. AND IT'S PROVEN ITSELF TO BE, AND IT WAS ONE OF THESE BAIT-AND-SWITCH JOBS. WHERE, OH, WE'RE GOING TO GIVE YOU A GRANT TO DO THE PROGRAM, BUT IN, YOU KNOW, TWO YEARS, THE GRANT IS GOING TO GO AWAY, THEN YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO ABSORB IT IN YOUR BUDGET. WELL, I THINK IT'S A TYPICAL PROBLEM, TYPICAL SITUATION THAT THE STATE OF MARYLAND COMES UP WITH, AND SOME LEGISLATOR WANTED A BILL TO PUT THEIR NAME TO. IF YOU THINK THAT'S BAD, IF ANNAPOLIS GETS THEIR WAY AND WE HAVE TO FOLLOW ICE AGENTS AROUND WITH OUR BODY CAMERAS ON, CAN YOU IMAGINE THE CLOUD STORAGE IT'S GOING TO TAKE FOR US TO VIDEOTAPE? ALL THAT IS GOING TO BE ABSOLUTELY ASTRONOMICAL.

YEP. ALL RIGHT, WELL, LET'S LOOK AT THAT AND SEE IF WE CAN FIND A WAY TO WORK AROUND THAT. I MEAN, I DON'T CARE IF THEY GO ON FACEBOOK AND FILE A COMPLAINT ON YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE. I MEAN, WHAT? WE DO HAVE THAT, TOO. I DON'T KNOW. I DON'T GET THAT ONE. BUT, OKAY. ALL RIGHT.

BUT WE ARE LOOKING AT A CHEAPER SOURCE. OKAY. AND I WILL SAY THAT THE VEHICLES, CAPTAIN HUMMER, WE'RE ABLE TO GET THOSE VEHICLES EVEN AT A LOW PRICE. SAY, ARE MORE COST SAVINGS THAN THE DURANGO'S IN AT THE $17,000. I THINK HE'S ACTUALLY UP TO $20,000 ALL SAVINGS. OKAY, YOU'RE ON YOUR CAPITAL NOW.

LET ME SEE. WELL, I MEAN, I DIDN'T MEAN TO RUSH ANYBODY. NO, NO, YOU'RE FINE. THERE'S OTHER, COMMISSIONER BARKS WAS, I DIDN'T KNOW IF HE HAD ANY OTHER. ANYTHING ON OPERATING? ALL RIGHT, SO CAPITAL, FIND IT HERE. YOU'RE ON THE LAST PAGE. OH, SO THE K-9 UNIT, YOU CAN PROBABLY DO WITHOUT THAT? NO, WE'VE ALREADY CUT THAT BACK. I DON'T KNOW IF HE COULD GET THE UPDATED.

CAPTAIN HOMER HAD SUBMITTED AN UPDATED CAPITAL BUDGET YESTERDAY. SO THERE ARE TWO TAHOS AT $84,000 EACH, AND THEN ONE OUT-OF-CONTROL VEHICLE AT $64,000. AM I CORRECT, STACY? I KNOW YOU TWO TALKED YESTERDAY.

SO WHAT DID YOU, I'M SORRY, WHAT DID YOU JUST TAKE OUT? THE K-9 VEHICLE. SO DON'T NEED THAT? NO. ARE THESE, SO THESE ARE LISTED AS TWO TAHOE'S? BUT I TALKED TO CAPTAIN HELMER, HE WAS TALKING ABOUT DURANGO'S. WHAT I HAVE IS DURANGO'S ONLINE, SO HE'S CHANGED THAT, WE'VE UPDATED THAT. CORRECT, SO THE PUBLIC DOCUMENTS THAT WE'RE USING TODAY AND FOR THE PUBLIC HEARING WERE THE INITIAL REQUESTS THAT WERE SUBMITTED BACK. OKAY. THEN, ONCE WE GET THROUGH NEXT TUESDAY, WE WILL PROVIDE THE UPDATED. DOCUMENTS THAT HAVE THE REFLECTION THAT SHERIFF BAKER IS SPEAKING TO.

YEAH, I WOULD SAY THAT. THE TOTAL CAPITAL REQUEST IS $232,000. PUT ON THERE IF THEY'RE LEASED VEHICLES OR NOT.

I DON'T THINK EITHER ONE OF THESE ARE PROBABLY LEASED.

YEAH. IF THAT'S EASY TO FIND, I MEAN, DON'T... IT IS. OKAY.

YEAH. WHETHER OR NOT THEY ARE... DO THEY NEED EACH OF THOSE? YEAH, I THINK WE'RE TRACKING THOSE IN-HOUSE AS WELL, SO I CAN GET CAPCOM OR GET YOU TO SEND YOU THAT AS WELL.

OKAY. ALL RIGHT, SO THOSE WILL BOTH BE DURANGO'S. UNMARKED? NO, THEY WILL BE MARKED. OH, THEY WILL? YES, THEY WILL BE MARKED VEHICLES. OKAY. UNLESS SOMEBODY KNOWS SOMETHING, I DON'T. I THOUGHT HE HAD TOLD ME THEY WERE GOING TO THE DETECTIVES.

NO, THEY'RE GOING TO BE MARKED VEHICLES.

ALRIGHT. AND THEN THE ANIMAL CONTROL VEHICLE? YES. SO FORD TRANSIT WITH 157,000 ON IT.

OKAY. OKAY, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR SHERIFF BAKER ON THE CAPITOL? I'M GOOD. MR. PORTER? OKAY. GOOD. THANK YOU, SHERIFF. THANK YOU. BOARD OF EDUCATION. GOOD MORNING. WE'D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION. WE DO NOT HAVE ANY CHANGES TO OUR REQUEST SINCE OUR JOINT WORK SESSION ON FEBRUARY 17TH. WE ARE JUST REQUESTING THE LOCAL SHARE AS REQUIRED BY THE FORMULA. AND WE'D ALSO LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMITMENT TO OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS, ESPECIALLY AS WE'RE WORKING ON THE NEW LOCKERMAN BUILD.

OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS FOR MS. HIGNETT? NOPE. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, JILL. THANK YOU.

THANKS. HEALTH DEPARTMENT.

ROBIN. UH-OH. MORNING.

MORNING. YEAH, I'D LIKE TO START OUT BY... THANKING YOU GUYS FOR ALL THE CONTINUED SUPPORT.

IN OUR REQUEST THAT WE SUBMITTED, I DIDN'T MENTION ONE OF THE NEW

[01:55:02]

IT'S NOT ESSENTIALLY NEW TO CAROLINE COUNTY, BUT IT WOULD BE NEWLY HOUSED UNDER CAROLINE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT. CURRENTLY, THE HEALTHY FAMILIES PROGRAM, THE CAROLINE PORTION IS A PART OF THE MIDSHORE PORTION, WHICH IS ADMINISTERED.

THROUGH QUEEN ANNE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT. WITHIN THE QUEEN ANNE COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER REACHED OUT TO ME, I DON'T KNOW, PROBABLY JUNE OR JULY OF LAST YEAR, AND ASKED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF US ABSORBING. THE CAROLINE COUNTY PORTION OF IT. WE'VE WORKED OVER THAT PERIOD OF TIME, SO WE'RE BRINGING THEM ON BOARD. WE ACTUALLY GOT OUR OFFICIAL APPROVAL LAST WEEK, SO WE'LL HAVE TWO NEW STAFF MEMBERS, HEALTHY FAMILIES PROGRAM. THE OFFICE WILL ACTUALLY BE HERE WITHIN OUR HEALTH DEPARTMENT, UNDER OUR COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES, SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT PROGRAM. IT'S A HOME VISITING PROGRAM WHERE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE ELIGIBLE, THEY CAN APPLY, AND, YOU KNOW, THEY RECEIVE SOME ADDITIONAL HOME SERVICES FOR CHILDREN. SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT COMING DIRECTLY UNDER THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT WE HAVE. WE HAVE A FEW OF OUR GRANT PROGRAMS THAT ARE GOING TO BE SUNSETTING AND FY 20 AT THE END OF FY 20. BUT WE ALSO HAVE THREE NEW STREAMS THAT WILL COME. WE HAVE A PUBLIC HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT. WE CURRENTLY DO RECEIVE FUNDING FOR THAT. IT'S JUST GOING TO BE STRUCTURED A LITTLE DIFFERENT IN FY27. THAT'S A FIVE-YEAR FUNDING OPPORTUNITY, AND IT PROVIDES SOME REAL FLEXIBILITY IN THAT IN TERMS OF HOW WE CAN BUILD OUR INFRASTRUCTURE HERE FOR PUBLIC HEALTH. ALSO, THE RURAL HEALTH TRANSFORMATION PROGRAM FUNDING. WE'RE STILL AWAITING GUIDANCE. AS YOU KNOW, MARILYN WAS AWARDED.

SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT. SO WE'RE JUST WAITING TO HEAR, LIKE, WHAT OUR PORTION OF THAT WILL BE, AND THEN THERE'S SOME AHEAD MODEL PLANNING FUNDING THAT WILL COME. SO I FEEL PRETTY CONFIDENT IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT OUR BUDGET WILL LOOK LIKE FOR FY 27, AGAIN, MENTIONING THAT THE GOVERNMENT BUDGET HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED, SO WE WILL AWAIT THAT. OUR REQUESTS FOR THE COUNTY BUDGET INCLUDED A 2% INCREASE OVER FY 26. AND AGAIN, THAT'S PRETTY CONSISTENT WITH WHAT WE HAVE REQUESTED BEFORE.

I DID ALSO NOTE IN THERE THE CHANGE IN THE REQUIRED MATCH CALCULATIONS, WHICH IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT WHAT I SUBMITTED, YOU SEE THAT THE REQUIRED LOCAL MATCH IS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN WHAT IT HAS BEEN OVER THE PAST YEARS. AND THAT'S BECAUSE THE STATE HAS ACTUALLY SEPARATED OUT. THE SALARY ADJUSTMENTS AND THE COLAS FROM THE CORE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES. SO, THE LOCAL REQUIRED MATCH CALCULATION IS BASED SPECIFICALLY ON THE CORE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES AMOUNT THAT IS REQUIRED. I THINK THAT THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT ONE. DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY. SO WHERE IS, WHICH LINE ITEM IS THAT IN? THAT'S IN THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT TOTAL, THAT FORMULA, THAT CALCULATION. YEP. SO IF YOU LOOK ON PAGE THREE. 570.

YOU HAVE, SO, YEAH, SO. THE TOTAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT FUNDING THAT WE'RE REQUESTING IS 622-047. THE REQUIRED LOCAL MATCH IS 271-561. SO OUR REQUEST IS...

ABOVE THE REQUIRED MATCH AT 350,486. AND IF YOU LOOK IN TERMS OF LAST YEAR, THAT ABOVE WAS 44,824. WE SHOW THEY'RE ALLOCATING HEALTH DEPARTMENT FUNDING. SO OUR SIDE, WE HAVE ONE LINE.

RIGHT, RIGHT. OKAY. AND IT DOES REPRESENT, IT'S CONSISTENTLY REPRESENTED, THE LOCAL MATCH THAT WE'VE, OR THE LOCAL FUNDING THAT WE'VE REQUESTED IN THE PAST HAS CONSISTENTLY BEEN 7% OF OUR TOTAL BUDGET OVERALL.

THAT INCLUDES GRANT FUNDS, COLLECTION, ALL OF IT. SO, YEAH. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. ANY QUESTIONS FOR ROBIN? ROBIN, ARE WE AT A POINT WHERE WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT? IN THE NEAR FUTURE, THE ASSISTED OUTPATIENT AOT,

[02:00:05]

IT IS IN THE BRFA, YES, AND THERE CONTINUES TO BE CONVERSATIONS RELATED TO THAT. I THINK THAT IT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL TO HAVE KATIE DILLEY, OUR MIDSHORE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH DIRECTOR, COME IN WITH ME TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION.

BECAUSE SHE'S THEIR PROGRAM, THEY'RE LEADING THE AOT FOR OUR REGION, AND SHE'S VERY WELL VERSED IN THAT.

BUT I THINK IF YOU WOULD LIKE SOME BACKGROUND, MOST DEFINITELY. I MEAN, I'VE PROVIDED SOME BACKGROUND TO DANNY AND KATHLEEN IN REFERENCE TO HOW THOSE CONVERSATIONS TOOK PLACE. JUST SOMEBODY THAT CAN EXPLAIN TO ME, LIKE, I'M... BECAUSE I'M FROM GREENSBORO, SO I UNDERSTAND THE BASIC TERMS. BUT IT'S IN THE BRFA. I DON'T KNOW IF THE BRFA IS WHERE, THAT IS AS FAR AS PASSING. I MEAN, IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN.

YEAH, LOTS OF CONVERSATION IN RELATION TO THAT. I'M ON THE LEGISLATIVE REVIEW COMMITTEE FOR METRO, WHICH IS OUR HEALTH OFFICER ASSOCIATION. AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, WE CONTINUE THOSE CONVERSATIONS TO TRY TO DETERMINE. WHAT THIS IS, WHAT IT WOULD MEAN IN TERMS, WHEN IT COMES TO LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENTS.

BUT REALLY, IT DEALS MORE WITH OUR LOCAL BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AUTHORITY, WHICH IS WHAT MIDSHOR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH IS FOR THE REGION. WE STILL, CAROLINE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT STILL MAINTAINS THE LOCAL ADDICTIONS AUTHORITY, WHICH IS JESSICA AS OUR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH DIRECTOR. BUT I THINK IF YOU REALLY WANT A GOOD OVERVIEW OF... THE PROGRAM AND THE EFFORTS THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE, I THINK THAT KATIE WOULD BE THE BEST TO DO THAT. OKAY.

THAT'S ALL I HAVE. GOOD. MR. BARNES. THANK YOU, ROBIN.

THANK YOU, GUYS. THANKS. YEP. I SEE ALLISON IS HERE, SO I GUESS WE CAN GO AHEAD AND DO THAT, LET YOU GET BACK AT IT. I'M SURE YOU'RE BUSY.

THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING. I DIDN'T, I WASN'T ON THE LIST. I THOUGHT I HAD A FREE PASS. NO, NO FREE PASS.

SO, THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS FY27 BUDGET REQUEST INCLUDES COSTS TO PREPARE FOR THE MINISTER, THE 2026 GUBERNATORIAL GENERAL ELECTION, IN ADDITION TO REGULAR DAILY OPERATING EXPENSES. AND WE DO HAVE A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT INCREASE. I DID NOTE THE AREAS OF THE INCREASE. THE MAJORITY OF IT IS IN THE STATE COST THAT THEY BILL. AND THAT INCLUDES SOME PROJECTS, THE STATEWIDE POLL BOOK PROJECT, VOTING SYSTEM PROJECT, AND THE NEW VOTER REGISTRATION, ELECTION AND ADMINISTRATION MODERNIZATION PROJECT. AND PROBABLY RECALL IN THE PAST, WE AT THE LOCAL LEVEL DON'T HAVE ANY CONTROL OVER THOSE STATEWIDE COSTS. SO UNFORTUNATELY, BASICALLY YOU JUST SEND US THE BILL. I'M THE MIDDLE. AND WE SEND YOU THE CHECK. I THINK YOU MIGHT HAVE THE BIGGEST INCREASE. YEAH, AND I WILL SAY THAT OUR EQUIPMENT THAT WE'VE BEEN USING IS FROM 2016. IT IS WELL BEYOND ITS LIFE CYCLE. SO WE REALLY DO NEED, EVEN THOUGH WE'VE TAKEN EXTRA CARE. HOW ABOUT SHOE BOXES AND PAPER? I KNOW. EVEN THOUGH WE'VE TAKEN REALLY GOOD CARE OF IT. IT'S BEYOND IT. MAKO HAD A BRIEFING FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE ELECTION. SO THE EQUIPMENT YOU'VE BEEN USING IS FROM 2016. I THOUGHT I HEARD HIM SAY THAT THERE HAVE BEEN NEW VOTING MACHINES. CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT A POLL BOOK IS? YES, SURE. SO THE POLL BOOK IS THE DEVICE THAT THE CHECK-IN JUDGE AT THE POLLING LOCATION HAS, AND THAT'S WHAT HOLDS THE VOTER DATA. SO WHEN YOU ENTER THE POLLING PLACE AND YOU CHECK IN, THAT'S WHAT THE POLL IS. THE CHECK-IN JUDGE WILL USE TO FIND YOU IN THE PRECINCT REGISTER TO DETERMINE WHETHER YOU'RE ELIGIBLE TO VOTE. AND THE VOTING, THE VOTING EQUIPMENT THAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE USING IN THIS COMING, IS IT NEW? NO, NO, SO NO. SO HE EXPLAINED ALL OF THIS BY SAYING THAT THERE HAD TO BE NEW EQUIPMENT. YES, SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE POLL. THE NEW POLL BOOKS WILL BE FOR 2028 AND

[02:05:02]

BY THE PRESIDENTIAL, NEXT PRESIDENTIAL CYCLE.

RIGHT. OKAY. THE POLL BOOK, IS IT LITERALLY A BOOK OR IS IT A COMPUTER PROGRAM? IT'S A TABLET. SO THE NEW VENDOR HAS BEEN SELECTED, THE POLL BOOKS.

FOR THE NEW POLL BOOK SOLUTION, AND IT WILL BE A TABLET-BASED PIECE OF EQUIPMENT THAT WILL HOUSE THE VOTER DATA FOR CHECK-IN AT THE POLLING PLACE.

BUT YOU'RE STILL NOT REQUIRED TO SHOW AN ID. YOU JUST SHOW UP, STATE YOUR NAME, YOUR ADDRESS. RIGHT, YES. SO, I MEAN, EVERY LEGISLATIVE SESSION, BILLS ARE INTRODUCED ABOUT VOTER ID, BUT THE CURRENT LAW STATES THAT YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO SHOW ID. AND THAT'S OUT OF A LOCAL ELECTION OFFICE'S PURVIEW. I KNOW SOME OF WHAT COMMISSIONER PORTER, WHAT WE MAY DELVE INTO, BUT IT'S NOT OFTEN WE GET TO TALK TO YOU EITHER. SO I THINK WE'RE GOING TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY. SO HOW OFTEN IS THE VOTER ROLL REVIEWED AND CLEANED AND REMOVED? DAILY. WE ARE DAILY, NONSTOP. WE ARE UPDATING DATA AS IT'S RECEIVED. RIGHT.

YEAH. FROM THE DIFFERENT SOURCES THAT THE STATE HAS CONTRACTS WITH, LIKE THE STATE AGENCIES. SO WE'RE CONSTANTLY WORKING ON VOTER DATA. IT'S NOT LIKE WE WAIT UNTIL A CERTAIN PERIOD PRIOR TO THE ELECTION. IT'S FLUID.

AS SOMEONE PASSES AWAY OR WHATEVER, THEY'RE REMOVED PRETTY MUCH IMMEDIATELY.

RIGHT. WE GET NOTIFICATIONS FROM THE MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH. OR PEOPLE MOVE AWAY.

YES. ALL THAT STUFF IS TRACKED.

OKAY. YEAH. ALL RIGHT. THE EQUIPMENT, HOW DO THEY DETERMINE HOW MANY MACHINES CAROLINE COUNTY NEEDS? DO YOU KNOW? IS IT SOLELY BASED ON POPULATION, VOTER REGISTRATION? IT'S MAINLY BASED ON, IN THE PAST, I WILL SAY IN THE PAST, IT WAS BASED ON A CALCULATION OF SO MANY VOTERS PER PIECE OF EQUIPMENT. OKAY. AND SO I'M PLANNING FOR THE SAME EQUIPMENT. SAME NUMBER, BASICALLY, OF MACHINES.

I THINK THERE ARE THREE MORE POLL BOOKS THAN WE CURRENTLY HAVE. SO WE WOULD HAVE, WE'RE PLANNING FOR 43 POLL BOOKS FOR 2028, AND THAT WILL OFFER US A COUPLE SPARE POLL BOOKS. AND WE GENERALLY SEND OUT MORE THAN WE REALLY NEED, AND THAT HAS WORKED FOR US, BECAUSE IT JUST, IT JUST. I LIKE TO HAVE ENOUGH JUDGES AT THE POLLING PLACE THAT WE DON'T HAVE LONG LINES OR LONG WAITS.

RIGHT, SO THAT WAY YOU KEEP PEOPLE MOVING. THE MORE POLL BOOKS, THE MORE PEOPLE YOU CAN PROCESS THROUGH. CORRECT, AND IF ONE DID GO DOWN, IT WOULDN'T BE THE END OF THE WORLD. BECAUSE WE'VE ALREADY PLANNED FOR ENOUGH POLL BOOKS. AND WE DON'T HAVE TO ADJUST AT THE VERY LAST MINUTE AND TRY TO DEPLOY EQUIPMENT AND BE IN A PANIC. I'M SURE THAT YOU'RE PROBABLY PART OF DISCUSSIONS THAT ARE HELD LIKE, ON A STATEWIDE BASIS.

FOR LEGISLATIVE BILLS, DO YOU HAVE ANY INSIGHT INTO WHAT MAY HAVE GENERATED THIS BILL THAT WOULD REQUIRE POLICE OFFICERS? I MEAN, HAVE THERE BEEN ANY? SO, ACTUALLY, I DID WANT TO CLARIFY. SO THAT BILL, THOSE TWO BILLS, SENATE BILL 670, HOUSE BILL 1001, THEY ACTUALLY, IT DOESN'T REQUIRE POLICE OFFICERS AT THE POLLING PLACES. IT ACTUALLY JUST... SO, CURRENT LAW GRANTS THE AUTHORITY WITHIN A POLLING PLACE TO THE CHIEF JUDGES. SO, CHIEF JUDGES... CURRENTLY HAVE AUTHORITY. I HONESTLY DON'T HAVE AUTHORITY AT A POLLING PLACE. SO IF THERE'S AN UNRULY CITIZEN OR SOME SITUATION AT THE POLLING PLACE, IT'S UP TO THE CHIEF JUDGE TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT. SO THIS LAW CHANGES THAT, AND IT GRANTS AUTHORITY TO LOCAL BOARD EMPLOYEES.

COOL. HOUSE BILL 1001 REQUIRING A POLICE OFFICER WHO IS

[02:10:02]

RIGHT, NO, IT'S REQUIRING OF THE POLICE OFFICER. IF YOU HAD A POLICE OFFICER AT THE POLLING PLACE, WE DON'T HAVE, I DON'T DEPLOY POLICE OFFICERS TO THE POLLING PLACE. I DO, IN FACT, REACH OUT PRIOR TO THE ELECTION AND GIVE A RUNDOWN TO ALL OF THE LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS AND THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT. ABOUT LOCATIONS, ALL OF THE LOCATIONS, THE OPENING AND CLOSING TIMES, JUDGE ARRIVAL TIMES. BALLOT DROP BOX LOCATIONS. I RUN ALL OF THAT INFORMATION PAST THEM SO THAT THEY CAN ALL BE AWARE AND DO ROUTINE CHECKS.

BUT CURRENTLY, WE ARE NOT REQUIRED TO HAVE THEM ON SITE, AND I READ THAT NOT TO BE THAT THEY ARE REQUIRED.

AND IN FACT, MAYO DID SUPPORT THAT, BECAUSE, LIKE I SAID, WE DON'T... CURRENTLY, HAVE AUTHORITY AT A LOCAL LEVEL.

IT'S ALL WITHIN THE POLLING PLACE. IT WOULD ALSO GIVE AUTHORITY TO ANY BOARD MEMBERS WHO WOULD HAPPEN TO BE IN A POLLING PLACE THAT THEY COULD HAVE LEGAL AUTHORITY. CALL LAW ENFORCEMENT. YEAH. OKAY. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, MR. BARKS.

GOOD? SHE EXPLAINED EVERYTHING.

YEP. YEAH, WHATEVER. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU, ALLISON. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. YEP. OKAY. SO WE GOT MATT, SO I GUESS WE GO AHEAD AND LET MATT GO, AND THEN WE'LL GO THROUGH, I GUESS. THE NEXT GROUP, IF YOU WANT TO START MAKING YOUR WAY UP HERE, IS UPPER SHORE AGING, DELMARVA COMMUNITY SERVICES, CHESAPEAKE COLLEGE. YEAH, I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE ENOUGH CHAIRS FOR THE LIBRARY YET.

LET ME SEE. OH. ALL RIGHT.

MATT, IF YOU WANT TO, GO OVER YOUR REQUEST FROM THE VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY. SO THE VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY, I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OVER THE YEARS. THE GODS HAVE ALWAYS LISTENED AND HELPED WHERE WE COULD. SO THE... FIRE COMPANIES HAVE REQUESTED A 10% INCREASE FOR NEXT FISCAL YEAR OVER THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.

AND IT'S JUST WITH THE INCREASE IN COSTS, CALL VOLUME. AND EVERYTHING THAT EVERYBODY ENCOUNTERS, UNFORTUNATELY, THE FUNDRAISING ISN'T COMING THROUGH LIKE IT USED TO. SO WE'RE LOOKING FOR SOME ASSISTANCE WITH THE INCREASING COSTS.

OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS FOR MATT? YOU GOT ANYTHING FOR MR. BARNES? NO. NO. OKAY. I DON'T.

THANK YOU, MATT, FOR... THANK YOU, LARRY. YOU KNOW, I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE... I KNOW, COOKING A LOT OF CHICKEN AND... SELLING A LOT OF GUNS AND WORKING HARD, SO THANK YOU. SO, I KNOW I KNOW PRESTON'S WORKING ON A TANKER TRUCK RIGHT NOW, AND POTENTIALLY A BRUSH TRUCK.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT? OTHER DEPARTMENTS AROUND THE COUNTY ARE NEEDING? 750. ON TOP OF THE ENGINE THAT THEY'RE, AND THEN TROY'S TALKING ABOUT A BRUSH TRUCK. BRUSH TRUCKS, FELLSBURG NEEDS TO REPLACE A LADDER TRUCK.

RIGHT. CAPITAL NEEDS. AND THERE ARE USDA GRANTS OUT THERE. AS A MATTER OF FACT, THAT'S WHAT TROY REACHED OUT TO US ABOUT WAS SENDING A LETTER OF SUPPORT. I DON'T KNOW IF THESE OTHER AGENCIES OR THE OTHER FIRE COMPANIES ARE LOOKING INTO IT. RIGHT. SO, I MEAN, WE CAN. LET THEM KNOW, TRY TO PUT THEM IN THE DIRECTION, GET AS MUCH HELP AS WE CAN.

RIGHT. YOU KNOW HOW THAT GOES.

AND I WILL NOTE THAT GREENSBORO FIREHOUSE IS FAST-TRACKING HERE. WE MADE A TRIP TO WASHINGTON TO TALK TO CONGRESSMAN HARRIS, AND SO THAT LOOKS LIKE IT'S IN THE QUEUE MOVING FORWARD.

IT'S GONNA BE IMPORTANT FOR THOSE GUYS, AND I KNOW YOU'RE NOT AFFILIATED WITH GREENSBORO, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THOSE GUYS TO HAVE THEIR INFORMATION READY. THE FACT THAT THEY'VE ALREADY BUILT THE FIRE HALL IS A BIG PLUS. THE FACT THAT THEY'VE ALREADY GOT INFRASTRUCTURE THERE IS A BIG HELP. BUT WE SEE CONGRESSMAN HARRIS' PEOPLE PRETTY REGULARLY, AND THEY'VE GOT THIS THING ON THE, IT'S MOVING, SO.

YEAH, WE'LL HOPEFULLY BE ABLE

[02:15:01]

YES. YEAH. SO THAT'S MOVING.

WELL, MAYBE WE CAN HELP WITH THAT. YOU KNOW, THE 10% INCREASES ARE JUST COMPILING REALLY, REALLY FAST. I MEAN, IT'S A LOT. AND WE'RE NOT GIVING ANYBODY ELSE.

CONSISTENTLY, 10% INCREASES.

IF WE CAN ASSIST, WE'RE TRYING TO BRING IN SOME FEDERAL MONEY TO HELP. BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO SUSTAIN 10%. I MEAN, LAST YEAR IT WAS 200,000. THIS YEAR IT'S 220,000 BECAUSE IT'S UP ANOTHER 10. SO, BUT WE'LL DO THE BEST WE CAN, CERTAINLY. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, I'M PROBABLY THINKING MORE ALONG FIVE, BUT I MIGHT BE THE ONLY ONE THINKING THAT WAY.

BUT, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT YOU GUYS TO THINK IT'S BECAUSE I DON'T BELIEVE IN THE MISSION THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO COMPLETE. I ABSOLUTELY DO, AND I BELIEVE YOU SAVED THE COUNTY A LOT OF MONEY.

BUT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, I JUST DON'T KNOW, THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO SUSTAIN 10% EVERY YEAR WITH THAT. SO I MEAN, TO COMMISSIONER BREES' POINT, IT'S COMPOUNDING INTEREST. SO IF YOU GO BACK, YOU KNOW, YOU COMPOUND, BUT, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE ALWAYS HAD OUR SUPPORT.

YOU KNOW THAT. I MEAN, SINCE THE THREE YEARS WE'VE BEEN HERE. AND THEN COMMISSIONER PORTER FOR HIS TENURE, HIS FIRE COMPANIES, PUBLIC SAFETY. I MEAN, PEOPLE PUT ON THERE ALL THE TIME ON FACEBOOK, WHAT'S THE POLL? PUBLIC SAFETY, PUBLIC SAFETY, PUBLIC SAFETY. SO, I MEAN, WE'RE ALWAYS, WE ALWAYS HAVE YOUR SUPPORT.

WE DO THE BEST WE CAN FOR YOU, MATT. YOU KNOW THAT.

YEAH. YOU KNOW, IT GOES BACK TO THE TAX CREDIT FOR THE THE PROPERTY. I MEAN, IT'S JUST LITTLE THINGS LIKE THAT. SO WHAT, LIKE, I'M WITH COMMISSIONER, WHAT DO THE BEST? WE CAN, YOU KNOW, AND TRY TO GET AS CLOSE TO THAT NUMBERS AS AS POSSIBLE.

YEAH, SO, BUT THANK YOU, THANKS FOR COMING IN. THANK YOU MATT. YEP, UM, UPPER SHORE AGENT GO DOWN A LOT. GOOD MORNING COMMISSIONERS. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME HERE THIS MORNING.

AS ALWAYS, IT'S A PRIVILEGE ON BEHALF OF CAROLINE COUNTY TO SERVE THE SENIOR POPULATION.

AS ALWAYS, VERY WELL AWARE OF THE ECONOMIC TIMES AND HOW THINGS ARE TIGHT, AND WE WORKED VERY HARD TO KEEP OUR BUDGET REASONABLY FLAT. AS YOU NOTICE ON THERE, THERE'S A COUPLE CHANGES THAT HAVE BEEN HAPPENING. DEPARTMENT OF AGING, THEY ARE TRANSITIONING OUT A COUPLE OF OUR PROGRAMS, SENIOR CARE, SENIOR SUBSIDIZED LIVING SUBSIDY, AND THEY'RE REPLACING IT WITH A NEW PROGRAM CALLED SOAR, SUPPORTING OLDER ADULTS WITH RESOURCES. THERE'S A LOT OF CHANGE COMING WHERE THEY'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS, THE WAY SERVICES ARE COORDINATED, AMONG DIFFERENT... IT STARTED OUT COMBINING THREE PROGRAMS, AND NOW IT'S KIND OF MORPHING INTO MORE OF A SYSTEMS CHANGE ACROSS THE BOARD. AND THAT ALL TIES INTO THE STATE'S LONGEVITY READY MARYLAND INITIATIVE. WHERE SENIOR POPULATION IS GROWING, AND IT'S GOING TO BE TAXING RESOURCES AS THE SENIOR POPULATION CONTINUES TO EXPAND. SO WE HAVE WORKED AND WE'VE TRIED TO KEEP OUR BUDGET PRETTY WELL FLAT, WHICH WE'VE HAD. AND WE JUST HAVE A COUPLE SUPPLEMENTAL REQUESTS THAT WE'VE LISTED IN THE COVER LETTER FOR TWO POSITIONS, AND I'VE LISTED THEM SEPARATELY. AND THE FIRST ONE IS RIGHT HERE ACROSS THE HALL AT THE CAROLINE SENIOR CENTER. AND SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE, I'VE REALLY NOTICED IT THIS YEAR.

THAT CENTER IS RUN BY ONE AND A HALF PEOPLE.

WE'VE GOT THE SENIOR CENTER MANAGER AND A PART-TIME PROGRAM PERSON, ALSO HOUSED OVER THERE AS THE MAP SHIP COORDINATOR.

AND IT'S REALLY, I'VE REALLY NOTICED, YOU KNOW, HOW IN THE WORLD ARE THEY DOING THIS? I MEAN, THEY'RE HAVING TO PREPARE THE MEALS, DO EVERYTHING, AND SO MANY TIMES, THE FRONT DESK. THERE'S NO ONE AT THE FRONT DESK. AND I'VE REALLY RECOGNIZED THIS IS A PROBLEM, ESPECIALLY DURING MEDICARE OPEN ENROLLMENT, WHEN PEOPLE ARE CALLING FOR HELP WITH MEDICARE DURING THAT PERIOD. AND I FEEL

[02:20:02]

SCHEDULING APPOINTMENTS, SO I WANT TO ASK THE COMMISSIONERS FOR A PART-TIME RECEPTIONIST ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT FOR THE CAROLINE SENIOR CENTER. IT WILL JUST INCREASE THE ENTIRE EXPERIENCE OF SENIORS THERE AND INCREASING EFFICIENCY AND SERVICES. THE SECOND POSITION IS A DIRECTOR'S POSITION. OF OPERATIONS FOR THE AGENCY. AND AGAIN, MY SAME THOUGHT IN MIND, WANTING TO IMPROVE UPPER SHORE AGING, THE QUALITY OF SERVICES THAT WE OFFER. I MADE A DECISION THIS PAST YEAR. WE HAD A DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, AND I MOVED THAT PERSON INTO A NEW ROLE AS A DIRECTOR OVER ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE LEARNED IS THAT OUR PROGRAMS WERE KIND OF SILOED. A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE SHARING WITH ME. THEY DIDN'T REALIZE ALL OF THE PROGRAMS THAT WE OFFER, A LOT OF THE DETAILS, HOW THEY WORK. AND I REALLY FELT LIKE A FULL-TIME PERSON.

COORDINATING ALL OF THESE PROGRAMS WOULD BE A HUGE BENEFIT TO HOW WE SERVE OUR SENIORS.

AND I HAD THAT OPPORTUNITY.

TO DO THAT, AND THE WAY I DID IT, I MOVED THE PERSON FROM THE DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS POSITIONS AND CREATED THIS POSITION. AND SO NOW I WOULD LIKE TO FILL THAT DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS POSITION. WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH IT VACANT THROUGHOUT THE PAST YEAR.

WE'VE BEEN FILLING IN. IT TAKES A LOT OF MY TIME DOING A LOT OF THE DAILY OPERATIONS AND TAKES MY TIME AWAY FROM CONNECTING WITH THE COMMUNITY AND COLLABORATING, REACHING OUT TO DONORS. AND AS WE MOVE FORWARD AND THINGS GET TIGHTER AND TIGHTER, ORGANIZATIONS AND PARTNERS.

COLLABORATING AND WORKING TOGETHER IS JUST GOING TO BE A HUGE COMPONENT OF HOW OUR ORGANIZATIONS FUNCTION AND BE ABLE TO PROVIDE BETTER SERVICES FOR OUR SENIORS. SO I'M ASKING FOR THE...

FOR THAT POSITION AS WELL, AND OF COURSE, THAT'S A SHARED POSITION FROM EACH COUNTY, SO THAT'S ONLY CAROLINE COUNTY'S PORTION OF IT. AND THEN, OF COURSE, UH, THREE PERCENT, UH, COLA FOR OUR STAFF, IF THAT'S POSSIBLE AS WELL.

OKAY, ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU? YEP, ANY QUESTIONS.

COMMISSIONER BURKS. NO, I JUST I SPOKE WITH HER, UH, BRIEFLY YESTERDAY. HE AND WHAT HE WAS LOOKING TO DO, AND UM, HE'S DID TELL ME THAT. THE FELLOWSBURG UPSHOT AGING FACILITY DOWN THERE, WHERE THEY'VE BEEN USING THE CHURCH, HE SAID. IT SEEMS TO BE GROWING MORE AND MORE AND MORE.

SO WE ARE GETTING THE SENIORS THAT ARE STARTING TO USE COMING. SO HOW, AND CHANGE OVER QUICK, HOW OFTEN IS YOUR MEDICARE OPEN ENROLLMENT? SO THAT OPEN ENROLLMENT PERIOD GOES FROM OCTOBER 15TH THROUGH DECEMBER 7TH. AND EVERYONE I'VE TALKED TO, WITH ALL THE JURISDICTIONS, ALL THE OTHER COUNTIES, THEY HAVE NOTICED A PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE THIS YEAR IN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, REACHING OUT AND SEEKING THAT SERVICE.

SO HE'S CURRENTLY USING A CHURCH DOWN TO FELLOWSBURG BECAUSE UPSTAIRS OF THE TOWN HALL IS STILL UNHABITABLE AT THIS MOMENT. SO, I MEAN, HE'S... HE'S SEARCHING FOR SOMEWHERE IN FELLOWSBURG TO HAVE A PERMANENT LOCATION.

BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW HOW LONG THE CHURCH OR THE, WE'LL BE ABLE TO GET BACK UPSTAIRS FOR ANY FORESEEN FUTURE.

MM-HM. OKAY. IS THERE CURRENTLY WORK GOING ON UPSTAIRS, ON THE UPSTAIRS OF THIS TOWN HALL? I CAN'T REALLY SPEAK TO THAT, BUT WHEN WE WENT DOWN THERE AND MOVED OUT SOME OF OUR BELONGINGS, IT DOES NOT APPEAR SO.

BUT AGAIN, I REALLY DON'T HAVE KNOWLEDGE WHAT THE TOWN'S PLANS ARE. I'M DISCONNECTED FROM THAT. WE HAVE NOT SEEN ANY. THE PROGRAM THAT'S REALLY KIND OF NEAR AND DEAR TO ME IS THE MEALS ON WHEELS.

CAN YOU GIVE ME A LITTLE BIT OF A RUNDOWN? HOW MANY PEOPLE

[02:25:02]

AT ONE POINT WE HAD ALMOST 20 EXTRA PEOPLE AND WE WENT AHEAD AND ADDED THEM TO THE PROGRAM. SO WE'VE BEEN RUNNING UP CLOSE TO 90 PEOPLE A WEEK, CLIENTS A WEEK SERVING.

AND AND I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT FIGURE. BUT WHEN THEIR PHYSICAL DIRECTOR WENT OVER THIS BUDGET, TRYING TO TO SEE WHERE WE COULD CUT AND TRYING TO KEEP IT LEVEL, SHE WAS ABLE TO. YOU KNOW, IN JUGGLING THINGS AROUND, INCREASE THE MEALS PROVIDED A LITTLE BIT. SO I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT FIGURE, BUT WE ARE INCREASING THE NUMBER OF MEALS SLIGHTLY FOR THAT. THANK YOU. THAT'S ALL. AND THE VOLUNTEER PIECE AS WELL, WE ARE, THAT IS ANOTHER ISSUE WHERE TRYING TO RECRUIT VOLUNTEERS, AND WE'RE WORKING IN THAT AREA TOO BECAUSE THE VOLUNTEERS ARE VERY IMPORTANT. IT WAS A YEAR AGO, I HAPPENED TO BE HERE IN A MEETING, AND THEY WERE SHORT ON ONE OF THE VOLUNTEER DRIVERS. AND SO ONE OF THE STAFF WAS FILLING IN, ONE OF THE VOLUNTEERS LEFT, AND JUST PULLING OUT OF HERE HAD A LITTLE FENDER BENDER. SO I ASKED THE MEALS ON WHEELS COORDINATOR, I SAID, WELL, HOW HARD CAN THIS BE? CAN I DO IT? AND SO SHE FIXED ME UP AT THE ROUTE AND NOT KNOWING MY WAY AROUND. I USED THE GOOGLE MAPS ON MY PHONE AND I THINK I HAD ONE OF THE LONGEST ROUTES. I WENT, YOU KNOW, PRESTON, ALL DOWN IN THAT AREA AND I THOUGHT, BOY, THIS IS REALLY A RURAL AREA. AND I CAME ALL THE WAY BACK TO GOLDSBORO. AND I KNOW I WAS 2 2, 30 IN THE AFTERNOON GETTING DONE, AND I'M SURE THE REGULAR VOLUNTEER WOULD HAVE PROBABLY BEEN DONE BY LUNCHTIME. BUT IT REALLY GAVE ME AN APPRECIATION TO SEE THE PEOPLE THAT WERE BEING HELPED. WELL, CAROLINE COUNTY IS A LONG COUNTY. YES, IT IS. SO, AND I THINK THE OTHER THING THAT WE EMPHASIZE IS THAT, THE PERSON DELIVERING THOSE MEALS MAY BE THE ONLY PERSON. ABSOLUTELY, RECIPIENT SEES THAT DAY. I THINK IT SERVES A DUAL PURPOSE THAT WE HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE AND HELP THEM OUT. I MEAN, IT'S, YOU KNOW, HAVING BEEN INVOLVED IN DEVELOPMENT OF ELDERLY HOUSING FOR YEARS. I MEAN, IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE SOMEBODY COME IN CONTACT WITH THEM ON A REGULAR BASIS JUST TO CHECK ON AND MAKE SURE EVERYTHING'S OKAY. SO THEY DO AN INCREDIBLE JOB. I KNOW MR. AND MRS. ASHEY WERE ALWAYS MY ONE-HOUSE-DOWN NEIGHBORS, AND, MAN, I KNOW THEY DEDICATED THEMSELVES TO THAT, AND I ADMIRE THEM FOR THAT SO MUCH. THANK YOU.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. NEXT, WE'LL JUMP TO CHESAPEAKE COLLEGE. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, DR. COPPER SMITH SENSES THANKS FOR YOUR TIME AND SERVICE.

HE'D BE HERE, CLIFF WOULD BE HERE, HE'S ON BEREAVEMENT TODAY, HE'LL BE BACK IN THE OFFICE TOMORROW. OKAY, SO JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT OUR OPERATING FUND REQUEST TO THE CAROLINE COUNTY BECAUSE OF ENROLLMENT SHIFTS. THOSE NATURAL EBBS AND FLOWS IS ACTUALLY A LITTLE LESS THIS YEAR. BUT THAT IS ALSO PART OF A REGIONAL REQUEST FOR A 5% INCREASE. AND I JUST WANTED TO ADDRESS THAT A LITTLE BIT.

IT DOES COME WITH SOME GOOD NEWS. WE'VE GOT ENROLLMENT THIS SPRING, WHICH IS AS HIGH AS WE'VE SEEN SINCE 2016. SO FOLKS ARE COMING BACK. OUR GROUPS ARE COMING BACK AFTER THE PANDEMIC DROPS. AND A LOT OF THAT HAS BEEN IN THE CONSTRUCTION TRADES AND IN THE WORKFORCE TRAINING OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS. WE'VE SEEN 70% MORE.

IN OUR CONSTRUCTION TRADES, AND WE'VE SEEN IN WORKFORCE 77% MORE IN CAROLINE COUNTY ALONE COMING TO US. I THINK WE'LL SERVE OVER A THOUSAND CAROLINE COUNTY RESIDENTS THIS YEAR, AND OVER THE PAST FIVE IT'S BEEN OVER 6,000. SO JUST HELPING PEOPLE GET THE CREDENTIALS THEY NEED TO DRIVE THE ECONOMY, CARE FOR THEIR HOMES AND THEIR FAMILIES. BUT THAT WHAT WE'VE LEARNED .IS. THAT THOSE PROGRAMS ARE MORE EXPENSIVE FOR US TO OPERATE. ONE CASE IN POINT IS THE WELDING TRAILER, WHICH WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT. IT WAS SECOND PLACE IN FEDERALSBURG, ACROSS FROM THE OLD SCHOOL THERE. AND IT'S ALSO BEEN IN CAMBRIDGE AND CHESTERTOWN AND EASTON, AND WE'RE JUST GOING TO KEEP ROLLING IT AROUND FOR ITS LIFETIME. BUT IT'S ONE OF THOSE EXAMPLES WHERE WE CAN SERVE EIGHT STUDENTS AT A TIME. AND IN A LOT

[02:30:01]

CONSUMABLES TOO, LIKE STEEL FOR WELDING AND THEN MAINTENANCE OF THE TRUCKS FOR CDL, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS. SO THAT'S PART OF WHAT'S BEHIND THAT REQUEST FOR INCREASE. OBVIOUSLY, WE UNDERSTAND WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO BE GOOD AND CONSERVATIVE STEWARDS OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS. SO JUST A COUPLE THINGS WE'VE DONE. WE ASKED OUR CALL CENTER MANAGERS, KNOWING THERE'D BE A REQUEST FOR AN INCREASE, TO GIVE BACK, AND WE GOT OVER A QUARTER MILLION DOLLARS BACK.

AND WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF DISCRETIONARY AT THE COLLEGE, SO THAT WAS A BIG CUT FOR MANY, AND IT WAS A GOOD FAITH SACRIFICE. AND OUR FOUNDATION, OVER THE PAST YEAR, HAS BEEN ABLE TO, THROUGH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE FUNDING, OFFER $858,000 THROUGHOUT THE REGION IN SCHOLARSHIPS. SO JUST KIND OF HELPING PEOPLE TO GET THEIR CREDENTIALS, PUTTING MONEY BACK INTO THE REGION, TOO. JUST A COUPLE OF ADDITIONAL THINGS TO ADD TO DR. HARPER'S MESSAGE.

THE MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR FUND ALSO, BECAUSE OF THE SHIFT IN THE FTE, WILL RESULT IN CAROLINE'S COUNTY SHARE GOING DOWN SLIGHTLY. AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO BE ENTERING THE SECOND PHASE, THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE OF THE NEW QUEEN ANNE'S TECH BUILDING. I'M HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THAT MARCH 18TH IS OUR FIRST DESIGN MEETING, SO WE'RE GOING TO GET STARTED ON THAT. AND OUR PARTNERS, GRIMM AND PARKER AND BARTON MALLOW, ARE BOTH ON BOARD, AND WE'RE EXCITED TO GET STARTED.

IN OUR BUDGET, REQUEST ALSO IS A REQUEST.

IT'S NO FUNDING FROM CAROLINA COUNTY, BUT WE'RE ASKING FOR APPROVALS FOR TWO FUND BALANCE REQUESTS.

ONE IS FOR A NEW TELEPHONE SYSTEM, AND ONE IS FOR A COMPENSATION STUDY. THE TOTAL OF BOTH OF THOSE IS ABOUT $173,000. AND THAT IS, I THINK, ALL I HAVE. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'D BE GLAD TO TAKE THEM. ALL RIGHT.

SOUNDS GOOD. THANK YOU BOTH.

COMMISSIONER PORTER. THANK YOU.

I THINK YOU'RE... IS IT RETIRING? YES. WELL, CONGRATULATIONS. JUNE 30TH, YES. IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE WORKING WITH YOU. THANK YOU.

IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE.

ON MY SIDE, TOO. LOOKING FORWARD TO MR. NAGEL COMING ABOARD. HE'S BEEN VISITING QUITE REGULARLY, SO WE JUST SAW HIM LAST WEEK. I THINK YOU MET HIM. I THINK WE KNOW MILTON.

WELL, THANK YOU AGAIN. FOR ALL OF YOUR COOPERATION. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, COMMISSIONER BARNES. THANK YOU, AND GOOD LUCK ON YOUR RETIREMENT. I GUESS WE'LL BE SEEING YOU AT OUR ANNUAL MEETING. YEAH.

AND I THINK MILTON WILL BE THERE FOR THE ANNUAL MEETING.

WHEN IS THAT? DO YOU KNOW WHEN THAT'S SCHEDULED? HAVE WE GOT IT? I THINK IT MIGHT BE APRIL 16TH, BUT IT'S ON THERE.

SOMETIME IN APRIL. BE HERE BEFORE WE KNOW IT. I DON'T KNOW WHAT DAY. OKAY. ALL RIGHT, WELL, THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

DELMARVA COMMUNITY SERVICES.

YES, GOOD MORNING. I'M SORRY, I WASN'T SURE IF YOU WERE DCS OR NOT. I'M HAPPY FOR CHESAPEAKE COLLEGE TO LEAD THE WAY.

YEAH. GOOD MORNING, SAMANTHA PARKER. I'M A SPECIAL PROJECT CONSULTANT FOR DELMARVA COMMUNITY SERVICES. MICHELLE NICHOLS, OUR INTERIM CEO, SENDS HER REGARDS, BUT WE ARE DOUBLE BOOKED AS OF TODAY, SO I WANTED TO COME TO YOU, AS THIS IS MY HOME COUNTY. WE ARE GRATEFUL TO CONTINUE OPERATING THE MTA GRANTS ON YOUR BEHALF. AND SO THE ALLOCATION THAT WE ARE REQUESTING THIS YEAR IS $171,979. THIS IS AS SLIM AND TRIM AS WE COULD MAKE IT. IT INCLUDES THE OPERATING BUDGET, WHICH RUNS THE 5311-5307 PROGRAMS. A CAPITAL REQUEST WOULD, WHICH IS A REPLACEMENT OF TWO MINIVANS AND ONE LARGER VEHICLE, ALTHOUGH WE WENT WITH THE SMALLER OF THE LARGER VEHICLES. WE'RE NOTING THAT WE DON'T WANT EMPTY VEHICLES RIDING AROUND, SO WE'RE TRYING TO MOVE THAT TO THE SMALLER MINIVANS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, BUT ALSO BALANCING THAT ONCE A WHEELCHAIR GOES INTO A SMALLER MINIVAN, OF COURSE, THERE'S VERY LITTLE SPACE LEFT.

SO TRYING TO BALANCE THOSE TWO THINGS.

PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE. SOME OF OUR VEHICLES, WHILE WE ARE TRYING TO KEEP THEM IN SERVICE, ARE HAVING SOME MOTOR TROUBLES, SO WE HAVE REQUESTED. TWO MOTORS IN THERE. SO THAT IS OUR LEAN AND MEAN REQUEST. THIS, OF COURSE, BEING A DIVVY BETWEEN THREE COUNTIES IN THAT WE ARE. WE HAVE AN ADDITIONAL FIVE THOUSAND THAT IS IN OUR REQUEST THIS YEAR.

THAT IS NOT NOT UNDER SOMETHING WE CAN, WE CAN'T CHANGE IT. IT IS A REQUIRED TRANSPORTATION REVIEW THAT IS DONE EVERY THREE YEARS.

IT IS A CONSULTANT THAT MTA DICTATES TO US, AND IT'S A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS FLAT.

AND SO THE 15% OF THAT DIVIDED BETWEEN THREE COUNTIES IS OUR ADDITIONAL 5,000 REQUESTS. THE MAJOR CHANGE THAT HAS OCCURRED THIS YEAR IS THAT MTA HAS INCREASED THE LOCAL SHARE.

THOSE WORDS HURT COMING OUT, BUT THEY HAVE INCREASED THE LOCAL SHARE FROM 10% TO 15%.

WE DON'T HAVE ANY CONTROL OVER THAT. WE WOULD LIKE TO NOTE THAT FROM 24 TO 25, RIDERSHIP IN CAROLINA IS UP 7%, AND SO WE ARE CERTAINLY EXPLORING. THIS WAS A

[02:35:01]

HOW CAN WE, YOU KNOW, MAKE THOSE ROUTES AS EFFICIENT AS POSSIBLE DURING THAT TIME? THAT IS THE REQUEST FOR THAT. I'D LOVE TO SPEAK AS WELL TO THE BUILDING IN A PREVIOUS CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT. I DID EMAIL OUR GRANTS ADMINISTRATOR AS I WAS SITTING HERE, AND THERE IS OPPORTUNITY, AS THE BUILDING WAS RENOVATED BEFORE WITH MTA FUNDS, TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT AS WELL. IT'S PERFECT TIMING AS THE ANNUAL TRANSPORTATION PLAN GOES IN AT THE END OF NEXT MONTH. SO IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK TOGETHER ON THAT, I UNDERSTAND THAT. POSSIBLY THAT WASN'T IN THE PAST, AND THAT IS NOW. THERE WILL BE COLLABORATION FOR THAT, HOW WE CAN UTILIZE THE SPACE AND INCREASE THE SERVICES AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. OKAY, SOUNDS GOOD.

THANK YOU. ANY QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU FOR THE UPDATE. YOU YEP. SO OUR NEXT GROUP IS THE LIBRARY.

HUMANE SOCIETY. STATE'S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE SHOULD BE THE LAST THREE. THE LIBRARY WANTS TO GO FIRST. YES, SIR. THANK YOU, GENTLEMEN, FOR TAKING THE TIME TO HEAR WHAT WE'VE GOT TO SAY TODAY. ALSO, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MUCH THE LIBRARY APPRECIATES YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT.

SUPPORT OF THE CAROLINA COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY AND OUR COMMUNITY THAT WE SERVE. THANK YOU AS WELL TO YOUR STAFF WHO ARE HERE TODAY THAT HAVE HELPED ME OUT MORE THAN ONCE, PROBABLY OVER THE PAST YEAR.

DANNY, STACY, JEN, STUART, KEVIN BROWN HAS ALSO BEEN GREAT FOR US. ANYTIME WE FIND OURSELVES IN A REAL DEEP FACILITIES PICKLE, WE'LL CALL HIM OUT JUST TO GET SOME ADVICE. THE LIBRARY IS REQUESTING AN INCREASE THIS YEAR OF $88,612 FROM THE COUNTY FOR OUR OPERATING BUDGET. SO THAT WE CAN PROVIDE OUR STAFF WITH A COST OF LIVING INCREASE OF 3% AND COVER A QUOTED HEALTHCARE INCREASE OF 15 TO 20%. WE MOVED TO A NEW HEALTHCARE PROVIDER LAST YEAR AND WE WERE ABLE TO KEEP OUR COUNTY REQUESTS SMALL. AND I GUESS WE'RE PAYING THE PIPER THIS YEAR. I'M HOPING TO GET THAT DOWN, BUT THAT'S JUST THE NUMBERS I RECEIVED BACK IN JANUARY. SO THAT IS STILL IN DEVELOPMENT. WE'RE EXPECTING TO RECEIVE A SMALL INCREASE OF AROUND $16,000 FROM THE STATE. THE STATE ALSO COVERS THE EMPLOYER'S SHARE OF OUR RETIREMENT CONTRIBUTION, WHICH ISN'T REFLECTED IN OUR BUDGET THAT I SUBMITTED TO Y'ALL, BUT IT IS FOUND IN OUR AUDIT. THIS YEAR, WE'VE BEEN INFORMED THAT THE GOVERNOR'S PROPOSED BUDGET WILL BE PLACING THE BURDEN FOR 50% OF THE FY27 RETIREMENT INCREASE ONTO THE COUNTIES. I'M SURE THERE'S STILL A LOT OF GAME LEFT TO PLAY IN THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION, SO I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'S GOING TO STICK. BUT IF Y'ALL HAPPEN TO GET A BILL FOR THAT, PLEASE SEND IT OUR WAY. WE ARE HAPPY TO PAY IT, AND WE ARE PREPARED TO PAY IT.

DURING THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION, I'VE SUBMITTED WRITTEN TESTIMONY IN FAVOR OF SENATE BILL 378, WHICH WOULD INCREASE THE STATE'S PER CAPITA FUNDING TO COUNTY AND REGIONAL LIBRARY SYSTEMS. THAT IS HUGE FOR US AND FOR THE EASTERN SHORE REGIONAL LIBRARY SYSTEM, WHICH PROVIDES A LOT OF OUR RESOURCES. I'VE ALSO SUBMITTED WRITTEN TESTIMONY IN FAVOR OF SENATE BILL 410, WHICH WOULD DO... BASICALLY, DO THE SAME THING FOR THE STATE LIBRARY RESOURCE CENTER, WHICH PROVIDES, AGAIN, A LOT OF RESOURCES FOR US THAT WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO PROVIDE OURSELVES.

THIRDLY, I SUBMITTED A WRITTEN TESTIMONY IN FAVOR OF R11, WHICH WOULD FUND THE MARYLAND STATE LIBRARY AGENCY'S CAPITAL GRANT REQUEST FOR FISCAL YEAR 27. WE TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THAT A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO FOR OUR RENOVATION TO THE TUNE OF OVER A MILLION DOLLARS, AND WE HAVE ANOTHER PROJECT PROBABLY COMING UP IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS.

WANT TO TAP INTO THAT? SO IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US THAT THIS CONTINUES TO GET FUNDED YEAR AFTER YEAR. AS YOU HEAR FROM US EVERY YEAR, HIRING AND RETAINING EMPLOYEES IS GETTING INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT. WE HAVE TO COMPETE WITH LARGER, NEARBY LIBRARY SYSTEMS THAT OFFER HIGHER SALARIES AND A CHANCE FOR ADVANCEMENT. THIS YEAR, THOUGH, I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THAT. OUR STAFFING SITUATION SEEMS TO HAVE STABILIZED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ABOUT A DECADE, AS WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO RETAIN ALMOST ALL OF OUR STAFF. THANKS TO YOUR EFFORTS. TO HELP US INCREASE OUR SALARIES AND REMAIN COMPETITIVE ON THE EASTERN SHORE. WE'LL CONTINUE TO FOLLOW WHAT THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS HAVE DONE AND HAVE BEEN DOING TO GET SALARIES MORE COMPETITIVE. ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE I MOVE ON TO CAPITAL REAL QUICK? DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING, COMMISSIONER PORTER? I ASSUME WE'RE KIND OF IN THE SAME SPOT WITH GREENSBORO? YES. I'VE SCHEDULED A HANDFUL OF MEETINGS OVER THE PAST MONTH OR TWO, BUT WE'VE HAD TO CANCEL THEM FOR VARIOUS REASONS. I'M HOPING TO GET SOMETHING BACK ON THE BOOKS AND STATIONERY HERE IN THE NEXT COUPLE

[02:40:01]

THANKFULLY. I'M JUST SAYING, I DIDN'T SEE IT ALL. YEAH, YOU BETTER, YEAH, BRING SOMETHING ON US, AS YOU KNOW, YOU.

COMMISSIONERS OWN OUR DENTON AND FREDERICKSBURG FACILITIES AND SIGNERS OF THE LEASE FOR NORTH COUNTY GREENSBORO BRANCH.

WE DON'T ASK A WHOLE LOT FROM THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.

WHEN IT COMES TO FACILITIES, WE TEND TO DO MOST OF OUR OWN FACILITY MAINTENANCE. LIKE I SAID, I'LL CALL KEVIN BROWN EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE TO GET SOME ADVICE ON WHICH VENDOR TO USE. WE'RE NOT ASKING FOR ANY MONEY THIS YEAR, BUT I JUST WANTED TO PUT IT ON YOUR RADAR, LIKE I DID LAST YEAR. WE HAVE THREE FLAT ROOFS AT THE CENTRAL LIBRARY THAT ARE OVER 20 YEARS OLD. AT THIS POINT, YOU'RE COMING UP ON 20 YEARS OLD, THAT WILL NEED TO BE REPLACED. WE'VE HAD SOME LEAK REMEDIATION IN THE PAST COUPLE YEARS THAT SEEMS TO BE HOLDING, WHICH IS GREAT. SOMETIME IN FY28 OR FY29, I'LL BE APPLYING FOR A CAPITAL GRANT FROM THE STATE TO HOPEFULLY COVER THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE EXPENSES TO REPLACE THOSE FLAT ROOFS. I'M GOING TO DO EVERYTHING IN MY POWER NOT TO COME TO YOU FOR THE LOCAL MATCH. WE'VE BEEN SO UNDERSTAFFED FOR SO MANY YEARS. I THINK WE HAVE ENOUGH IN OUR UNRESTRICTED FUND BALANCE TO HOPEFULLY COVER THE STATE PORTION OR THE LOCAL MATCH FOR THIS. I JUST WANTED TO PUT IT ON YOUR RADAR THAT I WILL BE APPLYING. I MIGHT NEED LETTER OF SUPPORT WHEN THE TIME COMES.

FOR DPIL, CCPL IS REQUESTING $6,000 FROM THE COUNTY.

ON BEHALF OF THE DOLLY PARTON IMAGINATION LIBRARY, CCPL MANAGES THIS SERVICE FOR RESIDENTS OF THE COUNTY, AND IT TYPICALLY COSTS US OVER $36,000 A YEAR TO FUND.

THIS YEAR, WE WILL BE RECEIVING $6,000 FOR DPIL FROM THE MARYLAND STATE LIBRARY AGENCY VIA THE YOUNG READERS MATCHING GRANTS PROGRAM. WE CURRENTLY HAVE JUST UNDER 1,300 ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS ENROLLED IN DOLLY PARTON IMAGINATION LIBRARY. AND SINCE THE PROGRAM HAS BEEN LAUNCHED IN CAROLINE COUNTY, THEY'VE SENT 143,000 BOOKS OUT TO CAROLINE COUNTY CHILDREN. ANY QUESTIONS ON THE CAPITAL OR GPIO? THE SLANTED ROOF WAS REPLACED RECENTLY. YES, YES, SIR. JUST CURIOUS, I KNOW YOU HAVE THE HARGRAVES ACCOUNT. AND, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, FROM MY OLD BOARD. LIBRARY BOARD DAYS, THOSE FUNDS ARE USED FOR MATERIAL OR ARE RESTRICTED TOWARD MATERIAL? THE HARVEST FUNDS ARE RESTRICTED FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS. OH, OKAY. YEAH, SO WE WOULD PROBABLY DIAL INTO THAT IF WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH UNRESTRICTED FUND BALANCE. OKAY. YEAH, THAT'S BEEN SITTING THERE FOR A GOOD, LONG WHILE. WE USED A NICE CHUNK TO HELP PAY FOR THE RENOVATION. RECALL AT THAT RESOURCE AGAIN, UH...

BY THE VALUE FOR THE FUTURE, WE RECENTLY ADOPTED A NEW STRATEGIC PLAN FOR FISCAL YEAR TWENTY SIX THIRTY. ONE OF OUR PRIMARY POINTS OF FOCUS WILL BE ON IMPROVING ACCESSIBILITY.

LIBRARY RESOURCES SERVICES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY FOR CURRENTLY EXPLORING THE POSSIBILITY OF ANY LIBRARY LOCKERS FOR MATERIALS PICKUP. MISTER COMPUTER UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES, UH... MY PLAN RIGHT NOW IS OVER THE NEXT FIVE, TEN YEARS TO HAVE AT LEAST ONE OF THESE LOCKERS. IN PRETTY MUCH EVERY SIZABLE COMMUNITY IN CAROLINE COUNTY, MAYBE EIGHT OR NINE SYSTEMS, DEPENDING ON HOW THEY GO. I WILL ALSO BE INVESTIGATING THE POSSIBILITY OF REFRESHING OUR FREGELSBERG LOCATION IN AN ATTEMPT TO CREATE A MORE FUNCTIONAL SPACE FOR OUR LIBRARY PATRONS.

BUT IF YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE $2 TO $4 MILLION FOR A NEW FACILITY IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS, Y'ALL LET ME KNOW. AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT GETTING A NEW LIBRARY DOWN THERE. I'M GOING TO ASSUME THAT THAT'S PROBABLY NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. I DON'T ANTICIPATE HAVING TO ASK YOU MONEY FOR THESE PROJECTS, BUT I DID WANT TO MAKE YOU AWARE OF WHAT WE'RE DOING IN THE LONG TERM. I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT. JOE, DOES THE LIBRARY HAVE CONTROL OF THE BOOK DROP-OFF? I MEAN, WHAT DO YOU CALL IT, THE TEMPORARY BOOK? I KNOW WE HAVE ONE IN JONESTOWN WHERE YOU CAN TAKE BOOKS AND LEAVE THEM.

OH, THE LITTLE FREE LIBRARIES? YES. WE DO NOT. WE DO LEAVE BOOKS THERE SOMETIMES.

IF WE'VE GOT TOO MANY IN OUR FOR SALE OR OUR DONATION BIN, WE'LL SEND A STAFF MEMBER AROUND TO RESTOCK.

BUT WE DON'T TAKE CONTROL OF THOSE. I THINK YOU DID A GOOD JOB ON THE GOLF FUNDRAISER.

THAT SEEMED TO BE SUCCESSFUL.

THAT WAS ALL THE FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY DOING. THEY'RE GENIUSES WHEN IT COMES

[02:45:04]

PRETTY SURE THERE'S A LITTLE SIX-YEAR-OLD GIRL THAT BEAT YOUR SCORE, BUT NOT... IS THIS PUBLIC RECORD? LARRY WANTS TO KNOW WHEN YOU'RE BRINGING THE BOOKMOBILE BACK. BOOKMOBILE IS GOING TO BE A HEAVY LIFT FOR CAROLINE COUNTY BECAUSE WE'RE SO RURAL. THEY WENT OUT OF FASHION PROBABLY ABOUT 20 YEARS AGO, AND NOW THEY'RE STARTING TO COME BACK. THEY'RE MOSTLY USED AS OUTREACH VEHICLES AT THIS POINT. WHEN YOU'VE GOT A BOOKMOBILE... THEY VISIT ONE COMMUNITY FOR 30 MINUTES OR AN HOUR, AND THEN YOU STILL GET THE SAME ISSUES. OH, I'M AT WORK, I HAVE SOMETHING ELSE GOING ON, I CAN'T MAKE THE BOOK MOBILE.

TALKING THROUGH THE BOARD WITH THIS AND WHEN WE DID OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, IT SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD BE MUCH MORE FEASIBLE AND REALISTIC. TO PUT AUTHORS IN COMMUNITIES WHERE PEOPLE'S LIBRARY RESOURCES AFTER ON BEHALF WHENEVER THEY WANT TO, RATHER THAN WAITING FOR A 30-MINUTE BOOKMOBILE STOP, THAT MAY OR MAY NOT HAPPEN. DO YOU STILL HAVE IT? NO. WE GAVE THAT TO SOMERSET COUNTY ABOUT 15 YEARS AGO, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY. I DIDN'T THINK YOU STILL HAD IT. IF WE STILL HAD IT, THAT THING WOULD NOT BE ON THE ROAD. RIGHT. I WAS ACTUALLY BEING SILLY, BUT YOU MADE ME WENT INTO IT.

WE DID TALK ABOUT IT. YOU GOT A TRANSITION PRETTY GOOD THERE.

GOOD. I'M GOOD. GOOD. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, GENTLEMEN.

THANK YOU, GENTLEMEN. YOU KNOW, JUST SITTING HERE THINKING, YOU KNOW, THE TRIP TO WASHINGTON THAT WE TOOK, WHAT, A MONTH AGO, A COUPLE WEEKS AGO, AND THEN THE EVENT THAT JUST HAPPENED AT THE BENEDICTINE SCHOOL YESTERDAY.

WHERE CURRENT CONGRESSIONAL-DIRECTED SPENDING WAS USED TO CONSTRUCT ONE WING THERE, YOU KNOW, IT MAY BE AN OPTION TO TRY TO PURSUE THAT AND SEE IF ANY FEDERAL-DIRECTED CAN BE CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTED.

FUNDING IS AVAILABLE FOR EITHER A SENIOR CENTER OR A LIBRARY, MAYBE IN PETTLESBURG OR IN AN AREA OF THE COUNTY, YOU KNOW, YEAH, I MEAN, I KNOW THERE'S A HALF A MILLION DOLLARS THAT THE STATE WILL PUT TOWARDS SENIOR CENTERS. SO I DON'T KNOW. I MEAN, IF THAT'S A POSSIBILITY. BOTH THE SENATOR AND THE CONGRESSMAN, THEIR REPRESENTATIVES, ASKED US FOR IDEAS FOR SPENDING. THEY WANT TO SPEND MONEY IN THE COUNTY, SO MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING WE COULD THINK ABOUT AND WORK TOWARDS. I KNOW SCHOOLS ARE NOT ELIGIBLE. AND I DOUBT ANYBODY WANTS TO FUND A DETENTION CENTER, SO MAYBE WE COULD FUND SOMETHING ELSE. SO, JUST AN IDEA. HAPPY TO WORK WITH YOU. ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU, JONAH. HUMANE SOCIETY. HELLO. GOOD MORNING.

GOOD MORNING. FORGIVE ME. I'M FINDING A COLD. BUT THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME THIS MORNING AND YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT OF THE HUMANE SOCIETY.

FOR THE MOST PART, FOR OUR OPERATING BUDGET, THE INCREASE THAT WE HAVE IS PRETTY MUCH TOWARDS GETTING HEALTH INSURANCE FOR OUR STAFF. WE CURRENTLY OFFER NO BENEFITS WHATSOEVER TO OUR FULL-TIME STAFF, AND IT IS PART OF THE REASON WE HAVE SUCH A HARD TIME RETAINING EMPLOYEES, AND WE WOULD LIKE TO WORK TOWARDS IMPROVING THAT AND REALLY BUILDING A TEAM THAT STAYS. SO WE'VE ASKED THE COUNTY TO HELP US PAY FOR THAT HEALTH INSURANCE, WHICH IS $35,000. AND THAT IS THE INCREASE FROM LAST YEAR, THE OPERATING BUDGET. THE OTHER BIG INCREASE IN OUR OPERATING BUDGET IS ALSO UNDER PERSONNEL. THAT IS, WE'VE ADDED ANOTHER POSITION, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR. THAT ROLE IS REALLY FOCUSED ON EVERYTHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH GETTING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY, OUTREACH.

GROWING THE PROGRAMS THAT ARE FOR THE COMMUNITY THEMSELVES, THE LOW-COST FOOD, OUR PET PANTRY, THE END-OF-LIFE SERVICES THAT WE OFFER, AS WELL AS GROWING OUR EVENTS AND OUR SIDE OF IT. AND US GETTING OUT THERE AND BRINGING MORE FUNDRAISING IN AS WELL. SO THOSE ARE THE TWO BIG INCREASES WITH, LIKE I SAID, THAT REFLECTION OF THAT $35,000 INCREASE. AND WHAT WE ARE ASKING YOU TO HELP US WITH. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THE OPERATING BEFORE I GO TO THE CAPITAL? I DON'T. NO? GOOD. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.

THE CAPITAL IS THE TWO REQUESTS. ONE IS TO IMPROVE THE WAREHOUSE THAT WE HAVE ON THE PROPERTY SO THAT WE CAN TURN A PART OF IT INTO...

TO MORE USABLE SPACE FOR FEED GRIDS FOR ADOPTION, BUT ALSO JUST FOR A FLEX SPACE FOR. IF ANIMAL CONTROL WANTS TO HAVE A LARGE SCALE SEIZURE OF ANIMALS, WE'D BE ABLE TO HOUSE THEM IN THE WAREHOUSE, WHICH RIGHT NOW WE CAN DO, BUT NOT SAFELY, BECAUSE THERE'S NO TEMPERATURE CONTROL

[02:50:01]

AND DO SOME OF THE VACCINATION CLINICS THAT WE GET CALLS ABOUT ALL THE TIME? THAT WE'D LOVE TO DO, GET SOME OF THE SPAY AND NEUTER OUT FURTHER IN THE COMMUNITY. WE GET TO THE UNIT AND ACTUALLY USE IT BOTH FOR COMMUNITY CATS AS WELL AS PEOPLE'S OWN PETS. IT DOES ULTIMATELY BRING COSTS DOWN TO HAVE THAT, BECAUSE WE'D BE ABLE TO PAY THE COST OF A SURGERY INSTEAD OF PAYING ANOTHER CLINIC LIKE WE DO NOW. TO DO NOT ONLY THE TNR SURGERIES, THE PUBLIC SURGERIES, AND THE SURGERIES FOR THE SHELTER ITSELF. SO YOU'RE LOOKING AT A COST OF, YOU KNOW, JUST FOR, FOR EXAMPLE, THE DOG THAT WE DID LAST YEAR FOR THE SHELTER, THE COST WAS AROUND, I WANT TO SAY IT WAS AROUND $24,000, PAYING FOR SPAY AND NEUTERING OF THE DOG, THE SHELTER. IF WE WERE TO USE A MOBILE CLINIC, IT WOULD BRING IT DOWN TO ABOUT $14,000 INSTEAD. AND THAT INCLUDES PAYING FOR THAT TO DO IT AS WELL. ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT... ALRIGHT. ANY QUESTIONS ON THE CAPITAL STUFF? THE MOBILE... I'M KIND OF INTRIGUED BY THAT. SO, THE $150,000, IS THAT THE COST OF THE VEHICLE? OR IS THAT THE COST OF THE VEHICLE? COST OF THE PERSON TO OPERATE IT, AND IS THAT ALL INCLUDED? OR THAT'S THE COST OF THE VEHICLE? SO DO YOU HAVE STAFF THAT WOULD BE ABLE TO DO IT ALL IN PLACE? SO WE HAVE THE SUPPORT STAFF AND THEN WE WOULD BE LOOKING AT CONTRACTING WITH A VET.

SOME OF WE HAVE STARTED TALKING TO DR. WIEMAN, WHO'S MOVING INTO THE COUNTY HERE SHORTLY, AND I KNOW HE HAS ALREADY OFFERED TO DO SOME TNR AND THE TRAP NEUTER RETURN SURGERIES. AND WE HAVE A GRANT FROM THE STATE THAT THAT PAYS FOR THOSE. AND SO WE'D BE ABLE TO USE THAT GRANT MONEY TO BASICALLY PAY TO DO THOSE SURGERIES AT A LOWER COST THAN WHAT WE'RE PAYING THE CLINIC WE'RE PAYING NOW. DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? I MEAN, SO WE WOULD HAVE THIS UNIT, THEN YOU WOULD HAVE SOMEONE WHO WOULD BE ON THAT UNIT TO DO, I MEAN, THAT WOULD BE AN ADDITIONAL POSITION. SO WE HAVE, WE HIRED SOMEBODY WHO WORKED IN, AS A SURGICAL PROTECT. SO WE HAVE THE SUPPORT PERSON THAT WE NEED. WE ALREADY ARE PAYING THAT, SO THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO STEP INTO THAT ROLE. AND THEN WE WOULD PAY A VET TO DO THE SURGERIES, BUT IT, AGAIN, IS COVERED IN THE COST THAT WE'RE ALREADY PAYING A VET NOW. SO IT'S NOT ADDITIONAL ON TOP OF WHAT WE'RE ALREADY PAYING.

BECAUSE WE ALREADY PAY ALL OF THIS TO AN OUTSIDE VET RIGHT NOW BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE SURGERY SUITE ON SITE. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THE PROSECUTORS ARE HERE.

WELL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, AND I APOLOGIZE FOR BEING LATE. I HAD A DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT WITH THE WIFE. IT'S GOING GREAT WITH THE BABY. AS I TOLD YOU LAST YEAR, I WASN'T ASKING A LOT LAST YEAR. IN FACT, IT WAS VERY MIDDLE SCHOOL. AND THIS YEAR, THE BIGGEST PART IS WE'RE ASKING FOR THREE POSITIONS.

AND THESE THREE POSITIONS, ONE IS THE SENIOR ASA. WHY DO WE NEED A SENIOR ASA? WELL, YOU HAVE A STATE'S ATTORNEY, YOU HAVE A DEPUTY STATE'S ATTORNEY WHO ARE THE SENIOR ASAS RIGHT NOW, AND THEY HANDLE THE DOCTOR.

CASES, THE SEX CASES, THE MURDER CASES, THE ATTEMPTED MURDER CASES, AND A SENIOR ASA WOULD HELP ALLEVIATE SOME OF THE PRESSURE ON THE STAFF, AS WITH MR. TODD HERE. AND BY THE WAY, THIS IS JOE TODD. THE DEPUTY STATE'S ATTORNEY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT MET HIM.

AND THEN THE DEPUTY CAN ALSO FOCUS ON TRAINING THE YOUNGER STAFF A LITTLE BIT MORE. AND HAVE IT HEAVY AS DOCKET IS.

EVERYBODY ELSE, YOU CAN GET OUT THERE AND START TRAINING AND MAKING THE RRI STAFF A LITTLE BIT BETTER. WE'RE ASKING FOR A PARALEGAL. MOST OF THE STATE'S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE HAVE PARALEGALS. PARALEGALS HELP

[02:55:02]

DWI WILL HAVE TWO TO FIVE PEOPLE ON THAT SCENE, BODY CAMS. YOU HAVE A DRUG TRANSPORT CASE, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE AT LEAST 20 BODY CAMS, IF NOT MORE. THEY ALL HAVE TO BE REVIEWED AND TECHNICALLY WE ARE SUPPOSED TO REDACT.

PICTURES OF CHILDREN, LICENSE TAGS, AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE. WE DON'T HAVE THE STAFF. WE DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO DO THAT RIGHT NOW. AND IT WOULD ALSO HELP WHEN THEY LOOK THROUGH THE BODY CAMS, YOU KNOW, YOU IDENTIFY OTHER OFFICERS THAT ARE ON SCENE THAT MIGHT HAVE A REPORT OR MIGHT HAVE SOMETHING TO KNOW ABOUT.

WE GET THEIR BODY CAM AS WELL.

SO I KNOW WE DON'T HAVE THE SPACE FOR IT. WE DO HAVE THE SPACE. SPACE AT LEAST ONE MORE PERSON IN THERE AND MAYBE TWO SLIGHT FILLED OUT. BUT I THINK IT'S NECESSARY. I TOLD YOU LAST YEAR I WOULD COME BACK. STATE'S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE IS NOT GROWING AND IT SHOULD BE, ESPECIALLY WITH WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE COUNTY. WE DO HAVE AN UPTICK IN CRIME, BUT WE'VE GOT TO BE ABLE TO PREPARE CASES AND GET IN FRONT OF THE COURT AND GET CONVICTIONS. I DON'T THINK ANY QUESTIONS ANYBODY HAS. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.

COMMISSIONER PORTER, YOU GOT ANYTHING? WHAT'S YOUR PRIORITIES? WHAT'S YOUR PRIORITY IN THOSE THREE POSITIONS? PROBABLY A PARALEGAL. I ASKED FOR THAT ON MY FIRST BUDGET YEAR.

OKAY. GOT IT? GOOD? OKAY. NICE TO MEET YOU, MR. TODD. I DON'T KNOW, I'VE PROBABLY SEEN YOU. I MET YOU WHEN YOU CAME OVER IN ADVANCE OF THE NEW FLOORING. OH YEAH, CHECKING OUT THE FLOORING, OKAY. AND I KNOW YOUR SON.

OKAY. I MEAN, YOU DO LOVE THE FLOORING.

YEAH, I THROW THIS. MIGHT BE MY BROTHER. RYAN. THAT'S MY COUSIN. YOUR COUSIN. YEAH, YEAH. I KNEW IT WAS YOU. I'M NOT THAT OLD. I DON'T HAVE A SON THAT OLD. ALRIGHT, I'M SORRY. MAN, TRAVIS, THE LAST THREE YEARS OF WEARING ONE, BUDDY. THAT'S ALRIGHT.

EVERYBODY, LOOK, I WENT IN FOOD MINE ONE TIME, AND THE CASHIER'S OLD TRADE WAS MY SON.

I WAS LIKE, NO, THAT'S MY BROTHER. HE'S SEVEN YEARS YOUNGER THAN I AM. DON'T HOLD THAT AGAINST ME. THAT'S ALRIGHT. ALRIGHT, WELL, NICE MEETING YOU. NICE MEETING YOU. OR SEEING YOU AGAIN.

YEP, THANKS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. YES, WHAT DO WE HAVE? CLOSED SESSION SCHEDULED? OH, WE'VE GOT STUFF TO DO. I THINK, MS. REPORTER, YOU'RE GOOD ON THAT. OKAY. I'VE DONE THE REPORT OUT. WE HAVE A CONSENT AGENDA. ANY QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, COMMENTS ABOUT ANYTHING ON THE CONSENT AGENDA? I DON'T.

OKAY. I DON'T HAVE IT.

COMMISSIONER BARTZ. I MOVE, WE APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA.

SECOND. OKAY, MOTION IS SECOND.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY, AYE.

AYE. AYE. ALL THOSE OPPOSED? THE AYES HAVE IT. THEN WE HAVE OUR PUBLIC COMMENT, PERIOD. IS THERE ANYONE HERE WHO WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK PUBLICLY? OKAY, NONE BEING SEEN, THEN I WOULD ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO GO INTO CLOSED SESSION UNDER GENERAL PROVISIONS ARTICLE 3-305B, 1 AND 7. THE BOARD WILL CONVENE IN CLOSED SESSION TO DISCUSS PERSONNEL MATTERS CONCERNING THE APPOINTMENT, EMPLOYMENT, PERFORMANCE, COMPENSATION OF ONE OR MORE COUNTY EMPLOYEES.

THE PURPOSE OF THE CLOSED SESSION IS TO DISCUSS PERSONNEL AND TO CONSULT WITH STAFF AND LEGAL TEAM REGARDING A LEGAL MATTER.

SO MOVED. SECOND. MOTION AND SECOND. ROLL CALL VOTE.

COMMISSIONER PORTER? AYE.

COMMISSIONER BARTZ? AYE.

COMMISSIONER BREEDING? AYE.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.