* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. GOOD [00:00:01] MORNING AND WELCOME TO THE [CALL TO ORDER] [10:00 A.M. REGULAR MEETING] SEPTEMBER 29TH, 2026 MEETING OF THE MERCED COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS. WE'LL NOW START WITH THE INVOCATION LED BY DEACON CHUCK RAYBURN WITH, UH, ST. PATRICK'S, UH, CATHOLIC CHURCH, AND THEN SUPERVISOR PETRO WILL LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE THEREAFTER. DEACON, GOOD MORNING AND THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO OFFER OUR INVOCATION. SO LET US PRAY. CREATOR, GOD, WE INVITE YOU TO PRESIDE OVER THIS MEETING, COME AND REVEAL YOUR WILL AND EVERY ASPECT OF OUR LIVES DEDICATED TO THE PEOPLE WE SERVE AS STEWARDS OF OUR COUNTY RESOURCES. EVEN IF WE HAVE DIFFERENT OPINIONS, GIVE US UNITY OF SPIRIT. HELP US TO LISTEN POLITELY AS OTHERS SHARE THEIR POINTS OF VIEW. STRENGTHEN US AS WE MAKE TOUGH DECISIONS AND GUIDE US SO THAT THIS MEETING MAY BE PRODUCTIVE AS WE WORK TOGETHER ON OUR SHARED MISSION OF SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION. LOVING GOD. WE PRAY YOU WILL COME AND REVEAL YOUR WILL IN EVERY ASPECT OF OUR COMMITMENT OF SERVICE TO OTHERS. SHOW US YOUR PURPOSES AND ENLIGHTEN US TO YOUR WILL IN THESE REQUESTS THAT COME BEFORE US TODAY. DIRECT OUR THOUGHTS, OUR WORDS, OUR DECISIONS, AND OUR ACTIONS TOWARDS WHAT IS RIGHT. AND JUST LET US REMEMBER THAT THE TEST OF GOOD GOVERNMENT IS HOW WELL THEY TREAT THE MOST VULNERABLE IN THEIR COMMUNITIES. WE PRAY FOR INSIGHT AND POSITIVE COLLABORATION AND OUR ACTIONS TODAY THAT WE MAY CONTINUE TO SERVE AS GOOD STEWARDS, FULLY COMMITTED TO TAKE ACTIONS TO PROVIDE FOR THE NEEDS OF THE PEOPLE OF MERCED COUNTY. AMEN. AMEN. PLEASE JOIN ME IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, A PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVIDUAL WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. IT [PUBLIC OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ON ANY MATTER OF PUBLIC INTEREST WITHIN THE BOARD'S JURISDICTION EXCLUDING ITEMS ON THE BOARD'S AGENDA (TESTIMONY LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES PER PERSON AND THIRTY MINUTES TOTAL).] IS NOW TIME FOR PUBLIC OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ON ANY MATTER OF PUBLIC INTEREST WITHIN THE BOARD'S JURISDICTION, EXCLUDING ITEMS ON THE BOARD'S AGENDA. TESTIMONY IS LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES PER PERSON AND 30 MINUTES TOTAL. FOR THOSE ATTENDING IN PERSON, PLEASE STEP UP TO THE PODIUM. FOR OUR REMOTE ATTENDEES, PLEASE USE THE RAISE HAND FEATURE ON ZOOM OR PRESS STAR NINE IF YOU'RE CALLING BY PHONE TO BETTER FACILITATE THE MEETING AND ENSURE FAIRNESS. WE WILL START WITH FIVE SPEAKERS IN PERSON, FOLLOWED BY FIVE REMOTE SPEAKERS. UNTIL THE TIME HAS EXPIRED, HMONG AND SPANISH TRANSLATORS ARE AVAILABLE IF NEEDED. OKAY. AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN UP PUBLIC COMMENT. AGAIN, THIS IS FOR NON AGENDA ITEMS ONLY. UH, IF YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO REGISTER OR RAISE YOUR HAND IN THE TIME TO SPEAK DURING THE REGULAR AGENDA, I WILL CHECK BACK AT THE END OF THE MEETING TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY REMOTE PARTICIPANTS STILL WISHING TO COMMENT. WE'LL GO AHEAD AND OPEN UP PUBLIC COMMENT. GOOD MORNING, BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, CEO AND COUNTY COUNCIL. I'M KAREN ADAMS, YOUR ELECTED TREASURE TAX COLLECTOR. I AM THE LONGEST SERVING ELECTED OFFICIAL IN MERCED COUNTY, PRECISELY 24 YEARS, AND I WAS RECENTLY A REELECTED TO MY SEVENTH TERM, RECEIVING THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF VOTES, WHICH HIGHLIGHTS THE COMMUNITY TRUST I HAVE RECEIVED FROM THE MERCED COUNTY VOTERS. WHILE I DO NOT PRESUME TO HAVE THE EXPERTISE TO KNOW THE OPERATIONAL NEEDS OF OTHER DEPARTMENTS, I DO HAVE THE EXPERTISE TO KNOW WHAT IS NECESSARY TO SAFELY AND EFFECTIVELY MANAGE MY OFFICE. I'M HERE TO ADDRESS A DIRECT RISK OF OUR TWO R $2.3 BILLION PORTFOLIO THAT I HAVE THE PRIVILEGE TO MANAGE ON BEHALF OF THE COUNTY AND ITS POOL PARTICIPANTS. I'M HERE TODAY TO VOCALIZE MY DISAPPOINTMENT THAT ONCE AGAIN, MY DEPARTMENT WAS DENIED THE $122,000 FUNDING REQUEST TO TRANSITION EXTRA HELP STAFF INTO FULL-TIME POSITIONS. THE FBI CONFIRMS THAT INVESTMENT RELATED FRAUD IS THE SINGLE LARGEST COMPONENT OF ALL CYBER CRIME LOSSES, DRAINING AN ASTOUNDING $8.64 TRILLION, SPECIFICALLY FROM INVESTMENT AND TREASURY PORTFOLIOS. OUR PORTFOLIO IS THE HIGHEST VALUE TARGET FOR GLOBAL CYBER SYNDICATES. THIS IS A DIRECT ASSET PROTECTION CRIME AND CRISIS. AS YOU KNOW, 26% OF MY STAFF ARE EXTRA HELP RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MOVEMENT OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS DAILY AND ARE PAID $22 AND 59 CENTS AN HOUR. I RECOGNIZE THAT WE ARE NAVIGATING INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT FINANCIAL TIMES. YET THE INVE THE INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO I MANAGED, EARNED YOU OVER $30 MILLION LAST YEAR, OF WHICH YOU GRANTED MILLIONS [00:05:01] OF DOLLARS TO OTHER DEPARTMENTS, AND I WAS GRANTED NOTHING. THE US GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE EXPLICITLY STUDIED WHY ORGANIZATIONS FAIL TO STOP SOPHISTICATED FRAUD, AND THEY CONCLUDE THAT THE PRIMARY FAILURE POINT IS A CRITICAL LACK OF STAFF AVAILABILITY TO MONITOR HIGH RISK WORKFLOW FLOWS, A SHORT LIST OF MAJOR MUNICIPAL FRAUD CRIMES COMMITTED JUST THIS YEAR IN 2026 INCLUDE SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, ARIZONA, 38 MILLION EMPLOYEE TOKEN EMBEZZLEMENT, NORTH DAKOTA SOUTH, UH, UH, NORTH DAKOTA SCHOOL DISTRICT 4.9 MILLION VENDOR IMPERSONATION, CITY OF INMAN, SOUTH CAROLINA, 2.6 MILLION INVOICE REPLICATION, AND THE LIST GOES ON AND ON. RESPECTFULLY, CHAIRMAN MCDANIELS AND BOARD, PLEASE PROVIDE ME JUSTIFICATION WHY MY TREASURE TAX COLLECTOR'S OFFICE IS OF NO IMPORTANCE. GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING. MY NAME IS ANISSA FRAGOSO AND I AM A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER FOR FARMER'S INSURANCE IN DOWNTOWN. UH, GOOD MORNING TO THE BOARD AND CEO. I'M HERE TO BRING ATTENTION TO AN ISSUE THAT I BELIEVE DESERVES IMMEDIATE CONSIDERATION. THE IMPACT THAT THE CLOSURE OR LACK OF ADEQUATE FUNDING FOR THE MCKEE FIRE STATION IS HAVING ON HOMEOWNERS IN THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITY. AS A LOCAL INSURANCE PROFESSIONAL AND BUSINESS OWNER, I RECENTLY EXPERIENCED FIRSTHAND HOW THE FIRE STATION SITUATION IS AFFECTING RESIDENTS, NOT ONLY FROM A PUBLIC SAFETY PERSPECTIVE, BUT ALSO FINANCIALLY. RECENTLY, A CUSTOMER CAME TO MY OFFICE SEEKING HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE COVERAGE. UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES, MY AGENCY WOULD BE ABLE TO PROVIDE HER WITH OPTIONS THROUGH ADMITTED INSURANCE CARRIERS. HOWEVER, BECAUSE OF THE FIRE PROTECTION RATING ASSOCIATED WITH HER PROPERTY AND THE LACK OF ADEQUATE FIRE PROTECTION RESOURCES IN THE AREA, HER HOME IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN A HIGHER RISK FIRE AREA. AS A RESULT, I WAS UNABLE TO PLACE HER HOME WITH AN ADMITTED INSURANCE CARRIER. HER ONLY OPTION WAS TO OBTAIN COVERAGE THROUGH THE CALIFORNIA FAIR PLAN, ALONG WITH THE DIFFERENCE IN CONDITIONS POLICY TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL COVERAGE. THE COMBINED COST OF THESE POLICIES WERE MORE THAN THREE TIMES THE WHAT SHE WOULD'VE PAID FOR COMPARABLE COVERAGE THROUGH A TRADITIONAL ADMITTED INSURANCE CARRIER. THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT FINANCIAL BURDEN FOR A HOMEOWNER. FOR MANY RESIDENTS, HOMEOWNER'S INSURANCE IS NOT OPTIONAL. IT IS OFTEN REQUIRED BY A MORTGAGE SHEET LENDER. AND EVEN FOR THOSE WHO OWN THEIR HOMES OUTRIGHT, ADEQUATE INSURANCE IS ESSENTIAL TO PROTECTING WHAT MAY BE THEIR LARGEST FINANCIAL INVESTMENT. THE CONCERN I WANT TO BRING BEFORE THE BOARD IS THAT THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE MCKEE FIRE STATION SITUATION EXTEND FAR BEYOND THE QUESTION OF WHETHER FIRE ENGINE IS AVAILABLE WHEN AN EMERGENCY OCCURS. FIRE PROTECTION RESOURCES CAN ALSO HAVE A DIRECT IMPACT ON INSURANCE AVAILABILITY, INSURANCE AFFORDABILITY, PROPERTY VALUES, AND THE FINANCIAL STABILITY OF FAMILIES LIVING IN THE AFFECTED AREA. THE RESIDENT I RECENTLY ASSISTED IS JUST ONE EXAMPLE. THERE ARE MANY OTHER HOMEOWNERS WHO ARE UNAWARE THAT THE CHANGES IN FIRE PROTECTION CLASSIFICATIONS OR AVAILABLE RESOURCES COULD AFFECT THEIR ABILITY TO OBTAIN AFFORDABLE INSURANCE. I BELIEVE OUR INSUR, OUR RESIDENTS, DESERVE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING AND HOW IT MAY AFFECT THEM. MY INTENTION IS TO BRING THE ISSUE FORWARD IS NOT TO PLACE BLAME. IT IS TO BRING AWARENESS AS A BUSINESS OWNER WHO WORKS DIRECTLY WITH HOMEOWNERS SEEKING INSURANCE. IC FIRSTHAND DECISIONS INVOLVING FIRE PROTECTION CAN TRANSLATE INTO REAL FINANCIAL CONSEQUENCES FOR FAMILIES. A HOMEOWNER SHOULD NOT LEARN ABOUT THESE CONSEQUENCES ONLY AFTER THEY ARE DENIED COVERAGE WITH INSURANCE BILL THAT IS SEVERAL TIMES HIGHER THAN WHAT THEY PREVIOUSLY EXPECTED TO PAY. I ALSO BELIEVE THE RESIDENTS OF THE AFFECTED AREA DESERVE TO KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING AND HOW THE SITUATION MAY AFFECT THEIR HOME AND FINANCES. THERE'S MORE, BUT I'M OUT OF TIME. THANK YOU. UH, IF I, IF I MIGHT RESPOND, ANISA? YES. UM, I'VE HAD CONSTITUENTS IN MY DISTRICT HAVE THAT SAME ISSUE AND IN IT'S, UM, UH, IT'S SOLVABLE. UM, WE, WE ACTUALLY HAVE BETTER FIRE SERVICE THAN WHEN WAS OPEN. AND SO IF YOU'LL REACH OUT TO ME AFTER THIS AFTERNOON, I CAN WALK YOU THROUGH THE STEPS TO, TO HELP YOU GET THERE. SHOULD IT BE FAIR? UM, IT'S NOT A DIALOGUE. JUST CALL ME THIS AFTERNOON. I MEAN, I, YEAH, WE HAVE SOME LETTERS THAT I THINK WILL HELP YOUR CUSTOMERS. OKAY. GOOD MORNING, CHAIR AND SUPERVISORS. MY NAME IS JASMINE MARQUEZ. I'M AN HSS PROVIDER IN MERCED COUNTY AND PROUD MEMBER OF UDW. [00:10:01] I CARE FOR A MEMBER HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY. I'M HERE BECAUSE THE DECISIONS MADE DURING THESE CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS WILL AFFECT NOT ONLY PROVIDERS, BUT ALSO THE SENIORS AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES WHO RELY ON US EVERY DAY. THE COUNTY'S CURRENT PROPOSAL FALLS SHORT OF WHAT IS NEEDED TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN CAREGIVERS. A WAGE INCREASE OF ONLY A FEW CENTS DOES NOT KEEP PACE WITH THE RISING COST OF LIVING. THERE ARE NO IMPROVEMENTS TO BENEFITS AND THE PPE FUNDING BEING PROPOSED WILL RUN OUT ALMOST IMMEDIATELY. WHEN PROVIDERS CANNOT AFFORD TO STAY IN THIS PROFESSION, OUR COMMUNITIES SUFFER. FAMILIES STRUGGLE TO FIND CAREGIVERS, EXISTING PROVIDERS TAKE ON MORE RESPONSIBILITY. THAT CREATES A GROWING CHALLENGE FOR OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY AS OUR POPULATION AGES AND THE DEMAND FOR IN-HOME CARE CONTINUES TO INCREASE. WE ALL WANT SENIORS AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES TO RECEIVE QUALITY CARE IN THE COMFORT OF THEIR OWN HOMES. WE ALL WANT FAMILIES TO HAVE PEACE OF MIND KNOWING THEIR LOVED ONES ARE SUPPORTED, BUT THAT REQUIRES INVESTING IN THE WORKFORCE THAT MAKES IT POSSIBLE. TODAY, I AM ASKING YOU TO KINDLY RETURN TO THE BARGAINING TABLE WITH A COMMITMENT TO FIND REAL SOLUTIONS PROVIDERS NEED MEANINGFUL WAGE INCREASES, BETTER SUPPORT AND ADEQUATE RESOURCES TO DO OUR JOBS SAFELY AND EFFECTIVELY. WE DESERVE A CONTRACT THAT REFLECTS THE VALUE OF OUR WORK IN THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PRE OF THE SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE EVERY DAY. THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING, CHAIR AND SUPERVISORS. MY NAME IS APRIL GUTIERREZ, AND I AM AN IHSS PROVIDER IN MERCED COUNTY AND A PROUD MEMBER OF THE UDW. I CARE FOR A MEMBER OF OUR COMMUNITY. I'M HERE TODAY, NOT JUST FOR MYSELF, BUT FOR THE THOUSANDS OF HOME CARE PROVIDERS WHO CARE FOR SENIORS AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES EVERY DAY. FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS, WE HAVE WORKED WITHOUT A CONTRACT. DURING THAT TIME, THE COST OF LIVING HAS CONTINUED TO RISE. RENT HAS GONE UP, GROCERIES HAVE GONE UP, GAS AND UTILITIES AND HEALTHCARE COSTS HAVE ALSO INCREASED. YET MANY IHSS PROVIDERS ARE STILL STRUGGLING TO MAKE ENDS MEET WHILE PROVIDING ESSENTIAL CARE THAT ALLOWS VULNERABLE RESIDENTS TO REMAIN SAFELY IN THEIR HOMES. THE COUNTY'S LATEST PROPOSAL IS DISAPPOINTING. THE WAGE INCREASES BEING AMOUNT TO ONLY A FEW CENTS. THERE ARE NO MEANINGFUL IMPROVEMENTS TO BENEFITS, AND THE PROPOSED PPE FUNDING WOULD NOT EVEN LAST BEYOND THE FIRST QUARTER OF THE YEAR. THAT IS NOT AN INVESTMENT IN THE WORKFORCE THAT KEEPS THE SYSTEM RUNNING. WE ARE OFTEN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOMEONE REMAINING AT HOME OR BEING FORCED INTO A MORE EXPENSIVE INSTITUTIONAL SETTING. EVERY DAY PROVIDERS STEP UP FOR MERCED COUNTY FAMILIES. WE DESERVE A CONTRACT THAT RECOGNIZES THE VALUE OF OUR WORK AND ALLOWS US TO CONTINUE PROVIDING QUALITY CARE. WE ARE ASKING THE BOARD TO WORK WITH US TOWARD A FAIR AGREEMENT THAT INCLUDES MEANINGFUL WAGE INCREASES, BENEFITS, AND ADEQUATE PPE FUNDING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING BOARD MEMBER. MY NAME IS AADE ANTE LOSANO AND I LIVE IN DEL HIGH. AND I JUST WANNA SHARE SOMETHING REAL QUICK. UM, LAST WEEK I WAS IN, UM, MODESTO, WHICH IS A RANCH CALLED, UH, LES, UM, S, WHICH IS MEAN BLUE HORSES, AND IT'S A RANCH WHERE THIS LADY HAD THIS AMAZING IDEA. SO IN THAT RANCH, UM, WE WERE HELPING CLEANING UP ALL THE S AND ALL THAT. SO WHAT SHE'S TRYING TO DO THERE, UM, OUR GROUP, WHICH IS CALLED, UM, TOP LEADER AND I-M-P-P-L 78. SO, WHICH IS MEANING PROGRAM LEADER. AND WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THAT IDEA THAT THEY HAVE THERE, LIKE FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE AUTISM OR SPECIAL NEED OR, UM, AND THEY HAVE THIS AMAZING HORSE. SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING AMAZING. MAYBE ONE DAY WE CAN HAVE SOMETHING HERE IN MESHED BECAUSE WE HAVE A LOT OF KIDS THAT HAVE THAT SPECIAL NEED. AND SO THAT'S ONE OF MY REPORT THAT I WANTED TO SHARE. AND, UM, BEING A DELHI IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, ME AND MY MOM, BLANCA LOSANO, WE HAVE THAT, UM, DELHI IN ACTION. WE'RE STILL WORKING ON THE PARK COMMUNITY CENTER. THANK TOO FOR LLOYD FOR THE REPORT. HAD THE REPORT OF DELHI. UM, LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW THAT WE ARE HAVING AN AM, UM, PM GAS STATION AND A RESTAURANT IN THE MINI STOREY. SO WE'RE GROWING AND WE'RE JUST CONTINUE TO HAVE SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, NICE IN THE COMMUNITY. SO THANK YOU FOR THIS MOMENT. AND, UM, THAT'S JUST THE REPORT THAT I WANTED TO SHARE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OKAY. THAT WAS OUR FIFTH SPEAKER. [00:15:01] WE'LL GO AHEAD AND CHECK TO SEE WHAT WE HAVE FOR OUR ONLINE PORTAL. MR. CHAIR, WE HAVE NO REMOTE SPEAKERS IN THE QUEUE. OKAY. AND WE'LL BRING IT BACK HERE TO THE BOARDROOM. GO AHEAD. YES, PLEASE. GOOD MORNING, MR. CHAIRMAN, OFFICER, AND, UM, STAFF. MY NAME IS KAYLEE ESCOBAR ISLA, AND I'M A FIELD REPRESENTATIVE FOR ASSEMBLYWOMAN SORIA AT THE CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLY. I'M HERE TO INVITE MERCED COUNTY RESIDENTS TO OUR UPCOMING LIVINGSTON'S MOBILE OFFICE HOURS EVENT. OUR OFFICE WILL BE HELPING RESIDENTS WITH CASEWORK AND QUESTIONS INVOLVING STATE AGENCIES SUCH AS D-M-V-E-D-D AND THE STATE FRANCHISE TAX BOARD. OUR EVENT WILL BE ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15TH FROM 3:00 PM TO 5:00 PM AT THE CITY OF LIVINGSTON COUNCIL CHAMBERS. THE ADDRESS IS 6 6 3 MAIN STREET IN LIVINGSTON. WE HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE. ALSO, MY BUSINESS CARDS HAVE ARRIVED, SO I'LL LEAVE ONE FOR EACH OF YOU IN THE BASKET. SO PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT IF YOU NEED SUPPORT WITH ANYTHING. AND AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU FOR LISTENING AND A HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE AT MERCED COUNTY FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK IN SERVING OUR RESIDENTS. THANK YOU. IS THERE ANYBODY ELSE? IF NOT, I WILL GO AHEAD AND CHECK ONE MORE TIME FOR REMOTE ACCESS. MR. CHAIR, THERE ARE NO REMOTE SPEAKERS IN THE QUEUE. OKAY. THE PUBLIC PERIOD IS NOW CLOSED FOR NON AGENDA ITEMS. AT THIS TIME, WE WILL HEAR FROM WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD THE ANNUAL REPORT. GOOD MORNING. UH, MY NAME, UH, SORRY. GOOD MORNING. UH, CHAIR, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, UH, CEO, UH, HENDRICKSON. I AM, UH, LESLIE A BASTA. I AM THE CHAIR OF THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD. NOW I'M KNOWN AS PRES, UH, MERCED COUNTY. UM, VERY, UM, EXCITED TO BE HERE TODAY AS I HAVE BEEN EVERY YEAR AT THIS TIME, UH, TO TALK ABOUT THE GREAT WORK THAT THIS DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN DOING. UM, I'D ALSO LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE VERY QUICKLY THAT I HAVE A FEW FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS WHO ARE HERE. UM, VINCENT THAL, WHO, UM, IS ONE OF MY VICE CHAIRS, UH, STEVE STEVENSON AND AS WELL AS TRU ABEBE. UM, AND, UH, THEY COME AROUND EVERY OTHER MONTH AND WE TALK ABOUT WHAT'S PRESSING IN THIS AREA, BUT ALSO STATE AND FEDERAL ISSUES THAT THAT FACE US. UM, I ALSO WANT TO THANK, UH, SUPERVISOR MCDANIEL. UM, HE HAS BEEN THE, UH, APPOINTED, UH, SUPERVISOR TO HAVE SAT ALONGSIDE ALL OF US ELBOW TO ELBOW, REALLY DIGGING INTO WHAT, UH, OUR CHALLENGES, BUT ALSO OPPOR MASSIVE OPPORTUNITIES IN THIS COUNTY WHEN IT COMES TO WORKFORCE. AND, AND REALLY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS, IS WHERE WE SORT OF FIND OURSELVES IN BETWEEN AND BALANCING THE BOTH. AND WE COULDN'T THANK YOU MORE FOR PUTTING OUR PRIORITIES AND, UM, AND THE THINGS THAT THIS DEPARTMENT HAS TRIED TO REALLY PUT FORWARD, UH, FOR THIS COUNTY TO MAKE IT A BETTER PLACE TO WORK. UM, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT IS ABOUT HELPING RESIDENTS GAIN, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME, UH, GAIN SKILLS, BUT ALSO GAIN CONFIDENCE IN REENTERING THE WORKFORCE, UM, IN THE WAY THAT WE BELIEVE OUR PROGRAMS ARE ABLE TO DO. AND I WOULD BE REMISS IF I SAID THAT WE ARE INCREDIBLY FORTUNATE TO HAVE A LEADER LIKE ERIC, UH, OUR DIRECTOR, SERATO, UM, WHO REALLY LEADS US ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, ARE NOT JUST GOOD FOR MERCED COUNTY, BUT WE HAVE SEEN MODELED STATE NATIONWIDE, ACTUALLY IN OTHER AREAS. AND SO IT IS MY PLEASURE TO INTRODUCE, UH, DIRECTOR SERATO, THE DIRECTOR OF OUR ME MERCED COUNTY PROSPERO WORKFORCE BOARD. AND, UM, I WILL HAND IT OVER TO YOU. OKAY. GOOD MORNING, SUPERVISORS. MY NAME IS ERIC SATO. I AM THE DIRECTOR OF YOUR WORKFORCE INVESTMENT DEPARTMENT. UM, I KNOW IT'S A VERY PACKED AGENDA, SO I'M GONNA SHOW A LOT OF RESTRAINT AND GO REALLY QUICKLY THROUGH THESE SLIDES. FULL CONFIDENCE. YEAH. OKAY. UH, YOU JUST HEARD FROM OUR BOARD CHAIR, WE ARE A COMMISSION. WE ARE A BOARD, A FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD. WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT THERE IS MONEY AT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FROM THE US DEPARTMENT OF LABOR. IT THEN GOES DOWN TO THE STATE GOVERNMENT AND 50 SLICES. THE STATE KEEPS 15% OF THOSE FUNDS, AND 85% IN CALIFORNIA IS DISTRIBUTED ACROSS 45 LOCAL WORKFORCE BOARDS. UH, WE ARE VERY PROUD OF THE FACT THAT WE ARE A CEMENTED DEPARTMENT, WHICH OF COURSE MEANS THAT NOT A SINGLE DOLLAR OF COUNTY FUNDS, UH, SUPPORT OUR WORK. IN FACT, WE TAKE A LOT OF PRIDE IN TRYING TO SHOW VALUE AND CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS [00:20:01] THE COUNTY WHENEVER WE CAN. UH, THERE IS A LIST OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS. WE ACTUALLY HAVE SEVEN CURRENT VACANCIES, WHICH IS A LOT, BUT WE'VE HELD ONTO THOSE BECAUSE WE WANT TO INTRODUCE A NEW SLATE. AND WE'LL BE COMING TO YOU IN A FEW MONTHS WITH THOSE NEW SEVEN BOARD MEMBERS. QUICK THING ON HOW WORKFORCE BOARDS FUNCTION, THERE ARE THREE PILLARS TO OUR WORK. THERE'S EMPLOYER AND INDUSTRY, LABOR, MARKET INTELLIGENCE, AND JOB SEEKERS. AND THE WAY EACH OF THOSE THREE PILLARS, UH, INTERACT IS THE BASIS OF OUR WORK. SO YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT EMPLOYERS HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT'S THE MOST COMPETITIVE RATE OF PAY? WE'RE HERE TO ANSWER THAT. UH, JOB SEEKERS HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT CAREER SHOULD I CHOOSE? WHAT IS LESS VULNERABLE TO AI? UH, WHAT IS IN A GROWTH INDUSTRY? WE'RE THERE TO ANSWER THAT. AND WE'RE ALSO THERE TO CONNECT JOB SEEKERS WITH BUSINESSES. WE WANT TO GIVE BUSINESSES THE KIND OF TALENT THAT'S GONNA HELP THEM GROW AND REMAIN MORE COMPETITIVE. AND WE WANT JOB SEEKERS TO GET INTO JOBS THAT IS GONNA RAISE THEM UP THAT QUALITY LADDER. SO WE DO THESE THREE THINGS IN LOTS OF DIFFERENT WAYS. I'LL TOUCH ON THEM, UH, IN A FEW, SOME KEY 2025, 2026 PERFORMANCE, UH, NUMBERS. WE SET OUR OWN ENROLLMENT GOALS, UH, FOR THE COUNTY. WE HAD, UH, WE HAD 658 ENROLLMENTS. THAT MEANS SOUP TO NUTS. SOMEONE COMES IN, SAYS, I'M NOT SURE WHAT I WANT TO DO FOR MY NEXT CAREER. WE HAVE CAREER COUNSELORS THAT WALK THEM THROUGH THAT PROCESS, UH, SOMETIMES CONNECT THEM TO TRAINING AND HELP THEM PLACE, UH, INTO A GOOD JOB. WE DID THAT 658 TIMES. THAT'S 117% OF OUR GOAL. UH, 361 OF THOSE RECEIVED A TRAINING SCHOLARSHIP IN ANYTHING FROM WELDING TO MEDICAL ASSISTANT. UM, AND WE DID THAT WITH A VERY SMALL GROUP. WE ARE A COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF ONLY 19 EMPLOYEES, AND A TEAM OF REALLY DEDICATED SUBCONTRACTORS. WE ALSO, UH, DO WORK WITH YOUTH, AND WE HAD 200 ENROLLMENTS THROUGH OUR PARTNER, THE MERCED COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION. ONE THING THAT WE DID DIFFERENT THIS YEAR IS WE MADE SURE TO SPLIT THAT UP BY DISTRICT. AND SO WE LOOKED AT THE RELATIVE LEVELS OF POVERTY, UH, AND UNEMPLOYMENT IN EACH OF THOSE DISTRICTS, AND, UH, MADE SURE THAT WE ADDED UP TO THOSE 200 ENROLLMENTS. SOMETHING THAT WAS IMPORTANT TO THIS BOARD WAS A SERVICE OF FOSTER YOUTH. AND SO WE HAD SET ASIDE 25 SLOTS FOR AGING OUT FOSTER YOUTH, AND WE SERVED ALL 25 SUCCESSFULLY. WE'VE HAD, UM, ALMOST 1600 ATTENDEES AT OUR JOB FAIRS, UH, OVER THE LAST 12 MONTHS, WHICH HAS BEEN PHENOMENAL. UH, BUT THAT'S JUST A SMALL SLIVER. WE SERVE, UH, OVER 6,000 FOLKS THAT WALK INTO OUR JOB CENTERS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR EDD. WE ARE A WORKFORCE BOARD THAT IS KNOWN ACROSS THE STATE AS PUNCHING ABOVE OUR WEIGHT. YOU GOT A LOT OF BANG FOR YOUR BUCK, UH, WITH OUR TEAM. IN FACT, WE HAVE SOME OF OUR, UH, STAFF MEMBERS HERE. IF YOU COULD RAISE YOUR HAND YEAH. WHO ARE WORKING HARD, UH, EVERY DAY. OKAY. SO, UH, WE'RE PRETTY GOOD, UH, BUT WE COULD BE EVEN BETTER. AND SO WE'VE IDENTIFIED FOUR PILLARS THAT'S GONNA HELP US DO THAT. FIRST OF ALL, WE RECOGNIZE OURSELVES AS FORWARD THINKERS THAT ARE MEETING BIG PICTURE WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITIES. THE WAY WE'RE ACTIVATING THAT ARE THINGS LIKE OUR 2027 DATA POSTER, WHICH IS GONNA BE GREAT. WE'RE GONNA HAVE A SERIES OF SYMPOSIA NEXT YEAR, ONE EVERY QUARTER THAT'S GONNA TACKLE A REALLY GNARLY WORKFORCE ISSUE. AND THEN OUR LEADERSHIP OF NORTH VALLEY THRIVE. SECOND IS WE WANNA BRING WORKFORCE AND INDUSTRY TOGETHER. WE DO THAT THROUGH JOB FAIRS, THROUGH SECTOR PARTNERSHIPS, UH, THROUGH INCUMBENT WORKER TRAINING WHERE WE HAVE INVESTED, UH, IN A BUSINESS TO HELP THEM UPSKILL THEIR WORKERS. THIRD IS WE PRIORITIZE PARTNERSHIPS TO MEET WORKFORCE NEEDS. THE MOST EXCITING PART OF THIS, I THINK, ARE NEW PARTNERSHIPS THAT ARE DEVELOPING WITH, UH, HSA AND PROBATION AND CHILD SUPPORT, AS WELL AS THE CO-LOCATION OF EIGHT, UH, NONPROFITS THAT ARE GONNA BE IN OUR PRO SPARROW CENTERS. AND LASTLY, WE BELIEVE THAT WE NEED TO DELIVER EXCELLENCE IN EVERYTHING THAT WE DO. AND SO WE'VE INSTITUTED NEW EVALUATION AND FEEDBACK METRICS, AND WE'VE DEVELOPED SOMETHING CALLED A JOB QUALITY MATRIX THAT MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE INVESTING OUR MONEY IN JOB PLACEMENTS, THAT ADVANCE INDUSTRY, AND ALSO PROVIDE QUALITY JOBS, SOME KEY WORKFORCE TRENDS, UH, FOR THIS YEAR. HAPPY TO TAKE QUESTIONS ON THIS. UH, BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT OUR UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS GOING DOWN. IT HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN AMONG THE HIGHEST IN CALIFORNIA, CERTAINLY THE ONE OF THE TWO HIGHEST, UH, IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY. UM, BUT THERE IS A STORY BELOW THAT. UH, AND PART OF THAT IS THAT THE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE ACTUALLY DECLINED BY 500 PEOPLE. SO THAT MEANS THAT 500 PEOPLE WERE WORKING THE YEAR BEFORE, BUT STEPPED OUT OF THE WORKFORCE. AND THERE ARE GOOD REASONS FOR THAT, AND THERE ARE SOME QUESTIONING REASONS FOR THAT. THE GOOD REASON WOULD BE THAT FOLKS, UH, RETIRED SO THEY FINALLY FELT THAT THEY COULD RETIRE AND LEAVE THAT JOB TO SOMEONE THAT'S COMING UP. UM, OR IT COULD BE THAT THEY GOT, UH, EXHAUSTED BY LOOKING FOR WORK. AND WE'RE ABLE TO FIND THAT WE'RE [00:25:01] TOO SMALL OF A DATA AREA TO REALLY UNDERSTAND WHY. BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT ANECDOTALLY. THE OTHER THING TO TO KNOW IS THAT WITH THIS FLUX, THERE WAS ONLY A NET POSITIVE GROWTH OF 100 JOBS IN THE COUNTY. AND THAT IS NOT GOOD. UH, YOU CAN JUST DO THE MATH. IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE NUMBER OF HIGH SCHOOLERS THAT GRADUATE EVERY YEAR OR COME OUT OF MERCED COLLEGE OR UC, MERCED 100 NET JOBS IS NOT ENOUGH TO SATISFY THAT, UH, THAT SUPPLY COMMUTING. UH, 31% OF OUR WORKERS LEAVE THE COUNTY EVERY DAY IN ORDER TO FIND GOOD WORK. UH, STANISLAUS COUNTY IS OUR NUMBER ONE, UH, DESTINATION. WE KNOW THAT A LOT OF FOLKS ON THE WEST SIDE ARE SUPER COMMUTERS, BUT OUR NUMBER ONE ECONOMIC RELATIONSHIP REMAINS WITH STANISLAUS COUNTY. UH, WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT, UH, RECENT GRADUATE COMPACTION. THAT IS, AGAIN, LOOKING AT THE NUMBER OF YOUNG PEOPLE THAT ARE GRADUATING AT ALL LEVELS AND WHAT THAT'S DOING IN TERMS OF JOB QUALITY AND THE JOBS THEY'RE ABLE TO GET. AND THEN WE'VE BEEN STUDYING, UH, AI VULNERABILITY. AND THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT WE HAVE A LOWER LEVEL OF VULNERABILITY THAN MOST AREAS. BUT EVEN WITHIN THAT, WE EXPECT AI TO COME FIRST IN THE FORM OF AUGMENTED JOBS. IN OUR HEALTHCARE SECTOR, HEALTHCARE IS THE FASTEST GROWING SECTOR OF OUR JOB MARKET. AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING FOR US TO WATCH. JUST A COUPLE MORE SLIDES. UH, THESE ARE SOME IMAGES FROM OUR GRAND OPENING EVENTS THAT YOU ALL ATTENDED. UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PARTICIPATING IN THAT. SOME UPCOMING PROJECTS. WE'RE DOING A COMMUTER COFFEE EVENT, UH, ON THE WEST SIDE. UH, THAT I THINK IS PRETTY INTERESTING. CELEBRATING FOLKS THAT ARE DOING THAT DRIVE AND GETTING DATA ON THE JOBS THAT THEY ARE CURRENTLY AT SO THAT WE CAN ATTRACT THEM BACK INTO THE COUNTY. OUR DATA POSTER WILL HAVING A HUMAN RESOURCES THANK YOU. BREAKFAST, UH, IN DECEMBER, UH, WE ARE INTRODUCING A WHOLE SERIES OF WEALTH BUILDING WORKSHOPS SO THAT WE'RE NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT GETTING A JOB, BUT WHAT YOU DO WITH THAT NEW PAYCHECK. WE HAVE A WHOLE SLEW OF HEALTHCARE WORKFORCE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE DOING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH, WHICH IS EXCITING. AND WE'RE ABOUT TO PUT AN RFP ON THE STREET FOR A DIFFERENT, UH, SET OF RESEARCH INDICATORS THAT'S GONNA HELP US PREDICT HOW THE ECONOMY AND THE WORKFORCE IS DOING. ALSO THERE IN THE BOTTOM LEFT IS JUST, UH, SOME IMAGES FROM OUR NEW WEBSITE. UH, WE'RE GOING TO BE INVESTING A LOT OF TIME INTO OUR COMMUNICATIONS, UH, APPARATUS, AND YOU'LL SEE THAT COMING OUT OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS. BUT MAYBE THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WE'RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT TODAY IS OUR THANK YOU AND OUR APPRECIATION FOR SUPERVISOR DARREN MCDANIEL. UM, THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE LEADER IN THE WORKFORCE SPACE, NOT JUST HERE LOCALLY AS A MEMBER OF OUR WORKFORCE BOARD, BUT NATIONALLY. I'VE BEEN, UH, SIDE BY SIDE WITH HIM AS WE PRESENTED AT THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WORKFORCE BOARDS. AND HE BECAME A CELEBRITY THERE, UH, ON THE STAGE AS PEOPLE KEPT CALLING HIM OUT THROUGH THE REST OF THE CONFERENCE, WANTING TO TALK WORKFORCE. UM, BUT ALSO AT NICO WITH THE NATIONAL, UH, ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES. HE WAS THE VICE CHAIR OF THE ECONOMIC AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE AND LED ON THAT LEVEL AS WELL AS THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY POLICY, UH, GROUP IN SO MANY, UH, SPACES. SUPERVISOR MCDANIEL HAS BEEN THE VOICE OF WORKFORCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR US, AND WE'RE INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL FOR THAT. UH, WE ARE GOING TO CELEBRATE YOU AT OUR DECEMBER MEETING, AND SO WE'LL MAKE A, A BIGGER HOOPLA THERE. BUT WE DID WANT TO GIVE YOU THIS LITTLE BASKET OF GIFTS OF, UH, PROSPERO SCHWAG, UH, BUT ALSO, UH, MONOGRAMMED, UH, JACKET THAT SAYS, UH, MERCED COUNTY SUPERVISOR DARREN MCDANIEL, GSD. SO WE'RE INCREDIBLE GRATEFUL, UH, FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP, UH, AS WELL AS LEADERSHIP OF OUR CHAIR AND OUR BOARD. AND WITH THAT, I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU, HARRY. NO, THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THOSE COMMENTS AT THE END TOO. I DID TAKE THAT ONE. AND I THINK EVERY TIME ON THE DAIS, I SAY, THIS IS WHERE GOVERNMENT GETS IT, RIGHT? UH, 'CAUSE YOU HAVE THE PRIVATE SECTOR LEADING THE DISCUSSIONS WITH THAT. AND IT'S AMAZING WHAT WE ACHIEVE. AND I AM THANKFUL THAT YOU WOULD CONTINUE TO TAKE ALL THE OTHER STUFF I'D FIND OUT THERE THAT WE COULD DO AND, AND, UH, ALWAYS TURN IT INTO A POSITIVE. BUT WE'LL OPEN UP. IS THERE, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS HERE, SUPERVISOR? PER, UH, GOOD MORNING. UM, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, IT'S KIND OF ALL, YOU KNOW, DURING THIS AND DURING THAT, BUT, UH, ANYWAYS, AND, AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE EFFORT HE'S DONE ON BEHALF OF THE RESIDENTS OF MERCED COUNTY. BUT I, I, YOU KNOW, I, I MEAN, THIS IS A PRESENTATION AND, AND I WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT TO, TO THANK YOU AND, AND YOUR COMMITMENT TO THE RESIDENTS OF MERCED COUNTY, UM, UNDER YOUR LEADERSHIP. UH, THINGS, UH, ARE CHANGING AND GETTING BETTER. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I'VE GOT, UH, A COUPLE OF SMALL BUSINESSES THAT HAVE STARTED UP IN MY DISTRICT AND, YOU KNOW, YOU TOOK THE TIME TO, TO MEET THE OWNERS AND, AND THEN INCLUDE ME AND, AND SOME OF OUR, YOU KNOW, UM, STAFF IN MEETING THEM AND JUST GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND. AND, UH, I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT, AND I THINK YOU'RE DOING A GREAT JOB. AND I'M GLAD YOU PICKED MERCED COUNTY. THANK YOU, SIR. THANK YOU. CHAIR RECOGNIZES SUPERVISOR RA. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. UH, YES. CONGRATULATIONS, DARREN. [00:30:01] I KNEW THIS IS WHY I FIRST HEARD THE TERM CLEO WAS AFTER SUPERVISOR MCDANIEL WAS BACK IN DC WITH YOU FOLKS, AND I HEARD IT FROM HIM. HE'S VERY PROUD OF THAT TITLE. UM, BUT THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR LEADERSHIP ON THIS. THERE'S AN ITEM COME ITEM COMING UP LATER ON OUR AGENDA WHERE IF SUCCESSFUL, I MIGHT, MAY, UH, REPLACE HIM ON THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD. AND, AND I CAN JUST TELL YOU IN MY ALMOST EIGHT YEARS OF BEING HERE, THAT I, DARREN MADE THE COMMENT, THIS IS THE ONE PLACE WHERE I THINK THAT GOVERNMENT GETS IT RIGHT. AND I'M A GUY THAT DOESN'T BELIEVE THAT GOVERNMENT GETS MUCH. RIGHT? UM, AND SO IT'S THE, IT'S THE COLLABORATION WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR. UM, AND I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THE OPPORTUNITY OF REALLY KIND OF DEVELOPING EVEN MORE INTO THE WEST SIDE. UM, I THINK WE HAVE SOME UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES OUT THERE, UM, IN, IN SOME OF OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES THAT ARE PERFORM, THEY'RE DOING WORK AT AN INTERNATIONAL LEVEL. AND I THINK THAT THAT'S THOSE OPPORTUNITIES FOR FOLKS. AND SO, REALLY, AND I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO YOU AND YOUR TEAM. I KNOW IT WAS, WE WENT THROUGH THIS REBRANDING WITH PROSPERO AND YOU HOSTED, I BELIEVE IT WAS THREE, RIGHT? THREE, UH, KIND OF OPEN HOUSES, NEW LAUNCH RIBBON CUTTINGS ON THE SAME DAY. I WASN'T ABLE TO MAKE ALL OF 'EM, BUT I DID MAKE THE ONE OUTTA THE WEST SIDE. SO I COMMEND YOU AND YOUR TEAM FOR STRINGING. IT'S HARD ENOUGH TO PUT ONE OF THOSE TOGETHER, BUT TO PUT THREE OF THEM TOGETHER IN, IN ONE DAY, THAT'S PRETTY AMAZING. SO, GOOD WORK TO YOUR TEAM. ALWAYS LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR PRESENTATION AND LISTENING TO THE GOOD WORK, DATA-DRIVEN, GOOD WORK THAT, THAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING OVER THERE AT PROSPERO. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND ERIC, I WILL NOTE THAT SUPERVISOR, SUPERVISOR RA DID MAKE A SPECIAL EFFORT TO GET HOME FROM A, A MEETING HE HAD IN SACRAMENTO TO ATTEND THAT EVENT. GOOD. THANK YOU. ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALRIGHT, ERIC, THANK YOU. SHOULD I, DO I NEED TO COME DOWN THERE TO, YEAH. OKAY. WE'LL GO AHEAD AND OPEN UP PUBLIC COMMENT REGARDING THIS PRESENTATION. THE PUBLIC, WELL, LET ME CHECK TO MAKE SURE ON OUR ONLINE PORTAL IF WE HAVE ANY, MR. CHAIR, WE HAVE NO REMOTE SPEAKERS IN THE QUEUE. THANK YOU. THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR THIS PRESENTATION IS NOW CLOSED. WE'LL NOW [CONSENT CALENDAR] MOVE ON TO CONSENT CALENDAR. CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS ONE THROUGH 10. PLEASE NOTE THAT ITEM ONE REQUIRES A FOUR FIFTHS VOTE. PUBLIC COMMENT WILL BE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES PER PERSON. FOR THOSE ATTENDING IN PERSON, PLEASE STEP UP TO THE PODIUM. FOR OUR REMOTE ATTENDEES, PLEASE USE THE RAISE HAND FEATURE ON ZOOM OR PRESS STAR NINE IF YOU'RE CALLING BY PHONE TO BETTER FACILITATE THE MEETING AND ENSURE FAIRNESS. WE WILL START WITH FIVE SPEAKERS IN PERSON, FOLLOWED BY FIVE REMOTE SPEAKERS UNTIL THE TIME IS EXPIRED. OKAY, AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN UP PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR THE CONSENT CALENDAR. ITEMS ONE THROUGH 10, SEEING NONE, WE'LL CHECK ON THE ONLINE PORTAL. MR. CHAIR, I HAVE NO REMOTE SPEAKERS IN THE QUEUE. OKAY. THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR THE CONSENT CALENDAR. ITEMS ONE THROUGH 10 IS NOW CLOSED. WE'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE DIOCESE THERE. FURTHER DISCUSSION ON ANY OF THESE ITEMS. IF NOT, I DO HAVE A MOTION BY SUPERVISOR PACHECO, SECONDED BY SUPERVISOR PEREIRA. LET'S CALL FOR THE VOTE [00:35:02] RECORD THE VOTE. MOTION PASSES. WE'LL NOW [BOARD ACTION] MOVE ON TO BOARD ACTION. BOARD ACTION ITEMS. PUBLIC PUBLIC COMMENT WILL BE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES PER PERSON. FOR THOSE ATTENDING IN PERSON, PLEASE STEP UP TO THE PODIUM. FOR OUR REMOTE ATTENDEES, PLEASE USE THE RAISE HAND FEATURE ON ZOOM, OR PRESS STAR NINE IF YOU'RE CALLING BY PHONE TO BETTER FACILITATE THE MEETING AND ENSURE FAIRNESS. WE WILL START WITH FIVE SPEAKERS IN PERSON, FOLLOWED BY FIVE REMOTE SPEAKERS UNTIL THE TIME HAS EXPIRED. OKAY, WE'LL NOW BEGIN WITH, WITH PROBATION. ITEM 11. AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN UP PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR PROBATION. ITEM NUMBER 11. SEEING NONE, WE'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE DIOCESE WITH OUR FIRMER. WELL, LET ME CHECK FOR THE ONLINE PORTAL. MR. CHAIR, THERE'S NO REMOTE SPEAKERS IN THE QUEUE. OKAY, THANK YOU. UH, WE WILL BRING IT BACK TO THE DAIS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION. IF NOT, I DO HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR BY SUPERVISOR PEREIRA, SECONDED BY SUPERVISOR SRA. WE'LL GO AHEAD AND, UH, CALL FOR THE VOTE. RECORD THE VOTE. MOTION PASSES. NEXT WE HAVE COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFICE ITEM 12. AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN A PUBLIC COMMENT FOR COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFICE ITEM NUMBER 12. SEEING NOBODY IN THE ROOM, WE'LL CHECK FOR THE ONLINE PORTAL. MR. CHAIR, THERE ARE NO REMOTE SPEAKERS IN THE QUEUE. OKAY, THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFICE ITEM 12 IS NOW CLOSED. WE'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE DIOCESE. I ALREADY HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. SO, MOTION BY SUPERVISOR PEDROSO. SECOND BY SUPERVISOR PACHECO. WE'LL, IF THERE'S NO FURTHER DISCUSSION, WE'LL CALL FOR THE VOTE. RECORD THE VOTE. MOTION PASSES. NEXT, WE HAVE BOARD APPOINTMENTS. ITEM 13. AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN UP PUBLIC COMMENT FOR BOARD APPOINTMENTS. ITEM NUMBER 13, SEE NOBODY IN THE ROOM. WE'LL GO AHEAD AND LOOK FOR THE ONLINE PORTAL. MR. CHAIR, WE HAVE NO REMOTE SPEAKERS IN THE QUEUE. THANK YOU. THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR BOARD APPOINTMENT ITEM 13 IS NOW CLOSED. WE'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE DS ALREADY HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR BY SUPERVISOR PEREIRA, SECONDED BY SUPERVISOR PEDROSO. IF THERE'S NO FURTHER COMMENTS, WE'LL CALL FOR THE VOTE. RECORD THE VOTE. MOTION PASSES. NEXT, WE HAVE [BOARD INFORMATION & POSSIBLE ACTION] BOARD INFORMATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION. ITEM 14. AT THIS TIME, CEO HENDRICKSON WILL PROVIDE COMMENTS ON ITEM NUMBER 14. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. AND AGAIN, GOOD MORNING TO BOTH YOU AND THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD REGARDING ITEM 14. I JUST WANNA BRIEFLY HIGHLIGHT TWO IMPORTANT UNDERPINNINGS OF THE BOARD'S 2025 THROUGH 2028 STRATEGIC PLAN. BOTH HIGH ON YOUR LIST IS CUSTOMER SERVICE AND RESIDENT ENGAGEMENT. ON THE CUSTOMER SERVICE SIDE OF THINGS, WE JUST RECENTLY LAUNCHED OUR HAPPIER NOT SURVEY KIOSKS, UH, AT THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING. THIS GIVES US A, A SIMPLE WAY TO GET IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK FROM THE PEOPLE WE SERVE. UH, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, HOW TO MEASURE WE'RE, HOW WE'RE, WELL WE'RE DOING ON RESIDENT ENGAGEMENT. I DID WANNA TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY THAT IN THE COMING WEEKS WE'LL BE LAUNCHING A COMMUNITY SURVEY THAT GIVES RESIDENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO TELL US WHAT MATTERS MOST, UH, TO THEM AND WHAT THEY SEE AS PRIORITIES FOR OUR COMMUNITY. THAT FEEDBACK WILL, OF COURSE HELP INFORM FUTURE DECISIONS, AND THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT THIS BOARD WAS ALSO VERY INTERESTED IN. AND WITH THAT WE DO WANNA TAKE MAYBE AN OPPORTUNITY, 'CAUSE IT'S, IT'S A SHORT VIDEO TO THAT WAS PRODUCED BY OUR PUBLIC AFFAIRS TEAM TO HELP GET THE WORD OUT AND, AND ENCOURAGE RESIDENTS TO PARTICIPATE. THIS IS GOING TO BE ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS IN THE DAYS AHEAD. AND AGAIN, JUST IN SHORT, THIS IS REALLY ABOUT, UH, OBVIOUSLY THE BOARD'S COMMITMENT, UH, TO LISTENING, LEARNING, AND CONTINUING TO PROVE AND IMPROVE HOW WE, UH, SERVE THE PEOPLE OF MERCED COUNTY. SO WITH THAT, I THINK HEATHER'S GONNA JUST, UH, IT'S ABOUT A MINUTE LONG. JUST WANNA SHARE WITH YOU SOMETHING THAT'S GONNA BE LIVE SOON. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. BIG DECISION TO START WITH LISTENING. COMING SOON, WE'LL BE LAUNCHING OUR NEW RESIDENT PRIORITY SURVEY, A NEW WAY FOR RESIDENTS TO SHARE WHAT MATTERS MOST AS WE PLAN FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR COUNTY. THE SURVEY WILL ASK RESIDENTS TO RANK PRIORITIES IN KEY AREAS, INCLUDING ROADS, PUBLIC SAFETY LIBRARY, AS WELL AS PARKS, HOUSING, FLOOD MITIGATION, AND MORE. YOUR FEEDBACK WILL HELP COUNTY LEADERSHIP BETTER UNDERSTAND COMMUNITY PRIORITIES. AS BUDGET DECISIONS ARE MADE AND LIMITED RESOURCES ARE ALLOCATED, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO ACCESS IT ONLINE WITH YOUR COMPUTER OR MOBILE DEVICE. AND IT'LL ONLY TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO COMPLETE. EVERY RESPONSE WILL HELP ENSURE COMMUNITY VOICES ARE A PART OF THE CONVERSATION. YOUR PERSPECTIVE MATTERS, AND WE WANNA HEAR FROM YOU. ON BEHALF OF THE MERCED COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR UPCOMING RESIDENT PRIORITY SURVEY. [00:40:01] WATCH FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SURVEY THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 9TH. WE ENCOURAGE EVERY RESIDENT TO PARTICIPATE WHEN IT LAUNCHES AND TO HELP SHAPE THE FUTURE OF OUR COUNTY. TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS THAT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES OF OUR COMMUNITY. OKAY, THANK YOU. AT THIS TIME, WE'LL OPEN UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT ON BORROWED INFORMATION. ITEM NUMBER 14, WE'LL CHECK FOR THE ONLINE PORTAL. MR. CHAIR, WE HAVE NO REMOTE SPEAKERS IN THE QUEUE. OKAY, THANK YOU. THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR BOARD INFORMATION ITEM 14 IS NOW CLOSED. WE'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE DAIS. AND I ALREADY HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR BY SUPERVISOR SRA, SECOND VICE SUPERVISOR PERRERA. UH, IF THERE'S NO OTHER QUESTIONS, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND CALL FOR THE VOTE RECORD THE VOTE MOTION PASSES. AT THIS TIME, WE'LL TAKE A 10 MINUTE BREAK TO ALLOW STAFF TO TRANSITION TO THE FINAL BUDGET HEARING AGENDA. THANK YOU. AT [Additional Item 1] THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN UP FINAL BUDGET HEARING FOR FISCAL YEAR 26, 27. PUBLIC OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ON ITEMS INCLUDED ON THE BUDGET CALENDAR WILL BE HEARD AFTER EACH ITEM IS ANNOUNCED. AND IF APPLICABLE, PRESENTATION OF THE ITEM TESTIMONY IS LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES PER PERSON. FOR THOSE ATTENDING IN PERSON, PLEASE STEP UP TO THE PODIUM. FOR OUR REMOTE ATTENDEES, PLEASE USE THE RAISE HAND FEATURE ON ZOOM OR PRESS STAR NINE IF YOU'RE CALLING BY PHONE TO BETTER FACILITATE THE MEETING AND ENSURE FAIRNESS. WE WILL START WITH FIVE SPEAKERS IN PERSON, FOLLOWED BY FIVE REMOTE SPEAKERS UNTIL THE TIME HAS EXPIRED. HM. AND SPANISH TRANSLATORS ARE AVAILABLE IF NEEDED. OKAY, AT THIS TIME, WE WILL HAVE PRESENTATION OF THE MERCED COUNTY FISCAL YEAR 20 26, 20 27 FINAL BUDGET BY THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFICE. I WILL NOW TURN OVER THE, TURN THE MIC OVER TO COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFICER MARK HENDRICKSON. THANK YOU MR. CHAIRMAN, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AGAIN. GOOD MORNING. UH, TODAY WE ARE PLEASED, UH, TO PRESENT TO YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION. THE FINAL BUDGET FOR FY 26 27. THIS IS A $1.23 BILLION BUDGET THAT IS BOTH THOUGHTFUL AND REFLECTIVE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT LIE AHEAD. AT ITS CORE, THIS BUDGET IS ABOUT PEOPLE. IT REFLECTS THE BOARD'S PRIORITIES AND OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO PROVIDE THE ESSENTIAL SERVICES OUR RESIDENTS RELY ON EVERY DAY. FROM PUBLIC SAFETY AND HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES TO INFRASTRUCTURE, ROADS, AND THE MANY OTHER SERVICES THAT KEEP OUR COMMUNITIES MOVING FORWARD. BUT PROVIDING THOSE SERVICES REQUIRES STRONG FISCAL DISCIPLINE, WHICH HAS BEEN A HALLMARK OF THIS BOARD. OUR COSTS ARE GOING UP, OUR REVENUES ARE SLOWING, AND WE HAVE SIGNIFICANT FINANCIAL CHALLENGES AHEAD. THE SPENDING DECISIONS MADE TODAY WILL DIRECTLY AFFECT OUR ABILITY TO SUSTAIN SERVICES FOR OUR RESIDENTS IN FUTURE YEARS. NOW, LIKE FAMILIES AT HOME, COUNTIES ARE NOT IMMUNE TO INFLATIONARY PRESSURES. THE COST OF SUPPLIES, FUEL, ENERGY, CONTRACTS, CONSTRUCTION, AND DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS ALL CONTINUE TO CLIMB. HEALTHCARE COSTS ARE ALSO RISING AT ADDING PRESSURE TO THE COUNTY'S EMPLOYEE BENEFIT OBLIGATIONS. AND FROM A REVENUE PERSPECTIVE, GROWTH IS CURRENTLY UNCERTAIN. SALES TAX HAS BEEN RELATIVELY FLAT AMID BROADER ECONOMIC PRESSURES. WE CANNOT BUILD OUR ONGOING SPENDING ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT REVENUES WILL QUICKLY CATCH UP TO THESE ESCALATING COSTS. WE ARE SEEING THESE FISCAL PRESSURES ACROSS CALIFORNIA, AND THIS IS FAR FROM UNIQUE TO MERCED COUNTY. OTHER COUNTIES ARE TAKING DIFFICULT STEPS TO REDUCE ONGOING COSTS, INCLUDING ELIMINATING FILLED POSITIONS. THANKFULLY, WE ARE NOT IN THAT POSITION TODAY, BUT IT UNDERSCORES THE IMPORTANCE OF SLOWING OUR SPENDING AND CONTINUING TO DEMONSTRATE FISCAL DISCIPLINE MOVING FORWARD. ASSISTANT CEO DAVID MARIANI WILL, UH, SHOW A SLIDE LATER IN THE PRESENTATION THAT PUTS THE BROADER COUNTY FISCAL ENVIRONMENT INTO A MORE CLEARER PERSPECTIVE. WE ALSO CONTINUE TO ABSORB ADDITIONAL COSTS FROM UNFUNDED AND UNDERFUNDED STATE MANDATES. AND WE NEED TO ADDRESS COSTS THAT HAVE BEEN DEFERRED. OUR FACILITIES, EQUIPMENT, AND INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIRE CAREFUL PLANNED INVESTMENT. DELAYING MAINTENANCE TODAY CAN MEAN HIGHER COSTS AND SERVICE DISRUPTIONS TOMORROW. AND THESE ULTIMATELY AFFECT THE SERVICES THAT OUR RESIDENTS RECEIVE. THIS MAKES OUR RESERVES EQUALLY AND ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT. RESERVES GIVE US THE SECURITY AND CAPACITY TO RESPOND TO EMERGENCIES, REVENUE, SHORTFALLS, AND COST THAT WE CANNOT PREDICT. GROWING OUR RESERVES IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF PROTECTING THE COUNTY'S ABILITY TO SERVE OUR RESIDENTS PROSPECTIVELY. AND IN THAT REGARD, THERE IS SIGNIFICANT UNCERTAINTY AHEAD. WE CONTINUE TO ASSESS THE POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF HR ONE AND OUR LABOR AGREEMENTS EXPIRE ON JUNE 30TH, 2027. BOTH COULD MATERIALLY AFFECT MATERIALLY AFFECT FUTURE BUDGETS. WE NEED TO PRESERVE FLEXIBILITY [00:45:01] NOW SO WE HAVE OPTIONS LATER AND CAN CONTINUE MEETING OUR SERVICE RESPONSIBILITIES. AND THAT IS WHY THIS BUDGET TAKES A MEASURED APPROACH. ONE, IT FUNDS THE BOARD'S PRIORITIES. TWO, IT PROTECTS CORE SERVICES. THREE, IT MAKES RESPONSIBLE FINANCIAL DECISIONS. AND FOUR, IT LIMITS NEW ONGOING COMMITMENTS. ULTIMATELY, OUR GOAL IS STRAIGHTFORWARD, IS TO DELIVER THE SERVICES THAT OUR RESIDENTS NEED TODAY WHILE PROTECTING OUR ABILITY TO DELIVER THOSE SERVICES. TOMORROW. AS I CLOSE OUT MY INITIAL COMMENTS, I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT, UH, TO THANK THE BOARD FOR ITS LEADERSHIP AND ALSO RECOGNIZE AUDITOR CONTROLLER LISA CADEL, CARDELL PRESTO, AND HER TEAM FOR THEIR EXCEPTIONAL WORK AND CLOSE COLLABORATION WITH THE CEO'S OFFICE THROUGHOUT THE BUDGET PROCESS. AND ALSO A SINCERE THANK YOU TO OUR DEPARTMENT HEADS, BUDGET STAFF AND OUR HR TEAM FOR THE TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK THAT WENT INTO DEVELOPMENT, UH, INTO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS BUDGET. AND WITH THAT, MR. CHAIRMAN, I'LL TURN OVER TO THE ASSISTANT CEO TO WALK THE BOARD THROUGH YOUR FINAL BUDGET, UH, FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION TODAY. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. THANK YOU, DAVID. YOU'RE GONNA WOW US WITH A REALLY GOOD PRESENTATION, RIGHT? YES, SIR. SO, GOOD MORNING MR. CHAIR. MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, CEO, HENDRICKSON COUNTY COUNCIL HANSON. AS CEO HENDRICKSON MENTIONED EARLIER, TODAY'S BUDGET IS BALANCED. IT'S FULLY FUNDED, YET THE GENERAL FUND IS RELIANT ON AVAILABLE FUND BALANCE. CURRENT REVENUES COMBINED WITH AVAILABLE FUND BALANCE ACCUMULATED IN PRIOR YEARS PROVIDE SUFFICIENT RESOURCES TO SUPPORT THIS FISCAL YEAR'S EXPENDITURES. USING FUND BALANCE IS NOT UNUSUAL. OTHER CALIFORNIA'S COUNTIES ARE ALSO USING FUND BALANCE OR RESERVES IN FISCAL YEAR 26 27. THE KEY QUESTION IS WHETHER THAT USE IS PLANNED, PRUDENT, AND SUSTAINABLE FUND BALANCE PROVIDES A BRIDGE, NOT A PERMANENT SOLUTION, AS IT ALLOWS THE COUNTY TO MAKE MEASURED FISCAL ADJUSTMENTS RATHER THAN IMMEDIATE REDUCTIONS THAT COULD UNNECESSARILY DISRUPT SERVICES. AS WE CONSIDER OUR BUDGET TODAY, THREE ECONOMIC INDICATORS WARRANT ATTENTION AS THEY IMPACT NOT ONLY OUR FUTURE REVENUE, BUT OUR EXPENDITURES AS WELL. US CONSUMER PRICES ROSE 3.4% OVER THE YEAR THROUGH AUGUST, 2026, WHICH INCREASES OUR OPERATING AND CONSTRUCTION COSTS. AS ERIC AND HIS PROSPERO PRESENTATION MENTIONED JUST MINUTES AGO, MERCED COUNTY'S, UH, UNEMPLOYMENT RATE WAS 8.9% IN IN AUGUST SIGNALING ONGOING PRESSURE ON HOUSEHOLD SPENDING AND DEMAND FOR COUNTY SERVICES. I BELIEVE THAT THE PRESENTATION YOU HEARD EARLIER REALLY TIES IN WELL WITH HOW THE WORK OF THAT DEPARTMENT IMPACTS SO MANY OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND HOW WE'RE ALL INTERTWINED AND ULTIMATELY CAN AFFECT BOTH OUR REVENUES AND OUR EXPENDITURES BECAUSE AS PEOPLE NEED OUR SERVICES, THAT CAN IMPACT THE EXPENDITURE SITE AS WELL. AND THEN THE AVERAGE 30 YEAR MORTGAGE RATE REACHED 7.03% ON SEPTEMBER 24TH, RAISING, BORROWING COSTS AND POTENTIALLY SLOWING HOUSING ACTIVITY. SO COLLECTIVELY, WE MUST FOCUS ON ACHIEVING A LONG-TERM STRUCTURAL BALANCE. AND IT'S MY PRIVILEGE TO PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF TODAY'S FINAL BUDGET FOR YOUR BOARD'S CONSIDERATION. AND SO WE'LL START WITH THE FIRST SLIDE. AND SO AS WE COME BACK WITH FINAL BUDGET, IT'S IN A, IT'S BASICALLY OUR AMENDED BUDGET THAT WE BROUGHT FORWARD IN JUNE, WHICH WE CALL OUR PROPOSED BUDGET. AND SO WHAT HAPPENS IS, IS AS THE DEPARTMENTS PREPARE THEIR BUDGETS, IT'S REALLY HONESTLY A YEAR LONG PROCESS. I MEAN, WE WILL, WE WILL START WORKING ON NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET AS SOON AS WE'RE DONE WITH THIS YEAR'S BUDGET. AND SO WHAT HAPPENS IS, IS OUR DEPARTMENTS SUBMIT THEIR BUDGET REQUESTS AND THEIR NEEDS BASED ON, UM, THEIR DEPARTMENT REQUIREMENTS AND, UH, PROJECTED FUNDING, AS WE MENTIONED, OFTEN THAT, YOU KNOW, A, A MAJORITY OF OUR FUNDS ARE EITHER FEDERAL OR STATE THAT COME IN AND COME IN WITH, UM, WITH REQUIREMENTS. AND MANY OF THOSE ARE PASSED IN THE STATE BUDGET PROCESS. WELL, THE STATE BUDGET TYPICALLY PASSES TOWARDS THE VERY END OF JUNE FAR BEFORE WE ARE IN A POSITION TO THEN TAKE THAT INFORMATION, PREPARE THE BUDGET, AND BRING IT FORWARD. SO WE BRING A PROPOSED BUDGET FORWARD WITH OUR, UH, ESTIMATES. AND THAT GIVES US, ONCE APPROVED, THE SPENDING AUTHORITY FROM JULY ONE FORWARD. WE ALSO ARE IN A POSITION WHERE UNLESS THERE'S A DIRE EMERGENCY, WE CANNOT DO BUDGET TRANSFERS IN BETWEEN THE ADOPTION OF PROPOSED BUDGET AND TODAY'S FINAL BUDGET. AND SO WHAT WE DO IS, IS WE LOOK AND WE SAY, OKAY, FOR PROPOSED BUDGET, WE HAD, AND I'LL ROUND $1.2 BILLION OF TOTAL APPROPRIATION. SO THAT'S OUR SPEND. AND WHAT WE ARE BRINGING TODAY IS AN INCREASE OF $34.7 MILLION UP TO $1.231 BILLION. AND SO YOU'LL HEAR US TALK ABOUT OTHER FUNDS AND GENERAL FUNDS ON OUR OTHER FUNDS. UM, WE HAVE SOME LISTED THERE. THAT'S OUR ROADS, CASTLE FIRE JAIL PROJECTS, THE PLANADA 20 M PROGRAM, CHILD SUPPORT [00:50:01] SPRING FAIR, AND THE RESCUE PLAN, UM, THAT RESCUE PLAN PROJECT WILL END DURING THIS FISCAL YEAR AS OF DECEMBER 31ST, 2026. SO THAT WILL FALL OUT AND WILL NOT BE INCLUDED IN NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET AND THEN YOUR GENERAL FUND. AND SO, UM, OUR OTHER FUNDS HAVE INCREASED $26.8 MILLION FROM PROPOSED TO FINAL WITH THE GENERAL FUND, UH, INCREASING BY 8 MILLION FOR OUR GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENT REVENUE. SO OUR DEPARTMENTS BRING IN REVENUE. WE TALK ABOUT SUBVENTED DEPARTMENTS. THOSE ARE THE DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE REVENUE ALIGNED WITH THEIR, WITH THEIR EXPENSES. SO IN THE GENERAL FUND, WE BRING IN $630.8 MILLION OF REVENUE FOR FINAL BUDGET REQUIRING A NET COUNTY COST OF $223.5 MILLION. SO OUR DEPARTMENTAL REVENUE IS UP 10.5 OR 10.6 MILLION. AND OUR NET COUNTY COST FROM PROPOSED TO FINAL IS ACTUALLY DOWN TO 0.6 MILLION. AND WE'LL GET INTO THE ADJUSTMENTS, UH, THAT THAT TIE ALL BACK INTO THAT. SO THE GENERAL PURPOSE REVENUE, AND YOU'LL HEAR THAT THROUGHOUT THE PRESENTATION, THINK OF THAT IS YOUR REVENUE THAT WE ARE PROJECTED TO RECEIVE IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, RIGHT? OUR BUDGET IS OUR, IS OUR PLAN. WE PLAN TO RECEIVE THAT REVENUE. AND SO IF YOU TAKE THE 223 AND YOU, YOU SAID THESE ARE OUR NET COUNTY COSTS, WE HAVE THIS COMING IN AS REVENUE AS OUR BUDGETED, UM, ESTIMATES, THEN THAT LEAVES A SHORTFALL OF 69.6 MILLION, 69.96. AND SO THAT'S WHERE THE AVAILABLE FUND BALANCE. SO WHEN YOU HEAR US SAY FUND BALANCE, FUND BALANCE IS WHAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE FROM PREVIOUS YEARS. SO FROM THE INCEPTION OF THE GENERAL FUND, WHAT'S IT BROUGHT IN, WHAT HAVE WE SPENT? WHAT IS REMAINING? AND SO WE'RE BRINGING THAT FORWARD TO BALANCE, UM, THE BUDGET OVERALL. AND THAT'S WHERE WE SAY THAT WE HAVE A FULLY BALANCED BUDGET. ONE THING I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT IS WE HAVE A, AT PROPOSED, OUR FIGURES FACTORED IN $76 MILLION OF AVAILABLE FUND BALANCE. SO WE'VE, WE PROJECTED THAT WE WOULD FINISH THE YEAR, UM, WITH $76 MILLION AVAILABLE TO PROGRAM INTO THIS NEXT FISCAL YEAR. SO AFTER PROPOSED, WE ALSO GO THROUGH A PROCESS WHERE WE CLOSE THE BOOKS WITH THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE AND IT'S A, IT'S A VERY, VERY, UH, UH, COLLABORATIVE PROCESS WHERE INVOICES ARE BEING CLOSED OUT, CONTRACTS ARE BEING CLOSED, AND ULTIMATELY THAT TELLS US WHAT OUR FINAL NUMBERS ARE. THE BOOKS ARE CLOSED. WE ESTIMATED 76 MILLION. IT'S 69.696. AND THOSE ARE THE FACTS. I CAN'T GO BACK. THAT'S NOT A BUDGET ESTIMATE NUMBER. THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE TO WORK WITH. SO PART OF WHAT WE DO IS WE THEN GO BACK AND WE LOOK TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO BRING FORWARD A BALANCED BUDGET. IF I DID NOT, YOU KNOW, LOOK TO BALANCE THAT $6 MILLION, YOU WOULD NOT HAVE A BALANCED BUDGET. SO OVERALL, WE LOOKED AT OUR GENERAL PURPOSE REVENUE. WE TOOK A LOOK AT WHAT CAME IN THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE FISCAL YEAR THAT'S IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR AUDITOR CONTROLLER'S OFFICE, AND FELT THAT WE WERE ABLE TO INCREASE OUR PROJECTED REVENUES BY 3.4 MILLION. BUT AGAIN, WE HAD TO ADJUST OUR AVAILABLE FUND BALANCE DOWN BY $6 MILLION. SO WE HAVE $6 MILLION LESS, BUT WE ARE STRONGLY BELIEVING THAT WE'LL HAVE 3.4 MILLION MORE OF GENERAL PURPOSE REVENUE, WHICH LEAVES A SHORTFALL OF $2.6 MILLION. SO THEN WE HAVE TO GO IN AND, AND, AND MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO BALANCE. AND SO WITH THAT, WE LOOKED AT HOW OUR GENERAL LIABILITY AND WORKERS' COMP, UH, WAS BEING CHARGED, UM, AND, AND HOW OUR RATE STRUCTURE WA WAS, UH, DEVELOPED AND LOOKED AT HOW THE, UM, THE CHARGING BACK TO DEPARTMENTS AND IN AN ACCOUNTING, UM, IN OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR AUDITOR CONTROLLER'S OFFICE, WE WERE ABLE TO, UM, ADJUST THAT BY $2 MILLION. NOW, I WILL SAY THAT, UM, WE STRONGLY ANTICIPATE THAT OUR, BOTH OUR WORKERS' COMP AND GENERAL LIABILITY RATES WILL GO UP IN FUTURE BUDGET YEARS. AND THAT REALLY IS A ONE-TIME ADJUSTMENT. UM, OUR ADJUSTMENTS TO PERSONNEL COSTS AND POSITIONS. SO IN YOUR, UH, BUDGET PACKAGE, THERE IS A BOARD AGENDA ITEM THAT HAS, UM, DIFFERENT POSITION ADJUSTMENTS, UH, VACANCY DELETIONS, A HANDFUL OF PO POSITION ADDITIONS. OVERALL, THAT NET, UM, OF IMPACT IS 246,000 AND INCREASE TO UTILITIES. AND THIS IS, ALL OF THIS IS FROM PROPOSED TO FINAL FROM WHEN WE WERE UP LAST IN FRONT OF YOU IN JUNE. UM, AN INCREASE OF 518,000 FOR OUR UTILITIES ACROSS ALL OF OUR, OUR, OUR, UH, FACILITIES OR A MAJORITY OF OUR FACILITIES. AND SO AGAIN, WHEN WE GO BACK AND WE CLOSE OUT OUR BOOKS, WE'RE ABLE TO SEE, OKAY, HOW DID THOSE LAST FEW MONTHS REALLY PLAY OUT? WE HAVE RISING ENERGY COSTS AND, [00:55:01] YOU KNOW, THOSE GET PASSED ON TO US. WE'RE A BUSINESS LIKE, NO, LIKE EVERY OTHER BUSINESS OUT THERE. SO WE HAD TO, IN WORKING WITH PUBLIC WORKS, INCREASE THAT BY NEARLY $520,000. UH, WE DID HAVE, UM, SOME GRANT DOLLARS THAT CAME IN THROUGH BEHAVIORAL HEALTH TO HELP OFFSET SOME OF THE COSTS OF OUR INDIGENT DEFENSE, UH, SERVICES. THAT IS, UM, VERY TIMELY BECAUSE WITHOUT THOSE DOLLARS, THAT WOULD BE $420,000 THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO FIND, UM, THROUGH REDUCTIONS. UM, A DECREASE FOR PROGRESS WITH THE PUBLIC SAFETY RADIO PROJECT. SO PART OF WHAT WE DO WHEN WE GO THROUGH, WE, WE HAVE OUR PROJECTIONS OF WHERE WE THINK THE YEAR IS GOING TO END WITH CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, WITH BIG PROJECTS. AND THEN WE LOOK AT WHERE THE BILLS ACTUALLY LANDED, WHERE WE'RE AT IN THE PROCESS. AND SO BY THE PROGRESS THAT WAS BEING MADE, YOU KNOW, THOSE DOLLARS WERE BASICALLY SPENT IN THE PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR. AND SO WE DON'T NEED TO BUDGET FOR THOSE AGAIN 'CAUSE THEY'VE ALREADY BEEN REALIZED. UM, IN THE PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR, I'M GONNA TRANSFER IN FOR OUR OFFSET OF PARK IMPROVEMENT. SO WE'RE ABLE TO USE SOME, UH, TRUST FUNDING TO OFFSET THE, UH, ANNUAL PARK IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. AGAIN, THAT'S ONE TIME DOLLARS. AND, UM, INCREASE FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, AS YOU'LL SEE IN YOUR, IN YOUR BOARD AGENDA ITEMS ARE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS FOR OUR NET COUNTY COSTS FUNDED, UH, PROJECTS KEPT REALLY, REALLY LOW AND PRIMARILY FOR SAFETY AND, YOU KNOW, BUILDING ISSUES NOT FOR NEW PROJECTS. OUR REDUCED COST SHARE FOR HSA AND INCREASE TO ASSISTANCE OF NEEDY BOTH BASICALLY THOSE NET OUT. AND THOSE ARE PART OF, YOU KNOW, YOU'LL HEAR US SAY THAT OUR VENTED DEPARTMENTS, SOME OF THEM ACTUALLY HAVE A LOCAL CONTRIBUTION THAT THEY HAVE TO ALSO PUT INTO THE POT. AND SO, UM, THERE WERE SOME ADJUSTMENTS THERE, BUT AGAIN, THOSE NET OUT TO TO ZERO. AND THEN, UM, ALL OF OUR OTHER SMALLER DEPARTMENTAL ADJUSTMENTS NET OUT TO 7,800. UM, BUT THESE ONETIME ADJUSTMENTS, ANYTIME THAT YOU INCREASE YOUR REVENUES, THE ONETIME ADJUSTMENT ON OUR INSURANCE SIDE, ONETIME TRUST FUNDING, THEN THOSE ARE ALL ONETIME. SO WE HAVE TO BE MINDFUL OF THAT BECAUSE WE DON'T WANNA PROGRAM THAT FOR NEXT YEAR BECAUSE THAT WILL NO LONGER BE AVAILABLE. SO THIS IS A GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF THE PREVIOUS SLIDE. BASICALLY THE, THE GRAPH TO YOUR LEFT SHOWS THE 854 MILLION OR YOUR GREEN SLOT, YOUR GREEN SLICE OF THE PIE. THAT IS OUR GENERAL FUND WITH OUR OTHER FUNDS COMPRISING OF THE OTHER 31% OR 377 MILLION. AND THEN WE SHOW A BREAKOUT OF HOW WE GET TO THAT 69%. AND SO 630.8 MILLION, THIS IS HOW WE'RE, THIS IS HOW WE'RE PAYING FOR IT. SO OF THE 600 OR THE 854,000,631 MILLION IS THE REVENUES THAT THE DEPARTMENTS ARE BRINGING IN. UM, YOU HEARD DIRECTOR SERATO MENTION, YOU KNOW, THAT THEY BRING IN DOLLARS AND THEN THEY TURN AROUND AND SPEND THOSE DOLLARS. SO IN THAT PARTICULAR CASE, THE REVENUE WOULD BE A DEPARTMENTAL REVENUE AND THE EXPENSE WOULD BE IN THAT GREEN SIDE, GREEN SIDE, BUT NOT ALL DEPARTMENTS ARE FULLY FUNDED. AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE HAVE TO BALANCE. AND SO THE 153.6 MILLION, THAT'S WHAT WE ANTICIPATE BRINGING IN FOR THIS CURRENT FISCAL YEAR. AND THE ROUNDED 70 MILLION IS THAT FUND BALANCE IN THE GENERAL FUND THAT WE BROUGHT FORWARD TO BALANCE THE BUDGET. SO THE USE OF ALL FUNDS. THIS GIVES YOU A, A BREAKDOWN OVERALL OF HOW ACROSS ALL OF THE FUNDS, HOW THOSE FUNDS ARE USED. AND THESE ARE ON OUR, OUR CATEGORIES. SO YOUR, YOUR SALARY AND BENEFITS OVERALL. AND AGAIN, THIS IS FROM PROPOSED TO FINAL. WE WERE ACTUALLY ABLE TO BRING THAT DOWN BY 2.1 MILLION. UM, BECAUSE THIS IS ALL FUNDS. SO THERE'S ALSO, UM, OVERALL, UH, POSITIONS IN, IN OTHER FUNDS, NOT JUST THE GENERAL FUND. OUR SERVICE AND SUPPLIES HAS COME DOWN 13.8 MILLION SINCE JUNE. UM, ARE OTHER CHARGES THAT'S ACTUALLY UP 9.6. AND THOSE ARE, UH, PRIMARILY DRIVEN BY YOUR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES, UM, MEDICAL FUNDED SERVICES THROUGH, UM, PUBLIC HEALTH. AND SO THERE IS, UH, TYPICALLY OFFSETTING REVENUE. AND SO THAT AGAIN, IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHEN THE STATE BUDGET PASSES AND DEPARTMENTS MAKE THEIR, UH, ADJUSTING ENTRIES BETWEEN PROPOSED AND FINAL BUDGET. OUR TRANSFERS ARE DOWN 2.3 MILLION, UH, CAPITAL ASSETS UP 43 POINT, UM, 3 MILLION. THESE ARE DUE TO OUR LARGER PROJECTS THAT, UM, TYPICALLY ARE CEMENTED. AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU WOULD SEE AN OFFSETTING REVENUE FOR THOSE AND THEN OUR CONTINGENCIES REMAINED UNCHANGED AT 6.8 MILLION. [01:00:02] SO THEN WHERE DO THESE DOLLARS COME FROM? SO WHAT WE DO IS WE BREAK THAT DOWN YOUR AID FROM OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. THIS IS PRIMARILY WHERE YOUR GRANTS, YOUR STATE FEDERAL FUNDING LIES. AND SO THAT IS UP BY 29 MILLION. AND YOU'LL SEE TO THE RIGHT WHERE WE HAVE THE AMOUNT OF LOCAL DISCRETIONARY FUNDING. SO THAT TIES BACK TO THE REVENUE THAT WE RECEIVE, UH, VIA, YOU KNOW, PROPERTY TAX, SALES TAX, THOSE TYPES OF, OF FUNDING STREAMS. AND SO WITH THOSE DOLLARS, THAT'S WHERE YOU HEAR US TALK ABOUT NET COUNTY COST. THAT'S WHERE WE HAVE TO PROGRAM IN AND, AND BALANCE FROM, UM, OUR TAXES UP $2.9 MILLION. UM, AGAIN, THAT'S, UH, PRIMARILY DRIVEN BY OUR WORK, UH, IN TANDEM WITH THE AUDITOR CONTROLLER'S OFFICE TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS. OTHER REVENUES INCLUDING, UH, OPERATING TRANSFERS IN THAT IS UP $8 MILLION. BUT AGAIN, UH, ONLY 200,000 OF THAT IS ON OUR LOCAL DISCRETIONARY SIDE CHARGES FOR CURRENT SERVICES. SO THAT'S AN INCREASE OF 4.5 MILLION USE OF MONEY AND PROPERTY. THIS WILL BE, UM, INTEREST EARNINGS LEASES, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS. UM, OUR LICENSES AND PERMITS, UH, NOMINALLY UP BY, YOU KNOW, A ROUNDED A HUNDRED THOUSAND, OUR FINES, FORFEITURES AND PENALTIES THAT HAS STAYED RELATIVELY STATIC. UM, AND AS YOU CAN TELL TO THE, TO THE RIGHT, MANY OF THOSE OTHER THAN TAXES ARE, ARE, ARE VERY SMALL IN OUR, UH, DISCRETIONARY USE. SO ULTIMATELY OVERALL, UM, OUR FUND BALANCE USAGE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE OUR TOTAL REVENUE OF, UH, 1 BILLION, UM, 1.053 BILLION WITH FUND BALANCE NEEDED OF 142 MILLION. AND THAT WAS AT PROPOSED. SO YOU CAN SEE WE'RE ACTUALLY BETWEEN PROPOSED AND ADOPTED, ABLE TO BRING THAT DOWN BY $10.8 MILLION OVERALL. AND THEN TO THE FAR RIGHT, THAT'S THE 153 MILLION THAT WE'LL BE BRINGING IN OF OUR, UH, OUR GENERAL PURPOSE REVENUE NEEDING 70 MILLION MILLION TO BALANCE. SO THIS SLIDE DEPICTS OUR BUDGET GROWTH OVERALL FROM 20 15 16 THROUGH THE 26 27 FISCAL YEAR. AND YOU CAN SEE WE HAD A SIGNIFICANT JUMP, UM, DURING THE PANDEMIC YEARS. YOU KNOW, YOU SAW AN INFUSION OF FEDERAL DOLLARS THROUGH RESCUE PLAN AND CARES, BUT REALLY THE BUDGET HAS CONTINUED, UH, TO GROW, UM, SINCE THEN. AND PRIMARILY DRIVEN BY, UM, NEW PROGRAMS THAT ARE BEING OPERATED IN OUR, IN OUR, UH, MORE OF OUR SOCIAL SERVICE TYPE DEPARTMENTS. ON THAT BLUE LINE DOWN AT THE BOTTOM SHOWS THE GROWTH OF OUR GENERAL PURPOSE REVENUES. AGAIN, THOSE ARE THE, THE TAXES AND THE DIFFERENT, UM, SOURCES THAT WE JUST COVERED, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT GROWTH AS WELL. SO, UM, AND THEN IF YOU GO TO THE FAR RIGHT AND YOU, YOU, YOU HAVE 153.6 OF GENERAL PURPOSE REVENUE. UM, YOU HAVE ALL OF THE DEPARTMENT REVENUE COMING IN AT 945, AND WITH A TOTAL SPEND OF 1.231. THAT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE YELLOW LINE AND THE BLUE LINE IS THE FUND BALANCE THAT WE NEED TO BRING FORWARD TO BALANCE ON THE GENERAL FUND. YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR ANNUAL FUND BALANCE, BRINGING THAT FORWARD TO BALANCE ON YOUR OTHER FUNDS, LET'S SAY FOR ROADS, FOR EXAMPLE. IT'S A LITTLE MORE COMMON TO SEE, YOU KNOW, A, A FUND BALANCE BRINGING BROUGHT FORWARD TO BALANCE A PROJECT BECAUSE YOU MAY HAVE BEEN SAVING FOR THAT PROJECT. A GOOD EXAMPLE IS A ROADS PROJECT. IF YOU'RE BRINGING IN $2 MILLION A YEAR OF ROAD FUNDING, AND YOU HAVE A $6 MILLION PROJECT, WELL, YOU MAY NOT SPEND ANYTHING YOUR FIRST COUPLE YEARS. AND IN THAT THIRD YEAR, YOU'RE USING 2 MILLION OF REVENUE AND 4 MILLION OF FUND BALANCE. SO YOU HAVE 6 MILLION TO GO FORWARD WITH. SO OUR APPROPRIATIONS AND OFFSETTING FUNDING BY FUNCTIONAL AREAS. SO WHAT THIS DOES IS THIS TAKES ALL OF OUR FUNDS. WE LOOK AT, UM, THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SERVICES THAT ARE CATEGORIZED. WE HAVE OUR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES. THAT IS, UH, WHEN YOU LOOK AT ALL FUNDS, OUR PRIMARY DRIVER OF SERVICES AT 44%, BUT YOU'LL NOTICE TO THE RIGHT, THIS IS WHERE THE FUNDING COMES IN. SO WHAT ARE WE SPENDING, HOW ARE WE PAYING FOR IT AS A, AS A WAY TO THINK OF IT. SO AS YOU CAN SEE, 43% OF OUR REVENUE FOR THOSE FUNCTIONS OFFSETS THE APPROPRIATION. AND AGAIN, THAT DELTA MAY BE LOCAL MATCH REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE REQUIRED. SO WE PROVIDE THESE SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE STATE, SOMETIMES OF THE FEDS THROUGH THE STATE. AND THEN THERE'S A OFTEN A LOCAL MATCH REQUIREMENT ON THE MUNICIPAL AND COUNTYWIDE SERVICES. UM, 28% OF OUR OVERALL TOTAL SPEND AT 346.7 MILLION WITH 277.4 MILLION [01:05:01] OF OFFSETTING REVENUE, OUR LOCAL PUBLIC SAFETY AND JUSTICE SYSTEM WITH, UH, OVER 196 MILLION OF TOTAL FUNDS. AND THOSE PROGRAMS COLLECTIVELY BRING IN, UM, A TOTAL OF 76.1 MILLION. AND THEN, UM, ON OUR, UH, SUPPORT SERVICES AND CIP, UM, PROJECTS, THAT'S AT 144.9 MILLION WITH, UH, 57.7 MILLION, UM, IN FUNDING. SO THAT COULD BE GRANTS AND DEPARTMENTAL REVENUE. IF A CEMENTED DEPARTMENT IS BUILDING SOMETHING, HAVING A, AN, UH, CIP DEVELOPED, THEN THEY WILL BRING THOSE, THOSE REVENUES FORWARD. AND AGAIN, THE HUNDRED AND THE BALANCE IS YOUR PURPLE, GREEN, AND PINK, UH, SLICES OF THE PIE RIGHT THERE WITH 153.6 OF GENERAL FUND REVENUE WE ANTICIPATE IN RECEIVING THIS FISCAL YEAR. AND THEN THE 70.0 IS THAT FUND BALANCE FOR THE GENERAL FUND. AND THEN THE 62 MILLION IS ALL OF THE OTHER, UH, FUNDS, THEIR FUND BALANCE THAT THEY'RE BRINGING FORWARD. SO APPROPRIATIONS WITH, UH, GENERAL PURPOSE REVENUE REQUIREMENTS. AND SO WHAT THIS SLIDE DOES IS IT SHOWS OVER OVERALL, UM, BASICALLY THOSE FOUR, THOSE CATEGORIES THAT WE SHOWED IN THE PREVIOUS PIE CHARTS, THAT WAS AN ANNUAL LOOK, THIS IS A FOUR YEAR LOOK, UH, THAT, UH, IS ABLE TO SHOW, UM, IF WE GO TO THE FAR RIGHT, YOU'RE ABLE TO SEE BY, UH, THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS THERE. IF WE TAKE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES FOR EXAMPLE, YOU CAN SEE THAT, UM, OF THAT $543.4 MILLION, UH, 3.1 IS BEING USED OF, OF OUR GENERAL PURPOSE REVENUE TO, UH, TO CONTRIBUTE TO BALANCE ON THAT SIDE. AND SO EACH OF THOSE SHOWS WHERE OUR GENERAL PURPOSE REVENUE, UH, IS BEING, UM, ALLOCATED TO, UH, TO PRESENT YOU WITH YOUR BALANCED BUDGET. SO THIS IS A SIMILAR VIEW, BUT WHAT IT DOES IS IT TAKES OUT ALL OF THE OTHER FUNDS AND JUST FOCUSES ON OUR GENERAL FUND. UM, AGAIN, YOU HAVE 513.5 MILLION IN OUR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES PRI UM, A MAJORITY OF OUR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENTS ARE, UH, THEIR BUDGET UNITS ARE WITHIN THE GENERAL FUND. AND SO, UM, FOR OFFSETTING REVENUE, WE'RE AT 505.9. SO AGAIN, VERY CLOSE, 60% TO 59% WITH THAT DELTA COMING IN, UM, TO PROVIDE THOSE, THOSE FUNDS OVERALL. AND, UM, 72.6 PER OR MILLION OF OUR MUNICIPAL AND COUNTYWIDE SERVICES WITH 28.3 MILLION OF OFFSETTING REVENUE ARE PUBLIC SAFETY AND JUSTICE AT 196.2 WITH THAT 76.1. AND THEN, UM, 72 MILLION OF SUPPORT SERVICES IN CIP ABOUT 20.5 MILLION OF OFFSETTING REVENUE. AND THEN AGAIN, UH, HOW WE BALANCE IS THAT PURPLE AND GREEN SLICE RIGHT THERE, PURPLE BEING WHAT WE INTEND TO BRING IN THIS YEAR. AND THE GREEN IS WHAT WE ARE USING FROM OUR, UH, OUR TOTAL AVAILABLE RESOURCES. SO FUNDING NEEDS BY THE GENERAL FUND. UM, AGAIN, THIS JUST GIVES YOU A SIMILAR LOOK, BUT, UH, HISTORIC BACK TO 1819 VIEW. AND SO IF I JUST FOCUS TO THE FAR RIGHT, YOU'RE ABLE TO SEE, UM, OVERALL THE FUNDING NEEDS. UM, SO THAT IS WHERE WE DO NOT HAVE THE REVENUE TO OFFSET. THE DEPARTMENTS AREN'T BRINGING IN THE REVENUE TO OFFSET. AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE BRING IN, UM, THAT DELTA. SO IF, IF WE LOOK THE, THE LINE GRAPH TO THE VERY, UH, THE VERY TOP, THAT'S OUR 153.6. AND IF YOU COLLECTIVELY SUM UP THE, THE, THE FOUR BARS, THAT GETS YOU TO YOUR 223 MILLION OF, OF NEEDS. AND SO THAT DELTA, THAT THAT IS NOT INCLUDED, IS YOUR AVAILABLE FUND BALANCE THAT WE'RE BRINGING FORWARD. SO THIS SLIDE HERE, UM, DEPICTS OF THAT 150, 3.6, UH, MILLION, UH, HOW THAT IS BEING ALLOCATED. THERE'S A SLIGHT CHANGE FROM PROPOSED TO FINAL, UM, MORE MORE ROUNDING THAN E THAN, THAN, THAN MOST THAN, UM, BASICALLY A LITTLE BIT OF ROUNDING. YOU WERE AT 79 AND FOR PUBLIC SAFETY AND JUSTICE AND ONE FOR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND THOSE OTHER TWO WE'RE STILL AT 10%. AND SO, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE, THAT, UH, OUR TEAM WILL BE DOING IS DOING A DEEP DIVE AND TAKING A, A ANOTHER LOOK AT THESE AND, AND LOOKING OVERALL COLLECTIVELY AT NOT ONLY THE 153.6, BUT THE AVAILABLE FUND BALANCE AS WELL, TO GET A BETTER PICTURE OF THAT TOTAL SPEND AS WELL AS SOME CLASSIFICATIONS, UM, FOR OUR SUPPORT SERVICES AND CIPS. SO CIPS ARE, ARE, ARE LUMPED IN THAT 10% WHERE ONE WAY TO VIEW IT, AND, UM, WE KEPT IT CONSISTENT FROM PROPOSED TO FINAL, BUT ONE WAY TO VIEW IT IS, WHERE'S THE BENEFIT OF THAT CIP GOING, RIGHT? [01:10:01] SO IF YOU'RE BUILDING SOMETHING FOR A PARTICULAR DEPARTMENT, SHOULD THAT COST, UM, BE A HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICE COST, IF WE'RE BUILDING A, A NEW WING IN, UH, DIRECTOR, CHECK LEAVE SHOP FOR HSA, RIGHT? RATHER THAN JUST THE STANDALONE OF HERE'S THINGS WE BUILD. AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE TAKING A DEEPER DIVE AND, AND, AND, AND, UH, WE'LL BRING THAT FORWARD, UH, TO YOU ALL. SO ACTUAL REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES IN THE GENERAL FUND. SO, YOU KNOW, IF, IF WE WERE TO CHART THIS BACK TO THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE GENERAL FUND, ULTIMATELY ALL OF THOSE DELTAS WOULD EQUAL YOUR AVAILABLE FUND BALANCE. SO THINK ABOUT IT FROM A PERSPECTIVE OF, YOU KNOW, WE HAD SAID THAT, THAT WE WERE, UM, IN A POSITION OF NEEDING TO USE, UM, MORE FUND BALANCE THIS YEAR FROM WHERE OUR PROJECTIONS WERE. WE SAID, WE, YOU KNOW, OUR PROJECTION CHANGED FROM, YOU KNOW, WE WERE AT, UH, 1.6 MILLION AT PROPOSED WHERE WE THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD DEPLETE SOME OF THE FUND BALANCE. AND WHEN THAT CAME IN, UH, IT ACTUALLY WAS AN ADDITIONAL 6 MILLION. AND SO IF YOU, FROM A ROUNDING PERSPECTIVE, THAT GETS YOU THE, ROUGHLY THE 7 MILLION. AND SO FROM THE 633 MILLION OF REVENUE, THIS IS WHAT WAS ACTUAL, THEN THE EXPENDITURE CAME IN AT, AT AT 640 MILLION. AND SO YOU ALWAYS ARE GOING TO HAVE A DELTA FROM YOUR BUDGETED TO YOUR ACTUAL, UM, MANY OF OUR, UH, SERVICES THAT ARE IN THE GENERAL FUND, AS YOU REMEMBER, THAT LARGE SLICE OF THE PIE WAS IN OUR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SIDE OF THE HOUSE. SO THEY'RE BUDGETING FOR ANTICIPATED SERVICE THAT THEY WOULD DRAW DOWN REVENUE AGAINST. AND SO IF THAT SERVICE WAS NOT REALIZED, THEN THE REVENUE IS NOT REALIZED. SO THAT COLLECTIVELY BRINGS BOTH OF THOSE DOWN. UM, WHERE, UM, OTHER AREAS ARE YOUR VACANCIES. SO AS YOU'VE SEEN, YOU'VE HAD, UM, OUR VACANCY RATE HAS CONTINUED TO SHRINK, WHICH IS A GOOD THING, RIGHT? WE'RE, WE'RE FILL IN POSITIONS. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY WHEN, YOU KNOW, CA BUDGETED POSITIONS ARE FULLY BUDGETED, SO WHEN A POSITION IS BUDGETED AND NOT FILLED WELL, THAT BECOMES, IF IT, IF IT'S NOT ON A CEMENTED SIDE, 'CAUSE THERE WOULD BE, AGAIN, NO REVENUE TO PULL DOWN. BUT ON A NON-SCENTED SIDE, WE ARE BUDGETING IN ANTICIPATION OF FILLING. WELL, IF THAT POSITION ISN'T FILLED OR THE PERSON WORKS FOR A COUPLE MONTHS AND TAKES A JOB SOMEWHERE ELSE, OR WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE, THEN YOU STILL HAVE THAT REVENUE, BUT YOUR EXPENSES WERE LOWER. SO THAT CREATES AVAILABLE FUND BALANCE. SO WHEN WE'VE HISTORICALLY BEEN AT HIGHER VACANCY RATES WHERE WE'RE IN A 15%, I'LL SEE, I'LL SAY AS AN EXAMPLE, AND THAT STARTS TO PUSH CLOSER TO SINGLE DIGITS THAN WHAT THAT DOES IS IT'S GOING TO LEAD TO LESS AVAILABLE FUND BALANCE WHEN YOU CLOSE OUT THE YEAR, RIGHT? BECAUSE YOU'RE SPENDING MORE OF WHAT YOU'RE APPROPRIATED. SO ONE WAY TO THINK ABOUT IT IS IF THE DEPARTMENTS SPENT EVERY DIME THAT WAS APPROPRIATED, YOU WOULD NOT HAVE THAT 70 MILLION IN THE NEXT YEAR. SO IT'S ONE WAY TO CONSIDER IT. SO THE BREAKDOWN OF THE YEAR END FUND BALANCE. SO WHAT HAPPENS THERE IS, YOU KNOW, WE'LL START AT THE VERY TOP. SO OVERALL TOTAL AVAIL, TOTAL FUND BALANCE, AND YOU'LL HEAR ME SAY AVAILABLE AND THEN TOTAL FUND BALANCE, RIGHT? SO YOUR TOTAL FUND BALANCE AT 132.9 MILLION, YOU HAVE A VERY SMALL LITTLE BLUE LINE UP THERE AT THE TOP CALLED NONS SPENDABLE. UM, THAT'S, UH, INVENTORY ITEMS. THERE'S ACTUAL CLASSIFICATIONS THAT THE AUDITOR WILL LOOK AT AND CLASSIFY CERTAIN THINGS AS, AS NONS SPENDABLE THAT USUALLY AVERAGES AT ABOUT A MILLION DOLLARS THAT YEAR. UM, OVER OUR LAST 11 YEARS, IT WAS ABOUT, WE WILL GET TO THAT, IT WAS ABOUT $1.1 MILLION. SO YOU'RE ALWAYS GONNA HAVE THAT HANGING IN THERE. I MEAN, IT'S BARELY EVEN SEE IT, BUT THAT IS NORMAL. THAT'S ALWAYS GONNA, YOU'RE ALWAYS GONNA HAVE THAT PIECE IN THERE. YOU THEN HAVE, AND WE'LL GET TO IT IN AN UPCOMING SLIDE, OUR, UM, COMMITTED RESERVES. SO WHEN WE BUILD THE BUDGET, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE LOOKING AT IS WE HAVE TO PAY OUR DEBTS, RIGHT? AND SO THE DEBTS GET PROGRAMMED, RIGHT? THAT'S BEFORE WE DO ANYTHING. WHO DO WE OWE? RIGHT? DO, DO WE BUDGET OUR MEASURE V BOND BOND, UH, PAYMENTS, RIGHT? SO WE START THERE, RIGHT? WE CAN'T SPEND THAT TWICE. AND THEN WHAT WE DO IS WE LOOK AT OUR RESERVE POLICY AND OUR RESERVE POLICY SAYS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE WILL LOOK AT THE PREVIOUS THREE YEARS OF ACTUAL REVENUE AND THEN LOOK AT A, UH, THE AVERAGE OF THAT AND TAKE A 7% AND A 12% SLICE OF THAT. AND THEN WE NEED TO LAND WITHIN THERE. AND, UH, AND I'LL GET INTO THAT IN JUST A MOMENT. UM, AND THEN THE OTHER, UM, THAT ORANGE AREA, THAT'S GOING TO BE YOUR ENCUMBRANCES. SO YOU MAY HAVE A PROJECT THAT IS, UM, UNDERWAY AND NOT BEING REBUDGETED, IT'S ALMOST COMPLETE. YOU COULD HAVE SOME PURCHASE ORDERS THAT ARE, THAT ARE OUT THERE, A CONTRACT THAT'S ALMOST COMPLETE. AND SO WHAT WE DO IS, YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T WANNA, WE, WE CAN'T SPEND [01:15:01] THAT TWICE. WE HAVE TO PUT THAT ASIDE AND SAY THAT THAT'S COMMITTED. WE'VE ENCUMBERED THOSE DOLLARS. NOW WHAT HAPPENS IS THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS, WE WORK WITH THE DEPARTMENTS TO LIQUIDATE AS MANY OF THOSE ENCUMBRANCES AS POSSIBLE. ARE YOU DONE WITH THE PROJECT? RIGHT? IF THEY ARE, THEN THOSE DOLLARS COME DOWN INTO THE AVAILABLE FUND BALANCE. SO EVERYTHING PUSHES DOWN. AND WHEREVER THAT DELTA IS, IS WHAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE. SO WE ALWAYS WORK OUR WAY DOWN. INVENTORY ARE NONS SPENDABLE PRETTY CLEAR. IT'S NONS SPENDABLE, BOARD RESERVE, WHAT HAVE WE ENCUMBERED? WHAT HAVE WE COMMITTED TO? AND THEN WHAT IS LEFT THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO THEN GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS AND, AND BUDGET IT. SO ONE TIME VERSUS OUR ONGOING USE OF NET COUNTY COSTS IS A VERY IMPORTANT SLIDE. AND, UM, SO WHAT THIS DOES IS, IS IF YOU LOOK ALL THE WAY TO THE RIGHT, OUR TOTAL NET COUNTY COSTS, THAT'S OUR $223.6 MILLION. SO YOU HEAR ME SAY IT, THE 153.6, THAT'S WHAT, YOU KNOW, WE ANTICIPATE BRINGING IN THIS YEAR, AND THEN WE'RE BRINGING FORWARD THE 70 MILLION TO BALANCE. BUT OF THAT 70 MILLION, WHAT GOES INTO THAT? WHAT ARE, WHAT ARE WE PURCHASING WITH THAT, WITH THAT 70 MILLION? AND SO IF WE LOOK OVER TO THE ONE TIME SIDE, YOU'RE AT, YOU KNOW, $31 MILLION, OKAY? AND THEN OF OUR ONGOING, WE'RE AT 39 MILLION. SO THE 31 AND THE 39, THAT GETS YOU TO THE 70. AND SO WE WANT TO BE VERY MINDFUL, AGAIN, IF THE DEPARTMENTS WERE TO SPEND EVERYTHING THAT THAT WAS BUDGETED, I, NOW I HAVE TO SOLVE THE, THE ONE TIMES ARE, ARE, ARE OUT, OUT THE DOOR AND ONE TIMES ARE NEEDED. THOSE ARE VEHICLES. THOSE ARE DIFFERENT. I MEAN, THEY'RE, THOSE ARE STILL VERY NECESSARY PURCHASES. AND YOU'RE 39 MILLION, THOSE ARE ONGOING, THOSE ARE COMMITMENTS. THOSE ARE, YOU KNOW, EITHER POSITIONS OR LONG-TERM CONTRACTS, LEASES, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS. SO WE HAVE TO BE MINDFUL THERE. SIMILARLY TO WHERE I SHOWED THE DOLLAR BILL SLIDE, WE'RE GONNA BE TAKING A DEEP DIVE INTO OUR ONE-TIME VERSUS ONGOING CLASSIFICATIONS. UM, AS, AS WE DIG IN, IT'S BECOMING APPARENT THAT SOME OF THOSE ONE TIMES ARE REPETITIVE IN NATURE. AND SO IF A ONE TIME IS SHOWING UP MULTIPLE YEARS IN A ROW, YOU REALLY SHOULDN'T BE CLASSIFYING THAT AS A ONE TIME. AND SO, YOU KNOW, AS WE GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS, ANY OF THOSE THAT, YOU KNOW, START GOING UP OR TO THE COLUMN IN THE MIDDLE, THEN THAT JUST BECOMES MORE ONGOING THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO FIGURE OUT. AND WE'LL HAVE A, A SLIDE THAT KIND OF DEPICTS WHERE THAT, WHERE THAT WILL HEAD, UM, IF WE DON'T, YOU KNOW, PAY CLOSE ATTENTION AND, AND, UH, ADDRESS IT. SO AGAIN, THE GENERAL FUND RESERVES, THIS IS ANOTHER PROCESS THAT WE DO POST YEAR END CLOSE. SO WE ALWAYS AT PROPOSED WILL, WILL BRING FORWARD A, A PLACEHOLDER BECAUSE WE HAVE TO SEE HOW THE ACTUAL REVENUE'S PLAYED OUT, RIGHT? AND SO WHEN THE BOOK'S CLOSE IN MID AUGUST, WE WORK WITH THE AUDITOR CONTROLLER'S OFFICE AND WE LOOK, OKAY, WHAT, WHAT ACTUALLY CAME IN? WE DO THOSE CALCULATIONS AND THEN WE LOOK AT, OKAY, WELL WHERE ARE WE AT RIGHT NOW? AND DO WE HAVE TO MAKE ANY ADJUSTMENTS? SO WE WERE IN A POSITION WHERE, UM, WE WERE, WE HAVE NOT MOVED THAT THIS IS THE FOURTH FISCAL YEAR IN A ROW, AND WE ARE AT 7.2%, 7.23. AND SO WHAT HAPPENS IS, IS AS THE REVENUES GROW, RIGHT, AND, AND AS WE'VE SEEN THE REVENUES ARE GROWING, THEN THAT CALCULATION, IT'S AN AVERAGE, RIGHT? SO AS THOSE REVENUES GROW, THEN YOUR THREE YEAR AVERAGE NATURALLY IS GOING TO GROW. AND ULTIMATELY AS IT GROWS THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT FLOOR OF 7% AT 43.7 MILLION, THAT FLOOR COULD GROW TO 46 MILLION. WELL, NOW ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS I HAVE TO DO AS PART OF THE BUDGET IS DIRECT OUR TEAM TO SAY, NOPE, WE HAVE TO UP THAT TO AT LEAST BE AT THE THRESHOLD OF THE BOARD ADOPTED RESERVE POLICY. SO COUNTYWIDE POSITIONS BY FUNCTIONAL AREA. SO WE HAVE A, A BREAKDOWN OF THOSE POSITIONS. THIS IS FROM PROPOSED TO FINAL. AGAIN, THESE ARE THE, THE CHANGES THAT NET OUT. YOU KNOW, YOU MAY HAVE SOME ADDITIONS, YOU MAY HAVE SOME DELETIONS. WE DID TALK ABOUT, UH, VACANCY, DELETIONS, UM, THAT WE WENT THROUGH. AND SO OVERALL, A NET OF, UH, FOUR REDUCTIONS SINCE JUNE. AND SO, UM, WE DO HAVE A BOARD AGENDA ITEM AS PART OF YOUR OVERALL BUDGET PACKAGE THAT LAYS OUT ALL OF THOSE CHANGES THAT, THAT NET OUT TO THAT COUNTYWIDE POSITIONS. NOW THIS IS FROM, UH, ADOPTED TO ADOPT FROM FINAL BUDGET TO FINAL BUDGET. SO THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE THE GROWTH FROM, UM, PROPO OR FROM LAST YEAR TO, TO THIS YEAR. AND SO YOU DO SEE A GROWTH, UM, IN BOTH THE [01:20:01] TOTAL COUNTY POSITIONS AND THE GENERAL FUND POSITIONS. AND SO, UM, AND MANY OF THOSE HAVE COME WITH, UH, CORRESPONDING REVENUE TO HELP OFFSET THOSE, THOSE COSTS, BUT NOT ALL. SO CCEO HENDRICKSON MENTIONED IN HIS OPENING REMARKS, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT WE ARE TRYING TO GET AHEAD OF, OF DIFFICULT DECISIONS. UM, AS PART OF PROPOSED BUDGET, WE PRESENTED TO YOU A STRATEGY THAT WE WOULD BE WORKING WITH DEPARTMENTS TO IDENTIFY, UM, LONG-TERM OUTSTANDING VACANCIES. UH, I'D LIKE TO THANK THE DEPARTMENTS THAT WAS, UM, THEY WERE, UM, GOOD PARTNERSHIP THERE. AND SO WHAT WE DID IS WE ALSO DID A, A CURSORY REVIEW OF DATA THAT WAS OUT AND AVAILABLE, UM, AS OF SEPTEMBER 15TH. SO, YOU KNOW, OF WHAT WAS PUBLISHED. NOT ALL COUNTIES HAD INFORMATION PUBLISHED. IF ANOTHER COUNTY WAS TRYING TO LOOK AT US AT SEPTEMBER 15TH, OURS WASN'T QUITE PUBLISHED YET. AND SO, UM, AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME, UM, OVER 1100 VACANT POSITIONS ARE IDENTIFIED FOR DELETION OUT THERE. SO AGAIN, THIS ISN'T A UNIQUE TO MERCED COUNTY, UM, ISSUE. THIS IS AN OVERALL JUST PRESSURES ON THE COUNTY AS A RESULT OF ALL OF THE, THE, UH, THAT THE, THE, UH, IMPACTS THAT CO HENDRICKSON MENTIONED IN HIS OPENING REMARKS. AND SO THESE LARGE FTE REDUCTIONS, THEY DO NOT NECESSARILY TRANSLATE INTO LAYOFFS. YOU'RE TRYING TO NOT HAVE TO LAY FOLKS OFF. UM, BUT YOU DO HAVE SOME COUNTIES THAT ARE NOW STARTING TO GO THERE. UM, IN THAT REVIEW, YOU'RE SEEING OVER 250, UM, OR NEARLY 250 IDENTIFIED POSITIONS. IT'S PROBABLY SAFE TO SAY THAT THE REMAINING 26 COUNTIES COULD HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL ONES INCLUDED IN THERE AS WELL. UH, WE HAVEN'T SEEN FURLOUGHS, UM, THROUGH THAT. IT'S RELATIVELY UNCOMMON. UH, ONE COUNTY DID HAVE A DOCUMENTED STRATEGY OUT THERE THAT HAS NOT YET BEEN ADOPTED AND IMPLEMENTED. AND SO, YOU KNOW, A AS I I'LL END WITH WHERE I STARTED, YOU KNOW, OUR VACANCY ELIMINATIONS ARE, ARE, ARE ONE STEP TO ATTEMPT TO PREVENT LAYOFFS IN FUTURE FISCAL YEARS. AGAIN, THROUGHOUT THIS BUDGET, WE TRIED TO KEEP THINGS, UM, AS TIGHT AS AS POSSIBLE WHILE STILL MEETING OUR, OUR OBLIGATIONS. SO FOR THIS SLIDE, WE TOOK A FIVE YEAR SNAPSHOT. AND AGAIN, I'LL PREFACE IT WITH PROJECTIONS ARE PROJECTIONS, RIGHT? AND WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO LOOK AT WHERE, FROM A TREND STANDPOINT, WHERE THINGS ARE GOING. AND SO WE TOOK OUR CURRENT RESERVE RATE OF 7.23% AND SAID, IF WE'RE JUST GONNA KEEP THAT RESERVE RATE AND NOT TOUCH IT, WHERE WOULD WE HAVE TO BE FROM A PERCENTAGE OR FROM A DOLLAR STANDPOINT? AND THEN WE LOOKED AT OUR, YOU KNOW, WE DID THIS ON ACTUALS, AND WE LOOKED AT, OKAY, FROM A REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE REALIZATION, LET'S TAKE THE LAST THREE, UH, PRIOR FISCAL YEARS. AND PRIMARILY, YOU KNOW, BEFORE THAT YOU DID HAVE SOME, UM, PANDEMIC IMPACTS WITH, YOU KNOW, 54 MILLION, A RESCUE PLAN COMING IN, $28 MILLION WORTH OF CARES AND DEPARTMENTS BRINGING IN TREMENDOUS AMOUNTS OF ONE-TIME REVENUE THROUGH THEIR VARIOUS GRANT PROGRAMS. AND THEN WE LOOKED AT OUR ENCUMBRANCES AND NONS SPENDABLE, WE ACTUALLY WENT BACK, YOU KNOW, WE'LL, OFTENTIMES WE SHOW YOU THAT 11 YEAR SNAPSHOTS. SO WE WENT AND LOOKED AT THAT, KEPT THOSE AT AN AVERAGE. THOSE TYPICALLY, UH, AREN'T MOVING THAT MUCH. AND SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THAT, IT'S BASICALLY YOU'RE TAKING THIS EXERCISE AND SAYING, LET'S JUST, LET'S DO IT FIVE YEARS IN A ROW WITH THOSE ASSUMPTIONS. AND ASSUMPTIONS ARE JUST THAT, THEY'RE JUST ASSUMPTIONS, BUT THEY HELP YOU GET A BETTER PICTURE OF, OF WHERE YOU COULD GO. AND SO OUR PROJECTED REVENUE, WHAT WE DID IS WE, WE LOOKED AT, OKAY, WHERE DO WE PROJECT BASED ON THAT TREND? WHERE DO WE THINK WE WOULD LAND WITH OUR REVENUE AND EXPENDITURES THIS YEAR, RIGHT? AT THE END OF THIS YEAR, JUNE 30TH, WE CLOSED BOOKS IN AUGUST OF, OF 27. WHAT DOES THAT SLIDE LOOK LIKE? RIGHT? AND AGAIN, WE HAVE TO, WE HAVE THOSE ENCUMBRANCES, WE HAVE THE NONS SPENDABLE, AND WE, WE KEPT OUR BUDGETED RESERVE THIS YEAR, UM, AT THAT 45.1, RIGHT? BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE IF, IF ADOPTED TODAY, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT WE WOULD PLUG IN. AND SO THAT WOULD LEAVE IT AT 62.3. SO AGAIN, WHEN I STARTED, I SAID, THIS IS WHAT WE ANTICIPATE BRINGING IN THIS YEAR, WE WOULD BRING FORWARD THAT 70 MILLION. WELL, IF YOU CONTINUE ON THAT TREND, WE ATE INTO ABOUT 7.6 MILLION THIS YEAR, RIGHT? WELL, IF I ATE INTO IT AGAIN, NOW WE START THAT YEAR WITH 62.3. YOU REPEAT, YOU TEE THOSE, THOSE GROWTH PATTERNS. AND AS YOU CAN SEE, IT WILL EVENTUALLY, AS YOU GO THROUGH, GET TO A POINT WHERE AFTER YOU HAVE MET YOUR RESERVE REQUIREMENTS AND PROGRAMMED YOUR ENCUMBRANCES AND YOUR NONS SPENDABLE, THEN THAT AVAILABLE [01:25:01] FUND BALANCE AFTER WOULD NOT BE, THERE WOULD NOT BE ANY AVAILABLE FUND BALANCE. NOW, WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE IS WE WENT BACK AND WE TALKED ABOUT THAT ONE TIME VERSUS ONGOING FUND BALANCE OR, OR COSTS IN THE FUND BALANCE, RIGHT? SO IF OUR ONGOING COSTS ARE, CALL IT 40 MILLION OF, OF FUND BALANCE, THEN IN A FEW, IN JUST A FEW SHORT YEARS, YOU'RE AT 31.9 OF TOTAL FUND BALANCE. SO YOU WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO COVER THAT 40 MILLION YET ALONE, ANY OF YOUR ONE-TIME COSTS. AND SO WE FELT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO BRING THAT FORWARD AND START LOOKING AT THAT, YOU KNOW, DOWN THE ROAD. BECAUSE WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS, IS AS VACANCIES ARE SHRINKING, AS COSTS ARE GOING UP AND, UM, AS REVENUES ARE RELATIVELY REMAINING FLAT, NOW THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE IF, YOU KNOW, YOU HAD A MAJOR PROPERTY TAX ADJUSTMENT, YOU KNOW, AND THEN THE ECONOMY TOOK A A CONSIDERABLE, UH, DOWNWARD, UM, UH, TREND, THEN THAT'S WHEN YOU GET FOLKS COMING IN AND ASKING FOR REASSESSMENT OF THEIR PROPERTY VALUE AND YOU SALES AND ALL THAT, THAT RESETS THE ROLE. SO THAT'S A WHOLE DIFFERENT, UH, A DIFFERENT SET OF ASSUMPTIONS. SO, UM, THIS IS JUST BASED ON WHAT WE'VE SEEN OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS. SO OUR STRATEGIES FOR BUDGET STABILIZATION, UM, YOU KNOW, MANY OF THESE, WE, WE DISCUSSED WITH YOU IN, UM, IN JUNE, WE HAVE, UH, IMPLEMENTED THE EVALUATION OF VACANT POSITIONS TO IDENTIFY DELETIONS, UH, HIRING FREEZE FOR NON-MISSION CRITICAL POSITIONS. SO AS YOU KNOW, WE MENTIONED IN THE PREVIOUS SLIDE WHERE, WHERE THERE'S THE VACANCY STRATEGIES AT OTHER COUNTIES AND, AND THAT WE ARE EMPLOYING, YOU ALSO LOOK AT WHEN SOMEONE LEAVES THE COUNTY, RIGHT? IF SOMEONE RETIRES, SOMEONE TAKES A POSITION ELSEWHERE, THEN THERE IS A, A DECISION POINT OF DO YOU FILL THAT POSITION, RIGHT? AND SO THAT'S WHERE YOU SEE ONE OF THOSE, UH, LIKE A HIRING FREEZE FOR NON-MISSION CRITICAL. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE CEO'S OFFICE WOULD LOOK AT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE DEPARTMENT TO DETERMINE DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO, TO FILL THAT POSITION. UM, AND THEN DELAYING NON-MISSION, CRITICAL CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS. SO, UM, MANY OF OUR PROJECTS THAT WERE REQUESTED THAT, UH, REQUIRED THE USE OF OUR GENERAL PURPOSE REVENUES, THOSE WERE, WERE NOT ACCEPTED OR RECOMMENDED TO YOU. IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT THOSE WERE NOT WARRANTED OR NEEDED. THAT IS NOT A REFLECTION OF, OF THE NEED AT ALL. AND SO, UM, WE HAVE TO BE MINDFUL OF OUR, UM, DEFERRED MAINTENANCE AS WELL. YOU KNOW, WE, WE, IF YOU, OUR, OUR BUILDINGS ARE LIKE CARS. IF YOU DON'T CHANGE OIL, YOU'RE GONNA REPLACE YOUR ENGINEERING, RIGHT? WHEREAS, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO BE MINDFUL. WE HAVE SOME, SOME PROJECTS OUT THERE THAT, THAT NEED SOME NEED, SOME SERIOUS ATTENTION. AND WE, WE TRY TO LOOK AT IT FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE. UM, IN PROGRESS WE ASK THE, UH, OUR DEPARTMENTS TO LOOK AT EVALUATING THEIR MANDATED VERSUS NON-MANDATED PROGRAMMING. WE APPRECIATE THAT EFFORT. THAT WAS NOT AN EASY REQUEST, THAT WAS A, A HEAVY LIFT FOR THE DEPARTMENTS. AND SO, UM, WE WILL CONTINUE EVALUATING THOSE AND DISCUSSING THOSE WITH DEPARTMENTS, DEFERRAL OF NEW PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIC INITIATIVES. AND SO, UM, THIS IS TOUGH BECAUSE THERE, YOU KNOW, YOU MAY HAVE SOME OPPORTUNITIES OUT THERE THAT THAT, THAT YOU MAY WANT TO TRY OR IT'S SOMETHING NEW. WE HAVE TO BE MINDFUL OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THOSE COSTS? WHAT ARE THOSE UNFORESEEN COSTS? IS THERE A MATCH REQUIREMENT? SO EVEN THOUGH YOU MAY BRING A MILLION DOLLARS IN TO TRY SOMETHING NEW, IS THERE A NEED TO TO MATCH THAT BY A HUNDRED OR 200,000? IT'D BE NICE TO DO. ARE WE IN A POSITION TO DO THAT? THAT'S WHERE YOU EVALUATE IT. EACH DECISION IS EVALUATED UNIQUELY. UM, EVALUATE AND NEGOTIATE RENEGOTIATE VENDOR CONTRACTS. AND THERE'S ALWAYS THE OPPORTUNITY TO, WHEN, WHEN NEGOTIATING A CONTRACT TO WORK TOWARDS, YOU KNOW, A BETTER PRICE OR MORE SERVICE DELIVERY FOR THE SAME DOLLAR, UM, MANY OF OUR VENDORS, YOU KNOW, WILL ENTERTAIN. THAT DOESN'T MEAN ALL OF THEM WILL ENTERTAIN THAT. UM, CONTINUE OUR EFFORTS WITH PROCURE AMERICA. THAT IS A PROJECT THAT WE, WE HAD DONE, UH, LAST YEAR AND THE YEAR BEFORE TO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, UTILITIES AND UTILITY SAVINGS AND, AND ROLLING THOSE SAVINGS BACK IN, UM, TO, TO THE DEPARTMENTS TO HELP OFFSET, UH, INCREASED COSTS AND THEN OUR REVENUE ENHANCEMENT INITIATIVE. SO WE'LL BE BRINGING FORWARD SHORTLY, UM, OUR UPDATED USER FEE STUDY, UM, LOOKING AT OUR IMPACT FEES AND THEN OVERALL OUR, OUR UTILITY RATES THAT, THAT WE CHARGE, WE, WE HAVE TO LOOK AT ARE, ARE WE CAPTURING THE COSTS OF DOING BUSINESS? AND SO THERE'S ACTUALLY PROCESSES FOR THAT WHERE WE GO THROUGH A WHOLE NEXUS STUDY, UM, AND WOULD ULTIMATELY BRING THAT FORWARD FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION. WITH THAT, I'LL PASS IT BACK TO CEO HENDRICKSON. THANK YOU DAVID. MR. CHAIRMAN, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD HAS I BEGIN MY CLOSING, UH, KIND OF COMMENTS. I WANNA REITERATE ONE SIMPLE POINT AS, UH, AS DAVID JUST MENTIONED, THIS BUDGET IS MORE THAN JUST THIS YEAR AHEAD. IT IS ABOUT PROTECTING [01:30:02] ULTIMATELY THE COUNTY'S FUTURE. WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO BE GOOD STEWARDS OF THE PUBLIC'S DOLLAR TO FUND THE SERVICES THAT OUR, OUR RESIDENTS RELY ON, WHILE ALSO MAINTAINING THE FINANCIAL FLEXIBILITY TO DEAL WITH WHATEVER COMES NEXT. AND THAT'S WHY FISCAL DISCIPLINE MATTERS, AND THAT'S WHY THIS BOARD NEEDS TO BE THANKED FOR THE WORK THAT IS DONE FOR A VERY LONG PERIOD OF TIME TO PUT US INTO THE POSITION THAT WE ARE TODAY, AS COMPARED TO MANY OF OUR NEIGHBORS. THE DECISIONS MADE TODAY WILL ULTIMATELY SHAPE THE CHOICES FOR TOMORROW. IF WE ALLOW ONGOING COSTS TO GROW FASTER THAN OUR REVENUES, EVENTUALLY THOSE CHOICES WILL BECOME MUCH MORE DIFFICULT. WE COULD BE FORCED INTO SIGNIFICANT SERVICE REDUCTIONS, ELIMINATING POSITIONS, OR EVEN WORSE YET LAYOFFS, WHICH IS SOMETHING WE WANT TO ABSOLUTELY AVOID. BEHIND EVERY POSITION IS ULTIMATELY A PERSON IS SOMEONE WHO COMES TO WORK EVERY SINGLE DAY WITH ONE GOAL, WHICH IS TO SERVE OUR RESIDENTS, TO SUPPORT THEIR FAMILIES, AND TO MAKE MERCED COUNTY A BETTER PLACE. AND BEHIND EVERY COUNTY SERVICE IS A RESIDENT WHO DEPENDS ON US. AND THAT'S WHY WE NEED TO MAKE PRUDENT DECISIONS NOW AND BE THOUGHTFUL ABOUT NEW ONGOING COSTS AND TO MAINTAIN OUR RESERVES TO ADDRESS DEFERRED NEEDS AND TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE GETTING THE BEST VALUE FROM EVERY TAXPAYER DOLLAR. AFTER ALL, WE ARE A FOREVER BUSINESS AND OUR BUDGETING NEEDS TO REFLECT THIS IN THE END. THIS ISN'T ABOUT BEING OVERLY CAUTIOUS, IT'S ABOUT BEING RESPONSIBLE. OUR GOAL IS SIMPLE. AGAIN, IT'S TO SERVE OUR RESIDENTS, UH, WELL TODAY WHILE MAINTAINING, UH, OUR SERVICE DELIVERY OPPORTUNITIES. UH, TOMORROW, AGAIN, I WANNA THANK THE BOARD FOR ITS LEADERSHIP AND ITS PARTNERSHIP THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS, AGAIN, TO THE ENTIRE COUNTY TEAM FOR THEIR WORK THAT WENT INTO THIS BUDGET. AND WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT IF, IF YOU WOULD ALLOW MR. CHAIR TO, UH, GIMME THE OPPORTUNITY TO ACKNOWLEDGE A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE. I WANNA THANK THE ASSISTANT CEO, MR. MARIANI FOR HIS HARD WORK AND HIS LEADERSHIP IN THIS EFFORT. I WANNA THANK GR UH, THANK GREG KLO, TERRY JEFFERSON, KIM TOMAS, ANDRES RODRIGUEZ, MICHAEL MANZANITA. I WANNA THANK ASSISTANT CEO, MARCY BARRERA FOR HER WORK. SUMMER MONICE, CORINA BROWN, AND EACH OF OUR SUPERB HR ANALYST, ALL OF WHOM PUT IN SIGNIFICANT WORK IN THE PREPARATION OF THIS BUDGET. AGAIN, ALONG WITH EVERY ONE OF OUR DEPARTMENT HEADS, AND AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, OUR AUDITOR CONTROLLER AS WELL. SO THAT BEING SAID, MR. CHAIRMAN, YOUR STAFF IS PREPARED TO ANSWER QUESTIONS. GOT IT. THANK YOU MR. HENDRICKSON. UH, I DON'T HAVE ANYBODY IN THE SPEAKER QUEUE, SO DO YOU WANT ME TO GO TO PUBLIC COMMENT FIRST AND THEN BRING IT BACK TO THE DAAS? OKAY. AT THIS TIME I'LL OPEN UP PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE FINAL BUDGET PRESENTATION AS A REMINDER, PUBLIC OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK ON THESE ITEMS INCLUDED ON THE BUDGET CALENDAR. WE WILL CALENDAR WILL BE HEARD AFTER EACH ITEM IS ANNOUNCED, AND IF APPLICABLE PRESENTATION OF THAT ITEM. OKAY. SO WE WILL GO AHEAD AND DO THE FIVE IN-HOUSE AND THEN WE'LL LOOK AT THE FIVE. SO WE'LL GO AHEAD AND OPEN UP PUBLIC COMMENT. GO AHEAD. THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING OR GOOD AFTERNOON. UM, I'M ANALI VARGA. I AM, UM, LIVE IN DISTRICT THREE AND I'M ALSO A COMMUNITY ORGANIZER WITH COMMUNITIES FOR NEW CALIFORNIA. AND IT'S GREAT TO LEARN THAT, UM, THE COUNTY WILL BE ADMINISTERING A COUNTYWIDE SURVEY TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE BUDGET PRIORITIES, UH, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT CNC HAD SUGGESTED EARLIER THIS YEAR TO CEO HENDRICKSON. SO, SO HAPPY TO HEAR THAT. AND FOR THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, CNC EDUCATION FUND COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND ALLY ORGANIZATIONS HAVE BEEN HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY STAFF REGARDING THE HOUSING CRISIS IN MERCED COUNTY. WE HAVE SHARED AND PROVIDED MATERIALS FROM THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY SPEAKS ONE OF THE LARGEST MULTI-GENERATIONAL, MULTILINGUAL SURVEYS EVER CONDUCTED IN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY. THIS COMPREHENSIVE NINE COUNTY SURVEY SHOWS THAT BASIC NEEDS FROM HOUSING TO GROCERIES, TO HEALTHCARE, UTILITIES, AND TRANSPORTATION ARE STRETCHING HOUSEHOLD BUDGETS FOR FAMILIES AND RESIDENTS ACROSS THE REGION, INCLUDING MERCED COUNTY. VOTERS IN MERCED COUNTY CITED CONCERNS ABOUT THE RISING COST OF LIVING AND AFFORDABILITY, HOUSING AFFORDABILITY AS A FACTORS THAT HAVE MOST NEGATIVELY IMPACTED THEIR HOUSEHOLDS. FOR THOSE WHO WOULD LIKE TO ACCESS THE TWO PAGE SUMMARIES OF THESE FINDINGS, WE HAVE SOME IN THE HEARING ROOM IN THE BACK IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH, THE CONVERSATION CNC HAS BEEN HAVING WITH OUR NEIGHBORS. FAMILIES, MEMBERS AND FRIENDS CONFIRM THESE VOTER SENTIMENTS, AS DO OTHER REPORTS AND PLANS. MOST FAMILIES IN MERCED COUNTY ARE HISPANIC OR LATINO, BUT THEY OWN FEWER HOMES. SIX OUT OF 10 PEOPLE IN MERCED COUNTY ARE HISPANIC OR LATINO, BUT ONLY FOUR OUT OF 10 HOMEOWNERS ARE HISPANIC OR LATINO. THAT'S 16% FEWER THAN WHITE HOMEOWNERS. THIS ISN'T FAIR. AND IT SHOWS WHY MORE PEOPLE NEED HELP AFFORDING A HOME. 9,000 FAMILIES CAN'T FIND AN AFFORDABLE HOME. [01:35:01] AN AFFORDABLE HOME MEANS A FAMILY SPENDS NO MORE THAN 30 CENTS OF EVERY DOLLAR THEY EARN ON RENT. THAT LEAVES MONEY FOR FOOD, DOCTORS AND SCHOOL. RIGHT NOW, 9,000 HOUSEHOLDS IN OUR COUNTY DON'T HAVE THAT. THEY'RE STRETCHED TOO THIN. THE POOREST FAMILIES ARE BEING HIT THE HARDEST. ALMOST EIGHT OUT OF 10 OF THE POOREST HOUSEHOLDS SPEND MORE THAN HALF THEIR INCOME JUST ON HOUSING. THAT'S SIX UP 6% FROM JUST TWO YEARS AGO. MEANWHILE, MIDDLE INCOME FAMILIES SPEND NOTHING CLOSE TO THAT. SO THE GAP IS GROWING VERY FAST. 55,000 PEOPLE COULD LOSE THEIR HOMES. THAT'S MORE THAN 6,000 FAMILIES IN MERCED COUNTY AT RISK OF BECOMING HOMELESS. AND THAT'S LIKE AN ENTIRE SMALL CITY WITH NOWHERE SAFE TO LIVE. MERCED COUNTY IS ONE OF THE HARDEST PLACES IN CALIFORNIA TO AFFORD A HOME FOR, FOR PEOPLE UNDER 40, FOR EXAMPLE, MERCED COUNTY HAS A FOURTH WORST HOME PRICE TO INCOME RATIO IN THE WHOLE COUNTRY. HOMES COST WAY MORE THAN MOST PEOP YOUNG EARNERS MAKE. AND SO CNC, ITS ALLIES AND MEMBERS ARE REQUESTING THAT MERCED COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS TO MATCH STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDING OF OF THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAM. 1%. OKAY, THANK YOU. GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING SUPERVISOR. I'M ROSA GWON AND I'M LIVING DISTRICT TWO. I'M A LEAD COMMUNITY ORGANIZER WITH COMMUNITIES FOR IN NEW CALIFORNIA, A LOCAL COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATION. I WOULD LIKE TO THANK BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FOR LISTENING TO OUR PUBLIC COMMENTS DURING THE PROPOSED BUDGET HERE IN, IN JUNE, CNC EDUCATION FUND HAS MEET WITH THE HOUSING AUTHORITY AND THEY WERE VERY GRACIOUS IN PROVIDING AN OVERVIEW OF THE PROGRAMS THEY ADMINISTERED THROUGHOUT THE MERCED COUNTY TO PROVIDE AFFORDABLE HOUSING RENTAL HOUSING ASSISTANCE TO EXTREMLY LOW, VERY LOW AND LOW INCOME FAMILIES. FOUNDING FOR VARIOUS PROGRAMS IS PROVIDED FOR THE FEDERAL US DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND CUBA DEVELOPMENT, UHG, THE FEDERAL RULE AND AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION. AND THROUGH THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, THESE PROGRAMS INCLUDE HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER, PROJECT-BASED VOUCHER, LOW INCOME PUBLIC HOUSING, SEASONAL IMMIGRANT HOUSING, AND YEAR-ROUND FARM WORKER HOUSING. ROSA VASQUEZ AND MARIA BARDO EXPLAINED THAT THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OWNS, OPERATES AND MAINTAINS CLOSE TO 4,000 UNITS OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING. THE HOUSING AUTHORITY IS CURRENTLY MOVING FORWARD TO COMPLETE EL MEDO IN LAS VEGAS IN LAS BONOS, WHICH WILL CONSIST OF 11 SENIOR TINY HOMES. THE HOUSING AUTHORITY IS DOING ITS BEST TO ACCOMMODATE FAMILIES VIA BUDGET CONSTRAINTS. BUT THE BUDGET IS LIMITED AND THEY ARE WILLING TO WORK MORE STRATEGICALLY WITH AM MERCED COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS TO SECURE ADDITIONAL FUNDING AND IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES FOR A CROSS COLLABORATION. THE MAJORITY OF FUNDING ALLOCATE FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAM COMES FOR THE FEDERAL AND STATE SOURCES. 2.2 MILLION AND ONLY $324,873 COMES FOR THE LAST YEAR'S BALANCE. GENERAL PURPOSE REVENUE. THAT MEANS THAT THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS HASN'T ACTUALLY IDENTIFIED ANY COUNTY FUNDS OR ANY OF OUR TAX BASED FUNDS TO GO TOWARD FOR THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAMS. AND WE ALL KNOW DISCRETIONARY FUNDS AT THE MOST FLEXIBLE PUT OF MONEY THAT IT IS MADE UP OF OUR TAX DOLLARS. CNC EDUCATION FUND ITS MEMBERS ANALYZE REQUEST THAT THE MERCED COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MATCH THE STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDING TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAM AND ALLOCATE 1% OR 2.4 MILLION FROM DISCRETIONARY FUNDS TO INCREASE THE PHYSICAL YEAR. 20 26, 27 AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAM TO 5 MILLION. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND CONSIDERATION. THANK YOU. TODAY IS SEPTEMBER 29, 26. GOOD MORNING BOARD MEMBER SUPERVISORS, TOM MERCED AND MR. CHAIR. MY NAME IS BLANCA LOSANO DAVILA. I AM FOUNDER FOR NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION, DELHI AND ACCION. I CAME TO SUPPORT TODAY COMMUNITY NEEDS WITH CNC ORGANIZATION, WITH THE GROUPS TODAY TO BE THE VOICE. I STAND HERE TO TAKE ACTION. HELP US. WE ARE STAYING, HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE HIGH COST EXAMPLE, RENTER, HOMEOWNERS, PEOPLE WITH THE SSI RENT, RETIREMENT PEOPLE WITH THE ORDER OF FIELD MINIMUM WAGE. EVEN THE APARTMENTS ARE TOO HIGH. TALL, 1,300 OR 1,900. QUESTION, HOW LONG MORE DO YOU NEED TO TAKE ACTION? HELP US. SUPPORT US. THANK [01:40:01] YOU MR. BLANCA. LOS MRS. BLANCA, LOSANO. GOD BLESS YOU. AND, UM, MORE THANK YOU MR. DAR MCDANIEL FOR YOUR TIME SERVICES. GOD BLESS YOU AND THE NEW WAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THAT WAS VERY EVERYBODY. MY NAME IS HEIDI. HELLO EVERYBODY. MY NAME IS HEIDI SANCHEZ AND I LIVE IN DOHA AS WELL. I HAVE A CONCERN ALSO ABOUT THE AFFORDABLE HOME BECAUSE OF MYSELF. I NEED TO DO A SURGERY 'CAUSE I HAVE A HERNIA. SO SINCE I'M GETTING MEDICAL, I CAN'T MAKE A LOT OF MONEY, RIGHT? SO I CANNOT AFFORD TO GET LIKE A, A HOME MYSELF. AND I HAVE FRIENDS THAT LIVE IN A, UM, A STUDIO AND SHE PAID LIKE 1,200. SO HERE, AS YOU CAN SEE, EVERYBODY IN THE COMMUNITY, WE HAVE UM, WE HAVE LIKE THE, UM, SUPPORTERS OF MY FAMILY ARE HERE AS WELL AND C AND C AND I WANTED TO SAY, DID YOU GUYS REMEMBER WHEN YOU GUYS FIRST GOT MARRIED WITH YOUR WIFE AND YOUR HUSBAND? AND WE DO A COMMITMENT AND A PROMISE. AND SO AS, AS A BOARD MEMBER HAS THE FEEDBACK, I JUST WANNA SAY, REMEMBER THE DAY THAT WE STAND AND WE RAISE OUR HAND AND WE PROMISE AND WE SAY WE'RE GONNA CONNECTS AND HELP THE COMMUNITY. SO IT JUST A FEEDBACK CONNECTS. ENJOY. BECAUSE THAT POSITION THAT YOU GUYS ARE THERE IS, IS SOMETHING WONDERFUL. THE BEST THING THAT YOU GUYS CAN GIVE FOR THE COMMUNITY. THE COMMUNITY IS EXPECTING YOUR SUPPORT, YOUR LOVE, AND YOUR COMPASSION. SO CONTINUE THAT. IT'S A JUST A FEEDBACK. 'CAUSE I WENT TO FRESNO AND THEY'RE, UM, YOUNG ADULTS ARE TAKING TRAINING AND THEY'RE PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE. SO SHOW THE COMMUNITY, THE, THE DISCIPLINE, THE LIBERTY AND THE WORD SO THAT WE CAN CONNECT AND THAT WE CAN TRUST YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. PLEASE BOARD. MY NAME IS GLORIA , A 50 YEAR RESIDENT OF MERCED TRANS TRANSFER FROM LOS ANGELES. ANYWAYS, I'M, I'M HERE THIS MORNING TO SUPPORT THE INCREASE IN THE HOUSING FUNDS. I REALIZED THAT, YOU KNOW, THE BUDGET IS, HAS BEEN MADE. I DO NOT ENVY, YOU KNOW, YOUR STAFF THAT HAS WORKED ON THIS BECAUSE IT'S, UH, REALLY WONDERFUL. UNFORTUNATELY, I, AGAIN, I DID NOT GET A COLORED COPY. I'D LIKE TO REQUEST THE COLORED COPY. 'CAUSE IT IS REALLY HARD TO READ, YOU KNOW, THE BUDGET WHEN IT'S NOT IN COLOR. UM, ONE THING ABOUT THE BUDGET, I THINK REFLECTS AN OUTLOOK ON LIFE. AND I BELIEVE THAT WHAT MIGHT BE MISSING, AND THIS IS MY OPINION, IS THE PREVENTION OF ITEMS THAT WE CAN ALREADY FORESEE. WE DON'T KNOW FOR SURE. WE KNOW THAT THERE'S CERTAIN THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO BE, UH, MISSING IN THE BUDGET FROM THE FEDERAL LEVEL. AND SO I THINK THAT ALSO INVESTING A LITTLE BIT IN PREVENTION, AND I'M TALKING ABOUT ISSUES OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING. IT MAKES IT IMPORTANT TO TRY TO STOP THE HOMELESSNESS. IT'S, IT'S A STEP BEFORE. AND I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, I, I'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH THE ISSUES OF HOMELESSNESS FOR MANY YEARS, LIKE, LIKE SUPERVISOR PEDROSO. AND WE'RE GETTING READY TO THE, TO PREPARE THE HOMELESS MEMORIAL. LAST YEAR WE HAD 54 PEOPLE. IT'S A MEASURE OF HOW WE NEED TO TAKE CARE OF OUR PEOPLE. AND, UM, I REALLY, I I TRY TO LOOK THROUGH YOUR 208 PAGE MERCED COUNTY HOUSING ELEMENT REPORT. AND I THINK THAT THERE'S SOME ITEMS THERE THAT CAN BE USED, YOU KNOW, TO PREPARE FOR THE NEXT BUDGET. AND IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT. I KNOW THERE'S CHANGES ALL THE TIME AND YOU HAVE MANY TIMES NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT. BUT WE DO HAVE TO THINK ABOUT OUR RESIDENTS TO BE SURE THAT, THAT WE DON'T HAVE MORE HOMELESSNESS. UM, YOU HAVE NO, UH, CONTROL OF PEOPLE COMING TO THIS COUNTY, BUT YOU MAY HAVE SOME CONTROL AS TO WHAT, UH, WHAT THE COSTS OF HOUSING ARE HERE BY BUILDING $400,000 HOMES. THAT'S NOT GONNA TAKE CARE OF PEOPLE THAT ARE, UH, BARELY STARTING OUT. AND REMEMBER THAT THOSE FIGURES WHERE IT SAID FROM EIGHT TO 17 YEARS OLD ARE NOW OLDER WITH YOUR REPORT. YOU GOTTA KIND OF USE THAT AS A MEASURE, AS A GUIDELINE. BUT I REALLY WOULD LIKE YOU TO CONSIDER, UH, INVESTING A LITTLE BIT MORE IN A PREVENTION BY, UH, PUTTING IN MORE MONEY INTO THE HOUSING, AFFORDABLE HOUSING. AND I KNOW [01:45:01] THAT THAT'S ALSO SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE DEFINED, YOU KNOW, BUT I THINK THAT WE HAVE, UM, WE HAVE THE RECORDS, WE HAVE THE AMOUNTS, AND WE KNOW THAT SALARIES REALLY AREN'T GOING UP THAT MUCH. UM, NOTICE YOUR D-W-A-D-W. THANK YOU. OKAY. THAT WAS OUR FIFTH SPEAKER HERE IN THE ROOM. WE'LL GO AHEAD AND CHECK OUR ONLINE PORTAL, MR. CHAIR. WE CURRENTLY HAVE TWO SPEAKERS IN THE QUEUE. OKAY. WILL YOU BE CONTROLLING THE TIMER OR DO YOU WANT ME TO DO THAT? YOU COULD PLEASE DO IT ON YOUR SIDE. GOT IT. IRENE C YOU HAVE BEEN UNMUTED. YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES. HELLO? YES. MY NAME IS IRENE COCHO. I LIVE IN THE COMMUNITY OF LEE GRAND. UM, I JUST WANNA SHARE WITH BOARD OF SUPERVISORS TODAY HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR OUR AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UM, IN MERCED COUNTY. UM, I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN MERCED COUNTY, AND EVERY DAY I SEE THE NUMBERS INCREASING. UM, THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS IMPACTS LATINA WOMEN IN MERCED COUNTY, MANY OF WHOM OUR PRIMARY CAREGIVERS AND BREADWINNERS IN THEIR HOUSEHOLDS. LATINAS MAKE A POWERFUL VOTING IN THE REGION ACROSS CALIFORNIA'S, UH, YET WE FACE UNIQUE STRUCTURAL CHALLENGES. LATINAS EARN LESS THAN THEIR MALE AND WHITE COUNTERPARTS AND ARE MORE LIKELY TO WORK IN CAREGIVING, FOOD SERVICE OR EDUCATION SECTORS THAT ARE ESSENTIAL, BUT LOW PAY, MANY LATINA HOUSEHOLD ARE RENTERS AND IN THE GAP AND THE GAP BETWEEN RENT AND INCOME IS GROWING UNSUSTAINABLE. SO I'M HERE TODAY BECAUSE I'D LIKE TO ASK MERCED COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS TO MATCH STATE AND FUND FUND FEDERAL FUNDING AND THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND ALLOCATE 1% OR 2.4 MILLION FROM DE FROM DE DISCRETIONARY FUNDS TO INCREASE THE 20 26 20 27 AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAM TO 5 MILLION. UM, I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO REQUEST THAT THE BOARD WORK MORE STRATEG STRATEGICALLY WITH THE HOUSING AUTHORITY TO UNDERSTAND RESIDENTS NEEDS, CHALLENGES AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES RELATED TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING TO DEVELOP A MITIGATION PLAN THAT WOULD INCLUDE QUARTERLY MEETINGS, ENGAGING MORE HOUSEHOLD DEVELOPERS AND ADVOCATING TO STATE LEGISLATORS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND YOUR CONSIDERATION. OKAY, THANK YOU AZU. A YOU HAVE BEEN UNMUTED AND HAVE THREE MINUTES. I THANK YOU. UM, MY NAME IS ANO. I AM A MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE OF MERCED FOR ES CAMPESINAS, AND WE ORGANIZE, UM, YOUTH AND UH, FARM WORKERS TO ADVOCATE FOR THEIR RIGHTS. AND FROM WHAT I'VE HEARD OF OUR COMMUNITY IS THAT THE COST OF LIVING IS EVER RISING. AND, UH, FIRSTLY, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL OF THE, UM, SUPERVISORS AND, UM, FOR ALL OF YOUR WORK AND FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU GUYS, UM, DO, ESPECIALLY FOR, FOR THE BUDGET. UM, BUT I THINK, UH, THAT, UH, REGARDING THE COMMUNITY'S NEEDS, TWO POINT, UH, $4 MILLION IS NOT ENOUGH TO COVER THE COST, THE RISING COST OF LIVING, UH, FOR OUR FAMILIES IN THE COMMUNITY. I, UM, I AM A, A STUDENT AND I HAVE TWO PART-TIME JOBS APART FROM THAT TO COVER THE COST OF EVERYTHING I NEED FOR MY HOUSE. UM, WE, UM, EVERY SINGLE MONTH , WE HAVE TO LIKE, UH, FIX SOMETHING NEW AND IT'S, IT'S NEVER ENDING. THE COST JUST KEEP PILING UP. AND I FEEL LIKE EVEN WITH THOSE TWO PART-TIME JOBS, MANY OTHER, UH, FAMILIES DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TO SUPPORT THEIR FAMILIES OR TO, UM, TO FIND AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND COVER THE COSTS THAT COME WITH, UM, WITH LIVING. SO, UM, I, I'D LIKE TO, UM, SUGGEST THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS TO, UM, MATCH STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDING OF [01:50:01] AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UM, FOR THIS, UM, COMING YEAR. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY, THANK YOU. IS THERE ANYBODY ELSE IN THE QUEUE, MR. CHAIR? WE HAVE NO FURTHER REMOTE SPEAKERS. YOU GOT IT. SO THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR THE FINAL BUDGET PRESENTATION IS NOW CLOSED. WE'LL BRING IT BACK HERE TO THE DAAS. DOES ANYBODY, OKAY, THE CHAIR RECOGNIZES SUPERVISOR RA. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. UH, A COUPLE THINGS. UH, WELL FIRST OFF, I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO THE, UM, BUDGET TEAM. OBVIOUSLY DAVID MARIONI, OUR ASSISTANT, CEO KIND OF HELPS. HE LED THE PRESENTATION, BUT GREG, KIM, TERRY, ANDRES, AND MICHAEL, THANK YOU GUYS. I KNOW YOU SIT IN YOUR OFFICE OVER THERE AND THE BUDGET IS KIND OF LIKE YOUR SUPER BOWL, BUT BUDGET, AS SOON AS WE GET DONE WITH THIS ONE, WE'RE ALREADY WORKING ON THE NEXT ONE. SO I CAN'T THANK YOU GUYS ENOUGH BECAUSE ON OUR OWN, WE CAN'T DO THAT. YOU GUYS ARE THE BUDGET EXPERTS AND I KNOW SOMETIMES THAT THAT INVOLVES YOU NOT BEING SOME OF THE OTHER FOLKS THAT WORK IN THE COUNTY'S, UH, FAVORITE PERSON BECAUSE SOMETIMES YOU GOTTA TELL 'EM ANSWERS THEY DON'T WANT TO HEAR. BUT I WANT YOU TO KNOW, AT LEAST FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, IS IT IS VERY APPRECIATED THE WORK THAT YOU DO. UM, I I WANT TO GO BACK TO THE DECLINE. YOU KNOW, WE'RE, IF YOU LOOK AT OUR FUND BALANCE WHERE IT DECLINED, AND I'VE BEEN AN ADVOCATE OF OUR FUND BALANCE NOT GOING ANY HIGHER, IT, IT SCARES ME BECAUSE OF WHAT MR. MARIONI SAID IS, IS IF EVERYBODY SPENDS EXACTLY WHAT WE, WHAT WE GAVE THEM THE AUTHORITY TO SPEND NEXT YEAR, WE'RE GONNA BE IN A BIG WORLD OF TROUBLE. NOW, YOU ASK YOURSELF, WELL, HOW DO YOU GET, KEEP THAT FUND BALANCE? HOW DOES IT KEEP INCREASING? ONE OF THE BIGGEST WAYS I BELIEVE IT IS, IS IT'S UNFUNDED PO IT'S NOT, IT'S UNFILLED POSITIONS, RIGHT? AND NOW THAT WE'VE ARE LOOKING AT SOME, BASICALLY A LITTLE BIT LEANER TIMES HERE, I THINK THAT THE, THIS IS MY OWN PERSONAL OPINION BACKED BY LISTENING TO SOME PEOPLE THAT ARE SMARTER THAN ME. AND I HOPE THAT I'M WRONG, BUT HOUSING VALUES MAY BE GOING UP, PROPERTY VALUES ARE GOING DOWN AND, AND I SAY SIGMA IS A REAL THING. IT'S STARTING TO AFFECT, ESPECIALLY OUT ON THE WEST SIDE. YOU HAVE FARM GROUND THAT, YOU KNOW, FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS AGO THAT WAS SELLING FOR $30,000 AN ACRE THAT NOW IS SELLING IN THE MID TO LOW $20,000 PER ACRE. AND WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? THAT MEANS THAT NOW THAT PROP 13 VALUE HAS BEEN RESET AND THAT MEANS LESS DOLLARS THAT ARE NOT ONLY COMING TO THE COUNTY BECAUSE I WILL GIVE KAREN ADAMS CREDIT, SHE GIVES US THAT NICE LITTLE, LITTLE DOLLAR BILL THERE THAT SHOWS YOU HOW MUCH, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY PAYS THEIR PROPERTY TAXES TO, UH, THE COUNTY OF MERCED, THE MERCED COUNTY TAX COLLECTOR, BUT THE COUNTY OF MERCED KEEPS VERY LITTLE OF THAT. AND, AND THE OVERALL DOLLAR THAT YOU PAY WITH THE NUMBER IS ROUGHLY IS IT, REMIND ME 'CAUSE I'M I'M 13% THAT WE GET BACK, THAT WE GET 13, 16, 16, 16 TO 18%. SO, UM, THAT, SO THOSE NUMBERS, AND IT TAKES ABOUT A YEAR, A YEAR AND A HALF BEFORE THOSE NUMBERS TRICKLE DOWN TO WHEN WE ACTUALLY START TO SEE THAT. SO I, WHAT I SEE IS, IS THAT IT'S GONNA GET TIGHTER. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID THIS YEAR WAS, IS WE ELIMINATED, WHICH I THINK IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO, BUT THIS IS KIND OF TRIMMING WHAT I CALL SOME OF THE FAT OFF OF THE BUDGET, RIGHT? WE ELIMINATED THOSE UNFILLED POSITIONS. WHAT THAT'S GONNA MEAN IS, IS NEXT YEAR THAT OUR FUND BALANCE IS GOING TO EVEN BE SMALLER. SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THOSE, AT LEAST, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE WAY THAT I SEE IT PROJECTING OUT. SO I HAVE, I HAVE A LOT OF, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S TOUGH. WE'RE GONNA BE GOING INTO LABOR NEGOTIATIONS NEXT YEAR. I KNOW EMPLOYEES ARE GONNA BE WANTING MORE BECAUSE AGAIN, UH, CEO HENDRICKSON MENTIONED THE COUNTY IS NOT IMMUNE TO THE INFLATIONARY PRESSURES OUT THERE. YOU'VE SEEN IN THE BUDGET FROM PROPOSED TO FINAL, WE HAD TO INCREASE BY CLOSE TO HALF A MILLION DOLLARS, JUST OUR COST OF SUPPLIES AND SERVICES. YOUR POWER BILL GOES UP, OUR POWER BILL GOES UP, THE COST OF PAPER PENS, ALL THOSE THINGS CONTINUE TO GO UP FOR THE COUNTY. I, I'M, I'M GLAD THAT WE ARE TAKING THIS, THIS VERY, WHAT I'M GONNA CALL FISCALLY CONSERVATIVE APPROACH TO THE WAY THAT WE'RE DOING THINGS. ONE THING THAT I WOULD WANT US TO EXPLORE, AND I DON'T THINK THAT IT'S A PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS, IS WE ARE EXPERIENCING, I'VE BEEN ON THE TREASURY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE SINCE I'VE BEEN ON THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS. I CAN REMEMBER THE FIRST YEARS ON THERE WHEN OUR ANNUAL RETURN RATE WAS LESS THAN 1%. WE ARE NOW REALIZING NUMBERS CLOSER TO 4%, MAYBE EVEN A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN THAT DEPENDING ON THE MONTH. BUT WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST IS, IS WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR, UM, RESERVE POLICY IS, IS AS A BOARD POLICY TO MAYBE BE CONSIDERED LATER ON, IS THE INTEREST THAT THAT $45.1 MILLION BRINGS IN THAT, THAT WE, WE MAKE A COMMITMENT THAT THAT'S GONNA GO INTO OUR RESERVE. YOU KNOW, AND, AND, AND OBVIOUSLY WHAT WE DID WITH OUR OPEP TRUST, PUTTING [01:55:01] SOME PARAMETERS AROUND IT BECAUSE, 'CAUSE WE DON'T, YOU KNOW, I WANT THAT MONEY TO BE THERE IN CASE IF WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY, THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S WHAT OUR RESERVE IS THERE FOR. BUT IT, WE DON'T ALSO NEED TO BE TYING UP MONEY AND WE'RE NOT ABLE TO GET OTHER STUFF DONE. BUT, BUT COMING UP WITH A POLICY THAT, THAT ALLOWS FOR THAT TO HAPPEN. AND AS AN EXAMPLE, AND I JUST USE THAT A 4% RETURN, IF WE WOULD'VE TAKEN THE MONEY THAT WAS, THAT GAINED AN INTEREST BY SITTING IN THE TREASURY OF 45.1 MILLION, THAT WOULD'VE PUT IN, UM, AN ADDITIONAL 1.8004 MILLION BACK INTO THAT RESERVE FOR A TOTAL OF 46.9. SO I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THE BOARD SHOULD CONSIDER. IT'S KIND OF A, IT'S, IT'S A SAVINGS ACCOUNT THAT I THINK IS NECESSARY BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT NOSTRADAMUS AND I CAN'T SEE THE FUTURE, BUT WHAT I DO KIND OF FEEL OUT THERE IS WE'RE WE'RE GETTING BACK INTO A SITUATION OF THE GREAT RECESSION OF THE, OF THE HOUSING CRISIS, RIGHT? WHAT HAPPENED? THE COST OF HOUSING WENT UP FASTER THAN WAGES WENT UP. AND AT SOME POINT THOSE THINGS ON THE PATH THEY'RE ON, THEY DON'T WORK OUT, RIGHT? AND, AND, AND KIND OF, WE KIND OF SEE THAT GOING NOW COST OF HOUSING BECAUSE THERE IS SUCH A SHORTAGE. AND, AND, YOU KNOW, I'M GOING TO SPEAK FROM MY BULLY PULPIT FOR A MOMENT ON PART OF THE REASON THE COST OF HOUSING IS GOING SO MU IS GOING UP SO MUCH. YOU GOT ALL THE EXTERIOR FACTORS THAT FACE EVERYBODY IN THE WHOLE COUNTRY THAT'S BUILDING HOUSES. BUT WHY IS IT SO EXPENSIVE TO BUILD HERE? WELL THAT'S BECAUSE THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA HAS WENT SO FAR CRAZY THAT THEIR RESTRICTIONS AND REGULATIONS ARE, ARE CAUSING, YOU KNOW, A A PERSON, A HOME BUILDER THAT BUILDS NATIONALLY, TAKES THE EXACT SAME BLUEPRINT AND BUILDS THAT HOUSE IN CALIFORNIA. AND BY MY ESTIMATES, IT PROBABLY COST THEM 30 TO 40% MORE TO BUILD THAT HOUSE IN CALIFORNIA THAN IT DOES TO CO THAN IT DOES IN PICK THE OTHER STATE IN THE COUNTRY. UM, SO THAT, THAT IS A FRUSTRATION AND I WOULD ASK FOR, ESPECIALLY CNC AND I KNOW WE'VE HAD THIS CONVERSATION BEFORE AND I APPRECIATE THAT YOU GUYS COME AND ADVOCATE TO US, BUT LET'S ALSO ADVOCATE TO OUR STATE LEGISLATORS. LET'S ALSO ADVOCATE TO OUR FEDERAL, FEDERAL LEGISLATORS TO HELP TRY TO FIX SOME OF THOSE PROBLEMS. UM, AND WITH THAT, MR. CHAIR, I HAVE NOTHING ELSE. THANK YOU. CHAIR RECOGNIZES SUPERVISOR PEDROZA. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. UM, AND I TOO WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR BUDGET TEAM, AND I AGREE THIS IS LIKE THE SUPER BOWL FOR THEM AND, AND I KNOW THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE HARD AT WORK ON THE NEXT ONE, UM, RIGHT AFTER THIS. YOU KNOW, THE REALITY IS THIS, AND I'VE SAID THIS FROM DAY ONE, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR EXPENSES ARE GOING UP AS WELL. AND I'M SORRY MS. SANDOVAL, THAT'S WHY THE PRESENTATION WASN'T IN COLOR. COLORED COPIES COST MORE MONEY. SO, UH, THAT'S THE REASON. UM, I'M JUST KIDDING. UM, BUT THE REALITY IS THIS, I BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE TO REIGN IN COSTS WHILE ALSO CONTINUING TO PROVIDE THE SERVICES OUR RESIDENTS DEPEND ON. UM, THIS, THOSE THINGS HAVE TO GO HAND IN HAND. REIGNING COST DOESN'T MEAN IN MY BELIEF, CUTTING SERVICES FOR THE SAKE OF CUTTING. IT MEANS BEING RESPONSIBLE WITH TAXPAYER DOLLARS AND ASKING THE TOUGH QUESTIONS. UM, WHEN IT COMES TIME AND MAKING SURE WE ARE GETTING THE MOST OUT OF EVERY DOLLAR SPENT, WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO PROTECT THE COUNTY'S FINANCIAL FUTURE. OKAY? AND, AND I'M VERY, I'VE BEEN VERY CLEAR ABOUT FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY AND FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY BECAUSE I'VE BEEN ON THE COUNT CITY COUNCIL BEFORE WHERE WE HAD TO LAY PEOPLE OFF. IT'S THE HARDEST DECISION I'VE EVER HAD TO MAKE, BUT I HAD TO DO IT FOR THE FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY OF THE CITY OF MERCED. AND I DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO EVER MAKE THE THAT DECISION AGAIN. WE, WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, THE PEOPLE WHO NEED OUR SERVICES CAN STILL ACCESS THEM. SO WE HAVE TO DELIVER SERVICES, TAKE CARE OF OUR EMPLOYEES, AND BE RESPONSIBLE STEWARDS OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS. I BELIEVE WE CAN DO ALL THREE, BUT IT TAKES DISCIPLINE, CREATIVITY, AND ACCOUNTABILITY FROM ALL OF US. WE CANNOT, AND I THINK IT'S VERY CLEAR WE CANNOT CONTINUE DOING THINGS THE SIMPLY BECAUSE THAT'S HOW IT'S ALWAYS BEEN DONE. WE NEED TO SHARPEN OUR PENCILS, FIND CREATIVE WAYS TO BE RESPONSIBLE AND EFFICIENT WHILE DELIVERING SERVICES AND MAINTAINING FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY. SOMETHING LIKE I JUST MENTIONED, I AM VERY MUCH A, A, A PROP, A PROPONENT OF, AT THE END OF THE DAY, EVERY DOLLAR WE SPEND BELONGS TO EVERY SINGLE RESIDENT OF MERCED COUNTY. WE ARE NOT IMMUNE TO THE COSTS. IT'S OUR TAXPAYER DOLLARS, JUST LIKE IT'S YOUR TAXPAYER DOLLARS. WE OWE IT TO EVERYBODY TO MAKE EVERY DOLLAR COUNT, AND WE CAN. AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO DO IS SOMETIMES WE GOTTA SHARPEN THE PENCIL, GOTTA GET CREATIVE, AND WE HAVE TO BE EFFICIENT AGAIN, BECAUSE THAT'S OUR JOB. OUR JOB IS TO ASK THE QUESTIONS AND TO MAKE IT NOT JUST TO SAY NO, BUT TO SAY THIS IS THE WHY BEHIND THE NO. AND WE HAVE TO MAKE, BE VERY CAREFUL IN MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE PREPARED FOR WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN. THE UNCERTAINTY IS OUT THERE, AND IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE [02:00:01] RECOGNIZE THAT THERE IS UNCERTAINTY AND PREPARE FOR THAT UNCERTAINTY. SO, MR. CHAIR, THAT'S ALL I HAVE. THANK YOU. CHAIR RECOGNIZES THE SUPERVISOR PER, UH, THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. UH, I TOO WANNA, UH, CONGRATULATE STAFF. UH, IT'S NOT THE SUPER BOWL, I THINK IT'S MORE LIKE WORLD CUP, UH, TO US. BUT, UH, ANYWAYS, UH, I, I, UH, APPRECIATE THE HARD WORK AND, AND ALL THE DEPARTMENT HEADS IN OUR, IN OUR CEO'S OFFICE AS WELL. UH, I, YOU KNOW, WHEN, UH, WHEN, BACK DURING COVID, WE HIT $1.1 BILLION. AND, UH, I MADE THE COMMENT FROM HERE THAT I THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE THE ONLY TIME OUR BUDGET WOULD BE A BILLION DOLLARS. AND THAT, UH, ONCE THE COVID MONEY WAS OVER, WE WOULD DROP BACK DOWN TO THE, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE WERE 864 MILLION BEFORE THAT. AND, UM, THAT HASN'T BEEN THE CASE. I WAS WRONG. FOR EACH OF THE FIVE BUDGETS SINCE THEN, WE'VE BEEN OVER A BILLION DOLLARS. THE DIFFERENCE IS, IS THAT ON THE COST SIDE, THE COST THAT YOU ALL EXPERIENCE AS RESIDENTS OF MERCED COUNTY, RIGHT? MY COLLEAGUES HAVE SAID THE SAME HERE. UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, IT, IT, IT PAINS ME TO NOT BE ABLE TO HELP EVERYBODY, UH, RIGHT. AND GIVE EVERYBODY WHAT THEY WANT. UH, HOWEVER, UM, YOU KNOW, MY RESPONSIBILITY IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COUNTY IS HERE, UH, TODAY, TOMORROW, AND IN THE FUTURE. AND SO, UH, ONE OF MY COLLEAGUES KIND OF ALLUDED, UH, A LITTLE BIT EARLIER, BUT, UM, THE, THE COUNTY IS NOT, UH, HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PROVIDING HOUSING FOR PEOPLE, RIGHT? OUR, OUR RESPONSIBILITIES ARE MORE IN THE PUBLIC SAFETY INFRASTRUCTURE, ROADS, THE NUTS AND BOLTS THAT ALLOW YOU, THE RESIDENTS TO DO WHAT YOU DO. UH, AND, AND WHETHER THAT'S A BUSINESS OR THAT'S AN INDIVIDUAL THAT'S, UH, DRIVING ON OUR ROAD OR NEEDS A PUBLIC DEFENDER, RIGHT? UM, AND SO, UM, I, I WANT TO, I WANNA SUGGEST FOR THOSE OF YOU, UH, THAT HAVE ASKED FOR MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE COST OF BUILDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING. IT COSTS APPROXIMATELY 40% MORE TO BUILD AFFORDABLE HOUSING THAN IT DOES REGULAR HOUSING. SO, UH, SOME OF YOU IN THIS ROOM HAVE GONE TO THE MERCED CITY COUNCIL AND ADVOCATED FOR INCLUSIONARY ZONING THAT FORCES BUILDERS TO BUILD AFFORDABLE HOUSING. WELL, WHAT YOU'VE DONE IS YOU'VE NOT ONLY, UH, SLOWED DOWN THE NUMBER OF HOUSES BEING BUILT THAN MERCED, THE CITY OF MERCED, BUT YOU HAVE MADE THOSE HOUSES MORE EXPENSIVE. AND SO WITH, IF SOMEBODY'S TRYING TO BUY A HOUSE, THEY CAN'T BUY THAT HOUSE NOW BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN TAKEN OUT OF THE MARKET, RIGHT? AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S ONE THING WHERE EVERYBODY GETS EVERYTHING FOR FREE. AND THERE'S ANOTHER THING WHERE YOU LOWER THE COST AND YOU MAKE IT AFFORDABLE TO THOSE THAT ARE WORKING AND ARE WILLING TO INVEST IN HOUSING. AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, AND THEN THERE WAS A COMMENT MADE ABOUT HELPING AND PREVENTING, UM, HOMELESSNESS IN MERCED COUNTY. WE SPEND, UM, I BELIEVE ABOUT $8 MILLION A YEAR IN PREVENTING HOMELESSNESS. SO THAT'S, AND THAT'S A ROUGH ESTIMATE. AND SO, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S A LITTLE MORE, A LITTLE LESS, PLEASE DON'T COME AFTER ME. BUT WE, WE, UM, ARE PREVENTING HOMELESSNESS. UH, AND, AND WE ARE HOUSING THOSE THAT ARE HOMELESS. AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE DOING THE BEST WE CAN WITH THE RESOURCES WE GET TO TAKE CARE OF THE LEAST OF THESE IN OUR COUNTY. AND SO, UM, I, I FEEL, I FEEL THAT AND THINK THAT WE DO A GOOD JOB IN THAT REALM. AND SO WHEN PEOPLE COME HERE YEAR AFTER YEAR, BUDGET MEETING, AFTER BUDGET MEETING, AND REQUEST THE SAME THING, THAT I BELIEVE WE'RE DOING WHAT WE CAN, UM, IT JUST, UH, I DON'T KNOW, IT JUST HARD TO TAKE AS A, AS A PERSON. AND SO IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN GOING TO SACRAMENTO AND HELPING LOWERING THE COST OF BUILDING HOUSING, UM, I, I'D BE HAPPY TO, UH, TO JOIN YOU. UM, YOU KNOW, GOVERNMENT REGULATION, UH, IN MERCED COUNTY, THE COST OF A PERMIT IS ABOUT $46,000 PER 2000 SQUARE FOOT HOUSE. SO, UH, MY IN-LAWS BOUGHT A HOUSE IN 1967 FOR $37,000. IT'S ABOUT A 3,500 SQUARE FOOT CUSTOM HOME ON A, ON AN ACRE LOT, RIGHT? SO TODAY YOU PAY MORE IN A PERMIT THAN YOU DO TO BUY THE WHOLE DARN HOUSE. AND SO SOMETHING'S BROKEN IN OUR SYSTEM, AND, UH, AND, AND, AND I'M INTERESTED IN HELPING YOU FIX IT, BUT I BELIEVE THE ISSUE IS IN SACRAMENTO. IT'S NOT IN MERCED COUNTY. UM, WE ARE JUST, UH, ABIDE BY IN WHAT WE HAVE TO DO. UH, THE OTHER, THE OTHER, UH, POINT I'D LIKE TO MAKE IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS, RIGHT? FOR US TO PAVE A, A, A MILE A ROAD, JUST TO REPAVE IT, THE ROAD'S ALREADY THERE, THE RIGHT OF WAY'S ALREADY BOUGHT OVER $650,000. PROBABLY A THIRD OF THAT COST IS GOVERNMENT REGULATION THAT IS UNNECESSARY, RIGHT? [02:05:01] THERE'S A LOT OF GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS THAT ARE NECESSARY. I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THOSE, BUT, UH, THE REST OF 'EM ARE UNNECESSARY. AND JUST ADD TO THE COST. BUT DON'T HELP US GET ANYTHING DONE. DON'T MAKE THE ENVIRONMENT BETTER. DON'T MAKE THE ROAD SAFER. AND SO, UH, ANYWAYS, UH, A LITTLE BIT OF FRUSTRATION ON MY PART BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE KEEP GETTING ASKED FOR THE SAME THINGS. AND, UH, AND I'LL, I'LL GUESS I'LL KEEP ANSWERING 'EM THE SAME WAY. BUT, UH, ANYWAYS, AGAIN, THANK YOU TO STAFF AND, UH, AND, UH, MY COLLEAGUES. I, I THINK WE'VE, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE KEPT A FEW CIP PROJECTS IN PLACE, UH, WHICH I REALLY THINK OUR RESIDENTS WILL APPRECIATE. UM, AND I THINK WE'VE DONE A GREAT JOB. I, AND I HOPE THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR EMPLOYEES RECOGNIZE THAT THE STEPS WE'RE TAKING TODAY ARE TO PROTECT THEIR JOB IN THE FUTURE. SO, THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU. CHAIR RECOGNIZES SUPERVISOR PACHECO. THANK YOU, CHAIR. UH, AND THANK YOU FOR THE COMMENTS OF MY COLLEAGUES. I AGREE WITH WHAT THEY'RE SAYING HERE. UM, ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS THAT, UH, I TEND TO DO WHEN I GOT THIS JOB WAS LEARN THE BUDGET. AND THEN WHEN I KIND OF LEARNED THE BUDGET, WHICH IS KIND OF WHERE I'M AT, THE SECOND HARDEST THING IS REALIZING THAT YOU CAN'T SOLVE EVERYBODY'S PROBLEMS. YOU CAN'T FIX ALL THE ROADS, YOU CAN'T BUILD ALL THE PARKS. 'CAUSE, UH, THAT'S WHAT YOU GET ELECTED TO DO. UM, I DO WANT TO THANK THE STAFF ON GIVING US A BALANCED BUDGET TO SEE SUPER BOWL, WORLD CUP. WE'RE IN WORLD SERIES, RIGHT? SO I THINK THIS IS THE WORLD SERIES OF, UH, OF THEIR TIMES. YEAH. UH, ANYWAY, I DO WANT TO THANK THEM FOR PRESENCE WITH A, UH, WITH A BALANCED BUDGET. UM, AND I DO, UM, UH, CEO HENDRICKS COMMENTS ABOUT LAYOFFS. I WAS A SERGEANT HAVING TO GO OUT AND FIND DEPUTIES AND GIVE THEM LETTERS SAYING YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE A JOB IN TWO WEEKS. AND THAT WAS A HARD THING TO DO. SO I DO APPRECIATE THAT WE, UH, WE ARE IN THE POSITION. WE DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT. UM, AND I ALSO WANT TO THANK OUR DEPARTMENT HEADS AND OUR STAFF ARE DOING MORE WITH LESS. I REALIZE YOU GUYS ARE OUT THERE DOING THAT. UM, I HAVE TO CALL THEM AND ASK 'EM FOR DIFFERENT THINGS. AND, UM, AND THEY ALWAYS, UH, TRY TO HAVE A GOOD ATTITUDE AND DO THE BEST THEY CAN. SO I DON'T WANT TO THANK THEM. AND JUST IN THE GENERAL PUBLIC, JUST FOR BEING PATIENT, UM, AGAIN, WE GET THOSE PHONE CALLS. I TRY TO, YOU KNOW, SOLVE EVERY PROBLEM, PROBLEM WE HAVE WITH, SOMETIMES WE CAN'T DO THAT, BUT WE ARE DOING THE BEST WE CAN. SO I APPRECIATE THAT. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU, SUPERVISOR. UM, AND I'D JUST LIKE TO CONCLUDE, I THINK EVERYBODY SET EVERYTHING UP HERE. UM, IF YOU JUST READ THE PAPER, THE NEWS SOURCES COMING FROM THE OTHER COUNTIES, UH, YOU JUST READ WHAT SAU COUNTY JUST WENT THROUGH WITH THEIR BUDGET, UM, LAST WEEK. UM, WHAT FRESNO COUNTY'S GONNA GO THROUGH WITH THEIR BUDGET TODAY. UM, MERCED COUNTY SURVIVED IT. I THINK IT WAS JUST BECAUSE OF US BEING ABLE TO TIGHTEN THE SCREWS AND STAY ON IT. OUR DEPARTMENT HEADS DID A VERY GOOD JOB OF IDENTIFYING A LOT OF THOSE POSITIONS. AND, UH, WORKING TOGETHER WITH THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS DOESN'T UNDERSTAND HR ONE IMPACTS HAVE NOT HIT US YET. UH, MOVING FORWARD IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS, IT'S GONNA BE EVEN HARDER. BUT THAT'S WHY WE HAVE ERIC SERRA IN THE POSITION HE'S IN TODAY. WE'RE GONNA GET ALL THOSE FOLKS JOBS. SO WE DON'T FEEL THOSE PRESSURES AND THOSE ABLE TO WORK BODIES WILL BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE, IN THE SYSTEM. SO WITH THAT, UM, LOOKS LIKE THERE WAS NO QUESTIONS FOR YOU. VERY WELL DONE, DAVID. YOU WERE VERY THOROUGH IN EXPLAINING IT. AND, UH, IT, IT'S, UH, AMAZING HOW FAST YOU WERE ABLE TO GET THROUGH IT TODAY. YOU HAVE SOME MORE. OKAY. OKAY. I KNOW IT'S BEEN SAID, BUT I'D LIKE TO JUST TAKE THE MOMENT TO THANK EVERYBODY IN OUR TEAM. THE AMOUNT OF, THE AMOUNT OF BACK AND FORTH AND WORK THAT GOES INTO IT, NOT ONLY IN THE BUDGET TEAM, THE HR TEAM, THE DEPARTMENT HEADS, BUT ALSO ALL THE DEPARTMENTAL STAFF OUT THERE. IT IS AN ENORMOUS BATON RACE AND, UH, FILLED WITH DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS. AND SO I JUST WANNA THANK EVERYBODY, UH, FOR ALL OF THEIR EFFORTS. VERY GOOD. YES, SIR. OKAY. WE NOW HAVE PUBLIC HEARING AS SUBMITTED BY THE CONTROLLER OR THE AUDITOR CONTROLLER PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER SETTING THE APPROPRIATION LIMITATION FOR FISCAL YEAR 20 26, 20 27, ESTABLISHED UNDER ARTICLE 13 B OF THE STATE CONSTITUTION. I WILL OPEN UP THE PUBLIC HEARING AND ACCEPT PUBLIC COMMENT RELATED TO THE SETTING OF THE APPROPRIATION LIMIT FOR FISCAL YEAR 20 26, 20 27. SEEING NOBODY IN THE ROOM, I WILL LOOK FOR THE ONLINE PORTAL. MR. CHAIR, WE HAVE NO REMOTE SPEAKERS IN THE QUEUE. THANK YOU. THE PUBLIC HEARING IS NOW CLOSED. WE WILL GO AHEAD AND BRING IT BACK, AND WE WILL, I WILL ACCEPT A MOTION AND A, WHAT'S THAT? IT'S A ROLL CALL VOTE. IT'S, I DO NEED A MOTION ON THE FLOOR, THOUGH. MOTION TO APPROVE. WHAT'S THAT? NO. OKAY. AS PRESENTED BY STAFF OR HONOR A, SO I HAD A MOTION BY SUPERVISOR RA, SECOND [02:10:01] BY SUPERVISOR PACHECO. MOTION. . WHAT'S THAT? ROLL CALL OPPOSED? CORRECT. SO I DO HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? SIGNIFY BY SAYING NAY. MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. WE WILL NOW MOVE ON TO THE BUDGET CALENDAR, BEGINNING WITH FINAL BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS. AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN UP PUBLIC COMMENT FOR THE FINAL BUDGET ITEM ONE, FINAL BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS. SEEING NOBODY HERE. HOW ABOUT IN THE PORTAL, MR. CHAIR? WE HAVE NO REMOTE SPEAKERS IN THE QUEUE. OKAY. THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD. FOR THE FINAL BUDGET. ITEM ONE IS NOW CLOSED. WE'LL BRING IT BACK HERE TO THE DIOCESE. IS THERE FURTHER DISCUSSION? IF NOT, I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION. SO MOVE. I HAVE A MOTION BY SUPERVISOR PEREIRA. IT'S UP THERE. OH, I HAVE A MOTION BY SUPERVISOR PEDROSO. SECONDED BY SUPERVISOR SRA. SO DO WE CALL FOR THE VOTE? THERE WE GO. RECORD THE VOTE. MOTION PASSES. [Additional Item 2] NEXT, WE HAVE LEASE PURCHASE AGREEMENTS. AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN UP PUBLIC COMMENT FOR THE FINAL BUDGET. ITEM NUMBER TWO, LEASE PURCHASE AGREEMENTS. SEEING NOBODY HERE, WE'LL LOOK AT THE ONLINE PORTAL. MR. CHAIR, WE HAVE NO REMOTE CALLERS IN THE QUEUE. THANK YOU. THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD. FOR THE FINAL BUDGET. ITEM NUMBER TWO IS NOW CLOSED. WE'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE DAIS. I DO. OH, I ALREADY HAVE A MOTION BY SUPERVISOR RA, SECOND VICE SUPERVISOR PEDROSO. UH, WITH, IF THERE'S NO OTHER DISCUSSION, LET'S CALL FOR THE VOTE. RECORD THE VOTE. MOTION PASSES. NEXT, WE HAVE OUT-OF-STATE TRANSPORTATION AND TRAINING. AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN UP THE PUBLIC COMMENT FOR FINAL BUDGET. ITEM NUMBER THREE, OUT-OF-STATE TRANSPORTATION AND TRAINING. SEEING NO COMMENT IN THE ROOM, WE WILL LOOK FOR THE ONLINE PORTAL. MR. CHAIR, WE HAVE NO REMOTE SPEAKERS IN THE QUEUE. THANK YOU. THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR FINAL BUDGET. ITEM NUMBER THREE IS NOW CLOSED. WE'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE DAAS. I HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR BY SUPERVISOR PEDROSO, SECONDED BY SUPERVISOR VERA. IS THERE FURTHER DISCUSSION? IF NOT, WE'LL CALL FOR THE VOTE RECORD THE VOTE. MOTION PASSES. NEXT, [Additional Item 3] WE'LL MOVE TO THE POLICY ACTION ITEMS, BEGINNING WITH ROAD DIVISION WORK PROGRAM. AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN UP PUBLIC COMMENT FOR FINAL BUDGET. ITEM NUMBER FOUR, ROAD DIVISION WORK PROGRAM. NATHAN, JUST REMEMBER NOBODY'S ARGUING ABOUT THE PROGRAM. PUT FORWARD NOW ABOUT THE ROADS. WE'LL HEAR ABOUT IT LATER. I WILL CHECK FOR THE ONLINE PORTAL. MR. CHAIR, WE HAVE NO REMOTE SPEAKERS IN THE QUEUE. THE PUBLIC, THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR ITEM NUMBER FOUR IS NOW CLOSED. WE'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE DIOCESE. I DO HAVE A MOTION BY SUPERVISOR PACHECO, SECONDED BY SUPERVISOR PEDROSO. IF THERE'S NO FURTHER DISCUSSION, I WILL CALL FOR THE VOTE RECORD THE VOTE. MOTION PASSES. [Additional Item 4] NEXT, WE HAVE CAPITAL ASSETS AND CAPITAL PROJECTS. AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN UP PUBLIC, UH, COMMENT FOR THE FINAL BUDGET ITEM FOR NUMBER FIVE, CAPITAL ASSETS AND CAPITAL PROJECTS. I'M SEEING NOTHING IN THE ROOM. FULL CHECK FOR THE ONLINE PORTAL. MR. CHAIR, WE HAVE NO REMOTE SPEAKERS IN THE QUEUE. THANK YOU. THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR FINAL BUDGET. ITEM NUMBER FIVE IS NOW CLOSED. WE'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE DAAS. I ALREADY HAVE A MOTION BY SUPERVISOR PEDROSO, SECONDED BY SUPERVISOR PER PEREIRA. I DO HAVE SUPERVISOR PEDROSO IN THE QUEUE. OKAY. JUST GO AHEAD AND DOUBLE EACH RIGHT NOW. PUSH IT. VERY GOOD. OKAY, I HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. UH, IF THERE'S NO FURTHER DISCUSSION, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND CALL FOR THE VOTE. [02:15:02] RECORD THE VOTE. MOTION PASSES. [Additional Item 5] NEXT, WE HAVE AB 1 0 9 STRATEGIC PLAN. AT THIS TIME, I WILL OPEN UP THE PUBLIC COMMENT FOR FINAL BUDGET. ITEM NUMBER SIX, AB 1 0 9, STRATEGIC PLAN. SEEING NOBODY IN THE ROOM, I WILL CHECK THE ONLINE PORTAL. MR. CHAIR, WE HAVE NO REMOTE SPEAKERS IN THE QUEUE. THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR FINAL BUDGET. ITEM NUMBER SIX IS NOW CLOSED. WE'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE DIOCESE FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION. I DO HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR BY SUPERVISOR PACHECO, SECONDED BY SUPERVISOR RA. IF THERE'S NO FURTHER DISCUSSION, I WILL CALL FOR THE VOTE RECORD THE VOTE. MOTION PASSES. [Additional Item 6] NEXT, WE HAVE WILLIAMSON ACT PROGRAM. OH, YES, CHAIR, RECOGNIZED SUPERVISOR PEREIRA, UH, THANK YOU CHAIR. UM, I DO HAVE LAND IN THE WILLIAMSON ACT, AND SO I'M GONNA RECUSE MYSELF. THANK YOU, SUPERVISOR. AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN UP PUBLIC COMMENT FOR FISCAL BUDGET ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, WILLIAMSON ACT PROGRAM. OKAY, THEN I'LL LOOK FOR THE ONLINE PORTAL. MR. CHAIR, THERE ARE NO REMOTE SPEAKERS IN THE QUEUE. THANK YOU. THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR FINAL BUDGET. ITEM NUMBER SEVEN IS NOW CLOSED. AND I WOULD LIKE TO JUST LOOK OVER AND I DO THIS EVERY YEAR, THE VOTE TODAY, WHETHER IT'S A YAY OR A NAY, WHAT DOES THAT REPRESENT? THANK YOU. UH, THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. THE VOTE TODAY, UM, DEMONSTRATES THAT THE STATE PROVIDES LESS THAN HALF OF THE ACTUAL FOREGONE GENERAL FUND PROPERTY TAXES RELATED TO WILLIAMSON ACT PROGRAM. UM, THAT'S THE FINDING AND WHAT IT, THE, THE EFFECT OF THAT. AND A YES VOTE TODAY ALLOWS YOU TO SHORTEN WILLIAMSON ACT CONTRACTS FROM 10 YEARS TO NINE YEARS, WHICH IS A BENEFIT TO THE PROPERTY OWNERS. THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THAT. I DO ASK THAT EVERY YEAR, AND I'M GLAD YOU WERE PREPARED FOR IT. OKAY, I HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR AND A SECOND MOTION BY SUPERVISOR RA, SECOND OF VICE SUPERVISOR PEDROSO. UH, IF THERE'S NO FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS, UH, I WILL CALL FOR THE VOTE. CAN I STAND? RECORD THE VOTE. MOTION PASSES. CAN YOU PLEASE INVITE SUPERVISOR PERRA BACKHAND. [Additional Item 7] WE WILL NOW MOVE TO PERSONNEL ACTIONS. SO AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN UP PUBLIC COMMENT FOR FINAL BUDGET. ITEM NUMBER EIGHT, PERSONNEL ACTIONS. I SEEING NOBODY IN THE ROOM. I WILL CHECK THE ONLINE PORTAL. MR. CHAIR, THERE ARE NO REMOTE SPEAKERS IN THE QUEUE. THANK YOU. THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR FINAL BUDGET. ITEM NUMBER EIGHT IS NOW CLOSED. WE'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE DIOCESE FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION. I SEE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR BY SUPERVISOR PACHECO, SECONDED BY SUPERVISOR RA. IF THERE'S NO FURTHER DISCUSSION, I'LL CALL FOR THE VOTE. RECORD THE VOTE. MOTION PASSES. [Additional Item 8] NEXT, WE HAVE ITEM NUMBER NINE. AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN UP PUBLIC COMMENT FOR FINAL BUDGET. ITEM NUMBER NINE, PERSONNEL ACTIONS. IT'S ANOTHER ONE. OKAY, I SEE NOBODY HERE. LET'S CHECK FOR ONLINE. MR. CHAIR, THERE ARE NO REMOTE SPEAKERS IN THE QUEUE. THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR FINAL BUDGET. ITEM NUMBER NINE IS NOW CLOSED. WE'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE DIOCESE FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION. I DO HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR BY SUPERVISOR PERRA, SECONDED BY SUPERVISOR RA. IF THERE'S NO FURTHER DISCUSSION, I'LL CALL FOR THE VOTE RECORD THE VOTE. MOTION PASSES. [Additional Item 9] NEXT, WE'LL MOVE ON TO AUDITOR SCHEDULES. AT THIS TIME, I WILL OPEN UP PUBLIC COMMENT FOR FINAL BUDGET. ITEM NUMBER 10, AUDITOR SCHEDULES, SEEING NOBODY IN THE ROOM. I WILL [02:20:01] CHECK WITH OUR ONLINE PORTAL. MR. CHAIR, THERE ARE NO REMOTE SPEAKERS IN THE QUEUE. THANK YOU. THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR FINAL BUDGET. ITEM NUMBER 10 IS NOW CLOSED. WE'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE DAAS FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION. I DO HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR BY SUPERVISOR PEREIRA, SECONDED BY SUPERVISOR PEDROSO. WE'LL GO AHEAD AND CALL FOR THE VOTE RECORD THE VOTE. MOTION PASSES. WE'LL [Additional Item 10] NOW MOVE ON TO FINAL ITEM ON THE BUDGET CALENDAR, WHICH IS TO ADOPT THE FISCAL YEAR 20 26, 20 27. FINAL BUDGET. AT THIS TIME, I'LL OPEN UP PUBLIC COMMENT FOR FINAL BUDGET. ITEM NUMBER 11, ADOPTION OF THE FISCAL YEAR 20 26, 20 27. FINAL BUDGET. SEEING NOBODY IN THE ROOM. WE'LL CHECK THE ONLINE PORTAL, MR. CHAIR. THERE ARE NO REMOTE SPEAKERS IN THE QUEUE. THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR FINAL BUDGET. ITEM NUMBER 11 IS NOW CLOSED. WE'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE DAIS, UH, FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION. SO, SUPERVISOR SILVERA SECONDED THE MOTION. DO WE HAVE A FIRST? I MADE THE MOTION, BUT IT, IT WAS UP THERE AND IT DISAPPEARED. SO YOU, OKAY. WE HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR CONFUSING MY SUPERVISOR, PEREIRA AND SUPERVISOR SCOTT RA. UH, IS THERE FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS? IF NOT, I WILL CALL FOR THE VOTE RECORD. THE VOTE MOTION PASSES THE FINAL BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026. 2027 IS NOW ADOPTED, AND THE HEARING IS NOW CLOSED. SO AT THIS TIME, WAS THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON THE PORTAL? I KNOW THERE'S A FINAL CHECK-IN. THERE ARE NO, UH, REMOTE SPEAKERS IN THE QUEUE. THANK YOU. SO AT THIS TIME, WE'LL HAVE [REPORTS/BOARD DIRECTION] BOARD REPORTS STARTING WITH SUPERVISOR PACHECO. THANK YOU CHAIR. UH, JUST A COUPLE THINGS. ON, UH, SEPTEMBER 18TH, I ATTENDED, UH, MUSIC AT THE PARK, AT THE HINGHAM PARK IN PLANADA. IT WAS A GREAT EVENT THAT BROUGHT THE PLANTA COMMUNITY TOGETHER. UH, I WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO THE FLORES FAMILY AND THEIR BAND SOUND REMEDY FOR, UH, GREAT MUSIC OUT THERE, UH, ION AND UNITED WAY FOR HELPING, UH, GET THE EVENT TOGETHER. UH, AND THANK EVERYBODY THAT ATTENDED. UM, LIKE I SAID, IT WAS A GREAT GOOD EVENT TO HAVE A FRIDAY EVENING OUT THERE LISTENING TO MUSIC. UM, LAST WEEK I ATTENDED THE RC RC CONFERENCE AND, UH, GREAT EVENT. BE ABLE TO CONNECT WITH MY COLLEAGUES FROM OTHER RURAL COUNTIES, DISCUSS ISSUES, UH, JUST LIKE BUDGET THAT TODAY THAT ARE FACING OUR, OUR RURAL COUNTIES. UM, ON THE 25TH, I ATTENDED THE LIVINGSTON SWEET POTATO FESTIVAL AND THE PRIVILEGE OF, UH, HELPING JUDGE THE SWEET POTATO DISH CONTEST. THERE WAS 23 DISHES, UH, WITH SWEET POTATO MUSLIM DESSERTS, UH, ICE CREAM, UM, FREEZE DRIED SWEET POTATOES, SWEET POTATO FRIES, SWEET POTATO LATTES. UH, BUT ANYWAYS, GREAT EVENT. AND, UM, WE ABLE TO GET A WINNER WITH SOME SWEET POTATO FRIES. SO, UH, THEY HAD, UH, RIDES AND VENDORS. IT WAS A WEEKEND. SO I COME, UH, CONGRATULATE LIVINGSTON ON A, ON A GREAT EVENT. AND ON THE 26TH, I WENT TO THE CLUB MERCEDES, UH, ANNUAL RIB COOKOFF, WHERE I ALSO JUDGED THE RIB CONTEST . SO IT WAS A VERY FILLING WEEKEND. UM, AGAIN, ANOTHER GREAT EVENT FOR OUR COMMUNITY IN SOUTH MERCED. UM, CLUB MERCEDES SUPPORTS OUR YOUTH OUT THERE, UH, PROVIDING SPONSORSHIPS AND SCHOLARSHIPS. SO I'M NOT A, I'M ONLY, I'M VERY PROUD TO NOT ONLY SUPPORT THAT ORGANIZATION, UM, BUT TO BE A MEMBER OF CLUB MERCEDES. UH, AND LASTLY, I JUST WANTED TO GO BACK TO DIRECTOR SERATO, UH, PRESENTATION. I JUST NOTICED THAT, UH, OF ALL THE DISTRICTS, I HAD THE MOST, UH, ENROLLMENTS IN DISTRICT ONE. SO I APPRECIATE IT. I WANNA SAY THANK YOU. AND, UH, AGAIN, HOPEFULLY WE'RE GOING TO GET SOME STUFF TOGETHER OVER THE WEST SIDE IN SANTA AREA. SO THANK YOU FOR WHAT, UH, WHAT YOU AND YOUR DEPARTMENT DO, DIRECTOR. SO, AND WITH THAT, THAT'S ALL I HAVE. THANK YOU, SUPERVISOR. THANK YOU. SUPERVISOR CHAIR RECOGNIZES SUPERVISOR POZO. THANK YOU. UM, I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTEND THE MERCY MEDICAL CENTER'S FAMILY BIRTH CENTER, OBSTETRICAL EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT DESIGNATION, UM, RIBBON CUTTING LAST WEEK OR TWO WEEKS AGO. I'M SORRY. I ALSO ATTENDED, UM, MERCED COUNTY'S FIRST FIVE CHILDREN'S SUMMIT. UM, I'M THE CHAIR OF MERCED COUNTY'S FIRST FIVE, AND IT'S [02:25:01] ALWAYS, UM, A GREAT EVENT. IT'S ALSO THE HANDS-ON HEROES WHERE THEY REP OR THEY ACKNOWLEDGE FIVE PEOPLE WHO'VE GIVEN BACK. UM, OUR VERY OWN CAESAR'S DAUGHTER WAS, UH, ONE OF THE RECIPIENTS OF AN AWARD. SO IT WAS REALLY COOL. UM, I ALSO ATTENDED THIS MERCED CITY COUNCIL MEETING TO DISCUSS, UM, WITH THEM ABOUT OUR FLOOD PREPAREDNESS. AND I LOOK FORWARD TO THAT, UH, MEETING NEXT WEEK AT OUR OCTOBER 6TH MEETING, WHERE WE'LL HAVE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT WE ARE DOING TO BE PROACTIVE IN CASE OF SOMETHING THAT, UM, IN CASE THIS EL NINO GETS TO AS STRONG AS WHAT THEY'RE PROJECTING. UM, I TOO ATTENDED THE RCRC CONFERENCE LAST WEEK, UM, TO DISCUSS, YOU KNOW, JUST DIFFERENT COLLEAGUES ABOUT, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS DISCUSSED QUITE A BIT WAS, OR ONE OF THE PANELS WAS ON BLUE ZONES, AND IT HAS TO DO WITH HEALTHCARE. AND, AND I'M, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO MEETING WITH, UM, DR. SULLIVAN DISCUSSED THAT, UH, ISSUE. UM, I ALSO ATTENDED THE KIDS DISCOVERY STATION FIFTH YEAR ANNIVERSARY, UH, ON FRIDAY NIGHT, AND THE MERCED COUNTY FOOD BANK DINNER AND AUCTION. UM, UH, WAS ALSO DURING THAT TIME AFTER OUR LAST MEETING WHERE OUR VERY OWN SUPERVISOR, SCOTT RO, WAS THE AUCTIONEER. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, HE DOES A REALLY GOOD JOB, BUT IT'S REALLY HARD TO SPOT FOR THE GUY. IT'S MORE STRESSFUL SOMETIMES THAN BEING UP HERE. BUT, UH, BUT HE'S REALLY GOOD AT BRINGING IN THE FUNDS FOR THE CHARITY. AND THEN ALSO, I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT, I, I WENT TO MY FIRST, UM, PORTUGUESE BULL FIGHT THIS WEEKEND. AND IF EVERY ANYBODY EVER HAS AN OPPORTUNITY, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND GOING. IT'S, IT'S INCREDIBLY FUN. UM, IT JUST GOES TO SHOW THE DIFFERENCE. THE, THERE'S SO MUCH CULTURE AND I, I ALWAYS TALK ABOUT THAT HERE IN MERCED COUNTY. AND THE DIFFERENT CULTURAL DIVERSITY THAT WE HAVE IS SECOND TO NONE. AND I THINK THAT IF YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO AND SEE IT, IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING THAT IS, IT WAS MY FIRST TIME AND I THOUGHT IT WAS AWESOME. SO, UM, SO THAT'S IT. THANK YOU, SUPERVISOR PEREIRA. UH, THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. UH, I TOO ATTENDED THE, UH, CHILDREN'S, UH, FIRST FIVE CHILDREN'S SUMMIT. AND, UH, AND, UH, WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, CESAR VERA, WHO, WHO WORKS HERE FOR THE COUNTY, HIS DAUGHTER WAS ONE OF THE AWARDEES AS, AS SUPERVISOR PEDROSO MENTIONED. AND, AND IT'S KIND OF INTERESTING, SHE HAS BEEN TAKING PICTURES IN MERCED COUNTY AT OUR EVENTS, UM, SINCE I CAN REMEMBER. I DON'T KNOW, SHE'S, UH, SHE MUST HAVE BEEN TWO OR THREE WHEN SHE STARTED, 'CAUSE SHE'S STILL YOUNG. AND, UH, BUT ANYWAYS, IT WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT I HAD SEEN HER WITHOUT A CAMERA IN HER HAND. AND, UH, SO ANYWAYS, WE KIND OF CHUCKLED, UH, ABOUT THAT. BUT, UM, JUST A WONDERFUL YOUNG LADY WHO, UH, NOT ONLY LOVES TAKING PICTURES, BUT AT HER SCHOOL JUST HAS A REAL, UH, KIND SPIRIT FOR THOSE THAT ARE KIND OF OUTCAST. AND, AND, UH, ANYWAYS, JUST THE, THE, YOU KNOW, IN THE, UM, THE VIDEO TALKING ABOUT WHAT SHE DOES, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD JUST REALLY, UH, TELL THAT SHE'S A FINE YOUNG LADY AND THAT, UM, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE SHOULD BE PROUD TO HAVE HER IN MERCED COUNTY. UH, I, UH, ALSO ATTENDED THE RCRC CONFERENCE. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE CONSULTANTS THAT WE USE FOR OUR BROADBAND, UH, PROGRAM IS, UH, WAS THERE, AND IT WAS REALLY, UH, SHE'S SO EXCITED AND ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT HER WORK. AND SO I GOTTA HEAR, UH, SOME OF THE, THE THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON MAYBE MULTIPLE TIMES. UH, UH, BUT ANYWAYS, ALL THAT BEING SAID, UH, THERE'S, UH, ABOUT A $60 MILLION INVESTMENT HAPPENING IN MERCED COUNTY TO BRING BROADBAND TO ALL THE OUTLYING COMMUNITIES. YOU KNOW, YOU LIVE IN MERCED, OR IF YOU HAVE STARLINK, YOU KNOW, LIFE'S PRETTY GOOD. BUT, UH, STARLINK I THINK IS LIKE $130 A MONTH. AND, AND SO THIS BROADBAND WILL, WILL BRING HIGH SPEED INTERNET TO THE COMMUNITIES, AND IT'LL BE AT A MARGINAL COST. AND SO, UH, JUST REAL PROUD OF OUR TEAM UP HERE FOR, UH, GOING FOR THAT GRANT AND, AND WITH OUR CONSULTANT AND GETTING THAT DONE. UH, I ALSO ATTENDED THE FOOD BANK DINNER, AND, UH, I, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY DOLLARS THEY WERE RAISED, BUT I THINK IT HAD TO BE APPROACHING A HUNDRED THOUSAND, UH, FOR THE LEAST OF THESE IN OUR COMMUNITY. AND, UH, AND, UH, ANYWAYS, UM, I, YOU KNOW, I GUESS ACCORDING TO, TO ME, UM, UH, IT, THE, THE PRESENTATION WAS A LITTLE LONG AND YOU PROBABLY THINK THAT MY PRESENTATION HERE, OR MY COMMENTS ARE A LITTLE LONG. BUT, UH, ANYWAYS, IT WAS A GOOD TIME. AND SUPERVISOR SRA, UM, DID THE AUCTION. AND, AND I'VE HEARD HIM MANY TIMES AT, AT A LOT OF DIFFERENT EVENTS, AND HE'S VERY GRACIOUS AND DONATES HIS TIME. I THINK AN AUCTIONEER GETS ABOUT A $1,500 AN EVENT, AND I DON'T KNOW IF HE CHARGES FOR ANY OF 'EM, BUT I, I THINK HE DOES THE MAJORITY OF 'EM, IF NOT ALL OF THEM, FOR FREE. UH, HE ALSO AUCTIONED IT OFF OUR COUNTY BASKET AT RCRC. AND SO THE CHAIRMAN GETS TO PICK, UH, FIVE, UH, NON-PROFITS IN HIS, UH, COUNTY AND, AND THE MONEY, EVERY COUNTY BRINGS A A BASKET AND THEY AUCTION 'EM OFF. AND I BELIEVE WE RAISED $168,000, [02:30:02] UH, FOR MARIPOSA COUNTY. AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT THE 168,000 IN A, YOU KNOW, IN A, IN A COUNTY OF 500,000 PEOPLE IS A LOT OF MONEY, BUT IT'S NOT, UM, MAYBE AS GAME CHANGING AS, AS IT COULD BE, BUT FOR MARIPOSA COUNTY, THAT'D BE LIKE MERCED COUNTY GETTING $5 MILLION. AND SO, UH, IT WAS REALLY NEAT, UM, SUPERVISOR MCDANIEL PUT TOGETHER OUR BASKET AND ENCOURAGED US TO PITCH IN. AND, UH, AND THEN SUPERVISOR RA AUCTIONED IT OFF AND IT BROUGHT $12,000. AND, UH, SO IT WAS REALLY, REALLY A SPECIAL TIME. AND, AND, AND THEN AFTERWARDS, EVERYBODY WANTS TO COME UP TO, UH, SUPERVISOR SRA AND TALK TO HIM ABOUT, UH, HOW A WONDERFUL JOB HE DOES. SO, UH, WITH THAT, UH, THANK YOU MR. CHAIR. THANK YOU. AND THE PRESS CONFERENCE IS TOMORROW MORNING TO ANNOUNCE THAT. YEAH, . SO, UH, THANK YOU SUPERVISOR. SUPERVISOR SRA. YEAH, MINE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF REPEAT. I ATTENDED THE RCRC CONFERENCE. YOU GUYS HEARD THAT I AUCTIONED OUR BASKET. AND WITH CAL WATER'S ADDITIONAL THOUSAND DOLLAR DONATION, IT MADE OUR BASKET THE HIGHEST SELLING BASKET THERE. SO, I MEAN, IT WAS THE WHOLE TEAM EFFORT BECAUSE IT'S REALLY COOL TO HAVE ANOTHER AUCTIONEER, BUT I GET TO SELL OURS AND THEN ALL MY COLLEAGUES GET UP AND HELP SPOT FOR ME. SO IT'S A REALLY A TEAM EFFORT AND THANK ALL OUR COLLEAGUES BECAUSE I, WHEN WE GOT DONE, I JUST SOUNDS LIKE WE SOLD SALSA IN A TRACTOR FOR 13 GRAND. WE DID PRETTY GOOD , UH, UM, THE CHILDREN'S SUMMIT, I ATTENDED THAT. I WAS A LITTLE BIT LATER TO THE PROGRAM, BUT DID MAKE IT OUT THERE. THE FOOD BANK, UM, HARVEST FESTIVAL, JOE, THEY PUT ON IT, IT IS A REALLY NICE EVENT. IT WAS A CASINO NIGHT EVENT. UM, I HAVE NEVER BEEN TO IT BEFORE, AND I GOT ASKED TO AUCTION IT AND, UM, IT JUST, IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS. THEY WERE REALLY FORTUNATE TO HAVE A, A SPONSOR THAT WAS GOING TO DONATE UP TO $50,000 MATCH. SO WHATEVER, EVERY, IF THEY COULD RAISE 50,000, THEY WERE GONNA GET 50,000 FROM SOMEBODY ELSE. AND I REALLY THINK BEING ABLE TO TELL THAT TO FOLKS IN THE AUDIENCE THAT, YOU KNOW, IF THEY WERE BUYING A CAKE FOR 1800 OR $2,000, THAT THAT REALLY WAS GONNA BRING $4,000 TO THE FOOD BANK. AND THEY DO A GREAT JOB OVER THERE BECAUSE US AS INDIVIDUALS, WE GO OUT AND SPEND $2,000 AND, AND DONATE THAT FOOD TO THEM. IF WE GIVE THEM THAT $2,000, THEY CAN, THEY CAN D THEIR TENFOLD IT WITH THEIR ABILITY TO BUY AT SUCH CHEAPER RATES. UM, UH, THE SIGMA WORKING GROUP, SO AS PART OF C CSAC OR YOU HEARD ME MENTION SIGMA, THAT'S THE SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT ACT. WE'RE REALLY STARTING, IT'S STARTING TO TAKE FULL EFFECT. AND, AND IT'S JUST REALLY CRAZY BECAUSE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE STATE FACE DIFFERENT THINGS. WE HAVE FOLKS THAT, THAT JOIN THAT MEETING FROM COASTAL COUNTIES WHERE WE HAVE WATER ISSUES HERE OF, YOU KNOW, OF RECHARGE. ONE OF THEIR IS BIGGEST ISSUES ON, ON THE COASTAL COUNTIES IS THAT THEY HAVE TO DEAL WITH SALTWATER INTRUSION. WE DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE THAT PROBLEM HERE IN, IN THE VALLEY. SO, UM, CONTINUING TO WORK ON THAT. AND AGAIN, WE'RE GOING TO, UM, HAVE A, A PRESENTATION ON IT AT, UH, THREE MEETINGS, VIRTUAL MEETINGS, BUT THEN A BIGGER PRESENTATION AND MEETING AT OUR, UM, STATE ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING IN DECEMBER. AND THEN LASTLY, I JUST WANT THANK ALL STAFF. I KNOW I THANK THE BUDGET STAFF, THANK ALL STAFF IS, IS WE ARE GOING THROUGH, WE HAVE A LOT OF NEW DEPARTMENT HEADS, RIGHT? AND IF YOU THINK ABOUT THESE LAST FEW YEARS IN GOVERNMENT, UM, BECAUSE OF A LOT OF INFLUX OF FEDERAL MONIES INTO, INTO MERCED COUNTY, THERE'S A SLIDE ON THERE THAT SHOWS YOU WHAT OUR LOCAL DISCRETIONARY REVENUE IS. WHEN I FIRST GOT HERE, IT WAS A HUNDRED MILLION. TODAY IT'S 153 MILLION. OUR FIRST BUDGET WAS 684 MILLION. TODAY WE'RE AT A $1.23 BILLION BUDGET, RIGHT? SO OUR BUDGETS HAVE GONE UP, BUT OUR, OUR LOCAL SHARE OF REVENUE REALLY HASN'T GONE UP AS FAST. AND SO, UM, A LOT OF OUR NEW DEPARTMENT HEADS HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED WHAT IT IS TO, TO HAVE TO TIGHTEN THE BELT. AND I'M NOT SAYING THAT YOU DON'T ALREADY, BUT I'M SAYING WE NOW, IT'S, IT'S, WE HAVE NO OTHER OPTION TO, TO TIGHTEN THE BELT. SO I WANNA THANK ALL OF OUR STAFF, ALL THE, ALL THE ANALYSTS, EVERYBODY THAT HELPS WITH THE BUDGET. I GET IT. WE'RE WE GET TO MAKE THE FINAL VOTE ON THE BUDGET. I DO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I SAY THIS IN HONOR OF MY PREDECESSOR, JERRY O'BANION, HIS STATEMENT ALWAYS WAS, IS THE PROPOSED BUDGET WAS STAFF'S BUDGET. THE FINAL BUDGET IS THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS BUDGET. WE HAVE NOW PASSED THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FINAL BUDGET. AND THAT COMES, IT'S A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD BECAUSE EVERYTHING YOU LOVE ABOUT IT, HEY, WE VOTED FOR THAT. EVERYTHING YOU DON'T LOVE ABOUT IT, WELL, HEY, WE VOTED FOR THAT TOO, BUT THAT'S WHY WE SIGN UP FOR THIS WORK. UM, AND THEN THE LAST THING REALLY QUICKLY IS WE GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF VOTING FOR ALL THESE THINGS RELATIVELY QUICKLY. I DON'T WANT ANYBODY OUT THERE TO THINK THAT IT'S, IT'S NOT BECAUSE OUR STAFF DOESN'T DO A GREAT JOB. WE HAVE MEETINGS UPON MEETINGS, UPON MEETINGS, BRIEFINGS. SO WE'RE SEEING A LOT OF THIS STUFF AS THE BOARD, WE'RE SEEING THIS STUFF FOR THE SECOND, THIRD, AND FOURTH TIME. AND NOT TO MENTION THE ONE-OFF CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE HAPPENING WITH INDIVIDUAL SUPERVISORS. SO YOU THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WE JUST PASSED A $1.23 BILLION BUDGET, AND THE ACTUAL PART OF PASSING IT TOOK ALL OF ABOUT TWO MINUTES, RIGHT? WELL, THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT GOES BEHIND THE SCENES, AND AGAIN, THAT'S A BIG THANK YOU TO STAFF AND OUR CEO FOR, FOR REALLY ENGAGING US IN THE PROCESS EARLY. I DON'T [02:35:01] BY ANY MEANS, CLAIM TO BE AN EXPERT ON OUR BUDGET. THAT'S WHY WE HAVE, UH, GREG AND HIS TEAM OVER THERE. THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT THEY SPECIALIZE IN. BUT, BUT I CAN, IF YOU COME UP AND ASK ME SPECIFIC THINGS IN OUR BUDGET, I CAN GIVE YOU A ROUGH IDEA AND I KNOW WHERE TO LOOK. AND, AND I'M PRETTY PROUD ABOUT THAT. SO THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. COUNTY COUNCIL, CEO HENDERSON. NOTHING SIR. NOTHING. I, I DO WANNA REPORT OUT THAT, UM, UH, THE WEEK BEFORE LAST WHEN I MISSED THE BOARD MEETING, I WAS AT THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY, UH, POLICY COUNCIL, UH, IN WASHINGTON DC LOBBYING. AND I GOTTA SAY, IT WAS A VERY SUCCESSFUL EFFORT AND, UH, TO MUCH SURPRISE FOR CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION. WE WERE ACTUALLY RIGHT ABOUT THE EPA, UH, CALCULATIONS. AND, UM, WE PRESENTED IT LAST YEAR WHEN WE WAS THERE. AND THIS YEAR, THE EPA WAS VERY THANKFUL FOR, UH, FOR WHAT ALL THE WORK WE HAVE DONE. AND THAT'S IN THE PROCESS NOW OF BEING ABLE TO FREE IT UP WHERE WE CAN BUILD THE NEW ROADS HERE IN, UM, ALL OF CALIFORNIA. AND, UH, EVEN A LITTLE PUSHBACK FROM, FROM OUR CONGRESSMEN, BUT THEY WERE WRONG. WE WERE RIGHT. AND WE, WE APPRECIATE THE ADMINISTRATION FOR THE WORK THEY'RE DOING AND THE EPA FOR, UH, UH, TAKING, TAKING THE LEAD ON BY OUR SUGGESTION. UM, AND THEN LAST, LAST WEEK, I WAS AT THE RCRC, UH, UH, ANNUAL MEETING, WHICH WAS, UH, VERY GOOD. AND WE WERE TALKING ABOUT MEETING WITH OUR COLLEAGUES AND HAVING THE CONVERSATION. CONVERSATIONAL LAYOFF IS VERY COMMON AMONGST ALL OUR COLLEAGUES, ESPECIALLY IN THE SMALLER RURAL, UM, COUNTIES. SO, AGAIN, APPRECIATE THE WORK STAFF HAS DONE, DEPARTMENTS HAVE DONE TO, UM, WE'RE NOT HAVING THE SAME DISCUSSIONS THAT EVERYBODY ELSE IS HAVING RIGHT NOW, BUT BEWARE, I MEAN, UH, THE BUDGETS ARE TIGHT, IT'S GONNA GET TIGHTER. SO WITH THAT, [POSSIBLE DIRECTION FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS] UM, THE NEXT RESIDENT SCHEDULED BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING WILL BE HELD 10:00 AM ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6TH, WHICH WE'LL BE DISCUSSING MORE ABOUT, UH, THE EL NINO AND WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE, IN THE, WHICH IS IN ANOTHER DISCUSSION WE'RE NOT HAVING THEN. IT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR MONTHS NOW. AND THEN THIS CONCLUDES THE BOARD OF SUPERVISED MEETING, FINAL BUDGET HEARING FOR SEPTEMBER 29TH. MEETING IS ADJOURNED. THANK YOU. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.