* 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. [00:00:03] ON DISTRICT. ALL RIGHT. GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. IT IS 9:00 AM WE'RE AT THE HISTORIC COURTHOUSE. I'M GONNA CALL TO ORDER OUR BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING, UM, AND GONNA MOVE RIGHT INTO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER ONE, WHICH IS THE PUBLIC FORUM. IT'S THE PUBLIC'S OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS THE COURT ABOUT ANY COUNTY MATTERS. NO ONE HAS SIGNED UP, BUT ANYBODY THAT WANTS TO SPEAK CAN COME FORWARD SEEING [2. Discussion of FY2026 Budget, and all related issues] NO ONE. WE'LL MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER TWO, UH, DISCUSSION OF OUR FY 2026 BUDGET. AND FIRST UP IS MS. KENDA CULPEPPER, OUR DISTRICT ATTORNEY. TAKE IT AWAY, KEN. ALRIGHT. CAN Y'ALL HEAR ME JUST FINE OR DO I NEED TO MOVE CLOSER TO THE MIC? NOPE. SOUNDS GOOD. SO AGAIN, FOR THE RECORD, UH, I'M KENDA COLE PEPPER. I'M THE ROCKWELL COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY, AND, UH, APPRECIATE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT TO THE ENTIRE COURT, UM, KIND OF A PRELIMINARY DISCUSSION ABOUT THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S BUDGET. UM, I WILL SAY I APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT I WAS ABLE TO MEET WITH EACH AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU, UM, FOR A LENGTHY AMOUNT OF TIME TO GO OVER THIS BUDGET AND ANSWER A LOT OF QUESTIONS. UM, SO WHAT I WANNA USE TODAY FOR IS OBVIOUSLY TO CONTINUE ANSWERING THOSE QUESTIONS, BUT ALSO I'M VERY SENSITIVE, AS ARE YOU, UM, BY THE FACT THAT THE PUBLIC IS INTERESTED IN THIS PROCEEDING. SO I AM, AS THE DA I'M GONNA TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY, UM, TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC AS WELL ABOUT WHAT THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE DOES, UM, SO THAT, UH, THEY, WHEN THEY HAVE QUESTIONS, UM, OF YOU, THEN THEY, YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN ADEQUATELY AND THEY CAN UNDERSTAND, UM, KIND OF WHAT WE DO. SO I PUT TOGETHER A POWERPOINT. IT'S NOT VERY LONG, UM, BUT IT DOES KIND OF GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT THE DA'S OFFICE DOES. UM, CERTAINLY Y'ALL HAVE BEEN TO THOSE PRESENTATIONS THAT I GIVE TO DIFFERENT GROUPS, THAT THEY'RE AN HOUR LONG. THAT, THAT, THIS IS NOT THAT ONE. OKAY. UM, SO JUST TO GET STARTED, UH, AND I'LL JUST TAKE A LOOK, IF YOU'LL TAKE A LOOK AT THE SCREEN, UM, THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE HAS A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT DUTIES BESIDES THE FACT THAT WE PROSECUTE ALL THE CRIMINAL CASES, UM, IN ROCKWELL COUNTY ALL THE WAY UP FROM, UH, CAPITAL MURDER ALL THE WAY DOWN TO JP COURT TICKETS. UM, AND WE OBVIOUSLY DO A LOT OF DIFFERENT OTHER THINGS, UM, INCLUDE, UH, REPRESENT THE COUNTY IN CIVIL MATTERS. WE HAVE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT DIVISIONS. WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THIS BECAUSE I THINK THAT THIS LENDS ITSELF TO OUR DISCUSSION, BUT WE HAVE CERTAINLY A FIRST ASSISTANT. WE HAVE A FELONY TRIAL DIVISION THAT WE'RE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT A LOT TODAY BECAUSE, UM, WE EXPECT THAT WE'RE GONNA BE GETTING A NEW DISTRICT COURT, UM, THAT'S GONNA HAVE TO BE STAFFED. AND THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT, UH, IS WAY AHEAD OF THE GAME. THEY KNOW THAT THE LEGISLATURE, UH, HAD PASSED THAT NEW COURT. UM, THE GOVERNOR VETOED THAT OMNIBUS BILL. UM, BUT WE, UH, UNDERSTAND THAT THAT VETO IS BASED ON EXPS ONLY. AND SO WE FULLY EXPECT THAT THAT NEW COURT WILL BE FUNDED. UM, AND AS SUCH, I AM GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT STAFFING. UM, WE HAVE DIFFERENT DIVISIONS. WHEN I BECAME THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY, WE HAD FELONY TRIAL DIVISIONS THAT HANDLED KIND OF EVERYTHING. UM, WHEN I BECAME THE DA SHORTLY THEREAFTER, WE HAVE CREATED, UH, SPECIALIZED DIVISIONS. AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS, IS THAT SPECIALIZED DIVISIONS, THOSE PROSECUTORS, STAFF INVESTIGATORS, THEY LEARN WHAT IT TAKES TO PROSECUTE A FAMILY VIOLENCE CASE, A CHILD ABUSE CASE, AN APPELLATE COURT, UM, MATTER. AND THOSE ARE SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE. UM, AND SO WE'VE CREATED THOSE DIFFERENT DIVISIONS. HAD A QUESTION FOR YOU ON THAT. YES, SIR. IF YOU DON'T MIND ME INTERRUPTING. ABSOLUTELY. SO I THINK WHEN I, WE TALKED, YOU SAID THAT DALLAS DOES THAT MM-HMM . WITH SPECIALIZED PROSECUTORS. IS THAT NORMAL IN COUNTIES OUR SIZE? IT IS. I, I ACTUALLY, UH, CAN TELL YOU THAT WITH THE EXCEPTION OF, AND, AND AGAIN, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT, UH, I WAS PRESIDENT OF THE, THE STATE PROSECUTORS, SO I'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH STATE PROSECUTORS AND DIFFERENT OFFICES, EVEN OFFICES THAT ARE MUCH SMALLER THAN OURS, HAVE SPECIALIZED DIVISIONS. AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS EXACTLY AS I, AS I SAID, UM, BECAUSE THAT TAKES SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE. UH, THE OFFICES THAT HAVE TWO OR THREE PROSECUTORS IN THEM, NO, THEY PROSECUTE EVERYTHING. OKAY. THEY HAVE FAR FEWER CASES, BUT THEY PROSECUTE EVERYTHING. THEY'RE KIND OF LIKE OUR JUDGES THAT ARE GENERAL JURISDICTION. BUT ANYTHING, ANY DA'S OFFICE OF ANY SIZE THAT I'M FAMILIAR WITH HAS SPECIAL, AT LEAST SOME SPECIALIZED DIVISIONS. RIGHT. I, I APPRECIATE THAT. AND OBVI, THE REASON I ASK IS OBVIOUS BECAUSE, UM, YOU'RE ASKING TO CREATE A NEW DIVISION, A NEW PROSECUTOR, PROSECUTOR, AS I UNDERSTOOD IT, YOU WOULD WANT A FINANCIAL CRIMES PROSECUTOR, WHICH WILL DO JUST THOSE CRIMES. RIGHT? RIGHT. SO YOU'RE ASKING US TO ADD ONE ADDITIONAL BODY, WHICH WILL BE A LOT OF MONEY. WE KNOW THAT. YEP. [00:05:01] AND SO IT'S A BIG DECISION, I THINK, TO MAKE, AND I'M NEVER GONNA EVEN BEGIN TO TRY AND SUGGEST HOW YOU RUN YOUR COURT OTHER THAN TO DO IT EFFICIENTLY. AND THAT'S THE QUESTION WE GOTTA LOOK AT. WELL, AND I APPRECIATE THAT VERY MUCH. YOU AND I HAVE HAD THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT FINANCIAL CRIMES PROSECUTOR, UM, THAT IS, UH, A, A ANOTHER STAFF MEMBER THAT WE ARE, UM, ASKING FOR. AND IT'S BASED ON THE NUMBERS AND THE COMPLEXITY OF WHITE COLLAR CRIME, AS YOU KNOW, UM, AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THIS IN A SECOND, BUT AS YOU KNOW, ROCKWELL COUNTY IS THE RICHEST COUNTY IN THE STATE AS A RESULT. UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF VICTIMS. PEOPLE COME HERE FROM ALL OVER THE STATE ACTUALLY, TO VICTIMIZE OUR VICTIMS. WE ARE INVOLVED IN SEVERAL MULTI-COUNTY CASES WHERE, UH, STATE DIVISIONS ARE COMING TO PROSECUTE CASES WITH OUR PROSECUTORS AND USING ROCKWELL COUNTY AS A HUB, UM, TO PROSECUTE CASES THAT ARE NOT ONLY IN ROCKWELL COUNTY, BUT IT'S THE SAME DEFENDANT WITH MULTIPLE VICTIMS IN OTHER STATES. UM, BECAUSE, UH, WE HAVE GOTTEN THAT, THAT EXPERIENCE WITH WHITE COLLAR, WE'RE NOT ASKING TO CREATE A NEW DIVISION FOR WHITE COLLAR. WE ALREADY HAVE A DIVISION FOR WHITE COLLAR AND FINANCIAL CRIMES. THAT PROSECUTOR ALSO DOES THE APPELLATE WORK. AND WE BELIEVE THAT THERE IS A NEED FOR AN ENTIRE DIVISION FOR WHITE COLLAR. UM, BUT AGAIN, THAT'S, UH, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT HERE IN A MINUTE. THAT THAT IS APART FROM THE PROSECUTORS WE'RE ASKING TO, TO FUND THE NEW COURT. SO, UM, BUT THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION. THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. ALRIGHT. CRIME IN ROCKWELL COUNTY, I'M JUST GONNA TALK ABOUT THE FELONY CRIME. UH, THE, UM, THIS KIND OF GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF THE FELONY CASES THAT WERE FILED IN 2024. AS YOU SEE, UM, A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF THE CASES ARE DRUG CASES. AND WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THE FACT THAT SO MANY OF THESE CASES ARE TRIED OR HANDLED BY THE FELONY COURT PROSECUTORS. UM, THE FELONY DIVISION PROSECUTORS, WHEN I SAY FELONY DIVISION, TRIAL DIVISION, I MEAN THE PROSECUTORS WHO WERE SIGNED TO THE DIFFERENT COURTS, NOT THE SPECIALIZED DIVISIONS. ONE OTHER REASON THAT WE HAVE SPECIALIZED DIVISIONS IS BECAUSE THOSE SPECIALIZED CASES TAKE AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF TIME. THEY'RE VICTIM INTENSIVE. THEY HAVE LOTS AND LOTS OF JAIL CALLS BECAUSE THEY'RE, THE PEOPLE ARE BEING THREATENED. UM, THEY HAVE CHILD ABUSE CASES, OBVIOUSLY HAVE MULTIPLE, UH, VIDEOS. SO ALL OF THOSE OTHER CASES, DRUG CASES, UH, AGGRAVATED ASSAULT, MURDER, UM, RAPE, A LOT OF THOSE CASES ARE HANDLED BY THE GENERAL TRIAL DIVISION PROSECUTORS, UM, WHO ARE ASSIGNED TO THE DIFFERENT CASES. WHEN I SAY ABOUT RAPE, UM, IF IT'S FAMILY VIOLENCE, IT GOES TO FAMILY VIOLENCE. IF IT'S A CHILD THAT GOES TO CHILD ABUSE, BUT THOSE OTHER CASES, STRANGER ON STRANGER, THOSE ARE GONNA GO TO THE FELONY TRIAL DIVISION. HEY, KENDA. YES. WHAT IS, WHAT IS TAMPERING? TAMPERING? UHHUH? TAMPERING IS WHEN, I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE. UH, NOT A VERY FUN EXAMPLE, BUT, UM, SAY YOU HAVE A DRUG CASE AND THE POLICE, UH, ARREST SOMEONE, UM, THAT THEY SEE, UH, THEY, THAT HAS DRUGS IN, UH, THEIR POSSESSION. AND WHILE THEY'RE IN THE POLICE CAR, UM, THEY HAVE SECRETED, UM, OTHER DRUGS SOMEWHERE ON THEIR PERSON, WHETHER IT'S IN THEIR POCKET AND THE POLICE DIDN'T FIND IT, OR WHETHER IT'S SOMEWHERE ELSE. UM, IF THEY, UH, EAT THAT, EAT THOSE DRUGS, OR THEY THROW 'EM OUT THE WINDOW, OR WHILE THE POLICE ARE INVESTIGATING, THEY SOMEHOW, UM, GET RID OF THAT EVIDENCE THAT'S TAMPERING WITH WITNESS, UH, THAT'S TAMPERING WITH EVIDENCE. GOT IT. THANK YOU. UM, TAMPERING WITH A WITNESS ON THE OTHER HAND WOULD BE, WE'RE GETTING READY FOR TRIAL. AND A DEFENDANT GOES AND, UH, THREATENS THAT WITNESS, UM, BEFORE TRIAL SAYING, IF YOU DON'T CHANGE YOUR STORY, THEN WE'RE GONNA HURT YOUR FAMILY. OR SOMETHING THAT COULD BE TAMPERING WITH A WITNESS. JAIL EXPANSION. OBVIOUSLY Y'ALL HAVE SPENT A LOT OF MONEY ON THE JAIL EXPANSION AND IT WAS VERY NEEDED. UM, WE HAD TOO MANY PEOPLE IN THE JAIL. BUT I WILL MENTION, AND THIS GOES TO THAT WHITE COLLAR QUESTION AS WELL, 75% OF THE PEOPLE IN THE ROCKWELL COUNTY JAIL AT ANY ONE TIME ARE NOT FROM ROCKWELL COUNTY. THAT JUST GOES TO SHOW AGAIN, THAT IT'S PEOPLE COMING FROM THE SURROUNDING COUNTIES AND THROUGHOUT THE STATE COMING TO ROCKWELL COUNTY TO VICTIMIZE ROCKWELL COUNTY CITIZENS AND RESIDENTS. THESE ARE NEW STATS. UM, I USUALLY USE STATS FROM THE LAST 10 YEARS. UM, THIS, I THOUGHT WE MADE SOME NEW STATS THAT I THOUGHT MIGHT BE MORE, UH, RELEVANT TO TODAY'S CONVERSATION. THERE'S A FIVE YEAR INCREASE FROM 20 TO 24 FELONY CASE DISPOSITIONS. THERE WAS A 72% INCREASE IN FELONY CASE DISPOSITIONS ONLY OVER THE LAST FOUR TO FIVE YEARS. FAMILY VIOLENCE DISPOSITIONS 273% INCREASE AND CHILD ABUSE DISPOSITIONS, UM, ALMOST A HUNDRED PERCENT. SO ALMOST TWICE. UM, THOSE, THAT'S ONLY IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS. WE'VE SEEN EVEN MORE SIGNIFICANT INCREASES OVER THE LAST 10 CURRENT CASELOADS. UH, COMMISSIONER LICHTY, YOU HAD ASKED ME TO TAKE A LOOK AT THESE. SO WE PULLED THESE CASELOADS. UM, THE TRIAL DIVISION PROSECUTORS ARE, ARE HANDLING CASELOADS OF OVER 250 [00:10:01] CASES A PIECE. UM, AND I THINK THAT IT'S IMPORTANT, UH, TO KIND OF, I WAS THINKING ABOUT IT THIS MORNING ON HOW TO TRY TO EXPLAIN, UM, THAT CASELOAD AND IF I'M AN ENGLISH MAJOR, SO I'LL EXPLAIN IT THIS WAY, IF YOU HAD TO READ, UM, A COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES, OVER 200 SHORT STORIES, AND YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER THE FACTS, UM, IN EACH DOCKET. SO I BROUGHT ONE OF THE DOCKETS LAST WEEK'S, LAST WEEK'S DOCKET. THERE WERE 60 CASES ON THE DOCKET THAT'S IN ONE DAY. UM, PROSECUTORS HAD TO BE PREPARED FOR 60 CASES, NOT THAT THEY WERE GONNA BE DISPOSING OF THOSE CASES, BUT THAT THEY HAD TO TALK TO A DEFENSE LAWYER ABOUT 60 DIFFERENT CASES IN ONE DOCKET. UM, AND SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THAT, YOU'VE GOTTA PREPARE, NOT ONLY YOU'VE GOTTA READ THOSE SHORT STORIES, THEN YOU HAVE TO BE UNDERSTAND THE SHORT STORIES IN SUFFICIENT DETAIL TO BE ABLE TO DISCUSS THEM WITH THE DEFENSE LAWYER. THEN YOU HAVE TO REMIND YOURSELF ABOUT THOSE FACTS IN SUFFICIENT DETAIL TO BE ABLE TO DISCUSS THEM IN ONE DAY, IN ONE, UH, SITTING, WELL, TWO SITTINGS. 'CAUSE THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT DOCKETS. UM, AND THEN, UH, GETTING READY FOR TRIAL, YOU HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO NOT ONLY UNDERSTAND THAT STORY, BUT THEN PRESENT IT TO A BODY OF 12 PEOPLE IN A WAY, FIGURING OUT WHAT CHARACTERS FROM THAT BOOK THAT YOU WANNA PRESENT, WHAT EVIDENCE FROM THE BOOK, WHAT, UH, OF THE THOUSANDS OF PIECES OF EVIDENCE THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE, UM, WHAT YOU'RE GONNA USE TO BE ABLE TO PRESENT IT IN A COGENT MANNER AND IN A SHORT ENOUGH MANNER THAT YOUR JURY DOESN'T FALL ASLEEP. SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THAT, THAT'S NOT ONLY THE PROSECUTORS LEARNING HOW TO DULT LEARNING AND, AND, AND CONSUMING ALL OF THAT KNOWLEDGE, BUT THAT'S ALSO YOUR INVESTIGATORS THAT ARE HAVING TO DEAL WITH ALL THE CHARACTERS IN THAT BOOK. ALL THE WITNESSES, ALL THE POLICE OFFICERS, LOOK AT ALL THE BODY CAMS, LOOK AT ALL OF THE SURVEILLANCE VIDEOS, THE JAIL CALLS, THE EMAILS THAT ARE COMING OUT OF THE JAIL. UM, ALL OF THE WITNESSES. YOU'VE GOTTA BRING THE WITNESSES IN TO TALK TO THEM ABOUT WHAT THEIR FIRSTHAND ACCOUNT IS. YOU CAN'T JUST DEPEND ON THE POLICE REPORT, THAT SHORT STORY. AND THEN YOU HAVE THE PARALEGALS, WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT ALL THIS, BUT THE PARALEGALS ARE THE ONES THAT ARE GETTING ALL THAT DISCOVERY TOGETHER BECAUSE OF THE NEW LAWS. WE HAVE TO LOOK AT ALL THE DISCOVERY. IN MY MURDER CASE THAT I TRIED LAST YEAR, THERE WERE 30,000 PIECES OF EVIDENCE. NOW WE DIDN'T PRESENT ALL OF THAT EVIDENCE, BUT WE HAD TO LOOK AND BE FAMILIAR WITH, UM, THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF PIECES OF EVIDENCE AND THEN PUSH IT ALL OUT TO THE DEFENSE LAWYER, THEN TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO CREATE TECH TO PRESENT THAT TO EITHER A JURY OR A DEFENSE LAWYER. THE PARALEGALS ARE INVOLVED IN THAT. UM, AND THEN THE CLERKS ARE TAKING ALL OF THAT AND INPUTTING ALL THE IN INFORMATION. THEY'RE CREATING ALL THE PLEA BARGAINS, THEY'RE CREATING ALL OF THE JUDGMENTS. UM, AND THOSE PEOPLE ARE ALL ASSIGNED TO EACH INDIVIDUAL COURT. SO, UM, BASIC LIFE OF A HISTORY OF CAN, CAN WE JUST STOP FOR JUST TWO SECONDS? I'M SORRY. YEAH, I JUST WANNA COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND, SO YOU SAID 60 CASES ON A DOCKET. MM-HMM . IS THAT FOR ONE COURT? THAT'S FOR BOTH COURTS. SO THERE WERE ONE DOCKET, OH, I'M SORRY, THAT WAS 60 CASES FOR ONE COURT THAT DAY, THE 392ND. AND THEY DO CRIMINAL TWICE A WEEK. THEY DO CRIMINAL CASES TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS. SO THE DOCKETS, HERE'S THE DOCKET FROM, I BROUGHT THE DOCKETS. THE DOCKET FROM, UH, TUESDAY OF LAST WEEK WAS 46 TOTAL IN ONE COURT. AND THE DOCKET FROM THE THREE 82ND COMING UP THIS WEEK IS 52. SO IT'S, IT'S, I JUST WANTED THE SAME, MAKE SURE THAT I COMPLETELY UNDERSTOOD THE SILOS THAT YOU WERE PRESENTING. SO, NO, THAT'S A THANK YOU. THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. SO WHAT'S AVERAGE DISPOSITION TIME FOR THOSE CASES? LIKE YOU GOT 250 CASES, DO THEY BURN THROUGH THEM IN THREE MONTHS IN A YEAR? WHAT'S THE AVERAGE DISPOSITION? SO I WOULD SAY, AND I DON'T HAVE THOSE NUMBERS WITH ME, I'M HAPPY TO COLLECT THAT INFORMATION. I'M ALWAYS AFRAID TO ANSWER QUESTIONS WITHOUT HAVING IT RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. OKAY. BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT WHAT I AM CONFIDENT ABOUT SAYING IS THAT I'M GONNA MOVE THIS 'CAUSE I'M TIRED OF LEANING OVER. UM, WHAT I AM CONFIDENT ABOUT SAYING IS THAT EVERY CASE IS DIFFERENT. A DRUG CASE IS GONNA TAKE LESS TIME, TYPICALLY, UM, TO GET READY, UH, THAN A AGGRAVATED ASSAULT OF A DEADLY, WE WITH A DEADLY WEAPON, OBVIOUSLY. 'CAUSE YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A LOT OF WITNESSES. UM, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO TALK TO ALL OF THOSE WITNESSES. YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO LOOK AT A LOT OF SURVEILLANCE TAPE A DRUG CASE. YOU'RE STILL GONNA LOOK, HAVE TO LOOK AT ALL OF THE BODY CAM FOOTAGE, ALL THE SURVEILLANCE CAM FOOTAGE. UM, SO I, I COULDN'T GIVE YOU AN AVERAGE DISPOSITION DATE. I MIGHT BE ABLE TO COME UP WITH, UH, AVERAGE DISPOSITIONS MORE FOR CASE TYPES, BUT I DON'T HAVE THAT WITH ME. BUT IN TERMS OF, UH, I CAN TELL YOU THAT IT TAKES ABOUT TWO YEARS TO GET A CASE TO TRIAL, IS WHAT IS WHAT I'VE BEEN TOLD, UM, FROM THE COURTS. UH, IN DALLAS COUNTY, IT'S FOUR YEARS. UM, WE'RE PROUD ACTUALLY OF THE FACT THAT WE CAN GET THOSE THINGS TO TRIAL QUICKER THAN MOST COUNTIES. BUT IT STILL TAKES A LONG TIME BECAUSE [00:15:01] AS YOU KNOW, UM, IT'S NOT, AND, AND AGAIN, WE'LL, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THIS, BUT IT'S NOT THE CASE IS, WELL, LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS. I THINK THAT THAT WILL KIND OF, UH, ILLUMINATE THINGS A LITTLE BIT. SO THERE IS AN ARREST, UM, BY THE POLICE DEPARTMENTS WHEN THEY DO THAT. THEY ACTUALLY HAVE 90 DAYS TO FILE A CASE. THEY'RE NOT GONNA USUALLY TAKE THAT LONG, BUT WE HAVE 90 DAYS TO TAKE A FELONY CASE TO GRAND JURY. ALRIGHT? UM, SO THAT'S THREE MONTHS THERE. THEN WHILE THAT'S HAPPENING, IT'S GOOD. THERE'S GONNA BE A THOROUGH REVIEW OF THE CASE BY THE POLICE DEPARTMENT THAT'S GONNA GO TO THEIR SUPERVISORS. UM, AND THEY'RE GONNA BE MAKING SURE THAT THEY HAD PROBABLE CAUSE TO MAKE THAT ARREST. WHEN THEY BRING IT TO US, THEN EVERY SINGLE CASE IS WHAT WE CALL INTAKE. UM, IT GOES THROUGH A FELONY INTAKE WITH FIRST THE CLERK'S OFFICE. IT GOES THROUGH THE INVESTIGATORS AND THE PROSECUTORS. THEY'RE GONNA TALK TO WITNESSES. THEY'RE GONNA READ THE ENTIRE FILE. THEY'RE GONNA WATCH BODY CAM F FOOTAGE, UM, A LOT OF IT MORE OF THE, THE, THE PRIMARY POLICE OFFICER. AND THEN MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHETHER WE HAVE SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO MOVE FORWARD. BECAUSE THERE ARE MANY TIMES THAT WE, I WOULDN'T SAY MANY TIMES, BUT THERE ARE TIMES THAT WE MAKE A DECISION THAT EVEN THOUGH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT HAD PROBABLE CAUSE FOR THE CASE, UM, WE DON'T FEEL LIKE THERE'S SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO MOVE FORWARD TO TAKE IT TO THE GRAND JURY. WE WANT THERE TO BE ENOUGH EVIDENCE FOR THAT. AT THAT POINT. UM, IF THERE'S NOT ENOUGH EVIDENCE, WE'LL SEND IT BACK TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR WE WILL FILE THAT AS A MISDEMEANOR. WE FILE IT AS A FELONY. WE TAKE IT TO THE GRAND JURY. THE GRAND JURY IS EVERY OTHER, UH, EVERY OTHER WEDNESDAY TYPICALLY, UM, WE WILL GO TO GRAND JURY. THAT'S A FULL DAY PROCESS, TYPICALLY, UM, WHERE EVERY SINGLE FELONY CASE THAT COMES TO THE DA'S OFFICE THAT WE BELIEVE HAS SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO PROCEED, GOES TO A GRAND JURY. THE PROSECUTORS HAVE TO PREPARE FOR THAT GRAND JURY PROCEEDING BECAUSE THEY ARE PRESENTING EVIDENCE TO A GRAND JURY TO DETERMINE IF THAT CASE HAS SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO PROCEED. IF THERE IS SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE, IT'S INDICTED. IF THERE'S NOT SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE, IT'S NO BUILD AT THAT POINT. UM, THE CASE GOES TO NEGOTIATIONS. UM, THAT IS WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WITH THESE DOCKETS, WHERE THOSE, YOU HAVE 60 CASES ON A DOCKET AT ANY ONE TIME. UM, THAT'S WHERE THE PROSECUTORS ARE TALKING TO A DEFENSE LAWYER. THE DEFENSE LAWYERS ARE TALKING TO THEIR CLIENTS. AND THEN WE HAVE ALREADY TALKED TO WITNESSES. WE'VE TALKED, LOOKED AT, UH, MOST OF THE OTHER EVIDENCE, UM, AND WE'RE TALKING TO THE DEFENSE LAWYER ABOUT WHAT THE APPROPRIATE PUNISHMENT IS AT THAT POINT. UM, OFTENTIMES THOSE CASES ARE RESET A NUMBER OF TIMES, AND I'M NOT SAYING, UH, ONCE, TWICE, SOMETIMES IT'S 3, 4, 5 TIMES BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE A DECISION, OR THE DEFENSE LAWYER IS TRYING TO COME TO A POINT WHERE THAT CASE CAN BE DISPOSED. IF THAT CASE CANNOT BE DISPOSED, UM, THEN WE ARE GOING TO, AND, AND I WILL SAY ON THE NEGOTIATIONS, WE AS THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE REALLY TAKE INTO ACCOUNT, UM, WHAT A JURY, WHAT WE BELIEVE THAT A JURY WOULD DO, UM, IN THAT CASE, WHILE UNDERSTANDING THAT IF WE TAKE IT TO TRIAL, THE WITNESSES HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE TRAUMA OF A TRIAL, WHICH OFTENTIMES IN A VICTIM RELATED CASE CAN BE ADDITIONAL TRAUMA THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SAVE THEM FROM. BUT THERE ARE OFTENTIMES THAT WE CAN'T COME TO AN, AN AGREEMENT ON NEGOTIATIONS. THERE ARE, THE TRIAL COURTS TRY CASES EVERY OTHER WEEK. RIGHT NOW, THERE ARE TWO CASES OR TWO COURTS, THAT'S WHAT 56 CASES WE CAN TRY IN A YEAR. WE FILE THOUSANDS OF CASES AT THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. SO MANY TIMES THEY HAVE TO BE NEGOTIATED. SO IT TAKES TIME TO NEGOTIATE THOSE CASES. THE JUDGES DO A VERY GOOD JOB OF KEEPING THOSE CASES IN LINE AND MOVING BECAUSE THEY ARE PROUD OF THE FACT THAT THEY DO HAVE A HIGHER DISPOSITION RATE, UM, THAN MANY OTHER COUNTIES. UM, WE DO TAKE, WE DO SPEND A LOT OF TIME WITH OUR CRIME VICTIMS, UM, AND WE, UH, I'M INVOLVED IN ANOTHER CASE, IN ANOTHER COUNTY WHERE THEY STILL HAVEN'T CALLED THE, THE CRIME VICTIM. WE ACTUALLY CALL IN FAMILY VIOLENCE CASES. WE CALL THE CRIME VICTIM WITHIN 24 HOURS. WE TRY TO DO THAT BECAUSE WE WANNA GET TO THOSE PEOPLE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE WHILE THEY'RE STILL MAD AND UPSET AND NOT FALLING BACK IN LOVE WITH THE PERSON WHO BEAT THEM UP. UM, SO WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME WITH VICTIMS, AND THAT'S THE VICTIM ADVOCATE COORDINATOR THAT WE, UM, ARE GONNA TALK ABOUT. ALSO, WE ARE ASKING FOR ANOTHER VICTIM ADVOCATE COORDINATOR. THE NUMBER OF VIC TOUCHES, UH, WELL, MAYBE I SHOULDN'T USE THAT WORD, BUT THE NUMBER OF TIMES THAT A VICTIM ADVOCATE HAS TO CONTACT THE WITNESS HAS INCREASED PRETTY MUCH EX EXPONENTIALLY. AND THAT'S, UH, THE REASON THAT THAT POSITION ACTUALLY CAN BE JUSTIFIED BY NUMBERS. UM, AND THEN TRIAL, UH, THAT'S WHAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT. Y'ALL ARE ALL FAMILIAR WITH IT. I WON'T SPEND A LOT OF TIME WITH IT, BUT WHEN YOU ARE GETTING READY FOR A TRIAL, IT TAKES HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS. IT TAKES HOURS JUST TO PREPARE VOID DIRE TO PICK THE JURY TO DETERMINE WHAT QUESTIONS YOU'RE GONNA ASK TO FIGURE OUT WHO IS AN APPROPRIATE JUROR FOR THAT PARTICULAR CASE. AND THEN THINK ABOUT ALL THE WITNESSES THAT [00:20:01] YOU HAVE TO COORDINATE. YOU HAVE TO PREP THEM AGAIN, MEANING TALK TO THEM AGAIN ABOUT WHAT THE CASE FACTS ARE SO THAT YOU CAN MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE APPROPRIATELY PRESENTING THAT TO THE JURY. UM, YOU HAVE TO GET THE EVIDENCE. ALL THE STUFF THAT I HAVE ON MY DESK DOESN'T COMPARE TO THE BOXES AND BOXES OF CASE OF CASE FILES AND EVIDENCE THAT WE HAVE WHEN WE'RE GOING TO TRIAL, TYPICALLY, KEN? YES. CAN CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO THE WAY THE COURTS FLOW? SO OUR JUDGES, I KNOW, REQUIRE THAT OUR PROSECUTORS HAVE EACH CASE THAT POSSIBLY COULD GO THAT DAY PREPARED AND READY TO GO, EVEN THOUGH THERE, THERE IS NO WAY, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE 10 CASES, THERE'S NO WAY YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE GONNA DO ONE, BUT YOU HAVE TO BE PREPARED FOR 10. CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT? IS, IS THAT A NORMAL PROCEDURE IN OTHER COUNTIES? UM, AND, AND CAN YOU TALK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT? BECAUSE IT, IT, IT'S A, A LOT OF WORK ON THE FRONT END THAT YOU KNOW IS NOT GOING TO BE RELEVANT TO TODAY. SO I WILL MAKE THIS DISCLAIMER FIRST. I LOVE YOU JUDGES. WE LOVE YOU. UM, BUT OUT OF COVID, UM, WHAT CAME OUT OF COVID IS THAT THE JUDGES CREATED SCHEDULING ORDERS. NOW, SCHEDULING ORDERS ARE, UH, DURING COVID, THEY WERE VERY RELEVANT. UM, AND WHAT THEY DID IS THEY DIDN'T WANT PEOPLE HAVING TO COME UP HERE. SO THEY WOULD CREATE A SCHEDULING ORDER THAT WOULD SAY, OKAY, THIS CASE, UM, IT'S A DRUG CASE, IT'S BRAND NEW, IT JUST CAME OUTTA THE GRAND JURY. WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GIVE IT A TRIAL DATE. WELL, AS WE EXPLAINED, UM, THERE ARE OVER A THOUSAND FELONY CASES THAT ARE FILED EVERY SINGLE YEAR. OF COURSE, THAT MANY CASES ARE NOT GONNA GO TO TRIAL, BUT THOSE CASES ARE NOW ON A TRIAL DOCKET. SO YOU NOW HAVE TO START PREPARING THOSE CASES IN A PRELIMINARY WAY TO GO TO TRIAL, EVEN THOUGH WE KNOW THAT THOSE CASES ARE NOT GONNA GO TO TRIAL, THAT'S A LOT OF WORK. UM, IT IT, AND THE REASON THAT THEY DO IT, AND I UNDERSTAND WHY THEY DO IT, IS BECAUSE IT DOES TEND TO CREATE A SITUATION WHERE THEIR DOCKETS MOVE QUICKER BECAUSE THE DEFENSE LAWYERS ARE NOW GOING, OH MY GOSH, THIS CASE IS SET FOR TRIAL. I REALLY DO NEED TO GET ON THE BALL AND, UM, NOT WAIT FOUR YEARS, UM, TO PLEAD THIS CASE. RIGHT? UM, SO I UNDERSTAND THE REASON FOR IT. UH, BUT COMING OUT OF COVID, UH, WE, THEY CONTINUED WITH THAT PROCESS. UM, AND IT IS AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF WORK ON THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. WE HAVE TO DO IT. UM, WHEN A CASE IS SET FOR TRIAL, YOU HAVE TO START FIGURING OUT WHAT CASES, UH, OR WHAT WITNESSES YOU HAVE TO SUBPOENA. WELL, WELL, WELL IN ADVANCE OF KNOWING IF THOSE CASES GONNA GO TO TRIAL, BUT LET'S SET THAT ASIDE. UM, THOSE, THAT'S HUNDREDS OF CASES, A THOUSAND CASES. UM, WHEN YOU GET CLOSER TO TRIAL, AND YOU DO KNOW THAT A CASE IS GONNA GO TO TRIAL, OKAY, THE NEGOTIATIONS HAVE STALLED. THE DEFENDANT'S NOT GONNA TAKE WHAT WE BELIEVE IS AN APPROPRIATE PUNISHMENT IN THIS CASE. SO IT'S GONNA HAVE TO GO TO TRIAL. WE HAVE ON EVERY DOCKET WEEKS OUT, WHEN YOU KNOW THAT THAT CASE IS GOING TO GO TO TRIAL AT SOME POINT, THERE ARE STILL 10 CASES ON A DOCKET. THOSE ARE CASES THAT HAVE TO BE FULLY PREPARED BY A PROSECUTION TEAM IN, YOU'VE GOTTA GET ALL THE WITNESSES READY. YOU'VE GOTTA GET ALL OF 'EM ROUTED, WHICH IS WHAT THE INVESTIGATORS DO. YOU'VE GOTTA GET ALL THE TECH READY. YOU'VE GOTTA GET EVERYTHING READY FOR THE TRIAL. WE CAN ONLY TRY ONE CASE. OKAY? SO ALL OF THAT WORK IS THEN RESET FOR ANOTHER TIME, AND YOU GO, WELL, YOU ALREADY DID ALL THAT WORK. WELL, WHEN IT COMES BACK UP FOR THE TRIAL DOCKET MONTHS LATER, THEY HAVE TO GET READY FOR THAT ALL OVER AGAIN. THEY'VE GOTTA ROUTE ALL THE WITNESSES AGAIN. THEY HAVE TO GET ALL THE, YOU KNOW, THE TECH HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE, BUT THEY'VE GOTTA RE-PREP ALL THE WITNESSES TO TALK ABOUT. LET'S MAKE SURE THAT WE ALL REMEMBER THINGS, UM, THE WAY THAT IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED. SO, UH, THAT YOU'RE, I, I APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING THAT UP, BUT THAT IS AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF TIME IN THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE THAT, AND THAT'S A ANOTHER REASON THAT YOU HAVE TO HAVE ASSIGNED TRIAL PROSECUTOR FOR THOSE COURTS. SO THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP. ALRIGHT, SO LET'S ACTUALLY TALK ABOUT, THAT'S KIND OF AN OVERVIEW OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, AND I'M HAPPY TO CONTINUE ANSWERING QUESTIONS. BUT AGAIN, I KNOW THAT Y'ALL KNOW A LOT OF WHAT WE DO, WE ARE ASKING IN THE BUDGET, UM, AS, UH, THE PUBLIC IS, IS AWARE, UM, WE ARE GETTING A NEW COURT, UM, ONLINE. UH, WE EXPECT THAT THAT COURT WILL, UH, GO ONLINE SEPTEMBER 1ST BECAUSE THE GOVERNOR, UM, HAS, UH, IS NOW LOOKING AT THAT ENTIRE OMNIBUS BILL. AGAIN, NOT BECAUSE OF OUR COURT, BUT BEFORE, BEFORE ANOTHER REASON WE THINK THAT THAT GIVES YOU A LITTLE MORE FLEXIBILITY IS WHEN YOU CAN FUND THE COURT. OKAY? UM, THE STATE PAYS FOR THE JUDGE, UM, BUT THE COUNTY HAS TO PAY FOR THE STAFF ASSOCIATED WITH THAT COURT. SO ALL THE STAFF THAT'S WITH THE JUDGES, UM, THE STAFF, WITH THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, YOU'VE HEARD, UM, SOME EVIDENCE FROM LEAH ABOUT THE FELONY [00:25:01] CLERKS. SO, UM, THOSE ARE CA THOSE ARE, UH, PERSONNEL THAT ARE ASSIGNED TO EVERY COURT. SO THIS IS APART FROM THE SPECIALIZED DIVISIONS THAT WE HAVE. AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT OUR SPECIALIZED DIVISIONS, WE SPREAD THEM AND SHARE THEM AMONG ALL THE COURTS BECAUSE WE CAN'T HAVE A BUNCH OF PEOPLE IN EVERY SPECIALIZED COURT, EVEN THOUGH THE JUDGES WOULD LOVE US TO HAVE AN ASSIGNED CHILD ABUSE PROSECUTOR FOR THEIR COURT AND FAMILY VIOLENCE PROSECUTOR FOR THEIR COURT. UM, WE JUST HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT. BUT WE DO HAVE TO HAVE ASSIGNED PERSONNEL. NOW, WHEN I STARTED, WE HAVE, WE HAD THREE FELONY PROSECUTORS ASSIGNED TO EACH FELONY DISTRICT COURT. WHEN I DECIDED TO PULL THOSE, UM, AND, AND, AND CREATE THESE DIVISIONS, WE NOW HAVE TWO. THERE'S A REASON THAT YOU HAVE TWO FELONY PROSECUTORS IN EACH COURT, BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO TRY CASES. WE'RE IN COURT, UM, EVERY OTHER WEEK, UH, IN TRIAL, AND WE TRY THOSE CASES IN TWO PEOPLE TEAMS. ONE PERSON PICKS THE JURY, ONE PERSON GETS READY FOR THE ENTIRE, UM, LEAD ON THE CASE, AND THAT SECOND PERSON WILL ACT AS BACKUP, GETTING THE WITNESSES AND PREPPING BEHIND THE SCENES. SO THERE IS A TWO PERSON TRIAL PARTNERSHIP THAT WE WILL DO AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO, UM, AND THAT I THINK THAT MOST, UM, COUNTIES DO, UM, WHEN THEY CAN. UH, SO THE ASSIGNED PERSONNEL FOR THE THREE 82ND AND THE FOUR 39TH, AND AGAIN, THESE ARE ASSIGNED TO EACH COURT. EACH COURT HAS TWO TRIAL PROSECUTORS. AGAIN, THERE'S ONE CHIEF AND ONE FELONY PROSECUTOR. THEY HAVE ONE FELONY CLERK. NOW, WHAT DOES THAT FELONY CLERK DO? AGAIN, THEY INTAKE EVERY CASE, WHETHER IT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER KIND OF CASE IT IS, UH, EXCEPT THE SPECIALIZED, THEY INTAKE EVERY SINGLE CASE. THEY INPUT ALL, ALL THE INFORMATION, THEY GET ALL THE INDICTMENTS DONE, THEY DO ALL THE PAPERWORK FOR THAT, AND THEY ARE ASSIGNED. THEY SIT IN THE COURTROOM DURING EVERY SINGLE DOCKET. OKAY? THE JUDGES, UM, HAVE SAID THAT THEY WANT, THAT, THEY WANT THE FELONY CLERKS TO BE IN, UM, THE COURTROOM. WE TRIED TO PULL THEM OUT BECAUSE I THOUGHT THEY'D BE MORE PRODUCTIVE IN THE COURT, IN THE OFFICE, BUT IT IS NOT MORE PRODUCTIVE. AND THE JUDGES HAVE SAID, NOPE, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A FELONY CLERK IN OUR COURTROOM. SO, UM, THEY HAVE ONE FELONY CLERK THAT HAS BEEN ASSIGNED TO THAT COURT. WE HAVE A FELONY INVESTIGATOR THAT'S ASSIGNED TO THE COURT. THEY ARE IN CHARGE OF ALL OF THOSE HUNDREDS OF CASES, GETTING THOSE WITNESSES. AND I'VE TALKED TO YOU ABOUT THAT ALREADY. THAT IS, UM, ESSENTIAL TO HAVE AN INVESTIGATOR ASSIGNED TO THAT COURT. AND THEN Y'ALL GAVE US, SEVERAL YEARS AGO, PARALEGALS, WHEN I WAS TRYING THAT MURDER CASE, I REALIZED, AND IT'S SAD THAT I HAD TO TRY MY OWN BIG CASE, UM, BUT REALIZED THE AMOUNT, THE THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF PIECES OF E OF EVIDENCE THAT WE'RE HAVING TO DEAL WITH AS PROSECUTORS THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH WHEN I, IN THE NINETIES, WHEN I WAS TRYING A JILLION CASES IN DALLAS, RIGHT? UM, OR AS A DEFENSE LAWYER. SO, UH, THOSE PARALEGALS HANDLE ALL OF THE DISCOVERY, THE THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF PIECES OF EVIDENCE. THEY, THEY CORRELATE THAT. THEY MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE ALL IN GOOD ORDER. THEY DO ALL THE TECH, THEY DO ALL THE POWERPOINTS, THEY ALL THE VIDEOS, THEY, NOW, ALL THE VIDEOS HAVE TO EACH BODY CAM FROM EVERY SINGLE POLICE OFFICER AT THE SCENE HAS TO BE TYPICALLY REDACTED IF WE'RE GONNA USE IT FOR TRIAL, BECAUSE YOU CAN ONLY PLAY ONE VOICE OF THE PERSON WHO'S TESTIFYING. SO, UM, IT IS AN ENORMOUS JOB, AND IT HAS BEEN, THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, FOR FUNDING THOSE PARALEGALS. BUT WE HAVE A PARALEGAL ASSIGNED TO EVERY COURT. SO THESE FIVE INDIVIDUALS ARE ASSIGNED TO THE THREE 82ND AND THE FOURTH 89TH. UM, AND THEN WE HAVE THOSE SPECIALIZED IN MISDEMEANOR. WE HAVE THREE TRIAL PROSECUTORS. THEY ARE IN TRIAL EVERY WEEK. UM, AND SO YOU HAVE TO HAVE TWO PROSECUTORS ARE IN TRIAL. YOU'VE GOTTA HAVE A THIRD PERSON THAT'S ACTUALLY HANDLING DOCKETS AND GETTING READY FOR THEIR OWN TRIALS. UM, THE NEXT WEEK, UH, BOTH OF THOSE COURTS SHARE A PARALEGAL BECAUSE THOSE, UH, UH, THOSE CASES ARE TYPICALLY DWIS, POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA, TRESPASSING, LOTS OF EVIDENCE IN THEM, BUT THEY'RE NOT GONNA LAST TWO WEEKS. LIKE OUR FELONY CASES HAVE BEEN LASTING LATELY. THEY'RE GONNA LAST TWO DAYS, UM, THE NEW FELONY COURT. SO WE ARE GONNA NEED THE FIVE ASSIGNED PROSECUTORS. I JUST DON'T SEE ANY WAY AROUND, UM, THOSE FIVE ASSIGNED PROSECUTORS, BECAUSE THEY ARE A TEAM. THEY GET READY FOR TRIAL TOGETHER EVERY SINGLE WEEK. AND REMEMBER, UM, LET ME TALK, UH, LET ME TALK TO YOU ABOUT A TYPICAL WEEK. SO, JURY TRIALS START IN FELONY COURT. THEY START ON MONDAYS, UM, IN EVERY SINGLE COURT. ALL RIGHT? UH, AND THIS IS EVERY OTHER WEEK. SO THIS IS A JURY WEEK, AND LIKE WE SAID, THERE ARE THREE TO FIVE CASES EVEN COMING INTO THE WEEKEND BEFORE TRIAL. WE STILL HAVE TYPICALLY THREE TO FIVE CASES THAT ARE SET FOR TRIAL. NOW, HOPEFULLY WE HAVE IDENTIFIED ONE THAT WE EXPECT IS GOING TO GO FOR SURE, AND THAT'S THE ONE THAT THEY'RE GOING TO GET READY FOR. BUT ALL THE REST OF THEM HAVE TO BE READY, BECAUSE IF THE PERSON, THE DEFENDANT PLEADS THE DAY OF TRIAL, YOU GOTTA HAVE THAT [00:30:01] NEXT ONE READY. UM, TWO PROSECUTORS TRY THAT ON A TEAM. AND THE PARALEGAL INVESTIGATORS ARE THERE. THE CLERKS, AGAIN, ARE PART OF THAT TEAM. AND YOU'LL, WE'LL TALK ABOUT DOCKETS THURSDAY ON THOSE JURY TRIAL WEEKS. WE HAVE DOCKETS ALL DAY, EVEN WHEN THEY'RE IN TRIAL. SO WHEN THE FELONY PROSECUTORS ARE IN TRIAL, WE ACTUALLY HAVE TO PULL PROSECUTORS FROM ANOTHER COURT THAT'S NOT IN TRIAL OR SPECIALIZED DIVISIONS, OR FELICIA AND I TO GO IN AND DO THE DOCKETS BECAUSE THOSE PROSECUTORS ARE IN TRIAL AND WE DON'T HAVE A THIRD, AND WE'RE NOT ASKING FOR A THIRD, WE'RE JUST ASKING FOR TWO. UM, THOSE ARE ASSIGNED CASES. UM, BUT I HAVE TO SAY THAT WHEN WE HAVE TO COVER THOSE, UM, IF, IF IT'S ME GOING IN, I HAVEN'T SPENT ALL THAT TIME WITH THE WITNESSES, I AM NOT AS PRODUCTIVE AS THE PERSON WHO'S IN TRIAL IN THE DOCKET. SO TYPICALLY, WE'RE GONNA BE RESETTING THOSE CASES. SO IT'S NOT A PRODUCTIVE DOCKET, BUT WE DO HAVE PROSECUTORS COVERING IT ON A NON-JURY WEEK, BECAUSE AGAIN, THEY DO JURY TRIALS EVERY OTHER WEEK. UM, MONDAY, ALL PROSECUTORS, INVESTIGATORS, PARALEGALS AND THE CLERKS ARE SPENDING MONDAY EITHER INTAKING THEIR CASES THAT JUST CAME IN, THEY'RE LOOKING AT EVIDENCE, GETTING READY FOR, UM, TO GO TO THE GRAND JURY, OR THEY'RE PREPPING THOSE CASES, GETTING READY FOR TRIAL THE NEXT WEEK. TUESDAY, ALL DAY LONG IS IN DOCKETS. WE HAVE A MORNING DOCKET THAT LASTS ALL DAY. AND I TOLD YOU ABOUT THOSE CASES. AND WE HAVE AN AFTERNOON DOCKET IN EACH COURT, BOTH COURTS, AND EXPECT TO HAVE, UM, THOSE DOCKETS IN THE NEW COURT AS WELL. AND SO THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE GONNA SEE THAT PERSONNEL THAT IS TIED UP IN EVERY SINGLE COURT. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THEY CAN'T BE IN TWO PLACES AT ONE TIME. THEY HAVE TO BE ASSIGNED TO THOSE COURTS. WEDNESDAY, WE HAVE GRAND JURY MOST OF THE DAY. UM, IF THEY GET OUTTA GRAND JURY, THEY'RE AGAIN PREPPING FOR WHAT THEY HAVE TO DO THE REST OF THE WEEK. THURSDAYS DOCKETS ALL DAY, THEY ARE TALKING TO LAWYERS ALL DAY. AND I WILL SAY ON THE TIMES THAT THEY ARE IN THEIR OFFICE, THEY'RE RETURNING PHONE CALLS FROM DEFENSE LAWYERS. THEY'RE RETURNING PHONE CALLS FROM WITNESSES. THEY'RE CALLING WITNESSES THE VERY FIRST TIME, BECAUSE THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I REQUIRE. EVERY WITNESS HAS TO BE CONTACTED, AND YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE RETURNING PHONE CALLS TO THEM. THEY'VE GONE THROUGH A TRAUMATIC SITUATION. WE'RE NOT GONNA BE PART OF ANOTHER TRAUMATIC SITUATION. AND THEN FRIDAY, AGAIN, YOU'RE PREPPING FOR ALL THAT DIFFERENT STUFF. TYPICALLY, THEY'RE GETTING READY FOR THE TRIAL THE NEXT WEEK. UM, JURY TRIAL WEEKS. WELL, I WENT TOO FAR ON JURY TRIAL WEEKS. UM, WELL, I ALREADY WENT THROUGH THAT. OKAY. SO, UH, ALL OF THOSE COURT, UH, DOCKETS, TRIAL DOCKETS, AND HEARINGS ARE GOING ON AT THE SAME TIME. UM, AND THAT'S WHY YOU NEED THE ASSIGNED COURTS. SO THAT IS KIND OF MY OVERVIEW. NOW, UM, IF IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, THEN I'M HAPPY TO CONTINUE ANSWERING QUESTIONS AS WE GO THROUGH. BUT I WILL KIND OF DO AN OVERVIEW, AND I UNDERSTAND THIS IS A PRELIMINARY DISCUSSION. AND, AND AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU FOR MEETING WITH ME INDIVIDUALLY. I WILL SAY THAT FOR THE RECORD, WE DID NOT MEET TOGETHER. WE MET INDIVIDUALLY. UM, BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT, IF YOU CAN TURN TO THE GENERAL, UM, BUDGET, UH, AND THAT'S GONNA BE ACCOUNT NUMBER 0 0 1 4 8 0 1, 0 2, UM, THE, UH, MOST WHAT I DO WHEN I'M GETTING READY FOR A BUDGET IS I GO THROUGH EVERY SINGLE LINE ITEM. I, I BELIEVE IN THAT. AND I PULL WHAT WE CALL, AND Y'ALL ARE ALL FAMILIAR WITH, IS THE SUMMARY OF EXPENSES. UM, I WAS GIVEN A NEW ONE JUST TODAY. I LOOK AT HOW MUCH OF THE YEAR HAS BEEN COMPLETED. SO FOR EXAMPLE, TODAY, 73.06% OF THE BUDGET HAS BEEN, UM, WE ARE 73.06% OF THE WAY THROUGH OUR FISCAL YEAR. AND THEN I LOOK AT THE, AT THE COLUMN TO DETERMINE HOW MUCH OF EACH FUND HAS BEEN SPENT. WE ARE VERY FISCALLY CONSERVATIVE AT THE DA'S OFFICE, AS IS THIS COMMISSIONER'S COURT. AND SO WE RESPECT THAT, AND AS A RESULT, WE KEEP UP WITH THE EXPENSES. IF WE'VE GONE OVER IN EXPENSES, WHEN I'M GETTING READY FOR THE BUDGET, I PULL THAT, UM, LINE ITEM AND SEE WHAT WE'RE SPENDING MONEY ON. AND IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT I FEEL LIKE HAS BEEN ADEQUATELY SPENT, LIKE OFFICE SUPPLIES WE'RE SPENDING IT ON, THERE'S MORE FILE FOLDERS, THERE'S MORE PENS AND PENCILS, THERE'S WHATEVER GOES INTO OFFICE SUPPLIES. UM, IF WE'VE GONE OVER, EVEN THOUGH I BELIEVE THAT WE'VE BEEN FISCALLY CONSERVATIVE AND RESPONSIBLE IN SPENDING THOSE FUNDS, THEN I INCREASE, UM, THE LINE ITEM FOR THE NEXT BUDGET YEAR. AND YOU WILL FIND, I'M NOT GONNA GO THROUGH ALL OF 'EM, BUT, UM, YOU WILL SEE THAT ANYTHING THAT I HAVE INCREASED IN THE BUDGET, UM, IN OUR GENERAL FUND LINE ITEMS IS EITHER ASSOCIATED WITH THE NEW PERSONNEL THAT WE'RE REQUESTING OR, UM, IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE FACT THAT WE WENT OVER, UM, THIS YEAR IN THE BUDGET FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER. UM, OFFICE SUPPLIES COST JUST WENT UP, Y'ALL, IT'S MORE EXPENSIVE TO BUY EVERYTHING. AND AS A RESULT, UM, WE WENT OVER OUR BUDGET ON THAT. AND SO I HAVE ADDED MONEY INTO OFFICE SUPPLIES. UH, AND THE, UM, I [00:35:01] WILL HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT ITEMS. UM, IN LINE 3 52 EQUIPMENT, FURNITURE THAT IS ALL, UH, SET OUT IN YOUR CAPITAL OUTLAY BREAKOUT. UM, I PUT EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF FURNITURE OR, UH, EQUIPMENT THAT I AM REQUESTING. I PUT IT OUT SPECIFICALLY, IT'S EITHER, AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT ALL OF IT HAS BEEN RECOMMENDED BY IT. I TALKED TO IT ABOUT ALL OF IT, UM, AND THEY PUT IT INTO THEIR BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE COURT. SO Y'ALL HAVE ALREADY HEARD FROM IT. UM, AND, UH, BUT I, I DO WORK WITH THEM IF I'M ASKING FOR ANYTHING ADDITIONAL IN EQUIPMENT OR SOFTWARE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. UM, SO THAT'S AN EQUIPMENT FURNITURE LINE. UH, THE CAPITAL OUTLAY 500 TO 5,000, THAT NUMBER IS FOR ADDITIONAL. UM, IT'S EITHER FURNITURE, UM, FOR THE ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL, UH, OR EQUIPMENT THAT IS OVER $500. AND THEN, UM, YOU SEE THE CAPITAL OUTLAY FOR THE REST OF THEM. AGAIN, THEY HAVE, UH, FOR THE REST OF THE, THE LINE ITEMS, THOSE HAVE ALL BEEN SPECIFICALLY LAID OUT, AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. THERE ARE ADDITIONAL FUNDS AND, AND I TALKED TO ALL OF YOU INDIVIDUALLY ABOUT THESE ADDITIONAL FUNDS. UM, BUT THERE ARE ADDITIONAL FUNDS LIKE THE VETERANS COURT, YOU KNOW, THAT WE CREATED A VETERANS COURT THAT IS FUNDED BY MONEY THAT TYPICALLY IT'S FUNDED BY JUROR, UH, MONEY WHEN JURORS THEY GET $6 A DAY OR HOWEVER MUCH THEY GET THESE DAYS TO SERVE AS A JUROR. THERE ARE MANY, UM, PEOPLE IN ROCKWELL COUNTY THAT THEY COME AND SERVE ON THE JURY AND THEY DONATE THAT MONEY. UM, AND SAY, I DON'T NEED YOUR $6 OR $10 FOR SERVING ON THE JURY TODAY. WHAT IS IT NOW? 20 $20 TO SERVE ON THE JURY CASH. ALL RIGHT. NO, WE'RE NOT DOING CASH. USED TO BE SIX. UH, NO, I WISH WE WERE DOING CASH. WE KNOW WE, WE TALKED ABOUT DOING CASH JUST TO NOT HAVE THE PAPERWORK. HAND 'EM A $20 BILL. WELL, WE, UH, WE TYPE IN EACH JUROR AND ADDRESS EVERY TIME THEY, THEY CALL IN 300. HOW MANY JURORS, UH, DO THEY TYPICALLY, UH, WE'RE GONNA CALL JURIES. IT'S OVER 300. YEAH, I'M PRETTY SURE. SO, UM, BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MANY JURY TRIALS GOING ON, TYPICALLY, AND THAT'S ANOTHER THING THAT THE JUDGES DO A GREAT JOB OF, IS THEY COORDINATE THEIR TRIAL SO THAT THEY CAN USE ONE JURY POOL AND NOT HAVE TO CALL MULTIPLE, MULTIPLE JURY POOLS. BUT ANYWAY, SO THAT $20, THEN, UM, WHEN A JUROR IS GRACIOUS ENOUGH TO SAY, I DON'T NEED YOUR $20, UM, I'M SERVING MY CIVIC DUTY, THEY OFTENTIMES DONATE IT TO ONE OF THESE SPECIAL FUNDS, UM, ONE OF WHICH IS THE VETERANS COURT FUND. AND Y'ALL ARE ALL FAMILIAR WITH WHAT THE VETERANS COURT DOES. IT'S AN ENORMOUSLY, UM, SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM. AND THAT'S THE MONEY WE ALLOCATE IN THAT. WE ALSO HAVE THE LAW LIBRARY FUND, THE DA STATE FUND. THERE'S $22,000 THAT'S GIVEN TO, UH, THE, THE DA'S OFFICE, UM, FOR, FOR FLEXIBLE FUNDING. AND THEN, UM, THE DA FORFEITURE FUND. OKAY, LET'S TALK ABOUT, YES. CAN I JUST ASK A QUESTION ON THE FORFEITURE FUND? YEAH. 'CAUSE THAT WAS ONE THAT YOU AND I HAD TALKED ABOUT MM-HMM . AND I WROTE A NOTE DOWN, BUT I WROTE THAT NOTE DOWN AND I THOUGHT I HAD IT KIND OF TIED TO THE, THE CAPITAL OUTLAY THAT, THAT YOU HAD MENTIONED IN THE, UM, THE FOUR 50 TO THE FI IN THE 500, UM, THE 5 0 1 FUND, AND MAYBE I JUST PUT IT IN THAT AREA WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT IT. DID THAT HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THAT? NO, THAT 46,000 OR THAT $145,000 ONE? NO, NO, NO. THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE ALL COSTS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH A NEW COURT, UM, AND SHOULD BE FUNDED WITH GENERAL FUND MONEY. UM, SO I HAVE A QUICK, QUICK QUESTION. YEAH, YEAH. UH, YOU, YOU'RE AMENDING, UM, LINE ITEM 4 8 0 500, THAT'S TRAVEL AND TRAINING TO MAKE IT READ TRAVEL TRAINING AND STAFF DEVELOPMENT. YES. WHAT, WHAT'S, SO WHAT WE DO IS AT THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, UM, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES. I JUST WAS USING IT AS MORE OF AN OPPORTUNITY TO, INSTEAD OF, UH, THERE, THERE ARE TIMES THAT WE WILL HAVE TRAVEL OR, OR TRA TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. UM, AND THAT WE WILL, WE'LL PAY FOR LUNCH OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT OUT OF THAT FUND. UM, OFTENTIMES WHEN WE HAVE TRAINING THAT WE USE FORFEITURE FUNDS, WE ALSO INVITE POLICE OFFICERS, WE INVITE, UM, VICTIM ADVOCATES. WE INVITE NONPROFITS TO COME AND JOIN IN THAT, BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THAT THIS FUND SHOULD BE RESERVED, UM, FOR THOSE CRIMINAL, UH, CRIMINAL AGENCY, UM, PURPOSES. UM, NOT JUST FOR GENERAL FUND PURPOSES, FOR THE DA'S OFFICE. WHAT I MEANT FOR STAFF DEVELOPMENT IS THERE ARE TIMES, LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, WE'LL DO, UH, A, A MEETING A, WE CALL IT A CHIEF'S MEETING. UM, SO I INVITE ALL OF THE POLICE CHIEFS, UM, WE HAVE, THEY, THEY'LL PAY FOR LUNCH. UM, AND SOMETIMES WE WILL PAY FOR LUNCH. AND I DON'T THINK THAT IS MORE OF A TRAINING ASPECT. I THINK OF THAT [00:40:01] AS MORE OF A STAFF DEVELOPMENT OR, UM, OPPORTUNITY. SO YOU CAN KEEP IT AS TRAVELER TRAINING. IT'S THE SAME THING. I JUST THOUGHT IT WAS A MORE ACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF IT. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. SO, UM, QUICKLY, WHOA, WHOA. DON'T, DON'T, HE, HE OPENED THE, THE CAN OF WORMS. ON YOUR, ON YOUR NOTES HERE, YOU SAID YOU WANTED TO ADD A LINE ITEM FOR CAR ALLOWANCE OF $2,000. MM-HMM . I'M ASSUMING THAT'S FOR YOU. YEAH. AND SO THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, I HAVE NEVER ASKED FOR A CAR ALLOWANCE IN 16 YEARS, BUT LAST YEAR WHEN I WAS GOING TO ALL OF THE DIFFERENT, UM, PRESENTATIONS, EVERYBODY WAS GETTING A CAR ALLOWANCE . AND SO I STUCK IT IN THERE, HONESTLY. UH, COMMISSIONER STACEY, IF YOU WANNA WRITE A LINE RIGHT THROUGH THAT CAR ALLOWANCE, YOU'D BE MY GUEST. BECAUSE HERE, THERE'S ALREADY ONE. I'VE NEVER ASKED FOR IT, SO I'LL JUST KEEP IT . OKAY. I'M KIDDING. I, I, YOU CAN HAVE IT. UH, WOULD YOU LIKE MY CAR ALLOWANCE? I, I'VE NEVER ASKED FOR A CAR ALLOWANCE. UH, IT'S JUST, I WAS LIKE, WELL, HOW COME EVERYBODY GETS A CAR ALLOWANCE EXCEPT THE DA'S OFFICE? ALL RIGHT, LET'S MOVE ON. UM, THE FELONY CHIEF PRO. SO THE NEW POSITIONS, THE FELONY CHIEF PROSECUTOR, WE'VE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THAT. THAT'S ONE OF THE TWO FELONY PROSECUTORS FOR THE NEW COURT. THE SECOND FELONY PROSECUTOR, THAT'S THE SECOND FELONY PROSECUTOR FOR THE NEW COURT. THE FELONY INVESTIGATOR IS THE FELONY INVESTIGATOR ASSIGNED FOR THE NEW COURT. WE'VE ALREADY DISCUSSED ALL OF THIS. WHEN I SAY VAC PARALEGAL, THAT'S THE PARALEGAL, UM, THAT'S ASSIGNED TO THAT NEW COURT THAT SPENDS ALL THAT TIME ON THOSE TRIALS. AND THEN A SENIOR CLERK THAT IS THE CLERK ASSIGNED TO THAT COURT. SO THOSE ARE THE FIVE POSITIONS THAT I'VE SPENT SO LONG TALKING ABOUT THAT WHEN YOU GET THE NEW COURT, WHATEVER IT'S CALLED, THE 503RD, FIVE OH SECOND, WHATEVER IT'S CALLED, UM, THOSE ARE THE FIVE POSITIONS THAT WOULD BE ASSIGNED TO THOSE COURT. THE EXACT SAME POSITIONS THAT ARE ALREADY ASSIGNED TO THE, EACH OF THE OTHER FELONY COURTS. UM, I WILL SKIP TO THE, UH, SIXTH POSITION. THAT IS THE VICTIM ASSISTANCE COORDINATOR. WE DO HAVE, UM, WE HAVE ONE VICTIM ASSISTANCE COORDINATOR THAT IS PAID FOR BY GENERAL FUNDS. UM, WE'VE HAD THAT VICTIM ASSISTANCE COORDINATOR FOR 10 YEARS, 12 YEARS, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. UM, WE HAVE ANOTHER VICTIM ASSISTANCE COORDINATOR THAT IS PAID BY GRANT FUNDS. UM, WE TRY TO, WE HAVE, WE HAVE, I THINK, GOTTEN WELL OVER A MILLION DOLLARS IN GRANTS, UM, TO PAY FOR POSITIONS. RIGHT NOW WE HAVE A CHILD ABUSE PROSECUTOR GRANT POSITION, I BELIEVE. UM, AND A, UH, CHILD ABUSE PROSECUTOR GRANT POSITION AND A VICTIM ASSISTANCE COORDINATOR, WE ARE ASKING FOR ANOTHER VICTIM ASSISTANCE COORDINATOR FROM THE GENERAL FUND. UM, THIS IS, UH, NOT TIED TO THE, SO LET'S, WE'RE MOVING AWAY FROM THE NEW COURT. THIS IS, UH, THAT WOULD SERVICE ALL OF THE COURTS, INCLUDING THE MISDEMEANOR COURTS. SO WE WERE, WE ARE, WE'RE ASKING TO INCREASE TWO VICTIM ASSISTANCE COORDINATORS THAT WE HAVE TO THREE, THAT JUST GIVES US MORE OF AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE, UM, THE CONTACT, THE DAILY CONTACT THAT WE HAVE WITH VICTIMS. YOU CAN NEVER CATCH UP. I MEAN, THE VICTIMS, THERE IS A REASON, UH, THEY, THEY HAVE GONE THROUGH A TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE AND THEY NEED A LOT, I'M NOT SAYING THIS IN A, IN A DEROGATORY WAR WAY AT ALL, BECAUSE WE 100% UNDERSTAND, BUT THEY NEED A LOT OF HANDHOLDING. AND THOSE VICTIM ASSISTANCE COORDINATORS ARE DOING A LOT OF THAT, SHOWING THEM DIFFERENT RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO THEM, UM, OUTSIDE THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, INCLUDING COUNSELING, UM, GETTING THEM TO THE CHILDREN'S ADVOCACY CENTER TO GET THAT FREE COUNSELING. UM, WE HAVE ENORMOUS RESOURCES IN ROCKWELL COUNTY WITH THE DIFFERENT NONPROFITS THAT WE HAVE, BUT PEOPLE THAT DON'T KNOW ABOUT THOSE RESOURCES CAN'T USE 'EM. AND SO THOSE VICTIM ADVOCATE COORDINATORS DO A GREAT JOB OF NOT ONLY SPENDING TIME WITH THE VICTIMS WHILE THE CASE IS GOING ON, BUT WE, THEY ALSO SPEND TIME WITH THE VICTIMS AFTER THE CASE IS OVER. WHEN THOSE PEOPLE, WHEN THE DEFENDANTS GO TO PRISON, AS THEY OFTEN DO IN ROCKWELL COUNTY, ARE JURORS ARE WONDERFUL ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE ARE ADEQUATELY PROSECUTED AND PUNISHED. UM, THOSE VICTIMS WANNA KNOW WHEN THE GUY'S GONNA GET, OR THE GIRL'S GONNA GET OUTTA PRISON. UM, THEY WANNA KNOW WHAT RESOURCES THEY HAVE AFTER THE, AFTER THE FACT. AND THE VE STAY INVOLVED WITH THOSE FAMILIES. SO WE ARE ASKING FOR ANOTHER VICTIM ASSISTANCE COORDINATOR AS A SIXTH POSITION. AND THEN SO CAN KEN, DO, DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE VICTIM ASSISTANT COORDINATOR? YOU SAID THAT, AND I, I I WANNA VERIFY, ARE WE STILL HAVE ONE OR TWO VICTIM ASSISTANT COORDINATORS? WE HAVE TWO ALREADY, BUT ARE THEY PAID FOR? WE HAVE THREE OR TWO. WE HAVE TWO RIGHT NOW. TWO. AND ARE THEY STILL PAID BY GRANTS OR ONE IS PAID BY GRANTS, UM, AND ONE IS PAID BY THE GENERAL FUND. AT SOME POINT, THE GRANTS WILL NOT PAY FOR THAT SECOND PERSON. WELL, THAT'S KIND OF WHERE I'M TRYING TO GO WITH THAT. AND, AND SO THEY PAID FOR, THEY'RE PAID FOR GRANT. THE ONE IS STILL PAID FOR A GRANT. AND YET WE, I GUESS THE OTHER BENEFITS ARE PAID FOR BY THE COUNTY. I, THE, THE, THE, THE FULL LOAD. I, I'M, I GUESS I'M TRYING TO SAY, RIGHT, WE HAVE TO DO A MATCH MM-HMM . UM, WHICH OFTENTIMES WE MATCH WITH, [00:45:01] UH, VOLUNTEER. LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, WE'LL SAY WE'RE GONNA GIVE AN INVESTIGATOR GIVE, PUT AN INVESTIGATOR TO HELP SUPPORT THAT VICTIM ADVOCATE COORDINATOR. MM-HMM . OR THE CHILD ABUSE OR THE FAMILY VIOLENCE, THEY ALLOW US TO, 'CAUSE WE HAVE TO PROVIDE A MATCH FROM THE COUNTY FOR THE GRANT. RIGHT. OFTENTIMES THEY WILL ALLOW US TO USE THAT INVESTIGATOR SALARY THAT WE'RE ALREADY PAYING FOR AS PART OF THE MATCH FOR THESE GRANTS. SO, UM, WE DO HAVE TO HAVE SOME OUT-OF-POCKET EXPENSES. BUT WE USE, UH, FELICIA DOES AN AMAZING JOB, AND, AND CARRIE KNEW BEFORE, UM, HAVE DONE AN AMAZING JOB OF FINDING WAYS TO CREATE MATCHES, UM, WITH RESOURCES THAT WE'RE ALREADY PAYING FOR. UH, IT'S, IT'S ACTUALLY KIND OF MIND NUMBING TO ME. UH, NOT MIND NUMBING. THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT. UM, I MEANT IT'S GREAT. IT'S AWESOME WHAT THEY DO. OKAY. A LITTLE BORING. BUT, BUT, BUT THIS NEW ONE, IT WOULD BE COMING OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND. WE ARE IN ADDITION TO THE, THE OTHER ONE WE HAVE OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND. YES, MA'AM. OKAY. THAT IS WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR. THAT IS THE SIXTH POSITION. AND THEN THE SEVENTH. WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT. YEAH, THIS IS ONE, KEN, WE'RE, IT'S, IT'S HARD FOR ME TO REALLY UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU. OKAY. 'CAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE EVERYTHING YOU'RE DOING IS GREAT TO HELP WORK WITH VICTIMS AND VICTIMS OF CRIMES ARE IN TERRIBLE POSITIONS. MM-HMM . WE'VE ALL BEEN THERE AT ONE LITTLE, WHETHER IT'S A LITTLE STAGE OR A BIG STAGE. WE'VE ALL BEEN VICTIMS OF CRIME, I THINK. UM, AND YOU NEVER WANT IT PURE COLDHEARTED, BUT IT KIND OF SEEMS LIKE WHAT I'M HEARING FROM YOU IS TO SOME EXTENT WE'VE GOT, UH, SEMI-SOCIAL WORKERS, SEMI-LEGAL POSITIONS, SEMI WHATEVER. AND YOU'RE RIGHT, THERE ARE A VAST ARRAY OF NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS IN THE COUNTY THAT ARE WILLING TO HELP AND STEP UP, WHETHER IT BE AS SOMETHING LIKE THE CHILD ADVOCACY CENTER, WHICH YOU STARTED, WHICH IS A GREAT ADDITION TO OUR COUNTY, BUT IT'S NOT A GOVERNMENT FUNCTION. RIGHT. OR SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS SOMEONE'S CHURCH. OKAY? WE HAVE THIS VAST ARRAY AND WE'RE HAVING TO LOOK AT MAKING DECISIONS HERE WHERE WE ALL KNOW THAT JUST LITERALLY JUST DOING THE, BRINGING IN THIS NEW COURT'S GONNA COST US, I THINK A MILLION AND A HALF BUCKS. JOHN THINKS 2 MILLION. I DON'T KNOW WHAT HIS NUMBER IS, BUT WE'LL FIGURE IT OUT. WE HAVE TO DO THAT. AND SO I KIND OF, WE HAVE TO LOOK AT EVERY POSITION, AND I'LL JUST TELL YOU SO YOU'LL KNOW HOW I FEEL, AND MAYBE THE OTHER COURT MEMBERS FEEL DIFFERENTLY. UM, THIS IS ONE WHERE I, I JUST DON'T KNOW THAT WE NEED TO ADD ANOTHER PERSON. AND AGAIN, NEVER GONNA TELL YOU HOW TO RUN YOUR OFFICE. MM-HMM . I'VE TOLD YOU MANY TIMES, YOU'RE THE ONE THAT YOU'RE DOING A FABULOUS JOB. THANK YOU. NEVER GONNA CHANGE THAT OPINION OF YOU. UM, BUT ALSO WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE DECISIONS ON HOW MUCH MONEY TO SPEND. AND UNLESS YOU WANNA GET ON THE, THE TRAIN AND GO AROUND TO HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS ASKING THEM TO RAISE TAXES, UM, WITH US, UM, IT'S JUST SOMETHING I'M WORRIED ABOUT, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU. AND I DON'T KNOW THAT WE NEED THIS POSITION, AND THAT'S FAIR. UH, I, I CAN TELL YOU THAT RIGHT NOW, THE VICTIM ADVOCATES DON'T, THE TWO THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW ARE NOT SOCIAL WORKERS NECESSARILY. WHAT THEY DO IS THEY ACTUALLY WORK WITH THE PROSECUTORS. THE TWO THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW, THEY'RE IN EVERY, EVERY TIME THAT A PROSECUTOR HAS TO INTERVIEW A WITNESS, THEY HAVE TO BE IN THERE WITH THEM. AND HERE'S THE REASON WHY. WE'RE NOT GOING TO, OR I AM GOING TO DO EVERYTHING THAT I CAN TO DISCOURAGE ONE PROSECUTOR FROM BEING IN A ROOM, UM, WITH, UH, A CIVILIAN WITNESS. AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS AS MANY REASONS. NUMBER ONE, SOMETIMES YOU NEED TWO PEOPLE TO HEAR THE SAME THING. YOU ALSO NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE, IF SOMEBODY HAS TO TESTIFY, IF THE WITNESS CHANGES THEIR MIND, UM, YOU HAVE TO HAVE ONE OF OUR STAFF, NOT A PROSECUTOR, BUT ONE OF OUR STAFF IN THE ROOM SO THAT THEY CAN TESTIFY. YOU KNOW WHAT, THIS IS WHAT THEY SAID, UM, WHEN THEY WERE TALKING TO US. SO THE TWO VICTIM ADVOCATE COORDINATORS THAT WE HAVE, THAT IS THEIR JOB. THEY WORK TO, UM, SUPPORT THE PROSECUTORS IN THE TRIAL. WE WOULD LIKE TO MOVE INTO MORE, UM, OF THE, WHERE THEY'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE RESOURCES TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY KNOW WHERE TO GO. I CAN TELL YOU THAT MY GUYS DO THAT A LITTLE BIT, BUT THE TWO THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW ARE SO BUSY SUPPORTING THE PROSECUTION OF THESE CASES THAT WE'RE NOT ABLE TO DO THAT. I DO UNDERSTAND YOUR CONCERNS ABOUT THAT THIRD POSITION. I CAN TELL YOU THAT, UH, THIS IS NOT OF THE SEVEN POSITIONS THAT I'M ASKING FOR, THIS IS, UH, NOT AS PRIORITY AS THE PRI OF THE, OF THE FIVE PROSECUTORS THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE TO ASSIGN TO THE COURT. SO I HEAR YOU. I'M NOT GONNA PULL IT OFF LIKE I PULLED OFF THE CAR ALLOWANCE, BECAUSE WE STILL CAN 100% USE THAT POSITION. BUT I DO UNDERSTAND THAT YOU HAVE TO ANSWER TO THE VOTERS, AND I APPRECIATE THOSE QUESTIONS. [00:50:01] SO, UM, AND THEN THE LAST IS THAT FELONY PROSECUTOR IN THE FINANCIAL CRIMES POSITION. UM, AND AGAIN, UH, WE HAVE ASKED FOR THIS POSITION A NUMBER OF TIMES, UH, AND CONTINUE TO NEED IT. UM, BUT AGAIN, UH, WHEREAS I BELIEVE THAT ALL OF THESE POSITIONS, I WOULD NOT BE HERE ASKING FOR THE POSITIONS IF I DID NOT BELIEVE THAT THEY WERE IMPORTANT FOR THE DA'S OFFICE. UM, WE HAVE TO STAFF THE COURT. UM, ALRIGHT. ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT, UH, THE, THE, WHAT I'VE GONE THROUGH SO FAR? YES. OKAY. MY QUESTIONS ARE ABOUT STAFFING THE COURT. YES, SIR. UM, WHEN, UM, WHEN WE, I, I WANT YOU TO WALK THROUGH THIS, BUT LET ME TALK FOR A MINUTE. OKAY. SO, SO THAT YOU CAN UNDERSTAND THE WHOLE FRAME OF REFERENCE. YOU CAN TAKE A DRINK OF WATER AND SIT BACK. SO, UM, WHEN WE OPEN THE COURT, WE TURN THE SWITCH ON. THAT DOESN'T CREATE MORE CASES PER SE. MM-HMM . CRIME IS CRIME. THINGS ARE HAPPENING. I GET ALL THAT. BUT IT DOESN'T, JUST BECAUSE WE HAVE A COURT DOESN'T MEAN WE'RE GONNA GET ALL OF THIS INFLUX OF CASES. WE'RE SPREADING THE CASELOAD OUT TO BE MORE EFFICIENT FROM OUR DISTRICT COURT STANDPOINT. AT LEAST THAT'S THE ARGUMENT FOR ADDING THE COURT. OUR DISTRICT COURTS ARE OVERWORKED. WE'RE GONNA ADD A THIRD COURT SO THAT WE CAN DO JUSTICE BETTER AND FASTER AND MORE EFFICIENT. WHEN THE FOUR 39TH CAME ON, WE ADDED FOUR PEOPLE IN THE DA'S OFFICE, AND NOW YOU'RE ASKING FOR FIVE MM-HMM . SO THE TWO TRIAL ATTORNEYS, AND THIS IS WHERE I WANT, JUST LET ME GET ALL THIS OUT. SURE. THE TWO PROSECUTORS MAKE ALL THE SENSE IN THE WORLD. IF WE DON'T HAVE PROSECUTORS, WHY HAVE THE COURT, RIGHT. I MEAN, THAT MAKES SENSE TO ME. THE CLERK MAKES SENSE TO ME. THE PARALEGAL MAKES SENSE TO ME. WHY DO YOU THINK THERE ISN'T A NEED FOR THE INVESTIGATOR WHEN WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY HAVING ALL OF THESE CASES? YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING? IT DOESN'T JUST OPEN A FLOW SWITCH. SO IF WE HAVE WHATEVER NUMBER OF INVESTIGATORS WE HAVE, WHAT, SIX AND TWO PART-TIME INVESTIGATORS, HOW CAN THEY NOT AT LEAST COVER THE LOAD OF THIS COURT? AND WOULD IT NOT BE MORE EFFICIENT OR BETTER FOR US TO NOT HIRE AN INVESTIGATOR AND LOOK AT A VAC OR ANOTHER PROSECUTOR IF WE'RE RUNNING UP AGAINST A BUDGET CRUNCH? SO I'M, I'M LOADING THOSE TO YOU TO DISCUSS BACK TO ME, AND I APPRECIATE THAT. I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE INVESTIGATOR IS ONE OF THE MORE IMPORTANT POSITIONS, UM, THAT'S ASSIGNED TO THAT COURT. AND THE REASON FOR IT IS, IS, AGAIN, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE FACT THAT PEOPLE CAN'T BE IN MORE THAN ONE PLACE AT A TIME, WE HAVE HAD, UM, WE TYPICALLY, UM, WHEN YOU HAVE, WHEN YOU'RE GONNA HAVE THREE TRIALS IN COURT, THAT INVESTIGATOR, THEY'RE THE ONES THAT ARE, I DON'T WANNA CALL IT A CIRCUS. UH, THEY'RE RUNNING THE PRODUCTION. I MEAN, THE INVESTIGATOR, THEY'RE THE ONES THAT ROUTE ALL THE OFFICERS THAT ARE GOING TO BE IN THAT TRIAL. BUT NOT MORE IMPORTANTLY, DURING THE TRIAL ITSELF, THEY'RE THE ONES THAT ARE COORDINATING THEM. THEY OFTEN HAVE TO GO GET THE WITNESSES BECAUSE THEY WON'T COME ON THEIR OWN. THEY HAVE TO GO AND PICK 'EM UP AND BRING THEM TO COURT. THEY OFTENTIMES HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE, THAT ALL, WHEN I WAS TRYING THAT MURDER CASE, UM, WE HAD, I DON'T KNOW, 50 WITNESSES OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. EVERY SINGLE DAY. I SPOKE TO MY INVESTIGATOR MORE THAN I TALKED TO, UM, ANYBODY ELSE ON MY TEAM, BECAUSE HE WAS THE ONE THAT WAS COORDINATING ALL THE WITNESSES THAT WERE GONNA HAVE TO COME THE NEXT DAY. THE JUDGES EXPECT VERY PRODUCTIVE AND EFFICIENT, UM, TRIALS. AND SO THOSE, WHILE I'M DIRECTING OR IN AN EXAMINATION OF A WITNESS, THAT INVESTIGATOR IS OUTSIDE OR IN THE COURTROOM, GETTING THE NEXT WITNESS READY FOR TRIAL, MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE THERE AND THAT THEY'RE PREPARED FOR TRIAL. THEY CANNOT BE IN TWO PLACES AT ONE TIME. AND THAT'S JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF HOW THE INVESTIGATOR IS SO IMPORTANT TO BE ASSIGNED TO THAT COURT. SO WHEN I TALK ABOUT THE FACT THAT THOSE FIVE PROSECUTORS ARE, UM, NOT MORE IMPORTANT, BECAUSE I'LL NEVER, IT'S LIKE CHOOSING A FAVORITE CHILD. UM, I'M NEVER GONNA CHOOSE, WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT AT THE DA'S OFFICE. THEY'RE ALL IMPORTANT. BUT I CAN TELL YOU FOR THE TRIAL PROCESS ITSELF, YOU HAVE TO HAVE THOSE FIVE PEOPLE, THE TRIAL, THE DOCKET, THE, THE ENTIRE SIGNED PROCESS. SO WHEN YOU SAY, WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A NEW VAC AND A NEW FINANCIAL CRIMES PROSECUTOR, I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE FIVE POSITIONS THAT ARE ASSIGNED TO THE COURT ARE THE PRIORITY. YOU ASKED US IF WE HAD QUESTIONS, UM, IF, ARE WE NOT WAITING TILL YOU'RE DONE? OKAY. OH, GREAT. BECAUSE I'VE GOT A BUNCH. THAT'S AWESOME. OKAY, GOOD. WELL THEN LET ME GET ON WITH IT. UM, WHO'S AFTER ME? BECAUSE Y'ALL CAN GO HAVE LUNCH, DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT. JUST KEEP GOING. OKAY, GOOD. UH, OKAY. SO THE NEXT, UH, THING, AND I, I HAVE TALKED TO ALL OF Y'ALL, AND I'M NOT GONNA GO INTO DETAIL ABOUT, UM, THE SB 22 FIX. UM, THAT IS USING, UH, STATE [00:55:01] FUNDS TO FIX, UH, A, UH, A SITUATION THAT WAS CREATED BY SB 22. SO I'M NOT GONNA REALLY GO INTO THAT. UM, THE NEXT THING IN MY BUDGET IS THE IT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EXISTING STAFF NEEDS. WHAT I TRIED TO DO TO MAKE IT EASIER, BECAUSE I KNEW THAT THERE WERE GONNA BE LOTS OF QUESTIONS AND LOTS OF DISCUSSIONS REGARDING EACH INDIVIDUAL PERSON, UM, I TRIED TO BREAK OUT EVERYTHING. SO, UH, THE FIRST PAGE ON THE CAPITAL OUTLAY, UH, LIST, AND AGAIN, I LISTED EVERYTHING SPECIFICALLY. THESE ARE IT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EXISTING STAFF NEEDS. THAT MEANS THE PEOPLE THAT ARE ALREADY AT THE DA'S OFFICE, IT IS SAYING WE NEED THESE THINGS, UM, TO SUPPORT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY THERE. THE NEXT PAGE IS, UH, THE IT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE NEW COURT. UM, AND THIS INCLUDES, I'LL TELL YOU, THE NEW VAC. UM, SO THAT'S THE REASON THAT THERE'S AN EXTRA PERSON. SO I'LL JUST, I'LL BE TOTALLY TRANSPARENT AND TELL YOU THAT. UH, BUT THE IT RECOMMENDATIONS, THIS IS LAPTOPS, UH, PRINTERS, PHONES, MONITORS, UM, AND THAT SORT OF THING THAT'S GOING TO SUPPORT THOSE STAFF THAT ARE ASSIGNED TO THE NEW COURT. I ALSO, UM, ADDED AN INVESTIGATOR VEHICLE. I WILL TELL YOU THAT THE REASON THAT I PUT THIS ON HERE IS BECAUSE WE THANK YOU VERY MUCH. COMMISSIONER'S COURT GAVE, UM, THE DA'S OFFICE, WE TYPICALLY GET LEFTOVER CARS, WHICH WE'RE USUALLY OKAY WITH. UM, BUT OUR CARS ARE, ARE NOT 40,000 MILES. THEY'RE 200,000 MILES. AND SO, AND WE, WE RUN THE TIRES OFF OF 'EM. UM, WE GOT A NEW INVESTIGATOR VEHICLE IN THE LAST COMMISSIONER'S COURT. WE IMMEDIATELY ORDERED IT BEFORE OCTOBER 1ST. WE GOT THAT CAR LAST WEEK. YEAH. OKAY. SO I, I AM ASKING FOR A NEW INVESTIGATOR CAR BECAUSE IT'LL TAKE A YEAR FOR US TO GET IT . AND SO BY A YEAR, WE'RE GONNA NEED ANOTHER INVESTIGATOR CAR. UM, THE NEW EMPLOYEE FURNITURE, I BROKE THAT OUT. I'M SORRY IF I SAID THAT IT WAS IN THE OTHER ONE. I DON'T THINK I DID. UH, BUT NEW EMPLOYEE FURNITURE IS BROKEN OUT, UM, INTO, UH, THE NEXT PAGE. AND THAT IS WORKING WITH, UH, THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE, UH, THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE TO GET US RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE PROVIDED THAT FURNITURE IN THE PAST. AND AS YOU ARE AWARE, UM, WE'RE GONNA BE, UH, THE DA'S OFFICE IS GOING TO BE TAKING, UM, OUR EXPANSION SPACE THAT WAS DEDICATED LONG, LONG AGO. UM, AND THAT THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE HAS, HAS BEEN IN, WHEN THEY MOVE TO THE ANNEX, THEN WE'LL BE MOVING TO THAT EXPANSION SPACE. AND THEN THE LAST PAGE IS, I BROKE OUT THE IT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE FINANCIAL CRIMES PROSECUTOR SO THAT YOU WOULD KNOW WHAT THE COSTS WERE FOR THAT, FOR THAT POSITION. IF YOU CHOOSE NOT TO FUND THAT POSITION, YOU KNOW WHAT, UM, THE COSTS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT. I PUT ALL OF THE BACKUP SO THAT YOU WOULD KNOW, UM, FOR ALL OF THAT CAPITAL OUTLAY, I CAN TELL YOU THAT WE GOT ONE, UH, RECOMMENDATION FROM THE FLEET. WE DID WORK WITH BARRY AND THE FLEET MANAGER TO GET A RECOMMENDATION FOR A CAR. UM, WE PUT TWO DIFFERENT ESTIMATES FOR DIFFERENT COSTS. UH, ONE IS, IS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER. WE'RE JUST HAPPY AS WE CAN BE FOR THAT LOWER PRICE. UM, AND THEN, UH, YOU CAN, YOU CAN PERUSE THAT AT YOUR LEISURE. UM, I PUT JUST A PLACEHOLDER FOR THE PLANNED EXPANSION OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. UM, I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT THAT IS GONNA GO INTO THE, IS VERY FACILITIES, IS IT CALLED FACILITIES, THE BUILDING, UM, FUND. SO IT'S NOT IN MY BUDGET. I JUST DON'T WANT IT TO BE FORGOTTEN. WE'RE NOT GONNA FORGET YOU. I KNOW. AND I JUST, I REALLY WANNA MOVE THAT WE'RE PUTTING PEOPLE ON TOP OF EACH OTHER AT THE DA'S OFFICE. SHE HAS BEEN TRYING TO THROW ME OUT OF THAT SPACE FOR YEARS. WE MIGHT NOT FUND YOU, BUT WE'RE NOT GONNA FORGET YOU. OKAY. FINE. DON'T, THAT'S NOT FINE. DON'T LAUGH ABOUT THAT. OKAY. AND THEN WE HAVE, UH, THE, JUST THE DIFFERENCE, UH, THINGS THAT, THAT EVERY, UM, EMPLOYEE GETS. I CAN TELL YOU THAT STATE LONGEVITY IS PAID BY THE STATE. I PUT IT IN MY BUDGET JUST BECAUSE THE COUNTY PAYS FOR IT, AND THEN THE STATE REIMBURSES IT. AND THEN THE LAST THREE PAGES ARE, UM, JUST SOME BACKUP ON THE GRANTS THAT WE'VE RECEIVED. SO THAT IS THE ENTIRE, UM, OVERVIEW OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S BUDGET REQUEST FOR 20 25, 20 26. AND, UH, WITH THAT, I'M HAPPY. SO BEFORE COMMISSIONER THREE BERATES YOU WITH QUESTIONS, I JUST WANNA SAY I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU BREAKING EVERYTHING OUT. SO I, I KNOW IT MADE IT MORE LENGTHY AND MORE PAPERWORK, BUT IT MAKES IT MAKE A LOT MORE SENSE WHEN IT'S A LOT OF PERSONNEL REQUESTS AND A LOT OF OFFICE FURNITURE REQUESTS FOR US TO REALLY UNDERSTAND. AND I KNOW THE AUDITOR APPRECIATES IT BECAUSE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS WHEN WE START REALLY DOING THIS, WE'RE GONNA SAY, WHAT'S THE COST OF THIS PERSON? AND THEN WHAT'S THE FURNITURE IF WE HAD THIS PERSON? AND SO, SO I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT. UM, IT DOES MAKE YOUR JOB A LITTLE HARDER, BUT FROM THIS POINT FORWARD, IT MAKES OUR JOB EASIER. SO I APPRECIATE THAT. SO THAT WAS MY ONLY COMMENT ON THE BUDGET SIDE. I REALLY LIKE THAT. THANK YOU'RE WELCOME. [01:00:05] YEAH. AND, AND I WAS JUST GONNA SAY ON THE, ON THE CARS MM-HMM . UM, UH, COMMISSIONER TI AND I WERE TALKING, AND WE KNOW WHAT THE POLICE ASK IS, SO, UH, COMMISSIONER GOANA, IF YOU AND BARRY COULD GIVE US A CIVILIAN SUMMARY, THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL. THAT WAS ACTUALLY ON MY TO-DO LIST TODAY. BUT, UM, KEN, TO BEAT US TO THE PUNCH AS, AS FAR AS JUST WHAT IS THE ACTUAL ASK AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE FLEET COMMITTEE ON THE CIVILIAN SIDE AND THE POLICE SIDE. YEAH, SURE. WE'LL GET THAT TOGETHER. WE'RE, WE'RE, I THINK ON THE CIVILIAN SIDE, WE'RE AT THREE, SO IT'S NOT A VERY BIG ASK, BUT, UM, WE'LL GET IT TO YOU. YEAH. THANK YOU. OKAY. UM, IF YOU GET JUST A SECOND, I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS. UM, FIRST OF ALL, THIS THE AUDITOR, HEY, LISA, WOULD YOU BE KIND ENOUGH TO GET US ALL OF THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS FIVE OH THIRD COURT, BECAUSE WE KEPT, I KEEP GETTING, YOU KNOW, THIS GROUP NEEDS THIS AND THIS GROUP NEEDS THIS. AND I'D LIKE TO HAVE ONE SPREADSHEET. I MADE THIS COMMENT LAST WEEK, BUT I'LL MAKE IT AGAIN. AND I THINK YOU'RE THE RIGHT PERSON TO DO IT, BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA, ONE OF THE, IF, IF I UNDERSTAND IT CORRECTLY, ONE OF THE FIRST DECISIONS WE HAVE TO MAKE IS A DECISION ON WHAT TO SET OUR, OUR REVENUE TAX, NO NEW TAX RATE, OR NO NEW REVENUE RATE, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. AND I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW JUST WHAT THIS 5 0 3 IS GONNA COST US. I WAS, WHEN, WHEN THEY SAID THAT THE GOVERNOR VETOED IT, I TOLD THE JUDGE THAT HE'D SAVED US A MILLION AND A HALF BUCKS. UM, BUT THE POINT IS, IS, IS IS A SERIOUS ONE THAT WHATEVER WE DO, AND, YOU KNOW, KENDA, IF YOU WANNA GO TO HOA MEETINGS WITH ME WHEN WE TALK ABOUT TAXES, YOU'RE WELCOME. UM, BUT WHATEVER WE DO, WE GOTTA EXPLAIN. I'M HAPPY TO. OKAY, GREAT. OKAY. I LIKE HANGING OUT WITH YOU. YEAH, ME TOO. YEAH, WHENEVER WE, WHATEVER WE DO, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO EXPLAIN WHY WE'RE DOING IT. AND THE ADDITION OF A COURT THAT'S GONNA COST US CLEARLY OVER A MILLION BUCKS A YEAR IS NOT AN INSIGNIFICANT NUMBER. SO I WOULD LIKE TO GET ALL OF ASK YOU IF YOU WOULD PLEASE TO GET US ALL A CHEAT SHEET ON THAT. THAT SHOWS WHAT EVERY DIVISION, WHAT THIS COURT'S GONNA COST US EACH YEAR. AND, AND LISA AND THEN CAPITAL OUTLAYS FOR THIS YEAR. AND, UM, WHEN IS THE CAD GONNA GIVE US BACK THE NUMBERS? HOLD ON. LET'S, THEY'RE DUE NO LATER THAN JULY 25TH. BUT THE, IN THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, THE JUDGE AND I HAVE NOTICED THAT WE'VE GOTTEN 'EM AT LEAST WITH SEVERAL DAYS, IF NOT A WEEK EARLIER THAN THAT. SO, SO, SO, SO I GUESS KIND OF MY THOUGHT IS PIGGYBACKING ON, UH, COMMISSIONER LICHTY IS WHAT IF WE, SO OUR SECOND COURT IN JULY, WHAT IF WE DID EVEN A MINI WORKSHOP THAT AFTERNOON JUST ON THE 503RD COURT SO THAT WE COULD ALL HAVE A DISCUSSION BEFORE WE GET THE FIRST DRAFT OF THE BUDGET? BECAUSE ONCE THAT COMES OUT, WE'RE ALMOST IMMEDIATELY VOTING ON A TAX RATE, OR AT LEAST WHAT WE CONSIDER THE HIGHEST TAX RATE TO GO TO THE PUBLIC AND TO GET COMMENT FOR US TO THEN ZONE IN THAT TAX RATE. AND I WOULD HATE TO DO THAT IGNORANTLY APART FROM THE COURT. AND I THINK THE COURT IS A SILO AS BIG ENOUGH FOR US TO AT LEAST TALK ABOUT. IT DOESN'T HAVE TO GO FOR FIVE HOURS, BUT IN ORDER FOR THE FIVE OF US TO GET IN A ROOM AND TALK, WE HAVE TO HAVE A QUORUM. IT HAS TO BE PUBLIC, WHICH IS, I'M NOT , I'M NOT SAYING THAT'S A BAD THING. I'M JUST SAYING MAYBE WE, MAYBE WE LOOK AT DOING A WORKSHOP ON THE SECOND COURT IN JULY, JUST ON THE FIVE OH THIRD. 'CAUSE I THINK BY THAT POINT, WE WOULD KNOW IT WOULD, THE SPECIAL SESSION WOULD HAVE STARTED . UM, AND WE WOULD BE ABLE TO KIND OF SILO THAT AND GIVE COMMENTS TO THE JUDGE BEFORE HE WRITES HIS FIRST DRAFT OF THE BUDGET. IT'S GONNA KIND OF BE RIGHT IN THAT SAME TIMEFRAME. ANYWAYS, IT'S JUST A THOUGHT. WE, WE HAVE A WORKSHOP SCHEDULED FOR JULY 8TH. ARE YOU WANTING ONE AT THE SECOND? I MEAN, THE EIGHTH IS GOING TO BE ON, UM, IT IS GOING TO BE ON, UM, OUR PAY PLAN. AND, AND THAT PROBABLY WILL BE THE AFTERNOON. AND WE CAN'T ADD THIS TO THAT. OUR, OUR BRAINS WILL BE GONE BY BY THE END OF THAT. SO I THINK IT WOULD HAVE TO EITHER BE, AND I JUST DON'T WANNA JUST KEEP ADDING DAYS FOR US TO GET TOGETHER AND MEET. SO I WAS JUST THINKING IF WE LOOKED AT JUST ADDING THAT WE COULD HAVE A FULL FRANK DISCUSSION ON THE FIVE OH THIRD. AND I ACTUALLY, WHILE YOU WERE SPEAKING, I'M SO SORRY. UH, COMMISSIONER CAST STACEY, I'M NOT SURE THAT I COMPLETELY, UH, WE GOT DISTRACTED WITH SOMETHING ELSE. I'M NOT SURE THAT I COMPLETELY ANSWERED EITHER. IT WAS YOU OR COMMISSIONER LICHTY, UM, REGARDING IT'S THE SAME AMOUNT OF CASES. UM, SO GET YOU TO SPREAD IT OUT. UH, THERE'S A REASON THAT WE GOT THE NEW COURT, AND THE REASON [01:05:01] YOU JUST MENTIONED IT IS BECAUSE THE JUDGES HAVE BEEN OVERWORKED, AS ARE EVERY SINGLE DIVISION, UM, THAT WORKS IN THOSE COURTS. UM, WHEN I TALK ABOUT CASELOADS OF, AND I MEAN, I'M LOOKING AT THE CASELOADS OF THE FELONY TRIAL DIVISION, PROSECUTORS THAT ARE ASSIGNED TO THOSE COURTS, 2 65, 2 3 3 2 58, 2 66. I MEAN, THERE, IT'S 250 CASES A PIECE THAT ARE CURRENT AND PENDING. AND SO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE FACT THAT, UH, WE COULD SPREAD THOSE CASES OUT, I CAN TELL YOU THAT PROSECUTORS RIGHT NOW, PARALEGALS, WELL, I'M NOT GONNA SAY PARALEGALS, UH, BUT, UM, PROSECUTORS AND THOSE THAT ARE EXEMPT, THEY ARE WORKING AT HOME. THEY ARE SPENDING TIME DOING INTAKE AT HOME BECAUSE THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH HOURS IN A DAY, UM, TO GET ALL THAT STUFF DONE. WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT ARE NON-EXEMPT OR EXEMPT, I CAN'T EVEN REMEMBER WHICH ONE IT IS. UM, THE ONES THAT WE HAVE, WE DON'T PAY OVERTIME AT THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. I WILL NOT PAY OVERTIME. SO THEY HAVE TO GET COMP TIME. THE ONLY TIME I CAN PAY OVERTIME IS WHEN WE ARE IN TRIAL. UM, AND THEY HAVE TO STAY, UH, OVERTIME BECAUSE WE HAVE TO GET READY FOR THE NEXT DAY. SO, UM, I AM VERY CAREFUL ABOUT THAT. THEY'RE MAXED OUT ON COMP TIME BECAUSE THEY'RE WORKING SO MANY DIFFERENT HOURS. UM, SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS, UH, THERE IS NOT A MECHANISM SO THAT YOU CAN SAY, WELL, WE CAN JUST SPREAD THESE PEOPLE OUT AND, AND TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS. UM, WE NEED THE HELP AS, AS DOES EVERY OTHER DIVISION. THAT'S THE REASON WE, UM, ASKED FOR THE NEW COURT IN THE FIRST PLACE AND THAT IT WAS GRANTED, OCA SPENDS A LOT OF TIME. THE OFFICE OF COURT ADMINISTRATION SPENDS A LOT OF TIME LOOKING AT NUMBERS TO, BEFORE THEY RECOMMEND A NEW COURT. UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I ANSWERED THAT. I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT BEFORE. OKAY. UM, , UH, LINE ITEM, YOU'VE, AGAIN, YOU'VE GOT IN ON THE FIRST PAGE OF YOUR BUDGET, 4 91 INVESTIGATION CASES INCREASES BY $10,000, BIG INCREASE, UM, 66% ON YOUR BUDGET. IS THAT BECAUSE YOU HAVE A NEW INVESTIGATOR OR IS THERE SOME OTHER REASON? NO, THAT IS BECAUSE, UH, AND I I, WE WENT OVER ON INVESTIGATION OF CASES, UM, THIS YEAR, PRIMARILY WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS, UH, ON THE DRUG CASES, UM, IT IS, WE HAVE, UH, WE PROSECUTE MARIJUANA, UM, WE PROSECUTE THC, WE PROSECUTE FENTANYL, COCAINE, ALL OF THE, ALL OF THE DIFFERENT DRUGS. WE NOW HAVE TO, WHEN WE'RE GOING TO TRIAL, WHICH MORE AND MORE OF THOSE ARE GOING TO TRIAL, UM, WE HAVE TO GET, UH, EXPERTS TO ANALYZE. DPS IS TAKING 18 MONTHS TO ANALYZE DRUGS 18 MONTHS BEFORE WE EVEN CAN START A CASE. UM, AND SO, UH, ON, ON CERTAIN TYPES OF SITUATIONS. SO WE HAVE TO, OFTENTIMES WHAT WE'LL DO, NOT OFTEN, BUT SOMETIMES WHAT WE'LL DO IS IF WE'RE GONNA HAVE, WE KNOW A CASE IS GONNA GO TO TRIAL, WE'LL HAVE TO GET IT PRIVATELY ANALYZED. IT DOESN'T COST THAT MUCH TO GET IT PRIVATELY ANALYZED. BUT WHEN WE GO TO TRIAL, THOSE EXPERTS HAVE FIGURED OUT HOW TO MAKE MONEY. AND, UM, THEY ARE EXPERTS, AND SO WE HAVE TO PAY THEIR FEES. UM, WE HAD, UH, A TRIAL, A FAMILY VIOLENCE TRIAL. IT WAS THE CORY GRIFFIN CASE. UM, AND THEN WE HAD THE, THE LEIDEN'S CASE THAT WE HAD TO RETRY. UM, THOSE CASES ATE UP EVERY PENNY. WE WENT OVER ON INVESTIGATION OF CASES, UH, INVESTIGATION OF CASES FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME. AND THAT'S THE REASON THAT I ADDED MONEY TO THE INVESTIGATION OF CASES, IS BECAUSE WE WENT OVER IN THIS BUDGET, UM, ON, ON THIS FISCAL YEAR'S BUDGET. AND WE EXPECT, UM, THAT IT'S GOING TO, THAT TREND IS GOING TO CONTINUE, AND WE HAVE TO MAKE THOSE EXPENSES TO TRY CASES. I'M NOT GOING TO, UH, THAT'S ONE PLACE THAT I'M NOT NECESS. I HAVE TO SPEND THE MONEY AND I'M NOT GONNA SKIMP ON THOSE EXPENSES BECAUSE WE PROSECUTE AND WE PROSECUTE AGGRESSIVELY. AND WE'RE, WE HAVE A REPUTATION OF PROSECUTING AGGRESSIVELY. AND, UH, I'M NOT GOING TO SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT? I CAN'T AFFORD TO ANALYZE THOSE DRUGS. UM, AND SO I'M NOT GONNA, I'M GONNA DISMISS THE CASE OR WHATEVER. AND ARE THOSE EXPERTS BECOMING MORE EXPENSIVE BECAUSE OTHER COUNTIES AREN'T USING THEM AS MUCH AS THEY USED TO? IS THAT PART? 'CAUSE LIKE DALLAS COUNTY DOESN'T PROSECUTE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO AND I'M, AND, AND, AND I'M GLAD WE DO. YEAH. WELL, UH, DALLAS COUNTY HAS A CONTRACT WITH SWIFT'S. YEAH. AND SO THEY, UM, HAVE, THEY PAY ALL THEIR MONEY TO SWIFT'S, AND SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO PAY ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS. THEY HAVE A CONTRACT WITH THEM. UM, I, I THINK IT'S JUST THAT THE EXPERTS ARE CHARGING MORE MONEY BECAUSE THERE'S FEWER OF THEM THAT ARE, THAT HAVE THE INTEGRITY, UH, THAT WE WANT TO BE. IF I'M GONNA PUT AN EXPERT ON THE STAND, I'VE GOTTA MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE, UM, A TRUTH TELLER [01:10:01] THAT THEY DON'T, THEY DON'T FUDGE ON THE FACTS. WE WANT SOMEBODY THAT IS GOING TO GET UP THERE AND TELL OUR JURORS ABSOLUTELY WHAT THE TRUTH IS. OKAY. DID YOU, COMMISSIONER , WERE YOU WANTED TO? YEAH. OKAY. UM, LET'S GO TO VETERANS COURT. UM, NOW YOU SAID THAT A LOT OF THIS IS FUNDED BY JURORS WHO TURN IN THEIR FEES, BUT IT'S, IT'S, THAT'S NOT THE SOURCE OF FUNDING REALLY. IT'S, THAT'S JUST, THEY HAPPEN TO DO IT. RIGHT? UM, I, I THINK THAT VETERANS COURT IS FUNDED BY IT'S RESTRICTED FUNDS. UM, SO LISA, YEAH, THE COUNT, THE COUNTY DOES NOT, UH, JUST, WE DON'T, UH, SO THIS IS SPEND ANY GENERAL MONEY. SO THIS, NONE OF THIS IS GENERAL FUND MONEY? NO, SIR. THEN I DON'T CARE, THEN. THAT'S OKAY. OKAY. LET YOU MANAGE IT. WELL, THERE GOES 10 QUESTIONS, , ACTUALLY JUST THREE . UM, OKAY. SO THEN, UH, LET'S GO TO, AND IT'S NOT THAT I DON'T CARE. I NO, I UNDERSTAND DEEPLY ABOUT EVERYTHING WE DO. YOU DO. YOU'VE BEEN TO VETERAN'S COURT, YOU DO CARE RIGHT NOW? I HAVE BEEN TO VETERAN'S COURT, YEAH. OKAY. UM, BUT I DON'T HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO HOAS WHY TAXES ARE GOING UP. YES, SIR. UM, AND BY THE WAY, MY GOAL IS THAT THEY DON'T, UM, THANK YOU. THANKS, FRANK. , SO FAR YOU AND I ARE IN AGREEMENT ON THAT. . YES. WE, YES. THANK YOU. . UH, OKAY. LET'S GO TO THE LAW LIBRARY. UM, LIBRARY ATTENDANT GOES FROM $18,800 TO $50,000. UM, SO YOU KNOW WHAT, THAT'S A TWO AND A HALF TIMES INCREASE OR BETTER. WHAT, WHAT'S THE REASON FOR THAT? I'M GLAD YOU ASKED THAT QUESTION. AGAIN. LAW LIBRARY IS FUNDED BY, UM, FEES THAT ARE EMBEDDED IN COURT COSTS. SO ALL OF THOSE ARE NOT, THEY ARE NOT FROM GENERAL FUND. THEY ARE, UM, THERE'S A, A, THE STATE HAS ADDED FEES TO FUND LAW LIBRARIES THROUGHOUT THE STATE. SO THAT, AGAIN, IS NOT GENERAL FUND MONEY. THE REASON THAT I INCREASE THAT, I AM NOT PLANNING ON PAYING THAT LAW LIBRARY ATTENDANT ANY MONEY ANYMORE. BUT THAT FUND, IT FLUCTUATES EVERY YEAR ABOUT HOW MANY COURT COURT COSTS THERE ARE. WHICH HONESTLY, THAT IS A VERY HEALTHY FUND AT THIS POINT, UM, BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT THERE ARE SO MANY CASES GETTING FILED. UM, AND SO, UH, I HAVE TO ALLOCATE ALL OF THE MONEY THAT'S AVAILABLE IN THAT FUND THAT'S RESTRICTED TO THE LAW LIBRARY. YOU CAN'T USE IT FOR ANY OTHER PURPOSE. SO I HAVE TO ALLOCATE IT THROUGHOUT ALL THE EXPENSES. SO I JUST INCREASED, UM, THAT NUMBER TO 50 50,000, UH, BECAUSE I HAD EXTRA MONEY. DO YOU HAVE ACCESS IN THAT FUND BALANCE? DO I HAVE A WHAT? THERE'S A LITTLE, THERE'S A LITTLE OVER 200,000 THAT'S SITTING THERE RIGHT NOW. 200. I'M SORRY. I DO HAVE THAT NUMBER. UM, IT'S, UH, $233,000 IS IN THAT ACCOUNT. OKAY. AND, AND THAT'S ONLY USED FOR THE LAW LIBRARY BY STATUTE. THAT'S TRUE. AND, AND KENDA HAS TRIED, UH, THIS IS PROBABLY BETWEEN KENDA AND I MORE THAN ANYTHING, IS THAT SHE HAS TRIED TO FUND POSITIONS IN THERE MM-HMM . UH, IN THE PAST YEARS. AND BECAUSE IT WOULD ABSORB EVERY BIT OF THAT FUND BALANCE, AND THEN IT, THAT ASSISTANT WOULD GO RIGHT BACK TO THE GENERAL FUND IN A YEAR OR TWO. I HAVE ALWAYS KIND OF, UH, CURTAILED IT BEING A FULL-TIME POSITION BEING PAID OUTTA THAT FUND. OKAY. JUST BECAUSE THE FUND CAN, CAN MAINTAIN ITSELF. BUT SHE'S CORRECT. SHE, SHE UPPED THAT TO 50,000 BECAUSE SHE'D PROBABLY LIKE TO PAY, UH, MORE OR HAVE MORE. BUT I ACTUALLY DON'T HAVE ANY PLANS TO PAY MORE. I JUST, AGAIN, THERE WAS, I'M SORRY. I HAVE FIGURE MORE PEOPLE, NOT MORE SALARY. OH, GOTCHA. I, I MEANT MORE. I GOTCHA. UH, BUT THE ATTENDANT HAS TO WORK. IT'S THE SAME, IT'S WRITTEN THE SAME WAY. THE ATTENDANT HAS TO WORK SOLELY ON THE LAW LIBRARY. SO IT'S HARD. SHE CAN'T JUST USE IT TO PAY AN EMPLOYEE BECAUSE THE EMPLOYEE WOULD SOLELY HAVE TO BE A LAW LIBRARIAN. OKAY. SO AGAIN, THESE FUNDS ARE ALL THINGS THAT THEY COULDN'T BE USED TO OFFSET GENERAL FUND EXPENSES IN ANOTHER WAY. NO, THAT'S CORRECT. AND SHE UTILIZES IT AS BEST SHE CAN BECAUSE, UM, UH, ALL THE BOOKS IN THE LAW LIBRARY, ALL THE, UH, SUPPLEMENT, UH, TO THE LAW BOOKS, AS YOU KNOW, ARE A VERY HIGH-END, UH, EXPENSE. YEAH. SHE PAYS FOR A COPY MACHINE OUT OF THE, I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S UTILIZED, UH, VERY WELL. AND KEN IS RIGHT. WE JUST, WE JUST HAVE TO B YOU KNOW, TO MAKE IT A BALANCED BUDGET. WE PUT SOMETIMES EXPENSES IN THERE AND IF SHE CAN USE IT DURING THE YEAR, SHE'LL USE IT. OKAY. SO, AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT WE ACTUALLY MADE, LIKE THE PRINTER, WE MADE THE PAPER FREE [01:15:01] 'CAUSE WE HAD THE MONEY, AND THEN PEOPLE WOULD JUST COME AND STEAL ALL PAPER IN THE LAW LIBRARY. IS THAT WHY YOUR CASES ARE SO HIGH? PAPER THEFT MM-HMM . YEAH. PAPER THEFT. YEAH. UH, SO I MEAN, IT WAS JUST, IT, IT'S UNFORTUNATELY SOME PEOPLE YEAH. MESS IT UP FOR EVERYBODY ELSE. RIGHT. YEAH. COULD YOU SEND THE STATUTE FOR THAT? IF YOU COULD FIND IT FOR TO US, PLEASE? ABSOLUTELY. AND THANK YOU. AND THE STATUTE, AS I RECALL, I MEAN, THIS IS ONE OF THOSE, UH, THROUGH THE YEARS OF ROCKWELL COUNTY, THE LAW LIBRARY IS ACTUALLY UNDER THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT BY STATUTE. THAT'S, UH, AND IT'S JUST ALWAYS BEEN ASKED BY THE, FOR THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY TO, TO BE THE, BECAUSE IT, SHE'S THE ONE IN THE BUILDING THAT MAKES SENSE. SHE'S THE ONE THAT HEARS THE NEEDS OF THE, OF THE DEFENSE ATTORNEYS. YEAH. AND THE, AND THE PUBLIC. SO, AND THAT MAKES SENSE. UH, BUT YEAH. WE'LL, I'LL SEND IT TO YOU. I'D JUST LIKE TO REVIEW IT. I MEAN, THERE'S, WE HAVE SO MANY FUNDS LIKE THIS THAT ARE TIED TO STATUTES, AND I JUST THINK IT'S GOOD IF WE REVIEW IT JUST DURING THIS TIME. I'M, I HAVE A, I HAVE A THREE RING BINDER IN MY OFFICE, UH, COMMISSIONER THAT, UH, BECAUSE THROUGH THE YEARS IT GETS ASKED THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER, OR I NEED MY MEMORY JOGGED THAT WE JUST KEEP A BINDER AND EVERY NEW LEGISLATIVE YEAR WE PRINT AND PUT IT IN A BINDER OF THIS SIZE. AND, AND, AND IT LITERALLY IS THIS SIZE. I MEAN, AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE ASKED ONE OF THE CIVIL ATTORNEYS TO MAKE SURE WE'VE GOT THE RIGHT STATUTE. UH, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE WE'RE NOT LAWYERS IN THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE, BUT, BUT IT'S THERE AVAILABLE ANYTIME YOU NEED IT. AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT THIS, THIS FUND IS SO INTERESTING TO ME. IT, IT, IT, WE DEPLETE IT AND THEN, UH, IT, IT BUILDS BACK UP. IT'S, IT'S SIMILAR TO SOME OF THE FUNDS YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT BEFORE. BUT, UM, THE, WE'VE EVEN TALKED TO THE LIBRARY ABOUT IS THERE SOMETHING THAT WE CAN PAY FOR IN THE LIBRARY THAT'S LAW RELATED, UM, THAT HELP WOULD HELP Y'ALL OUT. SO MARCINE AND I, UM, CONTINUE TO WORK ON, UM, OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE TWO DEPARTMENTS ON THAT SCORE TO USE THIS MONEY. 'CAUSE WE CAN'T USE IT FOR ANYTHING ELSE. YEAH. IT'S, IT'S LIKE $35 OF THE COURT COST. I MEAN, CAN WE USE IT FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS? YEAH, FOR THE LAW LIBRARY. YOU CAN. YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I MEAN. YEAH. BUT THE LAW LIBRARY AND THE NEW COURTHOUSE IS PRETTY, PRETTY SMALL AREA. YEAH, IT IS A TINY SPACE. YEAH. IT'S, I DON'T WANT TO GO DOWN THIS RABBIT TRAIL, BUT I'M JUST SITTING HERE THINKING, WHAT IS IT EVEN USED FOR ANYMORE? BECAUSE AT LAWYERS, IT'S ALL CHANGED FROM WHEN I WENT TO LAW SCHOOL. AND, YOU KNOW, THIS MUSTY OLD LAW LIBRARY IS A THING. FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND THOUGH, WE'RE REQUIRED TO MAINTAIN A LAW LIBRARY FOR THE COUNTY. I THINK THAT THERE'S, THERE'S FOR PROBABLY FOR DEFENSE USE, ALSO DEFENSE, BUT PUBLIC, YOU'D BE ACTUALLY BE SURPRISED HOW MANY PEOPLE WE SEE, UM, IN THERE USING THE, THE ELECTRONIC RESOURCES. BUT WE ALSO MAINTAIN, WE'VE GONE THROUGH THE LAW LIBRARY BECAUSE THERE'S SO LIMITED SPACE TO GET RID OF BOOKS THAT WE'RE NOT USING OR USING LESS THAT WE COULD TAKE ELECTRONICALLY. SO WE WERE ABLE TO SAVE A LOT OF MONEY ON ELECTRONIC RESEARCH. UH, I MEAN, ON, ON BOOKS. YEAH. UH, BUT THEN YOU HAVE TO MAINTAIN WESTLAW AND WESTLAW, YOU KNOW, COMMISSIONER LICHTY. THEY'VE JUST, I MEAN, QUITE FRANKLY, IT'S RIDICULOUS. RIDICULOUS MUCH THEY SPEND, IT'S RIDICULOUS. THEY CHARGE FOR BOOKS NOW. YEAH. IT IS RIDICULOUS. NO, I GET IT. UM, OKAY. SO IS THE NEXT ONE, THE DA FORFEITURE FUND, IS THAT ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE FUNDS THAT IS JUST USED FOR CERTAIN THINGS AND CAN'T BE USED FOR ANYTHING ELSE BY STATUTE? IT IS IN, UM, STATUTE, IT'S ACTUALLY A PRETTY LONG STATUTE OF EXACTLY WHAT YOU CAN USE THE FORFEITURE FUND FOR. UM, I CAN TELL YOU THAT I'VE ALWAYS BEEN RETICENT ABOUT USING THOSE FUNDS. UH, WE DON'T SP WHAT HAPPENS IS ANY TIME, UM, IT'S TYPICALLY DRUGS, UH, BUT ANYTIME YOU HAVE A CASE WHERE THEY FIND DRUGS AND MONEY, UM, IN A CAR, WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH A DUE PROCESS PROCEDURE TO LINK, MAKE SURE THAT, THAT THAT MONEY IS ACTUALLY, UM, UH, RELATED TO CRIMINAL AND A CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE. WE CAN'T JUST SAY, OH, LOOK, WE FOUND MONEY AND WE GET TO KEEP IT. UM, WHEREAS WE SEE THAT IN THE PRESS ALL THE TIME, THAT IS ABSOLUTELY NOT THE TRUTH. UM, IT GOES THROUGH A PRETTY LENGTHY PROCESS. IN FACT, SOMETIMES IT TAKES A YEAR, UM, TO TAKE THAT PROCESS THROUGH. AND AT THE END OF THAT, WHEN A JUDGE DETERMINES THAT THAT MONEY IS ONE, YOU KNOW, IS, IS SUFFICIENTLY TIED TO A CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE, UM, THEN LAW ENFORCEMENT TYPICALLY KEEPS 80% OF THAT MONEY, AND THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE GETS 20. WE DON'T GET THAT MUCH. WE DON'T ACTUALLY INCREASE THAT FUND VERY MUCH, UH, OVER THE YEARS. BUT I AM VERY RETICENT ABOUT SPENDING MONEY IN IT BECAUSE OF THE, UM, THE LEGISLATURE, THE SENSITIVITY WITH THE LEGISLATURE. WE DON'T WANNA LOSE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE FORFEITURE FUNDS. I LOVE THE FACT THAT, UM, DRUG DEALERS BUY, UH, YOU KNOW, PAY FOR CERTAIN EXPENSES THAT ARE LAW RELATED. BUT TYPICALLY I'M GONNA USE THAT FORFEITURE FUND WHEN IT IS, UH, FOR, UM, LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, UH, FOR [01:20:01] NONPROFITS, UH, THAT ARE, THAT WORK ON CRIMINAL CASES LIKE WOMEN IN NEED AND THE CHILDREN'S ADVOCACY CENTER, SOMETIMES WE'LL PAY FOR THEM TO GET SOME TRAINING THAT THEY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO PAY FOR THEMSELVES. AND SO, UH, THAT'S WHAT WE USE THE FORFEITURE FUND FOR. SO WHEN YOU SAY YOU'RE RETICENT TO USE IT, DO WE HAVE A BIG FUND BALANCE THERE? WE HAVE A FUND BALANCE OF A HUNDRED AND ABOUT 180, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. $180,000 IN THAT FUND. SO IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT LIKE JENNIFER'S FUNDS, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, UM, IT IS MONEY THAT, UH, HAS BEEN COLLECTED OVER THE LAST ALMOST 20 YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. AND IT CAN'T JUST BE POURED INTO THE GENERAL FUND? NO. IT, IT CANNOT DON'T LAUGH AT ME. LISA . IT'S JUST, THERE'S ACTUALLY A QUESTION I'M GONNA AGREE. DO, DO NOT LAUGH AT ANYBODY TRYING TO GET FUNDS POURED INTO THE GENERAL FUND. IT'S JUST A QUESTION. ACTUALLY, I'VE, AND I WILL TELL YOU, BURST OUT IN LAUGHTER OVER THERE. NO, HE, SHE LAUGHS BECAUSE WE, WE GO THROUGH THIS, UH, AND, AND I, AS IF I WAS A COMMISSIONER, I'D BE LOOKING FOR THOSE WAYS TO USE THESE FUNDS AS WELL. BUT THERE IS ACTUALLY A STATUTE THAT SPECIFICALLY CURTAILS THE COMMISSIONERS, UM, BEING ABLE TO USE THOSE FUNDS. OKAY. LAST QUESTION. UM, UNLESS SOMEBODY ELSE BRINGS SOMETHING UP ELSE UP. AND THAT IS, UH, TOWARD THE END HERE. YOU HAVE THIS INCENTIVE PROGRAM. OKAY. OH, OKAY. AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS INCENTIVE PROGRAM IN OTHER, WITH, IN CONNECTION WITH THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE MM-HMM . UM, IS THIS SOMETHING THAT'S CURRENTLY IN PLACE THERE? IT'S NOT A DISTRICT ATTORNEY PROGRAM. IT'S A, IT'S A COUNTYWIDE PROGRAM, SO, OKAY. UM, YEAH, IT GOES THROUGH THE HR DEPARTMENT. OKAY. SO ANYBODY IN THE COUNTY WHO GETS A BACHELOR'S DEGREE GETS A BONUS. A BONUS? NO, SIR. ONLY THOSE POSITIONS WHO DO NOT REQUIRE A DEGREE, BECAUSE THEORETICALLY, IF THE POSITION REQUIRES A DEGREE, THE SALARY WOULD COMPENSATE THAT PERSON. SO UNDER THE COUNTY'S INS EDUCATION INCENTIVE POLICY, IF THE POSITION DOES NOT REQUIRE A DEGREE, BUT THE PERSON DOES HAVE A DEGREE AND IT BENEFITS THE COUNTY IN SOME WAY, WE WILL PAY AN INCENTIVE. OKAY. DO YOU HAVE A NUMBER, HOW MUCH WE'RE SPENDING ON THAT RIGHT NOW? YOU DON'T HAVE TO GET TO ME RIGHT NOW, BUT IN CONNECTION WITH THE BUDGET, COULD YOU JUST GET US A NUMBER ON WHAT THAT IS AND BREAK IT OUT PER THE VARIOUS INCENTIVES, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND? OKAY. OKAY. THANK YOU. THAT'S IT FOR NOW. I, I HAD ONE QUESTION. UM, ON THE UNANTICIPATED EXPENSE, 4 84 95, UM, AND WHICH FUND, SIR? GENERAL FUND. OKAY. UM, 0 0 1 4 84 9 5, UH, AN UNANTICIPATED EXPENSE OF $2,500. HAS THAT ALWAYS BEEN IN YOUR BUDGET OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WAS ADDED IN THE LAST BUDGET? NO, IT'S ALWAYS BEEN IN THE BUDGET. UH, IN FACT, IT'S BEEN THERE SINCE I STARTED AS THE DA, AND I'VE JUST NEVER CHANGED THAT BECAUSE WHAT, WHAT WE DO IS WHEN YOU HAVE AN EXPENSE, OH, WE'VE USED IT IN YEARS PAST, UH, WHEN SOMETHING IS NOT IN A LINE ITEM. UM, AND IT JUST MAKES THE AUDITOR'S JOB EASIER RATHER THAN SHUFFLING FUNDS AROUND TO JUST HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF MONEY IN UN IN UNANTICIPATED EXPENSES. AS YOU CAN TELL, WE HAVE NOT USED IT IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS. NO, YOU USED IT ONCE IN THE LAST TWO YEARS. 2023. IN 2023 YOU USED IT. OH, OKAY. $250 FOR $250. YEP. SO THAT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS. I KNOW THAT'S, I I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF GET YOUR OPINION OF IT BECAUSE THAT, THOSE ARE THINGS THAT ARE STARTING TO CATCH MY EYE OF JUST STICKING. I MEAN, WE HAVE A $600,000 IN CONTINGENCY FOR THE COUNTY. I JUST WANT US TO MAKE SURE, I WANTED TO GET YOUR OPINION BEFORE I KIND OF DISCUSS THAT WITHOUT YOU NECESSARILY BEING IN THE ROOM. UM, IT JUST DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT'S BEING UTILIZED. AND SO I JUST KIND OF QUESTION, UM, NOT FOR NOW, BUT I JUST KIND OF QUESTION THE, THE NEED FOR THAT SORT OF FUND THAT ISN'T BEING USED. COMMISSIONER, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THAT $2,500, YOU'RE MORE THAN WELCOME TO. I, I WOULD YOU, ME TO DON'T TO APPLY IT TO A CAR ALLOWANCE. I, I'M KIDDING. I'M NOT . NO, I DO NOT. PLEASE DON'T GIVE ME A CAR ALLOWANCE. BUT I JUST, UH, THAT WAS, THAT WAS ONE OF THOSE, I WAS LIKE, DANG IT. EVERYBODY ELSE GETS ONE. NO, I DON'T. NO, NO. YOU'RE, I DON'T. YOU'RE GOOD. I JUST, LIKE I SAID, I, I'M JUST KIND LOOKING AT FUNDS THAT WE'RE NOT USING AND GOING, WHY, WHY, YOU KNOW, IS IT TIME TO KIND OF RETHINK THOSE, UM, AS FAR AS BUDGETING THOSE AND POTENTIALLY JUST PUTTING THOSE IN THE GENERAL FUNDS CONTINGENCY IF WE FIND THEM BEING NECESSARY. SO ANYWAYS, YEAH. AND I WOULD ASK, AND I WOULD ACTUALLY ASK THE QUESTION OF THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE WHEN WE DO HAVE AN UNANTICIPATED EXPENSE. I'VE ALWAYS BEEN TOLD TO KIND OF KEEP A LITTLE BIT IN THAT FUND. I MEAN, WHAT IS YOUR RECOMMENDATION ON HOW TO PROCEED [01:25:01] WITH THAT? IF WE LEAVE THE LINE BLANK, WE COULD STILL CODE SOMETHING THERE THAT, UH, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE $250 WAS FOR. I, I, I, I CAN EITHER CAN SURE. LOOK IT UP AND, AND FIGURE OUT. YEAH. AND I DON'T NECESSARILY IT OUT. I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THAT. I JUST, WHEN WE GET TO BUDGET TIME, THE, THOSE ARE LINE ITEMS THAT I'M JUST GONNA BE KIND OF ASKING THE COURT, DO WE WANT TO KEEP THOSE IN THE BUDGET? HOW DO WE WANT TO HANDLE THOSE? AND YES, THAT IS MY POINT, IS THAT IS MORE BETWEEN US AND THE AUDITOR. I JUST WANTED YOUR OPINION BEFORE WE RAN WITH SOMETHING. NO, I APPRECIATE THAT. WITH YOU BEING IN THE ROOM, SO THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE THAT. THERE, THERE HAVE BEEN MANY TIMES THAT, THAT SOME, UH, YOU KNOW, VERY UNIQUE EXPENSE COMES UP IN SOMEONE'S BUDGET, AND THAT THERE'S JUST NO PROPER PLACE TO COAT IT. UM, I, I, MYSELF DON'T BELIEVE IN JUST WRITING THINGS OFF TO MISCELLANEOUS, THAT'S NOT THE ACCOUNTING THAT I'VE BEEN TAUGHT THROUGH MY LIFE, . SO I, I DO TRY TO BE VERY DILIGENT, BUT THERE HAVE BEEN TIMES THAT, UM, SOMETHING JUST DOESN'T GO ANYWHERE BUT UNANTICIPATED. SO, UM, BUT YES, WE, WE CAN MAKE IT A BLANK LINE, A ZERO, UH, BUDGET LINE, AND THEN IF WE NEED IT, WE'LL CODE IT THERE AND IT'LL BE OFFSET BY ANOTHER EXPENSE. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UM, JUST CANDID FOR ME, FOR MY PURPOSES, THE DA FORFEITURE FUND THAT, UM, THE EXPENSES ON THERE, THE, FROM, UM, 4 8300 DOWN TO THE 4 95. UM, AND THE TRAVEL AND TRAINING. I HAD WRITTEN NOTES WHEN YOU AND I MET, SO I JUST WANNA CONFIRM ALL OF THOSE AMOUNTS THAT YOU'RE PUTTING IN THERE. UM, KIND OF ACCOUNTING TO ABOUT 200,000, THAT WAS KIND OF WHERE YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT USING THE, THE, THE, THE FUND BALANCE YOU KIND OF HAVE IN THERE FOR THE, THE NEW POSITIONS YOU'RE, THAT YOU'RE WANTING TO PUT, WAS THAT WHAT, HOW YOU WERE COMING OUT TO THAT, THOSE, THOSE AMOUNTS? NO, NO, NO. JUST SUPPORT THAT, UH, FOR THE FORFEITURE FUND? WELL, NO, NO. WE JUST LIKE SUPPLIES FOR THE 3000 AND, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT WAS THAT FOR THEN? NO, THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING. WE HAVE, WE HAVE TO USE THE FORFEITURE FUND IS BY STATUTE ONLY ALLOCATED TO LAW ENFORCEMENT PURPOSES. RIGHT. AND SO I JUST, I JUST PUT NUMBERS IN THOSE, IN THOSE BLANKS TO ALLOCATE THE MONEY. MM-HMM . SO THAT THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE HAS A BUDGET FOR THE CO FOR, FOR WHAT WE IN THE PAST HAVE USED THE FORFEITURE FUNDS FOR, FOR NO, THOSE ARE NONE OF THESE, NONE OF THESE MONIES ARE ANTICIPATED THAT WE'RE ANTICIPATING USING FOR NEW POSITIONS THAT SHOULD COME OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND. OKAY. OKAY. SO THE AMOUNTS THAT YOU'VE KIND OF GOT IN THERE, THEY, WE'VE HARDLY SPENT ANYTHING IN THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS ON THOSE. THAT'S RIGHT. THAT'S THE REASON WHAT COMMISSIONER'S, WHY, BECAUSE THE STATUTE IS VERY CLEAR ON WHAT YOU CAN SPEND THOSE MONIES ON. AND, OKAY. AND I'M, YOU'RE GOOD WITH THAT. OKAY. YEAH. THANK YOU. I DON'T WANNA GO, I PROSECUTORS GO TO JAIL FOR USING, UH, THE FORFEITURE FUNDS, AND I, UM, AM, I'M GOOD, BUT NEVER IN ROCKWELL. I'M GOOD. WE DO NOT WANNA DO THAT. THANK YOU. NOT, NOT AGAIN. YEAH. ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? SO THE, THE RECORD IS CLEAR. I'VE NEVER, I'VE, I'VE ALWAYS USED THEM PROPERLY BE CLEAR PEPPER, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. AND I WANTED TO SAY ONE OTHER THING BEFORE I, UH, FINISHED. I, I DON'T WANNA GO BACK TO MY OFFICE AND THE V COME UP TO ME AND SAY, WAIT A SECOND. DID YOU JUST CALL US SOCIAL WORKERS? I DID NOT. UM, AND HONESTLY, THEY, THAT THIRD POSITION WOULD OFFSET A LOT OF THE WORK THAT THEY ARE DOING, BUT IT WOULD ALLOW US TO, TO DO SOME MORE THINGS WITH THAT POSITION. AND THAT'S WHAT I WAS MEANING BY THAT. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION. I KNOW I WENT OVER, BUT I REALLY APPRECIATE THE GOOD QUESTIONS. THANK YOU, MA'AM. ALL RIGHT. LET'S TAKE ABOUT A 10 MINUTE BREAK. IT'S 10 28, AND WE'LL RECESS FOR 10 MINUTES. ALL RIGHT. IT'S 10 37. WE'RE GONNA RECONVENE INTO OUR BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING, AND IN FRONT OF US IS MR. JIM OCKER, GIS ADMINISTRATOR, AND ERICA BRIDGES OUR COUNTY ENGINEER. SO TAKE IT AWAY, GUYS. GOOD MORNING, JUDGE. COMMISSIONERS. UM, I JUST THOUGHT THAT THERE IS, UM, THIS BEING A NEW PROCESS OF, OF NOT JUST MY MEETING WITH THE JUDGE IN HR AND SUCH, THIS BEING IN OPEN COURT, UH, AND FOR THE PUBLIC TO SEE. UM, I'D LIKE TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT GIS DOES, WHAT WE DO HERE, AND, UM, WHY WE CONSIDER OURSELVES VALUABLE. UH, GOOD MORNING. I BELIEVE EVERYONE HERE IS AWARE OF THE DIFFERENT HATS THE GIS DEPARTMENT WEARS, BUT I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE WORTH REITERATING FOR PUBLIC CONSUMPTION IN THIS NEW MEETING. FORMAT. GIS IS A RELATIVELY NEW TERM, WHICH IS SHORT FOR GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS. THIS IS THE DATA, THE VISUALIZATION, AND THE ANALYSIS OF LOCATION. WHEN SOMEONE HEARS THE TERM GIS, THEY MAY THINK MAPS GPS OR THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE LOOKED AT THEIR TRAFFIC APP BEFORE HEADING TO WORK. OTHERS MAY THINK ABOUT FINDING BOUNDARY LINES, LAYERS OF CARTOGRAPHY BEING LIKE LAYERS OF A CAKE OR SIMPLY, UH, STORYTELLING [01:30:01] WITH A SINGLE PICTURE. GIS IS ALL OF THESE THINGS AND MORE, BUT SIMPLY PUT, GIS IS THE SCIENCE OF LOCATION. THE GS DEPARTMENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR CREATING, EDITING, ANALYZING, AND PUBLISHING VARIOUS FORMS OF GEOSPATIAL DATA, SUCH AS CITY LIMITS, FEMA, FLOODPLAINS, ROADWAY CENTER LINES, STORM SHELTER, LOCATIONS, AND THE LIST GOES ON. BASICALLY, WE FIGURE OUT HOW TO SHOW LOCATION BASED DATA TO THOSE THAT MAKE THE DECISIONS, OR THOSE BOTH INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY, WHOM SIMPLY WANT TO KNOW WHERE IS IT. THE GS DEPARTMENT HAS ONLY BEEN AROUND FOR A FEW YEARS, BUT WE'VE EXISTED HERE IN ROCKWELL COUNTY FOR DECADES PRIOR. WE ARE PRE, WE WERE PREVIOUSLY CALLED THE 9 1 1 RURAL ADDRESSING DEPARTMENT. WE, BUT AS WE STARTED OFFERING MORE GI S BASED PUBLICATIONS AND SERVICES, SOME YEARS BACK, WE REALIZED A RENAMING WAS AN ORDER. NOT TO MENTION, GIS IS LESS OF A MOUTHFUL TO THIS DAY. OUR CORE FUNCTION IS THE SAME AS IT'S ALWAYS BEEN 9 1 1 ADDRESSING. WE COORDINATE WITH ALL COUNTY, UH, ROCKWELL COUNTY CITIES, THE CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT, PEERS ACROSS OTHER COUNTIES, POTENTIAL DEVELOPERS, BUSINESS OWNERS, AND ROCKWELL COUNTY CITIZENS, AND PROVIDING ADDRESSES FOR STRUCTURES, UTILITIES, AND THE LIKE. WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF A SUBDIVISION OF NCT COG CALLED NCT 9 1 1, THESE ADDRESSES AND MANY OTHER GI S DATA SETS ARE SHARED ACROSS 13 COUNTIES IN THE REGION, AND ALL RESPECTIVE NINE ONE ONE DISPATCHING CALL CENTERS AND EMERGENCY SERVICES DEPARTMENTS. EFFECTIVELY, WE MAKE SURE THAT WHEN YOU CALL 9 1 1 FOR HELP, OUR EMERGENCY SERVICES CAN GET TO YOU AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. TO THIS END, WE STRIVE TO BE ONE OF MANY UNSUNG HEROES REGARDING THIS YEAR'S BUDGET REQUEST. SPECIFICALLY, I WOULD LIKE TO ADD THAT WITH THE NEW COUNTY ANNEX BUILDING, OPENING UP, GIS IS BEING FOLDED INTO THE NEW DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT IN AN EFFORT TO CREATE A ONE-STOP SHOP FOR CITIZENS DEVELOPMENT REQUESTS. I MENTIONED THIS SIMPLY AS A PRECURSOR TO ANY CONFUSION OR CHANGES THAT MAY BECOME APPARENT AS WE GO THROUGH THE GIS BUDGET. UM, I WAS JUST THINKING OF STARTING AT THE TOP. UM, UH, THE LITTLE, UH, THE BUDGET SUBMITTAL I GAVE Y'ALL, UH, STARTS AT THE TOP. AND ALTHOUGH IT DOESN'T HAVE TABS, IT DOES HAVE PAGE NUMBERS. SO I HOPE THAT HELPS OUT GOING FORWARD. UM, FROM A PERSONNEL PERSPECTIVE, I DO NOT HAVE ANY REQUESTS AT THIS TIME FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR PERSONNEL BECAUSE I RECOGNIZE THAT WITH DEVELOPMENT SERVICES COMING ONLINE, THERE ARE GOING TO BE ADAPTATIONS THAT HAVE TO HAPPEN WITH WORKFLOWS, PROCESSES, UM, AND, AND SO ON. THAT WILL HAPPEN ONCE WE'RE ALL IN ONE SPACE, UH, THESE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS. UM, I DO ASK THAT THE COURT, UM, CONSIDER DOING THE, THE ANNUAL OR THE TYPICALLY ANNUAL, UH, MERIT SLASH COLA, WHATEVER TERMINOLOGY YOU WANNA USE THERE, UH, INCREASE, UH, JUST SO EVERYBODY STAYS, UH, RELATIVELY SPEAKING, STAYS AT A, UH, AN A A GOOD POINT. UM, OTHER THAN THAT, UH, IF THERE'S NO QUESTIONS ON PERSONNEL OR MY LACK OF REQUEST FOR THAT, UH, I CAN GO OVER TO OPERATING. NO, LET'S GO TO OPERATING. OKAY. ALRIGHT. SO, OFFICE SUPPLIES. UH, YOU'LL PROBABLY LOOK AT, UH, MY PREVIOUS YEARS EXPENSES AND OFFICE SUPPLIES. THAT DOLLAR AMOUNT IS VERY MUCH SUBJECT TO, UM, WHATEVER HAPPENS, UH, IN A GIVEN YEAR WITH REGARDS TO, UH, LARGE PRINTS, THAT'S DOMINANTLY. IF YOU NEED A MAP, YOU HAVE ME PRINT OUT A MAP. I'M USING INK AND LARGE FORMAT PAPER IN ORDER TO, UH, HELP YOU WITH YOUR REQUESTS. UH, THIS BUDGET IS ALMOST ENTIRELY FOR THOSE PURPOSES. UH, THE INK FOR THE PLOTTER THAT WE HAVE, UH, THE ONE PLOTTER WE HAVE IN THE COUNTY THAT I REALLY THINK IS RELIABLE. UM, UH, INK, A SET OF INK IS A THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR THAT THING. UH, PAPER IS $150 FOR ONE ROLE. UH, I HAVE NOT SPENT DOLLARS IN FY 25 TO THAT END IN HOPES OF ACTUALLY HAVING LESS TO MOVE OVER TO THE NEW ANNEX WHEN THE TIME COMES. SO, UH, I DO EXPECT THAT THAT MERE $14, UH, SO FAR THIS YEAR IS GOING TO RISE ONCE WE GET SETTLED IN THE NEW FACILITY. UH, JUST, UH, TRYING TO PUT OFF WHAT I CAN. UH, I DID DROP THAT, UH, BY $500 FROM THIS CURRENT YEAR IN RECOGNITION OF IT HAS NOT BEEN REALLY UTILIZED OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS. UM, I JUST DON'T WANNA DROP IT TOO MUCH AND THEN NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD, UH, WHAT Y'ALL ASK ME TO DO. UH, GOING FORWARD, POSTAGE IS JUST A VERY MINIMAL AMOUNT, A HUNDRED DOLLARS. IT'S MOSTLY TO MAKE SURE THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE DOESN'T YELL AT ME FOR USING POSTAGE AND NOT HAVING MONEY SET ASIDE FOR IT. SORRY, LISA. [01:35:01] UM, EQUIPMENT. FURNITURE, UH, THAT A THOUSAND DOLLARS IS NOT EXACTLY SPOKEN FOR, UH, IN MY REQUEST. THAT IS, I DON'T KNOW WHAT I DON'T KNOW WITH REGARDS TO THE NEW BUILDING. I KNOW FURNITURE IS SUPPOSED TO BE PROVIDED, BUT, UH, MY THOUGHT IS WE MAY NEED ANOTHER CABINET IN THE BACK END IN THE PRINT ROOM OR THE STORAGE ROOM AS JUST A CALL IT CONTINGENCY, IF YOU WILL. IF Y'ALL DON'T WANT, UH, FUND THAT THOUSAND DOLLARS, THAT'S FINE. UM, WE WILL MAKE DO WITHOUT, UM, THAT'S JUST MY ATTEMPT TO MAKE SURE THE NEW SPACE IS HOW WE NEED IT ONCE WE'RE IN THERE. UH, TELEPHONE AIR CARDS. UM, THIS BUDGET, UH, HAD BEEN FOR TWO AIR CARDS, UH, FOR MY GIS ANALYST AND MYSELF. UH, HOWEVER, WE DID NOT HAVE NOT USED ONE OF THEM. AND SO I AM OFFERING THAT, UH, UM, MS. ERICA BRIDGES, OUR COUNTY ENGINEER IS GOING TO PROBABLY TAKE THAT $500 AND ASK FOR IT IN HER BUDGET. SO IF YOU WANTED TO TAKE, UM, LINE NUMBER FOUR 20, BUDGET FOUR 20 AND SUBTRACT 500, UM, THAT'S PERFECTLY FINE BY ME. UH, I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY APPROPRIATE. UM, GOING A LITTLE BIT FURTHER DOWN TO MAINTENANCE AGREEMENTS. UH, AND I ALSO WANT TO LUMP INTO THAT SOFTWARE SUBSCRIPTIONS. UH, THE COURT MAY BE AWARE THAT THERE ARE, UH, STATUTES THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE HAS TO ABIDE BY, UH, THAT DIFFERENTIATES SOFTWARE SUBSCRIPTIONS FROM MAINTENANCE AGREEMENTS. UH, THIS IS, THOSE $2 AMOUNTS SHOULD BE, UH, CONSIDERED AS ONE BECAUSE THE VAST MAJORITY OF IT IS FROM ONE QUOTE FROM ESRI, FROM ONE VENDOR OF OURS. UH, THERE ISN'T ANOTHER, THERE IS ANOTHER $1,500 FOR A, UM, UH, SOFTWARE CALLED MAPTITUDE, WHICH IS A REDISTRICTING SOFTWARE THAT I WAS ASKED TO HAVE A FEW YEARS BACK. AND I'M JUST GOING ON WITH, UH, $1,500 ANNUALLY TO KEEP THAT UP AND GOING, UH, FOR WHENEVER Y'ALL ARE READY TO USE IT. UM, WAIT, JUST A QUESTION, SIR. $1,500 A YEAR JUST FOR A REDISTRICTING SOFTWARE. YES. THAT IS THE ONGOING MAINTENANCE, UM, FOR THAT PARTICULAR SOFTWARE. UH, SO THAT, AND I, AND I ASSUME YOU USED IT WHEN THEY DID THE REDISTRICTING BACK IN 2020. WAS THAT WHEN WE GOT IT? THAT IS NOT WHEN WE GOT IT. WE WERE, WE ACTUALLY PURCHASED IT AFTER THAT, BUT WE PURCHASED IT BECAUSE OF THAT. THAT WAS THE SOFTWARE THAT I BELIEVE A MR. BASS USED AT THE TIME THAT, UH, SEEMED TO BE VERY, CALL IT INDUSTRY STANDARD FOR REDISTRICTING. OKAY. UH, SO IF WE ASSUMED WE WEREN'T GONNA REDISTRICT MM-HMM . UNTIL 2030, COULD WE GET RID OF $1,500 A YEAR? 100%. WHICH BRINGS UP THE QUESTION, ARE WE GONNA MAKE IT TO 2030 BEFORE WE ARE OUT OF, OUT OF WHACK? AND, AND THAT'S THE OTHER THING THAT THIS DOES, IT, IT, IT DIGS IN. AND REDISTRICTING IS NOT JUST DRAWING MAPS IN POPULATION. YOU ALSO HAVE TO LOOK AT DEMOGRAPHICS, WHICH THIS, THIS DOES THAT. MM-HMM . UM, AND, AND YOU HAVE DEMOGRAPHIC PARAMETERS. YOU, YOU HAVE TO STAY INSIDE OF. AND IF YOU GET OUTSIDE OF THOSE PARAMETERS, LONG-WINDED VERSION TO SAY, I THINK WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO RE DISTRICT BEFORE 2030, BUT WHEN WE REDISTRICT, CAN'T WE JUST GET SOFTWARE THEN AND START OVER? WAIT, I, YES SIR. THAT'S 100% POSSIBLE. I JUST, IT'S JUST, I JUST THINK IF WE'RE SPENDING $1,500 A YEAR THAT WE KNOW WE DON'T NEED, AGAIN, IN THE CONTEXT OF A $55 MILLION BUDGET, IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE MUCH. BUT YOU KNOW, LITTLE DID, AS I TELL MY KIDS, LITTLE DECISIONS BECOME BIG DECISIONS. AND IF WE CAN SAVE $1,500 A YEAR, LET'S SAVE IT. THE, THE TRADE OFF TO THAT 100%, WE CAN'T DO THAT, SIR. UH, THE TRADE OFF IS, THE INITIAL PURCHASE OF THE SOFTWARE IS 5,000. SO IF WE ARE GONNA PUT IT OFF FOR THREE YEARS OR MORE THAN A HUNDRED PERCENT, LET'S, LET'S DISREGARD THE 1,503 YEARS OR FOUR YEARS FROM NOW, THEN WE CAN CONSIDER SPENDING THE FIVE. AND WE'VE ALREADY SPENT THE FIVE. YES, SIR. OKAY. SO WE, WE'D HAVE TO SPEND FIVE AGAIN, WE COULDN'T TWO YEARS FROM NOW, UH, SPEND 1500, WE'D BE STUCK SPENDING FIVE. YES, SIR. 6,500 OR WHATEVER IT IS IN TWO YEARS. AND SO, SO THEN THE QUESTION OF THE MATH PROBLEM, RIGHT? SO WHEN ARE WE THINKING WE MIGHT NEED TO REDISTRICT BUY, BECAUSE THAT, THAT'S LIKE A FOUR YEAR WINDOW NOW. YEAH, I I I WAS GONNA SAY IT'S A POLICY PROBLEM, BUT BOTH OF US ARE CORRECT. SO, BUT JIM, IS IT, IS IT CONSIDERED IN THE MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT OR IN THE SOFTWARE SUBSCRIPTION? 'CAUSE YOU, YOU SAID BOTH OF THEM THEN, BECAUSE ONE OF 'EM YOU'VE GOT, WE'VE SPENT REMAIN THAT IT SHOWS ACTUAL, I'M NOT SURE WHICH ONE, WHERE WHICH, WHERE IT'S AT. WE, WE GOT AN UPDATE THIS MORNING FROM THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE. [01:40:01] SO WE HAVEN'T SPENT A LOT OF NEITHER ONE OF THOSE, THOSE ACCOUNTS, WHETHER IT'S, AND YOU SAID ESRI VENDOR AND THEN YOU WENT ON DOWN TO THE OKAY. WITH, WITH BASS WITH, SO I'M NOT SURE WHICH ONE IT'S WHERE, WHERE IT'S AT. YES MA'AM. WE HAVE THE, UH, IF YOU LOOK AT PAGE 19, OR SORRY, 18 AND THE 19 OF MY SUBMITTAL, UH, PAGE 18 IS THE CALIPER CORPORATION, THE MAGNITUDE SOFTWARE, UH, THAT IS A $1,500 MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT. MM-HMM . UH, ANNUAL AGREEMENT. OH, I DON'T, OKAY. OKAY. AND THEN IF YOU GO TO THE, THE PAGE 19 WHERE THE ESRI QUOTATION STARTS MM-HMM . IT HAS VARIOUS SERVICES AS PART OF THAT LICENSING CONTRACT. UH, SOME ARE MAINTENANCE, SOME ARE SOFTWARE SUBSCRIPTIONS. OKAY. THANK YOU. YES, MA'AM. UM, ADDITIONALLY, UH, IN THE SOFTWARE SUBSCRIPTIONS, I WOULD LIKE TO OFFER UP THAT, UM, AGAIN, THIS BUDGET WAS DONE PRIOR TO ERICA, EXCUSE ME, THE COUNTY ENGINEER COMING ONLINE AND OUR BEING ABLE TO HAVE IN DEPTH CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN IN THE NEXT YEAR, WHAT'S GONNA UNFOLD. UM, I HAD LEFT $4,100 IN SOFTWARE SUBSCRIPTIONS SO THAT OUR COUNTY ENGINEER COULD HAVE A COPY OF THE SAME SOFTWARE THAT I USE. BUT SHE HAS SINCE TOLD ME THAT THAT'S NOT SOMETHING SHE'S NEEDING. UH, AND SO I OFFER UP TO REMOVE 4,100 FROM SOFTWARE SUBSCRIPTIONS. UH, THE LAST LINE ITEM THAT, UH, IN OPERATING, UH, WOULD BE EQUIPMENT REPAIRS. THAT IS WHAT I WOULD CALL OUR ONE CONTINGENCY FUND. UH, SEEN AS HOW WE HAVE COMPUTERS THAT ARE A LITTLE MORE, LITTLE MORE THAN YOUR GENERAL WORKSTATION. UH, AND WE HAVE THE PLOTTER, UH, REPAIRS FOR THOSE CAN BE COSTLY OR MORE COSTLY THAN FOR A NORMAL PRINTER. FOR A NORMAL WORKSTATION. UH, AND THAT'S, THAT'S MY CONTINGENCY, FOR LACK OF BETTER WORD. CAN YOU WALK ME THROUGH AGGREGATELY, LIKE HIGH LEVEL, IT LOOKS LIKE OUR SOFTWARE SUBSCRIPTIONS ARE OVER BUDGET IN THIS CURRENT BUDGET. UM, WHAT CAUSED THAT TO HAPPEN? AND THEN WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE MAINTENANCE AGREEMENTS GOING FROM 2000 TO 81, SO ASSUMING IT GOES FROM 2000 TO FOUR, 4,000, 'CAUSE YOU'RE SAYING YOU CAN TAKE $4,100 OUT OF THAT SOMEWHERE. MM-HMM . YES, SIR. UM, CAN YOU JUST POINT OUT WHY THE INCREASE ON THOSE TWO LINE ITEMS AND, AND WHY WE'VE USED UP THAT BUDGET? OKAY. FOR FY 20, THE, THE CURRENT FY FY 25, UH, THERE WAS AN ADDITIONAL 1500 FOR THIS MAGNITUDE SOFTWARE. IT WAS MY UNDERSTANDING WHEN I PURCHASED IT THAT IT WAS GOING TO BE THE, THE INITIAL PURCHASE WAS BIG ENOUGH TO GET US PAST THIS CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, BUT THEY SINCE TOLD ME, NO, THAT'S NOT THE CASE. I NEEDED TO RE-UP, RE-UP MID-YEAR. AND SO A TRULY UN UNEXPECTED 1500 WAS DUE THIS YEAR. THAT WAS NOT SUBMITTED IN LAST YEAR'S BUDGET. THAT'S WHY YOU HAVE A, UH, MINUS NEXT TO, UH, I FORGET IF IT'S MAINTENANCE OR SOFTWARE SUBSCRIPTIONS, BUT THAT'S WHERE THAT EXTRA 1500 COMES FROM, UH, FOR CURRENT YEAR, UH, FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR. AGAIN, THERE IS, UH, I MEAN I, I'M, I'M SURE AS, AS Y'ALL HAVE HEARD FROM EVERYONE, EVERYTHING COST OF IS GOING UP. UH, THERE IS, UH, ONE LICENSE, OUR SERVER SIDE LICENSE, UH, THAT MY ANALYST AND MYSELF USE, UM, THAT IS, THAT WAS QUOTED FOR A WORK GROUP LICENSE IS WHAT THEY CALLED IT IN FY 25. IT IS GOING UP IN FY 26 BECAUSE THEY'RE RENAMING, REBRANDING INTO AN ENTERPRISE, UH, LICENSE AS OPPOSED TO A WORK GROUP. IT'S ESSENTIALLY THE SAME THING. AN EXCUSE FOR THEM TO CHARGE US MORE MONEY IF YOU ASK ME. UH, BUT THAT SERVER LICENSE WILL ALLOW US TO MORE, UM, DYNAMICALLY HELP DEVELOPMENT SERVICES GOING FORWARD. IS THAT, I I JUST, I JUST WANT TO UNDERSTAND, SO IS, SO, SO IT WAS 11 THREE, BUT IT REALLY SHOULD BE 12 EIGHT BECAUSE WE HAD $1,500 GET ADDED, BUT THEN THE BUDGET REQUEST IS FOR 16. IS THAT WHERE THE 4,100 IS THE 4,100 YES. WOULD BE SOFT ONE OF THE SOFTWARE SUBSCRIPTION ITEMS. YES, SIR. UM, SO THAT WOULD BE WHAT 11 NINE IS WHAT SOFTWARE SUBSCRIPTIONS COULD BE OR, OR SHOULD BE IN MY OPINION. UM, BUT DOES THAT INCLUDE THE 1500? YES. FOR, FOR THE MAPTITUDE? YES. THAT INCLUDES, UH, THAT WAS ACTUALLY IN THE MAINTENANCE AGREEMENT. UM, THAT'S WHERE THAT ONE QUALIFIED TO BE, I SHOULD SAY WAS MAINTENANCE AGREEMENTS. UH, BUT THE 1500 IS INCLUDED IN FY 26 REQUEST. I THINK I ANSWERED [01:45:01] YOUR QUESTION. YES. AND IF Y'ALL CHOSE TO NOT DO THE, NOT HOLD ONTO THAT LICENSE, YOU COULD SUBTRACT THE 1500 FROM MAINTENANCE AGREEMENTS. UH, THE OTHER, UH, ITEMS THAT HAVE GONE UP INSIDE THE ESRI QUOTE ITSELF, UM, THERE WAS THE WORK GROUP LICENSE THAT HAS CHANGED TO THE ENTERPRISE LICENSE THAT WENT UP BY, UM, 2,500, SOMETHING TO THAT EFFECT. UM, WE DID HAVE A LICENSING LI LICENSING UNIT PRICE INCREASE OF ROUGHLY $700. UM, JUST IN GENERAL, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE ITEMS IS X NUMBER OF DOLLARS, $20, A HUNDRED DOLLARS MORE EXPENSIVE THAN IT WAS LAST YEAR. OKAY. SO THAT'S ACCOUNTING FOR THE $6,000 INCREASE. WHEN YOU REALLY LOOK AT IT, I MEAN, BASICALLY YOU CAN PUT IT WHEREVER YOU WANT, BUT THE FUNCTIONALITY THAT YOU HAVE IS GOING UP SIX GRAND. WE CAN DECIDE WHETHER WE WANNA DO THE MAPTITUDE OF 1500 AND THEN WE COULD TAKE OUT 4,100 BECAUSE THE ENGINEER DOESN'T WANT TO USE THE SOFTWARE. RIGHT. BUT IT'S STILL A $6,000 INCREASE JUST FOR YOU TO CONTINUE YES. DOING WHAT YOU WERE DOING. AND THAT IS DOMINANTLY THAT SERVER LICENSE PRICE GOING UP. UH, AGAIN, THERE'S ROUGHLY $700 OF EVERY LITTLE CHUNK THEY'RE TRYING TO YEAH. EVERY LITTLE NIBBLE THEY'RE TRYING TO TAKE. NO, NO, THAT, THAT, THAT MAKES SENSE. I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S NOT GETTING CAUGHT BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE TWO BUDGET ITEMS THAT ARE GOING UP A LOT. SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I FULLY UNDERSTOOD. SO I DO NOW. THANK YOU. YES, SIR. UM, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE REGARDING GIS OPERATING? OKAY, I HAVE, SIR. JUST THINKING BACK, AND I DON'T WANNA CHASE THIS RABBIT TRAIL TOO FAR, BUT SO WE CAN MAKE A BETTER INFORMED DECISION. IS THERE A PRINTOUT OF INFORMATION YOU COULD GET FROM THIS APT APTITUDE NOW WHILE WE HAVE IT? AND WE COULD LOOK AT AND TO THE JUDGE'S QUESTION, MAKE A DETERMINATION OF WHETHER OR NOT WE CAN WAIT TILL 2030 TO REDISTRICT IN OUR OPINION, AND THEN TO, UH, AS, AS COMMISSIONER GALANA SAID, IT BECOMES A MATH PROBLEM. MM-HMM . AND, BUT IF YOU COULD GET US, IS THERE, I WOULD ASSUME THERE'S SOME SORT OF PRINTOUT OF INFORMATION LIKE SHOWING VOTERS AND CITIZENS IN VARIOUS PRECINCT AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT WE COULD LOOK AT AND TRY AND MAKE THAT, YOU KNOW, DECISION, SEE WHAT'S THE BEST FINANCIALLY? UH, YES SIR. UH, WE CURRENTLY HAVE, DO HAVE ACCESS TO THE SOFTWARE CURRENTLY CAN USE IT. UH, IT UTILIZES CENSUS BUREAU DATA FROM 2022. SO IT'S THE 2020 CENSUS, AND THEN THEY PUBLISH DATA IN 22, WHICH IS WHAT OUR CURRENT REDISTRICTING OR OUR CURRENT PRECINCTS ARE BASED OFF OF. IS THAT DATA, UH, THIS, IT WOULD BE THE EXACT SAME DATA THAT I USE TO, UM, TO DO AS YOU'RE ASKING. UH, SO THERE'S BEEN, WAIT, WAIT. SO THERE, HAVEN'T THERE BEEN UPDATES TO THE DATA SINCE 2022? IT DEPENDS ON HOW OFFICIAL YOU WANNA BE, SIR. UH, IF YOU WANT TO GO OFF THE CENSUS BUREAU, WHICH WOULD BE THE OFFICIAL TIMES OF WHEN YOU MUST REDISTRICT EVERY 10 YEARS, UHHUH WHEN THE CENSUS HAPPENS, UH, WE COULD CERTAINLY JUST LOOK AT THAT. OR I DO BELIEVE THAT COG PUBLISHES SOME KIND OF PRELIMINARY MID-YEAR OR MAYBE EVERY OTHER YEAR, SOMETHING TO THAT EFFECT, UH, DEMOGRAPHIC RELATED DATA. BUT IT'S ALL, UM, POPULATED VERY, YEAH, VERY SUBJECTIVE OF HOW ACCURATE IT IS. I THINK THAT'D BE HELPFUL IF WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE THIS DECISION. UNLESS YOU ALL DON'T THINK WE, WE SHOULD EVEN LOOK AT IT. I THINK IT'D BE HELPFUL. I I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL AS WELL. THERE WAS A, WITH THE PREVIOUS COURT, THERE WAS AN APPETITE TO MOVE FORWARD AND, AND LOOK AT REDISTRICTING BECAUSE WE ARE, AS YOU KNOW, YOUR, UH, YOUR PRECINCT IS, IS HUGE YEAH. AND IS GOING TO BE TWICE AS BIG AS ANYBODY ELSE'S, BOTH SIZE AND POPULATION WISE AT SOME POINT VERY QUICKLY. UM, SO, UM, IN OUR, IN OUR, IN OUR ELECTIONS ADMINISTRATOR, HE HAS ALREADY COME TO US AS WELL TO KIND OF GIVE US SOME, GIVE US A LITTLE HEADS UP AS WELL. YEAH. YEAH. SO IT, IT MAY BE, I HATE TO USE THE DREADED WORKSHOP , UH, BUT IT, IT, IT MAY BE . NOW THIS ISN'T GONNA BE A WORKSHOP TO DO TIME AND HOW TO DO OUR WORKSHOPS, IS IT? NO. THAT, THAT'S WHERE, THAT'S TOMORROW TO DO THAT WORKSHOP . SO, BUT IT, I I THINK NOW'S THE TIME TO HAVE THE CONVERSATION ABOUT, WELL, AT LEAST FROM A BUDGET STANDPOINT. YEAH, YEAH, YEAH. AND, AND HAVING JUST, UH, SOME DATA OF WHAT WE HAVE NOW OF WHERE, WHERE WE'RE AT AND, AND POPULATION WISE, WHERE ARE OUR PRECINCTS AT RIGHT NOW? BECAUSE IF, WHEN WE, THE LAST REDISTRICTING WAS 2022, SO IF WE DID IT 2032, THAT'S SEVEN YEARS OUT. RIGHT. [01:50:01] SO IT, AGAIN, IF I THINK IT'S WORTH LOOKING AT, IF YOU COULD GET US THIS INTERIM DATA AND WE UNDERSTAND, THEN WE CAN AT LEAST THINK ARE WE IF, 'CAUSE IF WE THINKING, YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE'LL DO IT IN THREE YEARS, THEN CERTAINLY IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO KILL THE THING. SO WE CAN SPEND 5,000, BUT IT HELPS US MAKE THAT DECISION. YEP. YES. YES, SIR. AND I WOULD JUST SAY THAT ANYTHING THAT WE, WE DO RIGHT NOW IS RIGHT SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE BETWEEN CENSUS DATA SETS. SO IT'S ALL BEST GUESS KIND OF, KIND OF STUFF FROM COG. NO, NO, I GET THAT. AND, BUT, BUT I'M NOT TRYING TO MAKE A DECISION ON REDISTRICTING. I'M TRYING TO MAKE A DECISION ON WHETHER WE THINK IT'LL BE NECESSARY SOONER THAN 2030 CENSUS, SIR. AND IF IT IS, THEN MAYBE WE KEEP THIS SOFTWARE, AND IF IT ISN'T, MAYBE WE LET IT GO. UNDERSTOOD. ARE YOU GONNA TALK ABOUT THE LIDAR? UH, YES. OKAY. I, I'LL, I'LL GET TO THAT IN HERE IN JUST A MOMENT. UM, LAST THING, UH, AS FAR AS MY SUBMITTED BUDGET IS THE TRAVEL AND TRAINING. UH, THAT IS JUST SIMPLY A REFLECTION OF, YET AGAIN, THINGS GOING UP. THIS $6,000 6,100 IS ENOUGH FOR BOTH MYSELF AND THE GIS ANALYST TO GO TO A 3D THREE DAY CLASS, UH, AT SOME POINT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. UM, IT APPEARS THAT IF YOU LOOK AT THE CURRENT OR WHAT THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE PROVIDED, UH, AS, AS CURRENT EXPENDITURES, IT APPEARS THAT ONE OF THE CLASSES WE'VE TOOK ABOUT THREE, FOUR WEEKS AGO HAS NOT COME OUT OF THAT YET. SO THERE IS $3,000, UM, THAT IS ACTUAL SPENT. UH, IT'S JUST NOT REFLECTED IN OUR DATA JUST YET, UH, THE STATEMENT OF EXPENSES. UH, BUT AGAIN, THAT 6,100 WOULD BE ABLE TO TAKE, UH, SEND BOTH MYSELF AND MY ANALYSTS TO ONE CLASS DURING THE YEAR. UM, IF, IF, IF THERE'S NO MORE QUESTIONS ON MY SUBMITTAL, UH, I CAN MOVE ON TO THE HANDOUT THAT I GAVE, UH, LEFT FOR EVERYONE. UH, JUST BEFORE WE STARTED. UH, I BELIEVE COUNTY CLERK AND AUDITOR'S OFFICE SHOULD ALSO HAVE A COPY OF THAT. UM, WHAT YOU SHOULD SEE ON THAT FIRST PAGE, UH, IS A QUOTE FOR, UH, SPATIAL DATA, UH, PURCHASE FROM OR THROUGH COG AS A COOPERATIVE PROGRAM WITH SURROUNDING CITIES, SURROUNDING COUNTIES, UM, ALL TRYING TO GO IN AND GET THE, THE COSTCO, UM, PRICE, UH, FOR, FOR AERIALS AND LIDAR AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY I USE ON A DAILY BASIS TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, MY ADDRESS POINTS AND MY ROAD CENTER LINES AMONG OTHER DATA IS JUST SIMPLY LINED UP WITH WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE, UM, ON A MAP. UH, THE LIDAR DATA IS SOMETHING THAT ROCKWELL COUNTY HAS NEVER HAD DONE. UH, TO MY KNOWLEDGE. UH, THERE IS CURRENTLY LIDAR DATA AVAILABLE FROM TENS, UH, NOW CALLED TEXAS GEO, WHICH IS THE STATE WEBSITE OF WHERE OF GIS DATA, UH, A REPOSITORY OF SORTS. BUT THAT LIDAR DATA IS FROM 1998. LIDAR DATA IN A NUTSHELL IS, UM, GIS DATA THAT SHOWS WHERE THE GROUND IS, WHERE STRUCTURES ARE, WHERE THE WATER IS, WHERE THE TREES ARE, UM, THINGS OF THAT SORT. UH, AND I THINK OUR COUNTY ENGINEER CAN AGREE WITH ME IN SAYING THAT LIDAR DATA WOULD BE INVALUABLE FOR US AS DEVELOPMENT SERVICES TO HAVE, UM, BECAUSE IT WOULD SHOW WHERE THE IMPENETRABLE LAND COVER IS, WHERE THE CREEKS ARE, UH, WHAT THE, HELP US DETERMINE WHERE THE FLOWS, UM, FLOW. UH, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO TELL MORE ABOUT THIS, ERICA, BUT, UH, UH, IT'S DATA THAT WE CAN ANALYZE TO CREATE ALL SORTS OF DATA SETS, UH, THAT WOULD, UM, SIMPLY HELP US, UH, IN ENGINEERING CAPABILITIES AND, AND SUCH. SO, I, I HAVE SEVERAL QUESTIONS. YES, SIR. UH, NUMBER ONE, WHAT DOES LIDAR STAND FOR? LIGHT? UM, SOMETHING, UH, I HAD IT. MAYBE YOU'VE GOT IT. YEAH, I THINK IT'S IN THERE. ALL RIGHT. WELL, WE'LL, WE'LL GET THAT IN A SECOND. AND, UM, THE AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY, THE SIX INCH AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY, 150 SQUARE MILES, HOW IS THAT DIFFERENT FROM GOOGLE EARTH? THAT IS THE SAME AS GOOGLE EARTH, JUST UP TO DATE, GOOGLE EARTH. UH, I HAVE BEEN USING GOOGLE EARTH AS MY AERIALS, AND CURRENTLY, UH, ABOUT TWO MONTHS AGO, THEY UPDATED IN ROCKWELL COUNTY. PRIOR TO THAT IT WAS LOOKING AT TWO, MAYBE THREE YEARS OLD AREA OF PHOTOGRAPHY. SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE, UH, NOT ONLY SUBSTANTIALLY MORE ACCURATE, UH, FROM THAN, THAN GOOGLE EARTH. UM, BUT [01:55:02] ONE SNAPSHOT IN TIME OF EVERYTHING WE HAVE. I I, IS THIS A SUBSCRIPTION OR IS THIS A ONE-TIME COST, OR THIS IS A ONE, ONE-OFF? UH, THIS WILL BE A ONE-TIME PURCHASE, UH, THAT, UH, THE, THE VENDOR THAT COG HAS PUT TOGETHER FOR US, UH, WOULD DO ONE FLIGHT, BASICALLY OF THE WHOLE REGION, AND THEN BREAK IT UP INTO CHUNKS AND SELL US THE ROCKWELL COUNTY CHUNK. SO ESSENTIALLY THEY'RE DOING A HIGH DEF PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE ENTIRE COUNTY THAT THEY'RE SELLING TO US. AND WE WOULD SAY THAT WOULD BE GOOD FOR, YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON DEVELOPMENT, WE MAY HAVE TO DO IT AGAIN IN FIVE YEARS. OR IT, YES, IT WOULD BE OPTIONAL AS TO IF WE WANT TO DO IT AGAIN. UM, THERE HAVE BEEN TALKS OF OUR INVESTING IN A DRONE TO TARGET, UM, RECENT ADDITIONS TO ROCKWALL COUNTY, RECENT CHANGES TO ROCKWALL COUNTY. UH, WE DIDN'T THINK THAT WAS QUITE NECESSARY THIS YEAR. INSTEAD, UH, WE ARE ASKING FOR, UM, THESE AERIALS AND THE LIDAR TO GIVE US ONE SOLID CHUNK IN TIME OR PLACE IN TIME OF ROCKWALL COUNTY, WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE, TOP TO BOTTOM. UM, AND THEN IN FUTURE YEARS, PERHAPS COMING BACK AND ASKING FOR A DRONE THAT WOULD HELP US TO DO THE INCREMENTALS UNTIL THE NEXT TIME WE WANNA DO A PURCHASE LIKE THIS. DO WE HAVE ANY FOURTH AMENDMENT CONCERNS WITH THE AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY OR THE DRONE? NOT TO MY MIND, BECAUSE WE WOULD ONLY, IN THEORY, WE WOULD ONLY DO THESE INCREMENTAL CHANGES AS DEVELOPERS ARE PUTTING IN, UH, THEIR DEVELOPMENTS AS BUSINESS OWNERS ARE ADDING THEIR BUSINESSES. UH, AND WE COULD PUT IT AS A NORMAL PART OF RULES AND REGULATIONS OF IT'S, UM, THE HOME IS NOT BUILT YET. THE ROAD MAY BE IN, BUT THE HOME IS NOT BUILT YET, KIND OF THING. AND GO ABOUT THAT. I WAS JUST GONNA SAY, THAT MIGHT BE A QUESTION THAT WE SHOULD TALK TO CRAIG ABOUT. UM, MAYBE RUN THAT PAST OUR LEGAL FOLKS AND JUST MAKE SURE, I KNOW THAT GOOGLE HAS BEEN CHALLENGED, UM, FOR SOME OF THEIR AERIAL MM-HMM . UM, IMAGES. SO JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, UM, ABOVE BOARD, BY THE WAY, IT STANDS FOR LIGHT DETECTION AND RANGING LIDAR. UM, AND, AND I'LL JUST ECHO WHAT JIM WAS SAYING TOO, THAT BEING ABLE TO HAVE THAT DATA, UH, AS FAR AS, YOU KNOW, WHERE, WHERE THE CONTOUR DATA IS, UH, SHOWING WATERWAYS AND SHOWING, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST THE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE GROUND, THAT DOES HELP US TO LOOK AT DRAINAGE ESPECIALLY. UM, AND SO THAT'S VERY HELPFUL, UH, GETTING THAT UPDATED AS THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT IN ROCKWALL COUNTY. UM, SO IT'S, IT'S IMPORTANT TO SEE ON TOP OF THAT. AND DOES IT, THIS DOESN'T COME WITH ANY ANALYZATION. YOU, YOU STILL HAVE TO ANALYZE WHAT THEY PROVIDE YOU? UH, YES, SIR. WE, WE DO HAVE, AS PART OF THE QUOTE, THEY, UH, COG DID GIVE US THE ABILITY TO SAY, WE WANT BUILDING FOOTPRINTS, OR WE WANT THE SUB-BASIN DATA, OR THE FLOW DATA OR THE, THIS, THAT, OR THE, WHATEVER ANALYSIS WE HAD. UM, ERICA AND I HAD DECIDED THAT WE COULD DO THAT ANALYSIS IN-HOUSE WITH THE SOFTWARE, WITH THE ESRI SOFTWARE THAT WE'RE USING AND SAVE ANY KIND OF DOLLARS THAT THAT WOULD BE, OR THAT WOULD CREATE A DERIVATIVE PROJECT FROM THIS DATA. OKAY. AND SO THE ABILITY FOR US TO DO THIS WITH OUR OWN DRONE OUTSIDE OF FOURTH AMENDMENT ISSUES, UM, ISN'T AS, UH, DOESN'T MAKE SENSE, UH, BECAUSE THIS IS GONNA PROVIDE US WITH MORE DATA THAN WHAT WE NEED. 'CAUSE IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ONLY REALLY DOING THIS FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT, IS IT SOMETHING WE CAN DO ON OUR OWN, OR DO WE NEED TO PAY FOR THIS? WELL, THE, THE NEW DEVELOPMENT WAS IF WE PURCHASE A DRONE, RIGHT. UH, THIS WOULD BE A ONETIME SPOT IN TIME, THE WHOLE COUNTY AS A WHOLE. OKAY. UM, I'M NOT SURE IF I ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION, SIR. YEAH. SO JUST TO ADD ON TO THAT JUST A LITTLE BIT, UM, WHEN WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT THE DRONE, UH, IT'S, IT'S STILL PREMATURE FOR US TO BE TALKING ABOUT THAT. I THINK, UH, THE TYPE OF DRONE THAT WE WOULD NEED TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE THIS KIND OF WORK IS JUST GONNA BE VERY EXPENSIVE. AND THEN YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE LICENSE THAT GOES ALONG WITH THAT AND MAINTAIN THAT LICENSE. YEAH. SO, UM, IT'S STILL SOMETHING IN THE FUTURE, MAYBE IF IT BECOMES MORE REASONABLY PRICED, YOU KNOW, WE MIGHT BE COMING FORWARD IN FUTURE YEARS TO ASK ABOUT IT, BUT, OKAY. UM, IT JUST SEEMED LIKE, UH, IT'S MORE COST EFFECTIVE TO JOIN IN WITH ALL THESE OTHER COMMUNITIES, UH, IN THE COG THAT ARE GONNA BE FLYING THIS, UH, FLIGHT NEXT YEAR. SO, UM, IT WAS EASIER TO ASK FOR THAT PIECE OF THE PIE, BUT YEAH, SORRY. LOOKING AT ALL THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT THEY OFFER, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR THEM TO IDENTIFY BRIDGES, THAT'S ANOTHER 1600 DRIVEWAYS WAS ANOTHER 25,000. [02:00:02] SO THERE, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT THEY OFFER, UH, THAT THEY COULD FIX THE DATA FOR US. BUT, UM, WE WOULD BE, THE TOTAL QUOTE IS, UH, OVER 330,000. SO IT SAVES A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT TO, UM, JUST DO AS MUCH AS WE CAN IN HOUSE. WHAT'S, WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO ITEMS SHOWN HERE IN THIS BUDGET? THE AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY AND AIRBORNE LIDAR? ONE IS FOR 10,000, 801 IS FOR 64,900. WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO? THE, UM, THE, THE CORE DIFFERENCE, SIR? THE AERIAL IS JUST QUITE LITERALLY PICTURES. PICTURES OF BEING ABLE TO SEE WHAT IS WHERE, UM, THE LIDAR IS A MUCH MORE INTENSIVE, UM, RADAR SCANNING TYPE, UM, PRODUCT. SO ARE BOTH OF THEM A ONE-TIME SNAPSHOT IN TIME? YES, SIR. WHENEVER THE FLIGHT HAPPENS, UH, WHICH WOULD BE DETERMINED BY THE COG AND THE VENDOR, UH, THAT, WHEN THAT FLIGHT HAPPENS, THAT IS A ONCE NOTCH ONE , THE SNAP IN TIME SNAPSHOT IN TIME. YES, SIR. OKAY. UM, SO YOU MENTIONED A FEW MINUTES AGO, UH, I THOUGHT YOU WERE JUST REFERRING TO AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE REFERRING TO BOTH. YOU SAID THAT THIS IS THE SAME AS GOOGLE EARTH, BUT IT'S UP TO DATE. THE THE AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY PIECE YES. WOULD BE THE EQUIVALENCY OF GOOGLE EARTH UP TO DATE, AND LIDAR IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT? YES, SIR. LIDAR, UH, WOULD ALLOW, UH, THE PENETRATION OF CERTAIN THINGS, UH, TREES, GRASS, UH, BE ABLE TO SEE THE CONTOURS, ELEVATIONS, AS ERICA MENTIONED. UM, SEE WHERE WATER FLOWS, HOW IT'S GONNA FLOW, IS IT GONNA FLOW OR IS IT GONNA SEEP INTO THE GROUND? OKAY. BUT TWO YEARS FROM NOW, THAT'LL BE OUTDATED. YES. AND, AND THAT'S WHERE I HAD MENTIONED POTENTIALLY DOING INCREMENTAL UPDATES. YEAH. UH, IN SMALL CHUNKS AS DEVELOPMENT HAPPENS. BUT, UM, AT, AT THIS MOMENT, WE DO NOT HAVE THE ANSWERS TO THOSE TYPE OF QUESTIONS, UH, UNLESS YOU WANT US TO REFER BACK TO 1998. YEAH. OKAY. AND THIS IS SOMETHING, AND, AND OBVIOUSLY 1998 IS A DIFFERENT TIME AND EVERYTHING, UH, BUT THIS IS, SO YOU I GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL. YOU HADN'T GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL THEN. YEAH, I HAVE S REALLY SO YEARS OLD THAN MY DAUGHTER. YES. WOW. , I'M REALLY OLD. OKAY. SO, UM, BUT CONTINUING ON THIS, UM, THE, IT, IT WOULD BE A HUGE HELP. I GET THAT, BUT GOING BACK TO THE, PROBABLY A BAD ANALOGY, IT'S THE SAME AS GOOGLE EARTH, BUT IT'S UP TO DATE. UM, IS THERE ANYTHING OUT THERE THAT IS GONNA BE ONGOING? AND, I MEAN, NET COG IS GONNA GO DO THIS, AND THEY'RE SAYING WE CAN JUMP IN. SO OBVIOUSLY THEY'RE BLOCKING US OUT UNLESS WE'RE WILLING TO PAY, AND THAT'S FAIR. UM, BUT IS THERE ANYTHING OUT THERE WHERE WE COULD SAY, YOU KNOW, ON A REGULAR BASIS, IT'S JUST GONNA BE UPDATED AND IT'S SOMETHING WE'LL USE INSTEAD OF FIVE YEARS FROM NOW? LET'S SAY IT'S FIVE YEARS OUT OF DATE. YES, SIR. WE COULD USE THE SAME SERVICE. UM, COG DOES THIS ANNUALLY. UH, IT'S JUST THAT WE HAVE NOT PURCHASED THIS IN THE PAST. UH, WE HAVEN'T OPTED INTO THIS CO-OP IN THE PAST, BUT WOULD IT BE A BIG NUMBER LIKE THIS EVERY YEAR IF WE KNEW THE AREAS WHERE CHANGES HAD HAPPENED? SAY WE COULD SAY THIS 10 SQUARE MILES INSTEAD OF THE WHOLE 150 SQUARE MILES OF THE COUNTY? ABSOLUTELY. THE, THEY GIVE US THE ABILITY TO, UH, PARE IT DOWN TO, I THINK, AS SMALL AS TWO SQUARE MILES. YEAH. AS FAR AS PRICING. YEAH. OKAY. SO HERE'S JUST KIND MY GENERAL TAKE ON THIS. IT SEEMS LIKE A REALLY GREAT IDEA, BUT I, I'M VERY RETICENT TO BUY SOMETHING THAT'LL BE OUTDATED IN A COUPLE YEARS, SO HAVEN'T MADE A DECISION WHETHER I THINK IT'S GOOD, GOOD OR BAD. FOR SURE. THE OTHER THING I'D SAY IS WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS, UM, DRONE TECHNOLOGY, UM, I ECHO WHAT JUDGE NEW SAID ABOUT, UH, FOURTH AMENDMENT CONCERNS. AND, UM, BUT, UH, ALSO IS THIS SOME SOMETHING THAT AS WE COULD BUILD INTO OUR SUBDIVISION REGULATIONS, A DRONE FEE, THAT WHEN SOMEBODY'S GONNA COME DO A DEVELOPMENT, WE CHARGE THEM THE COST OF, OF DRONE, OF DOING A FLYOVER ON THEIR PROPERTY BEFORE AND AFTER THAT WE COULD FIT INTO OUR, OUR, I WOULD THINK CONCEPTUALLY ABSOLUTELY. THAT COULD BE DONE. UM, I'D JUST SAY ASK THE ATTORNEYS FIRST. SURE. I WAS, I WAS GONNA ASK YOU, DO YOU KNOW IF ANYONE HAS THAT? EITHER ONE OF YOU? SO, PERSONALLY, I'VE NEVER HEARD OF THAT BEING TACKED IN THERE. UM, BUT IT, IT PROBABLY WOULD BE SOMETHING WE'D HAVE TO TALK TO THE ATTORNEYS ABOUT. I KNOW, [02:05:01] UM, YOU COULD ASK FOR, UH, AND, AND WE DO GET AS-BUILT DRAWINGS, UM, AND AS-BUILTS SHOULD BE SURVEYED, UM, WITH NOTING ALL THE TOPOGRAPHIC CHANGES, UH, IN THE SUBDIVISION. SO, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S BASICALLY GIVING YOU THE SAME TYPE OF DATA. SO IN THAT, IN THAT CONTEXT, YOU DON'T THINK A DRONE BEFORE AND AFTER WOULD BE HELPFUL ANYMORE THAN AN ASBUILT? UM, IT'S NOT A TRICK QUESTION, I'M JUST NO, NO, NO. REALLY, I'M TRYING TO THINK IF, IF WE'RE LOOKING AT BUYING A DRONE AND YOU SAID IT'S TOO EARLY TO DISCUSS AT THIS BUDGET YEAR, WHICH IS GREAT 'CAUSE WE GET TO SAVE MONEY. UM, BUT IF WE'RE LOOKING AT DOING IT AS WE GO INTO THAT PROCESS, I WOULD SURE THINK, LET'S LOOK AT FIGURING OUT A WAY THAT WE CAN CHARGE PEOPLE FOR USES, RECOVER THE COSTS. RIGHT. I JUST, I GUESS IF THE, IF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET AT IS FIGURING OUT THE CHANGES THAT HAVE HAPPENED TO THE LAND OVER TIME, UH, SINCE BEFORE THEY DEVELOPED VERSUS AFTER, UM, YEAH, WE MIGHT JUST NEED TO LOOK AT THOSE OPTIONS BECAUSE THE CHEAPER OPTION MAY JUST BE TO HAVE PEOPLE GO IN AND SURVEY EVERYTHING THAT'S BEEN DONE AND THEN GIVE US CAD FILES OF IT THAT WE CAN INCORPORATE. BLESS YOU. UH, WE CAN INCORPORATE INTO OUR GIS. SO WITH, IF, IF WE GET THIS SIX INCH AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE AIRBORNE LIDAR AND USING THE SYSTEMS THAT YOU HAVE, CAN WE USE THIS IN LIEU OF THE DRAINAGE SOFTWARE THAT, THAT WE RECEIVED THE PRESENTATION ON? UM, NOT IN LIEU OF THIS WOULD BE UTILIZED BY, UH, WHOEVER ENDS UP, YOU KNOW, IF WE END UP GOING THAT ROUTE AND DOING THE 2D MODELING, UM, ANY OF THESE DATA POINTS ARE GONNA BE VALUABLE FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO PUT INTO THEIR MODELS, CREATE THAT, UM, THAT TOPOGRAPHY AND, UM, AND IDENTIFY THOSE AREAS OF FLOODING CONCERNS. SO THIS, THIS WILL GIVE THEM A LAYER THAT THEY NEED TO PUT IN THERE TO BE ABLE TO CALCULATE FLOWS AND CORRECT. SO THIS WOULD BE IN ADDITION TO THE, IF, IF WE CHOOSE TO GET THE DRAINAGE SOFTWARE? CORRECT. OKAY. AND THIS WILL HELP US SEE IN MORE DETAIL WHAT A NEW DEVELOPMENT IS GONNA CREATE IN RUNOFF DOWNSTREAM, WHICH IS A BIG ISSUE THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY DEALING WITH, UH, DEALING WITH ALL OVER THE PLACE IN OUR COUNTY RIGHT NOW. RIGHT. WELL, THE OUTSIDE ROCKWELL COUNTY, WE HAVE UPSTREAMS AND DOWNSTREAMS BOTH, UM, THAT WE AFFECT OR ARE AFFECT US. UM, ADDITIONALLY THERE IS ONE MORE ASPECT OF THAT QUOTE OF THE AERIAL AND LIDAR QUOTE. UM, THEY GIVE US, UH, COG GIVES US THE ABILITY IN THIS QUOTE TO CHOOSE, DO WE WANT TO PAY FOR IT IN FY 26, FY 27, OR SPLIT 50 50 BETWEEN THE TWO YEARS? UH, SO THERE IS, UH, A LITTLE BIT OF FLEXIBILITY IN TERMS OF, OF THAT. UH, IT MAY NOT BE ON THE PRINTOUT THAT Y'ALL RECEIVED, BUT IT WAS PART OF, UH, WHEN I WAS BUILDING THE QUOTE. AND THEN, UM, JUST BECAUSE I KNOW THIS IS BEING RECORDED AND THIS IS PUBLIC, I THINK ONE THING THAT WE NEED TO JUST POINT OUT, AND I DON'T MEAN TO GET CAUGHT UP IN DETAILS, BUT I'M A VERY, I GET CAUGHT UP IN DETAILS WAY TOO MUCH. THERE IS A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT THAT HAPPENS IN CITIES YES, SIR. THAT, THAT WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY PRIVY TO. SO THE WHOLE IDEA THAT, YOU KNOW, I I JUST WANT, I DON'T, I JUST DON'T WANT ANY MISGIVINGS ABOUT WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO JUST GO AND SAY, OKAY, CITY OF FATE, TELL US EVERYTHING THAT YOU'RE DOING, THIS SORT OF THING. SO WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT AGGREGATE, WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR STORMWATER RUNOFF, WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR CONSERVATION LAKES THAT WE'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR WITH THE STATE'S, NOT JUST AS SIMPLE AS US BEING ABLE TO CAPTURE ALL THE DEVELOPMENT, BECAUSE NOT ALL THE DEVELOPMENT IS IN OUR PURVIEW. I MEAN, IT PROBABLY WILL BE MORE AND MORE AS ETJ THINGS LEAVE, AND THAT COULD BE THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE. BUT I JUST, LIKE I SAID, I DON'T NECESSARILY WANNA GET TO, BUT, BUT WE ARE ACT, I, I THINK THERE'S A MISGIVING THAT BECAUSE WE'RE THE COUNTY, WE HAVE ACCESS OR WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO, TO KIND OF OVERSEE CITIES. AND WE ABSOLUTELY DON'T, CITIES ACTUALLY HAVE A LOT MORE DEVELOPMENTAL POWERS THAN WE DO. UM, AND, UM, SO ANYWAYS, I JUST WANTED TO JUST SAY THAT IN INSIDE THIS CONVERSATION. YES, SIR. UM, OKAY. UH, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE AERIAL AND LIDAR SHARING THAT WITH US? YES, MA'AM. UH, THERE WAS ONE OTHER PAGE ON THAT, UH, THAT HANDOUT, UH, BEHIND THAT PAGE. UH, WE WERE JUST LOOKING AT, UH, ADDRESS CREATION AND ACCRUAL OVER [02:10:01] TIME. THIS IS MY 9 1 1 DATA. THIS IS JUST SOMETHING I THOUGHT Y'ALL MIGHT LIKE TO SEE WITH, WITH REGARDS TO ADDRESS POINTS. UM, SINCE, UH, 2016, YOU CAN SEE THERE'S A BASELINE ADDRESS COUNT OF TH 38,720 ADDRESS POINTS. THAT IS ANY STRUCTURE, RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL, UM, A, A POWER CABINET, UH, ALL THAT KIND OF THING. UH, EVEN SOME, UH, WATER METERS AND SUCH MAY HAVE AN ADDRESS. 38,000, ALMOST 39,000 ADDRESS POINTS IN 2016. AS OF LAST WEEK WHEN I DID THIS, WE HAVE OVER 60,000 ADDRESS POINTS IN ROCKWELL COUNTY. SO, UH, I JUST TRIED TO GIVE YOU THERE A YEAR TO YEAR BREAKDOWN OF RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS POINT ADDITIONS, UH, MULTIFAMILY, WHICH WILL BE THE APARTMENT CONDO LINE THERE, UH, WHERE THERE'S, THERE'S MULTIPLE, MULTIPLE RESIDENCES INSIDE AN ADDRESS, I SHOULD SAY. UH, AND THEN THE OTHER WOULD BE YOUR COMMERCIAL, YOUR UTILITY BOXES, THINGS OF THAT SORT. UM, BUT JUST AS A WAY TO PORTRAY TO Y'ALL THE GROWTH THAT WE'VE SEEN OVER THE LAST, UM, 10 YEARS OR SO. UH, IT'S, IT'S ACTUALLY RATHER INCREDIBLE. JIM, SO JU JUST CLARIFICATION, YOU'RE, YOU'RE, UH, GIS 9 1 1 MAPPING THE ENTIRETY OF THE COUNTY, NOT JUST OUT IN THE UNINCORPORATED AREAS YOU'RE DOING INSIDE THE CITIES. YES, SIR. AND COUNTIES COUNTY LINE TO COUNTY LINE, I HAVE A CONTACT WITH EACH OF THE CITIES THAT'S EITHER A PEER OF MINE OR JUST THE, THE, THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT. YOU KNOW, TAKE THAT WITH A GRAIN OF SALT, UH, WITH EACH OF THE CITIES. AND, UH, WE DO HAVE WORKING RELATIONSHIPS WHERE THEY SEND ME, UH, THIS DEVELOPER WANTS TO PUT SOMETHING IN INTO EDGEWATER OR, UM, UH, HEATH, GOLF AND YACHT CLUB, SO ON AND SO FORTH. UH, AND I ADD THESE ADDRESS POINTS TO THE 150 OR JUST JUST UNDER 150 SQUARE MILES. THAT IS ROCKWELL COUNTY. UM, I DO TOUCH ALL OF THOSE, UM, ALONGSIDE THE CITIES. THANK YOU. JIM, YOU HAVE A COMMENT HERE IN YOUR NOTES THAT YOU SAY YOU'RE EXPECTING HORIZON LAKES SUBDIVISION ADDRESSING REQUEST ANY DAY WITH 1800 PLUS HOMES. CAN YOU, CAN YOU COMMENT ON THAT? UH, YES, MA'AM. UH, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THE HORIZON LAKE SUBDIVISION IS GOING IN WITHIN MCCLENNAN CHISHOLM CITY LIMITS, SO IT WOULDN'T NECESSARILY BE COMING TO THIS COURT. UM, AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS, AS A WHOLE, THAT SUBDIVISION IS GOING TO END UP BEING APPROXIMATELY 1800 HOMES. UM, AND THAT'S PART OF MY WORKLOAD IS TO ASSIGN THE ADDRESS POINTS, UH, FOR EACH STRUCTURE. OKAY. AS THEY GO IN. YEAH. THAT'S FOR FORMERLY TRILOGY. YEAH. WE'RE AWARE OF IT. I JUST IS THE WORD ANY DAY THAT KIND OF GOT ME . YEAH, I, I'M EXPECTING THE REQUEST, UH, MY PROCESSES TO START, UH, JUST ANY DAY MCCLENAN SENDS IT. I GOT IT. THANK YOU. YES, MA'AM. ANYTHING ELSE? UH, THAT'S IT FROM ME, SIR. COMMISSIONERS, ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. WHO DO WE HAVE NEXT? CARISSA MA'AM. CARISSA. ALL RIGHT. OKAY. AND THEN WE HAVE, UH, THE VETERAN SERVICE OFFICER HERE. AND THAT WOULD BE IT FOR TODAY. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. , DON'T GO ANYWHERE. LINDA DON'T GO ANYWHERE. WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA GET TO YOU BEFORE LUNCH. YAY. ALL RIGHT. SAY WHEN? SAY WHEN, WHEN. ALL RIGHT. UM, I GAVE EACH OF YOU A PACKET TODAY. UM, THE FIRST PAGE IS MY SUBMITTED REQUESTED BUDGET, BUT I ALSO, UH, TOOK IT ALL THE WAY BACK DOWN TO 2020, UM, JUST TO GIVE SOME DRINKS. HEY, CARISSA, I DON'T THINK I GOT A PACKET. DID YOU GIVE ME A PACKET? I DID. I PUT IT ON YOUR STATION. AH, GOT IT. OKAY. THANK YOU. THERE WE GO. SORRY. OKAY, CARRY ON. OKAY. UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO GO OVER THAT. UM, THE SECOND PAGE IS WHERE WE WILL SPEND THE MOST TIME. AND THEN I DID ADD, UM, THE LATEST, UH, STATEMENT OF EXPENDITURES THAT I HAD, WHICH WOULD'VE BEEN FROM LAST FRIDAY. UM, BUT WONDERFUL, MELISSA GAVE US A MORE RECENT COPY. SO THERE WE GO. THERE. I WOULD ALSO, IF I MAY, , UM, I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, JUST, UH, RECOGNIZE ERICA TODAY. UM, YOU DON'T KNOW I'M DOING THIS , UH, TODAY IS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN IN ENGINEERING DAY. AND SO I WANT TO, TO GIVE HER RECOGNITION [02:15:01] FOR THAT TODAY. SO LOOK AT THERE. LOOK YOU THERE? WELL DONE. YEAH, WELL DONE . AND SO IT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT KISSING BOAT OR ANYTHING. UM, AMY WILLIAMS AT THE CITY OF ROCKWALL AND LACEY ROGERS AT THE CITY OF ROY CITY ALSO DESERVE RECOGNITION AS WELL. SO THANK YOU FOR, FOR THAT. . YES, YOU'RE WELCOME. UM, AND THEN BEFORE I DIVE INTO MINE, I WANTED TO, UH, TOUCH ON THAT LIDAR DATA THAT JIM WAS TALKING ABOUT. UM, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT I CAN UTILIZE AS WELL, UM, TO HAVE MOST CURRENT UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION WHEN I'M RECEIVING CALLS ON WANTING TO SUBDIVIDE OR THERE'S A STRUCTURE, UH, ADDED STRUCTURE, UM, THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT I HAVE HAD, UM, ISSUES OF THE DATA THAT WE HAVE CURRENTLY THAT WE, THAT WE USE AND GOOGLE MAPS OF. IT'S OUTDATED. AND SO IF I SEE ANOTHER STRUCTURE, THEN, YOU KNOW, I CAN'T ISSUE A PERMIT OSSF PERMIT FOR THAT. SO, UM, JUST TO PUT, PUT THAT WITH ME AS WELL. UM, I COULD, I COULD UTILIZE THE LIDAR, THE LIDAR DATA AS WELL. YEAH. SO JUST ONE PLUG THAT, AND IF YOU GO TO PAGE TWO, UM, I DID A REC REQUESTED BUDGET IS WHAT I SUBMITTED TO THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE. UM, AND THEN I DID AN ALTERNATE REQUESTED BUDGET, UM, THAT HAS NOT GONE TO THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE, BUT IT'S BEING PRESENTED HERE TODAY. UM, AND I HAVE HIGHLIGHTED A COUPLE OF SECTIONS IN THERE SO THAT WE COULD TALK ABOUT THOSE WHEN WE, WHEN WE GET TO THAT POINT. UM, AND SO THIS WAS OUT OF CONVERSATION, UH, BETWEEN ME AND ERICA ON, UH, THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT, AS WELL AS WHAT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL TO ME, UM, AS THE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH COORDINATOR. UM, AND SO THIS, THAT'S WHERE THESE CHANGES CAME FROM. UM, AND THEN, UH, WOULD Y'ALL LIKE TO GO OVER THOSE OR JUST RUN DOWN FROM THE TOP AGAIN? SO I WOULD SAY LET'S RUN DOWN FROM THE TOP AND THEN, THEN WE'LL GO OVER. ALRIGHT. THOSE, SO STARTING IN AT THE VERY, VERY TOP, UH, NO CHANGE THERE. UM, BUT YOU'LL SEE THAT IN MY REQUESTED BUDGET FOR FY 26, I HAVE THE TEMPORARY PERSON STAYING IN, BUT REDUCING THE RATE, UM, OR THE DOLLAR AMOUNT DOWN TO $4,000 AS OPPOSED TO WHAT WE HAD IN FY 25 AS $6,000. UM, SHE'S STILL, UM, A GREAT HELP TO THE DEPARTMENT, UM, WITH KEEPING CONTRACTS AND INSPECTION REPORTS UP TO DATE AND SMALL PROJECTS, UM, THAT I HAVE HER HAVE HER DOING FOR US. UM, YOU'LL SEE ON THE EXPENSE REPORT THAT, UM, SHE'S RIGHT AT $4,000 A YEAR TO DATE RIGHT NOW. UM, AND WE STILL HAVE ABOUT 2000 LEFT, ROUGHLY IF I ROUND UP ON THAT. SO, UM, THAT'S JUST KEEPING HER IN THERE AS A 4,000 BIGGER PROJECT THAT I HAD HER WORKING ON. AND WHO, SO IS THIS A JUST A PART-TIME PERSON? IT'S A TEMPORARY PERSON. UM, IT, SHE'S CLASSIFIED AS TEMPORARY. UM, HER NAME IS CATHERINE AND SHE, SHE DOES ALL OF MY CONTRACT AND INSPECTION REPORTS ENTERING WHAT'S STUDENTS DOING TEMPORARY AND PART-TIME, UM, BENEFITS. AND WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR BENEFITS, NEITHER ARE PART-TIME EMPLOYEES FOR THE MOST PART AS FAR AS HEALTHCARE, BUT PART-TIME THEY ARE PERMANENT EMPLOYEES, WHEREAS TEMPORARY ONLY WORK FOR A, A, A NUMBER OF WEEKS OR HOURS PER YEAR AND IT'S NOT OKAY. AND, AND THE REASON I'M ASKING FOR THE DISTINCTION, THAT'S, THAT DOESN'T SURPRISE ME AT ALL. MAKES SENSE. THE REASON I'M ASKING FOR THE DISTINCTION IS IT LOOKS LIKE, UH, ONE OF THE PAGES YOU'RE ASKING FOR IS A, A CHIEF ASSISTANT. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S A FULL-TIME OR PART-TIME POSITION, BUT IF WE COULD, EVERYBODY WANTS MORE PEOPLE YES. ASSISTANT. UM, SO SHE'S NOT, WHAT IS THIS IN THE ALTERNATE? SHE IS IN THE ALTERNATE, YES. HALF OF AN EMPLOYEE. YEAH, SHE IS. UM, BUT JUST, JUST TO BE CLEAR ON THAT, IT'S NOT A CHIEF ASSISTANT. I DIDN'T HAVE A LINE FOR ASSISTANT TO PUT IN THERE OR CLERK. AND SO THE TITLE FOR THAT PERSON WOULD NOT BE CHIEF ASSISTANT. IT WOULD BE SOMETHING DIFFERENT. AND THEN ERICA'S GONNA SPEAK ON THAT AS WELL. YEAH. WELL, THE REASON I BRING IT UP, AND I DON'T WANNA SIDETRACK YOU, I GUESS I HAVE, BUT, UM, IF YOU'RE HAVING GREAT RESULTS WITH A TEMPORARY PERSON, MAYBE A PART-TIME PERSON, A TEMPORARY PERSON THAT WE USE MORE BECOMES A SOLUTION FOR THAT. I DON'T KNOW. YOU WANT I CAN. UM, SO MY TEMPORARY PERSON IS NOT IN THE OFFICE. SHE'S NOT, UH, THERE FULL-TIME. UM, SHE TAKES WORK WITH HER AND DOES IT AT HOME, UM, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT HAS WORKED BEST IN OUR DEPARTMENT. SHE DOESN'T SIT AT A DESK TO, IN HELP ME INTAKE PERMITS OR TO ANSWER THE PHONE, ANSWER EMAILS OR BE ABLE TO RESPOND IN INTO THE PUBLIC. UM, SHE DOES JUST, LIKE [02:20:01] I SAID, JUST BACKGROUND WORK OF MAKING SURE THAT I'M STAYING ON TRACK WITH THE CONTRACTS AND INSPECTION REPORTS THAT ARE REQUIRED BY THE STATE. UM, AND LIKE I SAID, THE SMALL PROJECTS THAT I NEED HER TO WORK ON CURRENTLY WORKING ON OUR PERMIT DATABASE, SHE'S PURGING FILES, WE'RE GETTING FILES READY TO GO DIGITAL, SO SHE'S ABLE TO DO THOSE TYPES OF DUTIES. UM, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HAVING HER AND HAVING A PART-TIME PERSON AT MINIMUM A PART-TIME PERSON IS THAT THERE IS SOMEONE IN THAT SEAT AT THAT INTAKE WINDOW TO BE ABLE TO TAKE IN PERMITS, TO TAKE IN TO ANSWER PHONE CALLS, TO TAKE WALKUPS. AND IT ALSO WILL ALLOW ME TO GET BACK OUT IN THE TRUCK AND GO BE THE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH COORDINATOR THAT I NEED TO BE. AND THEN, DO YOU WANNA ADD TO THAT? SORRY, IT'S KIND OF DISJOINTED HAVING ALL THESE DIFFERENT MEETINGS FOR WHAT'S THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, UH, DEPARTMENT, BECAUSE I WAS PLANNING ON TALKING ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE ON WEDNESDAY, OF COURSE. UH, BUT JUST TO, TO KIND OF TALK ABOUT IT A LITTLE BIT FURTHER, UM, ONCE WE MOVE OVER TO THE ANNEX, I THINK WE'RE GONNA NEED SOMEBODY SITTING AT THE FRONT OF THE OFFICE SIMILAR TO HOW SHELLY IS OVER AT TES. UM, THAT'S, THAT'S ABLE TO, UM, WORK WITH CUSTOMERS COMING IN, ANSWER PHONES, UM, HELP WITH TAKING IN PERMITS, UM, IF THERE'S GIS REQUESTS THAT COME IN, OR SORRY, ADDRESSING REQUESTS THAT COME IN. THEY'RE ABLE TO BE BASICALLY THE FIRST STOP. UM, AS WELL AS ANSWERING SOME OF THE ROAD AND BRIDGE QUESTIONS. WE WANNA GET THEM TRAINED UP TO BE ABLE TO, UM, HANDLE THOSE CULVERT PERMITS AND DIFFERENT COMPLAINTS THAT YOU, YOU RECEIVED TODAY. WE LIKE PEOPLE TO, TO BE COMING STRAIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT SERVICES AND, UM, YOU KNOW, LETTING US KNOW WHERE THERE'S DRAINAGE ISSUES OR CULVERT NEEDS TO BE CLEANED OUT, UM, THAT SORT OF THING. SO WE ARE ANTICIPATING, UM, ASKING FOR A PERSON, I'M NOT SURE IT'S NOT GONNA BE A CHIEF ASSISTANT, IT'S LIKE CARISSA WAS SAYING IT'S GONNA BE SOMETHING MORE LIKE A A, A CLERK, CLERK OR A TECH, UH, TO WORK UP THERE, UM, IN THE FRONT OFFICE. BUT THE IDEA WAS, UM, WE WOULD TAKE THIS TEMP EMPLOYEE, UH, AS WELL AS A COUPLE OF OTHER TEMP EMPLOYEES THAT ARE VACANT, UH, AND NOT BEING UTILIZED IN ROAD AND BRIDGE AND TAKE THOSE THREE AND CREATE THIS ONE POSITION. SO, UM, ANYWAY, THAT, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WAS GONNA BE FORTHCOMING THAT WE ARE GONNA BE ASKING FOR SINCE WE'RE, SO I'LL HOLD MY QUESTIONS ON THAT UNTIL TOMORROW. ME TOO. ME TOO. WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY. WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY. ME TOO, THEN. UM, OKAY. BUT I WILL, UM, KIND OF EXPLAIN WHERE I GET MY NUMBERS FROM, IF, IF I COULD. UM, I WILL ATTEMPT TO , UH, THE 27,000 THAT'S LISTED IN THERE IS FOR, UM, THE PART-TIME PERSON. UM, THAT WAS BASED ON, UH, JUST FIGURING, UH, $15 AN HOUR, 30 HOURS A WEEK FOR THE YEAR. UM, AND THAT WOULD BE SOLELY FROM, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SIDE. UM, UNLESS, YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON HOW IT GOES, UM, OFF TO THE SIDE, YOU'LL SEE OR 20,000 SPLITTING A FULL-TIME PERSON WITH ONE DEPARTMENT THAT'S GUESSTIMATING, YOU KNOW, A SALARY THAT IS, I WOULD CONSIDER A DECENT SALARY TO COME IN FOR THAT POSITION. UM, AND THAT WOULD BE SPLITTING IT WITH ONE DEPARTMENT. THAT WOULD BE, UM, THE, THE MINDSET WAS SPLITTING IT WITH ENGINEERING OR SPLITTING IT WITH, UH, ME, ENGINEERING AND ROAD AND BRIDGE OR HOWEVER THAT NEEDS TO WORK OUT. UM, AND THEN THE 29,000 THAT YOU SEE THERE, UM, IS I GUESSTIMATED, UM, WHAT IT WOULD BE FOR AN ALL IN FOR, UM, THEIR SALARY. AND SO THAT ACTUALLY COMES FROM, IF WE WENT UP TO $45,000. UM, SO ADDING IN 30% AND THEN SPLITTING IT IN HALF TO COVER TWO DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS COVERING THE COST OF THAT PERSON. QUESTIONS. NO, I'M REALLY GONNA HOLD THEM UNTIL WEDNESDAY. YEAH. ALL RIGHT. SO THAT'S IT FOR PERSONNEL. UM, AND THEN, UH, GOING DOWN INTO THE OPERATING COST, UM, I HAVEN'T, UH, THE REQUESTED BUDGET WAS 1500. UM, I COULD GO DOWN TO 1200 AS THE ALTERNATIVE. UM, POSTAGE I'VE KEPT THE SAME. UM, IF YOU LOOK AT THE TRENDS ON THE FIRST PAGE, YOU'LL SEE THAT THERE'S BEEN YEARS THAT I'VE HIT CLOSE TO THAT. UM, THOSE ARE YEARS THAT I'M ABLE TO SEND OUT THE NOTICE OF VIOLATIONS AND BE ON TOP OF THE NO CONTRACTS, ET CETERA. SO I'D LIKE TO KEEP THE, [02:25:01] THE POSTAGE AT THE SAME. UM, GAS OIL AND MAINTENANCE, TAKING IT DOWN TO 2,500 UNIFORMS DOWN TO 100 FY 25 AND PRIOR TO WAS BASED ON A TWO PERSON DEPARTMENT. SO SPLITTING THAT IN HALF. UH, THE ONE THING THAT, UM, THE SAME FOR ME WITH A THOUSAND DOLLARS IN FURNITURE AND THE 500 AS AN ALTERNATIVE WAS GOING INTO THIS NEW DEPARTMENT NOT KNOWING WHAT WE DON'T KNOW, JUST HAVING THAT CUSHION IN THERE TO MAKE SURE THAT IF THERE'S ANY ADDITIONAL ITEMS THAT WE NEED WHEN WE GET OVER THERE AND GET FUNCTIONING, THAT WE CAN COVER IT. UM, THE NEXT LINE DOWN, TELEPHONE AIR CARDS. UM, I HAVE BEGRUDGINGLY BEEN USING MY PERSONAL PHONE FOR ANYTHING THAT I DO IN THE FIELD. UM, AND I REALLY JUST AM UNCOMFORTABLE AND HAVE BEEN, UM, FOR THAT. AND SO THE 1400, UM, IS ASKING FOR A COUNTY ISSUED CELL PHONE AND THE, AND THE MONTHLY COST FOR THAT. UM, AND THAT WOULD BE ONLY FOR THIS YEAR. UM, THAT IS NOT KNOWING HOW COUNTY CELL PHONES WORK AS FAR AS WHERE THE MONEY COMES FROM, WHAT COSTS THEY ARE, ET CETERA. SO I PUT IT IN AS A LUMP SUM OF, UM, MY DEPARTMENT PAYING FOR THE PHONE AS WELL AS THE FIRST YEAR OF, OF MONTHLY FEES. AND THEN, UM, IS THIS FOR AN AIR CARD AND A CELL PHONE? YES, THAT IS FOR THE AIR CARD AS WELL. SO I DO UTILIZE THE MIFI QUITE A BIT. AND YOU ALREADY HAVE THAT? I ALREADY HAVE THAT, YES. OKAY. THANK YOU. UM, AND YOU, YOU DO NOT HAVE A COUNTY ISSUED CELL PHONE? NO, SIR, I DO NOT. I WAS TOLD TO JUST USE MY PERSONAL PHONE, PHONE ALLOWANCE. SHE HAS A PHONE, GETS A PHONE ALLOWANCE. OKAY. PHONE ALLOWANCE. I GET A PHONE ALLOWANCE, YES. GOT IT. OKAY. AND SO THAT WOULD GO AWAY AND THEN JUST GOING INTO THE MONTHLY, OKAY. YEP, YEP. UM, KIND OF TOUCHING BASE ON THAT, I DO HAVE A MIFI THAT I USE. SO YES, IT WOULD BE INCLUDING THE AIR CARD. UM, WITH GOING BACK UP TO THAT PERSONNEL, UM, WE WOULD HAVE ALREADY A LAPTOP FOR THAT PERSON TO USE. UM, WE HAVE A MOUSE, A KEYBOARD FOR THAT PERSON TO USE. WE WOULD NEED A MONITOR. UM, SO THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT SINCE RON HAS RETIRED, I HAVE ONE EXTRA OF. UM, AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF HELPING US, YOU KNOW, HAVE SOME EXTRA IN THERE TO NOT HAVE TO BUY ALL NEW SETS FOR SOMEBODY. UM, NEXT LINE WOULD BE ADVERTISEMENT. THIS IS FOR, UM, WHEN WE DO PUBLIC NOTICES, UM, IN THE NEWSPAPER, IF, IF EVER WE NEED TO DO THAT. UM, LIKE SUBDIVISION CHANGES, UH, OSSF ORDER STORM WATER THAT COVERS THAT. UM, THE ORIGINAL WAS STAYING IN MINE IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, BUT ALSO KNOWING THAT THIS COULD POTENTIALLY NEED TO GO UNDER THE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT BUDGET. SO ZEROING THAT OUT, UM, JUST, JUST BECAUSE IT MAKES MORE SENSE TO HAVE IT UNDER THE ENTIRETY AND NOT JUST LIKE WHAT I NEED OUT OF IT. UM, EQUIPMENT REPAIRS TRENDING OR DOES ANYBODY HAVE QUESTIONS ON THAT ONE? NO. COOL. UM, EQUIPMENT REPAIRS, TAKING IT DOWN TO 50 TRENDING, IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE WE'VE HAD TOO MUCH ON THAT ONE. UM, SKIPPING COPIER EXPENSE SOFTWARE. UM, I CURRENTLY HAVE A ACCESS DATABASE THAT I USE FOR PERMITTING, UM, TRACKING AND MAINTENANCE. AND, UH, IT, IT FULFILLS ITS PURPOSE. IT DOES WHAT IT NEEDS TO DO. UM, THERE COULD BE BETTER. UM, WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT GETTING A PERMITTING SOFTWARE FOR THE ENTIRE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT. UM, THAT COULD INTAKE ONLINE PERMITTING. UM, IT WOULD HELP US ALL THE WAY AROUND. UM, BASING $10,000, UH, PER DEPARTMENT ON THAT WAS, UM, FROM A QUOTE THAT I HAD RECEIVED FROM A SOFTWARE SERVICE A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO AS THE FULL SOUPED UP PACKAGE. UM, AND SO I JUST DIVIDED IT OUT BY THAT. UM, SEPTIC FEES, UM, I DO WANNA TOUCH ON THAT. UM, I HAVE IT AS 1500 THAT IS COVERING EVERY SEPTIC PERMIT THAT COMES INTO THE OFFICE. UM, THERE COULD BE A REDUCTION OF ABOUT 500 ON THAT, UM, JUST DUE TO SOME CHANGES. UM, BUT I WOULD PREFER TO KEEP IT AT 1500 IN THE, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE DON'T KNOW, AND WE HAVE TO PAY $10 PER PERMIT BACK TO THE STATE AND IT'S JUST A, A BETTER IDEA TO KEEP IT AT 1500. ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT? OKAY. UH, THE DUES AND SUBSCRIPTION, THIS PAYS FOR THE STATE LICENSING DUES. UM, I HAVE TO RENEW MY LICENSE, UM, EVERY FEW YEARS. THIS COVERS THE APPLICATION FEE [02:30:01] FOR THAT. IT WOULD ALSO COVER ANY, UM, OFFSET YEAR LICENSING THAT I WOULD LIKE TO GET, UM, FOR THE DEPARTMENT AND UNANTICIPATED EXPENSE. UM, I HAVE $600 IN THE REQUESTED, AND THAT IS DUE TO THE, THE SOFTWARE OR THE ACCESS DATABASE THAT I USE CURRENTLY. I HAVE OPTED OUT OF DOING THE YEARLY TECH SUPPORT FOR THAT. IT'S A PRETTY SIMPLE ONE. UM, ONE OF THE LAST WINDOWS UPDATES HAS CHANGED THAT DATABASE. IF I NEED TO GET, UM, THE PROVIDER FOR THAT TO BASICALLY FIX THE LAST MICROSOFT UPDATE THAT OCCURRED, IT WOULD BE $450 TO RENEW THAT TECH SUPPORT. UM, AND THAT'S WHERE THAT'S COMING FROM, IS HAVING THAT IN THERE JUST IN CASE WE NEED TO HAVE, UM, SOME HELP WITH THAT, UM, SOFTWARE OR THAT PACKAGE. ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT ONE? OKAY. UH, TRAVEL AND TRAINING, UM, I CURRENTLY HAVE IT AT 3000. IF YOU LOOK AT THE STATEMENT OF EXPENSE, YOU'LL SEE THAT THERE'S 15 35 80 LEFT IN IT FOR THE YEAR THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN SPENT, UM, DUE TO A CLASS THAT I'LL BE GOING TO IN AUGUST. SO BY THE END OF AUGUST, THAT WILL REFLECT ITS PROPER AMOUNT. UM, ONCE I RETURN BACK FROM THAT. AND ACTUALLY THERE WILL BE AN OVERAGE ON THAT JUST DUE TO, UM, IT IS OUT OF TOWN AND THE TRA THE TRAVEL COST THAT IS WITH THAT ONE, AND SO IT'LL MAKE IT GO OVER. UM, BUT I HAVE OTHER, UM, FUNDS THAT WILL COVER THE OVERAGE ON THAT ONE. SO THE ALTERNATIVE BUDGET THAT YOU SEE THERE IS THE 5,000. JUST KNOWING THAT I DID GO OVER THIS YEAR ON THE TRAVEL AND TRAINING, UM, I DO HAVE CE HOURS THAT I'M REQUIRED TO HAVE FOR MY LICENSING. UM, AND THEN ANY OTHER OPPORTUNITIES THAT I CAN HAVE TO MAKE, UH, OUR DEVELOPMENT SERVICE EVEN BETTER, UM, IN THIS COUNTY HAVE BETTER ENFORCEMENT TO THEM, UM, THAT I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SOME MORE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES TO THAT. UM, SO THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT YOU SEE IN THE REQUESTED BUDGET AND THE ALTERNATE BUDGET. UM, THERE'S NOTHING ELSE DOWN THERE EXCEPT FOR THE TOTALS AS YOU CAN SEE DOWN AT THE BOTTOM. THIS IS A GOOD BUDGET. UM, JUST BECAUSE WE'VE, WE DON'T HAVE FRAUD ANYMORE, SO , IT'S A LOT CHEAPER. , ANY QUESTION FOR CARISSA THAT YOU DON'T WANNA WAIT TILL WEDNESDAY TO ASK? NO, THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. LINDA FLANNERY, VETERANS SERVICES. COME ON UP. CAN YOU HEAR ME? NOPE. NOPE. THERE YOU GO. GOT IT. ALL RIGHT. THERE WE GO. OKAY. UM, I HAVE A PRETTY SIMPLE BUDGET. UM, I'M NOT ASKING FOR ANYTHING NEW CURRENTLY. MY, UH, OFFICE SUPPLIES BUDGET IS AT $2,500. UM, ASKING TO KEEP IT AT THE SAME AMOUNT. UM, IF YOU LOOK AT THE, UM, THE HISTORY OF INFLATION AND SUCH, UM, THE INCREASE OF THE SUPPLIES THAT I'VE HAD OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, UM, I THINK IT'S NECESSARY TO KEEP IT AT LEAST AT $2,500. UM, THE POSTAGE EXPENSE, HOWEVER, I CAN PROBABLY MANAGE AT 300 RATHER THAN THE $500. I'M NOT SENDING OUT ACTUAL CLAIM PACKAGES TO THE VA LIKE I USED TO IN YEARS PAST. EVERYTHING IS GOING DIGITALLY THESE DAYS. THE, UM, EQUIPMENT, FURNITURE OF $800 WAS AN IT RECOMMENDATION THAT I HAD BACK IN 2022. UH, FOR A NEW DESKTOP COMPUTER. I HAVE NO IT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THIS BUDGET. HOWEVER, I DID NEED TO B BUY A BACKUP BATTERY BACK IN 2024. SO I WOULD LIKE TO KEEP AT LEAST $200 IN THAT LINE ITEM. UH, NO MAINTENANCE AGREEMENTS. UM, EQUIPMENT REPAIRS A HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR POSSIBLE REPAIRS. I DIDN'T HAVE TO, THERE'S NO PURCHASE OF, UH, REQUIREMENT FOR THE SOFTWARE. THE SUBSCRIPTION OF THE SOFTWARE THAT I DO USE IS A ANNUAL COST. UM, IT'S CURRENTLY AT $520. I ANTICIPATE THAT I'LL PROBABLY GO UP [02:35:02] THE DUES AND SUBSCRIPTIONS IS, UH, FOR THE HOUSE WARMERS, PUBLICATION AND COMMUNICATIONS THAT IS USED FOR SOME DEPARTMENTS IN THE COUNTY. AND THEN I HAVE A FIVE, OR I'M SORRY, $50 ANNUAL DUE FOR THE N-A-C-V-S-O, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF VE VETERAN COUNTY SERVICE OFFICERS, UH, ORGANIZATION THAT, UM, I NEED TO KEEP CURRENT SO THAT I CAN PARTICIPATE IN THEIR ANNUAL TRAINING. AND THEN THE TRAVEL TRAINING, UH, BUDGET OF $3,000. I'D LIKE TO REMAIN THE SAME, UM, DUE TO THE EXPENSE OF TRAVELING OUTSIDE OF, OUT OF THE STATE IF NECESSARY, COST OF HOTEL, AIRFARE PER DIEM AND SO FORTH. ANY QUESTIONS? WHO HAS A QUESTION FOR LINDA? I JUST HAD A QUESTION ON THE, UM, ON THE HOUSE WARMERS. 'CAUSE UH, I LIKE THEIR SERVICE. DO YOU FIND THAT THERE ARE NEW, NEW RESIDENTS THAT MOVE INTO THE COUNTY THAT ARE FINDING YOUR FINDING ABOUT YOU AND OUR SERVICES HERE AT THE COUNTY THROUGH THE HOUSE WARMERS? YES. COMMISSIONER AM. OKAY. YEAH. GOOD. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR LINDA IN, IN SUMMARY, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO SAY? NO, THANK YOU. THAT'S, THAT'S ALL I NEED. THANK YOU LINDA. THANK YOU SO MUCH. APPRECIATE IT VERY MUCH. AT 1145 WE'RE ADJOURNED. * 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.