Oct 28, 2026 City Council

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ALL RIGHT. WE'RE GOING TO GET THIS STARTED. WE HAVE A SPECIAL MEETING SCHEDULED FOR TONIGHT, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28TH. SPECIAL MEETING WAS SCHEDULED FOR SOME GENERAL BUSINESS.

AND OUR BUDGET REVIEW, WHICH INCLUDES OUR FINANCE COMMITTEE AND PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE.

SO WE'LL START WITH A ROLL CALL. MISS GERLACH.

HERE, MISS SANTOS HERE. MR. BENDER, PRESENT. MISS MODA HERE.

MR.. NAPOLI HERE. MR.. PONGO HERE. MR.. MR. PRESIDENT, YOU'RE ALL HERE.

GREAT. THANK YOU. SO THIS EVENING, WE'RE GOING TO START WITH A PRESENTATION FROM OUR AUDITORS WHO HAVE REVIEWED THE CITY'S FIVE YEAR PLAN.

THEIR REPORT IS AVAILABLE ON THE AGENDA ON THE WEBSITE.

AFTER THAT PRESENTATION, WE HAVE, OUR MANAGING DIRECTOR WILL GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF HOW THE ADMINISTRATION GOT TO THE PROPOSED BUDGET.

AFTER THAT, WE WILL REVIEW THE BUDGETS OF THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT AND PUBLIC SAFETY PURSUANT TO COUNCIL RULES.

THOSE PORTIONS OF THE MEETING WILL BE CHAIRED BY THE RESPECTIVE CHAIRS CHAIRPERSON FOR FINANCE AND CHAIRPERSON, PERSON FOR PUBLIC SAFETY. AND AFTERWARDS THERE WILL BE BUDGET BILLS INTRODUCED, AND THE FULL SCHEDULE OF OUR MEETINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE AND OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES. SO FIRST UP IS PRESENTATION OF OUR OUTLOOK.

JUST SO EVERYONE KNOWS HOW WE GOT HERE. BACK AT OUR JULY 15TH COUNCIL MEETING, WE PASSED OUR 80, WHICH WAS A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AN INDEPENDENT FIVE YEAR FINANCIAL ANALYSIS TO EVALUATE THE CITY'S CURRENT AND LONG TERM FINANCIAL OUTLOOK IN ANTICIPATION OF UPCOMING CAPITAL PROJECTS AND A POTENTIAL PENSION MODIFICATION.

MARTUZA WAS CONTRACTED AND WAS TASKED WITH REVIEWING ALL THE CITY'S FINANCIAL DATA AND PROVIDING OUTLOOKS, WHICH WOULD HELP GUIDE MY COLLEAGUES AND ME THROUGH OUR UPCOMING BUDGET PROCESS.

WE RECEIVED THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY LAST WEEK, AND I'M PLEASED TO WELCOME JEFF KENT FROM MAR TO PROVIDE DETAILS OF THE STUDY AND TAKE ANY QUESTIONS FROM MY COLLEAGUES. SO WE CAN START WITH MR. KENT. HELLO? CAN EVERYONE HEAR ME? YES WE CAN.

WELCOME. WELCOME, MR. KENT. THANK YOU. NICE TO BE WITH YOU ALL.

SO, YEAH, I'M HERE TO KIND OF GIVE A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF THE WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING.

AS WAS, AS WAS MENTIONED WE WERE KIND OF TASKED WITH YOU, YOU ALWAYS DO A FIVE YEAR PLAN JUST, BUT JUST WITH EVERYTHING GOING ON WITH SOME OF THE CONTINGENT ITEMS WE WERE KIND OF ASKED TO REVIEW THAT PLAN, BUT THEN ALSO LAYER ON SOME SCENARIO ANALYSIS.

SO THAT IS WHAT WE'LL GO THROUGH. AND THERE'S A POWERPOINT THAT WE PREPARED THAT KIND OF GUIDES THROUGH THE DISCUSSION THAT THAT KIND OF SUPPORTS A MORE DETAILED REPORT THAT, THAT WE'VE ALSO PROVIDED. SO I, I SEE THAT IT'S ON THE SCREEN, SO I DON'T NEED TO SHARE.

SO I'LL SO YEAH, THE FIRST SLIDE HERE WHAT WE WERE ASKED TO DO AND HOW WE DID IT.

SO SO YEAH, WE WE OBTAINED THE CITY'S INITIAL FIVE YEAR PLAN AND KIND OF REBUILT THAT PLAN BASED ON ALL OF THE ASSUMPTIONS THAT WERE PROVIDED AND MADE SURE THAT OUR RESULTS MATCHED THE RESULTS OF THE CITY.

AND THEN WE, WE, WE RELATED THAT, THAT PLAN TO KNOWABLE THINGS SUCH AS, YOU KNOW, THE MOST RECENT AUDIT WHICH WAS AS OF 123125. WE THEN LAYERED ON THE KNOWN RISKS YOU KNOW, NOTABLY THE POLICE DROP PLAN THE, THE, THE STORMWATER FEE THAT IS CURRENTLY IN QUESTION.

THE REPORT TALKS ABOUT HEALTH INSURANCE CLAIMS. AND THEN, AND THEN INFORMATION ON HOW THE, THE PLAN SUPPORTS NEW DEBT.

NOW YOUR INITIAL PLAN DOES INCLUDE A CERTAIN LEVEL OF NEW DEBT ISSUED.

SO IN TERMS OF KIND OF THE LAYERING ON, IT'S MOSTLY RELATED TO THAT WE DID, IT'S MOSTLY RELATED TO THE POLICE DROP AND THE STORMWATER FEE.

AND THEN THE, THE CITY'S PLAN MEASURES THE, THE RESULT, ITS RESULTS AGAINST THE FUND BALANCE POLICY, WHICH, WHICH PROVIDES FOR A MINIMUM FUND BALANCE OF 17% OF GENERAL FUND EXPENSES.

SO WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT THROUGHOUT THIS HANDOUT AS WELL.

THIS IS JUST SOME HIGH LEVEL INFORMATION ON THE PLAN THAT THE CITY HAS ALREADY PUT FORTH.

27 2027 IS A BALANCED BUDGET, BALANCED BUDGET, ESSENTIALLY.

BUT THEN AFTER 2027 YOU YOUR PLAN SHOWS ANNUAL ANNUAL DEFICITS

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YOU'RE AN AVAILABLE BALANCE, WHICH IS WHAT YOU MEASURE THAT 17% FUND BALANCE AGAINST CHANGES OVER THAT FIVE YEAR PERIOD FROM 38.5 MILLION TO 24.7 MILLION. AND THEN 2030 IS, YOU KNOW, BASED ON THE WAY YOU'RE MEASURING THAT, THAT MINIMUM BALANCE. 2030 IS WHEN IT KIND OF DIPS BELOW THAT, THAT MINIMUM REQUIREMENT.

THIS IS JUST KIND OF SOME HIGH LEVEL INFORMATION ON, YOU KNOW, I GUESS WHY THE, YOU'RE SEEING THOSE DEFICITS AFTER 2027. AND IT YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT A BIG GAP, BUT YOU'RE OBVIOUSLY YOU'RE A BIG CITY AND YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, JUST SMALL PERCENTAGE DIFFERENCES CAN CREATE DEFICITS.

BUT YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, STARTING IN 28, I MENTIONED EARLIER, THE 3.1 TO 3.8, YOU CAN SEE KIND OF THE, THE SPENDING GAP BETWEEN THE SPENDING VERSUS REVENUE GAP.

AND THAT REALLY IS, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY YOUR REVENUE YOU'RE SHOWING AT ABOUT 4% A YEAR INCREASE SPENDING AT ABOUT 4.5%.

SO THAT, YOU KNOW, EVEN THAT 5.5% CREATES KIND OF A GAP THAT WOULD ACCUMULATE QUITE SUBSTANTIALLY OVER TIME.

AND YEAH, JUST, JUST GOING THROUGH THE BOXES ON THE RIGHT THERE, THE, THE OBVIOUSLY PERSONNEL DRIVES THE, THE, THE BIGGEST PORTION OF YOUR SPENDING, THAT'S 70, 75% OF YOUR SPENDING.

SO THAT'S OVER THE OVER OVER 4.5% A YEAR, ABOUT 4.7.

AND, AND KIND OF ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THE FACT THAT THAT GAP IS JUST KIND OF A CONSISTENT STRUCTURAL GAP.

THERE'S A, I MEAN, THERE'S A LOT OF ASSUMPTIONS THAT WENT INTO THE, THE, THE CITY'S FIVE YEAR PLAN, THIS SLIDE JUST KIND OF HIGHLIGHTS SOME OF THE, THE MORE SIGNIFICANT ONES.

IT IS NO NOTABLE THAT YOU KNOW, THAT FIRST LINE, THE REAL ESTATE TAX, YOUR, YOUR PLAN DOES KIND OF ASSUME SOME AVERAGE TAX INCREASES OF ABOUT 2%, BUT THEN ALSO ABOUT 2% INCREASES ON ASSESSMENTS.

SO, SO SOME COMBINATION OF A VALUATION INCREASES AND TAX INCREASES.

AND THEN YOU CAN SEE KIND OF THE, THE GROWTH ASSUMPTIONS IN REVENUE.

YOU HAVE ABOUT A $2.5 MILLION VACANCY ADJUSTMENT THAT STARTS IN 27 AND KIND OF INCREASES ACCORDING TO WAGES IN FUTURE YEARS. THE HEALTH INSURANCE WE'LL TALK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT LATER IS A SIGNIFICANT ASSUMPTION THAT 6% MIGHT BE ON THE LOW END.

YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT RISKS THAT YOU'RE YOU'RE USING 6% A YEAR YOUR, YOU KNOW, THE, THE TREND REPORTING THAT YOU OBTAIN THAT, THAT 6% IS KIND OF ON THE LOW END OF THE RANGE YOUR MMO IN YOUR, IN YOUR BASE FIVE YEAR PLAN. THE MMO JUST ASSUMES KIND OF A NORMAL INCREASE.

AND THEN THERE'S LAYERED INFORMATION, LIKE I MENTIONED ON THE, ON THE DROP THAT'S FACTORED IN LATER.

AND THEN YOUR YOUR DEBT SERVICE. SO YOUR, YOUR BASE PLAN ASSUMES ABOUT $30 MILLION OF NEW DEBT IN 2027 FOR CAPITAL. AND THEN ANOTHER 20 MILLION IN NEW DEBT IN 2028 FOR CAPITAL.

THIS IS JUST A SUMMARY OF THE RESULTS OF THE BASE PLAN WITHOUT THE ADDITIONAL STORMWATER DROP IMPACTS. SO BASICALLY THE BARS SHOW THAT AVAILABLE BALANCE.

SO WHEN I, WHEN, WHEN WHEN I SAY AVAILABLE BALANCE BASED ON THE CITY'S MEASURE, YOU'RE USING BASICALLY A LIQUIDITY MEASURE, OPERATING CASH BALANCES TO MEASURE AGAINST THAT 17% POLICY THAT YOU HAVE SO THAT THE BARS REPRESENT THAT, YOU KNOW, THE PROJECTION OF THAT CASH BALANCE BASED ON WHERE YOU'RE STARTING WITH THE DEFICITS FACTORED IN.

AND THEN THE, THE LINES THE HORIZONTAL LINES THAT KIND OF STEP UP THROUGH OVER THE YEARS THAT, THAT REPRESENTS YOUR MINIMUM. PAUL. POLICY LEVEL, THE 17% LEVEL.

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AND THEN 2031. NOW WE DID KIND OF DISCUSS THROUGH THE PROCESS THAT YOUR, AS I MENTIONED, YOUR, YOUR, YOUR POLICY THE 17% POLICY, YOU'RE THE MEASURE YOU'RE USING TO COMPARE THAT TO IS, LIKE I SAID, OPERATING CASH.

THE POLICY DOES USE THE TERM UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE, WHICH IS NOT NECESSARILY OPERATING CASH.

SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, THIS, WE HAD KIND OF, WE DISCUSSED THE RECOMMENDATION OF JUST KIND OF CLARIFYING THAT POLICY.

IF YOUR INTENT IS TO USE OPERATING CASH AND NOT THE UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE TO MAYBE MAYBE CLARIFY THAT.

BUT, BUT, BUT THEY ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. AND THIS SLIDE KIND OF SHOWS THE BRIDGE BETWEEN THE TWO.

SO ON THE FAR LEFT THE 42 MILLION WOULD BE THAT OPERATING CASH BALANCE.

THIS IS AS OF THE END OF 2025, YOUR, YOUR GENERAL FUND UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE IS TECHNICALLY 66 MILLION.

AND, AND THE KIND OF IN BETWEEN THOSE BARS ARE THINGS THAT YOU, YOU BASICALLY DON'T CONSIDER IN, IN THE MEASURE THAT YOU USE FOR THAT, FOR THAT FUND BALANCE.

SO SOME OF THE BIG THINGS IN IT, THE, YOU HAVE A, A SEPARATE RESERVE, WHICH IS THE STABILIZATION FUND.

SO YOU'RE NOT INCLUDING THAT. AND THAT'S PART OF, I THINK OUR RECOMMENDATION IS TO JUST CLARIFY THE ROLE OF THE STABILIZATION FUND IN YOUR FUND BALANCE POLICY. FOR FINANCIAL REPORTING, YOU HAVE SOME FUNDS OUTSIDE OF WHAT, WHAT YOU, WHAT YOU WOULD DEFINE AS YOUR GENERAL FUND PROPER.

THAT'S THE 5.1 MILLION. THOSE, THOSE ARE, ARE FUNDS THAT YOU, YOU DON'T CONSIDER PART OF GENERAL FUND RESOURCES AND THEY'RE LISTED KIND OF AT THE BOTTOM RIGHT BOX THERE.

THE RENTAL UNIT BUILDING CODE, BUILDING CODE, EQUIPMENT, HOUSING TRUST AND HAMILTON.

THOSE ARE ALL FOR FINANCIAL REPORTING SHOWN IN YOUR GENERAL FUND.

AND THEN THE 11 MILLION IS JUST OTHER CASH BALANCES THAT YOU DON'T CONSIDER OPERATING CASH OR SHORT TERM CASH.

AND THEN THE 6.3 MILLION IS YOUR, YOUR, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE USING CASH MAJOR, YOUR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS HAVE ACCRUALS IN IT. SO IT HAS RECEIVABLES AND PAYABLES.

SO THAT, THAT, THAT 6.3 MILLION IS THE EFFECT OF THOSE THINGS.

SO SO I, I THINK THAT IT'S REALLY JUST A TAKEAWAY FROM HERE THAT YOU, YOUR, THE WAY YOUR, YOUR POLICY IS WORDED, YOU'RE, YOU COULD LOOK AT IT TWO DIFFERENT WAYS.

THOSE TWO DIFFERENT WAYS DO IN SOME CASES GIVE DIFFERENT ANSWERS.

SO WE WOULD RECOMMEND JUST CLARIFY THAT. THIS JUST ILLUSTRATES WHAT I JUST SAID.

THE, THE YELLOW LINE THERE IS YOUR, YOUR 17% THE DARK BLUE BAR IS THE, THE MEASURE YOU'RE USING THAT OPERATING CASH. SO THIS IS SIMILAR TO THE, THE OTHER ILLUSTRATION WHERE KIND OF IN THAT 2030 AND 2031 RANGE IS WHERE YOU DIP BELOW THAT. AND THEN THE LIGHT BLUE BAR IS YOUR UNASSIGNED FUND BALANCE ADJUSTED FOR THE DEBT, THE DEFICITS THAT YOU'RE PROJECTING OVER THE FIVE YEARS.

SO JUST, JUST, THIS IS JUST FURTHER ILLUSTRATION OF EVERYTHING I SAID ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE IN TERMS OF THAT, THAT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOUR OPERATING CASH AND YOUR FUND BALANCE.

I MENTIONED THAT YOUR, YOUR BASE PLAN INCLUDES 50 MILLION OF NEW DEBT, 30,000,000 IN 27 AND 20 MILLION IN 28. THAT KIND OF GOES TOWARDS THE OVERALL CAPITAL PLAN OF IN THE RANGE OF 134 MILLION. SO THAT'S WHAT THE PLAN ASSUMES IN, IN THE FIRST FIVE YEARS IS 50 MILLION.

THIS ILLUSTRATES KIND OF THAT THE DARK BLUE BEING THE EXISTING DEBT AND THE LIGHT BLUE BEING THAT,

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LIKE I MENTIONED, YOUR, THE 50 MILLION IS REALLY JUST PART OF THE OVERALL.

THE OVERALL CAPITAL PLAN. SO THEN THE, THE NEXT PART OF THE PRESENTATION HERE GETS INTO THE, THE ADDITIONAL ITEMS LAYERED ON TOP OF THAT BASE PLAN.

THAT, THAT HAS BEEN PREPARED. THE FIRST ITEM HERE, THE POLICE DROP WHICH HASN'T BEEN APPROVED YET.

BUT THE ACTUARIAL STUDY PUTS THAT THE EFFECT OF THAT IN, IN A RANGE OF BETWEEN 1.1 MILLION AND 3.9 MILLION. SO IN THESE SCENARIOS, WE HAVE THAT STARTING IN 2028, SINCE YOU'RE YOUR MMO IS ESSENTIALLY SET ALREADY FOR 27.

SO IF THAT WAS APPROVED, THE THIS ASSUMES THAT THE, THE FIRST YEAR OF LIKELY IMPACT WOULD BE 28.

IN THE CASE OF THE STORMWATER FEE WE'RE, WE'VE SEEN THIS LOOKED AT A COUPLE DIFFERENT WAYS.

A LOT OF GOVERNMENTS LOOK AT IT IN TERMS OF THE IMPACT, IF IT WAS CONSIDERED A TAX, THE IMPACT BEING ON ONLY TAX EXEMPT PROPERTIES.

I THINK YOU'VE RECEIVED FEEDBACK THAT IN YOUR CASE, BASED ON HOW YOUR CHARTER IS WRITTEN, IF IT WAS A TAX YOU KNOW, BASED ON CURRENT, THE, YOU KNOW, YOUR CURRENT CHARTER, YOU, YOU WOULD NOT HAVE THE ABILITY TO, TO LEVY, LEVY THE STORMWATER FEE. SO THESE, THIS SCENARIO OR THIS ILLUSTRATION KIND OF ASSUMES THE, THE DRASTIC CASE OF THAT WHOLE STORMWATER FEE REVENUE GOING AWAY WITH, WITH REALLY NOTHING, NO OTHER MEASURE TO, TO REPLACE IT. SO IN TERMS OF THAT CHART THE DOTTED LINE IS THAT 17% MINIMUM FUND BALANCE. THE THE BLUE DOTTED LINE IS THE, THE CITY PLAN WHICH YOU CAN SEE KIND OF CONSISTENT WITH WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS, SHOWS IT DIPPING BELOW IN 2030 AND 2031.

AND THEN OBVIOUSLY THE FULL STORMWATER FEE IF IT WENT AWAY, $5.4 MILLION THAT WOULD PRETTY DRASTICALLY DEPLETE YOUR YOUR AVAILABLE CASH.

IF THAT WENT AWAY EACH YEAR STARTING IN 28. SO SO THAT'S THE, THE YELLOW LINE.

THIS REALLY JUST SHOWS THE IMPACT OF THAT 5.4 MILLION GOING AWAY.

YOU, IF, IF IT, IT DOESN'T ACCOUNT FOR POTENTIAL REFUNDS.

ANY. AND ON THE FLIP SIDE OF THAT, YOU DO HAVE A FUND, A FUND BALANCE IN THAT FUND THAT, THAT YOU WOULD, THAT YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO CARRY FORWARD. HEALTH INSURANCE.

SO WE DON'T HAVE AN ILLUSTRATION ON THE HEALTH INSURANCE IN TERMS OF LIKE THE, IF, IF YOU WERE OUTSIDE OF THAT 6%, BUT THIS JUST KIND OF ILLUSTRATES SOME OF THE RISKS RELATED TO TO THE HEALTH INSURANCE.

SO YOU'RE, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, YOUR PLAN ASSUMES A 6% A YEAR INCREASE.

YOUR MOST RECENT STUDY HAS THE RANGE OF 6% BETWEEN 6% AND 11%.

SO YOU'RE USING KIND OF THAT LOW, THE LOW END OF THAT RANGE.

YOU HAVE THE MIDDLE BOX THERE. JUST KIND OF ILLUSTRATES THAT, YOU KNOW, IN 2026, YOUR YOU, YOU, YOU DID HAVE SOME DIFFICULT EXPERIENCE. AND, AND HAD TO TRANSFER SOME SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS TO THE RISK FUND PART OF THE TRANSFER IN 2026 ALSO RELATED TO 2025 EXPERIENCE WHERE THAT YOU ALSO HAVE A MINIMUM FUND BALANCE AND THE RISK FUND.

AND AS OF THE END OF 25, YOU DIPPED BELOW THAT.

SO PART OF PART OF, I BELIEVE THAT 2026 TRANSFER WAS REPLENISHING THE RISK FUND FUND BALANCE.

AND THEN THIS KIND OF I'LL TAKE THIS STEP BY STEP, BUT IT, IT KIND OF PULLS EVERYTHING TOGETHER.

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THE BLUE RANGE BELOW IT THAT HAS 12.2 TO 20.3 AT THE.

AT THE END OF IT IS THE EFFECT OF IF. IF ONLY THE DROP WAS IMPLEMENTED AND THERE WAS NO STORMWATER FEE LOSS. IT SHOWS KIND OF THAT RANGE OF, OF WHERE YOU'D BE OVER THE YEARS.

SO YOUR BALANCE WOULD BE DOWN BETWEEN 12.2 AND 20.3 BASED ON THAT DROP RANGE WE DISCUSSED EARLIER, THE LIGHT BLUE DOTTED LINE THAT ENDS IN THE 3 MILLION IS SIMILAR TO THE STORMWATER ONLY CHART THAT SHOWS THE STORMWATER ONLY AND NOT, YOU KNOW, AND NOT THE EFFECT OF THE DROP.

AND THEN THAT GOLD RANGE SHOWS KIND OF THE THE WORST CASE SCENARIO WITH BOTH OF THEM WHERE YOUR RANGE WOULD, WHERE YOU'D ESSENTIALLY BY 2031 BE IN BEING A DEFICIT POSITION IF, IF NOTHING ELSE WAS DONE.

IF YOU, IF YOU DID LOSE THAT, THAT FULL STORMWATER FEE.

AND, AND IMPLEMENTED THE DROP STARTING IN 28.

SO JUST SOME SUMMARY OF THINGS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT.

OBVIOUSLY THAT THERE'S THAT GAP BETWEEN YOUR REVENUES AND EXPENSES THAT STARTS IN 2028.

THAT CREATES A KIND OF A CONSISTENT DEFICIT EACH YEAR.

WE TALKED ABOUT THE POLICY CLARITY, JUST KIND OF SHORING UP YOUR INTENT ON THE, ON THE FUND BALANCE POLICY AND THE LARGE KNOWN RISKS.

I MEAN, THE, WHEN YOU GET INTO THE DROP AND THE STORMWATER FEE, THESE ARE NOT SMALL THINGS.

THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE DROP HAS A BIG RANGE.

THE, THE STORMWATER IS A PRETTY LARGE AMOUNT EACH YEAR AND.

AND SO LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, EACH EACH OF THOSE THINGS IS PRETTY SIGNIFICANT.

SO THESE ILLUSTRATIONS, LIKE I SAID, SHOW THEM KIND OF IN A, IN A VACUUM AS IF NOTHING ELSE WAS DONE.

SO IF, IF YOU'RE, IT DOESN'T ASSUME OTHER ACTION, FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU DID, IF YOU DID LOSE THAT STORMWATER FEE OR IF THAT STORMWATER FEE WAS CONSIDERED A TAX. CONTACT INFORMATION HERE. AND THEN I THINK AFTER THIS IS AN APPENDIX THAT HAS SOME MORE DETAILED INFORMATION THAT I WON'T GO THROUGH, BUT JUST KIND OF A SUMMARY OF THIS, THIS PAGE IS JUST KIND OF A SUMMARY OF YOUR, YOUR EXISTING PLAN WITHOUT THAT LAYERED THE LAYERED ITEMS FOR THE DROP AND STORMWATER.

AND THEN SCENARIO ASSUMPTIONS, WHICH WE MOSTLY COVERED.

AND THEN I THINK THE LAST PAGE IS JUST SOME, SOME DEFINITIONS.

SO THE APPENDIX IS, IS MOSTLY INFORMATIONAL, BUT CERTAINLY HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE ON ANY OF THE INFORMATION WE DISCUSSED. I APPRECIATE THE, THE, THE I KNOW IT'S A BUSY TIME SO APPRECIATE ALL OF THE TIME AND INFORMATION THAT, THAT BINA AND HER TEAM PROVIDED US THROUGH THE PROCESS.

OKAY. THANK YOU, MR. KENT, FOR THAT PRESENTATION.

ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM MY COLLEAGUES FOR MR. KENT, MA? GO AHEAD. MR.. OH, GO AHEAD. THANK YOU.

AND I JUST I APPRECIATE THE EFFORT THAT WENT INTO THIS, BOTH FROM THE ADMINISTRATION AND AS WELL AS MA DU SOL.

I KNOW THIS IS A QUICK TURNAROUND. YOU KNOW, WE ASK BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE FELT THERE WAS A NEED FOR MORE INFORMATION.

AND AND I THINK THIS DOES SHED A LOT OF LIGHT THERE.

AND I THINK FOR THE FOLKS WHO ARE MAYBE SEEING THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME, I THINK THE BIGGEST CLARIFICATION HERE, I KNOW WE SEE A LOT OF GRAPHS THAT POINT DOWNWARD.

AND I THINK THAT'S BASICALLY SAYING THAT UNLESS WE TAKE ADDITIONAL ACTION.

SO I THINK THERE WERE SOME ASSUMPTIONS NOTED. SO WHETHER IT'S THE THE THE TAX INCREASES OF 2% AS WELL AS SOME OF THE ASSUMPTIONS ON GROWTH AND REVENUES AND SOME OTHER AREAS I, YOU KNOW, THIS GRAPH SHOWS A NEGATIVE CORRELATION IN THAT SENSE.

AND THE ONLY WAY TO KIND OF STABILIZE THAT WOULD BE TO TAKE SOME ADDITIONAL ACTION, WHETHER THAT'S CREATING ADDITIONAL REVENUE OR RAISING ANY OF THESE OTHER ASSUMPTIONS.

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EITHER MR. KENT OR THE ADMINISTRATION, I THINK THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE GRAPH. AND SO FOLKS AT HOME AND HERE UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU KNOW, THE PICTURE THIS PAINTS IS, YOU KNOW, ACTION WILL NEED TO BE TAKEN TO CORRECT ANY DEFICITS IN ORDER TO KEEP OUR BALANCED BUDGET AND OUR, OUR 17% MINIMUM BALANCE. OKAY. THANK YOU.

AND MR. BENDER, GO AHEAD. THANK YOU. FOR SLIDE FOUR, JUST I GUESS THE QUESTION I'M HAVING IS, IS THAT REPRESENTATION, ASSUMING THAT WE ARE DOING A 2% YEAR OVER YEAR INCREASE JUST TO EVEN MAINTAIN THAT.

I DON'T KNOW WHO WANTS TO ANSWER THAT. THAT'S CORRECT. YOUR FIVE YEAR EXISTING FIVE YEAR PLAN IN 28 THROUGH 31.

AND BINA, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG IN ANYTHING I'M SAYING, BUT THAT EXISTING FIVE YEAR PLAN ASSUMES AN AVERAGE 2% TAX INCREASE ON REAL ESTATE. AND THEN NOT A TAX INCREASE, BUT IT ASSUMES SOME INCREASES THAT YOU'LL THAT YOU'LL GET THROUGH KIND OF ASSESSMENT. YOU KNOW, NEW CONSTRUCTION TYPE ASSESSMENT INCREASES.

YES. THAT IS ACCURATE. SO THE ASSUMPTION IS OVERALL A 4% INCREASE.

CHANGES IN PROPERTY VALUE ASSESSMENT VALUE AND THEN SMALL INCREASE OF PROPERTY TAX RATE CHANGE.

SO ASSUMPTION IS 2% INCREASE IN PROPERTY TAX.

AND THE 2% REVENUE WILL BE GENERATED FROM ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENT VALUE INCREASE IN VALUE.

OKAY. BUT THAT'S SO BASICALLY, REGARDLESS OF THE SCENARIOS THAT WERE RUN, THAT GRAPH WOULD BE TRUE WITH, WITH THOSE PROPOSED INCREASES. OKAY. AND THEN ON SLIDE SEVEN, WHERE IT OUTLINES THE PERCENTAGES.

SO IF I'M, IF I'M READING THIS CORRECTLY, BECAUSE IT'S NOT MY, MY AREA OF EXPERTISE, BUT SO THE THE FINANCE OPERATING CASH OF THE 42.2 MILLION.

SO WHAT THIS IS MAKING THAT ASSUMPTION IS THAT SOME OF THESE FUNDS OR THESE COLUMNS ARE, ARE RESTRICTED.

SO WE'RE NOT COUNTING THEM AS PART OF THAT INITIAL GRAPH ON PAGE SEVEN.

IS THAT HOW I'M UNDERSTANDING THIS CORRECTLY. YES. THAT'S ACCURATE. SO WE HAVE OTHER FUNDS AS JEFF MENTIONED, THE BUILDING CODE FUND, THE RENTAL UNION FUND.

THOSE REVENUES ARE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNATED FOR THOSE FUNDS.

AND SO WE THAT'S WHY THEY'RE NOT WE DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THAT TO RUN THE GENERAL FUND.

OKAY. CAN I JUST PIGGYBACK OFF OF THAT ONE? YES.

SO I'M JUST CURIOUS. SO THE STABILIZATION FUND IN PARTICULAR, I THINK THERE'S A RECOMMENDATION TO KIND OF DICTATE THAT.

I'M CURIOUS. SO OUR STABILIZATION FUND, HOW DO WE UTILIZE THAT.

AND AND IS THERE A REASON WE DON'T COUNT IT? SO THAT I BELIEVE THAT WAS CREATED IN 2013.

AND THAT IS LIKE INSURANCE POLICY FOR THE CITY.

THERE'S AN ORDINANCE THAT WAS CREATED, AND I WILL LOOK INTO THAT.

UNLESS MIKE HAS SOME BACKGROUND ON THAT. BUT I THINK THAT IT WAS CREATED WHEN WE LOST OUR WATER AND SEWER FOR LONG TERM.

AND SO WE DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THAT CASH TO RUN OUR NORMAL OPERATIONS.

AND THAT'S WHY IT'S NOT INCLUDED AS PART OF THE GENERAL FUND.

CASH THAT WE CAN USE TO RUN THE OPERATIONS IF THE RISK RAN OUT OF MONEY AND THEY HAVE TO DO A BORROWING TO PAY THE RISK BOND. AND PART OF THAT AGREEMENT IS THAT THEY WOULD CREATE SOME OF THE MONEY FOR A STABILIZATION FUND RATHER THAN SPEND ALL THE MONEY.

OKAY. OKAY. TWO OTHERS REAL QUICK. MR. BRENNER.

GO AHEAD. AND THEN ON FOR PAGE FOR THAT SAME THAT SAME GRAPH.

THAT'S ASSUMING THE 20 AND 30 MILLION CAPITAL IN IN THAT THAT CHART THAT WE'RE SEEING ON SLIDE FOUR, THAT'S THE ONE WITH THE TWO. YES. SO THE CAPITAL BORROWING IN 2027 THAT'S BUILT INTO THAT FIVE YEAR OPERATING PLAN IS THAT 30 MILLION BOND ISSUE IN 2027 AND 2028 ANOTHER 20 MILLION.

SO IN TOTAL, 50 MILLION OF CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT GEO BOND ISSUE IS BUILT INTO THE PLAN.

OKAY. AND THEN I THINK I ASKED THIS AND I SAW, I SAW THE RESPONSE, BUT JUST SOME UNDERSTANDING IT, THE, THE PUBLIC WORKS THAT PRESENTED THAT PLAN WITH THE MULTI-YEAR OF IMPACT STUDY ON THE VARIOUS ASSETS THAT THE CITY HAS.

THAT'S PART OF THAT INITIAL 30 OR THAT INITIAL 50 TOTAL CAPITAL THAT YOU HAD INCORPORATED.

IS THAT HOW I UNDERSTAND THAT? YES. YOU'RE CORRECT.

THAT'S PART OF THAT PLAN IN 2027 AND 28, AND MARK WILL MARK.

[00:30:04]

OKAY. THANK YOU. OKAY. ANYONE ELSE. ANY QUESTIONS COMMENTS? I DO I DO WANT TO MENTION THAT THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT ASSUMPTIONS THAT CAN BE TAKEN BASED ON HOW WE WANT TO HANDLE THINGS GOING FORWARD.

SO MR. KENT AND MA DO SO DID AGREE TO PROVIDE US THE TOOLS TO USE THAT THAT THOSE FORMULAS IN A FUTURE USE? SO AS WE DECIDE OR AS WE, AS WE COME UP WITH OPTIONS ON HOW WE WANT TO GO FORWARD, WE CAN CONTINUE USING THE TOOL TO HELP US UNDERSTAND BETTER THE FIVE YEAR PROJECTION AND HOW IT IMPACTS OUR BUDGET LONG TERM.

SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT ALSO CAME OUT OF THIS, WHICH I THOUGHT WAS REALLY HELPFUL.

SO ANY ANYTHING FROM OUR CONTROLLER? FOR. NO, NOT AT THIS TIME.

OKAY. JUST WANTED TO OFFER. OKAY. I THINK WE'RE.

ARE WE GOOD WITH MR. KENT? OKAY. THANKS AGAIN, JEFF.

APPRECIATE ALL YOUR HELP. THANK YOU. AND AND WE'LL, I'M SURE WE'LL BE IN TOUCH AS WE CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THESE THIS FORM, THIS THIS FORMULA AND THIS TOOL. THANK YOU. YES.

THANK YOU. I HAVE A HAVE A GOOD EVENING. YEAH.

YOU TOO. OKAY. WE'RE GOING TO MOVE TO PHASE TWO.

WE HAVE OUR MANAGING DIRECTOR, MR. FRANK KANE.

HE'S HERE TONIGHT TO GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF HOW THE ADMINISTRATION GOT TO THE PROPOSED BUDGET AND TAKE IT AWAY.

ALL RIGHT. WE HAVE A WE HAVE A POWERPOINT FOR YOU THAT I THINK SHOULD BE COMING UP ANY MOMENT NOW.

OH, YOU WANT ME TO. SHE WANTS ME TO TALK FOR TWO MINUTES.

SO. I FEEL LIKE I CAN I WAS GONNA HAVE TO FILIBUSTER.

I'LL MOVE SLOWLY, AND MAYBE WE'LL CATCH UP WITH THE SLIDES.

THE CITY OF ALLENTOWN'S PROPOSED TOP LINE BUDGET FOR 2027 IS 257.3 MILLION, WHICH WILL BE UP ANY MINUTE.

THAT INCLUDES EVERY INCOME. OKAY. THAT INCLUDES EVERY INCOME SOURCE, EVERY PASTOR, EVERY FUND THAT SUSTAINS ITSELF INDEPENDENTLY.

WE HAVE A NUMBER OF WHAT WE REFER TO AS ENTERPRISE FUNDS.

I THINK WE JUST HEARD ABOUT SOME OF THOSE IN THE LAST PRESENTATION.

REALLY, THEY'RE JUST PROGRAMS THAT SUSTAIN THEMSELVES AND COVER THEIR EXPENSES THROUGH FEES GENERATED TO OPERATE THOSE PROGRAMS. WHEN YOU BACK THOSE OUT, WE ARE LEFT WITH A GENERAL FUND OF 153 MILLION FOR NEXT YEAR.

AND THAT'S THE NUMBER THAT REALLY MATTERS. AND THAT'S THE NUMBER THAT OUR DISCUSSIONS HERE WILL AFFECT.

IT IT'S THE WAY WE RECEIVE REVENUES MOSTLY THROUGH REAL ESTATE TAXES AND EARNED INCOME TAXES.

AND THE WAY THAT WE SPEND THAT REVENUE IS THE DISCUSSION THAT MOSTLY WE'RE GOING TO ENTERTAIN AS YOU GO THROUGH YOUR BUDGET PROCESS.

SO OUR GENERAL FUND NEXT YEAR WILL BE $153 MILLION.

AND THE COMBINED MILLAGE RATE MILLAGE RATE THAT WE ARE PROPOSING IS 7.67, SLIGHTLY ADJUSTED FOR A SMALL INCREASE.

YOU'VE ALL SEEN THE MAYOR'S COFFEE AND DONUT SLIDES.

IT'S $1.75 OR LESS PER MONTH FOR MOST RESIDENTS OF ALLENTOWN.

CAN YOU CHANGE THE SLIDE? SO THIS IS WHERE THE MONEY COMES FROM.

YOU'VE SEEN THIS SLIDE BEFORE. I'LL TAKE A MOMENT TO POINT OUT THAT THE TOP TWO ARE EARNED INCOME TAX AND REAL ESTATE.

REAL PROPERTY TAX. EARNED INCOME TAX IS NOT AS STABLE AS REAL ESTATE TAXES.

YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE MORE LIKELY TO ALWAYS COLLECT YOUR PROPERTY TAXES.

EARNED INCOME TAX CAN CHANGE. IF WE HAVE A LARGE EMPLOYER THAT HAS A PROBLEM, IF WE HAVE A BAD ECONOMY, A RECESSION THAT CUTS TOO DEEPLY, THAT NUMBER CAN CAN MOVE DOWN MORE QUICKLY THAN WE'D LIKE.

SO JUST BE AWARE OF THAT AS WE MOVE FORWARD. SO WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO? YOU'VE SEEN THIS SLIDE BEFORE TO THE NEXT SLIDE WHERE YOUR DOLLAR GOES.

MOST OF YOUR MONEY GOES TO PUBLIC SAFETY, BUT ALSO PUBLIC WORKS CODES, ENFORCEMENT PARKS AND THE OTHER THINGS THAT YOU SEE THERE.

SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT, WE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A BUDGET. WE SHOULD DEFINE WHAT A BUDGET IS.

A BUDGET IS BOTH A SPENDING PLAN AND A STATEMENT OF PRIORITIES.

THIS ADMINISTRATION'S PRIORITIES ARE PUBLIC SAFETY, ECONOMIC MOBILITY AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.

AND THIS BUDGET THAT WE'RE PROPOSING ALLOWS US TO DELIVER ON THOSE PROMISES AT A REASONABLE COST TO THE TAXPAYER.

YOU ALL RAN FOR OFFICE BECAUSE BECAUSE YOU HAVE YOUR OWN SETS OF PRIORITIES AND THINGS THAT YOU CARE ABOUT AS YOU REPRESENT THIS COMMUNITY.

AND OUR HOPE IS THAT THE SPENDING PLAN THAT EMERGES FROM THIS PROCESS IS INCLUSIVE OF YOUR VISION AS WELL.

SO I'D LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT NOW TO SHOW YOU SOME SLIDES THAT YOU HAVEN'T SEEN BEFORE.

[00:35:01]

THAT'S ACTUALLY 1% LESS THAN LAST YEAR'S REVISED GENERAL FUND AMOUNT, WHICH WAS 155 MILLION.

INFLATION WAS AROUND 4% THIS YEAR. PAYROLL ENERGY COSTS ROSE SIGNIFICANTLY.

WE STILL MANAGED TO PRESENT A GENERAL FUND THAT'S A PERCENT LESS THAN THAN THAN THAN THE REVISED FUND LAST YEAR.

SO IF THE IF THE BALANCE THAT WE'RE PROPOSING HAS GONE DOWN, WHY ARE WE ADJUST? WHY ARE WE PROPOSING THAT WE SHOULD ADJUST THE MILLAGE RATE UP? IT'S THE MOST OBVIOUS QUESTION THAT YOU COULD ASK.

$2.5 MILLION IN POLICE AND FIRE GRANTS. SUNSET IN 2026.

THAT'S A HALF MILL OF OUR YOU KNOW, A MILL IS ABOUT $5 MILLION.

IT'S A HALF MILL OF OUR TAXES RIGHT THERE. WE ALSO HAVE INCREASED COSTS AND INFLATION, AND FUEL AND ENERGY COSTS ARE ALL ON THE RISE.

SO THAT'S HOW WE ARRIVED AT THIS, AT THIS PLACE.

SO THE FIRST THING WE DID WAS WE ENDED POST RETIREMENT HEALTH CARE FOR NEW HIRES EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1ST, 2027. THAT'S A BENEFIT THAT IS A VESTIGE OF TIMES LONG PAST, AND NO ONE REALLY EXPECTS IT ANYMORE.

OUR SEIU BARGAINING UNIT AND OUR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING EMPLOYEES ARE LEADING THE WAY IN THIS ENDEAVOR.

WE'VE TAKEN A FIRST STEP AS WE NEGOTIATE THE FOP CONTRACT THAT THAT THAT WE'RE VERY NEAR AGREEMENT ON, AND WE'LL HAVE TO NEGOTIATE WITH THE FIREFIGHTERS IN THE FUTURE.

BUT IT'S JUST A BENEFIT THAT PEOPLE DON'T GET.

WE WON'T SEE A BENEFIT FINANCIALLY FROM THAT THIS YEAR OR NEXT YEAR, BUT OVER TIME, IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO FOR THE ENTERPRISE.

THE NEXT YOU CAN HIT. SO THE NEXT THING WE DID WAS WE DISCONTINUED COVERAGE OF GLP ONE MEDICATION FOR WEIGHT LOSS IN 2027.

YOU'LL BE COVERED IF YOU HAVE A MEDICAL CONDITION.

BUT FOR WEIGHT LOSS, WE'VE WE'VE REMOVED THIS MEDICINE FOR THIS MEDICATION, THESE MEDICATIONS FROM OUR PLAN IN 2024 TO 2025, JULY TO JUNE, WE SPENT $470,000 ON THESE MEDICATIONS.

AND THE NEXT YEAR, 2025 TO 2026, OVER THE SAME PERIOD, WE SPENT 1.2 MILLION THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR, WE'RE LIKELY TO BE OVER TWO APPROACHING 3 MILLION.

AND IF WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING, NEXT YEAR COULD BE FOR MAYBE 5 MILLION.

SO AGAIN, IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO FOR THE ENTERPRISE.

WE PLAN TO RIGHTSIZE CAPITAL PROJECTS. INITIALLY, WE PROPOSED TO YOU A POLICE STATION THAT WOULD COST $40 MILLION AND A FIRE AND HEALTH BUILDING THAT WOULD HAVE COST $65 MILLION. THE PUBLIC SAFETY HEARINGS ARE LATER THIS EVENING.

I DON'T WANT TO STEAL EITHER CHIEF'S THUNDER AS THEY DISCUSS, YOU KNOW, THE THINGS THAT THEY WANT TO DO.

BUT BUT BUT YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT IT'S A DIFFICULT CONSTRUCTION ENVIRONMENT.

CONTRACTORS WOULD RATHER DO PRIVATE WORK THAT HAS LESS RESTRICTIONS, AND THEY HAVE LOTS OF OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT.

TARIFFS AREN'T HELPING ANYBODY. THE INTEREST RATE CLIMATE IS MUCH LESS FAVORABLE THAN IT WAS VERY RECENTLY.

SO WE'RE GOING TO TRANSITION THE POLICE STATION INTO MORE OF A RENOVATION OF EXISTING SPACE AND KIND OF FOREGO MUCH OF THE EXPANSION.

THAT'S GOING TO ALLOW US TO CONSIDER DOING THIS PROJECT A DIFFERENT WAY, WHICH IS UNDER GIZA LEGISLATION, WHICH, WHICH IS AN ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROVISION IN THE STATE CODE THAT ALLOWS US TO, FOR ONE, IT'LL BE A SMALLER PROJECT. SO WE'LL BORROW LESS.

BUT THEN THE MONEY THAT WE DO BORROW, WE CAN PAY A PORTION OF IT OUT OF THE ENERGY SAVINGS, OUT OF OUR ENERGY COST SAVINGS. SO IT'LL BE A, IT'LL PRESENT A DOUBLE SAVINGS.

THE FIRE AND HEALTH BUILDING. WE'VE MADE SOME CHANGES.

WE'VE REMOVED HEALTH FROM THAT EQUATION. AND WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'VE, WE'VE GONE TO A DIFFERENT LOCATION.

WE'VE MADE SOME DESIGN CHANGES, AND WE EXPECT THAT WE COULD SAVE $20 MILLION OR MORE ON THAT FROM 65 THAT WE ORIGINALLY INITIALLY PROPOSED DOWN TO 45. SO, SO, SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR NEXT YEAR? IN NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET, IT MEANS WE WILL BORROW 30 MILLION INSTEAD OF THE 41 TO 50 MILLION THAT WE HAD INITIALLY SCHEDULED.

THEY SHRANK. YOU SAW THE SHRINKING. I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO HAVE THE CLICKER.

I'M SORRY. SO THE DEBT SERVICE NEXT YEAR ON THE 30 MILLION WILL BE JUST UNDER 8 MILLION RATHER THAN 12 MILLION OR MORE.

SO THAT IS A SUBSTANTIAL SAVINGS THAT BOTH OF OUR.

I HAVE TO SAY THANK YOU TO BOTH OF OUR CHIEFS WHO ARE.

I MEAN, THEY WERE INSTRUMENTAL IN, IN IN MAKING THESE MOVES, WE'RE STILL GOING TO UNDERTAKE A NUMBER OF CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS THAT INCLUDE THINGS LIKE A PARKS MAINTENANCE BUILDING TO MOVE 40 CITY EMPLOYEES FROM A DILAPIDATED BARN INTO MORE APPROPRIATE CONDITIONS.

WE'RE BUILDING A NEW SALT STORAGE SHED TO BE ABLE TO DOUBLE OUR CAPACITY FROM 3000 TONS TO 6000 TONS, WHICH DOESN'T SOUND ALL THAT EXCITING, BUT IT LETS US BUY IN BULK UP FRONT UNDER CONTRACT PRICING INSTEAD OF PAYING TRIPLE WHEN WE RUN OUT HALFWAY THROUGH THE WINTER,

[00:40:09]

SO SO SO, I MEAN, WE HAVE THAT. SO WE'LL TAKE A MOMENT TO TALK ABOUT THE, THE, THE CUTS.

WE ASKED EACH DEPARTMENT HEAD TO IDENTIFY A 10% REDUCTION TO THEIR NON PERSONNEL OPERATING BUDGET.

THIS NOBODY WAS HAPPY. BUT OUR PHILOSOPHY WAS IT'S BETTER FOR THEM TO IDENTIFY WHAT THEY WHAT THEY CAN CUT THAN FOR US TO COME IN AND CUT WITHOUT KNOWING THEIR OPERATION. YOU ALL RECOGNIZE THAT GENTLEMAN DOGE? THE DOGE GUY. THAT'S THE WAY THAT WE DON'T WANT TO DO IT.

WE COULD GO IN AND DO WHAT? WHAT HAPPENED UNDER DOGE, THE FED.

YOU COULD GET THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE SO THAT YOU CAN SAY YOU DID.

AND THEN YOU GET THEN YOU ACT SURPRISED WHEN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TAKES IN LESS REVENUE THAN THAN IT TAKES IN LESS REVENUE.

AND THE REDUCTIONS END UP COSTING MORE THAN THEY POTENTIALLY SAVED.

WE COULD FILE A FIRE, A BUNCH OF EMPLOYEES, PAY THEM NOT TO WORK AND THEN REHIRE THEM.

BUT THAT'S SLOPPY AND IT'S NOT IN ANYONE'S INTEREST.

SO WE HAD A DIFFERENT APPROACH. THE NEXT SLIDE.

THIS IS THE MAYOR TURK. SCALPEL. WE TOOK A SCALPEL TO THE BUDGET AND WE LOOKED AT THE WE LOOKED AT WHAT PEOPLE PROPOSED TO US, AND WE MADE CUTS THAT MADE SENSE. BUT IN SOME CASES WE DIDN'T MAKE WE REALLY DIDN'T MAKE ANY CUTS.

SO THE FIRST EXAMPLE IS THE ALLENTOWN FIRE DEPARTMENT.

THE ALLENTOWN FIRE DEPARTMENT OPERATES WITH 144 FIREFIGHTERS IN 1975.

THE CITY'S COMPLEMENT WAS 156. IN 1975, ALLENTOWN HAD 106,000 RESIDENTS, AND OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT HAD 412 MORE MEMBERS THAN IT HAS NOW.

WE REQUIRE 29 FIREFIGHTERS TO BE ON SHIFT AS A MINIMUM STAFFING LEVEL, AND THEIR NON-PERSONNEL BUDGET IS MOSTLY EQUIPMENT AND VEHICLES THAT REALLY CAN'T BE RESPONSIBLY CUT. WE JUST HAD THE LARGEST FIRE IN ALLENTOWN'S HISTORY.

THIS, YOU KNOW, THIS THIS PAST YEAR, WE WE WE REALLY CAN'T MAKE CUTS IN THAT AREA.

OR EMS DEPARTMENT IS THE ONLY OPERATING DEPARTMENT THAT THAT IS REVENUE NEUTRAL AND, AND REALIZES ITS OWN REVENUE AND EVEN BRINGS IN A BIT OF A SURPLUS. SO IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO REDUCE THE TOOLS THAT ENABLE US TO DO THAT.

YOU KNOW, THERE ARE VERY BARE BONES OPERATION, A LOCAL EVENTS VENUE APPROACHED US TO PROVIDE SERVICES AND WE WERE UNABLE TO BOTH SERVE THE COMMUNITY AND COMMIT TO THAT CONTRACT BECAUSE OF STAFFING.

THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN $160 PER HOUR PER EVENT, 200 EVENTS A YEAR.

IF YOU DO THE MATH, THAT'S. WE WISH WE WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT CONTRACT.

THERE'S NO WAY WE RESPONSIBLY CAN. WE HAD TO DECLINE, BUT WE ADDED TWO POSITIONS INTO THE MS DEPARTMENT.

RATHER THAN CUTTING ANYTHING THE SAME IS TRUE MOSTLY FOR POLICE AND ANY REDUCTIONS.

THERE ARE MORE BECAUSE OF THE UNFORTUNATE REALITY THAT IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO HIRE POLICE OFFICERS.

BUT, BUT THE RESULT IS THERE'S BEEN NO, WE IN NO WAY COMPROMISE PUBLIC SAFETY.

IT'S OUR TOP PRIORITY. BUT WHERE WE WERE ABLE TO MAKE MEANINGFUL REDUCTIONS THAT WILL WITHSTAND THE BUDGET PRESSURES OF 2027.

THE POST SCALPEL SLIDE, PLEASE. OUR IT DEPARTMENT DESERVES A BIG THANK YOU.

THEY WERE ABLE TO COBBLE TOGETHER $1 MILLION IN A COMBINATION OF SOFTWARE LICENSING, RENTING SERVERS RATHER THAN BUYING AND AND OTHER IT THINGS.

I'M NOT A TECH PERSON, BUT IT. JERRY WILL GO INTO MORE DETAIL WITH YOU WHEN YOU DO THE IT BUDGET SESSION.

BUT WHAT'S IMPORTANT IS WE WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY $1 MILLION IN SAVINGS THERE.

PARKS, I'M GOING TO BE HONEST, THIS IS ONE OF OUR MOST DIFFICULT.

THIS IS ONE OF OUR MOST DIFFICULT DEPARTMENTS.

WE CUT A LOT OUT OF PARKS. AND THOSE CUTS ARE GOING TO BE PAINFUL.

THEY'RE GOING TO AFFECT OUR ABILITY TO PROVIDE SERVICES IN THE PARKS, ESPECIALLY REC PROGRAMS AND SPECIAL EVENTS.

WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO CAREFULLY EXAMINE OUR APPROACH TO SPECIAL EVENTS GOING FORWARD.

YOU MAY SEE SLOWER TRASH REMOVAL AND RESTROOM CLEANING SCHEDULES.

BUT YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE FACED WITH THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PARKS OR PUBLIC SAFETY OR OTHER THINGS, THESE ARE DIFFICULT DECISIONS WE HAVE TO MAKE BEFORE WE GO TO THE TAXPAYERS TO ASK THEM TO PAY MORE.

ALSO, MUCH OF PARKS IS FUNDED THROUGH THE PARTNERSHIP AND TREXLER FUNDS, BUT WE TOOK A LARGE CHUNK OUT OF OPERATIONS HEALTH.

WE CUT $81,500 FROM A BUDGET OF 823,657. AND THAT'S MONEY THAT'S NEEDED.

IT'S MONEY THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN USED FOR LARGER TRAININGS, FOR SUPPLIES, FOR A HEALTH NEEDS ASSESSMENT.

AND IT REPRESENTS A LACK OF NEW PROGRAMING AS WELL.

IF WE HAD OUR CHOICE, WE WOULD HAVE MOVED MONEY INTO FUNDING OUR VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAM.

MAYBE THAT'S A CHOICE WE'LL MAKE TOGETHER WITH CITY COUNCIL THROUGH THE AMENDMENT PROCESS. IN 1993, THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT HAD 39 EMPLOYEES. AND IN THE 35 YEARS SINCE IT HAS HAD, IT HAS ONLY ADDED NINE EMPLOYEES.

[00:45:03]

OUR COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT IS BIG 2.9 2.9 MILLION IN OPERATING FUNDS.

WE WENT THROUGH A NUMBER OF RECOMMENDATIONS AND NETTED OUT AT A RESPONSIBLE 5% CUT, WHICH REPRESENTS 131,600.

WE PLAN TO SCAN AND DIGITIZE DOCUMENTS. WE PLAN TO AUTOMATE SOME PROCESSES.

WE PLAN TO GIVE EVERYONE IN THE ACCESS IN THE DEPARTMENT ACCESS TO SOME COMPUTER PROGRAMS, AND WE PLAN TO DO A MOBILITY STUDY. THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT THAT WE REMOVED.

PUBLIC WORKS HAS A HUGE $16 MILLION POINT $2 MILLION OPERATING BUDGET.

AND WE WERE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, MOST OF THAT MUCH OF THAT IS VEHICLES AND SUPPLIES.

AND THERE ARE THINGS THAT YOU CAN'T REALLY CUT. BUT WE WERE ABLE TO WE WERE ABLE TO REMOVE TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND WE REMOVED SOME OUTSIDE SERVICES.

NOW THAT WE'RE FULLY STAFFED, WE CAN DO ENGINEERING SERVICES IN-HOUSE ALMOST ENTIRELY.

SO SO THOSE, SO THOSE, THOSE WERE CUTS. BUT, YOU KNOW, WE ACTUALLY FOUND VALUE IN ADDING TWO POSITIONS TO OUR FLEET MAINTENANCE STAFF IN ORDER TO TURN EMERGENCY VEHICLES AROUND AND PUT THEM BACK INTO SERVICE MORE QUICKLY FOR FIRE AND POLICE.

BUT WE STILL NETTED OUT AT THE $900,000 IN SAVINGS OR ABOUT A 5.6% REDUCTION.

NOW ALONG WITH THESE CUTS, WE ADDED SOME THINGS IN PRIORITY PRIORITY AREAS.

AS I ALREADY MENTIONED, WE HAVE THE TWO MS PARAMEDICS AND THE TWO VEHICLE FLEET MECHANICS, BUT WE IDENTIFIED A SINGLE POINT OF FAILURE IN OUR BENEFITS DEPARTMENT.

ONE PERSON IN THE ENTIRE CITY HANDLES BENEFITS FOR AN EMPLOYEE COMPLEMENT OF 900.

IF THAT EMPLOYEE EVER QUITS OR HAS A REALLY BAD WEEK, SOMEBODY IS GOING TO HAVE TO LEARN CAPITAL BLUE CROSS CODING QUICKLY.

SO WE ADDED A SECOND PERSON THERE. WE HAD TO CUT OUR OPERATING BUDGET IN PARKS, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO ADD ONE MAINTENANCE WORKER THAT'S FUNDED BY THE TREXLER GRANT FUND, WHICH DOESN'T HAVE AN EFFECT ON THE ON THE OPERATING BUDGET OR OUR PERSONNEL BUDGET.

WE ALSO ADDED A FULL TIME EMPLOYEE IN THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE, WHICH WAS LONG OVERDUE.

AND WE HAVE A VERY COMPETITIVE GOLF COURSE THAT WE'RE VERY PROUD OF HERE.

AND SO WE ADDED AN EMPLOYEE THERE TO MAKE THAT TO MAKE, TO MAKE THAT A MORE ATTRACTIVE PLACE FOR PEOPLE TO WORK.

SO WHEN WE ASK YOU TO APPROVE THIS PLAN, THAT MEANS AN ADDITIONAL, AN ADDITIONAL $1.75 OR LESS PER MONTH FOR MOST ANTONIANS.

WE HOPE THAT THIS INFORMATION THAT YOU GET OUT OF THIS.

THAT YOU GET THROUGH THIS UPCOMING BUDGET PROCESS WILL HELP YOU MAKE THE CASE TO THE COMMUNITY AND TO YOUR CONSTITUENTS AS YOU DECIDE.

AND WE MAKE THIS OUR BUDGET TOGETHER. OKAY. THANK YOU, MR. KANE. WHILE WE HAVE OUR MANAGING DIRECTOR HERE, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE DAIS OR THE ADMINISTRATION? OKAY. OKAY. THANKS AGAIN. SO NEXT PORTION OF THIS MEETING, WE'RE GOING TO MOVE INTO OUR FINANCE DEPARTMENT BUDGET.

[Administration: Overview of the Budget]

AND YOU CAN WORK ON THIS PORTION. OKAY. THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT. THANK YOU. AND I'D LIKE TO AGAIN THANK THE ADMINISTRATION FOR PRESENTING THAT.

I KNOW WE'VE HAD ALREADY SOME OTHER ENGAGING FINANCIAL CONVERSATIONS.

SO I LOOK FORWARD TO PASSING THIS OVER TO DIRECTOR PATEL TO JUST GIVE US A BREAKDOWN OF SPECIFICALLY THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET AND SOME OF THE INFORMATION RELATED TO THAT FOR THIS YEAR'S UPCOMING BUDGET.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU. OKAY. SO WE THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO FOR ME TO WALK YOU THROUGH WHAT'S IN OUR FINANCE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET.

SO WE ARE MEMBER OF WE HAVE 36 FULL TIME EMPLOYEES AND FOUR SPECIALIZED BUREAUS.

SO ARE, WE ARE THE FINANCIAL BACKBONE FOR THE CITY'S OPERATIONS, AS YOU HEARD FROM JEFF KENT ALSO.

SO WE, WE, OUR FOCUS REMAINS ON MAXIMIZING EFFICIENCY AND MAINTAINING COMPLETE TRANSPARENCY.

WE TAKE PRIDE IN BEING TRANSPARENT. WE ALSO SUPPORT OUR STAFF IN THEIR PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL GROWTH.

TO BETTER SERVE VALENTINE. SO HALF OF OUR STAFF IS FRONT FACING.

WE ARE HELPING CUSTOMERS WHEN THEY ARE COMING THROUGH HERE AT CITY HALL PAYING ON THEIR BILLS OR ANSWERING PHONE CALLS.

SO WE TAKE PRIDE IN THAT, BUT WE ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE TAKING CARE OF ALL OF OUR EMPLOYEES WHO ARE HELPING ALLENTOWN TAXPAYERS.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO OUR OVERALL BUDGET, WE ARE, AS I SAID, THE SUPPORT DEPARTMENT, WE SUPPORT OUR DEPARTMENTS, OTHER DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE CITY AND ALSO TAXPAYERS THAT COME THROUGH AT THE WINDOWS OR ON THE PHONE CALLS.

[00:50:01]

PLEASE NOTE THAT MAJORITY OF THAT IS THE INNER FUND TRANSFERS.

WHAT THOSE ARE IS A TRANSFER TO THE OTHER FUNDS FOR CITY WIDE OBLIGATIONS.

SO OBLIGATIONS LIKE DEBT FUND OBLIGATIONS FOR RISK PROPERTY AND CASUALTY.

THE EQUIPMENT FUND THE FLEET MANAGEMENT. SO OUR OVERALL BUDGET IS $5 MILLION.

SO $5 MILLION RUNS THE BUREAU AND IT'S A STAFF OF 36.

THIS BREAKS DOWN ACTUALLY GIVES YOU THE BREAKDOWN ON HOW AND WHERE THE 13.2 MILLION OF THE INTERFERON TRANSFERS IS APPROPRIATED.

SO THAT FUND AS MA DO. SO JEFF FROM CARDOZO JUST DISCUSSED IN DETAIL THAT WE HAVE APPROPRIATED AND FOR 2027, 30 MILLION BOND ISSUE THAT'S INCLUDED IN THAT 8.9 MILLION DEBT FUND TRANSFER.

THE RISK FUND FOR PROPERTY AND CASUALTY EXPENDITURES, THE GENERAL FUND CONTRIBUTES TO THE RISK FUND AT 2.8 MILLION.

THE EQUIPMENT FUND, WE ARE PROPOSING PURCHASING NEW EQUIPMENT.

IT'S 1.3 MILLION AND THE LEASE PAYMENTS. EXISTING EQUIPMENT HAS LEASE PAYMENTS OF 33.5 THOUSAND.

AND I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT THE 114,000 MATCH UP FOR THAT FOR TREXLER FUND IS ACTUALLY LEVERAGES THE PROPOSED 1.9 MILLION OF GRANT FROM THE TREXLER TRUST THAT SUPPORTS OUR PARKS.

AND THE SECOND HALF OF THE SCREEN, YOU'RE SEEING THE 18.9 MILLION IN MINIMUM MUNICIPAL OBLIGATIONS.

THAT'S WHERE FUNDING FOR THE RETIREMENT, FOR OUR PUBLIC SAFETY PERSONNEL AND ALL OTHER CITY FULL TIME EMPLOYEES.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO NOW I'LL WALK YOU THROUGH OUR INDIVIDUAL BUREAU'S REVENUE AND AUDIT.

IS OUR PRIMARY ECONOMIC ENGINE. THIS WE HAVE 16 FULL TIME EMPLOYEES IN REVENUE AND AUDIT AND THEY GENERATE ABOUT 75% OF THE GENERAL FUNDS REVENUE. THAT'S A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF WORK DONE BY 16 EMPLOYEES.

I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT. SO WE HAVE SIX TAX EXAMINERS, AND THEY WORK VERY HARD TO ENSURE THAT EVERY BUSINESS THAT'S REGISTERED IN ALLENTOWN, AND THEY ARE PAYING THEIR FAIR SHARE OF LICENSES AND BUSINESS TAXES, THAT THEY CREATE AN EVEN PLAYING FIELD FOR ALL ALLENTOWN BUSINESSES.

SO THE TOTAL COST TO RUN THIS BUREAU IS 1.85 MILLION.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO NEXT I HAVE BUDGET ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE MANAGEMENT.

THAT'S THE ACCOUNTING AND TREASURY MANAGEMENT BUDGET ADMINISTRATION.

WE HANDLE BUDGETS FOR ALL CITY DEPARTMENTS. AND WE ALSO SUPPORT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR ALL BUDGET ACTIVITIES, WHETHER IT BE BUDGET TRANSFERS THAT COME TO YOU OR GUIDE THE DEPARTMENTS ON IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS OR THEY NEED SUPPORT FROM THE BUDGET PERSPECTIVE.

WE ALSO THE BUDGET ADMINISTRATION ALSO MANAGES ALL PENSION FUND ACTIVITIES AND REPORTING.

SO WE HAVE OUR OWN THREE PENSION PLANS AND THE STATE PREMIERS PLAN.

SO PLEASE FIRE AND ANY AND THE MRS. ALL OF THAT WORK IS IS DONE THROUGH THE BUDGET ADMINISTRATION BUREAU.

WE ALSO MONITOR IN-HOUSE CASH AND INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES TO MAXIMIZE THE BEST RETURN ON OUR INVESTMENTS. THE ACCOUNTING AND TREASURY MANAGEMENT.

SO THOSE FOLKS PROCESS PAYROLL FOR OUR HARD WORKING STAFF AND RETIREES.

THEY PROCESS ABOUT 1200 FULL TIME EMPLOYEES PAYROLL.

AND WHEN WE HAVE THE, DURING THE SUMMERTIME WE HIRE SEASONAL AND PART TIME EMPLOYEES THAT ARE PAYROLL INCREASES TO ALMOST 1400 AND THAT, THAT IS PERFORMED BY ONLY TWO EMPLOYEES.

AND AND ACCOUNTING AND TREASURY BUREAU THEY ALSO HANDLE WEEKLY VENDOR PAYMENTS.

SO WE PAY OUR VENDORS ON MONDAYS. SO THEY PROCESS ALL OF THOSE PAYMENTS ALONG WITH DAILY CASH DEPOSITS.

SO WE ARE LIKE A REMOTE TELLER. WE MAKE OUR OWN DEPOSIT HERE.

WE HAVE THE THE PROCESSOR THAT CAN HANDLE ALL OF THIS.

SO WE ARE NOT GOING TO A BANK ON A DAILY BASIS.

WE PROCESS OUR OWN DEPOSITS SO THAT WE HAVE ACCESS TO OUR FUNDS MUCH MORE QUICKLY THAT SO THAT ALL OF THAT DONE WORK IS DONE IN TREASURY

[00:55:07]

AND THAT'S AN AMAZING WORK THAT'S DONE BY THE ACCOUNTING OUR ACCOUNTANTS.

NEXT SLIDE. I HAVE THE PURCHASING. SO PURCHASING HANDLES THE PROCUREMENT TEAM OF FIVE HANDLES THE PRIMARY, YOU KNOW, PURCHASING ACTIVITIES. THEY MAKE SURE THEY ENSURE THAT WE HAVE THE BEST POSSIBLE VALUE FOR OUR TAXPAYERS.

AND THE END THAT WE ARE REMAINING COMPLETELY COMPLIANT WITH STATE AND LOCAL BIDDING LAWS.

THEY HANDLE EVERYTHING FROM RFP. SO THAT'S REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS THROUGH MANAGING CONTRACT RESOLUTIONS BEFORE THEY ARE PRESENTED TO YOU FOR APPROVALS.

SO ALL OF THAT WORK IS DONE THROUGH PURCHASING BUREAU.

SO FOR FINANCE WE HAVE THE STRATEGIC GOALS I WOULD LIKE TO FOCUS ON FOR THE COMING YEAR IS THE PROACTIVELY MANAGING OUR INVESTMENTS TO ENSURE THAT TAXPAYER MONEY IS WORKING FOR US.

SO MANAGING THE INVESTMENT, WHICH AGAIN IS DONE IN-HOUSE ALSO CONTINUING AND MAINTAINING OPEN COMMUNICATION WITH THE CITY DEPARTMENT, CITY COUNCIL AND PUBLIC. I WOULD LIKE TO ALSO, SINCE WE ARE LOOKING AT A BOND ISSUE TO MONITOR FINANCIAL MARKETS TO LEVERAGE THE BEST POSSIBLE OUTCOME FOR THE BOND ISSUE.

AND WE ARE ALSO REVIEWING OUR, OUR PROCUREMENT AND PURCHASING BUREAU TO, TO MODERNIZE OUR PROCUREMENT POLICIES TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PROCESS IS EASIER AND FASTER FOR DEPARTMENTS TO BUY GOODS AND SERVICES THAT NEED.

SO THAT WOULD BE. THESE ARE THE FOUR PILLARS THAT WE WILL BE FOCUSING ON IN 2027.

SO TO CONCLUDE, MAJORITY OF THE GENERAL FUND OPERATING PLAN WAS DISCUSSED BY JEFF KENT FROM OUR.

SO I WILL JUST SUMMARIZE THAT FOR YOU, THAT THE FIVE YEAR PLAN ACCOUNTS FOR THE GROWING.

SO THE REVENUE IS GROWING AT 4%. THE COMPOUNDED ANNUAL GROWTH RATE IS 4%, WHILE EXPENDITURES ARE GROWING AT 4.5%.

AND THAT IS DUE TO THE ECONOMIC CONDITIONS. AND AS HE WALKED YOU THROUGH MY ASSUMPTIONS THAT ARE BUILT IN BUT STILL THERE IS A GAP. AND THE GAP IS DUE TO DUE TO THE ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND RISING CAPITAL EQUIPMENT AND PERSONNEL COST.

SO THERE YOU'LL SEE. AND THAT'S WHY THERE'S A NEGATIVE IMPACT.

IF YOU SAW THAT FROM 28, 29 20, 30 AND 31. AND THAT'S DUE TO THE MARKET CONDITIONS AND THE COST OF DOING THE BUSINESS HAS INCREASED AND FOR THE CAPITAL PLAN.

SO WE HAVE DEFERRED THE MAINTENANCE ON OUR CAPITAL FOR DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.

SO TO AVOID THAT YOU KNOW, DEFERRED MAINTENANCE MOVING FORWARD FOR OUR PARKS, ROADS AND PUBLIC SAFETY INFRASTRUCTURES, WE PLAN AGAIN, A $30 MILLION GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND ISSUE IN 2027.

AND WE HAVE ALREADY PROACTIVELY BUILT IN THE FIRST PAYMENT INTO THE 2027 BUDGET.

AND THAT IS 1.1 MILLION INTEREST PAYMENT THAT WE'LL BE MAKING.

ONCE THE BOND ISSUE BONDS HAVE BEEN ISSUED. THAT'S ENTERED INTO OUR PLAN, INTO THE BUDGET.

AND SO THIS IS TO AVOID ANY UNEXPECTED SHOCKS TO OUR BOTTOM LINE.

SO THAT'S REALLY GOOD. SO THE LAST SLIDE REFLECTS WHAT WE HAVE BORROWED.

SO LAST TIME WE HAD BORROWED WAS 2020. SINCE 2020 WE HAVE NOT ISSUED ANY NEW BONDS.

SO IT'S WALKING YOU THROUGH WHAT WE WHAT WE ARE MAKING THE PAYMENTS ON.

SO FROM 2007 THROUGH 2020, EACH BOND ISSUE IS LISTED THERE IN A SEPARATE COLUMN AND THE DEBT PAYMENT DUE FROM THAT.

THEN I HAVE LISTED THE PROPOSED. THE PROPOSAL FOR 2027 AND THE DEBT PAYMENT AGAIN IS FOR $30 MILLION IS PROPOSED AND THE PAYMENT THAT WE WILL BE MAKING ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.

WHEN YOU COMBINE ALL OF THOSE BOND ISSUES, YOU WILL SEE THE ANNUAL PAYMENT, SO THE ANTICIPATED AMOUNT IS

[01:00:03]

AND SO THAT'S MY PRESENTATION FOR YOU. I'LL ENTERTAIN ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE FOR ME.

THANK YOU. DIRECTOR PATEL, I APPRECIATE JUST AGAIN GOING THROUGH THE DETAILS OF IT, YOUR DEPARTMENT SPECIFICALLY.

I KNOW WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS IN THE PAST ABOUT PROCUREMENT, SO I'M VERY GLAD TO SEE THAT ON THERE.

I GUESS JUST ON THAT LAST SLIDE AND I KNOW IT'S NOT SOMETHING WE'LL SOLVE TONIGHT.

AND I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT BEFORE TOO, BUT JUST, I'M CURIOUS IF THERE'S ANY WAY WE COULD IN THE YEAR OR TWO TO COME KIND OF STRATEGIZE HOW WE POTENTIALLY CURB SOME OF THE EFFECTS OF SOME OF THE OLDER BOND PAYMENTS THAT ARE COMING UP IN THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, EIGHT YEARS. AND THOSE IMPACTS, IF THERE'S ANYTHING WE CAN DO NOW TO START PLANNING FOR THAT TO HELP US AVOID THAT IMPACT ON THE TAXPAYERS AND, YOU KNOW, 6 TO 8 YEARS.

AND TO BE COMPLETELY CLEAR, THAT'S OLD DEBT. NOT ANYTHING NEW WE'RE TAKING ON NOW.

BUT YEAH. SORRY. NO, ABSOLUTELY. THAT IS A GREAT IDEA.

AND I DO ON A REGULAR BASIS, AM REVIEWING IF IT'S IF, IF EXISTING DEBT COULD BE REFINANCED, IS THAT BENEFICIAL TO THE CITY. SOME OF THE BONDS ARE NOT CALLABLE.

THAT MEANS WE CANNOT REFINANCE. OTHERS WE COULD, BUT THEN THE COST IMPACT ISN'T BENEFICIAL TO THE CITY.

SO BUT I WILL CONTINUE MONITORING THAT. AND, AND THAT IS MY GOAL TO HAVE TO BE COST EFFICIENT WITH THE TAXPAYERS.

OKAY. THANK YOU. THEN THERE WAS ANOTHER KIND OF COMPONENT OF, YOU KNOW, JUST THE CITY'S FINANCES IN GENERAL THAT I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT. YOU ALLUDE TO, YOU KNOW, THE REVENUE AND AUDITING KIND OF COMPONENT OF IT.

AND I'M, AND I'M CURIOUS TO WHAT LEVEL DO WE AUDIT WITHIN THE FINANCIAL DEPARTMENT? AND I'M CURIOUS, IS THERE ROOM FOR GROWTH? ARE THERE THINGS THAT WE WISH WE WERE DOING? I KNOW AGAIN, WE'RE IN A YEAR WHERE BUDGETS ARE CONSTRAINED.

AND SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE, YOU KNOW, ARE WE POTENTIALLY MISSING OUT ON, YOU KNOW, ADDITIONAL AUDITING OR ADDITIONAL PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS THAT, YOU KNOW, WERE RESTRICTED OR LIMITED BY THE NUMBER OF FOLKS THAT WE HAVE OR JUST THE ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT, WHATEVER. I'M CURIOUS IF YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS TOWARD THAT.

SURE. DEFINITELY. SO WE WE DID GO THROUGH THE PERSONNEL.

CHALLENGES AFTER COVID AND, YOU KNOW, AND THAT'S A FAST TURNOVER BUREAU AS WELL, BECAUSE THAT'S THE ENTRY INTO THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT.

AND SO WE FACE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES MAYBE RIGHT AFTER THE COVID.

AND SO WE DO HAVE SIX EXAMINERS THAT AUDIT BUSINESSES.

WE HAVE WE ARE CURRENTLY UNDER TRAINING. WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO ACTUALLY DO THE AUDIT, BUT IN THE PREVIOUS YEARS WE HAVE SELECTED CERTAIN BUSINESSES. SO WE AUDITED ALL BUSINESSES THAT ARE RELATED TO AUTO.

SO AUTO PURCHASES. SO ALL OF THEM WERE AUDITED.

AND TO ENSURE THAT WE WERE RECEIVING ACCURATE AMOUNT OF REVENUE FROM THE BUSINESS ACTIVITIES.

SO WE SELECTED BUSINESS AND MIKE CAN MAYBE ADD TO THAT.

SO I JUST WANT TO MAYBE REPHRASE WHAT BEENA SAID ABOUT THE AUDITING PERSPECTIVE BECAUSE I THINK SHE'S REFERRING TO OUTSIDE AUDITS WHERE MOST OF THAT STAFF IS GOING TO DO DESK AUDITS. AND WHAT A DESK AUDIT IS GOING TO BE IS REQUEST FOR TAXPAYER INFORMATION.

NORMALLY IT'S GOING TO BE THREE YEARS AT A TIME.

THEY'LL REVIEW THAT TAXPAYER INFORMATION, MAKE SURE THE TAXPAYERS ARE PAYING THE CORRECT AMOUNT.

MAKING SURE THAT THEY HAVEN'T MISSED ANYTHING AND THEN ISSUING AN ASSESSMENT IF THERE IS ANY DEFICIENCIES.

WE DO MEAN MAINTAIN A SPREADSHEET. I THINK THERE'S APPROXIMATELY CLOSE TO 600 AUDITS THAT THAT STAFF CONDUCTS A YEAR.

IS THERE ROOM FOR, FOR GROWTH? I KNOW THEY DO BALANCE TRASH COLLECTION FEES, LEANING OTHER THINGS AND HAVING OTHER ITEMS. SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN MONITOR BECAUSE WHEN YOU RUN THE NUMBERS, EACH TEAM MEMBER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR COLLECTING MULTIPLE MILLION DOLLARS.

SO INCREASING, BUT IT'S SOMETHING WE ALWAYS HAVE TO MONITOR WITH THE, THE PERSONNEL COSTS SINCE IT MAY, IT MAKES UP ABOUT 75 TO 80% OF OUR BUDGET. BUT IT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT, THAT WE STRATEGICALLY TRY AND THINK OF.

IT. THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARITY, I GUESS. YEAH, I WAS GONNA SAY I WOULD OPEN UP TO THE REST OF COUNCIL APOLOGIZE FOR MONOPOLIZING THE TIME. I WANTED TO ASK OFF OF WHAT YOU HAD JUST SAID.

[01:05:02]

WITH THE BOTTOM OF 80.

YES. THAT'S THE SO THE 50050 COUNT IS GOING TO BE THE EXPENSE ACCOUNT THAT THAT STAFF WILL USE TO FILE CIVIL COMPLAINTS AGAINST TAXPAYERS WHO ARE NOT IN COMPLIANCE.

OKAY. SO BUT JUST SO I'M UNDERSTANDING. SO YOU'RE ESTIMATING 525 IN 2027 OF ASSESSMENTS YOU'RE GOING TO DO.

OR IS THAT THAT WE'RE CONSIDERING AUDITS. IN THIS CASE THE ASSESSMENTS WOULD BE THE RESULT OF A DESK AUDIT.

OKAY. AND THEN WE'RE CARRYING OVER 100 FROM LAST YEAR.

DO YOU KNOW ROUGHLY HOW MANY WE DID IN 2025 AND 2024 KIND OF THING? I DON'T KNOW IF YOU KNOW THAT OR NOT. SO I SHOULD HAVE ASKED AHEAD OF TIME, BUT I CAN DEFINITELY GET THE ANSWER FOR YOU. I KNOW THE STAFF KEEPS A MONTHLY REPORT THAT THEY SUBMIT TO TO FINANCE. OKAY. THANKS. NO, NO THAT'S FINE.

I JUST I DO WANT TO TAKE THE TIME TO SAY I KNOW THIS IS KIND OF OUR FIRST MEETING, BUT I'D LOVE TO KIND OF GET IT ROLLING.

OUR LITTLE BUDGET TOOL AND HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY FOR FINANCE TO KIND OF HAVE THAT COMMUNICATION, AND WE'LL DISTRIBUTE SOME INFORMATION ON HOW TO USE THAT IN THE NEAR FUTURE, MAYBE TOMORROW.

BUT YEAH, I HONESTLY FEEL FREE. IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS, NOW'S THE TIME.

YEAH. I MEAN, IF YOU'RE, IF YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE THAT TOOL, I'LL PROBABLY JUST BECAUSE A LOT OF THESE I CAN JUST THROW THROUGH THAT RATHER THAN BELABORING THE FACT. SO I'M FINE WITH DOING THAT.

SO OKAY. THANK YOU. ANYBODY ELSE ON THE DAIS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR OUR FINANCE TEAM AT ALL BASED OFF THEIR PRESENTATION? GO AHEAD. FOR THE P CARD. YOU HAD MENTIONED IN THE REVENUE AUDITS THAT THERE'S P CARD RECONCILIATION.

I KNOW THE LATE JEFF GLAZER COMMENTED ALL THE TIME.

HE LAMENTED ON THE AMOUNT OF TIME HE SPENDS ON OR WAS SPENDING ON P CARDS.

WHAT IS WHAT ARE THE TWO DIFFERENT ROLES BETWEEN MANAGING THAT? I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND IF REVENUE AUDITS, MANAGING P CARD AND CONTROLLERS ARE MANAGING PARTNERS.

WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? SO PICKERS ARE MANAGED BY OUR PROCUREMENT TEAM PURCHASING BUREAU AND TREASURY AND MANAGEMENT. SO WE THE ALL ACTIVITIES ARE RECONCILED IN TREASURY BUREAU FOR OUR MONTHLY P CARD AND ACTIVITIES. AND ALL THE APPROVALS ARE, ARE DONE THROUGH THE PURCHASING AGENT.

AND I THINK WHEN CONTROLLER IS TALKING ABOUT THE P CARD IS, IS AUDITING THE P CARDS TO MAKE SURE THE TRANSACTIONS THAT OCCUR DOES NOT INCLUDE THE SALES TAX. DID, DID WE PAY THE BILLS ON TIME? IS THE ARE WE RECORDING. SO SOMETIMES WHEN YOU USE A P CARD THAT MONEY HAS LEFT US BUT IT IS NOT RECOGNIZED IN OUR BOOKS.

SO ARE WE RECORDING THE TRANSACTIONS ON TIME AND ARE THE EXPENDITURES INCURRING FROM THE CORRECT ACCOUNT.

SO THAT'S A PART DONE BY CONTROLLER. OKAY. BECAUSE I GUESS MY QUESTION, THE REASON, THE ROOT OF MY QUESTION ON THAT ONE WAS ON IN YOUR NARRATIVE HERE, YOU HAD NOTED THAT THE, WHEN THE GARAGE WAS MOVED BACK IN HOUSE AND YOU'RE ANTICIPATING UTILIZING P CARDS MORE FREQUENTLY NOW FOR SMALLER AMOUNTS, THAT WORKLOAD IS JUST GOING TO FURTHER INCREASE FOR THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE.

AND I'M JUST WONDERING, HAVE WE CAPTURED IN THE TOTAL EFFORT AND LABOR COST TO BE ABLE TO AUDIT ALL OF THAT? I HAVE TRIED, BUT IT'S JUST WE ADDRESS IT AND I THINK IT IS PUT ON A LOT OF BURDEN ON MY STAFF AND PURCHASING BUREAU AND, AND AUDITOR AND THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE.

WE HAVE, WE ARE ADDING ONE MORE POSITION IN THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE FOR 2027 TO ADDRESS THAT, BUT IT DOES JUST ADD MORE WORK. OKAY. ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU. DID YOU WANT TO ADD SOMETHING? I APOLOGIZE.

I WOULD PLEASE. THAT ACTUALLY TAKES UP ABOUT 70, 75% OF OUR TIME.

RECONCILING P CARDS. AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE SAT WITH YOU INDIVIDUALLY.

AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GOING TO PRESENT TO YOU ALSO ON NOVEMBER 11TH.

[01:10:01]

OUR PART TIME PERSON IS CURRENTLY DOING ADMINISTRATIVE DUTIES AND WE NEED HER TO CONTINUE THOSE DUTIES AS WELL.

SO WE DON'T EXACTLY HAVE A FULL TIME, FULL TIME PERSON ON THIS.

WE HAD A REALLY LONG CONVERSATION ABOUT P CARDS TODAY ACTUALLY.

SO IT'S FUNNY YOU MENTION THAT. AND NO, OUR TIME WAS NOT REALLY CONSIDERED WHEN AS THE INCREASE OF P CARDS.

AND WE'LL SHOW YOU A WHOLE TIMELINE OF THE INCREASE OF AMOUNT OF AMOUNT OF TIME IT COSTS US.

THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE DAIS? ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC? RIGHT. THIS IS THE TIME AND PLACE.

ALL RIGHT. WELL, I GUESS IF THERE'S NO MORE QUESTIONS I WOULD, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S ANY CLOSING THOUGHTS, ANY ADDITIONAL INFO? FINE. IF THERE ISN'T, I'M JUST OPENING BACK UP BECAUSE OTHERWISE WE'D MOVE ON FROM THIS SECTION.

OKAY. THANK YOU. I DON'T HAVE ANY MORE COMMENTS AT THE MOMENT.

ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ALL RIGHT. SO WITH THAT THAT WILL CONCLUDE THE FINANCE PART OF THIS CONVERSATION AND I'LL THROW IT BACK TO COUNCIL PRESIDENT.

OR CAN I THROW IT BACK TO STRAIGHT TO COUNCIL PERSON? THANK YOU. THANK YOU. WE WILL START THE THE BUDGET PROGRAM FOR TONIGHT.

I'M GOING TO START WITH THE THIS IS THE PUBLIC SAFETY MEETING.

SO WE'LL START WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, FOLLOWED BY THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THEN MS. AND I'LL ASK MY COLLEAGUES IF IT'S ALL RIGHT AFTER THEY'RE ALL DONE, THAT WE CAN ASK QUESTIONS AS A WHOLE RATHER THAN INDEPENDENT.

WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE IT INDEPENDENTLY OR I YOU KNOW, WHEN THEY'RE ALL FINISHED, YOU CAN ASK THE QUESTIONS.

OKAY, WE'LL DO IT THAT WAY. ALL RIGHT. OKAY. GOOD EVENING, COUNCIL, AND THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT THE POLICE BUDGET WITH YOU THIS EVENING. I'M APPEARING BEFORE YOU TO DISCUSS THIS BUDGET AND THE ECONOMIC LANDSCAPE THAT MANY JURISDICTIONS ARE FACING TODAY.

THIS BUDGET REPRESENTS FISCAL BELT TIGHTENING AND A FOCUS ON DELIVERING POLICE SERVICES TO OUR COMMUNITY.

THE CORE PRINCIPLES OF PERSONNEL, EQUIPMENT AND TRAINING REMAIN AT THE FOUNDATION OF WHAT WE DO.

BEFORE I EXPAND ON THOSE ITEMS, I WANT TO FIRST THANK THE MEMBERS OF OUR DEPARTMENT FOR THEIR CONTINUED EFFORTS AND DEDICATION IN SERVING OUR CITY AS ALLENTOWN POLICE OFFICERS.

IT IS AN OCCUPATION LIKE NO OTHER. THEIR COMMITMENT, DEDICATION AND PROFESSIONALISM ARE ONE OF THE MAJOR REASONS WHY VIOLENT CRIME IS AT AN ALL TIME LOW IN THE CITY OF ALLENTOWN. WE ARE ALSO RAZOR FOCUSED IN IMPROVING OUR QUALITY OF LIFE, DESPITE CHALLENGES FROM INDIVIDUALS OR GROUPS WHO WOULD ENGAGE IN ACTIVITIES SUCH AS NUISANCE ESTABLISHMENTS AND UNRULY CAR OR MOTORCYCLE MEETS.

OVER THE PAST YEAR, OUR TEAM HAS BEEN ENGAGED IN THE WORK AND I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT WHAT WE AS A DEPARTMENT HAVE ACCOMPLISHED.

NUMBER ONE, COMPARED TO LAST YEAR, VIOLENT CRIME REDUCTION OF 2.63% OCCURRED.

IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE A LARGE NUMBER, BUT OVERALL, IN THE TREND, WE ARE GOING DOWN IN VIOLENT CRIME AND THAT IS THANKFUL FOR NOT ONLY THE OFFICERS, BUT FOR OUR COMMUNITY AT LARGE IN HELPING US OUT.

NUMBER TWO, WE RECENTLY OBTAINED PREMIER ACCREDITATION STATUS THROUGH THE PENNSYLVANIA LAW ENFORCEMENT ACCREDITATION PROGRAM, A DISTINCTION THAT HIGHLIGHTS OUR COMMITMENT TO PROFESSIONAL EXCELLENCE AND COMPLIANCE TO BEST PRACTICES.

NUMBER THREE. RELOCATING OUR PATROL STATION TO A MUCH IMPROVED LOCATION.

AND I THINK MANY COUNCIL MEMBERS WERE THROUGH OUR PATROL STATION THAT WE HAD AT 10TH AND HAMILTON.

AND YOU CAN UNDERSTAND WHY THAT MOVE WAS NECESSARY FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR COMMUNITY ADVOCATE COORDINATOR.

AND THAT'S FOR OUR SIS PROGRAM. FIVE SIX NEW POLICE CARS WERE BUILT AND OUTFITTED WITH NEW RADIOS, MDTS AND LATEST SAFETY EQUIPMENT. AS YOU KNOW, THE POLICE CAR IS THE OFFICE FOR THE OFFICER AND THEY GET REAL TIME IMPORTANT INFORMATION TO BE ABLE TO DO THEIR JOBS, AND ALSO FOR US TO TRANSPORT INDIVIDUALS IN A SAFE MANNER.

SIX A $23,500 DOJ GRANT. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FOR OVERTIME TO ADDRESS QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUES.

SEVEN A FEDERAL APPROPRIATIONS GRANT FOR RADIO INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENCRYPTION UPGRADE IN THE AMOUNT OF $1 MILLION.

EIGHT THROUGH OUR QUALITY OF LIFE EFFORTS, WE HAVE SEIZED, TOWED OR RECOVERED 65 DIRT BIKES THIS YEAR SO FAR.

THAT'S ROUGHLY TRIPLING THE NUMBER FROM LAST YEAR.

AND AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE HAD AND RECEIVED A LOT MORE COMPLAINTS ABOUT DIRT BIKES OPERATING ILLEGALLY WITHIN THE CITY.

AND NINE, THE PROMOTION OF PERSONNEL TO KEY POSITIONS OF RESPONSIBILITY.

THAT IS ABSOLUTELY IMPORTANT BECAUSE AS WE GROW WITHIN OUR DEPARTMENT, SUCCESSION PLANNING AND MAKING SURE THAT COMPETENT INDIVIDUALS STEP INTO THOSE ROLES IS

[01:15:04]

COUNCIL HAD PREVIOUSLY AUTHORIZED A COMPLEMENT TO BE AT 232 OFFICERS, WITH FIVE OF THOSE POSITIONS FUNDED AT A DOLLAR.

THE ALLENTOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT ENTRY REQUIREMENTS ARE STRINGENT, SO THAT WE CAN HIRE A COMPETENT AND PROFESSIONAL PERSON WHO HAS A PASSION FOR URBAN MUNICIPAL POLICING, IT TAKES A SPECIAL PERSON TO DO URBAN POLICE WORK.

IN 2026, WE PROCESSED A TOTAL OF 906 APPLICANTS.

SO FAR, 127 WERE ADMINISTERED. THE PHYSICAL AGILITY EXAMINATION, 92 SUCCESSFULLY PASSED A PHYSICAL AGILITY TEST AND THE WRITTEN EXAMINATION, AND FROM THAT NUMBER WE HIRED A GRAND TOTAL OF NINE FOR THIS YEAR SO FAR.

SO YOU CAN SEE WE GET A LOT OF PEOPLE TESTING, BUT BECAUSE OF THINGS IN THEIR BACKGROUND OR OTHER CONCERNS, WE'RE NOT ABLE TO BRING EVERYBODY ON. WE REMAIN COMMITTED TO RETENTION AND RECRUITMENT OF PERSONNEL.

THE ALLENTOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT IS FACING THE RETIREMENT OF APPROXIMATELY 15 OFFICERS THIS YEAR.

SO THAT'S DECEMBER. IT'S COMING UP VERY SOON.

MANY WITH YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AND INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE.

MY NEXT STATEMENT IS NOT GOING TO BE WITHOUT ITS CAVEAT, AND I WANT TO EXPAND ON IT A LITTLE BIT FURTHER, BECAUSE I'M GLAD I WAS HERE FOR THE PRIOR DISCUSSION WITH THE, THE THE FIVE YEAR STUDY BECAUSE I HAVE SOME THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS THAT I WANT COUNCIL TO CONSIDER.

I WANT TO STRONGLY ENCOURAGE COUNCIL TO CONSIDER IMPLEMENTING A DROP PROGRAM TO OFFSET THIS LOSS OF PERSONNEL THROUGHOUT THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA.

MANY MUNICIPALITIES PROVIDE A DROP PROGRAM FOR THEIR OFFICERS FOR THE PURPOSE OF RETENTION OVER THE SPAN OF MANY YEARS.

A MUNICIPALITY INVESTS IN THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR OFFICERS.

THE DROP WOULD SERVE AS A WAY TO KEEP THESE VETERAN OFFICERS WHO CONTRIBUTE GREATLY TO THE OVERALL SAFETY OF OUR CITY.

THE QUESTION I WANTED TO POSE DURING THAT PRESENTATION WAS, WAS IT CONSIDERED THE AMOUNT OF OFFICERS THAT WOULD LEAVE THE DEPARTMENT AND THEN THE SUBSEQUENT INCREASE IN COSTS FOR OVERTIME? I BELIEVE THAT IT'S IMPORTANT TO BALANCE THAT COMPARED TO WHAT THE MMO OBLIGATION WOULD BE, AND I WOULD PROBABLY SUBMIT TO YOU THAT THE CAUSE FOR THE DROP WOULD BE LESS THAN THE AMOUNT OF OVERTIME THAT WOULD INCUR, AND THAT IS MY PREDICTION FOR THAT. OUR OFFICERS REMAIN COMMITTED TO DOING THE WORK THAT IS REQUIRED.

BUT I WANT TO BE CLEAR THAT OUR CITY IS GROWING IN BOTH POPULATION AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT.

OUR FOCUS AND TRAJECTORY ARE NOT TO DO MORE WITH LESS, BUT TO INVEST IN PUBLIC SAFETY AND RETAIN VETERAN OFFICERS WHILE WORKING TO BUILD OUR DEPARTMENT TO MEET THE CHALLENGES OF TODAY AND TOMORROW.

OUR PARTNERSHIPS WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT, OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES REMAIN STRONG AND COLLABORATIVE.

AN EXAMPLE OF THIS IS OUR JOINT TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT OPERATIONS WITH THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE AND THE SALISBURY TOWNSHIP POLICE DEPARTMENT, WHICH RESULTS IN SLOWING PEOPLE DOWN, ISSUING CITATIONS AND MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE ARE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR BREAKING THE TRAFFIC LAWS.

OUR COMMITMENT TO REDUCING VIOLENT CRIME AND ADDRESSING QUALITY OF LIFE CONCERNS IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF OUR ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS IN THE REALM OF MENTAL HEALTH.

OUR COMMUNITY ADVOCATE COORDINATOR, ALONG WITH OUR COMMUNITY AND PREVENTION SPECIALISTS, ARE ENGAGED WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY AS WELL AS VARIOUS AGENCIES AND ORGANIZATIONS TO BETTER SERVE OUR RESIDENTS. THE COMMUNITY ADVOCATE COORDINATOR WILL RECEIVE A REFERRAL FROM THE POLICE OFFICER AND WILL BE ASSIGNED TO THE SERVICE WORKER, WHO WILL LEVERAGE THEIR RESPECTIVE CONNECTIONS TO CONNECT THE INDIVIDUAL IN NEED OF HELP.

OUR PROGRAM IS CURRENTLY BEING EVALUATED THROUGH THE CENTER FOR POLICE INNOVATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THROUGH CEDAR CREST COLLEGE, AND I WOULD ACKNOWLEDGE TO TAKE A QUICK MOMENT TO FORMALLY RECOGNIZE ELLIE FLORES, WHO IS OUR COMMUNITY ADVOCATE COORDINATOR, AND JUST KIND OF READ WHAT SHE PUT FORTH ABOUT A DESCRIPTION WITH OUR COMMUNITY INTERVENTION SPECIALISTS.

AND IT'S VERY TELLING. THE ALLENTOWN COMMUNITY INTERVENTION SPECIALISTS ARE AN AMAZING TEAM WHOSE COMPASSION, UNDERSTANDING AND DEDICATION TO INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCING A CRISIS AND ARE SIMPLY IN NEED OF SUPPORT HAVE MADE AN ENORMOUS IMPACT ON THE RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OF ALLENTOWN.

THEY HAVE DONE AN INCREDIBLE JOB BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE COMMUNITY, PROVIDING SUPPORT AND CONNECTING INDIVIDUALS WITH THE SERVICES AND RESOURCES THEY NEED TO MOVE FORWARD. THIS IS A VITAL STEP IN OUR PARTNERSHIP AND COLLABORATION, ALONG WITH THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING WITH OUR VIOLENCE PREVENTION COORDINATOR THROUGH THE HEALTH BUREAU. WHEN THERE IS A VIOLENT INCIDENT THAT HAPPENS, IT'S NOT JUST THE POLICE COMING TO ADDRESS THE SCENE AND CONDUCT THE INVESTIGATION.

IT'S THE VERY REAL IMPACT THAT OUR RESIDENTS GET WHEN THEY SEE A VIOLENT ACT OR HEAR ABOUT IT, AND IT IMPACTS THEM THROUGH OUR VIOLENCE PREVENTION COORDINATOR, ALONG WITH OUR CIS TEAM.

WE ARE CONDUCTING TRAUMA INFORMED CARE FOLLOW UPS AND CONNECTING PEOPLE WITH RESOURCES, SO THIS IS AN IMPORTANT STEP IN MAKING IT WHOLE AGAIN.

[01:20:02]

IN 2026, DEPARTMENT MEMBERS ATTENDED AND COMPLETED 246 TRAINING SESSIONS, 140 WERE FREE AND 106 HAD A COST TO IT. THE TRAININGS ATTENDED COVERED A VARIETY OF TOPICS FROM PATROL TACTICS, INVESTIGATIONS, CIT TRAINING WHICH IS CRISIS INTERVENTION, TEAM TRAINING, SUPERVISORY AND MANAGEMENT ALONG WITH OFFICER WELLNESS.

PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT THESE TRAINING COURSES ARE ONGOING AND RANGE FROM MANDATORY IN SERVICE TO SPECIALIZED.

SOME OF THESE TRAININGS ARE HELD AT THE ALLENTOWN POLICE ACADEMY.

THE ACADEMY ITSELF PROVIDES INITIAL OFFICER TRAINING AS WELL AS MANDATORY UPDATES FROM THE MUNICIPAL POLICE OFFICERS EDUCATION AND TRAINING COMMISSION FOR OUR SWORN OFFICERS.

THE POLICE ACADEMY ALSO HOSTS ADDITIONAL TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES TO ENHANCE THE SKILL SET OF OFFICERS THROUGHOUT THE AREA.

LAST YEAR, WE SPOKE ABOUT THE NEW POLICE BUILDING PROJECT.

WITH THE ECONOMIC REALITY OF TODAY, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH OUR TEAM TO REASSESS WHAT WOULD BE FEASIBLE SO THAT WE CAN MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR OFFICERS, BUT ALSO BE MINDFUL OF THE OVERALL COST AND IMPACT ON OUR TAXPAYERS.

INVESTMENT IN INFRASTRUCTURE IS A VITAL NECESSITY FOR OUR CITY.

WE HAVE TO ASK OURSELVES, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO INVEST IN? WHEN ARE WE GOING TO STOP KICKING THE CAN, AND WHEN ARE WE GOING TO TAKE EFFECTIVE ACTION TO PUT MONEY WHERE OUR MOUTH IS? WE CANNOT CONTINUE TO KEEP KICKING THE CAN DOWN THE ROAD, BECAUSE, AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE PRESENTATION, IT IS VITAL THAT WE START NOW. AND I THINK WITH A CONCERTED, OPEN AND TRANSPARENT PROCESS, WE WILL BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE THAT. OUR PROPOSED BUDGET IS ONE THAT ACKNOWLEDGES OUR CURRENT ECONOMY, BUT WITH AN EYE TO CONTINUE DELIVERING PROFESSIONAL POLICE SERVICES TO OUR COMMUNITY.

THE MOST IMPORTANT ITEM IN THIS BUDGET IS OUR PEOPLE.

AND I DON'T WANT TO SPEAK FOR ALL DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS, BUT I WANT TO SAY THAT IS OUR MOST IMPORTANT ASSET.

AND IN ORDER TO GET GOOD EMPLOYEES, THEY HAVE TO BE VALUED.

THEY HAVE TO BE TRUSTED WITH THIS GREAT RESPONSIBILITY OF PROVIDING SERVICE TO OUR CITY.

WHEN OUTFITTED WITH APPROPRIATE EQUIPMENT AND SUPPORTED BY MODERATE TRAINING, OUR OFFICERS ARE PREPARED TO PROTECT OUR COMMUNITY, REDUCE CRIME, AND SERVE WITH FAIRNESS AND INTEGRITY.

AT THIS TIME, I WILL ASK DENNIS WEATHERHOLT TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE FOR THE POLICE COMMUNICATIONS SECTION OF THE BUDGET.

GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING COUNCIL. GOOD EVENING COUNCIL.

YOU WOULD THINK THE GUY THAT DOES COMMUNICATIONS WOULD KNOW HOW TO TURN THAT ON. THE TECHNICAL SERVICES BUREAU IS A PRETTY SMALL PART OF THE POLICE BUDGET.

WE'RE AT $1.9 MILLION OUT OF THE BUDGET. MOST OF THAT IS EMPLOYEES.

HOWEVER, I JUST WANT TO BRING A COUPLE NOTES TO OUR BUDGET.

THINGS YOU MAY SEE HAVE INCREASED OR DECREASED IN OUR TELEPHONE BUDGET, WHICH WE HAVE 125 MDTS, WHICH ARE MOBILE COMPUTERS AND POLICE, FIRE AND EMS VEHICLES OUT ON THE STREET.

WE SAW A REDUCTION IN COST TO VERIZON FOR THOSE MODEMS. SO WE WERE ABLE TO SAVE THE CITY SOME MONEY THERE.

HOWEVER, OUR MAINTENANCE AND EQUIPMENT FUND HAVE GONE UP DUE TO INFLATION.

SO YOU'LL SEE THAT WHEN YOU GO THROUGH THE BUDGET THAT HAS INCREASED.

NEXT YEAR WE PLAN ON CONTINUING TO ADD CAMERAS TO SOME OF THE CITY PARKS THAT CURRENTLY DO NOT HAVE CAMERAS.

I'VE BEEN IN CONVERSATION WITH PARKS DIRECTOR WHO HAS GIVEN ME A COUPLE KEY PARKS THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE CAMERAS IN.

CURRENTLY WE HAVE 50 CAMERAS ACROSS CITY PARKS.

WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE WORKING ON EXPANDING OUR CAMERAS FOR THE RECYCLING DEPARTMENT.

THEY HAVE DUMPING CAMERAS THAT ARE OUT ON THE CITY STREETS.

WE WENT FROM 14 DUMPING CAMERAS ACROSS THE CITY.

WE ARE NOW AT 22 CAMERAS FOR DUMPING VIOLATIONS ACROSS THE CITY.

WE ARE UP TO 243 STREET CAMERAS FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.

WE WILL CONTINUE TO INVEST IN THAT NEXT YEAR.

ADDING PROBABLY TEN MORE CAMERAS ACROSS THE STREET, ACROSS INTERSECTIONS.

WE'RE LOOKING AT REPLACING TEN POLICE MDTS NEXT YEAR.

THOSE ARE GOING TO BE MDTS THAT WERE PURCHASED IN 2013.

SO THEY'RE SHOWING THEIR AGE AND WE'RE LOOKING AT REPLACING FIVE FIRE AND EMS MDTS THAT ARE AGAIN SHOWING THEIR AGE.

THAT'S JUST A QUICK BREAKDOWN OF, OF, OF OUR PLANS FOR NEXT YEAR.

THANK YOU DENNIS. AT THIS TIME, I WILL ASK COUNCIL IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS FOR US SO THAT WE CAN ASK.

ANY QUESTIONS. REAL QUICK. MR.. WETHERHOLD MBT WHAT IS THAT.

[01:25:07]

I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE. OKAY. IT'S ESSENTIALLY WHERE WE RECEIVE OUR DISPATCHES FROM THE COMM CENTER, AND THE OFFICERS CAN COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER AS WELL AS WRITING OUR REPORTS.

OKAY. YEAH. I JUST WANT TO KNOW, FOR THE CIS STAFFING, HOW MANY IS THAT? AND IS THAT CHANGING IN 2027? WE CURRENTLY HAVE THREE.

I BELIEVE PINEBROOK IS WORKING TO HIRE ANOTHER ONE.

AND WE HAVE AN ADDITIONAL WITH OUR COMMUNITY ADVOCATE COORDINATOR.

WE TECHNICALLY HAVE FOUR PEOPLE THAT ARE WORKING THROUGH THE PROGRAM. ONE, ONE IS FOR THE CITY THROUGH THE CIC.

AND THEN WE HAVE THREE CIS WORKERS RIGHT NOW.

SO ARE WE IN 2027? WE'RE NOT INCREASING THE STAFFING THAT WE'RE WAITING FOR ONE MORE TO PROBABLY BE HIRED.

WE'RE WAITING ON THAT. OKAY. I HAVE A I'M SORRY.

I HAVE A NUMBER OF LIKE, I THINK IF WE, IF WE HAVE THAT TOOL, BECAUSE I HAVE A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO, TO LINE ITEM ONES, AND I DON'T WANT TO BELABOR THE TIME HERE WITH THOSE, SO I'LL PUT THEM INTO.

I WAS GOING TO SAY, IF THERE'S ANYTHING I WOULD HATE TO.

IF WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO AT LEAST PRESENT IT SO THE, YOU KNOW, POLICE HAS A CHANCE TO LOOK AT IT AND CONSIDER IT BEFORE IT REACHES THEM.

OKAY. I'LL DECIDE WHICH ONES. FOR THE, THE 517 ACCOUNTS YOU HAD HAD 100 K THE PAST TWO YEARS.

AND THIS WAS, I BELIEVE FOR THE WAS IT RECRUITMENT? HOLD ON. I HAVE TO FLIP DOWN TO THAT ONE NOW.

WHAT WAS THE ACCOUNT LINE? 517 OR I GUESS YOU GUYS JUST CALL IT THE 17 LINE.

OH, THAT WAS OKAY. I WAS CURIOUS WHY IT DROPPED.

THAT'S WHY I WAS JUST LIKE, DID IT NOT WORK OR WAS IT NOT? NO. THAT WAS A GRANT THAT WE RECEIVED FROM PCC. D AND IT WAS EXHAUSTED AS OF SEPTEMBER OF THIS YEAR.

OKAY. AND THEN ON THE 72. SO THIS WAS PAGE 116 OF THE NARRATIVE.

YOU LISTED A REPLACEMENT OF LPR CAMERAS. BUT THE TOTAL DIDN'T HAVE A VALUE FOR THAT.

I'M JUST CURIOUS IS THERE. THAT WAS FOR THE IN-CAR ONES I BELIEVE.

I DIDN'T SEE ONE ON THERE. THAT'S JUST AN INSTALLMENT ON THE FIVE YEAR PLAN.

I GUESS WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY IS LIKE THE, THE, SOME OF THE 49,500 IS BROKEN OUT THERE, BUT THERE'S NO YOU HAVE IT IN THE NARRATIVE, BUT THERE'S NO VALUE ASSOCIATED WITH IT. ALL THE OTHER THINGS HAVE OR UNLESS IS THAT PART OF THAT CRIME SCENE EQUIPMENT IS THAT IN-CAR AND LPR CAMERAS, CRIME SCENE EQUIPMENT. THAT'S ALL PART OF THE 5000 THAT'S THERE.

THE CRIME SCENE EQUIPMENT IS THE 5000. THE I DIDN'T HAVE TO LOOK AT THE NARRATIVE, SEE WHAT IT SAYS.

PAGE 116.

THAT'S JUST FOR THE CRIME SCENE EQUIPMENT. YEAH.

YOU CAN. THE LPR AND THE IN-CAR CAMERA IS IN OUR IS IN A DIFFERENT ACCOUNT BECAUSE WE ARE IN A FIVE YEAR PLAN AND WE'RE IN YEAR THREE OF FIVE WILL BE FOR 2027.

SO THAT COST WILL BE UNDER THE POLICE OPERATION TECHNOLOGY.

OKAY, SO THAT'S JUST EXTRA VERBIAGE IN THE 72.

OKAY. ALL RIGHT. FOR 42 THERE'S A SOFTWARE AND EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE AND PROTECTION PLAN THAT'S 42,000 159 WHAT IS THAT? PAGE 114 OF THE NARRATIVE.

THAT'S JUST A MIX OF ALL THE SOFTWARE. INSTEAD OF BREAKING EVERYTHING DOWN, THAT IS FOR OUR SIMULATORS, WE HAVE USE OF FORCE DRIVING SIMULATORS. WE PAY A MAINTENANCE ON OUR PHARAOH 3D SCANNER.

WE PAY MAINTENANCE ON THAT. WE HAVE A LIVE SCAN FOR FINGERPRINTING.

IT'S ALL THE DIFFERENT MAINTENANCE IS ON THAT. THEY JUST WEREN'T BROKEN DOWN.

OKAY. ALL RIGHT. ON PAGE 117 THE 72 ACCOUNT, I THINK THIS IS ONE WE WERE, YOU WERE JUST REFERENCING WITH THE, THE PLAN. SO ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I HAD HAD ON HERE THERE WAS THE ONE, THE ONE GRANT THAT YOU HAD HAD FOR THE BODY WORN CAMERAS, WHICH WAS FOR 46 K AROUND THERE. AND THEN YOU HAD THE 3 TO 5 YEAR PROGRAM FOR THE GUNSHOT DETECTION AT 192 K IS

[01:30:09]

I KNOW WE'RE CURRENTLY LOOKING AT EVALUATING WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.

THERE'S BEEN PUBLIC FEEDBACK ON THAT ONE. I WANT TO BETTER UNDERSTAND IF WE'RE UNDER CONTRACT TO SPEND MORE MONEY WITH THE SAME TECHNOLOGY AND THE SAME COMPANY AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. WE ARE CURRENTLY IN A FIVE YEAR CONTRACT.

SO 2027 IS YEAR THREE OF THE OF FIVE. SO WE ARE, WE BASICALLY FOR THE IN-CAR CAMERA LPR AND THE BODY CAMERAS. BASICALLY THE WAY THE CONTRACT WORKS IS THEY GIVE US THE EQUIPMENT AND WE JUST KIND OF PAY IT OFF IN FIVE YEAR INSTALLMENTS. SO WE HAVE EVERYTHING UP FRONT.

WE'RE JUST PAYING IT OFF IN FIVE YEARS. SO IS THE 446 K.

THAT IS FOR THE BODY CAMERA, IN-CAR CAMERA AND LPR.

AND THEN THE 193 K THAT IS FOR THE GUNSHOT. GUNSHOT DETECTION.

OKAY. SO IN THAT SOME OF THE 700 75KA PORTION OF THAT IS PAYING YEAR THREE OF BOTH THE LPR CAMERAS AND THE GUNSHOT DETECTION CAMERAS. OKAY. IS IT POSSIBLE AT SOME POINT TO HAVE SOME SORT OF LACK OF A BETTER WORD REPORT OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE GUNSHOT DETECTION CAMERAS OR DETECTION SYSTEM? WE'LL REVIEW AND WE CAN PUT A REPORT TOGETHER. OKAY.

THE REST OF THE ONES I WILL BREAK OUT BECAUSE THEY'RE GOING TO BE SPECIFIC SOFTWARE ITEMS. AND I THINK THAT'S GOING TO GET KIND OF ONEROUS. SCURLOCK.

DID YOU? YES. JUST A COUPLE. WHERE WAS MY FIRST ONE? OH I'M ALWAYS INTERESTED IN HOW THE NUMBER OF OFFICERS IS DETERMINED.

SO LIKE, HOW WAS IT DETERMINED TO GO FROM 230 TO SIGNIFICANTLY DOWN TO 210? WAS IT LIKE BASED OFF A STAFFING MODEL LIKE THE PER CAPITA PERFORMANCE BASED WORKLOAD? LIKE, HOW WAS THAT? WAS IT LIKE AN ANALYSIS? LIKE? SO YES, THERE'S ALWAYS AN ANALYSIS FOR MANPOWER BECAUSE THAT'S AN IMPORTANT THING IN THIS INSTANCE, LIKE I MENTIONED BEFORE, TO COUNCIL, OUR AVERAGE NUMBER OF OFFICERS PER YEAR TYPICALLY WAS 212 PLUS OR MINUS A COUPLE.

IN LOOKING AT THE REDUCTION, WE TOOK A LOOK OF WHAT WHAT CAN WE MAINTAIN AS A AS A NUMBER OF OFFICERS AND WHAT'S RETIRING.

SO EVEN IF WE'RE BUILDING, WE'RE GOING TO BE LOSING IN DECEMBER BECAUSE OUR RETIREMENTS WOULD FAR OUTPACE THE ABILITY OF PEOPLE THAT WE HIRE.

SO WHEN WE DETERMINE THAT 210 THAT MAKES IT AVERAGED AROUND.

212 SO THAT'S KIND OF THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS IN THAT REALM.

GOT YOU. SO LIKE WE LOOKED AT CALL VOLUME AND THE DISCRETIONARY TIME AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF.

CORRECT. OKAY. WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO DELIVER SERVICES AT THAT NUMBER AND NOT IMPACT THAT NEGATIVE WAY.

I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE 230 PLUS OFFICERS, AND I WOULD HOPE THAT RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OF ALLENTOWN, HERE'S MY PLUG. WE HAVE AN OPEN HIRING PERIOD RIGHT NOW.

SO IF ANYBODY WANTS TO JOIN, SIGN UP. AND YOU LED INTO THE NEXT QUESTION.

SO LIKE, ONE OF THE EXCITING THINGS THAT WAS STATED WHEN THE, THE, WHEN THE EXPANSION OF THE POLICE STATION WAS DISCUSSED IS THAT THAT WOULD BE AN INCREDIBLE RECRUITMENT TOOL.

WOULD THAT NO LONGER POTENTIALLY HAPPENING? WHAT IS THERE LIKE A PLAN TO RECRUIT OFFICERS SINCE THEY WON'T HAVE A, YOU KNOW, EXTRA SPACE? WE'RE STILL RAZOR FOCUSED ON RECRUITMENT.

THE ADJUSTMENT TO THE BUILDING IS MORE ON A. HOW CAN WE ECONOMICALLY DO IT IN A FEASIBLE MANNER TO STILL MEET THE NEEDS.

WHEN YOU LOOK AT A PROJECT, THERE'S MANY WAYS TO OUTFIT A BUILDING AND A LOT OF IT IS LOOKING AT SPACES.

FOR EXAMPLE, YOU GO TO IKEA AND YOU TRY TO FIT A ROOM IN A CERTAIN WAY.

THEY HAVE VARIOUS PIECES OF FURNITURE AND ITEMS THAT YOU CAN MAKE EVERYTHING FIT WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THE SPACE.

AND IN LOOKING AT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, THERE'S A SECTION IN THERE THAT WE COULD KIND OF RENOVATE AND MAKE ADDITIONAL OFFICE SPACE AND ROOMS THAT WILL MOST LIKELY MEET OUR ROOM.

BUT WE'RE GOING TO LEVERAGE THE EXPERTISE BY ARCHITECTS AND OTHERS THAT ARE MORE ATTUNED AT MAKING EVERYTHING FIT, THAT WE WANT TO PROVIDE FOR OUR OFFICERS, FOR OUR TEAM.

AND IN TODAY'S ECONOMIC DYNAMIC REALITY. I THINK THAT'S THE SMART THING TO DO.

GOT YOU. AND I THINK YOU KIND OF ANSWERED. THANK YOU.

ABOUT THE SIS. I DID SEE THAT THERE'S A REDUCTION.

[01:35:03]

SO THAT MUST NOT BE FOR THE EVALUATION. THE EVALUATION WAS COVERED BY A GRANT.

SO THIS IS JUST AN ONGOING FROM THE GRANT THAT WE HAD WE HAD A MENTAL HEALTH GRANT THROUGH PCC FOR TWO YEARS. SO THAT COVERED THE BULK OF CEDAR CREST THROUGH THE GRANT.

THIS IS JUST A CONTINUATION. THE 20 K YES. OKAY.

AND THAT COVERS ALSO LIKE THE WHAT NOT LIKE THE CEREMONIES AND STUFF LIKE, LIKE THE USING THEIR FACILITIES TO THE 20 K.

OKAY. SO THAT'S THAT. IS THERE A SCENARIO. NO.

HOW ARE WE GOING? HOW ARE WE. WHEN IT COMES TO WORKING TOWARDS IS IT CALEA CERTIFICATION OR ACCREDITATION.

LIKE ARE WE THERE YET? ARE WE 50% THERE? WHAT ELSE DO WE NEED TO DO? DO WE HAVE THE MONEY TO DO IT? KHALIL WOULD BE A LONG TERM INVESTMENT.

WE ARE NOT CURRENTLY GOING THROUGH CALEA AT THIS TIME.

WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE PENNSYLVANIA LAW ENFORCEMENT ACCREDITATION, WHICH IS THROUGH THE PENNSYLVANIA CHIEFS OF POLICE ASSOCIATION.

CALEA IS A LONG TERM GOAL THAT ONCE WE HIT CERTAIN POINTS, INFRASTRUCTURE WISE, RECRUITMENT WISE, WE CAN POINT TO THAT DIRECTION. SO IT'S WOULD BE A LONG TERM GOAL FOR A PD.

GOTCHA. AND I KNOW WE HAD TO PAY SOMETHING AT SOME POINT.

DO WE HAVE TO TO EVEN LIKE ENTER INTO THE PROCESS? DO WE STILL HAVE TO LIKE PAY INTO SOMETHING TO NOT FOR YOU.

OKAY. ALL RIGHT. I THINK MY LAST. YES. MY LAST QUESTION IS SO ARE THERE I REMEMBER A COUPLE YEARS AGO, THERE WAS A CONVERSATION ABOUT LIKE DIFFERENT LIKE BUSINESSES THAT WILL USE POLICE OFFICERS.

AND ARE THEY, ARE THEY PAID UP LIKE, OR LIKE, CAN WE RECOUP SOME MONEY FROM SOME OF THESE FOLKS THAT MAYBE HAVEN'T PAID? SO YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT AN EXTRA JOB DUTIES. YEAH.

YES. YEAH. YEAH. ARE THEY ALL PAID UP? AND IF NOT, HOW MUCH COULD WE GET IF WE ACTUALLY, LIKE, PURSUED MAKING THEM PAY? WELL, MAJORITY OF THEM ARE UP TO DATE IN PAYMENTS.

THERE WAS A COUPLE OF THEM WHO THE COMPANY NO LONGER EXISTS.

WHOEVER THE OWNER OF IT, IT'S DISSOLVED AND IT WASN'T, IT WAS LESS THAN $5,000 TOTAL.

THAT WAS DUE TO US. WE HAVEN'T GONE AFTER THEM BECAUSE WE CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHETHER WHO THE PERSON IS AND WHERE THEY'RE LOCATED NOW. SO THAT WAS ONE THAT WE WERE IN THE PROCESS OF CHANGING OVER.

WE JUST WROTE THE THE FEES OFF BECAUSE THEY WERE OVER TEN YEARS OLD.

BUT AS OF CURRENT, ALL OUR EJ'S AND ALL THE INVOICING, THERE'S A FEW SPECIAL EVENTS THAT ARE BEHIND ON MAKING PAYMENTS, BUT EVERYTHING FOR THE MOST MAJORITY OF THEM ARE PAID UP TO DATE.

OKAY. THANK YOU. I THINK THAT'S ALL I HAVE. THANK YOU.

IS THERE ANYONE ELSE, MR. PONGO? THANK YOU. I GUESS, YOU KNOW, HEARING IT DURING THE BUDGET PRESENTATION ITSELF, YOU KNOW, HEARING IT RECUR A COUPLE OF TIMES.

I'M CURIOUS, HOW MANY GRANTS ARE WE LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW THAT WE KNOW ARE SUPPORTING MAJOR SYSTEMS OR MAJOR INVESTMENTS THAT WE KNOW ARE GOING TO SUNSET IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS. I WOULD ESTIMATE THREE OF THEM.

OKAY. AND THEN I'M JUST CURIOUS BECAUSE I KNOW ARPA FUNDING, COVID FUNDING, A LOT OF THAT SUPPORTED A LOT OF MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS.

AND I KNOW WE'RE ALL KIND OF RECKONING. I THINK THE MANAGING DIRECTOR KIND OF ALLUDED TO THAT.

OUR BUDGET THIS YEAR AS A CITY IS LOWER THAN LAST YEAR, BUT YET WE'RE HAVING TO INCREASE OUR REVENUES THROUGH TAX INCREASES.

SO I GUESS I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WHAT ARE WE DOING TO KIND OF OFFSET THAT IF SOME OF THOSE PROGRAMS ARE GOING TO CONTINUE? OR ARE SOME OF THESE, YOU KNOW, ONCE THE GRANT'S DONE THE EITHER THE POSITION OR THE EQUIPMENT OR WHATEVER IT IS THAT'S BEING FUNDED BEING SUNSET AS WELL? IT IS MY POSITION THAT IF WE GO AFTER SOMETHING THROUGH A GRANT AND WE GET THAT GRANT, WE FIND A WAY, SOME SORT OF SOLUTION TO MAKE IT SUSTAINABLE.

I THINK IT'S A MISTAKE TO GET A GRANT JUST TO GET SOMETHING AND LET IT EXPIRE.

IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN KIND OF WORK WITH THE VENDOR TO SET UP SOMETHING THAT'S FEASIBLE FOR THE CITY.

WE CAN ALWAYS COMMUNICATE AND DISCUSS WHAT OUR WHAT OUR GOALS ARE.

AND I THINK THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, WE'VE BEEN VERY FORWARD AND COLLABORATIVE IN WORKING WITH COUNCIL, WORKING WITH THE MANAGING DIRECTOR, THE CITY ADMINISTRATION TO BE ABLE TO KNOW EXACTLY HOW IS THIS GOING TO IMPACT OUR TAXPAYER.

[01:40:02]

AND I BELIEVE THAT MANY OF THE YOUNG OFFICERS THAT ARE ON THE DEPARTMENT WANT TO DO THE RIGHT THING.

AND I ALWAYS SAY THIS LIKE WHEN I WHEN A NEW PERSON COMES IN FRONT OF US, A CANDIDATE, AND I ASKED HIM, WHY DO YOU WANT TO BE A POLICE OFFICER? WHY IN THE CITY OF ALLENTOWN IS BECAUSE THEY LOVE WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR COMMUNITY.

THEY SEE THE DIVERSITY OF CULTURE. THEY SEE THE MANY THINGS HAPPENING.

BUT AS OUR CITY GROWS FISCALLY, WE ALSO HAVE TO GROW WITH THAT.

AND IF THERE WAS IN THE PAST FOR NO FAULT OF ANYBODY SITTING HERE TODAY, DECISIONS MADE TO KICK THAT CAN.

WE NEED TO PUT OUR FOOT DOWN AND SAY, HOW CAN WE WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE IT FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE AND FOR LONG TERM GOALS.

SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, YES, WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE GRANTS AND WE KIND OF COME UP WITH SOLUTIONS.

IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN'T AFFORD OR IS BEYOND OUR PRICE RANGE.

IT'S LIKE WITH ANYBODY AT HOME. IF IT'S SOMETHING YOU CAN'T AFFORD, YOU GOT TO PUT IT TO THE SIDE AND WE CONTINUE ON, BUT WE DO THE BEST WE CAN WITH WHAT WE HAVE. THANK YOU.

YOU'RE WELCOME. I JUST HAVE ONE QUESTION REGARDING THE DASHBOARD.

I WASN'T A PRETTY BIG INITIATIVE FOR YOU. JUST GOING FORWARD, IS THAT SOMETHING YOU'RE STILL PUTTING A LOT OF EMPHASIS ON? AND IS THERE DATA THAT YOU'VE BEEN COLLECTING TO HELP CONTINUE THAT DRIVE? YES, I, I ABSOLUTELY THROUGH MY TIME AS CHIEF HERE SO FAR WANTED TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF DASHBOARDS THAT WE HAVE.

THE ONE THAT WE RELEASED PUBLICLY WAS THE INCIDENT DASHBOARD, WHERE YOU CAN SEE WHAT TYPE OF INCIDENTS ARE HAPPENING IN YOUR COMMUNITY.

BUT ONE OF THE THINGS I'M ALSO LOOKING TO, TO ENGAGE IS ANOTHER PROGRAM TO BE ABLE TO CREATE DASHBOARDS WITHIN THE ALLENTOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT. WE HAVE THE SKILL SET TO DO THAT.

IT'S JUST A MATTER OF HAVING THE SOFTWARE PROGRAM TO ENGAGE IN THAT.

OKAY. THANK YOU. OF COURSE. I HAVE A QUESTION FOR THE HOW MUCH OF THE GRANTS ARE USED FOR RECRUITING FOR, FOR, FOR RECRUITING NEW POLICE OFFICERS? SO UNDER GOVERNOR SHAPIRO, WE WERE ABLE FOR, I BELIEVE IT WAS A TWO YEAR TIME FRAME TO HIGHLIGHT A $5,000 INCENTIVE HIRING BONUS FOR PEOPLE THAT SUCCESSFULLY COME ON THE DEPARTMENT.

SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE VERY MUCH WOULD LIKE.

IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DISCUSS ABOUT PUTTING IN IN THE BUDGET.

BUT AGAIN, WE WANT TO BE FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE AND ENSURE THAT IT'S SOMETHING THAT IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT A HIRING BONUS, IT'S ABOUT ATTRACTING GOOD PEOPLE. SO IN OUR RECRUITMENT STRATEGIES, WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO SHOW EXACTLY THAT.

THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS SUPPORTED BY COUNCIL, BY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, BY THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE.

AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THROUGH SHOWING THE COMMUNITY EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE ABOUT AND THE MAKE UP OF THE DEPARTMENT WILL ATTRACT LIKE MINDED INDIVIDUALS THAT WANT TO WORK IN THE CITY, NOT NECESSARILY GO OUT TO THE TOWNSHIPS OR THE BOROUGHS OR THROUGH THE STATE, BUT COME IN THE CITY OF ALLENTOWN, AND FOR AN INDIVIDUAL TO CHOOSE TO BECOME A POLICE OFFICER, ESPECIALLY IN A CITY, IT'S A CALLING.

IT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU JUST DON'T CHANGE WITHIN THREE, FOUR YEARS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU STAY A CAREER FOR.

AND I WANT TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN PEOPLE THAT HAVE THAT PASSION, THAT WANT TO COME HERE, MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND, YOU KNOW, BE MORE THAN JUST THEMSELVES. SO WE DO OFFER $5,000 SIGNING BONUS THAT THAT WAS CONCLUDED THAT GRANT RAN OUT.

AND THAT'S FROM THE GRANT. YES. THAT'S NOT FROM THE CITY OF ALLENTOWN.

NO. OKAY. THANK YOU. I HAVE A QUESTION. YEAH.

CHIEF, HOW ACTIVE ARE YOU? IS YOUR DEPARTMENT WHEN IT COMES TO RECRUITING? IN THE IN OTHER SCHOOLS. I WOULD SAY WE'RE VERY ACTIVE.

WE HAVE A TEAM FROM OUR COMMUNITY OUTREACH UNIT THAT GOES TO THE DIFFERENT SCHOOLS, TALKS TO COLLEGES.

I MYSELF ATTENDED A RECRUITMENT VISIT AT MY ALMA MATER AT KING'S COLLEGE IN WILKES-BARRE.

AND WE ACTUALLY MET WITH VARIOUS COLLEGE STUDENTS AND PUT FORTH THIS POSITION AS A CAREER.

WE WERE JOINED BY OTHER DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS, BUSINESSES AND EVERYTHING ELSE, ALL TYPES OF CAREERS.

BUT WE ARE VERY ACTIVE IN RECRUITING, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS NOW, YOU LOOK AT THE REAL ESTATE MARKET AND YOU KIND OF THINK, IS IT A BUYER'S MARKET OR A SELLER'S MARKET? IN THIS INSTANCE, THE POTENTIAL EMPLOYEE HAS THE ABILITY TO CHOOSE WHERE THEY WANT TO GO, AND WE WANT TO PUT OUR BEST FOOT FORWARD AND SHOW THAT ALLENTOWN IS INVESTED IN WHERE YOU CAN COME BE SUPPORTED AS A POLICE OFFICER AND THROUGH WHAT

[01:45:01]

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE WAYS THAT WE KIND OF CLEANED UP? THE PROCESS WAS WE USED TO CHARGE AN APPLICATION FEE TO BECOME A POLICE OFFICER.

IT CAN RANGE ANYWHERE FROM $60 TO $20, AND THAT MIGHT BE A PROHIBITIVE, PROHIBITIVE FACTOR FOR INDIVIDUALS THAT MIGHT NOT HAVE $5, $10. SO WE TOOK THAT AWAY. WE TOOK THE SUBSCRIPTION THAT THAT, THAT FEE OFF AND WE MADE IT FREE.

SO ANYBODY THAT'S INTERESTED CAN GO TO JOIN ALLENTOWN PD.COM.

WE PUT THAT WEBSITE TOGETHER WITH COLLABORATION WITH HUMAN RESOURCES, WITH THE BLESSING OF THE CITY ADMINISTRATION.

IT'S A WAY THAT EXPLAINS EXACTLY WHAT OUR ENTRY REQUIREMENTS ARE, WHAT STEPS YOU NEED TO TAKE, AND YOU FILL OUT THE APPLICATION. YOU GET ADDED TO THE LIST. AND THEN FROM THERE, WE WORK ON THE TESTING PROCESS.

WE'VE EVEN CHANGED THE WAY WE TEST. LIKE I SAID, WE RATHER THAN TESTING ONE TIME A YEAR, WE'RE TESTING FOUR TIMES A YEAR.

AND THAT'S TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE GIVING EVERYBODY AN OPPORTUNITY.

AS YOU KNOW, IT'S TIME FOR PEOPLE TO BE IN COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS, MILITARY, AND THEY COME OUT THERE AND THEY HAVE LIFE CHANGES AT DIFFERENT MOMENTS IN TIME.

SO WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO CAPTURE THAT. AND EVERY TIME WE HAVE A NEW ACADEMY CLASS START, I GO THERE PERSONALLY AND I ASK THE QUESTION, WHO HERE IS HIRED BY OUR DEPARTMENT? AND YOU SEE THE OFFICERS RAISING THEIR HAND, THE CADETS.

AND THEN THERE'S A FEW THAT DON'T. AND I WILL SAY FOR THOSE THAT DON'T CONSIDER JOINING THE ALLENTOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND AT TIMES WE GET OFFICERS THAT WAY. OTHER TIMES, OTHER DEPARTMENTS PICK THEM UP.

I DON'T WANT TO SAY IT'S CUT THROAT OR VERY QUICK, BUT, YOU KNOW, AS A DEPARTMENT, WE VERY MUCH WANT TO BE EFFICIENT WHEN WE'RE PROCESSING POTENTIAL APPLICANTS TO COME THROUGH. AND THAT COMES BACK TO SHOWING EXACTLY WHAT WE OFFER, WHAT THE OUTCOME IS, WHAT THE OUTCOME IS. AND A BIG ATTRACTION FOR HERE IN THE CITY IS COMING ON WHEN YOU'RE 21 YEARS OLD.

AND TO KNOW THAT YOU CAN RETIRE 21 OR 20 YEARS LATER AT 41, YOU'RE STILL YOUNG ENOUGH, BUT YOU'VE YOU'VE EARNED YOUR RETIREMENT AND YOU'VE DONE A LOT TO IMPACT AND CHANGE THE CITY OF ALLENTOWN. AND I GIVE KUDOS AND CREDIT TO ANYBODY THAT WORKS A FULL CAREER HERE IN ALLENTOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT.

THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. I JUST WANTED TO FOLLOW UP ON THE INCENTIVE GRANT.

I'M CURIOUS OF THAT INCENTIVE. SO YOU SAID IT WAS $5,000 PER OFFICER.

I'M CURIOUS HOW MANY OFFICERS TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THAT THAT WERE HIRED UNDER THAT 36 OFFICERS.

ALL RIGHT. AND THAT WAS I SAW THAT IT WAS BUDGETED FOR ABOUT 100,000 EACH YEAR.

OBVIOUSLY, BEING THAT IT'S A GRANT, YOU HAVE TO USE IT IN ORDER TO BE REIMBURSED FOR THAT.

SO THAT WAS OVER THE LIFE OF THE TWO YEAR PROGRAM.

YES, SIR. OKAY. 180,000. OKAY. IS WHAT WE SPENT TOTAL ON THE GRANT.

PERFECT. DID WE SEE THAT BEING AN EFFECTIVE TOOL IN RECRUITING, OR DO WE FEEL LIKE IT WAS JUST KIND OF HAPPENED TO BE PART OF THE TIME? THEY JUST HAPPENED TO GET HIRED AROUND THE SAME TIME AS THE GRANT? I WOULD SAY IT WAS IT WAS A GOOD SOLUTION FOR IT.

I MEAN, THERE'S OTHER DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE OFFERING SUBSTANTIALLY MORE DEPENDING UPON WHAT THEY ALLOW FOR.

BUT THE THING THAT I WANT TO SAY ABOUT RECRUITMENT INCENTIVES SUCH AS THAT, I THINK IT'S, IT'S HELPFUL, BUT WE'RE ALSO ENSURING THAT THE CANDIDATE WHO TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THAT IS COMMITTED TO THE CITY OF ALLENTOWN.

IF THEY CHOOSE TO LEAVE EARLY, THEY HAVE TO PAY BACK THE AMOUNT THAT THAT THEY HAVE, BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST COME HERE AND GET 5000.

GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. SO IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE THOSE CATCHES AND WE EXPLAIN IT TO THE CANDIDATE.

AND THEY UNDERSTAND THAT. AND WE GO FORWARD AND MAKE SURE THAT WE MAKE THEIR EXPERIENCE HERE POSITIVE.

YOU KNOW, ALL THE WAY FROM COMING INTO THE ACADEMY TO GRADUATING TO GETTING ON THEIR FIELD TRAINING PROGRAM TO BECOMING A FULL OFFICER.

THANK YOU. APPRECIATE IT. I TOUCH ON THAT. SO YOU'RE LIMITED AT 5000.

YOU CAN'T GIVE THEM MORE. SEVEN, EIGHT, 9000.

NO. WE COULD GIVE WHATEVER AMOUNT, BUT WE WOULD JUST HAVE TO BE AUTHORIZED BY COUNCIL, AND WE'D HAVE TO PUT IT IN THE BUDGET AND ENSURE THAT IT'S LIKE IF WE WERE TO THINK ABOUT IT, I MEAN, 5000 WOULD COST, IF YOU SAY 10,000, THAT MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT MORE.

SO IT'S ALL IN WHAT IS RECEIVED BY THE INDIVIDUAL.

AND THEN EVEN MORE SO. AND THE REASON I SAY 5 TO 10 IS BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I'M SEEING AROUND THE COUNTRY AND IN OTHERS, YOU GOT 25. SOME FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES ARE ADVERTISING 50 60,000.

BUT ON ITS FACE, IT HAS CATCHES LIKE YOU HAVE TO SERVE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME.

YOU HAVE TO BE COMMITTED TO THAT DEPARTMENT AND SIGN OFF THAT YOU'RE GOING TO STAY THERE FOR A PERIOD OF TIME.

WELL, MY THOUGHT ALSO IS, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING TO A 21 YEAR OLD AND YOU'RE TELLING HOW GREAT HIS RETIREMENT WILL BE IS NOT AS MUCH OF INCENTIVE OF SAYING, GIVING HIM. THERE ARE CERTAIN OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE DONE THIS ALSO.

YOU MAY TELL A 21 YEAR OLD, THIS WILL GIVE YOU $7,000, PLUS WE'LL PUT $7,000 ASIDE FOR YOU TO BUY A BUILDING HERE IN ALLENTOWN.

[01:50:01]

THE FACT THAT THEY'RE GETTING POSSIBLY A LOW INTEREST RATE, WE COULD WORK WITH THE BANKS.

THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS FOR INCENTIVES, AND I WAS JUST WONDERING WHY WE LIMIT IT TO JUST $5,000.

BECAUSE I BELIEVE IF I WERE 23, 24 AND SOMEONE SAID, LISTEN, $7,000 PLUS WE PUT 7000 OVER HERE TO GIVE HELP YOU WITH A MORTGAGE, INTEREST RATES, SO ON AND SO FORTH. THAT'S AND THE THING IS, WE NEED MORE POLICE OFFICERS.

WE DO. WE NEED MORE PATROLS IS WHAT WE NEED. BUT YOU KNOW THAT.

I KNOW THAT, AND THAT'S WHAT KEEPS THE CRIME DOWN.

ALTHOUGH YOU'RE ALL DOING A GREAT JOB WITH THE AMOUNT OF AMOUNT OF PEOPLE WE HAVE AND THE AMOUNT OF POLICE OFFICERS WE HAVE.

EXCUSE ME. WE HAVE IT'S AMAZING THAT OUR CRIME RATE IS DOWN THE WAY IT IS.

AND I THANK ALL THE POLICE DEPARTMENT FOR THE WORK THEY DO.

DO. BUT WE NEED TO WORK HARDER ON GETTING YOUNG RECRUITS, NOT JUST FROM ALLENTOWN, FROM PHILLY, FROM. THIS CAN BE A VERY ATTRACTIVE CITY TO SOMEBODY FROM PHILADELPHIA OR NEW YORK AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.

BUT WE HAVE TO GIVE THEM A LITTLE MORE INCENTIVE THAN JUST A GOOD RETIREMENT JUST TO.

FOR COUNCIL'S INFORMATION, I AM WORKING ON A LATERAL TRANSFER PROGRAM THAT I WILL BE INTRODUCING SHORTLY, WHICH WILL HOPEFULLY ATTRACT EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, ALLOWING A PERSON TO COME IN AT A HIGHER STEP LEVEL TO IMMEDIATELY BEGIN THEIR CAREER HERE IN THE ALLENTOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT. THEY WOULD NOT GAIN SENIORITY OVER ANYBODY.

THEY WOULD JUST COME IN AT A HIGHER STEP, AND WE WOULD HAVE TO WORK OUT THE DETAILS ON THAT.

AND THAT WOULD I WOULD ASK FOR REPEAL OF BILL 66, WHICH IS THE EMERGENT HIRING THAT WAS PUT FORTH INTO ORDINANCE HERE IN THE CITY OF ALLENTOWN. SO REPLACING THAT WITH A LATERAL TRANSFER PROGRAM THAT I BELIEVE WOULD BE BENEFICIAL LONG TERM FOR THE CITY OF ALLENTOWN.

THAT BILL I KNOW FIRE DEPARTMENT IS LOOKING AT ME RIGHT NOW THINKING WE COULD DO THE SAME THING.

RIGHT. AND WOULD THAT BILL COVER THE DOES THAT GRANT EVERYTHING COVER THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ALSO? I WOULD HAVE TO LOOK AT THEIR CIVIL SERVICE AND I WOULD HAVE. AND IT WOULD HAVE TO BE AT THE AT THE DIRECTION OF CHIEF AUGUSTO FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO WEIGH IN ON THAT, THERE ARE PROGRAMS THAT I THINK HUD HAD A PROGRAM WHERE THEIR HOMES WOULD BE 50% OFF FOR FIRE FIREMEN, MS, POLICE OFFICERS AND TEACHERS. AND I CHECKED INTO THAT HUD, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THAT MANY HUD BUILDINGS AROUND HERE THAT, THAT WHAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO IS THE OFFICER NEXT DOOR PROGRAM.

IT'S NOW BEEN RENAMED TO THE GOOD NEIGHBOR NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR.

YEAH, THAT'S A GOOD PROGRAM. OKAY. I HAVE NOTHING ELSE.

ANYBODY ELSE? ANYBODY FROM THE PUBLIC? JUST REALLY BRIEFLY.

MY NAME IS KYLE. I LIVE AT 5 TO 8 NORTH STREET.

I JUST WOULD LIKE TO SAY MICROPHONE UP TO YOU. THANK YOU.

ALL RIGHT. BETTER NOW? YES. I JUST WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT I'M ENCOURAGED TO HEAR ABOUT THE ADDITIONAL CAMERAS GOING TOWARDS OUR RECYCLING AND SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT HOPING THAT THOSE ARE UTILIZED AS A TOOL NOT JUST FOR PREVENTION AND COMPLIANCE, BUT ALSO IN THE SPIRIT OF A BUDGET MEETING.

AND AFTER LOOKING AT THOSE FIVE YEAR GRAPHS, THAT THIS IS ALSO A REVENUE TOOL AND THAT WE ARE PURSUING VIOLATORS TO THE FULL EXTENT THAT WE CAN, BECAUSE I'M PRETTY SURE THAT THE FEE FOR THAT IS PRETTY LARGE AND WE CAN GET SOME MONEY FOR THAT.

SO. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE? THANK YOU CHIEF. I'M GOING TO CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT UP NOW. THANK YOU COUNCIL.

I'M GOING TO TAKE A BREAK. OKAY.

ALL RIGHT. ANYTIME YOU'RE READY. ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING COUNCIL.

YOU KNOW ME. MY NAME IS. I'M THE FIRE CHIEF HERE IN THE CITY.

BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I RECOGNIZE DEPUTY CHIEF MATT AHART AND DEPUTY CHIEF VINCE KATE, WHO WERE INSTRUMENTAL IN PUTTING THIS BUDGET TOGETHER. WE ALSO HAVE THE EMS CHIEF WHO TAKES CARE OF PROVIDING THE INFORMATION REGARDING THE MS BUDGET, A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE DEPARTMENT ITSELF. THE ALLENTOWN FIRE DEPARTMENT CONSISTS OF 143 FIREFIGHTERS ASSIGNED TO SIX FIRE STATIONS, WITH A FRONTLINE FLEET OF SEVEN ENGINES AND TWO LADDER TRUCKS.

THE FIRE ACADEMY BUILDING HOUSES THE FIRE ADMINISTRATION OFFICE, THE TRAINING ACADEMY, THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER AND THE PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE.

AND AT CITY HALL, WE HAVE THE FIRE PREVENTION OFFICE.

THE STATIONS ARE OVERSEEN BY A BATTALION CHIEF WHO OPERATES OUT OF CENTRAL FIRE STATION AND RESPONDS TO ALL CALLS WHEN DEEMED NECESSARY.

WE ALSO HAVE OUR FIRE MARSHALS DIVISION AT CENTRAL FIRE STATION THAT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR INVESTIGATING FIRES AFTER THE FACT, AND ROUTINELY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR INSPECTING FACILITIES THROUGHOUT THE CITY.

THE FIRE PREVENTION OFFICE PROVIDES OVERSIGHT FOR THE FIRE MARSHAL'S DIVISION AND ENSURES THAT ALL OF OUR FACILITIES ARE INSPECTED AND PERMITTED ACCORDINGLY,

[01:55:05]

AT OUR CURRENT PACE, WE ARE ON TRACK TO RESPOND TO MORE THAN 14,000 CALLS FOR THE SERVICE BY THE END OF THE YEAR.

IN ADDITION, THE FIRE PREVENTION OFFICE, ALONG WITH THE FIRE MARSHAL'S DIVISION, CONDUCTED 457 FIRE INSPECTIONS, 104 FIRE INVESTIGATIONS AND RESPONDED TO 60 COMPLAINTS.

THEY ALSO CONDUCTED 313 FOLLOW UPS, ALONG WITH 155 MISCELLANEOUS CALLS.

THE PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE IS ALSO BUSY ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY BY PARTICIPATING IN MULTIPLE EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, WHICH INCLUDE SCHOOL GOVERNANCE MEETINGS, CAREER DAYS, DAYCARE SAFETY PROGRAMS, COMMUNITY FIRE PREVENTION, COMMUNITY EVENTS SUCH AS INFORMATION ON RECRUITMENT, SPECIAL EVENTS SUCH AS PARADES AND FESTIVALS, SCHOOL FIRE PREVENTION PROGRAMS, SCHOOL INTERACTION, READING AND ENCOURAGEMENT. OPERATION, PLAYGROUND PALS, CAMP COOLING STATIONS, JUVENILE CENTER INTERACTION AND COMMUNITY MEETINGS WITH THIS AND DISCUSSIONS. THIS NUMBER IS WELL OVER 200 EVENTS AT THE ALLENTOWN FIRE DEPARTMENT ENGAGES THE COMMUNITY THROUGH PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE.

WHILE OUR STAFFING LEVELS HAVE IMPROVED, WE REMAIN BELOW WHERE WE STOOD IN 2012 WHEN THE DEPARTMENT HAD 145 FIREFIGHTERS.

IN 2012, THE DEPARTMENT RESPONDED TO 5193 CALLS FOR SERVICE OVER THAT OVER THAT YEAR.

IN 2003, OUR STAFFING COMPLEMENT WAS EVEN HIGHER.

WHEN I STARTED, WE HAD 150 FIREFIGHTERS. DURING THAT YEAR, AND SEVERAL YEARS AFTER THAT, WE WERE ABLE TO MAINTAIN APPROXIMATELY 35.

I MEAN, EXCUSE ME, 30 FIREFIGHTERS ON DUTY AT ALL TIMES.

SO AS LONG AS I SERVE AS FIRE CHIEF AND MANAGING DIRECTOR KANE SPOKE TO THIS A LITTLE BIT, I'LL CONTINUE TO HIGHLIGHT THE HISTORICAL INFORMATION THAT I'VE SHARED DURING PREVIOUS MEETINGS. BECAUSE IT IS IT PROVIDES IMPORTANT PERSPECTIVE ON HOW OUR CITY AND OUR DEPARTMENT HAVE CHANGED OVER TIME. SO AS HE SPOKE IN 1975, WHEN ALLENTOWN HAD A POPULATION OF APPROXIMATELY 109,000, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OPERATED WITH SEVEN STAFF AND STATIONS, 11 ENGINES, THREE LADDER COMPANIES, AND A TOTAL COMPLEMENT OF 150 FIREFIGHTERS. THAT YEAR, THE DEPARTMENT WAS DISPATCHED TO 2156 CALLS FOR SERVICE.

TODAY, WITH A POPULATION EXCEEDING 126,000, WITH PEAK DAYTIME HOURS REACHING UP TO NEARLY 145,000.

WE HAVE SIX STAFF STATIONS, SEVEN ENGINES, TWO LADDER COMPANIES AND 143 FIREFIGHTERS.

MEANWHILE, WE'RE ON PACE TO RESPOND TO MORE THAN 14,000 CALLS FOR SERVICE FOR THIS YEAR.

THESE NUMBERS TELL AN IMPORTANT STORY. OUR CITY HAS GROWN AND CONTINUES TO GROW.

THE DEMANDS PLACED ON THE DEPARTMENT HAVE INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY, AND THE VOLUME OF CALLS WE ANSWER TODAY IS SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THAN IT WAS DECADES AGO.

AS WE LOOK TOWARD THE FUTURE, WE MUST CONTINUE TO EVALUATE WHETHER OUR STAFFING, RESOURCES AND OPERATIONAL CAPABILITIES ARE KEEPING PACE WITH THAT GROWTH.

SO IN CONCLUSION, I WANT TO THANK THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION AND CITY COUNCIL FOR THE CONTINUED SUPPORT OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND FOR RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE, THE IMPORTANCE OF PROTECTING OUR RESIDENTS, OUR VISITORS AND THE MEMBERS WHO SERVE THEM.

HOWEVER, AS ALLENTOWN CONTINUES TO GROW, SO MUST THE ALLENTOWN FIRE DEPARTMENT.

MY GOAL IS TO CONTINUE BUILDING TOWARDS A LEVEL OF STAFFING AND OPERATIONAL CAPACITY THAT OUR HISTORY DEMONSTRATES.

WE ONCE MAINTAINED, WHILE ENSURING THAT OUR DEPARTMENT IS PREPARED TO MEET THE DEMANDS OF THE CITY WE SERVE TODAY AND INTO THE FUTURE.

OUR RESPONSIBILITY IS NOT SIMPLY TO RESPOND TO THE NEEDS OF ALLENTOWN TODAY, BUT TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE PREPARED FOR THE NEEDS OF ALLENTOWN TOMORROW.

THANK YOU. WITH THAT, I WILL PASS IT OVER TO DEPUTY CHIEF AHART TO SPEAK A LITTLE BIT OVER OUR BUDGET.

GOOD EVENING. LIKE HE SAID, DEPUTY CHIEF ECKHART THANK YOU ALL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK.

I DON'T HAVE A LONG SPEECH LIKE THE CHIEF DID.

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK BINA AND ERICA FOR THE SUPPORT THAT THEY GIVE US ALL YEAR ROUND, HELPING MOVE MONEY AROUND, FINDING MONEY AND REALLY SPREADING THE, THE POT CHANGES THAT WE HAD WHEN WE WERE ASKED TO CUT 10%, WE LOOKED AT EVERYTHING. 10% OF OUR BUDGET IS ABOUT $2.6 MILLION, WHICH IS EVERYTHING PRETTY MUCH OUTSIDE OF JUST OUR PAY.

SO IT'S NOT A REAL FEASIBLE NUMBER FOR US. WE DID OUR BEST.

CONTRACTUALLY WE HAVE PERMANENT WAGES GOING UP.

UNFORTUNATELY, WE ALSO HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE RISES GOING UP.

WE WERE ABLE TO ONE OF OUR FIRE TRUCKS WAS JUST PAID OFF OUR LADDER TRUCK FROM HIBERNIA.

SO THAT DID SAVE US ABOUT 192,000. WE WERE FORTUNATE ENOUGH THAT WE RECEIVED A LOT OF GRANTS LAST YEAR,

[02:00:05]

THEY DID GET SLOWER. USES SEEM LIKE IT WAS A LOT EASIER TO GET BE AWARDED A GRANT THAN IT IS NOW.

BUT WE DO PURSUE IT A LOT. THE COST OF EQUIPMENT FOR FIREFIGHTING HAS GONE UP EXPONENTIALLY.

WHAT USED TO BE A $500 CHAINSAW IS NOW $6,000.

THE AMOUNT OF FIRES THAT WE'VE HAD AND EVERYTHING ELSE, THE EQUIPMENT THAT WE'VE USED WE'VE OUT SURPASSED THE AMOUNT IN OUR EQUIPMENT BUDGET.

WHEN WE TALK ABOUT OUR 73 OR 72 WE'RE ALREADY OPERATING ABOUT $40,000 SHORT ON EQUIPMENT THIS YEAR.

IT'S JUST THAT WE'VE LOST IN FIRES. SO WE'RE THRIVING.

WE'RE TRYING TO DO OUR BEST. WE'RE MAINTAINING BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, JUST, IT COSTS A LOT OF MONEY TO RUN THIS BUSINESS RIGHT NOW IN THIS, IN THIS ECONOMY. SO THAT BEING SAID, I'M WILLING TO ANSWER ANY QUESTION YOU HAVE.

THE BIGGEST CUTS WE MADE, IF YOU DIDN'T LOOK OVER IT IN DETAIL WAS WE DID TRY TO CUT SOME MORE OFF OF OUR PREMIUM PAY BY 100,000.

LIKE I SAID, WE DID LOSE THE AERIAL PAYMENT THIS YEAR.

THAT WAS 192,000. WE CUT BACK OUR TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, ABOUT 12,000.

WE CUT BACK OUR OPERATING MATERIALS BY ABOUT 14,000 AND.

THAT IS ABOUT IT, THAT WE COULD CUT LARGE AMOUNTS OFF OF.

SO I'D BE WILLING TO ENTERTAIN ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE. I KNOW IT PRETTY MUCH IN DETAIL.

SO I'M WILLING TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS. YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, MR. PEDRO? REAL QUICK FIRST OFF, I JUST WANTED TO JUST TO CALL OUT THE 16,000 CALLS FOR THE CITY OF ALLENTOWN LAST YEAR.

THAT'S. YEAH. THAT'S IMPRESSIVE. FOR THE 30 ACCOUNT.

SO I JUST WANTED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THIS. AND THIS IS WHERE ALL OF THE LEASING IS BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THAT WAS ORIGINALLY AT, I MEAN, IT WAS 26 GRAND AND THEN JUMPED TO A MILLION NEXT YEAR AND WHATNOT. BUT IF IT'S IS THE LEASING AND EXCUSE MY IGNORANCE WHEN IT COMES TO FIRE EQUIPMENT, BUT IS THE LEASING, IS THAT A FIVE YEAR LEASE OR IS THAT IN PERPETUITY? LIKE, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE FROM A LEASE PERSPECTIVE? OR IS IT JUST LIKE A PAYMENT OFF OF IT? SO OUR LEASE PAYMENTS THAT YOU'RE SEEING. SO THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. ARE YOU REFERRING TO THIS DOCUMENT THAT, YOU KNOW, I'M LOOKING AT ONE PAGE 135 OF THE NARRATIVE.

OKAY. I DIDN'T LOOK AT YOUR DOCUMENT YET. YEAH.

SO THE RENTAL ACCOUNT IS ALL THE PAYMENTS. SO WHEN WE ORDER A TRUCK, YOU KNOW, NEXT YEAR WE HAVE TWO AN ENGINE AND A ANOTHER AERIAL COMING.

WE ORDERED THEM FOUR AND ONE FIVE YEARS AGO. SO IN THAT TIME FRAME, WHEN WE GET APPROVAL FROM YOU, APPROVAL FROM THE ADMINISTRATION IT'S DETERMINED, ARE WE GOING TO PUT X AMOUNT OF MONEY DOWN? ARE WE GOING TO LEASE IT AND BY LEASE IT, IT'S A PAYMENT.

WE'RE NOT GIVING IT BACK AT THE END OF THE. OKAY. THAT WAS THAT WAS I MEAN, I WAS JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND IT'S ALWAYS SKEWED ME TO. YEAH. BECAUSE I WAS LIKE, IS THIS GOING TO BE FOREVER NOW? OR SO WHEN YOU SEE THERE, YOU SEE THE PUMPER TWO, PUMPER THREE.

THAT'S THE TWO THAT WE JUST GOT. AND NEXT YEAR WE'RE EXPECTING THE AERIAL TO COME AS WELL.

SO THAT'S WHAT THAT IS. OKAY, SO IT USED TO BE UNDER PUBLIC WORKS LAST YEAR.

THEY MOVED IT UNDER US TO MANAGE OURSELVES. OKAY.

THAT'S WHAT YOU SEE THERE. THAT WAS MY MAIN QUESTION. THANK YOU. IT MAKES IT LOOK REALLY BAD. I JUST DIDN'T KNOW IF IT WAS GOING TO GO ON FOREVER OR WHAT THEY SAID.

ALRIGHT. THANK YOU. YEP. ANYONE ELSE? JUST JUST A QUICK SO I WANTED TO ASK ABOUT WHAT'S IN THE PIPELINE BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW THAT IT TAKES YEARS AND YEARS TO GET. SO YOU MENTIONED YOU HAVE TWO COMING NEXT YEAR.

ARE THERE IS THERE MORE EQUIPMENT COMING? THERE'S ONE. SO WE HAVE TWO COMING NEXT YEAR AT THE SAME TIME.

WE ORDERED THREE ENGINES. SO THERE'S A NEW ONE COMING FOR THE WEST END THAT'S SCHEDULED TO BE DELIVERED IN FALL OF NEXT YEAR OF 27.

THE AERIAL TO REPLACE THE ONE AT THE HIGH BEES TO MAKE THE SWAP.

THAT'S GOING TO BE IN JUNE, JULY. THOSE WERE ORDERED THREE, FOUR YEARS AGO.

AND THEN WE JUST THIS YEAR CHER SIGNED TO REPLACE ANOTHER RESCUE PUMPER.

BUT AGAIN, THAT'S A I THINK IT WAS 1600 DAYS LEAD TIME.

OKAY. SO IT JUST KEEPS EXTENDING OUT. SO WE'RE TRYING TO HAVE A CONTINUAL, YOU KNOW, ORDER ONE EVERY YEAR KIND OF PLAN.

THAT'S, THAT'S THE GOAL. OKAY. SO WE HAVE TWO COMING IN 2022 AND 21 IN PROBABLY 2028, 2029.

ONE IN ITS 2030, 2030. OKAY. 2030 IS THE NEXT 1 IN 20.

IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT LEASE PAYMENT OVERLAP, 2030, 2031 IS THE HIGHEST.

OKAY. I WAS JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THAT BECAUSE THAT'S OBVIOUSLY A, YOU KNOW, MAJOR EXPENSES IF WE'RE, IF WE'RE DECIDING TO LEASE IT. YEAH, THAT'S THAT'S BASED ON THAT.

THIS IS RELATIVELY A NEWER. TWO AT A TIME. WE JUST, WE, WE HAVEN'T ALWAYS FINANCED THEM.

WE HAVE JUST BUDGETED AND JUST PAID FOR THEM.

THE ISSUE IS IT WENT FROM 4 OR $500,000 TO NOW OVER $1 MILLION FOR ONE OF THESE PIECES OF EQUIPMENT.

SO IT'S JUST BEEN HARD TO THROW THE WHOLE CHUNK AT ONCE.

AND THIS CHANGES, THIS CHANGES HAS HAPPENED LIKE ESPECIALLY DURING THE COVID PERIOD AND BEYOND.

I MEAN, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S, THAT'S JUST CHANGED DRAMATICALLY.

[02:05:04]

IT WAS LIKE A 900,000 OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

AND NOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 1.6. AND THIS IS JUST WITHIN THE TWO 2 TO 3 YEAR PERIOD.

SO WHEN WE TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN WE HAVE, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO START COMMITTING EARLY ALSO BECAUSE OF THE BUILD TIMES.

THAT'S, THAT'S ANOTHER THING THAT THAT'S, THAT'S BEEN DIFFICULT TO MANAGE ON OUR END IS BEING ABLE TO SAY OR COME TO, YOU KNOW, TO FIND US OR COME TO THE MAYOR OR COME TO, TO US COUNCIL AND SAY, HEY, WE'RE GOING TO, WE NEED TO PURCHASE AN ENGINE LIKE RIGHT NOW, BUT WE'RE NOT GETTING IT FOR FIVE YEARS.

SO THAT'S AGAIN, THAT'S, THAT'S A, THAT'S A VERY FUNNY LINE TO BE DRAWN THERE TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT SOMETIMES SOMETIMES WE DO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION.

DEPUTY CHIEF EARHART ALWAYS BRINGS UP TO ME A LOT OF TIMES WHERE THERE ARE SOME USED VEHICLES OUT THERE THAT HAVE POTENTIAL TO BE USED, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW. BUT THE PROBLEM IS THAT WHERE DO WE GET TWO, THREE, 400, $500,000 EVEN RIGHT NOW? SO THAT'S WHERE AGAIN, THIS IS THIS IS A DECISION THAT JUST HAS TO BE MADE AS WE CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD.

AND I ALWAYS SAY TO HIM, JUST BRING BRING IT TO ME AND WE'LL PRESENT IT AND WE'LL SEE WHAT WE CAN DO.

BUT I DON'T KNOW WHERE IT'S GOING TO BE APPROVED OR WHEN IT'S NOT GOING TO BE APPROVED.

AND AGAIN, WE'RE TAKING A CHANCE ON A VEHICLE THAT IT'S ALREADY USED VERSUS A NEW VEHICLE.

BUT AGAIN, YOU STILL RUN INTO SITUATIONS WITH NEW VEHICLES ALSO.

WE ALL KNOW THAT. OKAY. THANK YOU MATHIAS. SO THANK YOU.

I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THE TIMELINE ONCE THE NEW ONES ARRIVE.

ARE ARE ALL THE TRUCKS BEING DECOMMISSIONED AS SOON AS THE NEW ONE ARRIVES OR NOT AT ALL? THEY'LL BE DECOMMISSIONED BEFORE THAT, UNFORTUNATELY.

WE HAVE ONE RIGHT NOW THAT'S 30 YEARS OLD THAT WE'RE BAND-AIDS AFTER BAND-AIDS, AFTER BAND-AIDS.

AND IT'S IT'S ON THE BRINK OF IT NOW. SO THE ANSWER WOULD BE NO, BECAUSE WE WANT AS MANY SPARE TRUCKS AS WE CAN.

RESPONSIBLY REPAIR, I'LL SAY IN THE FLEET, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? MY GOAL HAS BEEN TO TRY TO HAVE THAT SO WE CAN HAVE THE DOWNTIME TO GET THE NEWER TRUCKS EVEN SERVICED.

WE JUST HAD ONE BROKE AND THE DEALER SAID FOUR MONTHS UNTIL WE CAN SEE IT.

SO WHEN YOU HAVE THAT KIND OF LEAD TIME RIGHT NOW, IT'S IT DOESN'T HELP.

BUT I UNDERSTAND IT'S ALL NEW FOR THE MAYOR AND FOR YOU GUYS TO AGREE TO A TRUCK.

YOU MIGHT NOT EVEN BE SITTING HERE WHEN IT SHOWS UP. SAY, LOOK WHAT WE DID.

YEAH. NO, AND I JUST IT'S TOUGH. SOMETIMES THERE'S PURCHASING AGREEMENTS THAT REQUIRE SENDING SOMETHING IN AS LIKE A TRADE IN. I WASN'T SURE NO, NO, NO.

SO THAT'S THERE'S NO VALUE IN. YEAH YEAH YEAH.

NOBODY WANTS A 30 YEAR OLD TRUCK. NOBODY. NO.

THE GOOD THING ABOUT BRINGING THE GARAGE IN HOUSE IS THAT WE HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO AT LEAST MAINTAIN A FEW MORE RESERVE VEHICLES THAT WERE ALLOWED BY CONTRACT WHEN WHEN IT WAS CONTRACTED BEFORE THE GARAGE SERVICES. SO IT DOES HELP US UP TO THAT POINT.

BUT AT THE SAME TIME NOW WE'RE TRYING TO PLAY CATCH UP.

AND BY TRYING TO PAY, YOU KNOW, PLAY CATCH UP, WE STILL RUN INTO THE SITUATION WHERE EVEN THE RESERVE TRUCKS DID NOT, YOU KNOW, THEY DID NOT PERFORM ENOUGH DEFERRED MAINTENANCE ON THOSE. SO THEN WE END UP RUNNING INTO LIKE TRYING TO DO MAINTENANCE ON THE ON THE NEWER ONES.

RIGHT NOW WE HAVE TO GET THE OLDER ONES UP AND RUNNING ACCORDINGLY AND HOPE THAT THEY DON'T FAIL ON US WHILE WE'RE TRYING TO PERFORM THE DUTIES THAT WE NEED TO PERFORM.

BETTER. OKAY. YOU'RE DONE. YEAH. I'M DONE. IS THERE ANYONE ELSE? I, I WOULD LIKE TO QUESTION ON STAFFING. HOW ARE YOU ON STAFFING? 146 POSITIONS ARE THESE 146 FIREMEN, RIGHT? CORRECT.

SO IT'S 143. BUT THAT'S GOING TO INCLUDE EVERYBODY.

THAT'S THAT THAT WEARS A UNIFORM ON THE FIRE.

AND SO THAT INCLUDES US AS ADMINISTRATORS. THE THREE INDIVIDUALS WOULD BE OUR OFFICE MANAGER, ANGELA MARINO OUR ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT, MONIQUE HEIST.

AND THEN WE HAVE HALEY ARNOLD, WHO'S OUR CLERK UP IN THE FIRE PREVENTION NOW.

SO THOSE ARE THE ADDITIONAL THREE THAT ARE ADDED TO THE NUMBER FROM ONE.

SO THAT'S WHY WHEN I SAY 143, THAT'S STILL INCLUDING US AN ADMINISTRATIVE.

AND ALSO THE INDIVIDUALS LIKE, LIKE OUR ADMINISTRATION AS OUR FIRE PREVENTION ASSISTANT CHIEF, WE HAVE OUR CAPTAIN OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS. WE HAVE OUR ASSISTANT CHIEF OF TRAINING.

THOSE ARE ALL INCLUDED IN OUR NUMBERS WHEN WE TALK ABOUT FIREMEN ON THE STREETS, YOU KNOW, OR I'M SORRY, IN ITS ENTIRETY, WHEN FIREFIGHTERS IN GENERAL, IT DOES INCLUDE ALL OF US WHEN WE ARE WE OKAY WITH THE AMOUNT DO WE HAVE? I ALWAYS SAY THAT WE YOU KNOW, IT WOULD BE AGAIN, WHEN YOU LOOK AT NFPA STANDARDS, IT'S GOING TO BE THAT NUMBER WOULD JUMP EASILY INTO THE TWO HUNDREDS IF WE WERE TO FOLLOW NFPA STANDARD BECAUSE AGAIN, THAT'S REQUIRING.

AND I BELIEVE I'M NOT SURE HOW MANY WERE HERE WHEN WHEN DEPUTY CHIEF WILLIAMS SPOKE TO THE, THE, THE STANDARD AS IT SPEAKS TO THE CERTAIN TYPES OF RESPONSES BETWEEN AN AERIAL TRUCK HAVING FIVE ON IT, BETWEEN AN ENGINE HAVING FOUR DEPENDING ON THE RESPONSE MODEL.

[02:10:01]

BUT YEAH, WE'RE RIGHT NOW AS FAR AS BEING ABLE TO RESPOND, WE RESPOND ACCORDINGLY.

WE HAVE A VERY AGGRESSIVE FIRE DEPARTMENT. THE GUYS ARE, YOU KNOW, VERY SAFE IN WHAT THEY DO, AND THEY UNDERSTAND THE PARAMETERS THAT THEY HAVE TO MEET WHEN IT COMES TO RESPONDING, BUT IT WOULD BE BETTER OVERALL.

WHEN YOU LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, PREMIUM PAY, WHEN YOU LOOK AT INJURIES, WHEN YOU LOOK AT SICK, WHEN YOU LOOK AT ALL THESE DIFFERENT THINGS, THE BALANCE CAN BE FOUND BETWEEN OVERTIME AND STAFFING, BUT WE'RE STILL NOT QUITE THERE TO BE ABLE TO MEET THAT.

BUT WHEN YOU ASK THE QUESTION IS, IF WE'RE OKAY WITH STAFFING, I CAN SAY WE'RE OKAY, BUT WE STILL DON'T MEET THAT STANDARD OR WE COULD DO BETTER.

I MEAN, TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION THAT IN 1975 YOU HAD 156 FIREFIGHTERS.

SO FOR 2000 CALLS, RIGHT, FOR 2000 CALLS. SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHERE THAT'S WHERE, YOU KNOW, FOR ME, IT'S ALWAYS DIFFICULT TO LOOK AT THAT NUMBER AND TRY TO UNDERSTAND IT. WHAT WAS THEIR DETERMINATION BACK THEN? LIKE I HAVE THAT REPORT WITH ME. I, I CARRY THAT OFFICIAL REPORT FROM 1975 WITH ME EVERYWHERE I GO, BUT IT'S DIFFICULT FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND HOW IS IT THAT WE WENT FROM 156 AND ALL OF A SUDDEN WE DREW DOWN WHEN THE CITY WAS CONTINUING TO GROW, MORE THAN LIKELY EVEN BACK IN 1975, MOVING FORWARD. SO HOW DID THE CITY DETERMINE THAT? AND EVEN WHEN I GOT ON, WHEN WE HAD 150, I AGAIN, I DON'T WANT TO I NEVER WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK POORLY OF A PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION, BUT YES, THE PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION, A PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION, BASICALLY YOU KNOW, THROUGH ATTRITION DID NOT ALLOW US TO CONTINUE TO BUILD EXCEPT THROUGH ATTRITION. HE LESSENED US TO THE POINT WHERE I REMEMBER SEEING NUMBERS IN 118.

SO THIS IS WHERE THIS IS WHERE WE CONTINUE TO BUILD, YOU KNOW, WITH, WITH THE WITH THE THE ADMINISTRATION'S AFTER THAT ONE.

AND THIS ONE HAS BEEN VERY, VERY HELPFUL WITH AND AGAIN, WITH COUNCIL APPROVING OUR SAFER GRANT, WHICH ALLOWED US TO ADD ANOTHER. 12 YOU KNOW, POSITIONS, BUT WE'RE STILL SHORT.

IT DOESN'T YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I DON'T I NEVER SAY THAT WE'LL REPLACE OR THAT WE'RE ADDING.

I ALWAYS SAY WE'RE, WE'RE STORING BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO RESTORE BACK TO WHERE WE WERE EVEN, LET'S SAY FROM 2003 WHEN I STARTED, OR EVEN A LITTLE BIT MORE IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO MEET THE DEMAND OF A GROWING CITY.

I MEAN, WE CONTINUE TO GROW. WHEN YOU LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, THE POTENTIAL WITH THE RIVERFRONT PROJECT, WITH THE EAST SIDE, YOU'RE BASICALLY BUILDING A CITY AT THE ALLENTOWN STATE HOSPITAL SITE.

I MEAN, ALL THESE THINGS ARE CONTINUING TO GROW.

AND AND WE'RE JUST, YOU KNOW, WE'RE JUST SLOWLY CHIPPING AWAY AND TRYING TO DO BETTER.

AND, BUT AGAIN, IT TAKES, IT TAKES THE ENTIRE FIRE ADMINISTRATION, CITY ADMINISTRATION AND CITY COUNCIL TO BE ABLE TO WORK TOWARDS THAT GOAL.

AND HOPEFULLY BEFORE IT'S ALL SAID AND DONE, WE COULD AT LEAST BE CLOSER TO THAT GOAL.

DO YOU HAVE THE SAME PROBLEMS IN RECRUITING AS THE POLICE DEPARTMENT? WE ABSOLUTELY DON'T. WE WHEN WE PUT IT OUT, I MEAN, WE WE USUALLY GET APPLICATIONS AS FAR AS, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, DOWN SOUTH DC, YOU KNOW, JERSEY.

AND SOMETIMES OUR LIST WILL GO UP INTO THE THREE HUNDREDS, FOUR HUNDREDS.

NOW THEY'RE, THEY'RE IN THEIR DEFENSE. I MEAN, THEY'RE THE WAY THEY HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, WEED OUT LIKE THE INDIVIDUALS IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT FOR THEM. THESE INDIVIDUALS ARE CARRYING FIREARMS VERSUS WHAT WE DO.

SO THEY HAVE A DIFFERENT METHOD IN BEING ABLE TO DO HAVE A GRAPH ALSO FOR, FOR RECRUITING LIKE, LIKE THEY DO. YEAH, WE DO. I MEAN, WE GO TO SCHOOLS.

I MEAN, THAT'S WHERE WE HAVE OUR PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER. THAT'S WHAT I WAS SPEAKING TO A LITTLE BIT THERE. IT'S IT'S ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, WE ALWAYS TRY TO SET UP TABLES WHEN IT COMES TO THE, THE PLAYGROUNDS. YOU KNOW, WE, YOU KNOW, INITIALLY, LIKE THERE, THAT'S WHERE YOU START.

I MEAN, YOU START IMPRESSING UPON THE CHILDREN THE IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC SAFETY, THE SAFETY IN GENERAL, FIRE SAFETY. I MEAN, WE PUSH A LOT OF THAT, THAT MESSAGING.

AND WHEN YOU WHEN YOU GO OUT THERE AND IT'S FUNNY BECAUSE WHEN YOU DO THE HALLOWEEN, YOU KNOW, TRICK OR TREATS OR THE HALLOWEEN, THE TRUNK OR TREATS OR SOMETHING LIKE SO MANY KIDS ALWAYS SHOW UP IN POLICE AND FIRE UNIFORMS. YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T SEE THEM IN A, IN OTHER TYPES OF UNIFORMS, BUT YOU SEE THEM A LOT IN POLICE AND FIRE UNIFORMS. BUT BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THEY THAT'S WHERE YOU START. BUT AS FAR AS RECRUITING. YEAH, WE'RE WE'RE TRYING TO GET OURSELVES BACK INTO THE ESPECIALLY THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS IN HIGH SCHOOLS WHERE IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFICULT TO KIND OF ENGAGE BECAUSE THEY JUST, IT'S, IT'S, YOU KNOW, THE INFORMATION IS NOT THERE FOR THEM.

SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE WE'RE PUSHING TOWARDS.

AND THAT'S WHY THE NUMBERS KIND OF SLOWLY SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

WHEN I SPEAK TO THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE, TRYING TO ENGAGE IN AND GET INVOLVED MORE INTO THE SCHOOLS TO PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION SO THAT ESPECIALLY LIKE INNER CITY RESIDENTS FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO GET GAIN A LITTLE BIT MORE TRACTION THERE AND INTEREST THERE, BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE SOME, THAT'S ONE THING THAT I CAN SAY FOR SURE IS THAT WE LACK,

[02:15:04]

IT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT A TYPICAL, YOU KNOW, I JUST BELIEVE THAT FIREMEN AND POLICEMEN, THEY ARE, THEY'RE BORN TO BE THAT NOT EVERYBODY CAN BE A POLICE OFFICER OR A FIREMAN.

AND I JUST BELIEVE PUBLIC SAFETY GETS DOWN TO MANPOWER.

THE MORE MEN THAT WE HAVE ON THE STREET, THE MORE FIREMEN WE HAVE LIKE THAT, THAT TERRIBLE FIRE THAT WE HAD.

I MEAN, HOW MANY RESPONDED? THERE WERE A LOT OF IT WAS WELL OVER 200.

AND THAT WAS MULTIPLE AGENCIES, YOU KNOW, AS FAR OUT AS EASTON.

I HAVE TO SAY THAT YOU GUYS, I MEAN, THE GUY IN THE SINKHOLE, I MEAN, GOING BACK YEARS, THERE'S SO MANY, SO MANY HEROIC THINGS THAT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT HAS DONE IN ALLENTOWN THAT I HAVE TO COMMEND.

AND I'M ALWAYS LOOKING TO SEE WITH THE BUDGET OR ANY WAY TO GET MORE POLICE OFFICERS, MORE FIREMEN, BECAUSE YOUR LIFE IS IN DANGER AND AND OUR LIFE IS IN DANGER IF WE DON'T HAVE WE CAN HAVE ALL THE EQUIPMENT, WE CAN HAVE ALL THE TRUCKS, BUT WE NEED THE MANPOWER, WE NEED THE TRAINING, WE NEED ALL OF THAT.

AND THAT'S MY BIGGEST CONCERN, IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT MANPOWER IS THERE TO AND LIKE YOU SAID, WHAT A DIFFERENCE HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE IN THE CITY FROM WHEN YOU BECAME A FIREMAN.

IT LIKE, YOU KNOW, IT WAS LIKE 50,000 MORE PEOPLE, RIGHT? CORRECT. SO I JUST WANTED TO TOUCH ON THAT, ABOUT ABOUT ABOUT THE MANPOWER AND SOMETHING THAT I PERSONALLY WOULD LIKE TO WORK ON WITH INCENTIVES TO GET MORE FIREMEN TO GET MORE. WHAT? YOU HEARD ME WITH THE POLICE OFFICER.

DO THE SAME THING WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, AND HAVING THEM LIVE IN THE CITY ALSO WOULD BE AN ADVANTAGE TO US.

SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. OH, WE GOT ONE MORE. JUST ONE OTHER.

SORRY. OUT OF THE 16,000 CALLS, DO YOU HAVE ROUGHLY THE BREAKDOWN BETWEEN NUMBER OF ONES THAT WERE CALLS DIRECT FOR FIRE VERSUS CO-RESPONSE WITH EMS? YEAH, WE CAN GET THAT FOR YOU. I MEAN, THE MAJORITY A LOT OF THE CALLS ARE EMS CALLS.

WE ASSIST LIKE WE'RE LIKE FIRST, FIRST RESPONDING ALONG WITH EMS. NOW THEY DISPATCHED ACCORDINGLY, LIKE TOGETHER.

SO IT ACTUALLY IS HELPFUL TO HAVE BOTH AGENCIES BE DISPATCHED AT THE SAME TIME, LIKE EXACTLY AT THE SAME TIME.

SO YEAH, IT'S A LOT. THE MAJORITY OF OUR CARS ARE EMS BASED, BUT THEN THE REST OF THEM ACTUALLY FOLLOW ALONG IN LINE.

OKAY. YEAH. JUST AS FAR AS NUMBERS, WE CAN GET YOU THE NUMBERS IF YOU WANT THEM SPECIFICALLY, BUT WE CAN GET YOU EVERYTHING. OKAY. IT'S BALLPARK 4 TO 5000 VERSUS 4 TO 5000.

OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. I WOULD ADD YOU BEAT ME TO IT, BUT I WOULD ADD FALSE ALARMS, TOO.

I'D BE CURIOUS. YEAH. YEAH, I WOULD, I WOULD JUST BE CURIOUS.

AND I'M NOT MINIMIZING THE RESPONSE. YOU HAVE TO RESPOND.

I GET I GET ALL THAT, BUT BASED ON THAT DATA, IT'D BE INTERESTING TO TALK ABOUT HOW MAYBE WE CAN TRY AND MINIMIZE THOSE CALLS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, REALLY ADDING TO YOUR CALL VOLUME. SO THE INTERESTING THING IS THAT WHEN PEOPLE SAY FALSE ALARMS, THE PROBLEM THAT WE RUN INTO A LOT OF TIMES IS THAT IF IT'S, IF IT'S SMOKE THAT ACTUALLY SETS OFF A DETECTOR.

REALISTICALLY, IT'S NOT CONSIDERED A FALSE ALARM, EVEN THOUGH IT, IT TURNS INTO MORE OF A NUISANCE ALARM WHERE WE END UP HAVING TO DISPATCH AND HAVE TO RESPOND AND HAVE TO. BUT THE REALITY IS, IS THAT THE SMOKE ACTIVATES THE DETECTOR AND IT ACTUALLY NOTIFIES AND IT PUSHES IT OUT THERE. WE DON'T GET AS MANY THAT THAT IT HAS A LOT TO DO WITH JUST LIKE A MALFUNCTION WE DO.

I'M NOT SAYING THAT WE DON'T EVERY SO OFTEN, BUT THERE'S A, THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S A TRUE FALSE ALARM OR IF IT'S ACTUALLY ONE THAT'S BEING SET OFF BY A DETECTOR DUE TO SMOKE, WHETHER IT BE SMOKING, WHETHER IT BE, YOU KNOW, COOKING, WHETHER IT BE, YOU KNOW, ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

IF IT'S SETTING OFF THE ALARM, IT'S NOT REALLY CONSIDERED A FALSE ALARM.

OKAY. AND THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT TYPICALLY WE END UP GOING TO A LOT.

AND THAT'S JUST THE REALITY OF HOW IT GOES. I SEE YOU DOWNTOWN.

I MEAN, IT'S THERE'S A LOT OF THAT. AND YOU KNOW, YOU'RE NOT IT'S NOT A SITUATION WHERE, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, IT'S NOT LIKE A FIRE, BUT I SEE, YOU KNOW, YOUR FOLKS GOING IN AND OUT AND NO ONE'S RUNNING.

SO I JUST, I, IT'S THERE'S OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING TRIGGERED IT.

SO WE KNOW WHETHER SOMEONE'S, SOMEONE'S SMOKING OR WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE, BUT TECHNICALLY I GET IT'S NOT A FALSE ALARM.

I GET IT, SO. THANKS. ANYONE ELSE? ANYBODY FROM THE PUBLIC.

SO JUST BECAUSE I'M GUILTY OF THIS IN MY PREVIOUS JOB, AND LIKE YOU SAID, THERE'S NOT TOO MANY OF THE FALSE TRICKS.

I KNOW THAT BUSINESSES CAN SOMETIMES TRICK THEIR OWN ALARMS. ARE YOU CHARGING, LIKE, TO GET SOME MONEY OUT OF IT? IF YOU HAVE TO GO OUT AFTER SO MANY TIMES OF ALARMS, JUST BEING TRICKED ON ACCIDENT BY MAYBE LIKE THE BUSINESS OWNER OR EMPLOYEE, DO WE DO WE CHARGE THEM SO WE DON'T? I MEAN, THERE IS THERE, THERE ARE LIKE IN THE INTERNATIONAL FIRE CODE,

[02:20:02]

AND I BELIEVE IN OUR ORDINANCE. IT ALSO DOES HAVE SOMETHING THAT SPEAKS TO THAT EFFECT.

BUT AGAIN, WHO MAKES THE DETERMINATION AS TO WHETHER THAT'S CONSIDERED A FALSE ALARM OR IT'S ACTUALLY AN ALARM, EVEN IF IT'S EVEN IF IT'S COOKING. SO LET'S SAY, LET'S SAY, FOR INSTANCE, ROSE TOWERS WAS ONE OF OUR BIGGEST CULPRITS FOR THIS.

IF I CAN'T GO AFTER THE AGENCY, IF ROOM 122, 2300, ALL DIFFERENT ROOMS ARE THE ONES THAT ARE ACTUALLY CAUSING THIS. SO WE CAN'T GO AFTER INDIVIDUAL RENTERS, BUT WE CAN TRY TO GO AFTER THE AGENCY.

NOW, THE AGENCY ITSELF, IF THERE WAS THAT, IT WAS AN ACTUAL ALARM BEING CAUSED BY AN ISSUE WITHIN THE SYSTEM THAT THEY'RE CHOOSING NOT TO REPAIR, AND IT'S CONTINUOUSLY SENDING US OUT THERE, THEN THAT'S A DIFFERENT STORY.

THEN WE CAN GO AFTER THAT. THEN WE CAN CHARGE THEM ON THAT.

AND AGAIN, IT'S JUST A VERY SLIPPERY SLOPE AS FAR AS, YOU KNOW, IF AN ALARM GOES OFF BECAUSE SOMEBODY ACTUALLY IS EITHER, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, COOKING BACON AND IT SETS OFF THE ALARM THAN IT IS WHAT IT IS.

IT'S GOTTEN BETTER, ESPECIALLY WITH THE HOUSING AUTHORITY BECAUSE THEY'VE CHANGED THEIR SYSTEMS. IT USED TO BE THAT THE SMOKE ALARMS WITHIN THE APARTMENTS WERE TIED INTO THE ENTIRE ALARM SYSTEM. SO THAT WOULD BE THAT WOULD CAUSE THAT.

NOW, EVEN ON THE NEW CONSTRUCTION AND NEW CODE, THE INTERNAL ONES ARE ARE INDIVIDUAL FOR THE APARTMENTS.

AND THEN THE HALLWAY ONES ARE THE ONES THAT ARE TIED INTO THE FIRE ALARM SYSTEM.

SO FIRST NOTIFICATION WOULD BE SOMEBODY BEING NOTIFIED RIGHT AWAY IN THEIR APARTMENT.

HEY, YOU GOT SOMETHING GOING ON. IF IT GETS OUT OF HAND, IT'S GOING TO REACH THE HALLWAY ONE, WHICH IS AUTOMATICALLY GOING TO DISPATCH US THEN.

SO THAT WOULD BE DIFFERENT THERE. THAT'S HELPED US A LOT IMMENSELY IN A LOT OF THE CALL VOLUMES WHEN WE SEE THEM.

ANYONE ELSE? ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU CHIEF. THANK YOU.

ALL RIGHT. WE'VE WAITED A LONG TIME.

GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING. GOOD EVENING, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL. I'M ON THE CHIEF OF MS FOR THE CITY OF ALLENTOWN.

THIS IS OUR 50TH BUDGET. I'M NOT SURE IF COUNCIL'S AWARE, BUT ALLENTOWN, MS IS CELEBRATING OUR 50TH ANNIVERSARY THIS YEAR.

SO WE ARE THE YOUNGEST OF THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL TEAM IN ALLENTOWN AND AS WELL AS ALL EMERGENCY SERVICES IN ALLENTOWN.

BUT I LIKE TO THINK THAT WE'RE THE MOST PROGRESSIVE. SO I GUESS I CAN JOKE ABOUT THAT.

I'LL JUST GIVE YOU A LITTLE OVERVIEW OF MS. PRESENTLY, WE HAVE 44 FULL TIME EMPLOYEES.

OF THOSE, 35 ARE DEDICATED 911 PARAMEDIC RESPONDERS ASSIGNED TO PLATOONS AND ASSIGN SHIFTS TO RUN AMBULANCE CALLS.

I HAVE FOUR ASSISTANT CHIEFS OF EMS, ONE PER EACH PLATOON THAT ACT AS A SHIFT SUPERVISOR.

THERE'S MYSELF, THE CHIEF OF EMS. I HAVE A CAPTAIN OF TRAINING AND SPECIAL EVENTS WHO'S HOUSE AT THE FIRE ACADEMY AND WHOSE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE IS TO OVERSEE OUR INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL TRAINING COMPONENTS, AS WELL AS SPECIAL EVENT PLANNING FOR THE CITY.

I HAVE THREE MEMBERS OF OUR BILLING TEAM WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR BILLING FOR EMS SERVICES, AND AS YOU'LL HEAR LATER ON IN MY PREPARED STATEMENT, ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR GREATER THAN 100% REVENUE NEUTRALITY FOR EMS, WHICH THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IN MY TENURE AS CHIEF OF EMS, WHERE I CAN SAY THAT WE HAVE RECOVERED 100% OF OUR OPERATING EXPENSES, AND THAT IS THROUGH THE DEDICATED TEAM OF BILLING PROFESSIONALS.

ALLENTOWN EMS HAS FIVE SPECIAL TEAMS PROVIDING THE MEDICAL ASPECT TO THE POLICE EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, TECHNICAL RESCUE AND HAZMAT TEAM, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, UNDERWATER RECOVERY TEAM, THE ALLENTOWN BOMB SQUAD, AND WE HAVE A A CERTIFIED BICYCLE TEAM THAT ATTENDS MULTIPLE CITY EVENTS YEARLY. WE HAVE A DEDICATED EDUCATION CADRE. THIS YEAR, WE HAVE TAUGHT CPR TO JUST ABOUT 500 INDIVIDUALS, AS WELL AS STAFFED TWO EMT PROGRAMS AT THE ALLENTOWN FIRE ACADEMY.

OUR OUTREACH TEAM HAS ATTENDED GREATER THAN 100 SPECIAL EVENTS, HAVE PERFORMED COMMUNITY RELATIONS AND SCHOOL VISITS TO MULTIPLE SCHOOLS IN THE ALLENTOWN SCHOOL DISTRICT, AND WE HAVE LAUNCHED AN INITIATIVE WHERE WE ARE TRYING OUR VERY BEST TO OFFER STUDENTS FROM ALLEN AND DEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTING GRADUATING SENIORS A SEAT IN OUR YEARLY EMT PROGRAM TO GIVE THEM A HEADS UP ON A MEDICAL CAREER.

[02:25:07]

BUT TO SEND OUR SPECIAL EVENTS PEOPLE OUT TO TALK TO THE YOUTH, GET THEM INTERESTED IN OUR FIELD, GET THEM IN THE DIRECTION TO BECOMING FIREFIGHTERS OR EMTS, AND THEN WE HOPE TO SEE THEM AGAIN WHEN THEY ARE PARAMEDICS.

WE HAVE A VERY SUCCESSFUL CPR OUTREACH PROGRAM WHERE WE WILL DO HANDS ONLY CPR CLASSES.

AT OUR SPECIAL EVENTS. WE GO TO THE IRONPIGS.

WE DO LOTS OF THINGS LIKE THAT, AND WE'RE STARTING TO REAP THE REWARDS OF THAT.

WHERE WE HAVE NOTED IN 2026 THAT 100% OF OUR CARDIAC ARREST RESPONSES HAVE HAD SOME FORM OF BYSTANDER CPR.

AND THIS YEAR WE HAD FOUR CPR SAVES. I REALIZE IN A POPULATION SUCH AS ALLENTOWN, THAT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE A LOT, BUT THAT IS GIGANTIC. WE HAVE SEEN A SHARP DECREASE IN OVERDOSE DEATHS, AND WE HAVE EXHAUSTED OUR LEAVE BEHIND NARCAN PROGRAM. AND WE CAN ATTRIBUTE ACCESS TO NARCAN OR LEAVE BEHIND NARCAN PROGRAM, THE HEALTH BUREAU'S NARCAN PROGRAM, TO REDUCING THE NUMBER OF OVERDOSE DEATHS.

EVEN ONE WAS ENOUGH FOR US TO SAY, HEY, THAT'S OUR GOAL.

THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO REACH. BUT WE'RE HAPPY TO SEE THAT.

IT IS A NOTED DECLINE IN OVERDOSE DEATHS. IN 2026, WE LAUNCHED OUR VERY SUCCESSFUL PREHOSPITAL BLOOD PROGRAM.

WE HAVE ADMINISTERED BLOOD 43 TIMES WITH A LESS THAN 5% WASTE OF BLOOD PRODUCT.

ONLY TWO TIMES THIS YEAR HAS OUR BLOOD TIMED OUT WHERE IT HAS BEEN IN OUR POSSESSION FOR GREATER THAN 14 DAYS AND NOT BE USED.

OTHER THAN THAT, WE'VE USED IT 43 TIMES AND IT'S A STRAIGHT DOWN THE LINE, 50/50 MIX OF MEDICAL AND TRAUMA PATIENTS.

OUR BIGGEST MEDICAL PATIENT RECEIVING BLOOD ARE DURING OBSTETRIC, OBSTETRIC AND GYNECOLOGICAL EMERGENCIES.

AND THEN OF COURSE WE DO ADMINISTER TO TRAUMA PATIENTS.

OF THOSE TRAUMA PATIENTS, YES, THERE WERE SHOOTING AND STABBINGS, BUT WE HAVE SEEN A SHARP INCREASE IN ELECTRIC BICYCLE, ELECTRIC SCOOTER, MOPED, MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENTS.

THAT IS NOT A TREND THAT'S UNIQUE TO ALLENTOWN.

IT'S PENNSYLVANIA STATEWIDE. IT'S NATIONWIDE.

AND WE'RE STARTING TO SEE SOME LARGE MUNICIPALITIES, ESPECIALLY ON THE WEST COAST, OFFERING BUYBACK PROGRAMS TO GET THESE THINGS OFF THE STREETS BECAUSE OF THAT MUCH OF A NUISANCE. SO MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL, MEMBERS OF CITY ADMINISTRATION.

THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ME TO SPEAK TONIGHT.

AND I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDYING SUPPORT OF MS IN ALLENTOWN.

OUR REVISED BUDGET FOR 2026 WAS $7,019,502. THE SUM OF ALL FUNDS IN OUR ACCOUNTS, NOT RELATED TO PERSONNEL EXPENSES, WAS $389,000, OR LESS THAN 6% OF OUR TOTAL BUDGET.

IN PREPARING THE 2020 BUDGET, ALL DEPARTMENTS WERE ASKED TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL WITH A REDUCTION OF 10%, NOT INCLUDING PERSONNEL EXPENSES. IF MS ELIMINATED EVERY EXPENSE ACROSS THE BOARD OUTSIDE OF PERSONNEL, WE WOULD NOT REALIZE A 10% REDUCTION IN EXPENSES.

HOWEVER, WE DID PRESENT A WELL THOUGHT BARE BONES BUDGET FOR 2027 AND A FUNDING STREAM TO REIMBURSE THE CITY FOR 100% OF THE EXPENSES WE HAVE REQUESTED, INCLUDING THE ADDITION OF PERSONNEL AS WELL AS SOME OTHER NOMINAL INCREASES IN OUR EXPENSE ACCOUNTS.

I CALL THEM NOMINAL, KNOWING FULL WELL ONE OF THEM $66,000.

BUT I PROMISE I HAVE A REALLY GOOD REASON FOR THAT.

WHEN WE FACTOR IN WHY A GIVEN YEAR REDUCTIONS WERE REQUESTED, MS WOULD PRESENT A BUDGET ASKING FOR AN INCREASE OF OVER 6%.

I FEEL IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT EVEN WITH THE INCREASES ACROSS SEVERAL OF OUR BUDGET ACCOUNTS, THIS IS STILL BARE BONES. THIS IS A NO FRILLS BUDGET.

INCREASES TO PREMIUM AND TEMPORARY PAY IN 2027 REFLECT THE REAL NUMBER WE EXPECT TO UTILIZE IN THE BUDGET YEAR.

WE'VE GONE OVER BUDGET IN PREMIUM PAY AS FAR BACK AS I CAN TRACK.

IT IS NOT IDEAL FOR ANY MANAGER TO PRESENT TO YOU A FALSE HAPPY NUMBER.

[02:30:01]

SO WHILE WE HAVE ATTEMPTED INCREMENTALLY TO INCREASE THIS, I'VE COME TO YOU THIS YEAR WITH WHAT I EXPECT TO SPEND IN 2027 AND PREMIUM PAY, AND THE SAME FOR TEMPORARY. WE HAVE A DEDICATED CADRE OF PART TIME AND PREMIUM EMPLOYEES WHO NOT ONLY WORK FULL TIME JOBS ELSEWHERE, BUT WORK HERE AND WORK HERE, OFTEN BECAUSE THEY LOVE OUR PROGRAM AND THEY LOVE THE RESULTS WE DO OR RESULTS WE OBTAIN.

AND THEY LOVE WORKING IN THE CITY OF ALLENTOWN.

I FEEL IT'S IMPORTANT THAT A NUMBER BE ACCURATE AND REALISTIC.

WE HAVE TO KEEP AMBULANCES ON THE ROAD. WHEN SOMEBODY CALLS OUT SICK OR SOMEBODY INJURED OR SOMEBODY TAKES VACATION, WHICH WE HAVE A VERY GENEROUS BENEFITS PACKAGE AND I WANT MY STAFF TO USE IT.

I THINK THERE'S NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN A WORK HOME LIFE BALANCE.

BUT WHEN WE HAVE THESE ABSENCES, WE HAVE TO FILL THE SHIFT.

WE CAN'T SIMPLY JUST SAY, OKAY, I HAVE FOUR PEOPLE ON VACATION.

WE'RE RUNNING WITH TWO AMBULANCES TODAY IN A VOLUME OF 20,000.

THAT IS NOT GOING TO WORK OUT. SO WE NEED PREMIUM PAY.

WE NEED PART TIMERS. WE NEED TEMPORARY WAGES.

WE HAVE TO HAVE A MANDATE POLICY. IN ADDITION TO PERSONNEL.

THE ADDITION TO PERSONNEL IS LONG OVERDUE. IF I'M BEING HONEST, THE ADDITION OF TWO FULL TIMERS HELPS US SUSTAIN BUT STILL FAILS AND FALLS SHORT OF PROVIDING ADEQUATE STAFF TO MEET OUR CURRENT AND PROJECTED NEEDS AND TO GROW WITH OUR CITY.

WE MUST USE MANDATORY OVERTIME TO KEEP US AT APPROPRIATE STAFFING LEVELS, AND THIS COMES AT A COST TO THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF OUR STAFF.

THE NUMBER OF MANDATED SHIFTS IN 2026 HAS MORE THAN DOUBLED COMPARED TO 2025.

THE NUMBER OF SIX HOUR BLOCKS OF TIME BROWNED OUT ON AN AMBULANCE HAS DOUBLED IN 2026 COMPARED TO 2025 BECAUSE EVEN WITH MANDATES, WE RUN OUT OF OPTIONS AND WE JUST CANNOT FULLY STAFF WHEN WE EXPERIENCE THE LOSSES WE'RE CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING.

WHEN IT COMES TO CONTINUITY OF CARE AND PREPAREDNESS AND THE OVERALL STRAIN ON OUR STAFF, WE STILL MUST UTILIZE MANDATED OVERTIME. MANDATED OVERTIME IS A MORALE KILLER, AND IT IS THE CATALYST FOR DISRUPTIONS IN HOME LIFE BALANCE AND PREMATURE BURNOUT AND FATIGUE. SO WE WANT TO ELIMINATE THAT.

AND ADDING STAFF LIKE WE'RE DOING THIS YEAR WILL HOPEFULLY EASE SOME OF THAT BURDEN.

WE ARE GRATEFUL THE CITY IS PRESENTING A BUDGET TO ADDRESS OUR ADDRESS, OUR STAFFING ISSUES IN MS, AND I HOPE I CAN CONVINCE YOU TO ADD MORE WHEN THE FUNDING ALLOWS.

WHEN WE LOOK AT HOW MANY AMBULANCES SHOULD BE ON THE ROAD, WE NEED TO CONSIDER A LOT OF THINGS.

WE PULL DATA BASED ON CALL VOLUME, BUSIEST AREAS, BUSIEST TIMES OF THE DAY POPULATION, THE LEVEL AND TYPE OF CALL FOR SERVICE AND UNIT HOUR UTILIZATION. UNIT HOUR UTILIZATION IS THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES METRIC FOR PERFORMANCE USED TO MEASURE AMBULANCE WORKLOAD, SYSTEM PRODUCTIVITY AND OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY.

WE TAKE THE NUMBER OF CALLS, THE TIME SPENT ON CALL, AND I USE DISPATCH TO AVAILABLE.

AND DIVIDE THAT INFORMATION BY THE TOTAL NUMBER OF HOURS AMBULANCES ARE STAFFED.

URBAN AREAS LIKE ALLENTOWN TARGET A UNIT HOUR UTILIZATION BETWEEN POINT THREE AND 0.5.

MEETING AN AMBULANCE HANDLES ROUGHLY ONE TRANSPORT EVERY 1 TO 2 HOURS, LEAVING ENOUGH DOWNTIME FOR STATION DUTIES, REST AND IMMEDIATE AVAILABILITY FOR NEW EMERGENCIES.

IN ALLENTOWN, OUR UATU IS GREATER THAN 0.6. THIS INDICATES A VERY BUSY HIGH DENSITY SYSTEM.

WHILE HIGHER NUMBERS LOOKED COST EFFECTIVE ON PAPER, A UCCU APPROACHING OR EVEN EXCEEDING 0.45 TO 0.6 LEAVES MINIMAL RECOVERY TIME CORRELATING WITH HIGHER PARAMEDIC FATIGUE, INCREASED RESPONSE TIME, INCREASED EMPLOYEE TURNOVER, AND A STRAIN ON MUTUAL AID TURNOVER. IT'S NOT JUST FACES.

IT IS INCREDIBLY TIME CONSUMING AND EXPENSIVE TO ONBOARD STAFF.

WHEN WE GET SOMEBODY HERE, WE WANT TO KEEP THEM FOR THE LIFE OF THEIR CAREER SO THEY CAN RETIRE.

[02:35:02]

BUT JUST TO HAVE SOMEBODY WHO KNOWS THE CITY, SOMEBODY WHO, WHEN THEY GET A CALL ON THE ROAD, IS GOING TO KNOW THAT HALF STREET AND THAT QUARTER STREET OR THAT BLOCK AND KNOW IT.

HAVE EXPERIENCED IT AND JUST BRING THAT SENSE OF TIME TO A CALL.

FURTHER, LOOKING AT THE CHICAGO EMS MODEL, WHERE POPULATION IS CORRELATED WITH THE NUMBER OF AVAILABLE AMBULANCES, WE ARE UNDERSTAFFED. OKAY. WE'VE HEARD THIS MULTIPLE TIMES TONIGHT.

THIS IS NO SECRET. EVERY SINGLE BUREAU IN THE CITY NEEDS PEOPLE.

HOWEVER, IT'S NOT ALL DOOM AND GLOOM. AS OF NOW, WE ARE MAINTAINING.

WHILE AT TIMES DIFFICULT TO FILL THE VOIDS AND ANSWER ALL OF THE 911 CALLS, WE DO.

AS OF TODAY, I'M DOWN FOR, I'M SORRY, FIVE FULL TIME MEMBERS.

I HAVE FIVE FULL TIME EMPLOYEES OUT ON EXTENDED ABSENCES, INJURY, FMLA, SICK, MILITARY. THESE ARE ALL LEGITIMATE REASONS THEY'RE OUT AND IT'S JUST SOMETHING WE'RE COMBATING.

THIS IS A REAL ISSUE BECAUSE WE DO NOT HAVE THE DEPTH IN OUR STAFFING TO ABSORB ANY LOSSES AT ALL, LET ALONE FIVE. WE HAVE A BARE BONES BUDGET. WE HAVE A BARE BONES SCHEDULE, WHICH MEANS THERE IS NO PADDING TO MOVE PEOPLE AROUND AND FILL VACANCIES, MUCH LESS WHEN WE HAVE TO DO FIVE ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

THESE TWO POSITIONS WILL BE IMPLEMENTED AS SOON AS WE ARE ALLOWED.

SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO FUND THEM, AND THIS WILL PROVIDE MUCH NEEDED RELIEF TO MY GRATEFUL STAFF.

STAFFING IS IMPORTANT FOR 911 CALLS, BUT IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT FOR THE MANY SPECIAL EVENTS AND VENUES ACROSS ALLENTOWN.

WHEN THERE IS A BIG EVENT, YOU WILL LIKELY SEE SOMEONE FROM OUR STAFF ON MANY OF THE PUBLIC OUTREACH EVENTS YOU'RE GOING TO SEE.

STEPHANIE, WHO IS ABSOLUTELY THE BREAD AND BUTTER OF OUR COMMUNITY OUTREACH TEAM.

SHE'S OUT THERE TEACHING CPR AND HAS, I BELIEVE, SINGLEHANDEDLY IMPROVED OUR CPR RECOVERY RATE THROUGH HER ATTENTION TO DETAIL AND DEDICATION. WE NEED PERSONNEL TO MEET THE DEMAND OF OUR VIGOROUS SPECIAL EVENT SCHEDULE.

MANAGING DIRECTOR CAIN MENTIONED EARLIER ABOUT HOW WE HAD TO RECENTLY TELL THE ARCHER CENTER WE COULDN'T HELP THEM OUT.

OVER THE SUMMER, THE ARCHER CENTER REACHED REACH OUT. AND THEY SAID, HEY. OUR CONTRACTOR FOR MS ISN'T WORKING.

WE WOULD REALLY LIKE TO BRING ALLENTOWN BACK IN.

I REALLY WANTED TO SAY, YES, WE'LL BE THERE, BUT THAT WOULD BE AN UNDUE BURDEN ON OUR CAPTAIN OF SPECIAL EVENTS AND THE PARAMEDICS THAT ARE GOING TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR COVERING THOSE WHEN THE FIFTH LANE IS EMPTY, AND IT'S NOT FAIR TO THEM TO PUT MORE ON THEIR PLATE, GIVEN WHAT WE'RE ALREADY DOING AND DEALING WITH WITH OUR SCHEDULING, THAT COMES OUT OF DISSERVICE TO THE ARCHER CENTER.

IT COMES AT A DISSERVICE TO OUR BUREAU, BECAUSE THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN REVENUE GENERATING TO HELP US MEET OUR NEEDS AND PROVIDING FOR THE CITY.

LOOKING AT THE OTHER ACCOUNTS, GETTING OUTSIDE OF STAFFING.

ANY ACCOUNT THAT YOU SEE MORE MONEY IN IS MOST LIKELY TO COMBAT INFLATION.

A BOX OF GLOVES IN 2016 HAS MORE THAN TRIPLED IN PRICE IN 2026 GOING INTO 2027.

WE ANSWER 20,000 CALLS A YEAR. WE GO THROUGH A LOT OF NON-REPLACEABLE SUPPLIES, GLOVES, BANDAGES, MEDICATIONS, THINGS LIKE THAT THAT WE HAVE TO KEEP ON OUR AMBULANCES.

THE LARGEST YOU'LL SEE IS $66,000, AND THAT'S FOR A STRETCHER AND A LOAD SYSTEM FOR OUR 10TH AMBULANCE.

IN 2021, WE LOBBIED TO ADD A NINTH AND 10TH AMBULANCE TO OUR FLEET.

OUR FLEET USED TO HAVE EIGHT AVAILABLE AMBULANCES IN IT.

WE ADDED THAT TO TEN, AND IN 2027, I'M VERY EXCITED TO SAY WE WILL FINALLY SEE ALL TEN AMBULANCES IN SERVICE AT THE SAME TIME. NOT STAFFED, NOT LIKE ON SHIFT, BUT WE WILL HAVE AT OUR DISPOSAL TEN AMBULANCES.

AND YOU MIGHT BE THINKING, WELL, WHEN WOULD WE USE THAT? WELL, THERE WAS A FIRE ON FRONT STREET BACK IN THE BEGINNING OF THE SUMMER WHERE I HAD EVERY PIECE OF EQUIPMENT WE OWNED, INCLUDING TWO GOLF CARTS STAFFED AND AT THIS FIRE, PROVIDING AID TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WHO BROUGHT IN OVER 200 FIREFIGHTERS.

[02:40:03]

AND WE DON'T OWN TEN STRUCTURES, AND WE DON'T HAVE TEN LOAD SYSTEMS BECAUSE WE ADDED THESE AMBULANCES INCREMENTALLY.

AND BECAUSE OF THE COST OF ADDING THIS EQUIPMENT, WE NEVER HAD A NEED UNTIL NOW TO MAKE SURE WE HAD TEN STRETCHERS AND TEN LOAD SYSTEMS. SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE ASKING FOR THAT. THE GOOD NEWS FOR ALL OF YOU IS I CAN PAY FOR ALL OF THIS.

OUR REVENUE FOR 2026, AS OF TODAY, BEFORE I CAME TO THIS MEETING, IS 6.5 MILLION.

THIS IS MONEY COLLECTED FOR SERVICES PROVIDED BY OUR BILLING DEPARTMENT.

WITH TWO MONTHS LEFT IN THE FISCAL YEAR, WE HAVE RECOVERED 93% OF OUR TOTAL 2026 OPERATING EXPENSES.

WE EXPECT TO FINISH THE YEAR IN THE AREA OF 7.5 TO 7.8 MILLION.

CHANGES TO INSURANCE REIMBURSEMENT, MEDICAID, MEDICARE, MILEAGE REIMBURSEMENT, AND OTHER THINGS BY HHS ARE REASONS WE HAVE NOTED AN INCREASED REVENUE OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS, NOT TO MENTION OUR CALL VOLUME, WHICH, THOUGH NOT AS SHARP AS AN INCREASE IN THE PAST FEW YEARS, REMAINS AT ABOUT 20,000. I COULD GO ON, BUT I'D RATHER SAY THAT EVERYONE IN MS APPRECIATES THE TOUGH FINANCIAL SITUATION IN ALLENTOWN.

WE'RE NOT BLIND TO IT. WE KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO ASK A RESIDENT TO PAY MORE.

WE REALIZE ANY BUDGET PROCESS IS GIVE AND TAKE, AND TRYING TO DO THE MOST GOOD WITH WHAT YOU HAVE.

WE APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT OF CITY ADMINISTRATION AND FOR YOU ON COUNCIL, FOR THE WORK YOU DO AND FOR ANY FUNDING THAT IS GRANTED TO MS. AND AT THIS TIME, I'LL ENTERTAIN ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE. ALL RIGHT.

DO I HAVE ANY? THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.

I DO WANT TO CALL OUT WHEN COUNCIL PRESIDENT PONGO AND I MET WITH YOU AT THE BEGINNING.

IN WHAT WAS THAT, FEBRUARY OR MARCH? I THINK THAT WAS IT WAS IT WAS VERY COMPELLING TO SEE THE NEED THAT YOU HAD FOR STAFFING.

AND I'M GRATEFUL THAT THE ADMINISTRATION LOOKED TO MOVE THAT UP ON TWO BY TWO.

TWO PEOPLE IN THIS IN THIS BUDGET. I DID WANT TO NOTE IN HERE BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T YOU DIDN'T CALL IT OUT, BUT I WAS READING IN THAT YOU'RE PLANNING TO PUT A PLACE VENTILATORS INTO SERVICE AND PRE-HOSPITAL ULTRASOUNDS IN 2027.

YEAH. SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE REALLY TAKEN A STAND ON AS ADMINISTRATION FOR MS IS PROVIDING THE MOST, PROVIDING THE BEST BLOOD. THAT WAS A GIGANTIC MOVE IN MS, WHERE, YOU KNOW, TEN YEARS AGO, NO ONE WOULD HAVE EVEN CONSIDERED IT. LIKE, WHY ARE YOU PUTTING BLOOD ON AN AMBULANCE? BUT WE'VE REALLY MADE A LOT OF PROGRESS ON THE STATE LEVEL AND NATIONAL LEVEL.

AND OF COURSE, HERE IN ALLENTOWN WITH PROVIDING WHOLE BLOOD.

THE NEXT LOGICAL STEP FOR US IS ULTRASOUND. WHEN WE GO TO A PATIENT WHO'S BLEEDING OR DYING AND WE CAN'T SEE IT, AN ULTRASOUND IS GOING TO HELP US GUIDE WHAT HOSPITAL THEY GO TO, WHAT SERVICES WE NEED AT THAT HOSPITAL, WHAT SERVICES THEY NEED IN THE AMBULANCE. THE SAME FOR VENTILATOR.

RIGHT NOW WE HAVE A DEDICATED REHABILITATION FACILITY FOR PEOPLE ON VENTILATORS.

SO IF WE GET CALLED TO THAT FACILITY, WE DON'T HAVE A VENTILATOR.

THEY'RE NOT GOING TO SEND THEIRS OUT. SO WE HAVE TO MANUALLY CONTROL THE AIRWAYS, WHICH IS NOT IDEAL FOR ANY PATIENT.

SO I WAS ABLE TO USE A GRANT LAST YEAR. WE WERE ABLE TO PURCHASE ONE VENTILATOR.

WE HAD SOME FUNDING LEFT IN OUR TRAINING BUDGET.

WE WERE ABLE TO GET OUR STAFF THROUGH IT, AND WE HOPE BY THE MIDDLE OF 2027 TO HAVE THE VENTILATOR IN SERVICE, WE HOPE TO PURCHASE THROUGH A GRANT THAT WE OBTAINED THE ULTRASOUND EQUIPMENT IN EARLY 2027 AND HAVE OUR STAFF TRAINED BY THE THIRD OR FOURTH QUARTER OF 2027 TO ROLL ULTRASOUND OUT.

AND THEN AS STUFF COMES OUT, WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE BEST CARE POSSIBLE FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN NEED.

SO IT'S NOT JUST GET IN AND CLOSE THE DOORS, HIT THE GAS.

WE WANT TO TRULY IMPACT OUR PATIENTS. AND THE STUFF THAT THE STAFF HAS BEEN DOING IS MONUMENTAL AND LIFE SAFETY.

AND I'M GOING TO TAKE A QUOTE FROM MAYOR TURK.

A LOT OF TIMES THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A HOMICIDE AND AN AGGRAVATED ASSAULT IS A GOOD PARAMEDIC.

THANK YOU. ONE OTHER QUESTION ON THIS ONE, YOU HAD NOTED AN 8% INCREASE FOR SERVICE CALLS.

IT WAS 3 TO 5 IN YOUR NARRATIVE YEAR OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS AND AN 8% IN THE LAST ONE.

I GUESS THIS IS MAYBE A NAIVE QUESTION, BUT IF YOU'RE A REVENUE NEUTRAL DEPARTMENT, WHICH AND YOU'RE HAVING AN INCREASE IN CALLS,

[02:45:08]

SEVEN MORE ON TOP OF THE TWO. AND THAT IS FIVE MORE PARAMEDICS, ONE DEPUTY CHIEF OF EMS AND ONE CAPTAIN OF TRAINING SPECIAL EVENTS TO ASSIST ANDY THE WORKLOAD RIGHT NOW.

I DON'T LIKE TO USE HYPERBOLE. LIKE IT'S BACKBREAKING WORK, BUT IT'S A LOT.

THERE ARE TIMES WHERE OUR ASSISTANT CHIEFS WHO NEED TO BE GOING OUT ON HIGH ACUITY CALLS ARE ON MEETINGS WITH VENDORS, OR DOING THE SCHEDULE OR DOING INVENTORIES. IT'S JUST WE ARE NOT AT A LEVEL OF OVERSIGHT FOR THE AMOUNT OF VOLUME AND THE AMOUNT OF STAFF WE HAVE.

THE SPECIAL EVENTS TRAINING SIDE OF THE HOUSE.

IT'S VERY HARD FOR ONE PERSON TO DEDICATE THE AMOUNT OF TRAINING THAT WE DO.

AND THAT'S NOT JUST PARAMEDIC STAFF, THAT'S FIRE DEPARTMENTS, POLICE DEPARTMENT, IT'S DAYCARE CENTERS.

WHEN THEY NEED FIRST AID CLASSES, IT'S SCHOOLS WHEN THEY NEED OUTREACH.

SO IT'S VERY BUSY. SO THAT'S A NUMBER THAT I WOULD BE VERY CONTENT WITH.

I REALIZE IT'S A LOT. AND I HOPE FINANCE BEHIND ME IS NOT POINTING THE CANNON.

THEY RAN OUT. BUT THAT GETS US TO A PLACE WHERE I ADD PEOPLE TO PLATOONS.

WE PUT SURGE TRUCKS UP. AND WE HAVE DEPTH WHEN PEOPLE ARE OUT.

AT WHAT POINT DO YOU THINK YOU'D BE CROSSING OVER TO SAY HYPOTHETICALLY, YOU HAD THAT NUMBER WHERE YOU WOULD NO LONGER BE REVENUE NEUTRAL AT THAT POINT? LIKE WHERE DO YOU FEEL LIKE THAT? WOULD THAT, THAT INFLECTION POINT WOULD PROBABLY GET US THERE? YEAH.

OKAY. WE'RE POINTING OUT AGAIN WE'VE GONE REALLY FAR IN TERMS OF MONEY WE BROUGHT IN IN 2016, WE WERE DOWN AROUND 50%. SO THE, THE WORK FROM OUR BILLING TEAM, THE, THE ADVANCEMENTS MADE WITH THE INVESTMENTS AFFORDED BY COUNCIL HAVE HAVE REALLY HELPED US STREAMLINE GOING PAPERLESS. 100% DIGITAL NOT RELYING ON DOS COMPUTERS AND SERVERS. LIKE IT'S COME A LONG WAY. AND THE FUNDING THAT OUR REPRESENTATIVES AND OUR, OUR GOVERNMENT ARE FORCING AN HHS HAVE HELPED US UP UNTIL TWO YEARS AGO, WE COULD NOT BILL FOR MILEAGE BECAUSE THE MINIMUM BILLING FOR MILEAGE WAS 20 MILES.

SO WE DON'T DO A WHOLE LOT OF 20 MILE TRIPS. BUT NOW IT'S DOWN TO THE 10TH OF A MILE.

SO THAT OPENED UP A REVENUE STREAM. AND THE STATE GOVERNMENT I WAS AT A ROUNDTABLE.

I HATE CALLING IT THAT BECAUSE IT WAS ACTUALLY A RECTANGULAR TABLE, BUT WE HAD A MEETING LAST WEEK WITH MEMBERS OF SENATE, EXCUSE ME, CONGRESS, WHO CAME TO OUR STATION.

AND WE WERE ABLE TO SAY TO THEM LIKE, HEY, THIS IS A PROBLEM.

AND IF YOU DON'T FIX THE FUNDING, THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE AMBULANCES AND PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE USING LIFT TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL SO THEY'RE AWARE.

OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THAT.

AND I APPRECIATE JEREMY BRINGING UP THE MEETING, BECAUSE I ACTUALLY DID PULL UP MY NOTES JUST TO CHECK TO SEE THE NUMBER.

AND YOU REITERATED THE TEN AMBULANCES. I'M CURIOUS.

I THINK, LIKE YOU SAID, WE WERE JUST ABLE TO BRING THE 10TH ONE BACK, NINTH AND 10TH ON BACK ONLINE.

DO YOU FORESEE IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS A NEED TO ADD ADDITIONAL VEHICLES TO THE FLEET OR ANY ANY VEHICLES THAT WOULD BE HAVE TO BE DECOMMISSIONED? WE ARE IN A CONSTANT STATE OF REPLACEMENT THROUGH FINANCE.

THE GARAGE, THE FLEET I DON'T CALL THEM THE FLEET DEPARTMENT.

I GUESS PUBLIC WORKS PUT US ON A GOOD REPLACEMENT PLAN FOR AMBULANCES.

I MEAN, YOU CUT ANYTHING YOU WANT FROM A BUDGET.

PLEASE DON'T EVER CUT AN AMBULANCE. WE GOT BEHIND BEFORE, AND WE WERE RUNNING CHITTY BANG BANG TO MS CALLS.

AND THAT'S NOT GOOD FOR ANYBODY. SO OUR FLEET'S HEALTHY.

WHEN I SAY WE HAVE TEN, THERE'S ONLY FIVE IN SERVICE AT A TIME.

YOU USUALLY WANT TWO AND A HALF AMBULANCES FOR EVERY ONE AMBULANCE THAT'S IN SERVICE.

SO YEAH, EVENTUALLY WE PROBABLY NEED TO INCREASE OUR NUMBER OF ROLLING STOCK JUST TO HAVE THE AVAILABILITY.

WE HAD THE SAME ISSUES AS FIRE WHERE IF AN AMBULANCE GOES DOWN MECHANICAL, WE ONLY HAVE A FINITE NUMBER OF SPARES.

AND ONCE WE RUN OUT OF SPARES, WE'RE PUTTING AMBULANCES OUT OF SERVICE BECAUSE THERE'S NOT ENOUGH WORKING AMBULANCES FOR THE CREWS I HAVE.

[02:50:04]

WE WERE ABLE TO GET THE EMERGENCY PROCEDURE IN PLACE, GET THE MECHANICS IN, GET SOMETHING FIXED AND BACK ON THE ROAD AND ALLEVIATE THAT.

BUT I CAN SEE US GOING TO 12. IF SOMEONE SAID, HEY, WHAT'S YOUR FIVE YEAR PLAN? IT'S PROBABLY TO HAVE A ROLLING STOCK OF 12 AVAILABLE AMBULANCES AND I THINK ORIGINALLY YOU HAD MENTIONED, AND I'M ASSUMING THAT TWO IS NOT A RANDOM NUMBER.

I THINK YOU MENTIONED ORIGINALLY ANY SORT OF INCREASE TO PERSONNEL HAS TO BE KIND OF DONE IN LIKE TWOS, JUST BASED OFF OF HOW THE SHIFTS ARE MANNED OR YES, YES AND NO.

IN THE CASE OF WHAT WE ADDED, NOW WE'RE ADDING FLOATS.

I SHOT FOR THE STARS. I ASKED FOR THREE, I GOT TWO.

I'M VERY HAPPY WITH THAT. SO IN MOST CASES, YES, WE ADD AN AMBULANCE IN TWOS, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO BOLSTER OUR RESERVE STAFF THAT THEIR PRIMARY JOB IS TO FILL HOLES IN THE SCHEDULE TO COVER FOR TIME OFF AND VACATIONS AND TRAININGS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

AND ANY MORE, THEY'RE BEING USED FOR LONG TERM OUTAGES.

WHEN WE HAVE, I JUST LOST A GUY A WEEK AGO. HE'S GONE FOR 400 DAYS FOR THE MILITARY.

AND IT'S JUST LIKE THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE DEPTH IN OUR SCHEDULE TO PLUG THOSE HOLES.

ABSOLUTELY. I'M CURIOUS HOW YOU MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, PER DIEM AND AND KIND OF SHIFT WORK FOR FOLKS WHO ARE WORKING ELSEWHERE.

HOW DO YOU USUALLY ATTRIBUTE THAT? IS THAT AS NECESSARY? YOU JUST KIND OF OPEN IT UP TO A POOL OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE OPEN TO THAT SORT OF KIND OF WORK.

HIRE SPECIFICALLY PER DIEM AND WE HIRE EVERYBODY PER DIEM.

SO WHEN YOU HEAR THE TERM PART TIME FOR MS, IT'S A UNION MEMBER, THEY'RE SEIU.

THAT MEANS THEY MET A BENCHMARK OF HOURS WORKED WITHIN THEIR NOT WITHIN THEIR FIRST, BUT WITHIN ANY 12 MONTH PERIOD, IT'S 520 HOURS. SO YOU GET HIRED PER DIEM, YOU WORK 520 HOURS.

NOW YOU'RE PART TIME AND YOU'RE ACTUALLY IN THE UNION.

WE HAVE PEOPLE THAT LOVE THAT I HAVE ONE GUY WHO'S BEEN HERE 20 YEARS.

HE'S PART TIME. HE DOESN'T WANT TO COME FULL TIME.

HE LIKES WHAT HE DOES. WE'VE BEEN VERY GOOD AT GETTING IN SOME NURSES THAT LIKE NURSING, BUT ALSO LIKE THE PREHOSPITAL ELEMENT.

SO THEY WORK THEIR NURSING JOBS AND THEY COME HERE AND THEY WORK PART TIME AS EMS PROVIDERS.

AND THAT'S WIN WIN FOR US. IT'S A HIGH LEVEL OF CARE THAT WE LIKE AND IT'S KNOWLEDGE SHARING AMONG THE PROFESSIONS.

ABSOLUTELY. WE'RE HIRING RIGHT NOW. INTERVIEWS ARE IN NOVEMBER AND I HAVE A GOOD POOL OF APPLICANTS.

SO I THINK WE'LL DO JUST FINE ON THIS CYCLE AS WELL.

IT'S GREAT TO HEAR YOU AS FAR AS THE SERVICES FOR BLOOD AND ULTRASOUND.

I'M CURIOUS, WAS THERE ANY SORT OF TRACKING I'M ASSUMING AS A SERVICE RENDERED THAT ALSO MEANS MORE BILLABLE KIND OF PROCESSES FOR US.

SADLY, NO. BLOOD IS NOT AN AUDITED BILLING ITEM, BUT WE DO SEE AN INCREASE IN REVENUE BECAUSE IT ESCALATES THAT CALL TO WHAT WE CALL AN ALS TWO, WHICH IS AN ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT LEVEL TWO CALL.

AND THAT'S HIGHER REIMBURSEMENT FROM THE INSURANCES FOR THAT LEVEL OF CARE.

BUT WE DON'T SPECIFICALLY SEE A RECUPERATION IN THE COST OF THE BLOOD AND THE BLOOD SUPPLIES.

BUT IT ALL COMES OUT IN THE WASH. OKAY. NO, I WAS JUST CURIOUS IF.

AND I'M ASSUMING THAT'S ONLY LIMITED TO MAYBE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF UNITS OR MAYBE ONE UNIT LIKE AS FAR AS LIKE AN AMBULANCE OR IS THAT SUPPORTED ON ALL.

NO. ONCE WE GIVE THAT, IF WE GIVE BLOOD OR IF WE GIVE MULTIPLE MEDICATIONS ON A CALL, WHICH IF WE'RE GIVING BLOOD, WE'RE GIVING OTHER MEDS TO GO WITH IT ANYWAY. IT BECOMES AN ALS TO CALL, BUT IF WE CALL OTHER BLOOD IN.

SO WE HAVE A BLOOD CONSORTIUM, IT'S CITY OF BETHLEHEM, CITY OF ALLENTOWN, LEHIGH VALLEY MEDEVAC, AND SAINT LUKE'S UNIVERSITY HEALTH NETWORK. SO IF THERE'S AN INCIDENT AND THEY DISPATCH A BLOOD CONSORTIUM, ALL FOUR OF US MIGHT GO THERE, BUT THEY MAY NOT USE FOUR UNITS OF BLOOD.

BUT IF THERE IS AN INCIDENT AND WE HAD ONE BACK IN THE SUMMER, WHERE WE HAD MULTIPLE INJURIES AT AN INCIDENT AND MULTIPLE BLOOD ADMINISTRATIONS WHERE THE ENTIRE BLOOD CONSORTIUM CAME AND ALL OF THEM ADMINISTERED TO THE VARIOUS PATIENTS.

IF ONE PATIENT RECEIVED MORE THAN ONE UNIT, WE WOULDN'T REALIZE ANY DIFFERENCE IN REVENUE.

I APPRECIATE IT, THANKS. I THINK THAT'S MY QUESTION.

YEAH. YOU MENTIONED SOMEONE FROM THE PUBLIC, THE PUBLIC PRIVATE SECTOR, WHO WAS INTERESTED IN YOUR SERVICES.

DID YOU DID YOU EXPLORE THE OPPORTUNITY THERE? IF HAD WE HAD THE IF WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE THEM AND IF WE COULD IF WE COULD HAVE A LONG TERM COMMITMENT FROM THAT, THAT ENTITY, WOULD IT BE WORTH EXPLORING MAYBE GOING INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THEM AND EXPANDING THE OPERATION?

[02:55:04]

YEAH. NO. THAT'S FINE. BUT BUT I THINK I THINK AS OUR, AS OUR STAFF INCREASES WITH TWO.

WE'RE STILL NOT GOING TO BE WHERE WE NEED TO BE. I THINK IF WE ADD MORE STAFF DOWN THE LINE.

YEAH. SO I ASKED, I ASKED THE QUESTION POORLY.

I'M SORRY. SO IF WE, IF WE HAD A COMMITMENT FROM SOMEONE LIKE THAT AND THEY SAID, LISTEN, WE WANT, WE WANT YOUR SERVICES FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS AND WE'RE WILLING TO PAY X IS THAT SOMETHING WE CAN EXPLORE TO SAY, HEY, IF WE DID THIS FOR FIVE YEARS AND WE GOT X, THERE'D BE A PROFIT OF 20%.

LIKE, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT MAYBE WE CAN EXPLORE IN THAT DEPARTMENT KNOWING THAT YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE BEEN A PROFIT CENTER AND OTHER OTHER AREAS, I WOULD SAY IT'S WORTH LOOKING INTO.

YOU KNOW, ANECDOTALLY, YOU HEAR BIG THINGS ARE COMING. OTHER SPORTS POSSIBLY.

WE USED TO DO THE IRONPIGS. IT'S JUST WE DON'T, WE DON'T REALLY HAVE THE BANDWIDTH TO ADEQUATELY COVER OUR 911 BASE AND EXPAND OUT TO THINGS LIKE. AND I'LL JUST GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE.

THE WEEK OF THE ALLENTOWN FAIR, WE HAVE A TON OF RESOURCES COMMITTED TO THE FAIR, AND THEY'RE BUSY AT A BIG CONCERT THERE WITH A HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL GAME THAT HAPPENS TO BE THE NIGHT OF A BASEBALL GAME AND A CONCERT AT THE ARCHER.

IF WE WERE COVERING THAT AND WE HAVE NO STAFF, AND THAT'S WHERE WE COME DOWN TO AND OUR SURGE TIMES, WE JUST DON'T HAVE THE DEPTH TO TO REALLY ADEQUATELY COVER ALL THAT.

AND EVEN, YOU KNOW, PROVIDING SUPPORT TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS FOR FOOTBALL, WHICH IS SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN DOING SINCE 2023.

AGAIN IT GETS HARD AND I WOULD BE VERY CAUTIOUS ABOUT TAKING ON ANY MORE REGARDLESS OF A FUNDING STREAM WITHOUT KNOWING WE CAN LIKE GET PEOPLE TO WORK IT UNDERSTOOD.

AND I THINK I GUESS MY CAVEAT IS IF WE HAD LONG TERM COMMITMENTS FROM THOSE GROUPS, THEN WE COULD ADEQUATELY STAFF KNOWING WE CAN MAKE THE COMMITMENT AS COUNCIL.

OKAY, WE'LL BUDGET FOR THIS, KNOWING THAT THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN FOR THE NEXT SO MANY YEARS.

SO JUST SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT. I JUST THOUGHT, YOU KNOW IF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES ARE OUT THERE, I'M ALL, YOU KNOW, JUST FOR EXPLORING THEM. SO THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE? WANT A FOLLOW UP QUESTION FOR THE PREMIUM PAY? SINCE YOU HAD NOTED THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO BE PRETTY ACCURATE ON THAT ONE, DO YOU FEEL IF YOU HAD THE STAFFING LEVEL YOU'RE LOOKING AT THAT THAT PREMIUM PAY WOULD NOT WOULD WOULD DROP SIGNIFICANTLY? OR DO YOU FEEL LIKE IT KIND OF STAY THE SIMILAR? I THINK IT WOULD LEVEL OFF. I DON'T WANT TO SAY IT WOULD DROP SIGNIFICANTLY BECAUSE AS WE ADD STAFF, THEY HAVE TIME OFF TO USE AND THERE'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE THE USE OF PREMIUM PAY.

OKAY. MY GOAL WOULD BE TO FIND A WAY TO STAY ON BUDGET WITH THIS.

AND LIKE THIS YEAR IT KIND OF GOT AWAY FROM US, BUT WE WERE DEALING WITH FOUR HOLES IN OUR SCHEDULE FOR THE ENTIRE CALENDAR YEAR, AND THAT'S ALL GETTING PLUGGED WITH PREMIUM PAY AND MISCOMMUNICATION ON MY PART WHERE I DIDN'T HAVE THE CORRECT NUMBER IN MY SPREADSHEET I USE FOR TEMPORARY PAY BECAUSE WHEN THEY CALLED AND SAID IN AUGUST, LIKE, HEY, YOU'RE RUNNING LOW, I'M LIKE WHAT NUMBER DO YOU HAVE? BECAUSE I THOUGHT I HAD THIS MUCH. AND THERE'S A BIT OF A RECORDKEEPING SNAFU ON MY PART, BUT IT'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE THERE, BUT I THINK IT WOULD LEVEL OFF.

I THINK IT WOULD DECREASE, BUT NOT ENOUGH TO, YOU KNOW, POP THE QUIRKS.

I THINK IT'S JUST WE GET IT TO A POINT WHERE WE STAY AT A COMFORTABLE LEVEL AND WE'RE NOT COMING BACK AND SAYING, HEY, WE'RE OUT OF MONEY IN AUGUST. OKAY. THANKS VERY MUCH.

ANYONE ELSE? I HAVE A QUESTION. SO DO YOU THINK THAT.

I FULLY SUPPORT YOUR DEPARTMENT 100%. I MEAN, YOU GUYS CAME TO MY RESCUE IN A CAR ACCIDENT, AND IT WAS ACTUALLY STREETS THAT WERE THERE FIRST. THEY HAPPENED TO BE WORKING ON THE STREET AND KEPT ME STABILIZED UNTIL YOU ARRIVED. SO I'M SO THANKFUL FOR YOU AND YOUR DEPARTMENT AND ALL YOUR EMPLOYEES. SO DO YOU THINK THAT.

THIS MIGHT BE A FINANCE QUESTION WITH THE 2.5%, $2.5 MILLION VACANCY, CAN WE MOVE SOME OF THAT OVER TO YOUR DEPARTMENT AND STAFF, DO A LITTLE A LITTLE HEAVIER? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE OPEN FOR DISCUSSION JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE SUCH AN IMPORTANT DEPARTMENT? I'M SORRY TO PUT YOU ON THE SPOT. I DIDN'T MEAN TO PUT YOU ON THE SPOT.

I JUST I THINK THEY ARE SO VALUABLE AS A DEPARTMENT.

I REALLY DO. VACANCY VACANCY FACTOR IS USED FOR BUDGET PURPOSES.

[03:00:04]

SO IT WAS 155 MILLION, AND WE SUBTRACTED THE VACANCY FACTOR TO GET TO THE 153.

SO WHAT HOW THE VACANCY FACTOR WORKS IS THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, MY REVENUE AND AUDIT MANAGER POSITION WAS OPEN WHEN MIKE WAS PROMOTED TO THE DEPUTY FINANCE DIRECTOR. WE HAD A CHALLENGE FINDING THAT THE RIGHT PERSON TO FILL THAT POSITION.

IT TOOK US SIX MONTHS TO GET THERE. SO THERE WAS A THAT POSITION WAS VACANT FOR SIX MONTHS.

SO BASED ON THE THE LABOR MARKET, BASED ON OUR HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE AND WE REVIEW THAT THIS MANY POSITIONS WILL BE PROJECTED VACANT. AS A CHIEF ROCHA MENTIONED THAT HE HAS CHALLENGES FILLING THE PATROLMAN POSITIONS.

SO WE FACTOR ALL OF THOSE IN. WHEN WE'RE ARE BUDGETING AND WE BUDGET BASED ON THAT.

SO IT'S NOT A MONEY THAT WE CAN USE BECAUSE IT'S ALREADY PART OF THAT'S BUILT INTO THE BUDGET.

OKAY. I'D LIKE TO LOOK INTO THAT A LITTLE BIT FURTHER JUST TO POSSIBLY SUPPORT YOUR DEPARTMENT.

SIMILARLY, IF YOU DON'T MIND, VACANCY FACTOR IS NOT AN OPTION TO HELP MS BECAUSE IT'S ALREADY BUILT INTO THE BUDGET. SO THAT 2.5 MILLION IS PART OF THE GENERAL FUNDS BUDGET.

SO IT'S NOT THE MONEY OR FUNDING THAT'S AVAILABLE FOR USE.

THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE? OKAY. I WANT TO THANK ALL OF YOU FOR COMING AND GIVE US THIS BUDGET OVERVIEW.

AND I WANT TO PERSONALLY THANK EVERY MAN WOMAN.

THAT IS BECAUSE THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT PUBLIC SAFETY EVERY ONE OF YOU WORK WITH LIFE AND DEATH ISSUES EVERY DAY.

YOU HAVE TO BE ON YOUR BEST. BEST DAYS YOU HAVE.

YOU DON'T HAVE. CAN'T HAVE A BAD DAY. YOU SAVE OUR LIVES.

AND I THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, POLICE DEPARTMENT AND I HAVE USED THE AMBULANCE SEVERAL TIMES THIS YEAR.

SO I WANT TO THANK ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.

THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED. THIS MEETING IS NOT ADJOURNED.

NO PROBLEM. THANKS. THANKS TO EVERYONE. WE DO HAVE SOME ORDINANCES FOR INTRODUCTION, SO WE'LL START THAT PORTION OF THE MEETING.

[ORDINANCES FOR INTRODUCTION (To be referred to Committee with public comment prior to referral) ]

THANK YOU. ANY ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC? OKAY. AND, MR. HANLON, THESE ALL GET REFERRED TO WHICH SPECIAL MEETING? THEY ALL BE TAKEN UP DURING YOUR BUDGET. OKAY, SO THIS WILL BE FORWARDED TO OUR BUDGET REVIEW MEETING AT A FUTURE TIME.

NEXT UP IS BILL 83. BILL 83 IS AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ALLENTOWN, COUNTY OF LEHIGH AND COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, ESTABLISHING AND ADOPTING THE STORMWATER FUND BUDGET FOR 2027 AND AMENDING ARTICLE 393.15 STORMWATER UTILITY FEE BY MAINTAINING THE STORMWATER UTILITY FEE AT $20 PER 500FT² OF IMPERVIOUS SURFACE.

OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC? OKAY. THIS WILL ALSO GET REFERRED TO A BUDGET REVIEW MEETING AT A FUTURE TIME AND DATE.

BILL 84, PLEASE. BILL 84 IS AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ALLENTOWN, COUNTY OF LEHIGH AND COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, ESTABLISHING AND ADOPTING THE RENTAL UNIT LICENSING FUND BUDGET FOR 2027 AND AMENDING ARTICLE 1759 LANDLORD AND RENTAL FEE BY MAINTAINING THE RESIDENTIAL RENTAL FEES. THANK YOU. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC? THIS WILL GET REFERRED TO A FUTURE BUDGET REVIEW MEETING.

BILL 85, PLEASE. BILL 85 IS AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ALLENTOWN, COUNTY OF LEHIGH AND COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, ADOPTING THE TREXLER FUND BUDGET FOR 2027. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC? THIS TWO WILL GET REFERRED TO A FUTURE BUDGET REVIEW COMMITTEE.

BILL. I'M SORRY. GO AHEAD. BILL 86 IS AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ALLENTOWN, COUNTY OF LEHIGH AND COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, ESTABLISHING AND ADOPTING THE SOLID WASTE ENTERPRISE FUND BUDGET FOR 2027 AND AMENDING ARTICLE 1131 MUNICIPAL WASTE STORAGE, COLLECTION AND DISPOSAL BY MAINTAINING THE SOLID WASTE FEE AT $740.

OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC.

THIS WILL ALSO BE FORWARDED TO A FUTURE MEETING FOR OUR BUDGET REVIEW.

[03:05:03]

OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC? AND THIS WILL BE REFERRED TO A FUTURE BUDGET REVIEW MEETING.

BILL 88. BILL 88 IS AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ALLENTOWN, COUNTY OF LEHIGH AND COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA ADOPTING THE LIQUID FUELS FUND BUDGET FOR 2027. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC? OKAY. THIS WILL ALSO BE REFERRED TO A FUTURE BUDGET REVIEW MEETING.

THAT'S YOUR LAST ONE, RIGHT? AWESOME. OKAY. SOUNDS GOOD.

WELL, THAT'S IT FOR TONIGHT. THANK YOU EVERYONE. AND WE'LL ADJOURN THIS MEETING.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.