[Work Session on December 12, 2023]
[00:00:04]
SESSION ON DECEMBER 12TH, 2023 AT 5:00 PM ANDY MANN.
AND NOW WE'LL ROLL INTO PUBLIC COMMENTS.
I WOULD WANNA ASK, I WOULD WANNA AFTER PROBABLY PRESENT TIME, ALLOWING FOR OUR SIX O'CLOCK MEETING.
UH, MAYOR, I MOVE TO SUSPEND THE RULES AND MOVE IT TO THE END OF THE MEETING IF POSSIBLE.
SHALL I VOTE ON THAT? I WAS JUST GONNA DO IT, BUT PLEASE VOTE.
AND WE'LL GO TO PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION REGARDING REVENUE.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNSEL.
THE PURPOSE OF THIS, UH, TONIGHT'S PRESENTATION IS A REVENUE STUDY OVERVIEW FOR SOME SPECIFIC TYPES OF USER FEES.
UM, THIS IS TO DETERMINE DIRECT AND INDIRECT COST ASSOCIATED WITH THEM.
WE'RE GOING TO COVER THE LIBRARY SERVICES PARK, A FEW PARK RECREATION PROGRAMS, ENGINEERING FEES, AND SOME PLANNING AND BUILDING FEES.
SO FIRST WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT, UH, LIBRARY SERVICES, UH, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA WORK INTO SOME OF THE OTHERS.
SO ON LIBRARY SERVICES, UM, TO CAPTURE INDIRECT COSTS OF THE LIBRARY, THE FY 24 BUDGET WAS DIVIDED BY THE CITY'S TOTAL OPERATING BUDGET, WHICH CREATED A MULTIPLIER TO USE FOR SUPPORTING DEPARTMENTS.
SO FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO, UM, RECALL THE OVERHEAD CALCULATION FOR THE UTILITY FUND, UM, SERVICES FROM THE GENERAL FUND, UM, IT'S THE SAME METHODOLOGY.
AND SO SUPPORTING DEPARTMENTS, UM, WOULD BE THINGS LIKE FACILITIES.
UM, THE TIME THAT THE CITY COUNCIL SPENDS ON ACTIVITIES FOR THE DEPARTMENT, UH, PURCHASING, ACCOUNTING, COMMUNICATIONS, IT.
SO WHEN WE SAY SUPPORTING DEPARTMENTS OR OVERHEAD DEPARTMENTS, THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF ACTIVITIES THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
UM, THE ESTIMATED COST OF THE OVERHEAD DEPARTMENTS, UH, THAT CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE LIBRARY IS ABOUT $265,000.
OVER ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE SCREEN, WE SEE THERE'S A DIFFERENT CHART FOR HR OR HUMAN RESOURCES OVERHEAD.
THIS ONE IS CALCULATED A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY.
WE CAPTURED THE COST OF WHAT HR SERVICES PROVIDE TO THE LIBRARY BY USING THE FY 24 ADOPTED FTE COUNT THAT'S DIVIDED BY THE CITY-WIDES, UH, FTE OR FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT COUNT, WHICH ALSO CREATED A MULTIPLIER.
THE TOTAL OF THE OVERHEAD DEPARTMENTS THAT CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE LIBRARY IS 53,450.
SO WHEN YOU ADD THOSE TWO NUMBERS TOGETHER, OVERHEAD COST IS 317,900.
SO THE NEXT PART WE LOOK AT IS HOW MUCH DOES THE COST THAT IS SPECIFIC TO THE DIRECTORATE.
SO FOR THE DIRECTORATE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S OTHER INDIRECT COSTS.
THIS IS FOR STAFF TIME AND OTHER COSTS FOR OVERSEEING THE LIBRARY AND THE INDIVIDUALS THAT MOST PEOPLE THINK OF AS LIKE, UM, THE DIRECTOR OF PARKS OR THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER THAT'S OVER THAT DIRECTOR AS WELL.
AND SO IT'S A PROPORTIONATE SHARE OF THE EXPENSES TO BE ALLOCATED TO THE LIBRARY FIRST ON, BASED ON THOSE INDIVIDUALS WORKLOAD.
AND SO FOR THIS, THE DIRECTOR AT ALLOCATION TOTALS ALMOST $71,000.
SO TO SPLIT THE DIRECT COST OF THE LIBRARY BETWEEN GENERAL LIBRARY SERVICES AND THE PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES THAT ARE OFFERED.
SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS, YOU KNOW, THE LIBRARY HAS TWO MAIN FUNCTIONS.
ONE IS THEY'RE OPEN TO CHECK OUT BOOKS AND MATERIALS.
THE OTHER IS THAT THEY OFFER PROGRAMING ACTIVITIES.
SO WE EVALUATED TIME SPENT BY STAFF AND THEN BUDGETED EXPENSES FOR EACH OF THOSE CATEGORIES OR EACH OF THOSE FUNCTIONS.
THIS RESULTED IN ABOUT 74% OR A LITTLE OVER $2 MILLION OF THE COST BEING ATTRIBUTED TO GENERAL LIBRARY SERVICES OR THE CHECKING OUT AND MAKING AVAILABLE OF BOOKS AND MATERIALS.
THE REMAINING 26% OR 572,000 IS FOR PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES THAT ARE OFFERED BY THE LIBRARY.
[00:05:03]
SO WHEN YOU PUT ALL OF THAT INFORMATION TOGETHER, WHAT DOES THAT TELL US? SO AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE CHART, THERE'S LIBRARY SERVICES IN THE CENTER, AND THEN THERE'S PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES TO THE RIGHT.SO WE TAKE THE TOTAL, UM, COST, WHETHER IT'S DIRECT, INDIRECT, AND OVERHEAD, AND ADD THAT ALL TOGETHER.
AND WE DIVIDE IT BASED ON THE PERCENTAGES OF THE TIME FOR THE LIBRARY SERVICES AND THEN ALSO FOR THE PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES.
AND THEN WE LOOK AT WHAT IS YOUR ACTIVE BORROWERS.
SO RESIDENTS ARE ABOUT 65%, AND NON-RESIDENTS ARE ABOUT 35%.
SO IF YOU TAKE, UM, THE 2.34 MILLION UNDER LIBRARY SERVICES AND YOU ALLOCATE IT BASED ON THE NUMBER OF RESIDENTS, THAT WOULD BE ABOUT 1.5 MILLION OF THE COST FOR NOT FOR RESIDENTS.
AND THEN THE SAME CALCULATION FOR NON-RESIDENTS IS A LITTLE OVER 820,000.
WHEN YOU DIVIDE THE 820,000 BY THE NUMBER OF NON-RESIDENTS, WHICH IS THE 6,019, THAT GIVES YOU ABOUT $137 COST PER NON-RESIDENT.
AND THAT'S JUST FOR THE LIBRARY SERVICES.
THAT SAME METHODOLOGY IS USED FOR PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES.
AND THAT NETS ABOUT $39 COST PER NON-RESIDENT.
SO AS AN EXAMPLE, IF YOU CHARGE A NON-RESIDENT FEE OF $200, THE FEE WOULD GENERATE 1.2 MILLION BASED ON THE CURRENT NON-RESIDENT USAGE OF ABOUT 6,000 PEOPLE.
SO ANY QUESTIONS ON LIBRARY BEFORE WE MOVE ON? UH, THANK YOU.
SO JUST A, A COUPLE OF QUICK QUESTIONS HERE.
SO IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING, AND PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, THAT PART OF OUR COUNTY TAXES, UH, COVER THESE, SOME OF THESE LIBRARY FEES FOR THE UNINCORPORATED AREAS ARE, OR THE CITIES THAT ARE TOO SMALL, LET'S JUST SAY THAT LIKE SANTA FE.
UM, SO WHILE THEY CAN'T AFFORD A LIBRARY, WE ARE PAID, UM, WE'RE PAID FOR 2000 PEOPLE THAT ARE GALVESTON COUNTY RESIDENTS TO, TO GO TO THE LIBRARY.
SO, AND SO WHEN WE NARROW THIS DOWN, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT WE WOULD LOSE THAT FUNDING AND THAT FUNDING COULD ALL, COULD RESULT IN US HAVING TO GIVE BACK QUITE A BIT OF THE MONEY THAT'S HAPPENING.
WE'RE, IT'S WHEN WE REALLY COME BACK DOWN AND WE ADJUST IT, I DON'T REALLY, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THERE'S, THAT THERE'S REALLY MUCH OF AN EFFORT THERE AND THE, THE OVERHEAD IS GONNA STILL EXIST OVER.
SO WHAT WOULD, WHAT WOULD THE OVERHEAD COST BE IF WE JUST, IF WE, LET'S SAY THAT OUT OF THIS $200 PER YEAR, UH, LET'S SAY THAT 80% OF THE PEOPLE CAME OFF AND SAID, YOU KNOW, $200 IS, IS TOO MUCH.
WE'RE JUST NOT GONNA BE A MEMBER OF THAT.
WHAT WOULD WOULD THE, THE OVERHEAD WOULD JUST BE ABSORBED.
SO IT LOOKS LIKE WE WOULD JUST BE GIVING UP FUNDING, WE WOULD END UP OWING MONEY BACK.
THIS IS NOT THE BEST WAY TO, THIS IS NOT THE BEST WAY TO, TO TRY AND DO THIS.
AND THE LIBRARY IS, I'M, I'M ALL FOR MAKING EVERYTHING FAIR AND SOME OF THESE OTHER THINGS THAT WE'RE GONNA COVER SOON OR I'M COMPLETELY OPEN TO THE LIBRARY IS A WHOLE DIFFERENT ANIMAL.
AND SINCE WE HAVE THIS, UM, COUNTY FUNDING, AND I HAVE A FEELING PEOPLE ARE GONNA CHIME IN HERE IN JUST A MINUTE.
SO I THINK THIS IS JUST, UH, IT'S NOT WORTH LOSING THE FUNDING OVER THIS.
AND WE'RE GONNA COME DOWN TO WHERE WE JUST HAVE A THOUSAND PEOPLE THAT ARE, ARE REALLY GONNA BE CONSIDERED OUTSIDE OF THIS AREA.
SO THE FUNDING IS GOING AWAY AND THAT'S THE PRIMARY DRIVER BEHIND THIS.
SO THAT WILL NO LONGER BE IN THE BUDGET GOING FORWARD.
CURRENTLY IN THE COUNTY BUDGET, IT'S $157,000 THAT WE GET IN FUNDING AND THAT WILL NOT BE GOING FORWARD.
AND SO WE'RE LOSING THE 157 EITHER WAY.
YOU WANT TO, YOU WANT TO CUT, YOU WANT TO, YOU WANT TO DO IT.
THE COUNTY IS GONNA TURN OVER THE BOOKS THAT ARE THEIR PROPERTIES ALREADY AND WE'LL MAINTAIN THOSE GOING FORWARD.
SO WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO IT OUTSIDE OF LEAGUE CITY, THE 6,000 PEOPLE ARE CONSUMING ABOUT A, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE OVER A MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF RESOURCES.
WE'RE LOSING THE 157 EITHER WAY, WE ARE NOT, THE CITY OF LEAGUE CITY IS NOT HERE TO PROVIDE LIBRARY SERVICES FOR PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF THE CITY.
AND IF THOSE OTHER CITIES WOULD LIKE TO FORM A PARTNERSHIP
[00:10:01]
AND IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO PAY FOR THEIR RESIDENTS TO USE THE CITY, WHICH IS HAPPENS IN OTHER CITIES AROUND TEXAS, I'M ALL FOR IT.BUT WHEN NEIGHBORING CITIES HAVE $0 PROPERTY TAX AND THEN REFUSE TO PROVIDE SERVICES TO THEIR CITIZENS, IT'S SIMPLY NOT FAIR TO US TO PAY FOR THOSE SERVICES GOING FORWARD FOR THEM.
UH, WOULD LOVE TO WORK OUT IN OUR LOCALS TO, UH, TO, TO RECTIFY THAT SITUATION AND COVER THAT OVERHEAD IF OTHER PEOPLE ARE ARE WILLING TO DO THAT.
AND SO WE CONSISTENTLY HEAR THAT OUR PROGRAMS ARE, UH, THAT THE LIBRARY IS CROWDED, THAT WE NEED TO EXPAND THE LIBRARY AND THAT WE NEED TO INVEST MORE MONEY INTO IT.
BUT IF WE CAN EITHER FIND MORE REVENUE FOR IT WITH, UH, WITH SOME KIND OF FEE OR, UH, REDUCE THE NUMBER OF NON-CITIZENS USING THE LIBRARY, WE'VE FREED UP MORE RESOURCES TO DO MORE PROGRAMMING AT THE LIBRARY WITH WHAT WE ALREADY PUT INTO IT.
THAT KIND OF, THAT MAKES SENSE.
I'M GONNA WANT TO, I HAVE THERESA POTTER COME UP TO, SHE CAN KIND OF EXPLAIN IT A LITTLE BETTER TO ME.
BUT ON, ONTO THIS, UM, IF, IF, ARE WE, HAVE WE TALKED TO ANY OF THE OTHER CITIES OUT THERE TO SEE IF ANYBODY'S INTERESTED IN THIS? AND, AND HOW DO WE KNOW THAT THE COUNTY'S GOING TO JUST TURN OVER EVERYTHING? WE'VE TALKED TO THE COUNTY AND THE COUNTY HAS TOLD US THAT THEY'LL TURN OVER THE BOOKS.
SO I, I'D SAY THAT LET'S ACTUALLY SEE THE COMMISSIONERS MEET AND ACTUALLY AWARD THIS.
OF COURSE, THIS IS A WORKSHOP, RIGHT? SO WE'RE NOT VOTING ON IT TONIGHT.
SO, SO THAT WOULD BE AN EASIER THING.
SO WE'LL LET THE COMMISSIONERS COME BACK AND THEN WHEN THEY SAY, YES, THAT IS THE CASE, YOU'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO DO THIS.
I THINK THAT MAKES THIS HAVE A LITTLE MORE SENSE NOW.
NOW AS FOR THE, UM, AS FOR THE USAGE FOR THE NON, THE NON-RESIDENTS, THERESA, DO YOU KNOW ABOUT HOW MUCH OF THE, OF THE, UH, THE SERVICES THEMSELVES? I DON'T KNOW HOW WE WOULD DO THAT BECAUSE I DON'T THINK THE, THE BOOKS ARE THE ISSUE.
IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CROWDING, I THINK WE'D BE LOOKING MORE AT THE SERVICES THAT THEY TALKED ABOUT.
AND IT BROKE OUT IN THESE SLIDES, IT'S ABOUT 25%.
DO YOU KNOW, UM, WHAT SERVICES ARE HEAVILY DONE? AND THEN I KNOW THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT DOING A WEST SIDE LIBRARY AND WOULD THAT IN ITSELF, UH, JUST KIND OF FIX IT.
BUT IF WE, IF WE LIMIT THIS DOWN.
WELL, I'M JUST INTERESTED TO HEAR WHAT YOU, WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THE, UH, ABOUT THIS SITUATION SINCE YOU'RE THE EXPERT.
SO FOR THE COUNTY SERVICES AND THE FUNDING THAT WE GET FROM THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, IT'S FOR US ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY USED FOR MATERIALS.
UM, WHETHER THEY'RE ELECTRONIC BOOKS, ELECTRONIC AUDIO BOOKS OR PRINT MATERIALS, UM, OR ACCESS TO DATABASES AND SUBSCRIPTIONS.
SO FOR US, THOSE SERVICES ARE, UM, JUST TRULY, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE TWO FUNCTIONS OF THE LIBRARY, WHICH IS, UM, COLLECTIONS AND THEN PROGRAMMING.
SO FOR US, THE COUNTY FUNDS REALLY HELP TO, UM, PROVIDE MORE OF OUR MATERIALS.
WE SPEND PRETTY CLOSE TO THE SAME AMOUNT OF CITY FUNDS AS WE DO OF COUNTY FUNDS IN TERMS OF COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT AND ACCESS TO MATERIALS.
UM, SO IN TERMS OF SERVICES BEYOND THE COLLECTIONS, IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY AFFECT, YOU KNOW, REFERENCE QUESTIONS, COMPUTER ACCESS PRINTING AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, BUT FOR PROGRAMMING, WE DON'T USE THE COUNTY FUNDS FOR PROGRAMMING.
AND WE DO A LOT OF WORK IN-HOUSE AND WITH THE USE OF VOLUNTEERS.
SO, SO THEN THE, THE OVERCROWDING THAT, THAT THE MAYOR WAS TALKING ABOUT, THAT'S REALLY NOT GOING TO BE REALIZED THROUGH HERE BECAUSE THE, IF WE'RE JUST GOING IN AND THE CHECKING OUT IN AND OUTTA THE MATERIALS, I'VE, I'VE BEEN IN THE LIBRARY MULTIPLE TIMES AND IT'S NOT WHERE THE CROWD IS.
NO, WE'RE GONNA SHUT IT DOWN FOR THE ACTIVITIES AS WELL.
SHE'S JUST SAYING THE BUDGET IS NOT USED FOR THAT.
SHE'S NOT SAYING THAT THE PEOPLE DON'T ATTEND THAT.
SO THE, THE PROPOSAL WOULD BE TO SHUT DOWN BOTH SIDES OF IT.
SO WE WOULD YOU WANNA SHUT DOWN ALL THE ACTIVITIES IF YOU'RE NOT A RESIDENT.
BUT THAT'S, BUT THAT'S WHAT WE'RE, THAT'S WHAT I'M ASKING IS THAT IF, IF THE UM, IF THE MAJORITY OF THE, UH, MAYBE I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND.
SO ARE YOU, ARE YOU SAYING WHEN I WAS ASKING ABOUT THE, UM, ABOUT THE FUNCTIONS THAT OTHER PEOPLE THAT THE NON-BOOK, ABOUT, WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE NON-CITIZENS? NOW WE NEED TO EXCLUDE THE HALLOWEEN AND THE CHRISTMAS
[00:15:01]
STUFF BECAUSE THAT'S GONNA BE HARD TO MEASURE.WE DON'T ASK, UM, PROGRAM ATTENDEES WHERE THEY LIVE.
AND SO TRULY OUR CARD BORROWERS, OUR BORROWERS, OUR ACTIVE BORROWERS ARE REALLY JUST THE ONLY INDICATION IN TERMS OF POPULATION AND THE NON-RESIDENTS.
AND SO I THINK ONE OF THE METHODOLOGIES WAS TO USE THAT SAME PERCENTAGE AND APPLY IT TO THE PROGRAMS ASSUMING THAT THEY WERE CORRELATED.
SO DO YOU HAVE TO, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THESE, UM, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THESE NON NON COLLECTION ITEMS, IF WE WERE TO SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW, THE NON-RESIDENTS, THE $200, LET'S JUST SAY EVERY ONE OF THEM JUST JUST FELL OFF, ARE YOU HAVING MORE TO ADD MORE CLASSES AND MORE FUNCTIONS TO COVER A CROWD? OR WOULD IT, WOULD, IT'S GONNA BE ABOUT HOW MUCH WOULD BE SAVED IF THE NON-RESIDENTS JUST, JUST FELL OFF? WELL, LIKE, AGAIN, WE DON'T ASK THE PROGRAM ATTENDEES IF THEIR RESIDENTS ARE NOT.
SO HOPEFULLY WE DON'T HAVE ANY MAJOR CHANGE IN PROGRAM ATTENDANCE.
UM, BUT WE DO FREQUENTLY ADJUST SCHEDULES AND TRY TO ADD MORE CLASSES TO BE MORE FLEXIBLE AND TO BE MORE AVAILABLE.
UM, ESPECIALLY IF SOMETHING IS WORKING BETTER IN THE EVENING FOR WORKING FAMILIES, THAT KIND OF THING.
BUT AGAIN, WE DON'T ASK OUR PROGRAM ATTENDEES WHERE THEY LIVE.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, IN AN IDEAL SITUATION, ANY OF THESE CHANGES WOULDN'T AFFECT OUR PROGRAM ATTENDEES AS THEY ARE NOW.
UM, 'CAUSE WE DON'T TRACK IT UNFORTUNATELY.
SO OUTSIDE OF THESE, THESE FEES, UM, WE HAD SPOKEN AT JUST BRIEFLY ABOUT HAVING OTHER REVENUE SOURCES FOR THE LIBRARY.
UM, AND THAT WOULD INCLUDE SELLING LIKE SHIRTS AND MEMORABILIA.
THERE'S BEEN, WHEN WE TALK TO, THERE'S QUITE A BIT OF INTEREST INTO IT JUST DUE TO THE CREATIVITY OF SOME OF THE ITEMS. SO IT SEEMS LIKE THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WE'D WANNA LOOK AT.
I SEE ONESIES ALL OVER THE, THE KIDS OF LEAGUE CITY AND, UM, YOU KNOW, BOOKMARKS AND TONS OF FUN THINGS.
AND I FEEL LIKE MY STAFF IS VERY CREATIVE AND WE COME UP WITH FUN THINGS LIKE YOUR BOOKMARKS.
THOSE WERE, UM, DESIGNED BY MY STAFF, SO THANK YOU.
UM, I JUST HAVE A COUPLE CONCERNS WITH THIS INFO.
ONE, I THINK MR. CRUZ ALREADY TOUCHED ON THAT GETTING RID OF NON-RESIDENT USE DOESN'T CUT OUR OVERHEAD.
IT JUST DIVIDES OUT AMONGST THE RESIDENTS AT A HIGHER RATE.
UM, SO THAT'S A BIT OF A, IT'S A GOOD NUMBER ON PAPER.
UM, TWO, I I GET THAT WE DON'T HAVE DATA ON RESIDENT VERSUS NON-RESIDENT USE OF ACTIVITIES.
UM, BUT AGAIN, IF, IF THE DRIVER BEHIND SAME OR OVERCROWDED AND WE NEED A SECOND LIBRARY OR THE ACTIVITIES, UM, OBVIOUSLY REDUCING NON-RESIDENT USE HELPS DELAY THE NEED FOR THAT.
UM, UM, WE CAN ARGUE THAT THAT'S A BAD THING AND THAT OR A GOOD THING, BUT IT DOES DO THAT.
UM, I I ALSO DON'T LIKE TALKING ABOUT REVENUE OF $1.2 MILLION.
ASSUMING WE KEEP ALL 6,000, WE'RE NOT, WE'LL PROBABLY KEEP SEVEN.
UM, I, I WOULDN'T PAY FOR A LIBRARY 'CAUSE YOU CAN JUST DRIVE TO FRIENDSWOOD FOR FREE OR DOWN TO THE ISLAND WITH THE WAY TRAFFIC IS THESE DAYS, IT'S ALMOST QUICK TO GO TO THE ISLAND IS IS TO DRIVE ACROSS LAKE CITY.
UM, SO WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO GET TO, AND I, I'M OKAY WITH THE GOAL OF TRYING TO GET THE BURDEN OFF OF RESIDENTS SUPPORTING NON-RESIDENTS, THAT THAT IS A THING WE SHOULD DO.
UM, I WOULD RATHER SEE US BEFORE WE TALK ABOUT A FEE HERE FOR NON-RESIDENTS, ESPECIALLY ONE, IT'S THIS HIGH.
'CAUSE I THINK THAT'S SO HIGH, IT JUST PROHIBITS ANYBODY FROM SIGNING UP.
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE ONE THAT, UH, GETS US BACK AT A MINIMUM THE AMOUNT OF MONEY THAT WE'RE LOSING FROM THE COUNTY FUNDING AND TRY TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S LOW ENOUGH THAT ENOUGH PEOPLE SIGN UP ENOUGH TO BRING BACK IN THAT MONEY.
UM, AND, AND THEN TRY TO WORK WITH NEIGHBORING AREAS ON ON THOSE PARTNERSHIPS.
'CAUSE YEAH, THERE'S NO REASON FOR ALL THE PEOPLE IN CLEAR LAKE SHORES COME USE LEAGUE CITIES LIBRARY WHILE THEY CELEBRATE NOT PAYING PROPERTY TAXES.
UM, SO I, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A LITTLE MORE BALANCED APPROACH ON THAT, WHERE WE'RE NOT JUST TALKING THIS FEE, BUT, BUT LOOKING AT A REASONABLE ONE.
YOU KNOW, SOMETHING LIKE 20, $30 A YEAR.
I THINK, YOU KNOW, AS A PARENT I WOULD PAY JUST TO BE ABLE TO TAKE MY KIDS HERE IN THE SUMMER.
[00:20:01]
UM, BUT, BUT 200 AND I, YEAH.AND FOR CLARITY, THE REASON I CAN'T, THE REASON WE CAME UP WITH 200 ORIGINALLY IS THAT IS A FEE THAT'S CHARGED IN OTHER MUNICIPALITIES FOR LIBRARIES AND THEN IT WAS THE CLOSEST ONE THAT GOT TO THE COVERING THE FULL COST.
JUST KIND OF SAY, TAKE IT FROM ANY OF THE OTHER FEES WE TAKE, TOOK IT TO THE FULL COST AND NOW WE CAN DEBATE THE POLITICAL OR SOCIAL REASONS OF WHY WE MIGHT NEED TO ADJUST THAT.
I I JUST WOULD LIKE TO SEE A LITTLE MORE THOUGHT PUT INTO, HEY, IF WE'RE LOSING MONEY, WE GOTTA RECOVER THAT FOR SURE.
UH, 'CAUSE I DON'T WANNA SUFFER ON THE, THE NUMBER OF BOOKS AND STUFF WE'RE GETTING, UM, UH, BECAUSE OF THAT.
BUT IF WE'RE, THAT MONEY WAS MEANT TO OFFSET THE BURDEN WE'RE BEARING FOR OTHER FOLKS, THEN YEAH, WE GOTTA RECOVER THAT SOMEHOW.
BUT I, I WOULD LIKE TO TO PUT A LITTLE MORE THOUGHT INTO A NUMBER THAT'S ACTUALLY GOING TO RECOVER SOMETHING, NOT JUST DRIVE PEOPLE AWAY.
UM, 'CAUSE THERE ARE OTHER SMALLER LIBRARIES LIKE SANTA FE MM-HMM.
SO, SO ABOUT HOW MUCH IS IT RUNNING? UM, SO PART OF THE GALVESTON COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM AGREEMENT IS THAT WITH THE FUNDING FROM THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, YOU CANNOT CHARGE GALVESTON COUNTY RESIDENTS TO USE THE LIBRARY.
THEY ARE PROVIDING THAT MONEY TO THE EIGHT PUBLIC LIBRARIES TO PROVIDE LIBRARY SERVICES COUNTYWIDE.
AND SO IF WE WERE TO CHARGE NON-RESIDENT FEES, WE WOULD BE REMOVED FROM THAT SYSTEM.
WE WOULD LOSE THE $160 $60,000 A YEAR.
AND THEN PART OF THE AGREEMENT IS THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO RETURN ALL OF THE MATERIALS THAT WE'VE PURCHASED WITH THOSE FUNDS.
YEAH, I MEAN FOR THE RECORD, AGAIN, SYSTEM'S GOING AWAY EITHER WAY AND WE GET TO KEEP THE BOOKS.
IF IT'S GOING, THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING.
SO IF I'M UNDERSTANDING ANYTHING CORRECT, THIS SYSTEM'S GOING AWAY.
IT'S, IT'S OVER WITH COMMISSIONER'S COURSE WE'RE NOT GONNA DO THIS ANYMORE.
SO OTHER LIBRARIES, OTHER CITIES ARE GONNA BE IN KIND OF A SIMILAR SITUATION TO WHERE WE'RE IN NOW WHERE THEY'RE PAYING FOR NON-RESIDENTS TO COME TO THEIR, THEIR LIBRARIES.
HAVE YOU HEARD FROM ANY OF THE OTHER LIBRARIES, ARE THEIR CITIES CONTEMPLATING DOING SOMETHING SIMILAR? TO BE PERFECTLY HONEST, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE HEARD THAT THE SYSTEM WILL BE DECEM DISASSEMBLED.
AND I MEET MONTHLY WITH THE OTHER COUNTY LIBRARIANS AND I HAPPENED TO MEET WITH THEM THIS MORNING AND THEY ALSO WERE NOT AWARE.
THEN THE OTHER PART IS MOST OF OUR PEOPLE THAT USE OUR LIBRARY ACTUALLY DO NOT COME FROM GALVESTON COUNTY.
THAT'S YEAH, THAT'S THE OTHER SIDE OF IT.
THEY, MOST OF 'EM COME FROM WEBSTER AND CLEAR LAKE.
THERE'S JUST 1200 NON COUNTY RESIDENTS WHO ARE ACTIVE BORROWERS.
SO YOU HAVE, YOU HAVE A WAY TO TRACK THE CITIZENS COMING IN ON S FOR BORROWERS? YES.
BUT NOT FOR JUST PLAIN VISITORS.
DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING BROKE DOWN TO SHOW US WHAT CITIES THEY'RE COMING FROM, WHAT COUNTY THEY'RE COMING FROM? WE DO, YEAH.
AND HOW MUCH COMING FROM HARRIS COUNTY? UM, JUST SPECIFICALLY HARRIS COUNTY.
I DON'T RE BUT IT'S 1200 INCLUDING HARRIS COUNTY AND BRAZORIA COUNTY AND ANY OTHER COUNTIES.
OF OUR ACTIVE ACTIVE INFORMATION OR SO.
DO YOU WANNA SAY THIS TOO, SEAN? SORRY CHAD, ANYBODY ELSE? OH, UM, ANOTHER THING, UM, SINCE THIS IS NEW C-E-O-I-I, I ASSUME NO VOTE HAS BEEN TAKEN ON THAT YET, UM, FOR THE COUNTY PROGRAM GOING AWAY.
SO OBVIOUSLY I WOULDN'T MIND DOING ANYTHING UNTIL THAT'S CONFIRMED.
UH, 'CAUSE I ACTUALLY DON'T, IF THERE HASN'T BEEN A VOTE YET.
I MEAN THERE'S NO RUSH ON THIS, BUT I ACTUALLY, IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER TO ME IF WE KEEP THE $157,000 OR NOT, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE'RE GENERATING A MILLION DOLLARS PLUS OF EXPENSES.
SO IT DOESN'T AFFECT MY DECISION EITHER WAY.
IT'S CERTAINLY, WE CAN CERTAINLY WAIT BECAUSE I DON'T THINK IT REALLY, THERE'S NO TIME RUSH TO IT.
I THINK THE BIGGER QUESTION IS WHAT'S THE CORRECT FEE AND WHERE SHOULD IT GO, RIGHT? YEAH.
I, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING LIKE $10 A MONTH, WHICH PUTS IT AT $120 A YEAR, $10 A MONTH SEEMS PRETTY REASONABLE.
UH, I'D BE FINE WITH, UH, GOING UP FROM THERE.
BUT THIS IS CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS ACROSS THE STATE.
UH, THERE'S OTHER PROGRAMS THAT RELY ON OTHER PEOPLE'S LIBRARIES AND THEY PAY BE CERTAINLY WILLING TO WORK OUT SOME DEAL WITH, UH, NEIGHBORING CITIES, WHETHER THAT'S WEBSTER, CLEAR LAKE SHORES,
[00:25:01]
WHAT HAVE YOU, UH, FOR ACCESS TO THE LIBRARY, BUT IT JUST DOESN'T NEED TO BE SUPPORTED ON THE BACKS OF LEAGUE CITY TAXPAYERS.I DID HAVE ONE OTHER QUESTION.
DOES THIS JEOPARDIZE ANY OF OUR ONLINE ACCESS THINGS THAT WE'VE WORKED OUT WITH OTHER LIBRARIES? IT DEPENDS ON IF PART OF WHAT WE PAY FOR WITH THE $157,000, UM, IS FOR SOME SUBSTANTIAL EBOOK ACCESS.
WE'RE PART OF A CONSORTIUM AND BECAUSE LEAGUE CITY RESIDENTS HAVE TO BORROW WITH OTHER COUNTIES, WE PAY FOR THAT OUT OF THE COUNTY BUDGET.
WE HAVE A SEPARATE POOL THAT WE PAY FOR WITH CITY FUNDS, BUT FOR THOSE EBOOKS AND THE AUDIO, BUT JUST CHARGING OTHER FOLKS, IF THIS FUNDING GOES AWAY FROM THE COUNTY, WE'RE GONNA BE EATING THAT COST REGARDLESS OF WHETHER WE CHARGE NON-RESIDENTS OR NOT.
SO WE JUST HAVE TO TAKE THE 157,000 OUTTA SOMEWHERE ELSE TO DO IT, TO MAKE UP FOR THAT.
OKAY, SO THE REST OF THESE PROBABLY WON'T TAKE QUITE AS LONG 'CAUSE WE'RE NOT GONNA GO BACK OVER HOW WE CAME UP WITH THE METHODOLOGY BECAUSE WE USE THE SAME METHODOLOGY FOR EACH OF THESE.
SO WE LOOKED AT ENGINEERING, THERE ARE TWO MAIN FUNCTIONS OF THEIR DEPARTMENT AS THEY SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT SERVICES AND THEY ALSO SUPPORT CIP OR CAPITAL PROJECTS.
WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE, UM, ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT AND ISOLATED HOW MUCH OF THEIR COST IS USED FOR DEVELOPMENT SERVICES BASED ON ACTUAL COSTS FROM THE DEPARTMENT AND STAFF TIME.
UM, WE HAVE 56%, OR ALMOST 1.2 MILLION OF THE COST IS ATTRIBUTED TO DEVELOPMENT REVIEWS AND SERVICES WITH THE REMAINING 44% OR 941,000 FOR CIP RELATED TASK.
THE CITYWIDE OVERHEAD COST THAT CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT PORTION OF ENGINEERING IS ABOUT $235,000.
SO THE TOTAL COST, UM, JUST FOR THE DEVELOPMENT PORTION OF ENGINEERING IS BASICALLY 1.43 MILLION.
UM, THE, UH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UH, CAME UP EARLIER IN THE YEAR AND UH, DID A PRESENTATION ABOUT, UH, FEES.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WANTED TO ACCOMPLISH WITH TONIGHT WAS BASICALLY TAKING THE METHODOLOGY WE'VE USED THAT WE'VE DESCRIBED HERE THIS EVENING.
A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN THE APPROACH HE TOOK, BUT LOOKING AT THE SAME SITUATION FROM DIFFERENT ANGLES TO SEE IF WE CAN GET TO GENERALLY THE SAME INFORMATION.
UM, SO THE ABOVE REVENUE ON THE CHART IS BASED ON THE FEE PLAN THAT WAS PRESENTED IN AUGUST.
UM, AND WITH THE CURRENT, UH, VOLUME, THE ESTIMATED REVENUE WAS ALMOST $1.3 MILLION.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE CHART, UM, IF WE COMPARE THAT TO THE EXPENSES, WE'RE ABOUT ALMOST 140,000 OF EXPENSES MORE THAN THE REVENUE.
AND SO IF YOU WANTED TO MAKE AN ADJUSTMENT TO THE FEE TO MAKE IT CLOSER IN LINE TO COVER THE FULL COST, IT WOULD ROUGHLY BE ABOUT A 10% INCREASE IN THE FEES.
UH, THOSE WHO GENERATE THE EXPENSE NEED TO PAY FOR THE EXPENSE AND IT'S EITHER THE DEVELOPERS, WHICH IS THEN REALLY THE END USER PAYS FOR IT, OR WE SOCIALIZE THE LOSSES ACROSS THE ENTIRE CITY.
AND SO IT'S REALLY EASY FOR ME TO SAY THE GUY WHO MAKES IT NEEDS TO COVER IT.
AND SO WE WOULD NEED TO BUMP UP THE, UH, REVENUE TO THAT 10% TO COVER IT.
SO WE ALSO LOOKED AT PLANNING AND BUILDING.
WE GROUPED THIS TOGETHER BASED ON THE NATURE OF WHAT UH, SERVICES THEY PROVIDE.
AND THE CITYWIDE OVERHEAD COST TO BE ATTRIBUTED TO PLANNING AND BUILDING FUNCTIONS IS A LITTLE OVER $400,000.
SO WE LOOK AT THE TOTAL COST OF PLANNING AND BUILDING AND COMPARE THAT TO THE REVENUE.
UH, CURRENTLY ON THE FEE STRUCTURE BASED ON THE 24 BUDGET, THERE ARE ALMOST 130,000 OF EXPENSES OVER REVENUE.
IN ORDER TO GET CLOSER TO A FULL COST MODEL, IT WOULD NEED AN INCREASE OF ABOUT 4.5% IN THE FEE STRUCTURE.
SO WE'RE GONNA SHIFT GEARS A LITTLE BIT.
SO PARK RECREATION PROGRAMS. SO THIS ONE WE TOOK A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT STANCE.
UM, JUST AS SOME BACKGROUND, I WANTED YOU TO KNOW THAT CURRENTLY THE FEES FOR PARKS RECREATION ARE EVALUATED ANNUALLY AND INCLUDES MARKET ANALYSIS TRENDS AND REGISTRATION.
AND ALSO WHETHER OR NOT THERE'S A WAITING LIST FOR EACH OF THE PROGRAMS. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHANGES TO THE FEE SCHEDULE ARE BROUGHT
[00:30:01]
FORTH TO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL AS NEEDED.SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT PARKS RECREATION, THIS COVERS BOTH THE FOUR B AND THE GENERAL FUND.
SO WE LUMPED EVERYTHING TOGETHER.
UM, BECAUSE IT, FOR THE SAKE OF THE CONVERSATION, IT REALLY DIDN'T MATTER HOW IT WAS FUNDED.
SO THE CHART THERE ON THE LEFT SHOWS THE NON-RESIDENT EXPENSES AND THE CHART ON THE RIGHT SHOWS THE NON-RESIDENT REVENUE.
UM, STAFF EVALUATED THESE PROGRAMS WHERE NON-RESIDENT PARTICIPATION WAS GREATER THAN 10%.
FOR THESE PROGRAMS, EXPENSES ARE ROUGHLY ABOUT 49,000 MORE THAN THE REVENUE COLLECTIVELY.
AND NEXT WE'LL LOOK AT EACH OF THE PROGRAMS INDIVIDUALLY 'CAUSE THEY ALL HAVE SOME NUANCES.
SO FIRST FOR SENIOR CLASSES AND PROGRAMS. SO I HAVE A LOT OF DATA, AND I DON'T WANT TO KILL YOU WITH THE NUMBERS, BUT JUST KIND OF AS A QUICK OVERVIEW.
23% OF PARTICIPANTS IN THE SENIOR CLASSES AND PROGRAMS ARE NON-RESIDENTS.
NON-RESIDENT EXPENSES ARE ABOUT 40,000 AND THE REVENUE'S ABOUT 4,000.
CURRENT NON-RESIDENT FEES ARE $25.
STAFF, UH, IS PLANNING TO ASK COUNSEL TO INCREASE THE FEE TO $35, UM, WHICH WOULD BE ROUGHLY AN ADDITIONAL $5,800 WORTH OF REVENUE IF PARTICIPATION REMAIN THE SAME AS THE CURRENT TOTAL COST PER PARTICIPANT, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE FULL COST MODEL IS CLOSER TO $140.
SO THAT WOULD REQUIRE AN INCREASE OF ABOUT $115 TO THE CURRENT NON-RESIDENT FEE.
ALSO, UM, BECAUSE IT IS TO BE NOTED, 95% OF THE EXPENSES THAT ARE INCURRED IN THE PROGRAM IS DUE TO INSTRUCTORS.
AND BASED ON THE SH THE, UM, FORMAT OF THE CLASSES, WE FEEL THAT ALL NON-RESIDENT REVENUE IS ACTUALLY SUPPLEMENTAL TO THE PROGRAM.
MEANING THAT THERE'S NOT A DIRECT CORRELATION BETWEEN IF YOU, UM, INCREASED A FEE AND THEN YOU HAD PEOPLE THAT DIDN'T PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE AN EQUAL AMOUNT OF EXPENSE THAT WOULD GO AWAY.
THE SECOND TYPE OF PROGRAM THAT WE LOOKED AT IS WHAT WE CALL THE CONTRACT FEE CLASS.
AND SO THE ONES THAT HAD, UH, HIGHER THAN 10% OF PARTICIPATION ARE THERE ON THE LEFT, KARATE, TENNIS, FENCING, AND SENIOR STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING.
TO BE NOTED, TENNIS IS AT 9%, BUT THEIR EXPENSE WAS A LITTLE BIT HIGHER.
AND SO WE WENT AHEAD AND THREW THEM IN.
UH, JUST TO LOOK AT OTHER CONTRACT FEE CLASSES THAT HAVE A LESSER PERCENTAGE OF NON-RESIDENT PARTICIPANTS ARE LISTED THERE ON THE RIGHT.
JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT FALLS WITHIN THE CONTRACT FEE CLASS.
SO I UNDERSTAND THE FIRST PART ON THE, UH, ON THE SENIOR CLASSES AND WHY, YOU KNOW, ESSENTIALLY THAT'S MARGINAL REVENUE THAT WE'RE PICKING UP.
SO I UNDERSTAND WHY WE'RE GONNA LOSE MONEY ON THIS ONE EITHER WAY, BUT GOING TO THE CONTRACT CLASSES, WE CANNOT HAVE A CONTRACT IN WHICH WE ARE INSTANTLY LOSING MONEY BY ALLOWING SOMEBODY TO SIGN UP, RIGHT? SO WE, THAT IS JUST PURE SUBSIDIZATION, UH, OF NON-RESIDENTS.
AND SO THEY NEED TO PAY THE FULL COST ON ANY OF THE CONTRACTED SIDE OF IT.
IN, IN MY OPINION, UH, THERE'S NO REASON FOR, FOR ME AS A TAXPAYER TO BE PAYING FOR SOMEBODY FROM WEBSTER'S KARATE CLASSES.
CHAD, UM, I WANNA GO BACK TO THE PREVIOUS SLIDE.
UM, I, I GET WHAT YOU SAID THAT IF WE JUST KEEP THEM FROM BEING THERE, IT DOESN'T DECREASE OUR COSTS.
UM, WELL IT MAY INCREASE, BUT IT'S NOT A A HUNDRED PERCENT, IT DOESN'T A HUNDRED PERCENT GO AWAY IN EQUAL PROPORTIONS.
BUT WHAT PORTION OF THESE CLASSES ARE FULLY SUBSCRIBED IS IF WE HAVE RESIDENTS WHO AREN'T GETTING IN BECAUSE NON-RESIDENTS ARE TAKING THEIR SPOT, THEN WE COULD UP THE NON-RESIDENT FEE TO GET IT CLOSER TO RECOVERING THE COST WITHOUT OFFSETTING THAT LOSS WITH ANOTHER LOSS.
UM, FOR THE SENIOR CLASSES AND PROGRAMS SPECIFICALLY, I WOULD ACTUALLY HAVE TO DEFER THE QUESTION TO KENNY WALSH.
BECAUSE I WOULD LIKE TO PUT A LITTLE MORE THOUGHT INTO THOSE, ESPECIALLY THE ONES THAT FILL UP.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT NON-RESIDENT GO, WELL OBVIOUSLY IF THEY'RE NOT FULL, YOU KNOW, AND WE'RE PAYING THE INSTRUCTOR REGARDLESS.
I DON'T SEE AS BIG OF A NEED TO CHANGE IT TO WHERE IT PROHIBITS SOMEONE FROM SIGN OUT, BUT IF IT'S FULL, SURE.
SO THE SENIOR CLASSES AND PROGRAMS, THESE ARE SPECIFICALLY THE CLASSES THAT TAKE PLACE DURING THE DAY.
ZUMBA, JAZZERCISE YOGA, UM, THEY'RE JUST OPEN WALK-IN CLASSES AND NONE OF THOSE FILL UP.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE FULL BUT NOBODY'S, UH, UM, LEFT OUT.
SO ANYBODY THAT WANTS TO TAKE THE CLASS CAN TAKE THE CLASS SPECIFIC TO THE SENIOR CLASS.
UH, ANY OTHER PROGRAM OUTSIDE OF THE SENIOR CLASS THAT WE TAKE REGISTRATION FOR, UM, WE DO OFFER, WE
[00:35:01]
DO GIVE RESIDENTS TWO WEEKS, UM, PRIOR TO SIGN UP, PRIOR TO NON-RESIDENTS.SO RESIDENTS DO HAVE A TWO WEEK, UM, CAN SIGN UP FIRST.
UM, AND THE NON-RESIDENT FEE IS 50% HIGHER THAN THE RESIDENT FEE FOR THOSE CLASSES.
SO SOME OF THOSE DO FILL UP WITH WAITING LISTS, BUT ANY, ANY PROGRAM THAT FILLED UP WITH THE WAITING LIST, A RESIDENT HAD TWO WEEK, UH, HEAD START ON A NON-RESIDENT TO REGISTER.
BUT IF WE'RE LOOKING TO, TO OFFSET OUR LOSSES ON SUPPLEMENTING SO THAT WE'RE SUPPLEMENTING PEOPLE WHO ARE PAYING TAXES AS OPPOSED TO SUPPLEMENTING FOLKS WHO AREN'T PAYING US TAXES.
WELL, SPECIFIC TO THE SENIOR PROGRAM, THAT'S, THAT'S NOT AN ISSUE.
THERE'S, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, THERE'S, THERE'S 50 PEOPLE IN A CLASS IN THE GYM.
40 OF 'EM ARE RESIDENTS, 10 ARE NON-RESIDENTS.
THERE'S A CONSTRUCTOR THERE NO MATTER WHAT.
YOU KNOW, REGARDLESS OF, UH, OF HOW MANY RESIDENTS VERSUS NON-RESIDENTS, I, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE IT WASN'T SOMETHING LIKE THE PICKLEBALL WHERE THERE'S ONLY SO MANY COURTS UNLESS SO MANY PEOPLE SIGN UP OR SOMETHING.
SO IT WAS ACTUALLY CHAD KIND OF ASKED THE SAME EXACT QUESTION, BUT THE PICKLEBALL PIECE, I'VE HAD A FEW PEOPLE COME BACK AND THEY WERE SAYING, HEY, YOU KNOW WHAT, WE CAN'T GET PICKLEBALL COURTS.
AND IT'S, AND THERE'S QUITE A BIT OF NON-RESIDENTS USING THAT.
IS, IS THERE A WAY THAT WE CAN HELP WITH THAT? BUILD MORE COURTS,
BUT, BUT CHARGING THE ADDITIONAL FEE.
WHAT IS, IF SOMEBODY WANTS TO COME IN AND DO SOMETHING LIKE PLAY PICKLEBALL THERE, WHAT IS THE FEE? HOW DOES THAT WORK RIGHT NOW? YEAH, SO THERE'S A, THERE IS DROP IN FEES.
UM, SO, UH, UM, IF I'M A, IF I'M A A, A SENIOR RESIDENT 55 AND OVER, I CAN COME IN AT NO CHARGE AND PLAY PICKLEBALL ALL DAY.
UM, IF I'M A 55 AND OLDER NON-RESIDENT, IT'S AMENABLE.
I COULD PAY A A $25 MEMBERSHIP FOR THE YEAR.
IT'S A ONE-TIME FEE, 25 BUCKS.
WE'RE LOOKING TO RAISE THAT TO 35.
UM, WE HAVE OTHER FEES FOR ADULTS AGES 18 TO 49, 8, I'M SORRY, 18 TO 54.
THOSE ARE ANYWHERE FROM $5 $10.
BUT THE NON-RESIDENT FEES ARE HIGHER.
SO A RESIDENT WOULD COME IN AND PAY MAYBE OF A $5 DROP IN A NON-RESIDENT, MAYBE AN $8 OR A $10 DEPENDING ON THEIR, UH, SPECIFIC AGE.
SO THERE'S A HIGHER RATE FOR A DROP FOR A DROP IN.
UM, EVERY ANYBODY CAN COME IN, NO ONE'S KICKED OUT.
BUT THERE ARE SOMETIMES WHEN THE EXTREMELY BUSY AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE WAITING 30, 20 TO 30 MINUTES TO PLAY 'CAUSE WE'RE SO CROWDED.
SO THIS, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I WOULD, I'M INTERESTED IN KIND OF SEEING ALONG FURTHER.
'CAUSE I DO THINK EVEN AT $35, I THINK THERE MAY BE AN INCONVENIENCE TO THE, TO THE CITIZENS HERE.
SO AS WE LOOK AT THE CONTRACT FEE CLASSES, HERE'S THE OVERVIEW.
SO THESE, AS WE SAID, THESE TYPES OF CLASSES HAVE A FLAT FEE.
THEY'RE SET BY THE INSTRUCTOR AND APPROVED BY COUNSEL.
FEES ARE THE SAME FOR RESIDENTS AND NON-RESIDENTS ON JUST THESE CONTRACT FEE CLASSES.
UM, CLASSES THAT HAVE NON-RESIDENT PARTICIPATION THAT ARE OVER 10%, AS I MENTIONED, ARE KARATE, TENNIS, IS CLOSE FENCING AND THE SENIOR STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING.
SO THE CONTRACT FEE TO ME IS THE SIMPLEST ONE.
THAT MEANS LITERALLY EVERY TIME SOMEBODY'S SIGNING UP, WE JUST LOST MONEY.
AND WE CANNOT, IN MY OPINION, WE CANNOT SUBSIDIZE A CONTRACT FEE CLASS FOR A NON-RESIDENT.
UH, IT HAS TO, WE HAVE TO RECOUP OUR COST INSIDE OF THAT.
AND SO I I THINK EVERY ONE OF THE CONTRACT FEE CLASSES HAS TO BE THE COST OF THE CLASS.
SO FOR THIS ONE SPECIFICALLY, NON-RESIDENTS, UM, PAY THE SAME FEE AS RESIDENTS AS A WHOLE, THE REVENUES 11,000 UNDER EXPENSES WITH THE, ALL THE CLASSES COMBINED.
AND TO COVER THE 11,000, THE NON-RESIDENT FACILITY FEE OF $64 PER CLASS WOULD BE NEEDED.
UM, AND THEN ANALYZING ALL THE CONTRACT FEE CLASSES, THE NON-RESIDENT FACILITY FEE OF $75 PER CLASS WOULD BE NEEDED.
AND I HAVE DETAILS FOR EACH TYPE OF CLASS IF WE WANT TO GET INTO THAT.
NICK, I AGREE WITH YOU THAT NICK, I AGREE THAT WE SHOULDN'T BE LOSING MONEY ON THESE THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, LET'S JUST MAKE SURE THAT BY, IF WE'RE RAISING THE FEES, THAT WAS JUST KIND OF LIKE WHAT CHAD WAS TALKING ABOUT.
WHAT IS THAT FIXED COST AND WE'RE NOT JUST TAKING, AND NOW WE'RE GONNA ACTUALLY LOSE MORE MONEY ON IT.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S WHY I THINK THE CONTRACT FEES, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, IT'S A LITTLE BIT SIMPLER THAN IT IS ON THE SENIOR CARE BECAUSE THE SENIOR SIDE WE'RE
[00:40:01]
DOING THIS REGARDLESS.RIGHT? SO IT'S KIND OF MARGINAL REVENUE THAT YOU'RE PICKING UP.
WHEREAS THE CONTRACT FEE, WE'RE LITERALLY JUST COLLECTING THE MONEY AND HANDING IT TO THE INSTRUCTOR.
THE INSTRUCTOR GETS, UH, 70% AND WE GET 30, 70%, WE GET 30.
AND APPARENTLY THE 30 IS NOT ENOUGH TO COVER THE OVERHEAD OF OPERATING THAT, THAT PROGRAM.
I MEAN IT'S UNDER, SO YEAH, THAT'S WHERE I, I WOULD KIND OF THINK LIKE WE'RE A LITTLE SHORT ON THAT AND YOU CAN SEE THAT WE'RE ESSENTIALLY, THAT'S WHY THE EXPENSE AND THE REVENUE ARE THE SAME ON A PERCENTAGE BASIS.
SO WE'RE SUBSIDIZING THIS AT THE EXACT SAME LEVEL.
WE'RE SUBSIDIZING THE RESIDENTS SIDE OF IT.
AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, YOU'RE NOT SUGGESTING WE UP THE NON-RESIDENT TO COVER THE SHORTFALL FOR EVERYONE? NO.
JUST TO MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT LOSING MONEY ON NON-RESIDENTS.
WE'RE, WE'RE NOT HERE TO MAKE MONEY ON THE RESIDENTS.
AND WE'RE NOT HERE TO EVEN COVER OVERHEAD ON THE RESIDENTS.
WE ALL ACCEPT THAT, BUT WE DO NEED TO COVER IT ON THE NON.
AND SO JUST, JUST TO BE CLEAR, I THINK, I DON'T KNOW WHERE WE ARE IN THE SLIDES, BUT THE SUGGESTION WAS SOME SORT OF FACILITY FEE TO GO ALONG WITH THE PROGRAM FEE FOR THE NON-RESIDENT.
AND YOU COULD CALL AN NON-RESIDENT FEE OR FACILITY FEE.
UM, AND WE CAN LOOK AT THOSE FOUR SPECIFICALLY.
AND I HAVE THE DETAILS, MAYBE WE, UM, BRING FORWARD JUST A FEE FOR CERTAIN TYPES WHERE THERE'S A BIGGER GAP.
UM, BUT MOST OF THEM, YOU KNOW, KARATE HAS A BIGGER GAP THAN SAY TENNIS.
UM, BUT THEY ALL HAVE SOME SORT OF, UM, EXPENSE IS GONNA BE A LITTLE BIT HIGHER THAN THE REVENUE.
AND THEN JUST I THINK ONE MORE FOR CLARIFICATION.
EVEN ENGINEERING HOMETOWN HEROES HAS AN EMBEDDED, UM, FACILITY COST FOR THE CURRENT DEBT SERVICE.
OR DID I UNDERSTAND THAT WRONG? SO THE COST OF THE FACILITY THAT IS COVERED BY DEBT THAT IS BEING PAID EACH YEAR IS ACTUALLY EMBEDDED IN THIS EXPENSE BECAUSE IT'S PART OF THE FOUR B BUDGETS.
SO, SO MY POINT WAS JUST THAT THIS HAS A HIGHER FIXED COST THAN SOME OF THE OTHER STUFF WE LOOKED AT BECAUSE IT HAS A CURRENT MORTGAGE ON IT.
YOU DIDN'T CHARGE THE COST OF THE LIBRARY BECAUSE THE LIBRARY'S ALREADY BEEN PAID OFF AND THE DEBT'S ALREADY BEEN RETIRED.
AND WE JUST HAD SOMETHING FOR WHAT WE WOULD ASSUME WOULD BE THE MAINTENANCE COST OF THE FACILITY.
AND SO THAT JUST, THAT MAKES THESE NUMBERS HIGHER.
WELL, I MEAN IT'S FAIR BECAUSE
AND I, I THINK A FACILITY CHARGE IS THE RIGHT WAY TO GO BECAUSE LITERALLY THAT FACILITY CHARGE IS BEING PAID BY THE RESIDENTS RIGHT NOW THROUGH THE FORM OF, OF PROPERTY TAXES.
SO ANYBODY ELSE ON ANY OF THE, I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO GO CLUB BY CLUB, DO WE? OKAY.
SO WE'RE GONNA, THESE
SO THESE ARE ACTUALLY NOT CONTRACT.
UM, THEY'RE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT AND I CAN GO OVER THEM PRETTY QUICKLY.
WE HAVE ABOUT THREE OR FOUR OF THEM I THINK.
SO FOR RUNNING CLUB THIS ONE WE HAVE A 37 AND 50 CENT, UH, RESIDENT FEE, $56 AND 25 CENT NON-RESIDENT FEE.
14% OF PARTICIPANTS ARE NON-RESIDENTS.
UM, THE EXPENSES FOR THIS OVERALL IS ONLY $75 MORE THAN THE REVENUE FOR THE PROGRAM.
SO IN ORDER TO HAVE A FULL COST OF SERVICE, IT WOULD NEED TO BE 110 PER PARTICIPANT.
UM, WHICH IS AN INCREASE OF ABOUT $54 FOR NON-RESIDENTS.
HOMESCHOOL PE THIS ONE HAS A $50 RESIDENT FEE AND A $75 NON-RESIDENT FEE.
25% OF PARTICIPANTS ARE NON-RESIDENTS.
UM, THE EXPENSES ARE A THOUSAND, BUT THE REVENUE IS 1500.
SO THIS IS, UM, ACTUALLY GOOD SKATE, UH, WARD CAMP.
SO THIS ONE IS A $50 RESIDENT FEE AND A $75 NON-RESIDENT FEE.
AND 13% OF PARTICIPANTS ARE NON-RESIDENTS.
UM, THE EXPENSES ARE ABOUT A HUNDRED DOLLARS, UM, MORE THAN REVENUES AS A PROGRAM AS A WHOLE TO NET ZERO FOR THIS PROGRAM.
THAT WOULD NEED TO BE A $35 INCREASE TO THE NON-RESIDENT FEE.
AND THEN AS WE MENTIONED EARLIER, PICKLEBALL CLASS, IT HAS A $69 RESIDENT AND NON-RESIDENT FEE.
37% OF PARTICIPANTS ARE NON-RESIDENTS.
UM, AND THE EXPENSES ARE $2,000 MORE THAN THE REVENUE.
AND SO THE TOTAL COST PER PARTICIPANT WOULD NEED TO
[00:45:01]
BE $83, WHICH IS A $22 INCREASE TO THE CURRENT FEE.AND THEN I BELIEVE THIS IS THE LAST ONE, IT'S THE JUNIOR LIFEGUARD PROGRAM.
17% OF PARTICIPANTS ARE NON-RESIDENTS.
THE RESIDENTS PAY $30 LESS IN FEE AND THE NON-RESIDENT FEE IS $90.
UM, THIS ONE, THE REVENUES ARE RIGHT AT $10 OVER THE EXPENSES.
SO THERE'S PROBABLY NOT A REASON TO MAKE A CHANGE THERE.
AND THE REASON THAT WE TALKED ABOUT THE ONES THAT THE REVENUE ACTUALLY COVERED THE EXPENSES 'CAUSE THEY FELL WITHIN THAT NET OF MORE THAN 10% WERE NON-RESIDENTS IN THE PROGRAM.
EVERYTHING WE'VE COVERED THIS EVENING IMPLEMENTING, UM, LOOKING AT IMPLEMENTING A LIBRARY CARD FEE, UH, 200 WAS JUST THROWN OUT JUST TO KIND OF GIVE US AN IDEA AND A PLACE TO START THE CONVERSATION FOR NON-RESIDENTS TO CHECK OUT MATERIALS AND PARTICIPATE IN LIBRARY PROGRAMMING ACTIVITIES.
WE ALSO DISCUSSED ENGINEERING INSPECTION FEES TO NET TO ZERO, IT'S PROBABLY AN INCREASE OF ABOUT 10%.
PLANNING AND BUILDING FEES WOULD NEED AN INCREASE OF ABOUT 4.5%.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT PARKS, RECREATION PROGRAMS, SENIOR CLASSES AND PROGRAM FEES, TOTAL COST FOR PARTICIPANT WOULD NEED TO INCREASE TO $140 FOR A NET ZERO, UH, CONTRACT FEE CLASSES.
WE ACTUALLY ON HERE RECOMMENDED RETAINING THE CURRENT FEE STRUCTURE.
BUT WE HEARD THE COMMENTS, UH, FOR TONIGHT AND WE WILL, UH, MOVE FORWARD WITH THOSE.
FULL COST OF SERVICE IS 110 PER PARTICIPANT AND WOULD BE AN INCREASE TO THE NON-RESIDENT SKATEBOARD CAMP COST WOULD BE AN INCREASE OF $35 TO NON-RESIDENTS AND PICKLEBALL WOULD BE A FEE OF $83 AND WOULD REQUIRE A $22 INCREASE.
UH, ONE QUICK, ONE QUICK QUESTION.
A AGAIN, I'M NOT WANTING TO BEAT PICKLE DOLL PICKLEBALL OR DEBT, UH, ON THE SLIDE BEFORE IT SAID PICKLEBALL CLASSES.
IS THAT AN ACTUAL CLASS OR IS THAT JUST USAGE? I THINK I JUST PUT THE WORD CLASS AND IT PROBABLY SHOULD SAY PROGRAM.
YEAH, SO WE OFFER BOTH, UM, WE DO HAVE OPEN PICKLEBALL, BUT WE ALSO HAVE, UH, A PAID INSTRUCTOR, UM, THAT COMES IN FOR THAT.
FOR PEOPLE THAT WANT SPECIFIC BEGINNER LEVEL CLASS OR INTERMEDIATE LEVEL CLASS.
WE CON WE DO A CONTRACT FEE CLASS FOR PICKLEBALL AS WELL.
SO IS THE SLIDE THAT WE SAW WITH THE, THE GRAPHS THAT HAD THE PICKLEBALL CLASS UP THERE, WAS THAT REFERENCING THE PICKLEBALL CLASS OR WAS THAT PICKLEBALL OR GIRL? NO, IT WAS JUST THE CLASS.
IT WAS THE SPECIFIC CONTRACT FEE CLASS.
SO THEN WE PROBABLY, IF WE HAVE AN OVERCROWDING PROBLEM, THIS ISN'T REALLY OUR REVENUE GENERATION THING, BUT LOOK AT UPPING THE, UH, THE NON-RESIDENT DROP IN.
SO WE'LL LOOK TO PROBABLY BRING THIS BACK AFTER, OBVIOUSLY AFTER THE NEW YEAR, UH, WITH SOME THINGS.
AND MAYBE, UH, IF YOU CAN SEND OUT, I THINK WE, WE SOUNDED GOOD ON MOST OF IT EXCEPT FOR THE LIBRARY SIDE OF IT.
SO, UM, SEND OUT SOME DIFFERENT EXAMPLES OF FEES THAT ARE CHARGED BY OTHER LIBRARIES.
AND THEN LOOK AT A COUPLE OTHER, UH, FEES AS WELL.
SO I WOULD SAY START AT 10, $15 A MONTH.
LOOK AT BOTH THOSE AND UH, WE CAN MAKE A DECISION FROM THERE.
ALRIGHT, AND NOW WE'RE GOING TO ITEM NUMBER TWO, PUBLIC COMMENTS.
MY NAME IS PEGGY ZALAR, 1802 RAMPART.
I REALLY APPRECIATE IT AND LIKED, UM, MOST OF THE DISCUSSION, UM, ABOUT THE FEES.
I, I DO FIRMLY BELIEVE AS I'VE SPOKEN TO YOU OR WITH YOU ABOUT THE CRFS, I I REALLY THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, UH, FOR THE, UH, USER TO PAY THEIR WAY.
HOWEVER, A PART I REALLY DID NOT LIKE IS THE LIBRARY.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT REALLY SURPRISES ME, BUT THAT'S OKAY, I'M SURPRISED EVERY DAY, IS THAT AS OFTEN AS I TALK TO THE COMMISSIONERS, AND I DO TALK TO THEM QUITE OFTEN ABOUT VARIOUS THINGS AND THEY ALL KNOW HOW MUCH I CARE ABOUT THE LIBRARY AND THE REGIONAL APPROACH TO LITERACY.
SO I I'M, I'M REALLY CAUGHT OFF GUARD, BUT THAT'S OKAY.
I WOULD RESPECTFULLY ASK, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS I THINK AS WE TALK IN THIS COMMUNITY ABOUT SAFETY, QUALITY OF LIFE, PLEASE, LET'S NOT FORGET THE IMPORTANCE OF PROMOTING LITERACY.
[00:50:01]
WHICH IS OFTEN, IT IS NOT AT ALL UNUSUAL IN SOME OF THESE PROGRAMS OR, OR EVEN FOLKS JUST LOOKING FOR BOOKS, IT'S A FAMILY EVENT.AND, AND I WILL SAY I DON'T THINK IT WOULD BE A UNUSUAL TO HAVE FAMILIES THERE AND MAYBE THEY DON'T ALL LIVE IN LAKE CITY, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT, IF WE CAN BE A PART OF HAVING THE FAMILIES BE TOGETHER AND WORK TOWARDS SOMETHING THAT IS REALLY BENEFICIAL, AND I'M TALKING AT ALL AGES, AND THAT IS AWARENESS, THE LITERACY PART OF IT, I, I DON'T KNOW HOW WE PUT A DOLLAR AMOUNT ON IT, BUT, BUT I WOULD RESPECTFULLY ASK, I I, IF WE'RE GOING TO, TO MOVE IN THIS DIRECTION, I WOULD REALLY WONDER IF IT WOULDN'T BE GOOD FOR YOU TO APPOINT A COUPLE OF FOLKS TO RE I MEAN CITIZENS LIBRARY USERS, NON-LIBRARY USERS AND, AND LET US LOOK INTO THIS.
'CAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY IMPLICATIONS TO WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
SOME GOOD, SOME BAD FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, MORE NEGATIVE.
BUT MAYBE THAT'S JUST BECAUSE I'M NOT AWARE OF EVERYTHING, BUT, BUT JUST THE TEXT SHARE PROGRAM, IT'S GONNA BE IMPACTED.
I THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO GET A READING FROM THE STATE, BUT I, I DO THINK IT IS A GOOD DISCUSSION TO HAVE.
WE SEEM TO HAVE IT EVERY COUPLE OF YEARS.
WHAT I WOULD'VE HOPED IS WHEN THIS WAS BROUGHT UP AT THE BUDGET WORKSHOP, THAT IF, IF SOME OF YOU REALLY FELT IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR US TO PURSUE THAT, THE FEE THAT, THAT WE WOULD HAVE LOOKED AND WORKED TOGETHER WITH, WITH SOME OF THE CITIZENS TO, TO WORK THROUGH THIS TOGETHER.
BECAUSE I DON'T WANNA RUSH INTO ANYTHING THAT CAUSES A RECONSIDERATION BOOK FIASCO LIKE WE HAD.
THAT'S WHY WE'RE DOING IT IN A WORKSHOP.