MINUTES OF THE DECEMBER 17, 2024, CITY COUNCIL SPECIALMEETING A SPECIAL meeting ofthe Hopewell City Council was held on Tuesday, December 17, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. PRESENT: John B. Partin Jr., Mayor (Virtual Jasmine Gore, Vice Mayor Rita Joyner, Councilor (Virtual) Michael Harris, Councilor Janice Denton, Councilor (late) Brenda Pelham, Councilor Dominic Holloway, Councilor Councilor Harris makes a motion to allow Mayor Partin and Councilor Joyner to participate remotely; Councilor Pelham seconds the motion. ROLL CALL Mayor Partin- Vice Mayor Gore- Councilor Denton- Councilor Pelham- Councilor Holloway- Councilor. Joyner- Councilor Harris- Abstain Yes Absent Yes Yes Abstain Yes Motion Passes 4-0 Finance Report Stacy Jordan The Finance Committee meeting for November covered several key points regarding the city's fiscal performance. Ms. Jordan reported that citywide revenues for November were 1.72% or $6.9 million higher than the previous year, while expenses were 1.59% or $2.9 million higher. Real estate taxes showed a slight decrease due to lower collections in personal property, machinery, and tools, while charges for services had a slight increase. The General Fund revenues were $944,000 higher than last year, though expenses were $2.5 million higher. This resulted in a balanced budget, with the inçreased spending offset by a higher operating budget for the year. In the Enterprise Funds, revenues were $4: million higher due to on-time billing, and expenses were $4.2 million lower due to fewer emergency repairs compared to last year. Schools saw a slight decrease in revenues and a rise in expenses, mainly due to the timing of federal and state funding. For November, specific departments, including the City Manager's office and Information Technology, showed overages due to specific contractual expenses, while the Marina had increased expenses for repairs and utilities. Additionally, collection rates for utilities were down to 88% in November, lower than usual, possibly due to the holiday season. Accounts payable data showed 1,462 invoices processed, amounting to $4.7 million in payments for the month. The meeting concluded with a preview ofthe following month's report, which will include updates on the 2021-2024 ACFR and second-quarter performance. Councilor Holloway asks does Ms, Jordan have a percentage ofthat general fund? Ms. Jordan states she does not have it or know it offt the top ofher head, and she lets him know she will add it for him. Vice Mayor Gore asks is there a deficit or does everything equal out based on the numbers provided from 2024 and 2025. The answer is the balance out. Treasurer's Report t- Mya Bolling Maya Bowling from the Treasurer's Office presented a comprehensive update on the city's collection reports. She began with the 2022 real estate collections, which stand at 97.03%. For 2023, collections have slightly dropped to 95.78%. Personal property tax collections for 2023 are currently at 75.54%, but these have not yet been turned over to the collection agency, which is expected to improve the rate once they are. As for the 2024 cycle, collections are, just beginning. The second- halfreal estate collections for 2023 show a lower rate of 60.73%, with $4.3 million still in receivables. However, since the report was run, the Treasurer's Office has collected an additional $2.9 million from CoreLogic, ai mortgage servicing company. There were also issues with another mortgage servicer, VHDA, where a wire transfer was initially kicked back. This is expected to be resolved, adding $575 for 575 parcels. Bowling emphasized that these issues will improve the 2023 collection rate once fully processed. The personal property (PP) and public service (PS) collections for 2024 are down because the billing cycle has just started, and collections are not yet fully underway. Moving on to business license and meal tax collections, Bowling reported that 2022 collections were 99.77% complete, and 2023 collections stand at 99.60%. For 2024, collections are at 96.67%. There was also a slight overage in one category, which was likely due to prepayments, bringing the total collection to 100.52%. Bowling expressed confidence that these numbers will reach 100% soon, as businesses are motivated to remain in good standing with the city. Finally, Bowling provided an update on the city's cash and investment balances as of September 30, 2024. The total cash on hand was $14.75 million, with total investments amounting to $25.08 million, bringing the total combined cash and investments to $39.83 million. She noted that these figures were recorded before the peak real estate collection period, and as personal property and public service tax bills are sent out, the Treasurer's Office expects to continue adding revenue to the city's funds. Councilor Holloway makes a motion to adjourn the finance committee meeting, and Councilor Harris seconds the motion, No objection. Meeting Adjourned. ADJOURNMENT Respectfully Submitted, GAian Johnny Mayor RE Brittani Williams, City Clerk