Board of County Commissioners: Budget Public Hearing - 09.24.26

Welcome to The Works. In today's episode, we're going beneath the surface with Hillsborough County's JetVac and Underground Camera Crew. Stormwater systems are made of ditches, swales, ponds, reservoirs, thousands of miles of pipe. Our guys have been face-to-face with alligators in the pipes, snakes. We've pulled out cell phones, computers, anything you could think of. It is really a two-part system utilizing the JetVac to clean the pipe and then the robotics to inspect it. These inspections also give you a better idea of what can be repaired or replaced, which definitely reduces costs. These guys cleaned last year over 100 miles of pipe alone. It is essential with all the sediment, vegetation, litter that goes into these stormwater systems that you keep them flowing. We can mitigate stormwater damage to not only our assets but to citizens' property as well and just keep the county as a whole safer. For mosquitoes, because they are a threat to public health. There are many mosquito-borne illnesses that they can pass on to humans and other animals. Therefore, we want to mitigate their populations and we're only spraying whenever we have justification and that could come from our surveillance data or from our inspectors who go out and are looking at different larval production sites every single day. We don't have a spray schedule because everything we do is based on data that we collect, so it's based on the number of mosquitoes that we find in our traps every day, it's based on what the inspectors are finding out in the field, if they're finding a lot of breeding, they'll obviously treat then, but we don't have a set schedule because everything is based on data that we find. We don't do any individual spray requests. You can always submit a request for a spray, a request for a property inspection or report any standing water that you have around your house and we'll come send out an inspector, they'll come look at that area, see if it's breeding and then based on the data that they find, we'll see if that area is eligible for treatment, but we don't do treatment based on special events. We're spraying right at sunset because dawn and dusk are the most active times for mosquitoes, so in order for our treatments to be the most effective, we obviously want to treat when the mosquitoes are most active and we're going to be able to mitigate the population best at those times. Welcome to the works. In today's episode, we're taken to the skies with Hillsborough County Mosquito Control to find out how they combat the spread of disease and the rising mosquito population. So when it comes to mosquitoes, how exactly are we combating them in the sky? Nobody complains about larvae, they complain about mosquitoes and specifically adult mosquitoes, female mosquitoes, the ones that bite you, right? But it's a lot easier to control adult mosquitoes by controlling the larvae. What we do is we use a larvicide product that attacks the larval in the swamps of the mangrove areas along the coast here. We stop their growth so they never grow up and become adult mosquitoes. Good evening and welcome to the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners final budget public hearing. There are two public hearings scheduled for this evening, one on the capital improvement program or CIP and the second on the fiscal year 27 millage rates and budget. Because changes in the budget could impact the first year of the five-year CIP, it is appropriate to conclude the budget public hearing prior to concluding the CIP hearing. I would like to open the CIP public hearing and then entertain a motion to continue that public hearing to the conclusion of the public hearing on the budget. So moved. Got a motion by Commissioner Cohen. Second. Second by Commissioner Bowles. Please record your vote. Motion carries six to zero. The purpose of tonight's public hearing on the budget is to take public comment on the millage rates and budget prior to the board adopting millage rates in a budget for fiscal year 2027. In a moment, the budget director will read into the record the change in the aggregate fiscal year 2027 millage rate from the aggregate rollback rate after which you will briefly discuss the status of the budget. At that point, we will take public comment. At the conclusion of public comment, the board will discuss any final changes to the millage or budget. If necessary, there will be a short break while the impact of any final changes is calculated. Finally, state law requires certain information to be read into the record prior to the board adopting resolutions on the millage rates in the budget. Before turning over to Mr. Berkey, now our County Administrator Bonnie Wise has some opening remarks. Thank you and good evening, everyone. As mentioned, tonight's the second of two budget public hearings as required by state statute. This evening, you'll hear a budget update from our budget director, Kevin Berkey. You'll take public comment, discuss the budget, and adopt the fiscal year 27 millage rates and budget resolutions. And then the CIP public hearing will follow. The budget being considered tonight maintains existing county services while also making significant one-time investments in public safety, transportation, stormwater, parks, and other critical needs. The fiscal year 27 budget process has been transparent and productive leading to a fiscally sound adopted budget. And now Kevin Berkey, our budget director, will read the required information and give a brief presentation. Thank you and good evening, commissioners. Kevin Berkey, director of management of budget. The calculated change in millage represents a 0.40% increase from the aggregate rollback rate. State law requires that we also describe the reason for the increase over the rollback rate. The budget under consideration tonight reflects in part normal as well as continued elevated inflationary pressures on costs of doing business. It also reflects the need to provide local government services to a growing population, which includes ongoing funding for transportation and fire rescue services, statutory and contractual commitments, union contracts, technology upgrades, constitutional officers, and certain other county needs. Commissioner, the budget the board will adopt tonight reflects the tentative budget approved by the board on September 10th as amended by any updates that have been or may be made. The FY27 budget is balanced. Additionally, the county continues to maintain its general obligation AAA bond rating from all three major credit rating agencies. The budget you will vote on tonight reflects investments that are consistent with the county strategic focus. On two weeks ago tonight at the first public hearing, the board approved the tentative budget of about $13.78 billion, of which $4.77 billion was the operating budget. Of that operating budget, about 22% is public safety. The tentative budget tonight also includes, for the third year, a millage swap where there's a reduction in the countywide millage of a tenth of a mill and an increase in the unincorporated millage by a tenth of a mill, further strengthening the financial stability of that fund, the unincorporated fund, where we have ongoing increases in service demands. The tentative countywide general fund is $1.648 billion, of which 56% is accounted for by the sheriff and other constitutional officers and some outside agencies. The tentative unincorporated area general fund budget is $938 million, about 68% of that goes to public safety. Tonight, as you've heard, you'll take public comment, followed by board discussion, adopt a final millage resolution first, and then adopt the final budget resolution. The CIP public hearing will follow immediately. And as we've seen over the past number of meetings and public hearings, the budget calendar once again, we're at the end, the last day. I would recommend now that you take public comment. All right. Thank you, Kevin. Board members, we have 70 individuals that have signed up to speak. I would ask for a motion for each person to be given two minutes. Move to approve. Motion, Commissioner Myers. Second, Commissioner Cohen. Please record your vote. Motion carried with six to zero. All right. And then looking at the speaker list, notice we have a number of animal supporters who have signed up to speak. So I want to repeat what we did last meeting with respect to pet resource shelter. I want to stress that, again, there have been no plans or discussions to delay or to change the project. Our county administrator has issued a strongly worded memo to that effect. Also, during our last budget public hearing, the county administrator confirmed that staff is currently evaluating options on the facility and funding, and we'll update the board very soon. Additionally, at the end of our last Board of County Commissioners meeting, Commissioner Miller requested, and I'm going to read it from the record so it's clear that Commissioner Miller requested that staff provide the board with quarterly updates on the status of the county's parent resource facility improvement project, including current planning and evaluation efforts, funding identified or programmed, anticipated scope, major milestones and timelines, and any decisions or actions needed from the board. Updates should also flag any significant changes to the approach, funding, schedule, or scope, so that the board and public have consistent, transparent information as the project progresses. The first update should establish current status and a path forward with quarterly updates thereafter. So, this really should clear up any confusion or misinformation that, for some reason, may be circulating. So, please just be aware of that. All right, first three speakers this evening, Betty Coville, followed by John Marinello, and then Ann Malone. Good evening. Good evening. It's Dr. Betsy Coville. I'm here tonight to sound the alarm on a hidden crisis within our PRC, the Veterinary Medical Services. While our county medical does heroic work, they're forced to operate in a 40-year-old facility. I will share some pictures at the end. Our veterinary team is tasked with examining a staggering 13,000 animals every single year. They handle abuse cases, hoarding intakes, animals requiring medical and behavioral needs, and the physical layout of the shelter works against them. Consider these structural flaws. We lack the space to separate dogs and cats during intake, and new arrivals of healthy animals are right next to the sick. The isolation units are located too far away from the main clinic, making it nearly impossible for someone to observe and monitor the most critical contagious animals. The pharmacy is located outside the clinic. Staff must waste precious time in emergencies running back and forth to get needed drugs. There is no room in the clinic to prepare and dispense medications, vaccines, and medicated baths within the shelter. The lab area for running in-house diagnostics, like blood work and fecal tests, is tiny and cramped. The surgery room is so crowded that it creates constant physical obstacles to induce, prep, and recuperate animals. We could not expect our medical team to manage thousands of vulnerable animals a year in an antiquated facility. This isn't just an overcrowding issue. It is a clinical and sanitary emergency. When we voted for the CIT, we voted to fix this. Yet the new shelter's construction funding remains unallocated to be determined. Thank you, Dr. Thornton. Thank you. Appreciate the comments. John Marinello, followed by Anne Malone and the nurse Gabrielli. Good evening. Good evening, Commissioners. John Marinello. I'm here again tonight to speak for the thousands of homeless animals in Hillsborough County who have no voice in this discussion. First, I want to acknowledge the progress we've made because people have continued to show up and speak out. The county is now talking about the future of the animal shelter. But I have to ask, why are we talking about another two years of research? They need it now. The county has always has already spent the last year or two researching locations and looking into what would be required to build a new facility. We know the current shelter is more than 40 years old and we know the conditions that exist. No AC, no heat, it floods, it rains. And an antiquated veterinary service is trying to care for more than 13,000 animals. These aren't questions that require another two years of research. These are realities that require action now. Every day we delay is another day animals and the people caring for them are forced to work in a facility that has out loud outlived its usefulness. So tonight I'm asking this board to stop studying whether we need a new shelter and start making the new shelter happen. Appropriate the funds, finalize the plans, choose the site and choose the builder and start building now. We understand that Hillsborough County has other major priorities, but our homeless animals shouldn't have to wait another two years while decisions are being made about everything else. They've already waited 40 years. You've heard us, you've seen our shirts, you've seen us fill this room, and we're going to keep coming back because these animals cannot speak for themselves. So tonight we ask you to speak through your actions. Don't give another two years, give them a new shelter, give them a safe place, give them a future, and let's start building now. Thank you very much. Thank you, sir. Anne Malone, followed by Nir Gabrieli, Ben Gabrieli, and then Daniel Zydek, virtual. Good evening. My name is Anne Malone. I'm a resident of Hillsborough County. I'm also an admin with Rescue Me Tampa. Tonight I just have a couple of questions. Like what happened to the new Pet Resource Center in 2027? The documents that I obtained through public records, which I think you should have copies of, was prepared by a professional firm assigned to the PRC project. And they showed the project was moving forward. This wasn't just talk. I mean, a project manager had been assigned. An architectural firm had been brought in. There was a consultant recommendation, land analysis, three potential sites, a phased facility design, budget estimates, and a project schedule. That schedule showed project development beginning in 2026, design beginning in 2027. And the firm's budget summary identified $8 million in countrywide construction and $30 million in CIT. And that was under the current budget summary. So where is it? I mean, we are adopting the 27 budget tonight, the very year the project schedule showed design moving forward. And the new PRC is nowhere to be found. What changed? Was the $38 million actually appropriated, committed, or merely identified as potential funding? If it was committed, where did it go? If it wasn't, why was it presented as a current budget for this project? And the timing deserves an explanation as well. On August 28th, the board voted five to two to move forward with the new stadium. Yet the new PRC, which was professional planning underway, appears to have no clear path. I'm not asking you to choose between a stadium and an animal shelter. I'm just asking why one moved forward while the other seemingly just disappeared from this year's budget. Promises were made to that. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Malone. Nir Gabrieli, Ben Gabrieli, Daniel Zydek, and then Nadine Samer-Raja. Good evening. Good evening. My name is Nir Gabrieli. In 2014, my two partners and I decided to relocate our business from Cleveland, Ohio. After an intensive nationwide search, we selected Tiempo. We hired local employees, retained local law and accounting firms, engaged local insurance agents and recruiters, and leased office space in the Wells Fargo building downtown. All three of us have found Tiempo to be a great place to raise our families and run our business. I want to congratulate this board and those before it on the great job they have done creating a supportive environment for local businesses like ours. Over the past few weeks, not yet today, we have heard proposals calling our county government to establish its own foreign policy standard and apply it by singling out one country, Israel. Whatever views each of us may have about the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel, this board should be very mindful before turning local economic developed funding into a judgment on international conflict. Every partnership, vendor, visiting company and trade program could become a debate about the conduct of a foreign government. County officials would be required to investigate and judge human rights or criminal allegations involving many, many governments around the world. That would create an unworkable precedent. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Ben Gabrieli, Daniel Zydek, Nadine Samaraja. Good evening. My name is Ben and I'm a student in the Hillsborough County Public School System. I wanted to thank you commissioners for the excellent education I received through the district. Our schools have challenged me academically, provided me with opportunities and positioned me to apply competitively to some of the best universities in the country. I'm excited to leave for college, but I love Tampa. And after college, I want to build my career here. That is why programs like FIBA matter to me. Tampa is building a tech economy. Today, Tampa ranks 28th among US startup ecosystems and 82nd globally. Israel ranks third. FIBA has already demonstrated what connecting with one of the world's strongest tech ecosystems can accomplish. Take Stemrad. Stemrad was an Israeli tech company that joined FIBA's first cohort in 2017. Its technology is designed to protect people from harmful radiation. Through FIBA, Stemrad connected with Tampa investors and business leaders, opened a Tampa office, hired locally, and made Florida its home. Stemrad developed AstroRad, a radiation protection vest for astronauts. Its technology was developed in partnership with Lockheed Martin and was tested during NASA's Artemis I mission around the moon. Today, Stemrad is a Tampa-based company taking technology that began in Israel and developing it here in Florida for one of the most ambitious technological challenges in the world. That is what economic development can look like. FIBA isn't simply bringing companies to Tampa. It's helping connect international innovation with Tampa's investors, businesses, universities, and workforce. For students like me, that matters. I want to graduate from college and have the option to come home to Tampa. Not because I have to settle for fewer opportunities, but because Tampa has created opportunities worth coming home for. Thank you. Thank you, Ben. Appreciate comments. Daniel Zydek, followed by Nadine Samaraja and Lama Ahason. Is Daniel on the line? Daniel did not check in. All right. Thank you. Nadine? Nadine? No Nadine? I'm Daniel Zydek. Oh, you're Daniel. Yep. Okay. I just checked in a little while. All right. Welcome. Ready to go. Thank you. FIBA is FIBA, the Florida Israel Business Accelerator. It's just a PR campaign used to whitewash the mass murder of Palestinians by the genocidal terror state of Israel. I can only imagine why some members of the BOCC would want to get a piece of that action. The proponents of FIBA would have you believe that the prospect of getting some blood money out of the situation is worth justifying continued support of the program. But from the looks of it, people aren't too thrilled with partnerships with Israel right now. You know, for example, like the whole Ed Sheeran thing, I think, is pretty good proof of that. And furthermore, I don't think they want their tax dollars going to build surveillance drones in their own backyard, you know, based on Israel being a global pariah state. Especially considering how Israel treats its neighbors, you know, Palestine, South Lebanon. I don't think people are going to want Israel to be have their international tech hub in around their home, you know, as they as they say they want for Florida. So that's all I have to say. Thank you, sir. Nadine. Nadine here, followed by Lama on virtual and then Jared. Good evening. Good evening. Hello, everyone. I'm Nadine Samarja and I'm a Hillsborough County resident. I'm also a local dog trapper. Tonight, I am asking you to include the new pet resource center in the budget. I want you to think about your own dog for a second. If you don't have a dog, think about a close friend or family members. What if you lost your job tomorrow and you can no longer afford that pet? What if you got cancer and passed away and that dog that slept next to every night is now sleeping alone on the kennel floor? When they get there, the staff and volunteers do everything they can, but they are working in a facility that is failing them. So I want to ask you something. Have you ever had to choose which dog dies today because there's no space or because they can no longer handle the stress of the kennel? Have you ever had to walk the dog to the euthanasia room? You open the kennel door, you put on the leash and they follow you. Do you think they're going to the play yard or do they know it's different this time? Do they know within a few minutes they will no longer be breathing and no fault of their own? Think about the mental toll that takes on the staff. They remember their names and they remember their faces. A new shelter, it won't solve everything. It won't solve the overpopulation crisis and it will not save every dog. But what it will do is it will create a better quality of life for those dogs and cats while they are there. It will create an environment that tracks more adopters and more volunteers, thus getting the dogs out of the kennel more and decreasing kennel stress. And it will attract a better environment for the staff. It will give those animals a better chance at walking out the front door than taking that final walk. But here's the great thing. You don't have to be holding that leash to have the power to change where that walk ends. You all have that power tonight. Thank you. Thank you. We got Lama who's virtual, followed by Jared Dayhan and then Ria Shangari. Is Lama on the line? Hi, my name is Lama. I live in South Tampa and I'm here to demand that all funding for SEBA, the Florida Israel Business Accelerator, to be removed from our budget. The county general funds are supposed to be funding necessary services for Hillsborough County residents. And instead of giving our taxes to essentially a glorified real estate agent like FOBA, it could be spent on anything else, including buses. Our buses in the heart system don't have seashells. Stocks don't have shelters or shading. Florida is hot. I think that's something that we can all agree on. So not only do we have folks standing out being cooked in the sun, but they're also being rained on. It's not easy taking the bus and y'all are intentionally making it harder. There's so many reasons that we shouldn't spend our money on FOBA. And this is only one service that Hillsborough County residents are in desperate need of. So our demands here is to remove all county budget that is currently being spent on the Florida Israel Business Accelerator and to send it on the people and to not pass the budget if there's any county dollars being spent on FOBA. Thank you. Thank you. Jared Dayhan. Jared here. No, Jared. Rhea Shringari, virtual. And then Nadia Askar. Is Rhea on the line? Yes, I am. Hello to the board and to the public. My name is Rhea Shringari, and I am a student here in Hillsborough County. I am here to demand that the board continue to hear Hillsborough County residents' commitment to justice and urgent demands for dignity and respect for all Hillsborough residents and the people of Palestine. To continue to demand that you all divest and withdraw funding away from the Florida Israel Business Accelerator, headquartered in Tampa. While money is being misused funding, entrepreneurship, and dangerous AI, weapon, and drone technology used by Israel, 116 non-profits are planned to receive less Hillsborough County funding than FIBA in 2027. This money belongs in our communities, right here, not in Israel. The county's general fund exists to serve Hillsborough County residents. Hillsborough County mothers, fathers, children, families, people, not technology allowing the truly horrific state of our public infrastructure and the genocide and slaughter of innocent children and families in Palestine. Not aiding and abetting Israel's crimes against humanity. Not putting Israel first before Americans. I implore all of you to please, please, listen to our demands and respect the dignity of all Hillsborough County residents. Thank you. Thank you. Nadia Askar and then Emma Prescott and Joshua Brown. Good evening. Good afternoon. My name is Nadia Askar. I live in Tampa and my family has lived here since the early nineties. I'm here today to once again express the demands of local community members and myself, who want all funding removed from the Florida Israeli Business Accelerator in the 2027 plan budget. Throughout these past few weeks of coming to these meetings and these hearings, you have heard us measure many of times that there is little to no economic impact or return on investment that Hillsborough County gains from the investment in FIBA. My comrade mentioned last time that we were looking at a 0.000018 economic impact. In coming to these meetings, I was also able to listen to the needs of your other constituents for the funding of various programs. And I feel like I'm stating the obvious when I say that the gap that your residents are seeing and feeling can be filled with the funding that we have been giving to FIBA. Now, also, it seems like in these meetings that there's always an elephant in the room. A majority, every time, of your residents want the funding for FIBA to be removed. Every time. Now, that is because they want to better the quality of life for Hillsborough County residents. And then there are a select few that come, and they attack the community-led campaign and make remarks like conflating Zionism and Judaism or accusing us of anti-Semitism. And little do they know, they're attacking a campaign that is rooted in anti-racism, anti-nationalism, anti-xenophobia. And we have spoken and connected to hundreds of Hillsborough County residents, if not thousands of people all over Florida, who do not want the funding of FIBA. Not because we have anything against uplifting nonprofits, or international ones for that matter, but because we do not want to normalize relations with any violent entity committing a genocide. Republicans and Democrats alike believe that we have been in bed with Israel for too long, and not only because we have given them over $8 billion a year minimum, but in addition to that, Israel has free education, free healthcare, free accessible public transportation, heavily subsidized universities. So why would we be giving another nation what we don't give our own citizens? To argue there is no genocide is to negate the findings of most governments, the UN, ICJ, ICC, millions of decent Americans of every background. Instead, we supply our tax dollars to an entity that- Thank you, Ms. Askar. Appreciate your comments. Emma Prescott, Emma here, and then Joshua Brown and Ashley Whitaker. Good evening. Good evening, commissioners. My name is Emma Prescott, and I have trapped community cats in Hillsborough County for five years unpaid. I'm asking Hillsborough County to create a fund and dedicated TNVR, trap, neuter, vaccinate, and return field team. The county has a community cat program, but no dedicated field workforce. Volunteers and rescues are the ones being called in and finding colonies, setting the traps, transporting the traps, recovering them, returning them, and getting them into the program in the first place. This is not sustainable. Volunteers should support the system. We should not be the system. I spend my weekends doing this work unpaid. I use my time, my own gas, my own equipment. Because if volunteers like me do not show up, many of these cats simply do not get reached. Do you know why I continue to trap? Because I've had too many dying kittens in my hands, and I know what happens when nobody gets there fast enough. Right now, I know of 20 unsterilized community cats at one location alone, and if nobody gets to them, that number does not stay at 20. Pregnancy follows pregnancy, litter follows litter. In June, the Pet Resource Center was reported at nearly 700% above its cat capacity. This is not a shelter problem, it's a prevention problem. We already know prevention works in Hillsborough County. Shelter intake dropped 51% as TNVR and other sterilization programs expanded. The takeaway is simple. We do it at scale and we do it consistently. The county's own budget says pet resources will develop a plan for additional sterilization of cats living outdoors with a planned budget of about 12.2 million. So where is the field team? I'm not asking you to reinvent the system. I'm asking you to fund the missing piece, put it under pet resource, put it under animal control, make it a joint program. I care that Hillsborough County takes ownership of the field work and pays people to do it. Volunteers have carried this burden long enough, and it's time for Hillsborough County to create the field workforce this program deserves and is very much needed. Thank you, guys. Thank you, Mr. Prescott. Joshua Brown and then Ashley Whitaker and Farrah Shaheen, who's virtual. Good evening. Good evening, commissioners. My name is Joshua Brown and I am a native Florida resident residing in Brandon, Florida. I'm up here this evening to bring your attention. A gross misuse of county funds being funneled to the Florida-Israel business accelerator. FIBA has done little to nothing for Hillsborough County residents claiming to bring economic growth, while most notable of these have been assisted by an AI drone company whose case is for military developments. I can't personally think of a reason as to why Florida would want AI drones as a focus of their economic goals, much less in our backyards. Here I will request that our funding not only stop to be being provided to FIBA, but instead partitioned to nonprofits that are actually helping residents of Hillsborough County. For example, we have the Emergency Care Help Organization, which provides emergency food and clothing while helping individuals and families get on their feet and move toward long-term stability. Heart for Adoptions Alliance, which helps families navigate the adoption process and ensure children in the Florida foster care system can find a safe and loving forever home. And the mentors for Hillsborough County veterans helping to reintegrate veterans back into our communities so they can continue to serve and protect. Organizations like these are doing good for Hillsborough County. FIBA is not. So I request once again to stop funding FIBA and continue to support others in favor of well-being of humanity in Hillsborough County. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Brown. Ashley Whitaker. Ashley here. Followed by Farrah Shaheen's virtual. Isabella Moylaire that's virtual. And Ronit Enos. Good evening. Good evening. My name is Ashley Whitaker and I'm a senior at Robinson High School. I also spoke at the September 10th board meeting. To begin, thank you very much for responding to our emails. The fact that you all took the time out of your busy schedule just proves that you also care. To be clear, I am grateful that you're out advocating allocating funds for this, but renovations are only a temporary fix. What we need is a new building. Renovations will improve living conditions, but not fix the issue of space. Also, where would the animals go when the buildings they're living in is getting renovated? They can't stay. That would just make them even more miserable. More animals are getting surrendered. The Pet Resource Center is turning people away because there is no space. Please reconsider investing in a new building for us, for the animals. Thank you so much again for listening to me. Have a good day. Thank you, Mr. Whitaker. Farrah Shaheen, virtual. Then Isabella Moore, virtual. Then Ronit Enos and David Guerrero-Lopez. Is Ferris on the line? Yes, sir. Good evening, Commissioners. I am here again to speak against the public funding of the Florida-Israel Business Accelerator. Commissioners, it is clear that the companies FILA is bringing to our county are not meeting their end of their deal in terms of creating jobs. Again, over 10 years of funding, they have brought less than 100 jobs to our county. And furthermore, the increasingly horrible reputation of Israel on the world stage as a genocidal apartheid project is not one that we citizens of Hillsborough want to be associated with, not by name and not with our taxes. We do not want our taxes going to any organization benefiting foreign national corporations. We want our taxes to benefit the people of Hillsborough. The mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters that work in this county. We want the money to improve life here. We are tired of seeing Israel and the youth committing atrocities for innocent children. And mind you, these are also children and citizens of this county. Last year, one of your citizens was murdered in cold blood by settlers in the West Bank. Sayfullahullah, a local Palestinian business owner and a son to a loving family with a young man and a bright light in Hillsborough County. The fact that his family now, to this day, has to contribute their taxes to the development of Israeli businesses in our city and county is not only an injustice, but a systematic failure of our local government to protect our humanitarian needs and our constituency. Things do not need to be this way and it is not too late to make the right decision for his family. Over the summer, we have collected over 500 signatures to a pledge against the funding of this initiative. And residents across the county have written in that they would want that they would much rather have our money go towards the building and repairing of parks, improving road infrastructure and social programs to benefit locals. Not these initiatives that fund organizations that benefit foreign corporations again. So I urge the board to consider what the people of Hillsborough need. And I urge the board to remove all funding from PIVA this coming fiscal year and allocate the funds to other initiatives such as this animal shelter that very dearly needs more funding. So thank you very much. Have a great night. All right. Thank you. Isabella Moeller and Ronit Enos, David Guerrero Lopez and Matthew Levine. Isabella on the line? Isabella does not check into the meeting. Okay. Ronit. Good evening. Hi there. Good evening. Thank you so much for this board for supporting funding of FEBA and for doing the thankless work of growing the county. My name is Ronit Enos and I'm a local business owner. For years, I have helped women business owners, many of them single mothers, build profitable companies and grow their teams. That creates jobs and gives those mothers more time with their children. We also give back every year to causes like Hair to Stay, which is a support cancer patients, and to organizations fighting childhood hunger. As you make budget decisions tonight, I urge you to keep investing in startups and local businesses, any businesses. Those dollars come back as jobs, payroll, and tax revenue. Here is one example born right here in Tampa. In 2016, Tampa Jewish Community Center and Federation launched the Florida-Israel Business Accelerator. It has supported more than 120 technologies companies, helped them raise over $1.6 billion, and created more than 875 high-wages jobs in Florida alone. That includes STEM-RED, which protects astronauts from radiation in space, and UC Care, which helps diagnose and treat prostate cancer, both all operation in Tampa. That is what giving, building community looks like. And that is why the reauthorized targeting Jewish residents at recent meetings has no place here. According to the ADL, Florida now ranks fourth in the nation for antisemitic incidents and vandalism and physical assaults against Jewish people in our state increased last year alone. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you so much. Appreciate the comments. David Guerrero, Lopez. David here. No, David. Matthew Levine. Matthew? Nope. Leanna Frigia. Matthew, come on down, Matthew. Then we got Leanna Frigia, virtual angel Murchison's virtual, and Megan Amir. Good evening. Hi. My name is Matthew Levine. I've lived in Hillsborough County for about 39 years. I think a lot of other people here are probably talking about what we should be spending our tax dollars on, so I'm pretty much going to defer to them. But I'll just say that basically things that help us, things like housing, health care, food access, public transportation, libraries, parks, schools, and even fixing the potholes in the road are all better uses of our money than giving it to any foreign entity. But as a Jew, I want to talk today about Israel and exactly what you would be giving our money to by funding FIBA. I would like to recommend that everyone read the open letter that was published in the New York Times on December 2nd, 1948, signed by Albert Einstein, Hannah Arendt, and other prominent Jewish Americans. It warns that Israel is turning into a fascist state. They talk about the newly formed Freedom Party, which they compare to the Nazi Party. It was formed, they sponsored the Irgun terrorist organization prior to the formation of the state. That party was led by Menachem Begin, a terrorist who later founded the Likud Party, which is now Benjamin Netanyahu's political party. Thank you, Mr. Levine. Appreciate your comments. That's it. Next three speakers are virtual. Leanna Freja, Angel Murchison, Megan Amir, and Miriam Parham. Is Leanna on the line? Yes, I'm here. Hi, my name is Leanna. I'm a resident of Caldwell County. I'm here to speak about the county budget and ensure the needs of the people are met. I'm a nurse. For over 15 years, I've dedicated my career to caring for patients, believing that our healthcare system was built to support us when we needed it the most. But that's not what we have. For me, it was one cancer diagnosis that changed everything for me in the span of a few months. I lost not just my health, but my livelihood, everything I spent more than a decade building, 15 plus years. Having stood on both sides of the bed as a caregiver and suddenly as a patient, I saw firsthand how broken our current system is. It's a system that fails the very people who work within it. It left me financially devastated. And I see what it does for my patients too by the cost of their own survival. And this can happen to me, you, your loved ones. A lot of people assume cancer is primarily genetic, something that runs in families. But the reality is up to 93% of all human cancers is non-hereditary. They're caused by environmental factors. So I'm here to support the demands of local community members who want all funding removed from Israeli-linked business and instead redirected to local programs that actually prevent illness and protect families. I'd rather see my taxes going to things like environmental health laundering. I want to invest it in local air and water quality testing. We know occupational and environmental exposures causes thousands of cancers every year. We can identify these. We can prevent these, prevent families from going bankrupt like mine. This protects every patient I've ever held the hand of. every family sitting in a room and waiting and terrified of what a diagnosis would cost them. Or maybe programs like local food security and nutrition programs or local food. Thank you for your comments, ma'am. We appreciate it. Next up is Angel Murchison, virtually. Did Angel check in? Hi, everyone. My name is Angel. I've just been listening. I don't have anything written down, so I'm just going to rip. I don't want my tax dollars going to a genocidal ethnostate, period. I don't really feel like I need to say more than that, but I have two minutes. I'm going to continue. In 10 years, it's been a huge shift in how the public thinks about Israel. And I think a lot of people are still lagging behind because they believe in that Zionist project. But I'm telling you, the project is failing hard. It's been a long year for the Israeli leadership. And we do not need to keep investing in them. We need, in fact, to divest. But I'm sick of feeling like my tax dollars are going towards blowing up Palestinian children's legs instead of helping, like, those pests that people keep talking about. How beautiful would it be if instead of killing children on the other side of the world, we were helping animals here in Hillsborough County? And it could be so easy. You could all snap your fingers and make it so. But you would choose to stick with the status quo of this 10-year-long project because it should introduce somebody that 800 jobs over 10 years, and I should care? How many people move to Tampa in a year? And those high-tech jobs go to who? Not the people who need it to know. Please save me the bullshit. Bye, Beth. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Next up, we have Megan Amir virtually. Megan did not check into the meeting. Next up, we have Myram Parham in person, followed by Linda Logsdon, also in person. Good evening. My name is Myram Parham, and I have lived almost my entire life in the Tampa Bay area, most of it in Hillsborough County, and I also represent a non-profit group, Florida Voices for Animals, who does a lot of volunteering in this area, like cleaning Isle Lopez for almost 20 years and helping animal rescues and shelters in this area. The last time I was here, I complimented you on the previous historic actions when it comes to helping companion animals in our community, and Hillsborough County has been better than most counties in the entire state, and for that, I thank you, and I highlighted recently the retail sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits. So we know you care about animals, and you care about the PRC. We don't doubt you're willing to help this county shelter and eventually provide funding to address the endless list of current deficits there. I just don't think you realize how urgent the situation has become. I don't know if you've visited the PRC recently. If not, I implore you to see the conditions for yourselves. The building and the animals there are in urgent need of help, and fixing the building is not enough, the needs are just too great, and trying to repair the old building while animals and people are still there would be dangerous and potentially disastrous operations. So this new building has been needed for years, and it's now a full-on emergency. You've heard about the air conditioning and the outdoors and the lack of medical equipment, the adequacy, the outdated. So it's just like a space, and I think the people who work there deserve recognition for all they've managed to accomplish under these conditions, and the no-kill rates are admirable. We can do so much more for them and those companion animals that rely on us. So please help the homeless, abandoned, and injured animals and those awaiting court cases, and they need that now. And at the very least, look at options of getting portables, something to get washing machines, putting animals in air conditioning while this building is built, but it needs to be built not now, or now, not next year, or in two years. And it looks like there's a lot of plans already in the works. Please, please vote to do it immediately. Thank you so much. Thank you for your comments. Next up, we have Linda Logsdon, followed by Leo Gonzalez, virtually. Good evening, Commissioners. My name is Linda Logsdon. My family moved into 4514 West Parrish Street, West Park, and West Park Estates in 1963, when I was four years old. This neighborhood has historically had a flooding problem with the bridges over Henry Street Canal. There have been fatal accidents, both at the bridge at Henry Street Canal and the bridge at Canal H, that are on the north and south sides of our neighborhood. Now there is a new threat upstream, because the water from Drew Park and the HCC site, which will be the new Ray Stadium, all that water flows into Henry Street Canal upstream from my neighborhood. What I asked tonight, and I have talked to Kim Breyers and Larry Webster in Public Works, but they can only do what this board approves and funds. I asked that all stadium CIT funds are frozen until my neighborhood drainage can be improved and repaired. This will take a joint effort between FDOC, the city, and the county. So I ask that you vote for that. Commercial entertainment should never take a higher priority than basic human needs, such as safe shelter. I asked that I made photos exhibit to give out to each people of the flooding that happened during Milton, and that's a 100-year flood. But this happens every summer. The houses don't flood every summer, but the roads flood to the point it's not safe to drive a car over the bridges. That needs improved before more water comes when we pave over green spaces with concrete for the stadium. I'm not opposed to the stadium, but I'm opposed to our neighborhood homes being destroyed because we are not taking care of the infrastructure first. I ask that the FDOC request confirmation, CRM D7 206 1386 be put into record, and these photos. And who do I give these photos to? I made enough for everybody. Thank you very much. Next up, we have Leo Gonzalez virtually, followed by Albert Ninos virtually. Did Leo check in? Leo did not check in. Next up, we have Albert Ninos virtually. Albert did not check in as well. Thank you, followed by Franklin Perez, also virtual. Hi, this is Franklin Perez. Can you hear me? Yes, I can. Hello, can you hear me? Yes, we can. Go ahead. Hi, this is Franklin Perez. Yes, hi, thank you. My name is Franklin Perez. I live in Seminole and Hillsborough County. I demand that you remove funding for the Florida-Israel Business Accelerator from the 2027 plan budget because Israel is a Jewish supremacist apartheid state that has been committing ethnic cleansing and human rights abuses against Palestinians for 78-plus years as per reputable human rights organizations like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Bethlehem. And now, you can add genocide as Israel is on top to hate for genocide against Palestinians. Stop supporting Israel. Stop giving it weapons. Stop giving it money. And condemn it for what it is. An apartheid and genocidal state. Mikko Pallet, Israeli Jews. Some of a famous Israeli Jew general. Ex-Zionist occupation forces enforcer. And Palestinian rights activists have stated that the Israeli army is the fastest group in the world. The county is responsible for allocating citizen taxes on what county residents actually want. And it is not. The Israeli apartheid regime, Hillsborough County residents need better public transit, social programs, affordable housing, and support for local charitable organizations like HOPE. Things that should be paid for with citizen tax dollars. Not funding of foreign nation startups like that of the Israeli apartheid regime. I demand that Hillsborough County's budget reflects the needs of the people by removing all funding to the Florida Israeli apartheid regime business accelerator and returning these funds to the critical needs of Hillsborough County residents immediately. Also, I demand that the Hillsborough County Commission introduce a resolution to stand with Palestinians in demanding an engine for all U.S. aid to the Israeli apartheid regime. Military, economic, political. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Next up, we have Tiffany Moncour virtually, followed by Camelia Rhodes in person. Did Tiffany check in? Tiffany did not check in. Okay, followed. Up next, we have Camelia Rhodes in person. My name is Camelia, and I am a resident of Hillsborough County. I am here to speak about the county budget and express the concerns that I have for our community. I am also here to express my concerns about money being allocated to Israeli-linked businesses instead of focusing on housing, high electric costs, infrastructure, hurricane relief, parking costs for local residents, veteran services, health care, local tech companies and startup businesses, homelessness, and pet resources, as I'm learning today. Here in Hillsborough County, residents are struggling with gas, grocery prices, electric prices, and so much more. We need our elected officials to advocate for us now more than ever. It is astonishing that the community even needs to come together to ask for the money we work hard for to stay in our community. For far too long, our tax dollars have been allocated to the Florida-Israel Business Accelerator. The funds allocated to FIBA each year can be better used on social programs, public infrastructure, public transit, and many other local initiatives that benefit Hillsborough County citizens. We must cut ties with supporting foreign countries and focus on the needs of the Hillsborough County residents. Our residents and community deserve more, and it's time for our commissioners to stand up for the Hillsborough citizens here at home. And the best way to do that is financial support. I mean, it's our money anyways, and we deserve the benefits that foreign governments give their citizens on our dime, which is healthcare, paid maternity leave, and free public education, just to name a few. We are sick of accepting the status quo. I have never been to a county meeting before, and with a two-year-old child at home, it proves how desperate we are as a community that we have to come here and ask for our tax dollars to be spent here at home. As a taxpaying resident of Hillsborough County, I demand that our county's budget reflect the needs of all people and remove funding to the Israeli companies. Please know the community is paying attention to who we vote for. Thank you. Next up, we have Daniel Schunenstein, followed by Ashley Foster. Dear commissioners, thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight and your tireless work. My name is Daniel. I've lived in the Temple for 13 years, and I'm a student at USF. Publix does not contribute to Florida's economy. I've said that in front of the commissioners. Does that make it true? If I repeat every meeting for six months, does that make it true? Public comment is one of the most democratic things we have, but a claim repeated here without rebuttal can start to sound like a fact. For six months, you've been told that funding FIBA makes you complicit in a genocidal war overseas. A war with the population affected has actually grown in size since October 7th. It doesn't. This is a local economic development contract. The Tampa Bay Times reports FIBA has helped nearly a dozen companies open offices here in Hillsborough County, putting our investments back into our region. When a petition hasn't been enough, some have turned it to intimidation. In previous meetings, a speaker compared members of this commission to defendants of the Nuremberg trial and warned of a coming day of reckoning. Whatever one's position on FIBA may be, comparing local officials to Nazi war criminals over a budget vote is not civil debate. It's unjust pressure. Repetition is not evidence, and threats are not persuasion. I ask that you enforce the commission's decorum standards consistently. And please, let's get back to common sense. Thank you. Thank you very much. Next up, I have Ashley Foster in person, followed by Surin Lott. Good evening, commissioners. My name is Ashley Foster, and I am a 10th grade Robinson IB student and a member of the Animal Advocacy Club. I'm here tonight to speak on behalf of the animals in our community who rely on us to be their voice. I'd like to begin by thanking the commission for your recent commitment to protect the Pet Resource Center's operational budget for safeguarding these existing services as an essential starting point, and we truly appreciate that support. Even so, we cannot ignore the severe day-to-day challenges the facility is confronted with. Because the shelter operates under an open admission policy, the doors can never be closed to any animal in need. New pets arrive constantly, forcing an outdated infrastructure to take on a large influx of animals, regardless of whether the kennels are passed far past capacity. While previous investments into minor renovations were appreciated, they only end up treating a major issue with a temporary band-aid. You simply cannot fix the major space issues and underlying design flaws by continuing to patch up a building that was not intended to support this massive volume of animals. This constant overcrowding creates an immense strain on the entire operation. The shelter's hard-working employees and volunteers give our community everything they have every single day, but they are constantly working against the severe limitations of an outdated building. Moreover, continuing to pour public funds into short-term repairs for a broken facility is a poor financial decision. A responsible use of our county's resources is to invest in a lasting solution that fixes these underlying structural issues. As our community continues to grow, our facilities must adapt to keep up with that pace. I am hoping to see this commission approve the budget required to construct a new, more functional pet resource center. The staff, our volunteers, and our animals deserve a modern, safe space that reflects the standards of our community. Please keep the replacement facility moving forward on track for fiscal year 27. Thank you for your time and your consideration tonight. Thank you very much. Next up, we have Saren Lott in person, followed by Jaleesa Dugrot. Is Saren Lott here? Okay, we'll have Jaleesa Dugrot, please. Followed by Edgar Alcala. Okay, Lina Vu. Hello, commissioners. My name is Lina Vu, and I'm a resident of Hillsborough County. I'm here today to urge you to remove all funding from the Florida Israeli Business Accelerator, a.k.a. FIBA. Years ago, I moved here to go to USF to study social work, and it encouraged me to explore and volunteer in my community, which I still love doing. I also worked as a case manager at an underfunded local nonprofit for three years. The issues I noticed five years ago are still ongoing, if not being exacerbated, as it's getting increasingly more expensive to live. Accessing housing, food, and health care should not be so difficult, when these are basic necessities that you and me and all of our neighbors need. Not to mention the rising gas prices that are a result of the U.S. and Israel's immoral and illegal war on Iran. Just because the federal government doesn't care about us doesn't mean that our state and local governments should follow suit. I and many others believe that our tax dollars should be going towards improving our community and our lives. Providing funding for FIBA is unnecessary and irresponsible when every dollar towards our social services truly count. And while you're at it, you can be using the immense budget that law enforcement gets every year to help people meet their basic needs and reduce instances of so-called crime in the first place. It's getting hotter by the day, and we still have community members and their pets sleeping in the streets and giant barriers to employment and housing. This is what we should be prioritizing instead of funding for FIBA and stadiums. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Next up, we have Eliana Lahir in person, followed by Brian Boker Virtuo. Eliana? Okay. Brian Boker Virtuo, please. Brian Boker Virtuo. Good evening, commissioners. Brian Boker Virtuo. I'm asking you to approve the proposed $13 million fiscal year capital funding for the Pet Resource Center. This is an important commitment, but approving money is only the beginning. A project without a schedule is not a project. It is a wish list. The $13 million need to be connected to specific fiscal year 27 deliverables, a facility needs assessment, a decision on renovation versus construction, site evaluation, phase planning, preliminary design, updated cost estimates, and a public timeline showing when each step will be completed. But the animals living in the Pet Resource Center cannot wait several years for a major construction project. I'm asking the board today to add immediate funding to the fiscal year budget for basic equipment that can improve conditions inside the existing facility now. The shelter needs additional commercial-grade washers and dryers capable of handling enormous amounts of laundry generated each day. Volunteers should not be carrying sheltered laundry at home because the county does not have sufficient equipment. The shelter also needs enough raised beds to keep the animals off the kennel floors, additional shelter-approved fans, and reusable cooling mats to help the animals cope with the heat. These are not multimillion-dollar construction projects. They're practical, relatively inexpensive purchases that can improve animal welfare and working conditions during the fiscal coming year. I'm asking the board to direct staff to determine the number of washers, dryers, raised beds, fans, and cooling mats needed, identify the total cost and available funding sources, and establish a purchasing and delivery schedule. Please also include quarterly public reports showing how much of the $13 million has been committed, what work has been completed, what milestones are next, and whether the project remains on schedule. Please approve $13 million, but do not stop there. Fund the immediate improvements, establish measurable deadlines, and give the public a roadmap which we can use to track correctly. Appreciate the comments, sir. Next three speakers, Ben Braver, followed by Alicia Jones and Carly Liu. Ben here? No Ben? Alicia? Carly Liu? Joyce Diaz? And then Lizzie Torres? Good evening. Good evening. Hi, my name is Alicia, and I went to the last board meeting. I am a student at Robinson High School, and I'm a part of the Animal Advocacy Club in the Vet Assistant Program. And I want to start by saying thank you for you all listening to our concerns about the Pet Resource Center and holding up to your plans to not cut funds to the PRC. And also, thank you for reaching out to us and emailing us. Renovating the animal shelter is the first step to providing a suitable and efficient temporary space for animals needing shelter. Doing so will allow for the best maximization of shelter space and create an inviting environment for speeding up adoptions. Continuing to use outdated resources will only make it harder for animals to be sheltered in the best conditions possible. So, please continue to build on the plan of replacing the PRC facility to make sure temporary housing for incoming animals are improved. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Carly Liu, followed by Joyce Diaz, and then Lizidney Torres, virtual. Good evening. Sorry, I missed my turn because I didn't hear. Good evening, Commissioners. My name is Ilyana Lair. I am a 10th grade student at Robinson High School as well as a member of both our Animal Advocacy Club and the PTSA Advocacy Club. I was proud to join my fellow Robinson students at the county budget meeting on September 10th. I am here today to keep standing up for our community's animals. First, I want to thank you for your responses and for reassuring you do not plan to cut the funding for the Pet Resource Center. Hearing that commitment means a lot to young residents like me who care deeply about this issue. Animal welfare is deeply personal to me and my family. During Hurricane Etta, we fostered and eventually adopted our dog, Fizzle. He was a part of our lives for seven wonderful years before recently passing away at age 12. Having a rescued pet taught me firsthand just how powerful second chances can be. But knowing what animals at our current shelter go through breaks my heart. As an open-emission facility, the staff and volunteers must take in any animal that arrives, even when the kennels are packed far past capacity. Because the buildings are so outdated, many dogs are held in outdoor kennels with only fans and shade covers. In our Florida Summer Heat Index, temperatures regularly top 100 degrees without air conditioning. That heat, paired with constant noise and extreme overcrowding, creates a severe distress for these pets. Our dedicated shelter workers and volunteers work tirelessly every day, but they are trapped by the physical limits of an aging facility. They cannot lower the outside temperature and they cannot stretch the walls. Hillsborough County is growing rapidly, and we need a facility that reflects and serves a community of our size. Today's budget decisions shape the county my generation will inherit. We are so grateful that you plan to protect the current shelter funding, and I look forward to seeing you vote to fully fund the rebuild of a new, modern, and truly functional pet resource center in the FY27 budget. Give our staff the tools they need and give animals like Bizzle the second dignified chance they deserve. Thank you for your time and leadership tonight. All right, thank you. Carly Liu. Carly here. And Joyce Diaz. And then Lizzie Torres, who's virtual. Good evening. Good evening, commissioners. My name is Carly Liu, and I'm a student at Robinson High School and a member of our Animal Advocacy Club. You may recall that on September 10th, I spoke in support of keeping the pet resource center in the FY27 budget, and I'm here tonight to show my support once again. I just wanted to express my gratitude and appreciation to you all for listening to all of our concerns, including my own. Thank you for initiating the project of an upgraded pet resource center and the efforts being made to raise money for it. But I would also like to especially thank commissioner Miller for reaching out and acknowledging us and sharing the project's current standing. The students of the Animal Advocacy Club and I hope to not only see renovations, but also a new and improved facility soon. We trust that you will put your hard work and dedication into this project and prioritize Hillsborough County and its actual important needs. Thank you. Thank you. Joyce Diaz, followed by Lizzie Torres, who's virtual. Melissa Castaneda, who's virtual. And then Bianca Melendez. Good evening. Good evening. I am here today to speak for the animals at the Hillsborough County Pet Resource Center. The Pet Resource Center is the only open admission animal shelter in Hillsborough County. This means that the animals in need continuously come through the doors, even when the shelter is already overcrowded. Right now, overcrowding is a serious problem. On September 17th, the county reported 320 dogs at the shelter, which is about 177% of its capacity. That was the highest number of dogs at the shelter that has been seen in about five years. The shelter is about 40 years old. And Hillsborough County has grown significantly since it was built. Our community grows and the number of dogs needing shelter and care also grows. We need a facility that meets those needs. We also need to think about Florida heat. Fans are not enough. These animals need climate-controlled indoor spaces where they can stay cool and safe. A new shelter would provide cooling systems, kennels and space, and improve medical care. These animals cannot speak for themselves, and we need to be able to speak for them. They deserve a safe and healthy place while they are waiting for a home. Thank you for listening. And when you state your name, ma'am, can you state your name on the mic? Joyce Diaz. All right. Thank you, Joyce. Is there, was Edney Torres on the line? Not checking. Okay. How about Melissa Castaneda? Hi, yes. I'm here. Good evening. Hi, yes. My name is Melissa Castaneda. Good evening. My name is Melissa Castaneda. I'm also here as a proponent for funding for PRC. I'm not a volunteer or worker there, but I'm a proponent of animals, homeless animals. I am fostering a dog that was on the euthanasia list there last winter. It makes my heart to see the dogs there on a weekly basis who are desperately looking for homes to seek alone. When it was Mario, Fendi, Poppy, Caleb, Beau, and Lily on the euthanasia list, I understand that building a new shoulder alone isn't going to eradicate this problem, but it would greatly help. It would be able to better comply with the ASPCA standards and what they maintain are hospitable living conditions for dogs and cats, temperatures that are maintained between 64 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit, relative humidity, that's between 30 percent and 70 percent, as well as mitigation strategies that would help minimize the impact of noise and overcrowded shoulders. Think about how dogs are very, they have senses that are much more keen than ours when it comes to smell and hearing. And you need a special facility to be able to address these issues to help keep them calm and help them just be healthier. Again, the heat index in Florida in the summertime is in the triple digits. Those are torturous conditions for these dogs and cats as well. So this is where I want my tax dollars to go. And again, I'm here as an advocate for these animals who can't talk for themselves. And I understand that you're looking to help create jobs, but there are other ways to do that than the baseball stadium alone, such as upgrading to the water treatment. I appreciate your comments. Thank you. Next three speakers, Bianca Melendez, Bianca here, come on down. And then followed by Angel DeAngelo, who's virtual, and then Emily Frey and David Zulian. Good evening. Good evening. My name is Bianca Melendez. I am a longtime resident of Carrowood in Hillsborough County of over 31 years. And I demand that the county commission reconsider continued public funding for FIBA and listen to the overwhelming number of voices here in Hillsborough County today. Those taxpayers' dollars would have a more beneficial impact if redirected for the important needs for those in Hillsborough County instead of being directed to a foreign country to weapons, manufacturing, and AI technology. Not only does FIBA invest in more AI jobs, weapons, manufacturers, and defense, including Cyberwell and here at Xtend, where weapons are used on civilians and have been used already in what has been called by the international bodies and organizations and among other experts as genocide. These weapons have been used in serious violations of international and humanitarian law and inconsistent with U.S. law and policy. This is not okay. Keep in mind, FIBA may donate and give back to children here, but while developing weapons and tech also here at home to systematically target meme and unalive families in other places makes no sense. Many residents here are facing rising costs from housing, property taxes, to the increasing cost of gas and food in addition to other financial instabilities. These funds can and should go back to the people and community here in Hillsborough County. Like it has been said, 116 nonprofits are planned to receive less Hillsborough County funding than FIBA in 2027. The general funds as defined by the county is to fund services for all Hillsborough County residents. In a survey asked of Hillsborough County residents, more than half said the quality of life in Hillsborough County five years from now will be worse. They mentioned issues with public transit, traffic flow, lack of support for unhoused people and insufficient housing options. As a decision is... Thank you, Ms. D'Angelo. Appreciate your... Melendez, appreciate the comments. Angel, D'Angelo, virtual, and then Emily Frey and David Zulian. Is Angel on the line? Yes, I am. Good evening. Good evening. My name is Angel D'Angelo, born and raised here in Hillsborough County, living in Ybor City. I'm here to talk about the budget, like many others have said. I am in opposition to continuing the funding of the Florida-Israeli Business Accelerator. We should have never been funding it in the first place. There is a lot of pressing needs in Hillsborough County. If we want to support small businesses, that's wonderful. But there are many in Hillsborough County that did not survive the pandemic and have not had the help they need to deal with the rising cost of inflation. A lot of the LGBT businesses are closed, for example. A lot of the local art venues in Ybor are closed down. We could put the money there. We could put the money into HIV services and funding that have been cut at the federal and state level. We could put the money into housing. We could repair countless bus stops with the amount of money that you're going to put into Israeli businesses. So it just really doesn't make any sense for us to continue funding foreign entities and foreign businesses. And there are so many pressing needs right here at home. We can fix several roads. We can support startups right here in Hillsborough County. I know there's very many talented people here that would love to start a business and serve the people that just haven't been given an opportunity. So please reconsider and remove Florida-Israeli Business Accelerator from this and all future budgets and support the people here at Hillsborough County. Thank you so much. Thank you, sir. Emily Frey, Emily here, and then David Zulian, and then Patricia Beres and Paula Pierce that are both virtual. Good evening. Good evening. Hello. My name is Emily Frey. I'm in ninth grade and a part of the Robinson Veterinary Assistant Program. My request from you is to please fully fund the Pet Resource Center Rebuild in FY27. I would have attended the Board of County Commissioner's meeting on September 16th, but sadly, it was during school hours. I did, however, write an email. And I want to thank you all for taking time from your day to read and give an educational reply to the emails for FY27 and not yet making the decision in listening to our voices. This matters deeply to me, knowing animals cannot speak for themselves and depend on us to keep them happy, safe, and well taken care of. Many animals are still arriving despite the candles being full. Any renovations in the building are only a temporary fix to an outdated, over-full facility that desperately needs to be built to accommodate the needs for our rapidly growing community. All my suggestions are not supposed to be taken as criticism towards the employees or volunteers. My peers and I deeply appreciate all the hard work they put into the animals. Thank you for considering my request and listening to the Voices of Hillsborough County. Have a good day. Thank you for your comments. David Zulian, and then Patricia Bares, Paula Pierce, and John Palm. Hello. Good evening. Hi there. For the lady who is just here to speak about her community of flooding, I wanted to say I'm really sorry, but we have to keep supporting the Israeli military. My name is David. I'm a resident of Hillsborough, and I'm here to demand that not even a dollar of our tax money go towards the Florida Israeli Business Accelerator. They don't need our money. According to Jewish Press of Tampa, since 2017, FIBA has supported over 90 Israeli high-tech companies that have collectively raised more than $1 billion in investment. $1 billion. And last year, FIBA got $300,000 from the state of Florida. What's come from that? To quote, And even if FIBA and their companies were a success, let's imagine. Can we not prop up our businesses? Do we have to shut down all of our local business and each take up jobs that extend the foreign military drone company backed by FIBA and make AI-powered military drones for Israel? Drones that extend themselves, admit, are used in Gaza to aid in actions that all relevant human rights organizations, even Israeli human rights organizations, have called a genocide. A guy from USF that was just up here, he wants to talk about evidence, argue with the Israeli groups, B'Tselem, and Physicians for Human Rights Israel. We work on these drones, they're sent over to Israel, and then they kill people. You know, Israel calls these people terrorists, but we all know what a terrorist is to Israel. It's a little boy, it's a little girl. If I was born in Palestine, if I had the wrong skin color, they would bomb me and they would bomb you too. And one last thing, I love the passion of those here fighting for animals. They deserve to live, they do. I just ask that you extend as much care for a pit bull in Tampa as you do for Seifolo Mosulat, the 20-year-old Tampa resident who was beaten to death by Israeli settlers. A member of our own community, be in by Israeli settlers while the IDF deliberately stopped ambulances, divest from FEBA, invest in our community. Thank you, sir. Patricia Barres, is she on the line? Patricia? Go ahead and unmute yourself. I'm sorry. Yes, hello. Good evening. Good evening. My name is Patricia Barres, and I'm a resident of Paschal County, a bedroom community of Hillsborough County. I'm here to support the demands of local community members to remove all funding from Florida, Israel, Business Accelerator, and instead focus on social programs, affordable housing, youth programs, libraries, parks and recs, services that benefit the people here. Across the country and in Hillsborough County, people are struggling to get by. Roughly two-thirds of our population are living paycheck to paycheck, barely being able to afford the necessities of life, leaving no room for an unexpected expense. It is unconscionable and obscene to have tax dollars of our hardworking people go to a foreign country which profits from war and genocide. These monies will not make lives better for us. We need to keep these funds locally to support local small businesses and other needs benefiting people of the county. We must cut ties with Israel now and spend these tax dollars on programs desperately needed by Hillsborough County residents. Hillsborough County's budget should reflect the needs of Hillsborough County's people. We must remove all funding to Israeli companies and instead invest in much-needed services for Hillsborough residents today. Thank you. Thank you. Paula Pierce, virtual, followed by John Palm and Alonzo Echeveri. Is Paula Pierce on the line? Yes. Good evening. Good evening. My name is Paula Pierce. I was born and raised in Hillsborough County. I grew up in Valrico and now I'm in Town and Country. I'm calling because I believe our budget must be used to support the needs of Hillsborough County residents. I'm calling to stand with my community and the demands that all funding be removed from Israeli-linked businesses through the Florida-Israel Business Accelerator. Instead, focus on our community-based nonprofits and businesses that keep us alive and truly living. The working and lower classes of Hillsborough County are suffering. We are suffocating and to put our tax dollars into a foreign entity profiting off of war and genocide instead of caring for our neighbors, children, the environment, or even the very streets themselves is abhorrent and abusive to the public seats you occupy. Those funds can and must be used to make life better here in Hillsborough County. We demand that the budget reflects the needs of the people by removing all funding to Israeli companies and instead invest in life-saving services for Hillsborough County residents. These could be things like shelter at bus stops, pet resources, cleaning the air and the water, street drainage, potholes, sidewalks, school infrastructure. There's mold and leaks everywhere in our schools. And just end of the day, vote no on any budget funding, FIBA, divest from Israel and invest in Hillsborough. Thank you very much. Thank you. John Palm. Is John here? Followed by Alonzo Etcheverry and then Dr. Jim Davis. Good evening. Yes. Good evening, commissioners. I appreciate you allowing me to speak again tonight. I was here twice before, and I'd like to, again, support everyone who's spoken against the funding for FIBA. As I brought up last time, particularly the Xtend drone factory and any other corporations that are explicitly involved in the genocide, as the gentleman reminded, there will be a day of reckoning similar to the Nuremberg trials where there's going to be a war crimes tribunal and all those who have been complicit in the genocide will be brought to justice. And I'd like to see that the county not be implicated in that. So I would like to encourage to remove the complicity of the county in potential war crimes that you withdraw the business license for Xtend. That company should not be operating in this county. I was shocked when I found out that that company is operating in our county. I'm a lifelong resident of Hillsborough County, and I'm just appalled that we have a company right here in this county who's building the drones that are being sent over to bomb babies and children and innocent women. And it's just unbelievable to me that our county is allowing that to happen. Please, I ask you to withdraw the business license, close down the Xtend factory, and be on the right side of history. Please, let's do everything we can to oppose the genocide. Thank you for your time. I appreciate it. Thank you, sir. Alonzo, Mr. Alonzo Echeverry, and then Dr. Jim Davidson, and Amy Summers. Good evening. Good evening to all fellow residents and county commissioners. I hope everyone is well and in good health and spirit. I come to you today not to demand, complain, or congratulate decisions made by the county commissioners before me at this moment. Abracadabra I create as I speak. My message is simple and straightforward. The continued support and funding of businesses directly linked to murder and genocide has become very apparent. And this board has continually approved public funding and programs such as FIBA, who directly assist Xtend, an Israeli drone manufacturer. These drones have taken many lives. Now, God has given every individual here free will. However, you must be aware that your actions make you complicit and taint your hands with blood of the innocent, mainly women and children. Take heed that supporting the synagogue of Satan will weigh on your eternal soul when the day of judgment comes. Choose wisely. I create as I speak, so mow to be. Thank you. Sir, please state your name. Please state your name for the record. Alonzo Echeverry. Thank you, sir. Dr. Jim Davidson, then Amy Summers and Florence Marson. Good evening. Jim Davidson here, Tampa. This is the last budget some of you will be voting on, maybe more than one. And I wanted to show you what your work has been for the past four years. You'll see the FY23 budget, which was the budget passed just before you got elected in 2022. And then you'll see the FY27 budget, which you will be voting on today. It went from about $8.5 billion to about $13.8 billion, a 62% increase, an increased growth rate of about 13%. If nothing changes in the next four years as it did in the last four years, the budget four years from now will be over $22 billion. Now, I know you all ran on fiscal conservative and fiscally responsibility. Do you call that fiscally responsible? These poor people out here in blue shirts looking for a pet money, you have always had that money, always. And you chose not to give it to them. For decency sakes, will you give them the damn money this year? Thank you for your time. Thank you, Dr. Davidson. Amy Summers, followed by Florence Marson. And then the last speaker is Mark Lutho. Good evening. Good evening. I'm here to speak on behalf of the Animals at Pet Resource Center. At the September 16th meeting, I respectfully asked all of you to volunteer one day to see the living conditions for yourself without AC and to see what it's like for the animals, employees, and volunteers. I really hope at least one of you were able to go. Since the last meeting, PRC has been in the news with headlines pleading for people to adopt dogs and foster dogs as PRC is in crisis mode. They are over 177% capacity. PRC can normally hold up to 180 dogs, but as of Tuesday, PRC had 320 dogs. They can hold 56 cats, but during kitten season, they can exceed that by 800%. Due to severe overcrowding, PRC can only manage to TNR 10 cats total per day for all of Hillsborough County's million-plus residents. It's not enough. When PRC was built 40 years ago, the population was roughly 777,000 residents versus today's 1 million-plus residents, a 102% increase. For one 40-year-old crumbling, outdated shelter, Hillsborough County is expected to grow by 20,000 new residents per year and will unfortunately contribute to more homeless cats and dogs. We can't keep growing and not fund a modern shelter now. Tampa is known as Champa Bay. Isn't it time we become champions for the animals of Tampa Bay who call PRC home? Let Tampa be the good example for all other shelters in the state. A full shelter isn't the beginning of the crisis. It's the receipt of everything we failed to prevent before that animal arrived. The shelter needs to be built now, not later. Please do the right thing. Young, healthy animals shouldn't die simply due to the lack of space. Please fully fund a new shelter now. And two other things. Lastly, you approved $796 million for the Tampa Bay Rays. And six days later, the Rays ownership group donated $411,000 to grease the palms of Bob Buckhorn for his mayoral campaign. That's a huge slap in the face to the taxpayers. So on behalf of Hillsborough County taxpayers, I'm requesting you deduct $411,000 from the budget. Thank you, Ms. Summers. Appreciate your comments. Florence Marsan with Florence. Florence, no Florence. All right. Are Florence here? Are you here? If not, last speaker, Mark Clutho? Nope. Here it comes. Come on up, Florence. Good evening. My name is Florence Marsan. And I've lived in this city and this county, of course, for over 50 years and seen it really grow. For Tampa to be the next great city like it wants to claim and Hillsborough County to become a county to be desired over other counties, it needs to have a state-of-the-art animal shelter with increased kennel space to accommodate the increasing needs that go along with the county's ever-increasing demographics and animal intake. Please allocate this in your upcoming 2027 budget and fully fund a new larger building with planned completion well ahead of the Rays Stadium. PRC staff, volunteers, and a huge number of intake animals cannot wait for more planning. It is time to budget and act. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am, for your comments. Last speaker is Mark Clutho. Good evening. Mark Clutho, well, you break the law again. You're supposed to be doing two hearings, one on the middle age and one on the budget. The middle age first. Again, you're breaking the law. So, headlines read, USC's hottest summer in 130-plus years, and the rising summer heat should spur us to action. July heat saw hottest month ever, and here's the fool wiping his face. Of course, he's wearing a coat, like everybody in here, means you buy more air conditioning. Woman diagnosed with dengue dies. See, when you buy more air conditioning, then the mosquitoes multiply. And so, here's this article about the stadium, and it shows the Atlanta ballpark. Not like what you're going to do. You're going to make a stupid stadium with a glass roof. You never put glass in a horizontal plane. So, taxpayers' money squandered more carbon into the atmosphere. You just can't stop killing the planet. You are such a bunch of fools. It's just unbereivable. Thank you, Mr. Clutho. Appreciate the comments. All right, that concludes public comment. Board members, we have three flagged items, one from Commissioner Miller, one from Commissioner Woelstel, one from myself. Can we have a motion to approve all three? So moved. Motion, Commissioner Cohen. Second, Commissioner Miller. Please record your vote. Motion carried, 6-0. Okay. If there are no other changes, then it's appropriate to have Kevin Brickey read the required information into the record. Thank you. Prior to approving the millage resolution, we need to read into the record certain information. The taxing authority is the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners. The aggregate rollback rate is 8.6516 mils. The proposed aggregate millage rate of 8.6864 mils represents a 0.40% increase from the aggregate rollback rate. The millage rates to be adopted for tax year 2026 are countywide general revenue, 5.3608 mils. Unincorporated area, municipal services taxing, 4.7163 mils. Library services, 0.5583 mils. Voted general obligation debt for environmentally sensitive lands, 0.0604 mils. Chair? Okay. I now entertain a motion to adopt the millage resolution as presented by staff. The resolution has been reviewed for legal sufficiency by the county attorney's office. Move to approve. Second. Motion to Commissioner Myers. Second. Commissioner Cohen. Please record your vote. That motion carries 5-1. Commissioner Cameron Cepeda voted no. Okay. I now entertain a motion to adopt the budget resolution as presented by staff. The resolution has been reviewed for legal sufficiency by the county attorney's office. Move approval. Motion to Commissioner Cohen. Second. Second. Commissioner Myers. Please record your vote. That motion carries 5-1. Commissioner Cameron Cepeda voted no. Okay that concludes this public hearing. We will now reopen the CIP public hearing. The purpose of tonight's public hearing is to take public comment on the proposed fiscal year 2027 to fiscal year 2031 capital improvement program prior to board adoption. Now Mr. Brickey will present an overview of the proposed CIP. Thank you Kevin Brickey management and budget. The capital improvement program is a five-year program from FY27 through fiscal year FY31 and totals five billion dollars. We continue to have an active CIP. FY27 includes funding for four new fire and eight replacement fire stations, continued funding for the fire rescue emergency management warehouse, improvement at jail facilities, relocation of the sheriff's operations center, new projects for investments in sheriff's IT and communications equipment infrastructure, the one water project, and additional dollars for roadway pavement preservation bridges sidewalks intersections. Additional funding is also provided for Lithia Pinecrest Road and Van Dyke Road as well as the pet resource facility and the indoor athletic facility. At this time Mr. Chair it would be appropriate to take public comment. I thank you. We'll go on to the public comment for the CIP. We've got 17 individuals that have signed up. I think most if not all did speak during the budget public hearing. If you spoke on a capital improvement project I'm going to respectfully ask you not to double dip during this part of the budget public care of the capital improvement program public hearing. The first three speakers Dr. Betsy Koval and John Marinello and Ann Malone. I submitted some pictures and I was wondering what happened to them. Does that go up there so you can see it? My name is Dr. Betsy Koval, resident and taxpayer of Hillsborough County. I'm standing here urging you to do your commitment to our community's most vulnerable animals and lock in immediately concrete funding for a new humane Hillsborough County PRC shelter in FY 2027 budget in the capital improvement program. Our shelter is old, outdated and failing. These deplorable conditions staff and workers do heroic work maintaining a 94% save rate and earning national recognition. They are upholding their end of the bargain. The community is holding up ours but the county is falling behind on its promises. When voters renewed the community is holding up the the community is holding up ours but the county is holding up ours but the county is falling behind on its promises. When voters renewed the community investment tax, a new resource center was explicitly identified as an eligible key project. We were told 30 million would be allocated, yet look at the current CIP. The project's construction funding was listed to be determined and relies on vague possibilities rather than the actual approved allocations. Meanwhile, hundreds of millions of money, hundreds of millions of dollars of CRT revenue are going rapidly down to a new sports stadium. Could be funded is not a plan. Thousands of residents have signed petitions demanding action. We do not want more delays or further evaluations stretching into late next year. Therefore, I respectfully ask the commissioners tonight to make a formal motion directing the county administrator to establish a clear binding milestone road map for PRC with measurable deadlines and to officially designate concrete construction funding in FC 27. Thank you, Dr. Colville. John Marinello, Ann Malone, and Ria Shingeri. Good evening. Good evening. I thought it'd be better to have someone else speak besides us. So, listen in. My name is Bubba, and I know you don't think dogs can talk, but considering how important building a new animal shelter is, I thought it was time to speak up. As we all know, the shelter is over 40 years old and has no air conditioning, no heat. It floods when it rains and has so many more issues that are just not worth repeating. You cannot understand what it's like for us, dogs and cats, to be sitting in a sweltering hot kennel. I know when you can't hear a thing when you can't hear a thing with dogs barking and large, noisy fans running day and night. You can't understand the stress that it puts on some of us and leads us to be euthanized because of behavioral issues. You can't understand what it's like to have been living in a beautiful home, sleeping on our own bed, and then find yourself stuck in a horrible hot kennel waiting for someone to save you and give you the life that you deserve. I understand that there are lots of priorities that need to be taken care of, but I want you to know that there is no more important priority than keeping us homeless animals that are looking for a new life in a safe, modern shelter that helps us find our forever home. We know that consideration for a new shelter was began in 2024. We also know that locations have been looked at and architectural firms have been reviewed. So why are we starting all over again in 2027? We need a new shelter, and we need for the Board of Commissioners to commit the funds and construct a brand new shelter now, not five or 10 years from now. Thank you. And please pet your dog or cat when you get home. Thank you. They love it. It's been around a long time this time I've seen that one. Ann Malone, and then Rhea Shangeri, and then David Guerrero Lopez. Back. Ann Malone, Rescue Me Tampa. I am a member of Hillsborough County. I just have a direct question in the CIP meeting, and that is where in the CIP meeting is funding allocated? What is being allocated fiscal year 2027 specifically for the new pet resource center? That's all I want to know. I've asked it each and every time I've come up here. What is being allocated in fiscal year 2027 towards the pet resource center? A new center, not Band-Aids. We've been down that road too many times. The Band-Aids are not working. We need a new facility. We've seen professional planning, proposed sites, architectural work, cost estimates, and timelines. So tonight I'm simply asking for a clear answer. Yes or no. Will funding for the new PRC be included in the fiscal year 2027 CIP? And if so, how much, and specifically, what will that funding pay for? The public deserves clarity. I would just want clarity. That's all. Thank you. Thank you. Rhea Shangeri, virtual. Then David Guerrero Lopez and Leanna Freja. Is Rhea still on the line? No. No, sir. All right. Thank you. David Guerrero Lopez. David. Okay. Leanna Freja, virtual. Then Linda Logsdon and Tiffany Moncourt. Is Leanna on the line? Leanna is not on the line as well, Mr. Chair. Okay, great. Linda Logsdon. No. How about Tiffany Moncourt, virtual? Oh, come on up, Linda. Tiffany is not on line. Hold on. Tiffany, hold on. Good evening again. Excuse my nervousness. I've never done this before. But I would like to make a direct CIP budget request. I have two maps that I make copies for all of you. And the first map shows West Park Estates. And what concerns me at West Park Estates is we only have six exits. And when the canals flood, we only have two exits, even in summer afternoon storms. It doesn't take a hurricane or a tropical storm. So I'm going to ask that this body request a dedicated interlocal capital allocation to fund a joint engineering task force between the county, the city, and FDOT. In my area, I'm only five streets outside of the county, into the county. The city limit is five streets away from me. So Henry Street Canal is maintained by FDOT. The pipes in Drew Park are maintained by the city. And the drainage system in my area is maintained by the county. Please do not put up a stadium before you have the infrastructure to support it. I ask this so that this be done before any concrete is poured over grass areas upstream, and the homes in my neighborhood pay the price for it. I ask you to protect us. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Loxton. I'm going to propose this over to our administration on this issue. And I'll also forward your handout. Tiffany Moncourt virtual, and then Julissa Dugrot and Brian Bocourt virtual. Is Tiffany on the line? Tiffany is on the line. Okay. Julissa, is Julissa here? No. Brian Bocourt. Is Brian still on the line? Hey. Good afternoon, Commissioners. Brian Bocourt of El Rico. First, I wanted to thank Commissioner Miller for September 16th motion requiring quarterly public updates on the Pet Resource Center, as well as the Lutia Pinecrest project, and reviewing whether unallocated HOPE funds could help move forward the project, the PRC project. I support the proposed $13 million for the PRC facility replacement, but the CIT raises several questions. Only $5 million is in fiscal year 27. Nearly $8 million is carry forward funding. $78,000 has been spent. The completion date is still TBD, and no additional funding is shown through fiscal year 31. So I'm just trying to figure out what exactly the $13 million will accomplish, and what did the $78,000 purchase? Please also grant county staff to identify county-owned properties that could accommodate a replacement shelter. Using suitable land the county already owns could reduce costs and move site selection forward. If this funding covers only the first phase, the CIP should identify the project's expected full cost and future funding plan. A project without a schedule is not a project. It's a wish list. Please approve the funding, but require a definite scope, measurable milestones, and a target completion date. Thank you for your time. I appreciate it. Ben Braver. Ben here. Ben Braver. Ben Braver. Ben Braver. Ben Braver followed by Dyma who's virtual, and then Joyce Diaz. Is Dyma on the line? Dyma is not on the line. Ben Braver. Ben Braver. Okay. Is Joyce Diaz here? No Joyce. Melissa Castanias, is Melissa still on the line? Melissa signed off. Okay. Dr. Jim Davison, and then Florence Marson, and then Mark Lutho. Hello again. These are from one of the reports from the Clerk of the Court's Office that you always conceal in the consent agenda. That is the balance sheet for the investment portfolio for the county from 2020. That is an investment portfolio from 2025. It's about a $2.2 billion increase just in your investment portfolio. To pay for the pet resource center, you would have to take about 1% because now that 5.1 is closer to 6. Not only that, you get about $30 to $40 million back from the constitutional officers every year. It's supposed to be a one-time revenue stream, but you're using it as a recurring revenue stream. You could use that to pay for the resource center. And lastly, I would like one of you, any one of you, to tell the people of this county what projects have been delayed because of the $90 million you're giving this year, next year, the year after, and the year after that to the Rays Stadium. You owe it to them. They're not going to get the stuff that was promised them in 2024. And you all know that the sales tax is not going to perform the way you were told it was going to. So you owe this county to tell them what projects they're not going to get because you built Rays Stadium. That's not a whole lot to ask, and you should have the courage to stand up if you believed in that stadium to tell them. Thank you very much and have a good night. Good luck in the book. Thank you, Dr. Davis. Florence Marsong. Florence here. All right, last speaker, Mark Clutho. Mark's here. Nope, he left. Okay. That concludes public comment. Before I entertain a motion, I just want to, again, try and clear up the misinformation that's out there about the pet resource shelter. We're following our process. The county administrator is coming back to us sometime this fall. They're currently evaluating the options, both funding and as far as the facility. We also had Commissioner Miller that directed the administrator to come back with certain deliverables and project schedule. We currently have 13 million that's included in the CIP. We have an additional 30 million that was identified in our CIT project list that's eligible to be used toward the facility. Process-wise, we're unable to include that 30 million here because it requires the necessary, required public hearing, CIT public hearing that will occur likely within the next couple of months or so. So we're unable to just move that over because you have, procedurally, you have to have that public hearing. No changes have been made. No changes have been discussed. So we're following our process. We're not going to deviate from that process. So just everyone knows that. Okay. So this time I'd entertain a motion to adopt the CIP resolution as presented by staff. The resolution has been reviewed for legal sufficiency by the county attorney's office. Move to approve the vote. Motion, Commissioner Myers. Second, Commissioner Cohen. I don't see anyone in the queue, so please record your vote. The motion carried 6-0. Thanks for coming down this evening. That concludes tonight's budget public hearing.