Welcome to the Works. We're going behind the scenes with Hillsborough County's Temporary Traffic Control to find out how they plan, manage, and monitor our roadways and traffic, all while keeping the county running smooth. TTC is critical to the safety of the roadway in Hillsborough County. We're making sure that that work zone is set effectively so that it provides the safe traveling path for the persons that are driving through that work zone. Most people to the Untrained Eye are going to sit here and say that this owner starved for dogs. We're going to head up to that dog hall right now. We'll go out, we'll assess the situation. I'm looking at these dogs. I'm like garbage. I mean, that's just not, did you see those backs through there? She was very upset about losing all of her cats. She called me up a few times in tears. I need my photos. I need to be able to paint this picture for the judge so that he sees what I see. 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 and the mangrove areas along the coast here. We stop their growth so they never grow up and become adult mosquitoes. Good morning and welcome to the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioner's budget reconciliation public hearing. At this time, I'll pass things over to the county administrator to make some opening remarks. Thank you and good morning, commissioners. This morning, we're going to complete our, we're going to have our annual budget reconciliation public hearing. There are four main items that are going to occur at this morning's meeting. First, this is a public hearing, so you'll receive public comment regarding the budget. After public comment, Kevin Brickey, the budget director, will give a brief overview of the fiscal year 27 budget. And thirdly, the board will consider changes to the recommended budget. The backup materials you receive for this meeting does include the flag items that board members identified as of last Friday, along with an update that was distributed yesterday afternoon. Changes to the budget may be made through the last budget public hearing, which will be held on September 24th. And then lastly, the board will approve preliminary millage rates as required by Florida statutes. This action is required by state law and will enable the property appraiser to issue the truth and millage notices to property owners in August. And so now it would be appropriate to take public comment. Mr. Chair, it looks like there are 22 people who have signed up to speak. Okay, thank you. We'll go into the public comment portion of the agenda. Each person will be given three minutes. Please state your name, speak clearly into the microphone. First three speakers have signed up. Faris Shahir, followed by a Nadia Askar, and then a Ria Shringeri, who's virtual. Is Faris here? Okay, how about Nadia Askar? Please come forward. Then Ria Shringeri, who's virtual. And then Natalie Bletcher, who's virtual. Good morning. Good morning. My name is Nadia Askar. I live in the Tampa area. My family has lived here since the early 90s. I am 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. For too long, the tax dollars of Hillsborough County residents have been allocated to FIBA that collects funds from both public and private sources to be dispersed to foreign Israeli businesses. So to say that FIBA doesn't give any money to Israel is misleading since the businesses that they accelerate, like Extend Defense, support the mission and the economy of this foreign entity profiting from war. FIBA and their executives claim to bring jobs to Hillsborough County, when in reality these jobs equate to less than 60 total, or about five each Israeli company. And they're positions that are not regularly available to Hillsborough County residents, that don't have the background or the resources. So to my understanding, it's that we pay taxes and our elected officials use them to better our quality of life. The investment into FIBA that has come out of the pockets of your constituents is not something that residents see any ROI from, especially within the community. If the county is interested in investing in business development services, the answer is to invest locally. Since speaking to community members in Hillsborough County and surveying them about what they would rather have their tax dollars spent on, not once was FIBA mentioned, um, nor was the acceleration of Israeli businesses in Florida mentioned. Some of the things that were mentioned and that we should envision our tax dollars better spent on include better school programs for students, public transportation, social services for senior and low-income families, resources for the houseless and women's shelters and other local initiatives that benefit the citizens here and in Hillsborough County rather than cause harm in other parts of the world. There is a shared responsibility that is to us and to our tax dollars in Hillsborough County. We believe that our Hillsborough County tax dollars should be spent in Hillsborough County to provide schools in Hillsborough County and health care or roads in Hillsborough County and not to be invested in a foreign entity that makes other people's lives worse rather than to make our lives better here. After listening to the concerns of your residents, you know, in previous meetings and listening to different CEOs, we hope that you make the right decision by listening to your constituents and by removing all funding to the Israeli companies to FIBA and instead invest in life-saving services for Hillsborough County residents today. Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate your comments, Ms. Askar. The next five speakers are virtual Ria Shringari, followed by Natalie Bletcher and then Angel D'Angelo. Is Ria on the line? Yes. Good morning. Hello to the board and to the public. My name is Ria Shringari and I am a college student here in Hillsborough County. I'm here to demand that we divest and redirect funding away from the Florida Israel Business Accelerator at Florida and Tampa. Israeli startups supported by the Florida Israel Business Accelerator, also known as FIBA, have collectively raised $1.5 billion in direct investments, according to their own reporting from contracts and deals funded by hundreds of thousands of our tax dollars. This could have been generated by our own local economy. I implore that we respond to several urban local needs important to me and many other Hillsborough residents, stormwater infrastructure and women's health resources. Let's start with stormwater hurricanes. Hillsborough County sits at the center of hurricane risk in a state where storms are intensifying every year. Our drainage systems are aging and flooding events are already displacing families and damaging homes and taking lives in low-lying neighborhoods. Tampa city officials stated over 700 million in combined public and private property damages within the city of Tampa alone during the last major hurricane. Every dollar we send to a foreign business accelerator is a dollar not spent protecting and strengthening our infrastructure against the next storm. We need money to defend and protect wildlife and ecology and vulnerable communities along Gandy and West Shore, Temple Terrace, Town and Country, and many other important communities. Investing in mangroves that are the primary defense against storm surge, protecting critical indicator species, and endangered wildlife like West Indian manatees, roses, coonbills, and palatins, and spending time and money to plant native plants that will act as a second line of defense. These are all directly impactful to our neighbors and the people you serve. This isn't hypothetical. It's this hurricane season. Now women's health. The maternal mortality rate in Hillsborough is one of the highest in Florida. Over 34 deaths per 100 births. The national average is 18. Also roughly one in six women between 19 and 44 in Florida do not have access to health insurance. Investing in these centers saves lives directly, immediately, and locally. Unlike a program whose primary beneficiaries are overseas, the county's general fund exists to serve Hillsborough County residents. Hillsborough County mothers, fathers, children, families, people not aiding and abetting a genocide. Not putting Israel first before Americans. Not Israel. These are more than there are more than 100 non-profits in this county serving children, veterans, people with disabilities, and public health that receive less funding. That is a choice that is being made in Hillsborough County and it can be made. Thank you. Thank you. Next three speakers, Natalie Bletcher and Angel D'Angelo and Leonie Bar-Kakati. Is Natalie on the line? Yes, I am. Good morning. Good morning. My name is Natalie Bletcher. I live in Hillsborough County and I'm here to express my strong support to the continued partnership between Hillsborough County and the Florida-Israel business accelerator called SEBA because it represents exactly the kind of economic development initiatives that strengthens our local economy and community. The purpose of SEBA is not political, despite what others are saying. And it's also not sending any money to foreign countries. And I resent the targeted campaign that turned into one of, because it's just ridiculous. One of SEBA's mission is to attract innovative technology companies to establish operations in Tampa Bay. They are creating high-paying jobs. They invest in local talent. They collaborate with the universities here. They generate new business and new business opportunities also to Florida companies while partnering with them. I know it personally as I am an entrepreneur who moved here four years ago, and I am a partner in an Israeli startup. SEBA's goals are the same goals as the county pursues when recruiting businesses from other states or countries. Innovation knows no borders. Tampa Bay has become a growing technology hub because we welcome entrepreneurs and companies that contribute to our economy. We in Hillsborough County should be proud that numerous Israeli startups are interested in developing their business in Florida and specifically in Hillsborough County. Israel technology and startup nation culture has earned a global reputation for excellence in cybersecurity and healthcare, in artificial intelligence, in agriculture, water technology. All of this helps Hillsborough County businesses. When these companies choose Hillsborough County for their operations, our residents benefit tremendously through employment, investment, partnership, and increased tax revenue. Economic development should be evaluated based on measurable outcomes, including jobs created, capital invested, local partnership, long-term economy and economic impact. Decisions about supporting business attraction programs should not be driven by international political disagreements, but by whether they deliver value to the residents of Hillsborough County. Programs like SEBA help diversify our economy, attract world-class talent, and position Tampa Bay as a leading destination for technology and innovation. It is important to know that SEBA's County funding does not go directly to any of the companies. Thank you, Ms. Bledger. I appreciate your comments. It only supports SEBA's development. Is Angel D'Angelo on the line? Yes. Can you hear me? Yes. Good morning. Hi, my name is Angel D'Angelo and I'm a resident. Good morning. I'm a resident in Ybor City, lifelong resident of Hillsborough County and I'm also here to talk about the budget. There are many things that we need to prioritize in Hillsborough County. We need to rebuild up our HIV care since there's so many federal cuts. We need to work on child care, investing in the Head Start and expanding the Head Start program. Transit is a desperate need and has been for many years. Investing back in our health care program. Affordable housing continues to be a problem in Hillsborough County. We need to invest in park and recreation and we need less money for war policing and jails and that includes the fact that we should not be investing money into the Florida Israeli Business Accelerator or FIBA. We should be accelerating businesses in Hillsborough County. Many businesses from the COVID pandemic and the economic crises that we have been in but we should invest our money back into Hillsborough County. There are many startups that could be started right here in Hillsborough County that don't require us to go overseas, that don't require us to fund genocide or apartheid. It's not about international disagreements. It's about making Hillsborough County thrive. We are long overdue for the ability to thrive. We are long overdue for care in in our community. Transit, child care, affordable housing, parks, all of these things are the priorities for those in Hillsborough County. We don't need to prioritize startups that are barely bringing any jobs to Hillsborough County residents. Their own records show that there are not that many jobs that would be worth accelerating all of that and we could build jobs and care right here in Hillsborough County. So to bring value to residents let's do things for Hillsborough County and not for things over in a foreign entity that accelerate businesses that ultimately many of them are out harming people instead of caring for the people of Hillsborough County. Thank you for your time. Thank you for your comments. Leonie Bar-Kakati followed by Alan Kim and then Matthew Levine. Was Leonie on the phone? Leonie and Alan did not check in. Okay, great. Matthew Levine. Matthew here. Okay, followed by Bianca Melendez. Bianca. Chaz Harrell virtual. Please come forward. Can you hear me? Hey, this is Chase. Yeah, I'm a resident of Tampa Bay. I represent Hillsborough County school workers. Sorry, Hillsborough College workers, but non-instructional. Those workers are going on by their third year now without a substantial raise. They are looking at wages that don't really match their cost of living, especially in the area that they work. They have students who graduate from Hillsborough College and go on to make more money than they do right out the gate. So the fact that Hillsborough County gives money to something called SIBA, the Florida Israeli Business Accelerator, something that, let's just be frank, like even if people want to spin it some other way, like that benefits Israel, right? Otherwise, it wouldn't be called the Florida Israeli Business Accelerator. And as elected officials, I think it's just kind of disgusting that money is chosen to be spent on non-Americans when people right in Hillsborough County are looking at not having raises again, not having adequate wages. There's a hiring freeze in Hillsborough County. Um, what are we doing here? That money is from the people of Hillsborough County and it should be spent on the people of Hillsborough County, not on war, not on police, not on rounding up their neighbors and sure as hell not on a country that is, whether you believe it or not, it's, you know, accused of genocide. Even if, even if the accusation was the only thing that, you know, we had to go on, which we don't, the accusation alone should be enough to say, all right, we should probably stop spending money on this until this gets settled. But instead that money still goes there. Whereas your workers who provide for this county and pay taxes in this county don't even see the benefit of their labor. So like, I just don't understand what an elected official of Hillsborough County is supposed to do, if not benefit the people of Hillsborough County and no one else. It's traitorous behavior to give that money to anyone besides Americans. Thank you for your time. All right. Could you identify yourself for the record, sir? He said it was all right. Please state your name for the record. Chase Harold. Thank you. Bianca Melendez, followed by Ahmad Al-County and then Lane of View. Good morning. Good morning. My name is Bianca Melendez and I'm a long time resident of Carrollwood and East Tampa in Hillsborough County of over 25 years. I urge the County Commission to reconsider continued public funding for the Florida Israel business accelerator known as FIBA and consider whether those taxpayer dollars would have a more beneficial impact if redirected for the important needs for those in Hillsborough County. FIBA is a risky and fruitless initiative. Not only does it invest in more AI jobs and weapons manufacturers, even here at home, like extend a weapons company here in Tampa to be used on civilians and have been used already and what has been called by the international bodies and organizations and among other experts as a genocide. These weapons have been used in serious violations of international and humanitarian law and in ways that are inconsistent with U.S. law and policy. I don't see how this can have a positive impact for people in the world or here at home in Hillsborough County. Many residents here are facing rising costs from housing to the increasing cost of food and gas and transportation expenses in the county in addition to other financial instabilities. People are already worried greatly and facing difficult times. We see it and we hear it every day. It's important to note that 116 non-profits are planned to receive less Hillsborough County funding than FIBA in 2027. There are many other initiatives that can use the funding from emergency management to affordable housing, even creating jobs here at home. The general funds as defined by the county is to fund services for all Hillsborough County residents. As the county creates its budget, I believe public funds should work for the people who live and work here in Hillsborough County. I hope that you can see and agree that we can advance the budget that works for our community and invest in our people here at home and their needs here in Hillsborough County. Thank you for listening and taking the time to consider my requests and that of many. Thank you. Appreciate your comments. Ahmad Alcone followed by Laina Vu and then Haley Manigold. Morning sir. My name is Ahmad Alcone. I'm a West Tampa resident. I've been here for about 15 years. Commissioners ask that you guys reconsider the use of Hillsborough County taxpayer dollars for the Florida Israeli Business Accelerator and instead prioritize investments that directly benefit the people of Hillsborough County here. Our residents expect their tax dollars to work here at home. Every dollar invested in local business has the potential to create jobs, support entrepreneurs, strengthen small businesses here in Tampa and keep our money circulating through our local economy and those investments produce real measurable benefits for the community that paid for them. We have no shortage of needs here in Hillsborough County. Local businesses continue to face rising costs, workforce challenges and increased competition. We also have veteran owned businesses, startups, manufacturers, small business owners who could benefit from additional support and investment from Hillsborough County. You guys are our county leaders. Your primary responsibility is to the residents and taxpayers of Hillsborough County. Economic development, all of this funding should be focused on helping our businesses grow, creating opportunities for our own workforce and building a stronger local economy. I respectfully ask you all to keep our taxpayer dollars as close to home as possible. Instead of investing in foreign governments like the Florida Israeli Business Accelerator, let's invest in our own businesses, our own workers and our own community before funding programs that extend beyond our county. Thank you guys so much for your day. Thank you. Next up we have Lena Vu followed by Haley Manigold and Alfred Goldberg. My name is Lena Vu and I live in the Egypt Lake Leto area of Hillsborough County. I'm here to urge this board to remove all funding from the Florida Israel Business Accelerator or FIBA, a non-profit that's bringing Israeli companies to Florida. They're focused on supporting artificial intelligence technology, robotics, and drone manufacturing is concerning considering AI has been steadily taking over many entry-level jobs and ruining our environment with their resource sucking data centers. Not to mention the ethical and moral implications of supporting weapons manufacturers that are responsible for the mass surveillance and murder of Palestinians. As someone who used to work for a local non-profit helping people who are forced to become refugees due to the devastation of their homeland by the US military, I was angry and heartbroken to see the limited resources and assistance that they received despite their unfortunate circumstances being at the hands of our country's interference. Even though they were able to leave their war-torn home in hopes of a better life here, they still aren't living happily because they're still trying to just survive like the rest of us. While Hillsborough County residents are struggling due to stagnant wages and the rising cost of living, FIBA receives funds from our taxes that could be better used to support local businesses or non-profits or more importantly social service programs. The county should not be allocating thousands of our tax dollars to foreign startups while people here are struggling to pay rent or get their basic needs met. I want to see our tax dollars being used to improve our community and address real issues like lack of affordable housing and health care. I actually used to assist my clients with obtaining and navigating the Hillsborough County Health Care Plan, which is a program that significantly improved their access to health care and overall well-being. If that program was expanded to include more residents, especially our most vulnerable community members and include gender affirming care, we could see more people thriving and less people trying to choose between paying for groceries and ignoring much needed dental or medical care. Again, I urge you to remove all funding from FIBA and invest in life-saving services for Hillsborough County residents today. Thank you. Thank you. Next three speakers, Haley Manigold, followed by Alfred Goldberg and Connie Rose. Honorable Commissioner, thank you so much for the opportunity to speak today on an issue as important as our county budget. Thank you. My primary concern is the annual grant that Hillsborough County provides, the Florida Israeli Business Accelerator, also known as FIBA. While Vile County programs are being gutted in response to an insidiously misguided DOGE report, the county continues to give an annual average of $75,000 to FIBA. This yearly grant was agreed under false pretenses that FIBA would return the county's investment by bringing job opportunities to the community. FIBA has consistently proved that their sole loyalty is to a foreign government that has no interest in benefiting our community. FIBA is actively ushering military technologies companies that are contracted by the Israeli government into the Tampa Bay area. FIBA has not held up its end of the bargain. Our community has yet to see infrastructure improvements or the stimulation of small businesses, two stipulations that FIBA agreed to in order to receive this grant. I am confident that most residents of this county would agree that our local tax dollars should not be used to fund an organization whose primary purpose is to advance a foreign government. In conclusion, my purpose today is to voice my concern as a resident of this community that my tax dollars are being misused to fund a foreign organization that has no desire to participate in the growth of Hillsborough County. Thank you so much. Thank you for your comments. Alfred Goldberg followed by Connie Rose and then Chelsea Manriguez. Good morning, sir. Good morning, commissioners. My name is Alfred Goldberg. For more than a decade, I have helped build Hillsborough County's entrepreneurial ecosystem. I served as chairman and long-time vice president of Tampa Bay Wave, sponsored the Hillsborough County Hackathon, City of Tampa Mayor's Hackathon, and numerous other entrepreneurial programs. I'm a frequent lecturer at USF, Hillsborough College, and the University of Tampa. I was also involved in the very inception of the Florida-Israel Business Accelerator, known as FIBA, and I'm here today to support continued county funding for FIBA. I want to begin by correcting a significant factual misrepresentation being circulated as part of an organized campaign supported by the DSA and the SDS against this program. Hezbollah County is not giving public money to Israeli companies. It is not providing participating businesses with checks, investments, capital, or direct corporate subsidies. The county supports locally operated non-profit economic development programs that identify promising companies, introduce them to our business community, connect them with potential customers, investors, and strategic partners, and encourages them to establish operations and create jobs here in Hillsborough County. This distinction matters. We routinely invest in such organizations that recruit businesses. FIBA gives our region a specialized pipeline to innovative international companies that might otherwise establish their American operations in New York, Boston, California, Miami, or other competing markets with similar programs. I was involved with FIBA from its very inception because I understood the opportunity Israel has as one of the world's strongest technology and innovation sectors. At one time, Israel boasted the most publicly traded companies on NASDAQ outside of the US. Companies entering the United States need local relationships, market knowledge, trusted introductions, and access to customers and investors. This is what FIBA does. FIBA has supported over 100 companies, including those with innovative treatments for cancer, cancer detection, treatment, security, and others. This is the purpose of economic development, creating connections that lead to business growth, employment, investment, and the betterment of our county. It is simply inaccurate to tell residents that their tax dollars are being handed to foreign companies. Hizball County is supporting local economic development. As a former Vice President Tampa Bay Wave, I know the accountability that these organizations must provide to the county to justify their support. So to believe that this money is just being handed without any accountability is just simply false. The program should be evaluated based on the economic value that they produce, not on political opposition to the country from which they come from. Thank you, Commissioners. Thank you, Mr. Goldberg. Connie Rose, followed by Chelsea Manriquez and then David Zulian. Is Ms. Rose on the line? Connie Rose, are you able to hear me? She's online, but she's not answering. Okay. And I know that she sent an email saying that she might not be able to participate. I'm here. Can you hear me? Great. Yes. I'm here. Can you hear me? Yes, we can. Please continue. Okay. Hello. Thank you. I'm so sorry. Thank you. All right. Good morning, Chair and Commissioners. My name is Connie Rose, and today I am speaking solely in my capacity as the Founder and President of Victim to Survivors U.S. I am also a survivor of human trafficking. I'm speaking today regarding the funding request submitted by the Truth, Faith, and Action Alliance for the Kids are not for sale initiative. I'm not here to speak for or against the Truth, Faith, and Action Alliance or its funding request. I'm here because the proposal identifies Victim to Survivors U.S. as a member of the Alliance. That representation is inaccurate. Victim to Survivors U.S. has never given Truth, Faith, and Action Alliance or Dr. Kevin Cruz permission to verbally or in writing to identify our organization as an Alliance member. Earlier this year, I attended one of the Kids are not for sale conferences to support Commissioner Donna Cameron Cepeda, Vice Chair Dottie Grover Skipper, and several respected colleagues who were presenting. My attendance at the event did not constitute membership in the Alliance or endorsement of the organization or authorization to use the name of Victim to Survivors U.S. in the funding proposal. As a survivor of human sex trafficking and the founder of a survivor-led organization, I believe trust, integrity, and informed consent matter. For nearly two decades, B2S U.S. has worked to earn the trust of survivors, community partners, and this board. That is why it is so important that no organization be represented as an Alliance member or included in public funding proposals without its knowledge and expressed permission. I respectfully request that the public record reflect that Victim to Survivors U.S. is not a member of the Truth, Faith, and Action Alliance and that we did not authorize our organization to be identified as an Alliance member. I also respectfully ask that going forward organizations be listed as Alliance members or partners in county funding proposals only with their knowledge and express authorization. Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you Ms. Rose. Chelsea Manriguez followed by David Zulian. Good morning. Good morning County Commissioners. My name is Chelsea Manriguez and I'm a resident of good old West Tampa. I had the pleasure of growing up here in the Tampa Bay and throughout my career I've worked across business, finance, financial literacy, and business consulting. I've always had the goal of helping local businesses succeed in our community and I'm here today as a constituent to ask you to remove the Florida Israeli business accelerator from the Hillsborough County budget. Hillsborough County funds belong in Hillsborough County hands. Working for a local Jewish refugee resettlement agency I helped newly arrived families build futures for providing employment and financial literacy training. I worked in a finance financial technology company in compliance and developed social entrepreneurship initiatives for myself as well as provided environmental consulting for cost savings for local businesses. Both as a small business owner and as a community member working with these small businesses I've seen the first-hand impact that the economy and that our lack of funding for small businesses has had on our local businesses. Now I respectfully urge you to redirect county funds from the Florida Israeli business accelerator and towards our own Hillsborough County resident programs to be able to stimulate housing, workforce development, transportation, park enhancement, libraries, environmental initiatives, and support these local small businesses and investments that will have a direct and measurable impact in our Hillsborough County. Now I do hope the board will carefully evaluate whether every publicly funded program is delivering a clear return for county residents. Every budget decision should be guided by by transparency, by accountability, and by the greatest public benefit, not over an isolated policy. The needs of Hillsborough County residents are quite clear and they are quite clearly stated on the Hillsborough County website for all of us to see. When we step outside of our offices and into these communal spaces we see that the food pantries are immediately diminishing their supplies within hours of being stocked. We see that a lot of us in this room, despite our economic standing, do not have access to health services or refuse to have access to health services because we cannot afford it. And our conditions continue to dilapidate. We have like my neighbors, Mr. Billy, he's 80 years old. He sits at the bus stop once a week, every week to go and to buy groceries and he cannot afford those groceries, nor can he even rely on transportation that is reliable for him to get to where he needs to be. So I just urge you once more to please remove funding from the Florida Israeli business accelerator. For those of us that are small business owners, for those of us are on the ground, the reality is very clear for all of us. A lot of people in this room have to step in to fill the gaps that the county is failing to secure for us. So please, please consider removing this. Thank you. Thank you. David Zulian, followed by Matilda Pateau and Todd Randolph, both virtual. Good morning. I'm going to keep this brief. I'm a resident of Temple Terrace and watched a foreign military company extend be raised up in my backyard, supported by FIBA. They make military drones. We do not want it here, and we do not need it here. Even if it did create jobs, a paltry amount though it may be, we would prefer not to work with or for a company tied to a foreign nation credibly accused of genocide by all relative rights organizations. There are hundreds of nonprofits that could use this county's funding. This is not, as you've heard, a political issue. It's first and foremost an issue of human rights, and secondly, an issue of supporting small businesses. That's all. Thank you. Please state your name for the record. My name is David Zulian. All right. Thank you, sir. Is there a last name, Pateau, on the line? Pateau did not check in. All right. Thank you. How about Todd Randolph? Hello, county leaders. Hello, county leaders. My name is Todd Randolph. I've been a resident of Tampa since 2009. My church affiliation has always been the Presbyterian Church USA, which recently voted on June 30th by a measure of 454 to 15 to declare Israel's actions in Palestine as genocide and to recommend that members of the Presbyterian Church boycott products made or distributed by Israeli companies. I am concerned with my tax dollars being used to benefit a foreign country, particularly one, that my own church affiliation has encouraged me to be about a more perfect union will not be achieved by strengthening business ties with foreign countries. Rather, we should be looking within our own borders to form partnerships and fuel the competitive American spirit. Please refrain from budgeting county funds for Dakota Israeli Business Accelerator B-Bus. Thank you. Have a great day. Thank you, Mr. Randolph. Last three speakers, Dr. James Davison, followed by John Palm and then a Ferris Shahir. Morning, sir. Good morning. Good morning, board. Jim Davison from New Tampa. Someone once said that a lie based on a half truth is the blackest of lies. This is a... I don't see it on the overhead. There it is. That'll be one of your slides in today's presentation. And it says that the countywide millage rate has been decreased since 1999 by about 2.3 mils. This is what really happened. Since 2001 to 2007, 83 percent of that millage rate drop occurred. Then you drop the countywide millage rate each year of the Great Recession. You have not dropped the millage rate rate for countywide since 2016, except for a millage swap. Same occurs with the MTSU. They actually went up. You have not dropped the MTSU since 2009. So when you go back to 1999, it's a half truth. This is the all transaction home price index. Basically, it shows when the homestead exemptions were granted for the general public. It started in 1980. They voted for a 25,000 extension or homestead exemption. That was 42 percent of the value of a home. It decreased up until 2007, where it was only about 10 percent of a home. And they voted in 2008 during the Great Recession to increase that to 50,000. And that made it about 25 percent. Today, it is still 50,000. It's 13 percent the value of a home. It does not cover the costs that government regulations and fees go into the cost of building a home. That's how bad it is. People are hurting out there. And for the last decade, you have not rolled back their taxes. Just made a couple of millage swaps. This last slide has to do with you've included a FY28 property tax reform impact and FY29 property tax reform impact. And you're using FY26 budget numbers. Do you know how much you're going to be bringing in in 28 and 29? If you do not roll back the taxes, if the people do not vote these tax exemptions in, by 2031, you will be collecting over two billion dollars in property taxes. Subtract that from there. Those numbers are less than the county variance in your budget versus actuals last year. Thank you very much and have a good day. Thank you. Good luck on the budget. John Palm and then Ferris Shahir. Morning, sir. Good morning. Hello. My name is Reverend John Palm and I'm a near lifelong resident of Hillsborough County. And I'm here today to speak about the county budget and ensure that the needs of the people are met. I'm here to support the demands of the local community. Members who want all funding removed from Israeli linked businesses, particularly with FIBA, and instead focus on affordable housing, youth programs, libraries, parks, recreation centers, etc. I'd also like for the county attorneys to look into whether funding for FIBA violates the Leahy Law. The International Criminal Court has arrest warrants out for leaders of the Israeli government and providing material support for Israeli businesses would seem clear to me to violate the Leahy Law. Israel is committing a mass genocide, bombing babies and killing kids. And it's deeply immoral and I believe criminal. And I believe Hillsborough County should remove all connections to this genocide. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Palm. Last speaker, Ferris Shahir. Morning, sir. Good morning, commissioners. Good morning, commissioner. Yes, my name is Ferris Shahir. I am a resident of Hillsborough County. I have been for nearly 20 years, most of my adult life. I'm here to speak against the public funding of the Florida-Israel Business Accelerator, like my colleagues here. I want to speak briefly about some of the points that were brought to attention. As you may remember last week or two weeks ago when I was here at the previous budget hearing, one of the Florida-Israel Business Accelerator workers or staff members had mentioned that they have been receiving private funding here in Hillsborough County, over three million dollars of which just last year over the past few years. Now that is way more money than we have been giving them through our taxes. And I want to formally like acknowledge that with you guys to really like let that sink in. Like they've been accepting more money through private funding and these a lot of a lot of these companies are all seed funded and they're market proven. In order to be working with FIBA, you need to be a market proven company. So what does that mean? They need to be seed funded and have an estimated valuation of over five hundred thousand dollars to up to five million dollars. These are corporations, companies that do not need any assistance with finding places to work, people to network with, people to schmooze with. They don't need any of our tax dollars particularly, especially when they're receiving three million dollars in private investments. What are we doing? What is the idea here? Because we've given them nearly a million dollars over the past seven years and what have they done? The director came up here last two weeks ago and he said they have a company that provided five jobs. Does that sound like a reasonable investment for Hillsborough County taxpayers? Does that make sense? Thank you. Thank you sir. Appreciate everyone's comments. All right, that closes public comment. Now we'll go on to the budget presentation. Mr. Brickey, good morning. Did we give you five minutes this morning? Is that how much we gave up, Bonnie? I'm just 10, 10. Oh, okay. I've heard maybe more than five. Okay, my mistake. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning, Commissioners. Kevin Brickey, Management and Budget. I'll go through a quick presentation regarding the budget. The recommended budget is 14.1 billion dollars. That's a 2.1 billion dollar increase compared to this current fiscal year 26, primarily driven by activities regarding the One Water project and the CDBDG-DR program. The operating budget, a little bit over 5 billion dollars. Again, increases driven by One Water and CDBDG-DR. The recommended fiscal year 2027 budget does include a millage swap for the third year. This time, again, a 0.1 decrease in the countywide millage and a 0.1 mil increase in the unincorporated millage. That will further increase the financial stability of the unincorporated fund, which receives the larger share of service demands, particularly in public safety. That millage swap is a tax cut in the three cities and a net zero in the unincorporated area. The FY27 recommended countywide general fund is 1.6 billion dollars. That continues about 56 percent of the countywide budget is constitutional officers and outside agencies, particularly the sheriff and other agencies. The unincorporated budget, that 924 million dollars, about 68 percent of that budget is towards public safety and fire rescue and the sheriff. Looking at public safety, fire rescue, sheriff and other elected officials in the FY27 budget. In the two general funds, that's about 80 percent of property tax revenue in the recommended budget. I do want to mention the maximum millage rate limitation that was recently passed by the special session of the legislature because that's related to the trim millage that you'll adopt today. The millage in the recommended budget does again contain that millage swap and under the new legislation that was passed that would require a two-thirds majority as opposed to a simple majority. We do have the constitutional amendment on the November ballot. Again, that impacts all of our ad valorem levies. At the full $250,000 homestead exemption, looking at current valuations and such, that's about a $213 million impact countywide, $130 million impact on incorporated, $21 million impact in a library fund, and about $2.4 million in ELAP debt. And in the general funds, the full impact is larger than the non-public safety personnel budget. Rating agencies are are monitoring this and expressing interest in how local governments deal with this and where they may reduce or where they may bring in additional revenue or other options. So today is the budget reconciliation public hearing. As Bonnie mentioned, the truth and millage process that is set in Florida and statutes. That sets the millage that you'll consider in the first public hearing in September. When the millage is set today, that essentially is the maximum that one can adopt without some special circumstances. Again, the recommended millage today would be a two-thirds majority vote. And of course, the flagging process. There's the millage motion that was in your packet, the budget calendar, the public hearings in September will be on the 10th for the tentative budget, and the 24th for the final budget. Bonnie mentioned that there were some updates to the flag list that were part of the package. Those were sent to you, and I also put the package by your chairs. I would note that there are three organizations that are on the list twice, but they are at different amounts. Mr. Chair, how was that? Unbelievable. You did it. You actually did it in five minutes. I was joking. Any questions? No, very good report. Very much appreciated, Kevin. There may be questions or more discussion. I'll let you know. Okay. Thank you. Typically, at this point, I ask for a motion for all the flagged items. I recognize Commissioner Cohen first. I think he has a comment before we do that. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. As you all know, the BOCC nonprofit funding policy contains language that exempts from its requirements non-profits that provide services that augment county responsibilities or those that provide a core county function. And I would like to say that I think in my flag list, the allocation for the spring rightfully belongs back in the county administrator's budget and not on the flag list. When I worked at the clerk's office, we had a contract with the spring, and I believe they still do, because it is a requirement that when someone shows up at the courthouse in search of a domestic violence injunction, that we have some place to send them. And I asked the county attorney whether or not this theory led to the fact that we really are obligated to provide them with some funding. And I received back some statutory language from the county attorney's office, which I appreciate very much, that essentially says that the state has set up domestic violence shelters that can be certified. The only way they can receive state money is if 25% of their funding comes from a municipal government or a county. So for that reason, I would like to make a motion to actually remove the spring from my flag list, put it back in the county administrator's budget. And what I would say to the board is, I will not reallocate the money to another nonprofit. I will give, we could give whatever's left to the public works department to do some very needed ditch and outfall work in town and country that I know that we all care deeply about. So I'd like to make that motion at this time. Okay, we've got a motion by Commissioner Cohen, second Commissioner Myers. And I'll just say coincidentally, for the past three weeks, my daughter's volunteered at the spring. So I'm proud of her for doing that. Don't see anyone in the queue who wants to speak to this item. So please record your vote. Motion carried 7-0. Thank you. Okay. Commissioner Wilson. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Yeah, I was not cued to speak to his item. When I started digging into these nonprofits four years ago, a very, very wise man who became my friend convinced me to not try and prevent the flagging process, even though we have a policy from 1998 that says that commissioners will not participate in earmarking. And he convinced me by that by saying that this was a process that held a accountability to staff. That wise man's name was Rich Reedy. And I thought that he had some very valid points. By the way, Rich would have been 70 today. Happy birthday. Happy, yes. May he rest in peace. And I think that he had some very valid points. But that being said, over the past several years, we actually missed it by only one vote last year. We have had one commissioner repeatedly go way above and beyond why we are all evenly allocated. And we're all leaned on heavily by different organizations. I have to tell organizations that I would personally support no, because I just, I don't participate in allocating those funds. But I do believe that it's continuously inappropriate that one commissioner continues to go way above and beyond. Because what if all of us continued to do that for all of the other many organizations that have come. So last year, we only missed that by one vote. I'm not going to make the motion today. But I would encourage everybody to go through the history of this process and go back and look at the motion last year that we did only miss by one vote. I believe that we should find that fourth vote this year to reduce everyone's allocation evenly, because I think it would promote a very bad precedent for the lobbyists to come in and start saying, oh, well, you know, this, this one, this one went over the amount. So you could you could continue to ask for over the amount as well. I believe that it's a bad precedent to set. And no, I'm not talking about the TDT fund, frankly, I don't even maybe Commissioner Hagen did that as a transparency thing. But he as by state law, as the chair of the commission, he's required to be on the Tourist Development Council, he could have easily have just put it in that budget, because it would have fell into that realm anyway. So I'll just leave that there for now. But I do believe that that's something as a matter of fairness to everybody that that we seek to make everybody whole. And I'll be all had to make hard decisions on what our priorities were, were and each office should be held to the same standard. Thank you. All right, thank you. Appreciate your comments. All right, I'd ask for a motion for the flagged items and the community projects, unless someone wants to remove one, we can always put on on that separately. But barring that, I'd ask for a motion for. So moved. Second. Motion Commissioner Cohen, second Commissioner Myers, Commissioner Wilson. If we can just vote on the community project separately, Mr. Chair. Okay, so this is just on the flagged items. Motion Commissioner Cohen, second Commissioner Myers, please record your vote. Motion carried 7-0. Okay, can we have a motion for Feeding Tampa Bay? Moved to approve Feeding Tampa Bay. Second. Motion Commissioner Myers, second Commissioner Cohen, Commissioner Wilson. Administrator Wise, when is the next budget hearing? September 10th, I believe. Does this, does this item have to be a motioned on today, or can it be deferred until September? Changes can be made up until September 24th. I will make a substitute motion to defer the community project until the next budget hearing to allow all of the commissioners to review all of my previous statements and make a decision then. I'll second it. I got a substitute motion by Commissioner Walsall to defer the item, second Commissioner Miller. I don't see them in the queue, so please record your vote. Motion carried 4-3. Commissioner Cohen, Hagan and Myers voted no. Okay, and that was deferred to the first public hearing or the, okay. Yes, that's how we understood it. All right, can we have a motion for the Film Tampa Bay item? So moved. Second. Motion Commissioner Cohen, second Commissioner Miller, please record your vote. Motion carried 7-0. Okay, thank you. This time we need to set the trim millage rate. Does someone need to read this? Yes. Yes, it should be read. Okay. Commissioner Cohen, you feel like reading it? There you go. I think you might have read it last year. That's why. Okay. All righty. I move that we set the following proposed operating and debt service millages for the purpose of the trim notices and set the date, time, and place of the first public hearing on the Hillsborough County fiscal 2027 budget. Countywide millages operating general revenue fund 5.3608 mills. Debt service, environmentally sensitive lands, 0.0604 mills. Total countywide millage 5.4212 mills. Non-countywide millages operating general purpose municipal services taxing unit 4.7163 mills. Library services district 0.5583 mills. The proposed percent change of the aggregate millage rate from the aggregate rollback millage rate as defined by state statute is an increase of 0.40% and is shown on line 27, Department of Revenue form DR-420. The date, time, and place of the first public hearing on the budget will be Thursday, September 10th, 2026 at 6 p.m. at the Frederick B. Carl County Center, second floor boardroom, 601 East Kennedy Boulevard, Tampa, Florida, 33602. By approving this motion, the appropriate official is authorized to execute the necessary department of revenue forms. Okay, we got a motion, Commissioner Cohen. Do you have a second? Second. Second, Commissioner Meyers. Commissioner Wolfson. I would just make a reminder to the public that today is only setting the potential maximum and that we have many opportunities to fine-tune this and reduce it later on. So I didn't want my yes vote today to be confused as a final vote on what the maximum might be in September. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Commissioner Bowles. I appreciate that and thank you, Mr. Chair, and I concur with that this is one of those situations where we have to hit the top. We're setting a ceiling but not the floor per se. That is correct. So we can't go any higher because everyone else has to know where we may end up. Correct. But not where we will be per se. This will help the property appraiser do the trim rates and it sets the maximum except for under some special circumstances and then the board can adopt something lower. Okay, very good. I'll leave it right there. Thank you, sir. Okay, we got a motion, Commissioner Cohen signed Commissioner Meyers. Please record your vote. Motion carried, seven to zero. Great. I just have one question before we adjourned and this is only because I saw a headline in the in the times this week that said the number one killer of kids inside Florida's child drowning crisis. I just wanted to get confirmation that the action the board took a couple months ago to increase our drowning prevention program is included in the budget. Indeed it is. Okay, just want to get confirmation. Thank you. Lonnie, anything else? Okay, with that we're adjourned.