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CFO reports stable collections; board authorizes placing 18-mill levy on ballot if needed and accepts tentative UAW agreement
Summary
CFO Jeremy Vedida reported collections and an emergency-loan supplemental payment; the board tied and approved two administrative items: authorization to place a non-homestead 18-mill levy on a future ballot if necessary and a tentative collective bargaining agreement with UAW covering transportation and warehouse staff.
Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Vedida told the board the district’s revenue and expenditures through November were roughly in line with projections, with local and state revenue higher than forecast and federal revenue lower because of timing differences. Vedida said the district made a supplemental debt payment on an emergency loan of roughly $250,000 and that, after that payment, about $5 million remained on the emergency operating loan. He told the board the district ended November with "approximately 21 weeks of available cash" across funding sources.
Vedida also confirmed earlier appropriations tied to large capital projects: an allocation of $7 million for Davis Aerospace and $15 million for Cooley — $22 million combined — and noted the final ARPA/ESSER timing had moved some federal receipts into December.
On administrative business the board considered two non-consent, time-sensitive items placed on the agenda because of scheduling: (1) tentative authorization to place an 18-mill non-homestead operating levy on a special-election ballot if required, and (2) approval of a tentative collective-bargaining agreement with the United Auto Workers (UAW) that represents bus drivers and certain warehouse staff. The board moved and approved a tie-bar motion to take both items together and then approved the tie-bar. The meeting record shows voice votes for both actions. The board noted that a special election to place the millage before voters would carry an estimated cost of nearly $1 million and that the authorization is intended to preserve the district’s right to place the levy if needed while the district continues legal negotiations and potential court action with the state treasury about the district’s tax status.
The superintendent and CFO said the board’s authorization to place a levy on the ballot is a contingency: the district will only proceed if the Treasury negotiations and court proceedings do not resolve the dispute over the district’s authority to levy at the full 18 mills. No timeline for a special election was set at the meeting; the board noted clerks’ office deadlines in February for ballot placement and agreed to preserve the option.
The board also accepted the district financial report for auditing purposes after a motion and voice vote and moved the matters forward for audit review.
