Baby boomers who lived through the frustration and humiliation of the student initiated Iranian Hostage Crisis, which helped bring down President Carter but also brought us Nightline, probably would not feel a whole lot of sympathy over Iranian students being denied access to certain curriculum at our flagship educational institute, UMass/Amherst.
Especially if you fear that particular enlightenment could lead to a mushroom cloud over one of our unsuspecting cities one beautiful Tuesday morning.
But I also wonder if UMass/Amherst is really offering classes in how to build the bomb. Isn't that why we have the Internet?
The National Iranian American Council issued a press release yesterday decrying the alleged recent regulatory actions of UMass. I suppose any international student could worry about the slippery slope:
First they came for the Iranian students and I didn't speak out because I was not Iranian; then they came for the Chinese students and I didn't care because I'm not Chinese; and by the time they came for the middle-aged white Republicans ...
On average 2 of 3 people will be involved in a drunk driving accident in their lifetime
In Eastern Hampshire District Court on Wednesday morning Judge Michael Mulcahy entered a plea of "not guilty" for Steven Yarbrow, age 37, and appointed him a public defender at an assessed cost of $150. His case was continued until next month.
Chief Nelson and Assistant Chief McKay demo new breathing apparatus
The discussion concerning the new $12 million South Fire Station was easily ten times better than in previous years. Rather than dismissing it within a minute or two the Joint Capital Planning Committee actually spent a good 15 minutes discussing the l-o-n-g overdue public safety project.
Chief Nelson told the committee that they have come a long way trying to make this new station happen. The real issue at the moment is land. Once a site is chosen, then money will need to be appropriated for a design phase ($1 million or more) which will give a clearer picture of what the entire project will cost.
The $12 million figure has been used as a "placeholder" for a few years now but may not be accurate. Finance Director Sandy Pooler said it will almost certainly come down to a "Proposition 2.5 debt exclusion" to finance construction.
Pooler went on to say Town Manager Musante "Is committed to moving forward. We know it's an important project and it's very high on our list of things to get done."
Of course that list could also include other major building projects on the immediate horizon, including the Jones Library expansion, Wildwood Elementary School replacement and a new DPW building.
Stair chair makes it easier and safer to transport patients down stairs
The good thing about AFD coming to the JCPC with a total request next fiscal year of $12,336,790 is the rest of the other important items on the list -- tallying up to a half-million or so -- is a lot easier to swallow.
During a discussion of the $18,000 for an (Assistant Chief) "staff vehicle" the inevitable question about a hybrid came up. Chief Nelson pointed out that he and his two Assistant Chiefs are, "Working chiefs, not administrative chiefs. We are out on the road day and night and respond to scenes with all sorts of equipment."
Chief Nelson demonstrates "scoop stretcher"
Total requests for everything besides the new Fire Station came to $543,790 with $77,000 of that coming from the Ambulance Fund (which generates between $2 and $2.5 million annually.
Amherst DPW takes a 35 ton delivery of salt this morning
You can't fight a war without the proper equipment and supplies. Especially when dealing with Mother Nature, who is one Hell of an opponent.
Yesterday the DPW took two 35 ton deliveries of salt, one delivery today, and still has another 200 tons to go from a previous order. And today -- based on current forecasts -- just ordered another 800 tons. All of it at $78.46 /ton.
Timothy Stahl, age 36, stands before Judge Michael Mulcahy
While the Amherst Police Department is winning the war on youthful rowdy behavior with noise/nuisance tickets down dramatically from last year, one area of peace keeping is not so successful: dealing with the homeless, or drug/alcohol impaired individuals with mental health problems ("62 issues" in police code).
Click to enlarge/read
APD Chief Livingstone told the Finance Committee last week that one of the two new officers will be assigned to downtown patrol at the urging of the Chamber of Commerce and Business Improvement District.
And his department has put in for a behavioral mental health grant to try to get these frequent offenders off the streets and into treatment.
Currently individuals like Mr. Stahl are arrested (tying up an officer or two), transported to the Northampton House of Correction, then transported to Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown, then released by a Judge with a token fine.
It has been a while since a frat made my party house of the weekend dishonors. Let's hope it's even longer the next time, especially with the March 7 Blarney Blowout fast approaching.
In Eastern Hampshire District Court yesterday all three UMass students took the deal offered by the Commonwealth. Stay out of trouble for the next four months and the two frat representatives pay $300 each out of the two $300 tickets issued (Noise & Nuisance).
Tyler Wuerthner, age 19
Mr. Wuerthner, because he was charged with "underaged drinking" was charged $100 probation fee and will be required to take the UMass BASICS alcohol education program.
Turns out it WAS a paperwork thing. Wildwood actually has the best rate of immunization out of all three elementary schools rather than the worst. Yeah.
If my youngest daughter attended Wildwood rather than Crocker Farm elementary school, would I be concerned about the recent Department of Public Health document exposing immunization rates in our public schools that clearly show Wildwood compliance with state law dramatically lower than our other two elementary schools?
I'm hoping the dangerously low rates published are just a paperwork thing and that Wildwood -- with the largest Kindergarten population (57) of the three Amherst elementary schools -- simply forgot to submit a state form on time. Or that the 32% not fully immunized have at least had the initial shot and are scheduled for the next.
Although I asked school officials last week for any explanation and thus far have heard nothing back. Never a good sign:
Simply put, the math does not add up. If an average of 64% of the children at Wildwood are fully immunized and 3.8% have an "exemption," then what about the other 32.2%?
The Amherst Board of Health has not had to deal with Measles, Polio, Rubella or Mumps in
recent memory, but they did see a case of Chicken Pox last year, and a
few Haemophilus influenzae type B infections in the recent past.
Considering the threshold for maintaining a "herd immunity effect" to prevent measles is 94%, the two-thirds of parents at Wildwood who did immunize their children deserve to know what's up with the one-third who may not have.
You would think in a town where activism is a badge of honor more people would show interest in the highest elected political office. Well ... one-fifth of the highest office, as it takes five Select Board members to fill the executive branch better represented by one Mayor.
Maybe Doug Slaughter's surname scared off the competition. But he's theonly candidate running for the lone available seat currently occupied by Aaron Hayden, who took out nomination papers but then changed his mind and pulled a Lyndon B. Johnson.
The only other potential candidate who took out papers, which require the signatures of 50 registered voters, was Richard Strahan who gave a UMass dorm room address.
Vira Douangmany at Town Clerk's office, after handing in her nomination papers
The School Committee will see a contest as last year's candidate Vira Douangmany will square off against incumbent Lawrence O'Brien and ambitious newcomer Phoebe Hazzard, who took out her nomination papers at 3:30 PM and returned them at 4:45 PM, only 15 minutes before deadline. There are two open seats.
TracyLee Boutilier happy about returning her papers
The Housing Authority will also see a contest as two candidates have filed for the one open seat, which is a five year term. TracyLee Boutilier, who lost last year to well-known Peter Jessop, and newcomer Emilie Hamilton.
Jones Library Trustees race will be as quiet as a library
with only two candidates running for two seats, both incubments who
currently occupy those seats: Austin Sarat and Tamson Ely.
Town Meeting, the cumbersome 240 member legislative branch, will have contests in just half of the precincts for the eight 3-year terms available in each of the ten precincts.
I didn't even notice it yesterday morning when I took a quick "drive by" shot of the DPW getting it done in town center at the height of the storm and posted it to my Facebook page.
But if you look closely at where the UN flag normally is, you can see pranksters had replaced it with a pirate flag. Flying upside down no less. The pretty blue UN flag, which was new three months ago to replace a tattered one, is currently M.I.A.
Somebody finally noticed the switch this morning and down came the skull and crossbones.
Let's hope that sagacious town employee also takes a closer look at the main flags in town center: The P.O.W. flag is looking a tad ratty.
POW flag looking as haggard as, well, one of our POW's
Amherst Town center 10:11 AM (depending on who you believe)
So hopefully the town clock will be running soon (probably not today) as it could simply be that somebody forgot to wind it, which is a chore required twice a week.
An electronic motor that would pretty much guarantee round-the-clock accuracy would cost $21,000.
Because the Community Preservation Act committee is more than flush with money now that the town voters decided to allow a doubling of the CPA tax you would think somebody would put in for it under "historic preservation."
Director of Facilities Ron Bohonowicz tells me that the historic old bells actually work but have been silent these past 15 or so years due to neighbors complaints (12 noon or 12 midnight could be a tad noisy).
There's also a special fire bell up in ye old historic tower operated by a big barrel of rocks that would send out a different faster type of ringing to alert fire fighters.
Even Miss Emily took note of the "ticking of the bells" calling firefighters to the Great Fire that devastated the downtown the night of July 4th, 1879. Although Town Hall was not yet constructed, so the bells probably came from the original fire station in town center.
A decade later, on March 11, 1888 smack in the middle of a major blizzard another conflagration took out the Palmer Block in town center, where Amherst Town Meeting convened. The town acquired the land and constructed Town Hall the following year.
Since town officials refuse to allow the 29 commemorative flags to fly in town center this coming 9/11, maybe they will allow the bells of Town Hall to ring once more ... in memory of the unforgettable.
APD Chief Scott Livingston (right) presents his budget to the Amherst Finance Committee
In his budget presentation to the Finance Committee last week Amherst Police Department Chief Scott Livingstone brought the fiscal watchdogs up to date on his response to the $160,000 Davis Report -- especially timely since the anniversary of the unforgettable Blarney Blowout fast approaches.
While the Town Manager has added two new police officers to his FY16 budget (starts July 1st) the net result is really only one increase for APD, since a 3-year Department of Justice grant that formerly financed one officer will no longer pay for that officer.
Thus the Chief is still looking at ways to add patrol officers to his overburdened department.
His second in command, Captain Jennifer Gundersen outlined a grant proposal for more officers that has been submitted, but the problem is Amherst is a safe and somewhat wealthy community, which lowers the odds for grant approval.
Captain Gundersen also told the Finance Committee the cost to implement joint training with UMass PD -- another Davis recommendation -- is $1,200 per hour, with 24-36 hours required. Not the kind of money that's easy to find in a tight budget.
The good news from the Chief, however, is Amherst recently signed the "Western Mass Mutual Aid Pact." This will allow the surrounding towns police departments to respond when a call is put out for help.
Blarney Blowout 3/8/14
Interestingly regional law enforcement departments started working on this pact in response to the freakish Springfield tornado in the summer of 2011. Fire Departments have been successfully using mutual aid for many years now.
The Chief stated the activation notice has already been issued for March 7th. So unlike last year, a bevy of local police officers will be available to back up Amherst, UMass, and State police.
And presumably UMass will continue to use the successful tactics recently employed for the Super Bowl, most notably banning guests on campus the weekend of the event. Last year 7,000 visitors registered the night before Blarney Blowout.
The winning formula is really quite simple: less students, more cops.
Back when I was growing up in our sleepy little college town, w-a-y back, before the Southwest high rise towers or W.E.B. Du Bois Library first poked the sky, a playing field in Amherst pretty much meant baseball and football.
Soccer or Ultimate Frisbee were as foreign as a place called Vietnam.
These days God's green earth must be multipurposed, to keep all the outdoor sports enthusiasts happy.
And while Amherst has more Conservation open space than you can shake a hiking stick at, the number of playing fields for organized sports have failed to keep up with demand.
The old "cow field" in North Amherst, formerly the playground attached to the now retired North Amherst School, will get a $50,000 makeover with Community Preservation Act money assuming the CPA Committee forwards the request to Town Meeting for the final approval.
A fence along the border with Sunderland Road will certainly make it safer, and parking for 15 cars at the north end of the field will keep users from having to cross Sunderland Road.
The renovations would take place during the fall of 2015 and spring of 2016, and be ready for use later that summer.
In this age where youngsters are all too occupied by smart phones, computers and tablets, it's nice to see the return of an old fashioned playing field for team sports.
Or just a soft quiet place to lay down late on a hot summer night, to gaze up at the wonder of the universe.
The Taste of Amherst, that downtown summer institution that brings bliss to Valley foodies and our local restaurant industry, will get a tad safer if Amherst Town Meeting approves DPW Chief Guilford Mooring's $20,000 capital request for Park Replacement Equipment. As will that other major event, Extravaganja.
Technically the historic Amherst town common is a park.
And the current electrical system becomes a spider web of potentially dangerous cords anytime there's a major function. Because some of those major events attract thousands of visitors, a shocking incident is always a possibility.
The $12,000 worth of Spider Boxes will not only organize all the temporary wiring to help reduce tripping over them, but also brings important ground fault circuit interrupter protection, which comes in handy on rainy days.
The Merry Maple "holiday" tree on the town common was knocked out a couple times last December due to a combination of faulty wiring and rainy weather.
Merry Maple will be insulated against power outages
The FY16 budget does not commence until July 1st -- a tad too late for this year's Taste of Amherst.
Guilford Mooring pitching to the Joint Capital Planning Committee 2/5/15
But Mr. Mooring is hoping to get the Business Improvement District and Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce to front the money to buy the spider boxes as soon as possible, and then reimburse them out of his FY16 budget, assuming Town Meeting approves the $20,000 capital item.
All AFD professional firefighters do both EMS and fire duty
Many years ago, worried that bureaucrats would fail to reinvest in expensive capital items required to make the operation work, the town set up the "Ambulance Fund" to stash boatloads of money taken in by the vital service.
So it's not really an "Enterprise Fund" -- a separate fund set up as pretty much a stand-alone business, which is supposed to show all its expenses and set user fees accordingly so it at least breaks even.
Currently the town has four Enterprise Funds: Water, Sewer, Solid Waste, and Transportation (parking meters and Boltwood Garage).
The Cherry Hill Golf Course was an Enterprise Fund for 20 years but could never break even, so town officials gave up. Town Meeting dissolved it as an Enterprise Fund a few years ago, thus wiping away a residual debt of close to $1 million owed the General Fund.
The town has five ambulances, each costing about $250,000, but
usually does not have the staff on duty to operate them all, except
for weekends when UMass is in session.
Called "impact shifts"
(thirsty-Thursday night until early Sunday morning) UMass pays $40,000
per semester to bring in 4 extra firefighters so that all five ambulances
can be operational. Even then there are times AFD has to rely on mutual aid for an out-of-town ambulance to provide transport to a hospital.
The Ambulance Fund takes in over $2 million annually, which is about half AFD's total operating budget. But, like an Enterprise Fund, any expenditures from the Ambulance Fund must be approved by Town Meeting.
While I'm normally not a fan of using money set aside for capital items to fund labor intensive operating budgets, that bean-counter rationality is trumped by my fear of innocent civilians burning to death.
The Ambulance Fund routinely shows an annual surplus of $200,000 -- more than enough to hire two additional Firefighters.
#####
Sent: Thursday, February 05, 2015 12:38 PM
Subject: Ambulance Revenues
Hi Larry,
In response to your request for the Ambulance fund balance to date, I wanted to explain in detail on how these funds are utilized. The ambulance fund is a Receipt Reserved for Appropriation account, this means we can only spend the funds with a Town Meeting vote, it is not a revolving fund.
Each year Town Meeting votes money to support the Public Safety (EMT) operating budget and EMS capital such as ambulances, stretchers etc. In the past 5 years we have generated approximately $2.3 to $2.6 million a year and have appropriated close to that amount to support those budgets.
Each year we must collect enough in the Ambulance Fund to cover the appropriation for the following year’s budget.
As you can see below our current unappropriated balance is $1,889,003 and the current FY16 budget is projected to use $2.5 million for operations, meaning that we still need to collect $626,288 to cover the FY16 budget, plus there will be some capital (to be determined).
By June 30th we will need to have collected enough revenue to support the subsequent year’s budget and capital. The Ambulance Fund ended FY14 with a balance of $220,627.
Hopefully this is clear, but if you have any questions let me know.
· The chart below is straight forward, the ending Fund Balance (FB) for 2014 (3,060,060) · The amount voted to support the 2015 budget with the breakdown to the side (2,839,433) this includes capital for FY15 · The beginning unappropriated FB for 2015(220,627), and the revenues collected to date (1,668,376) Total (1,889,003) is the BALANCE · The amount projected to be used for the 2016 budget is (2,515,292),this is the regular operation budget portion there is no capital amount projected yet as the JCPC is in process now to determine this
Sonia Aldrich, Comptroller
From: Larry Kelley [mailto:amherstac@aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, February 05, 2015 1:55 PM
To: Aldrich, Sonia Subject: Re: Ambulance Revenues
Hey Sonia,
So the Ambulance Fund averages about $200,000 per month (assuming total annual revenues of say $2.4 million) then if that holds up for Feb, March, April, May and June it will take in $1 million to be used to cover the $626,288 required for FY16 thus leaving a residual balance of around $373,000 and change?
To: Larry Kelley
Sent: Thu, Feb 5, 2015 2:04 pm
Subject: RE: Ambulance Revenues
Yes, however there will be capital outlay so more likely $100-200K and change and the cycle repeats.
Sonia Aldrich, Comptroller
One of the quirks of government accounting (okay, maybe I should say one of the many) is capital items are not considered part of the "operating budget."
If a homeowner buys a semi-commercial sit down lawnmower or needs to repave the driveway, that money simply comes out of their household budget. And when those capital costs reach a certain point maybe the family does not take a vacation that year
But in municipal accounting capital items are appropriated out of a separate pot, although still taxpayer money of course. Thus public sector managers can then talk about their operating budget breaking even when in fact the overall business costs taxpayers an arm and a leg via expensive machines purchased as capital items.
Take the Cherry Hill Golf Course for instance. Please.
This coming Fiscal Year (FY16 starts July 1st) Cherry Hill will require yet another expensive lawnmower ($33,000) paid for over three years at $11,000 per year.
And FY16 will also be the last year of a three year payment for a greens mower that cost $37,500 paid for over three years at $12,500 per year.
In other words that total capital of $23,500 is sort of free money not tallied against their $245,937 Operating Budget. As are Employee Benefits costs of $40,488.
Thus the average homeowner would put the cost of golf at $309,925 next year, but town officials will only talk about the much lower number, even going so far as to suggest the golf course is a break even endeavor.
And next year that expensive capital item (Parking Lot Resurfacing @ $90,000) they have kept putting off for years now will be a major budget buster.
Click to enlarge/read
5 year plan from two years ago Parking Lot repave originally shows up for FY14
Parking lot repave pushed off again until next year (+ extra $5,000)
The best bar bouncer never actually gets physical with a rowdy patron disturbing the peace and tranquility of your friendly neighborhood liquor establishment. After all, he/she is probably a good customer. You simply get the problem maker off the scene with as little trouble as possible.
And so it is with the UMass Off Campus Resident Assistant, a combination of bar bouncer, dance chaperon, and Superman (or Superwoman as the case may be).
Patterned on the successful program at Boston College, the off campus RA will patrol the problem areas adjacent to UMass -- Phillips & Fearing Streets, Sunset Avenue, North Pleasant & Meadow Streets, Hobart Lane -- at problem times looking to mitigate rowdy behavior before it becomes an issue for police.
Unlike "peer group" initiatives Walk This Way and Team Positive, the off campus RA will be an older, more authoritarian figure who can officially address bad behavior. But the goal will be to use the power of persuasion to get students to stand down.
According to Nancy Buffone, UMass Director of External Relations, "We are moving the search along in a timely fashion so that we can hire someone as soon as possible."
Which is of course bureau speak for "No, they will not be operational this coming spring and certainly not for the March 7 Blarney Blowout."
What started out as a domestic disturbance called in by a 3rd party ended up badly for Terrence Ware Jr, although domestic abuse was not among the charges he was arraigned on yesterday in Eastern Hampshire District Court.
But because he resisted arrest (while in possession of pot and a pipe) he ended up arrested anyway. And considering he was in possession of a doubled edged knife, illegal in Massachusetts since 1972, he could also have been charged with illegal possession of a dangerous weapon.
For those of you who are not convinced heroin is a problem, even in the innocent little college town of Amherst, take note:
This document could just as easily be a medical examiner's Death Certificate rather than a police Statement of Facts.
When you find someone passed out with two needles near his outstretched arm ... well, does Philip Seymour Hoffman ring a bell?
click to enlarge/read
Patrick Blanke, age 29, failed to show up for his original arrignment back in late June thereby triggering a warrant for his arrest, which caught up to him on Monday.
In District Court yesterday he pled guilty to the original charges and he was sentenced by Judge Groce to six months in jail.
Criminals better take note: now you can't escape by running or hiding because Dash, the newest member of Amherst Police Department can -- with his four legs -- outrun you, or with his ultra sensitive nose will sniff you out from whatever hole you choose to hide.
The 17-month-old pure bred German Shepard came to the department via a grant from the Stanton Foundation. Officer Clark was chosen out of six APD applicants and he traveled to Pennsylvania where he chose Dash out of six available dogs.
And because he was imported from the Netherlands Dash only speaks, err, I mean, understands Dutch, which officer Clark had to learn in part. That way in the field, Dash will not respond to someone speaking English, Spanish or Chinese.
Chief Livingstone (right) has been wanting a K9 program for many years and is already talking about a second dog
They have been training together in various locations outside of Amherst since September and Chief Livingstone expects him to hit the streets in the next couple of weeks.
In time for -- dare I say it -- the March 7 Blarney Blowout.
APD Chief Scott Livingstone addresses Rental Bylaw Implementation Group
The Rental Permit Bylawhas become perhaps the most successful local government health safety initiative of the past generation, protecting tenants from (the few) shoddy landlords while motivating them to keep tenants behavior in check or risk losing their permit.
Now, only one year after start up, the certification program boasts 100% compliance of all 1,261 rental properties in Amherst, a college town with a high percentage of rentals and the lowest median age in the state.
Amherst Police Chief Scott Livingstone paid a visit this afternoon to the Rental Bylaw Implementation Group to discuss ways to improve on the already resounding success of the program, specifically by allowing easier access to police records of that neighborhood bane, noise/nuisance issues.
The Chief told the committee that noise/nuisance complaints are not the highest priority for police response, so on a busy weekend when the weather is nice the call response can be delayed by an hour or more. By the time police arrive the party or noise is sometimes over.
Currently the system tracks noise/nuisance complaints if a formal
ticket or warning is issued to a property. But committee member Maurianne
Adams wishes to see the system capture complaints made against a
residence whereby no formal action was taken by officers, perhaps due to a delayed response.
Chief Livingstone confirmed the rowdy behavior that has disrupted neighborhoods for too many years, has improved significantly: In 2012 APD had 1,064 calls for service relating to bad behavior and only two years later, in 2014, those calls decreased over 40% to 617.
The Chief attributed this dramatic reduction to outreach work done by his officers -- following up noise complaints the next morning for instance -- extensive publicity shining a light on bad behavior, neighbors taking it on themselves to try to resolve issues, and "peer group" initiatives undertaken by UMass and the Student Government Association (Walk This Way and Team Positive for instance).
One problem with increasing transparency of police calls via the town website is APD's computer system does not get along well with the town system used by Building Commissioner Rob Morra.
But Chief Livingstone liked the idea of sharing this information and planned to take it up with his senior staff and Information Technology person later this month.
Although our $70+ million operation budget is in the multi-national corporation range, the town of Amherst relies heavily on volunteer labor to staff a myriad of boards and committees.
Rather than complain about the way things are, get involved. Make a difference.
One of the downsides of the tide turning towards civility in the war on rowdyism -- albeit a minor one -- is the town treasury is taking a hit with those $300 noise/nuisance tickets not being issued.
Last year at this time (halfway through the budget) Amherst collected $111,793 in town bylaw fines while this year it's down 37% to $69,806.
Of course neighbors who value their sleep or the look of their yards on weekend mornings are not going to mind a bit -- especially since it's a pubic safety issue.
The Public Safety aspect (police, fire, dispatch, animal welfare) of town government is the largest segment of the town's operating budget (46%), but the lion's share is split almost evenly between Amherst Police Department at $4,767,221 proposed for FY16, and $4,466,729 for Amherst Fire Department.
So the $200,000 or so in annual fines collected is a drop in the bucket compared to APD's overall budget. The Town Manager in his proposed FY16 budget is, finally, adding two police officers to bolster their enemic ranks.
Amherst Fire Department, on the other hand, will not see any additional staffing even though their calls have been rising annually at a rate greater than inflation.
Interestingly 75% of AFD runs are for Emergency Medical Services, as all personnel are crossed trained to either run into burning buildings or stabilize and transport sick/injured patients.
Unlike fire calls, the department does collect fees for ambulance services which is the vast majority of what they do. The last few years that has amounted to over $2 million dollars annually, enough to fund half their overall budget (although Town Meeting, NOT AFD, controls how that money is spent).
The town has 5 ambulances but usually cannot staff them all
Two years ago in his FY14 budget the Town Manager predicted $2,195,723 in Ambulance Fund revenues, but due to a typically all-too-busy year the fund took in $2,533,728, or $338,000 in excess revenues.
