08-10-2009 Council Minutes (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Search

SPECIAL WORK SESSION August 10, 2009 APPROVED 136 137 A council member pointed out the dynamic of not having a city administrator in place. 138 That makes the decision making process somewhat different. Also, as a process person, 139 he would like to see staff bring back$1,000,000 in reductions, perhaps in increments. He 140 recognizes that there is a balanced budget proposed even though it includes options not 141 approved by the council. He believes the goal of the council is to not raise the tax levy. 142 143 A council member suggested some review of the process used by Centennial Fire to save 144 funds each year for equipment purchases rather than financing. Also it may be time to 145 look at the city engineer situation also. 146 147 At the request of the Finance Director, the council reviewed the list of options and each 148 offered their opinions. 149 150 When discussing the 6.17% increase in the total levy, Mr. Rolek explained that the 151 increase is mainly due to the special assessment delinquency that was discussed 152 previously. 153 154 A council member reiterated his desire to have directors weigh in individually on 155 organization-wide options. A director expressed concern about offering opinions in 156 areas where he has little familiarity. 157 158 A council member suggested that a collective effort of directors would be preferable since �— 159 it would allow for collaboration options. 160 161 A council member suggested a moderate approach to the delinquent special assessment 162 problem. He proposes a split by handling part of the problem through internal loans and 163 part by reductions. 164 165 The council directed the directors to come to the August 25, 2009 work session with 166 specific recommendations for reductions. The directors pledged to work together and 167 bring the information the council requests; there will be no individual surveys. 168 169 A council member suggested that since there will obviously need to be some personnel 170 cuts, they should be considered in each and every area of the organization. 171 172 Acting Administrator Tesch explained that there was no list of positions included in the 173 report in part because presenting that level of information in fact sets the wheels in 174 motion and the city needs to be prepared to act accordingly. 175 176 Police Chief Pecchia noted that the Police Department has historically taken a big hit with 177 reductions. The department was down three positions in 2008. At this point,he is asking 178 that he be authorized to proceed with a proposal to fill the vacant police officer position 179 but to eliminate a CSO position at the same time. The council said they would consider 180 that request sometime in the future. 4