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1 <br />1 <br />1 <br />COUNCIL MEETING DECEMBER 11, 1989 <br />trying to improve the communication lines with the citizens. <br />Mayor Benson explained that when he became Mayor, there was <br />citizen unrest in the City. He felt that through the <br />cooperation of the Council this was brought to a halt and the <br />confidence of the people has improved. The Council has shown <br />that it can do a good job and look to the future. Also it is <br />important to get the people to look to the future and let <br />them speak and be heard. The Council cannot always agree <br />with the people because the people do not always have the <br />information that is available to the Council. The Council <br />must try to recognize what is going on with them as much as <br />possible. A good example of this is the Charter Amendment <br />failure. He said it did not pass because the citizens did <br />not understand what it meant to them. Also the City may not <br />have done enough to inform the citizens. Maybe the Amendment <br />should be brought before the citizens again. <br />Mayor Benson explained that he has worked hard as Mayor and <br />feels good about what has been accomplished during his <br />tenure. He felt it is good that the Mayor and some of the <br />Council Men did not always agree. This creates discussion <br />and leads to better decisions and a better City. <br />Mayor Benson said he was leaving with his head held high and <br />appreciated the input he received from the citizens and other <br />interested people. He felt the City is now in a sound <br />financial position. This was not the case when be became <br />Mayor eight years ago. There is now more than half of a <br />million dollars in reserve and Mayor Benson explained that <br />with the changes in the state aids, he felt it was necessary <br />to continue a strong reserve to avoid having to make other <br />financial adjustments. He also noted that this reserve has <br />made it easier to do some things without asking the City <br />Administrator to investigate funding sources. He noted there <br />were some studies completed that may not have been done if <br />this reserve was not here. <br />Mayor Benson said that as he looks to the future he feels <br />this Council will have some interesting challenges. There <br />will be some very difficult decisions to be made. Some of <br />these decisions will involve the future of city hall and <br />other facilities, land use decisions, commercial and <br />industrial development. Declining aid and communicationwill <br />continue to be a concern. Mayor Benson said that he felt the <br />Cable TV system should be expanded and put to better use for <br />faster communications. <br />Mayor Benson said that there will be times that the residents <br />do not understand what the Council is trying to accomplish. <br />They may think that the Council is trying to keep things from <br />them but we want them to be informed. <br />Mayor Benson said the challenges will bring out differences <br />PAGE 9 <br />