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Mounds View City Council December 13, 1999 Regular Meeting Page 9 City Administrator Whiting stated staff has researched this matter. He advised that the work performed by the outside consultant still requires to be reviewed and checked for accuracy on • behalf of the City. He explained that he is aware of previous situations, where they have outsourced utility bills, and actually had afull-time person on board to check the accuracy of the work this service provided, and this person found several mistakes that amounted to approximately $30,000 in one year. He indicated that these problems might be able to be resolved, however, the larger issue is in teems of the customer service aspect of the utility billing. He advised that much deeper discussion of this matter would be required in terms of outsourcing this position to a firm which Mounds View residents would have to contact via the telephone or the Internet, in order to resolve issues with their utility bills, rather than through City Hall. City Administrator Whiting explained that the combination of these two considerations led staff to believe that at this point, this is the most cost effective manner in which to proceed. He stated staff could continue to research means to achieve some efficiencies through outside sources, however, at this time, additional staffing would be required to do this. He pointed out that if they actually found some savings, it would be in terms of the time of this employee, allowing them to perform other tasks. He stated that three years prior, two people were performing this job, and it has since been condensed down into one position. Finance Director Kessel indicated that this individual would be hired at the Step 2 level, however, the salary would be approximately the same as the starting salary of the previous position. He advised that in the long run, this proposal would save several thousand dollars. • Council Member Stigney stated he disagreed, and felt this was a somewhat biased report. He advised that whether or not residents call outside the City to resolve water bill issues, this process could be handled in the same manner as gas or electric utility services, which are also outside the City. Mayor Coughlin stated these services are performed outside the City, however, they are still an in house consideration. MOTION/SECOND: Marty/Thomason. To Approve the Consent Agenda for Item 7C, as presented. Ayes - 3 Nays - 1 (Stigney) Motion carried. Council Member Stigney stated in regard to Item 7D, Approving Personnel Policies Manual, he had submitted several changes to those procedures, which the Council chose to ignore. He indicated the current proposal would have an adverse effect upon the taxpayers of the City, and he does not support it. Mayor Coughlin stated that "ignore" is a harsh and inflammatory word. He stated the Council considered Council Member Stigney's list of suggestions, and to state that the Council ignored them is incorrect. Council Member Marty noted that during the previous discussion of this item, he did not have his copy of Council Member's Stigney's suggestions, and he requested a copy, however, Council Member Stigney did not have one. He stated he took exception to the statement that the Council