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<br />Councilmember Dehen stated that Coon Rapids had an in house lawyer that did their prosecution <br />but he got to the level of experience where the amount he and his assistant were commanding <br />were equal to the amount it would cost them privately. He stated that if it is an entry-level <br />position, now maybe it may be worth it to consider using that as something for the City to <br />consider, because there are a lot of hungry lawyers out there. <br /> <br />Councilmember Jeffrey stated that he is all about professional references, but everybody will just <br />send you a list of people that like you. He suggested asking for a list of all business contacts and <br />asking for a release that the City can contact anyone they want. <br /> <br />Assistant City Administrator Nelson stated that this will come back for authorization at the next <br />Council meeting. <br /> <br />3) Discussion of Work Session Topics <br /> <br />Mayor Ramsey stated that on nights when there isn't a Council meeting after the work session, <br />he was thinking that. perhaps the Council could have a chance to bring up items for discussion. <br />He suggested that perhaps the Council should come up with rules of how these items are brought <br />up and whether they are brought back to a work session. He stated that his idea was to give two <br />. minutes to make your case and two minutes for the Council to discuss it and make a decision on <br />how or if it should move forward. <br /> <br />Councilmember Jeffrey stated that he isn't opposed to that idea, but wants to make sure it is an <br />introductory or identification process only and not a huge discussion at the meeting. <br /> <br />Mayor Ramsey stated that he would like to limit it to one item per Councilmember, per night, so <br />it doesn't take too long. <br /> <br />Councilmember Dehen stated that he would like to start the process and suggest that the work <br />sessions be reduced to once a month. <br /> <br />Mayor Ramsey stated that his fear with that is that there won't be enough time to get everything <br />done. <br /> <br />Councilmember Jeffrey stated that he has the same fear, because, for example, there are three <br />cases on tonight's agenda and the meeting is already pushing three hours. <br /> <br />Councilmember Wise stated that he thinks the new Council needs to be given 6 months to get <br />used to things before changes are made. <br /> <br />Mayor Ramsey suggested that in our planning session there should be some prioritizing of work <br />session topics. He stated that this may be a way to get things accomplished very quickly that <br />aren't controversial. <br /> <br />Councilmember Elvig stated that he thinks it is a worthwhile to give this approach a try. <br /> <br />City Council Work Session / February 3, 2009 <br />Page 13 of 15 <br />