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<br />City Administrator Ulrich explained that the Association of Metro Municipalities (AMM) grew <br />out of the League of Minnesota Cities and that they hold educational forums on occasion and <br />lobby for metropolitan interests. <br /> <br />Councilmember Dehen asked if it is something like continuing education where you can just <br />attend the events you would like. <br /> <br />City Administrator Ulrich stated that he is unsure if the City can attend the forums if it isn't a <br />member. <br /> <br />Councilmember Elvig stated that there is a lot of different information that comes from these <br />organizations and they keep us up to date on what is relevant and current. He stated that he <br />knows a lot of the grants the City has received have been tipped off by these organizations. <br /> <br />City Administrator Ulrich stated that this is a good point because AMM will continue to be <br />closely tied in with the Met Council. <br /> <br />Mayor Ramsey stated that, in his opinion, the North Metro Mayors group is not worth $13,000 a <br />year. <br /> <br />Councilmember McGlone stated that he agrees that the City is a little different than a business <br />and is responsible to the public. He stated that his business has not been doing as good as <br />normal, so he is looking at selling equipment and laying people off, which he isn't looking <br />forward to doing. He stated that the Council has a greater responsibility to the public to be good <br />stewards of their money and tough decisions need to be made. He stated that the City is in a <br />place where the news isn't getting any better and the number one expense to any business or <br />agency is people. <br /> <br />Councilmember Elvig stated that everyone in the room understands that there will need to be <br />cuts. He stated that City Administrator Ulrich knows that there may need to be cuts and he <br />would like to know from the Council where they are interested or willing to cut services. <br /> <br />Mayor Ramsey stated that he thinks this comes down to the fact that there are "x" amount of <br />dollars coming in. He stated that he. has made the statement in the past that he will plow the <br />streets and fix equipment himself before he will vote to raise taxes. <br /> <br />Councilmember Dehenstated that the hourly reduction was mentioned and maybe there are a <br />number of people that are interested in doing that to spend more time with family. He stated that <br />he feels this is something that could be done immediately and some of the other things can be <br />phased in. <br /> <br />Councilmember Jeffrey stated that he isn't opposed to that but feels the Council needs to hear <br />from City Administrator Ulrich what and where the business neecis are. He stated that the <br />Council needs to set policy and direction and let staff be the ones to determine how the shifts <br />need to be made internally. <br /> <br />City Council Work Session / February 3, 2009 <br />Page 5 of 15 <br />