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<br />Councilmember Elvig suggested that the Council ask City Administrator Ulrich to go back and <br />do his work and come up with a list of service reductions that the group can consider. <br /> <br />Mayor Ramsey stated that he agrees with what is being said, but he doesn't think there is <br />anything wrong with someone in our capacity making an observation and voicing an opinion. <br /> <br />Councilmember Wise stated that the only reason he is picking on the building department is that <br />he feels there should have been adjustments made at least a year ago as the revenue climate <br />changed. He stated that he thinks the City has been behind the curve in this matter. <br /> <br />Coundlmember Elvig stated that thinking back to when Ramsey only had 900 units, there was <br />mayhem. He stated that the City outsourced as much as it could so the staff size didn't explode. <br />He stated that he thinks there may not be as much of a reduction necessary as some <br />Councilmembers think, because they may not know about the outsourcing that happened in the <br />past. <br /> <br />Councilmember Look stated that he had promoted the concept of a hard freeze about 6 months <br />ago, which was not successful. He stated that there was a soft freeze implemented and since that <br />conversation, there have been three or four positions that have been filled and staff had clearly <br />justified reasons why the positions were needed. He stated that in going forward, he thinks there <br />has to be a hard freeze because if the Council justifies a position here and eliminates another one <br />over there, that is not the right thing to do. He stated that in retrospect; perhaps the City should <br />have adopted a hard hiring freeze last year. <br /> <br />Councilmember Elvig stated that he is against that because City Administrator Ulrich is the <br />person that runs the ship. He stated that if City Administrator Ulrich would like a hiring freeze, <br />then he feels it should come from him. <br /> <br />Mayor Ramsey asked what value there would be in a hiring freeze because the Council could <br />implement one, but it can also get rid of it whenever it wanted too. <br /> <br />Councilmember Jeffrey stated that he doesn't agree with a hard freeze because the Council gets <br />to approve or disapprove every hire anyway. He stated that he isn't interested in doing it just so <br />the City can get media coverage that the City is implementing this freeze. <br /> <br />Councilmember Elvig asked if, for some of the revenue addition possibilities, the City runs a risk <br />of other entities saying that the City is creating projects just to support our staff. <br /> <br />City Administrator Ulrich stated that there is a risk of a "perception" issue, for example, if <br />certain projects are not approved, there could be a budget issue for the City. <br /> <br />Councilmember Elvig stated that in order to do this with a clear conscience, he suggests going <br />ahead with the projects that are already approved, but that the City find enough money in the <br />budget to overcome the other two projects. <br /> <br />City Council Work Session / February 3, 2009 <br />Page 6 of 15 <br />