Agenda - Council - 10/14/2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilmember Elvig replied that they may not need the additional staff until 2004. Police Chief Way stated that as it pertains to the Police Department they are already behind where they need to be. They are the only City this size that has numbers where they are. They have guys working nights all by themselves in a City of 20,000 and their back up may be 15 to 20 minutes away. Councilmember Cook agreed that the City is way behind on maintenance workers and there is a need for more Police. He stated that they are currently running the City way to "mean and lean" and they can't keep doing that year after year without wearing people out. They can't expect quality if they are overburdening employees with their j ob. If they want quality they need to have the staff to do the work properly. Councilmember Kurak stated that Ramsey Town Center, LLC has given the City $125,000 to help pay for additional employees. The City could add the inspector, Associate Planner, Engineer Tech, and Patrol Officer and cover their costs with the $125,000 not even considering billable time. What they do bill out could pay for the Senior Planner. The City should be putting their money to use where it was intended to go. Mayor Gamec inquired as to what happens in two years when they no longer have the $125,000 from Ramsey Town Center, LLC. Councihnember Kurak replied that no one has a crystal ball, but after two years the City will be receiving revenues from the Town Center. The City needs a Police Officer, Inspector, Planner, and an Engineer Tech. The City also has a need for maintenance of parks. It is not the City's fault their budget was cut back and the residents taxes will not be going up they will actually be going down so the people will not see an impact on their tax bill. Councilmember Pearson agreed that they needed to add a patrol officer, and they are short on staff at City Hall. He thought that they should see where they can make some cuts in the varying budgets as recommended by Mr. Elvig. He felt that the addition of a Patrol officer and a maintenance worker were definite needs. Mr. Pearson stated that he liked the concept of trying to collect a park maintenance fee from developers to help offset maintenance costs as they have discussed previously. He also noted that he liked the concept of a flat meter fee for a franchise fee because it probably more fair. Mayor Gamec stated that if they were to add a Police Officer and a maintenance worker right away and they find out that in April or May their revenues are way ahead than projected then there would be nothing to stop them from adding an additional officer or an associate planner, etc. Councilmember Kurak replied that the City needs to take the money given to them from Ramsey Town Center, LLC and use it for staff. City Council Work Session/October 1, 2003 Page 6 of 8