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Mr. Hartley replied no, as it is two completely different departments. Mr. Harfley explained that there is not funding available at this time for the diseased tree program or the Elk River Tennis Association, but funding should be made available for the D.A.R.E. program. He explained that the Fire Fighter's Relief Association is typically funded through the Landfill Tipping Fee, especially since it is a one time expense. He explained that the expense for the Consulting Engineer would be cut in half due to having an in-house Engineer. He also stated that City Engineer Steve Jankowski feels he can "squeeze" two more people downstairs in City Hall so the immediate need for space for the Engineering Department has been alleviated for the present time. Councilmember Peterson stated he'd like to see more justification for another Cellular phone for the Police Department. Councilmember DeLuca stated when you need it, how can you justify the time if you don't have it. Mr. Hartley stated his main factor in deciding what's cut and what's not is if there is no clear return received, then there would be no funding available. Mr. Hartley commented that another way to "fine tune" the budget is to look at the revenue side. Mr. Hartley stated that areas where the City can have impact is in the business licensing and non-business licensing function. He stated that a licensing process should be adopted and set at $50.00 as opposed to $10.00 and there would be a substantial revenue growth. Mr. Hartley also discussed deficit spending. Councilmember Peterson stated that if the building functions slow down, the time could be used to help the City Assessor catch up. Mr. Hartley stated he had been contacted by the City of St. Francis and they had asked if the City of Ramsey could send its Building Official over to do some of their inspections on a part time basis. He stated he sent a draft proposal to the City of St. Francis and had done a cost assessment regarding sending Glyn Huff or Steve Lutmer. Councilmember Peterson stated he is not opposed to the job-share, but that sometimes it's hard to convince the public that the City needs additional staff when it is renting out its present staff. Councilmember DeLuca stated that a good sell for the idea would be the good neighbor policy. A discussion ensued regarding doing a poll with regard to what the public wants. The overall feeling is that it should be done professionally as it would be more statistically correct and there would be more of an accurate view as to what the public wants. Councilmember Peterson commented that changes will be made in the budget as the year goes on. Possibly by June the gas prices will drop, if there was a mild winter, less money would be spent on snow and ice removal, then the leftover monies could be used to fund something else. Mr. Hartley stated that in the year past, amendments have been made for money budgeted and not spent. Mr. Hartley also discussed fund balance at the end of the year stating that it's there to spend if needed, however, it also serves as a savings account. Councilmember DeLuca stated that a position should not be funded out of the fund balance as that would cause deficit spending. Councilmember Peterson suggested coming up with some sort of an incentive to offer to different departments to keep operating and supply costs down. If an incentive is offered, possibly the different departments and department heads can find ways to be more conservative. Budget Committee/October 15, 1990 Page 3 of 4