Minutes - Council Work Session - 07/14/2015

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City Administrator Ulrich stated that staff will bring back the additional information at the next meeting which will also show the correlation between staff positions and Strategic Plan items. Councilmember Kuzma referenced the area of donations and stated that he would like to link together the Draw Park Summer Series in with Happy Days. He stated that additional funds could be designated to the Happy Days item but believed that perhaps the Happy Days Committee could gain sponsors for the summer series events. Mayor Strommen stated that perhaps the events the City sponsors should be reviewed as well to determine if the events are worthwhile and whether the desired outcome is being gained. Councilmember LeTourneau stated that he would amicable to talking about the issue from different perspectives as he believes that the Draw Park Summer Series is a valuable event for the community. He stated that at first glance he does not see a problem with the proposed tax rate level, noting that it is a great place to start as the Council can now review more in depth information with staff. City Administrator Ulrich questioned if the Council would like to see a flat tax rate scenario as an additional exercise as that would show the impact that would have on staffing and function. Mayor Strommen stated that perhaps it would be enough to simply see the additional information on personnel and a prioritization of the positions. She stated that her biggest concern is not 2016 but what will happen in 2017 and 2018 with the increased debt and road costs. She stated that she would like to see how the impact in 2017 could be lessened. Finance Director Lund referenced a $30,000 line item relating to the public works building. City Administrator Ulrich stated that the initial Feasibility Study has not been completed and, therefore, that item was left in order to gain additional information. Finance Director Lund stated that staff will prepare a preliminary five year budget which will come before the Council at a future meeting before the September adoption. Mayor Strommen stated that she would find it helpful to have two additional discussions prior to the adoption. Councilmember Riley stated that he appreciated the early start for the budget process which allowed a larger scale discussion before decisions need to be made. Mayor Strommen agreed that this is a better format for the budget discussions. 3. TOPICS FOR FUTURE DISCUSSION 3.01: Review Future Topics/Calendar: City Council Work Session / July 14, 2015 Page 4 of 6