Minutes - Council Work Session - 08/08/2016

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Councilmember Kuzma stated that he believes the City is being competitive in its current range and should review information before giving a carte blanche raise each year. Mayor Strommen stated that while she does not disagree with the statement that increases should not simply be given each year for the purpose of giving an increase, she noted that the City is a service organization and the employees are the biggest investment as they are the biggest resource the City has. Councilmember Shryock commented that the City has a great staff that work well together and would like to ensure that they can keep them. She stated that she would encourage continued discussions on this matter to make sure the issue remains balanced. She referenced communication, noting that while those items are not huge line items they are important because that is how the City communicates information to the residents. City Administrator Ulrich asked when the Council would want to revisit the budget discussion, noting that the preliminary levy and budget would need to be adopted no later than the last meeting in September. He noted that as of now the budget is on the agenda for the September 13th worksession meeting. He stated that another option would be to hold a special meeting the last Tuesday in August. 2.02: Emergency Management Update Fire Chief Kohner reviewed the staff report and the emergency management plan. Police Chief Katers stated that in an emergency situation elected officials should report to the emergency operations center (EOC) in order to be briefed before giving any public comments. He noted continued training which will occur between police, fire and public works to ensure that everyone is on the same page in regard to the emergency planning. Fire Chief Kohner stated that the best case scenario is to be over prepared and hopefully never have to actually use the training. He stated that the three ring binder for the emergency operations plan was last updated in 2006 and noted that he will be working to update the information. He stated that once the emergency operations plan is updated he would like to review the information with the Council in a worksession. Councilmember Kuzma thanked Fire Chief Kohner for providing this presentation, noting that he had requested the item. He stated that he is concerned with issues that could arise from the trains and with the current events involving police that have been in the media. Fire Chief Kohner agreed that the open dialogue is beneficial and noted that he could also conduct a tabletop training event with the Council. He noted that although his presentation tonight focused on natural disasters the plan does also address manmade situations. City Administrator Ulrich noted that in an emergency situation notice is not required for a Council meeting and a command center would be setup in the Alexander Ramsey Room. He City Council Work Session / August 8, 2016 Page 3 of 5