Minutes - Council Work Session - 08/08/2017

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Mayor Strommen noted that the requests for additional information will need to come to a close and the Council will need to start making decisions so that the budget information can be finalized prior to the deadline. She suggested that the Council be ready to make decisions at the next meeting. City Administrator Ulrich noted that the capital improvement items could be delayed as those will not impact the levy and therefore the focus can be on the items that impact the levy. Councilmember Riley stated that he would like to see additional information on lesser impacts to the levy and prioritization. City Administrator Ulrich confirmed the consensus of the Council, that staff will provide three scenarios based on the different priorities. Councilmember LeTourneau stated that a lot of work went into the Strategic Plan, which drives a lot of the choices the City makes. He stated that he would assume that the staffing positions proposed would help the City achieve the goals in the Strategic Plan. He stated that perhaps the Council should review which goals on the Strategic Plan they are willing to bend on, as there is a cost to achieving those goals. He stated that it is a good Plan and vision that people are drawn to. Mayor Strommen stated that the Council has done that in the past alternating between the Strategic Plan and budget and what a position would represent in terms of service. She stated that perhaps the dashboard from the Strategic Plan can be provided at the next meeting to facilitate the next discussion. Councilmember LeTourneau stated that some of the goals and imperatives may be defined differently, as some of the language is vague and therefore does not provide staff with a matrix or guidelines. Mayor Strommen noted that one challenge is that the levy is tied to the valuation of the tax base and that figure can vary. Councilmember Shryock stated that perhaps the guideline could be tied to the proposed revenue amounts. Councilmember Kuzma stated that another challenge would be the contracts that the City is tied to, such as COLA and other contracts that the City is obligated to. He stated that the City cut staffing levels so deeply in the past, that at some point the Council needs to listen to the staff as to what they need to maintain positive service levels. He stated that the Council should be cognizant not to overwork the current staff. Mayor Strommen noted that there are other needs, such as roads and infrastructure, which are not yet complete and also need to be considered as they will have impacts on the budget and community expectations. City Council Work Session/August 8,2017 Page 4 of 7