Minutes - Council Work Session - 09/03/2019 - Special

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the officer position approved in the 2019 budget for hiring in October of 2019 has been moved to a hiring date of January 2020 as previously directed by the Council. City Administrator Ulrich stated that staff has begun recruitment for the Police Officer position, as recently directed by the Council for hiring later in 2019. Councilmember Heinrich stated that the part-time Recreation Specialist was recently not approved for hiring and asked for clarification on whether the item is still reflected in the budget. Finance Director Lund confirmed that position is still included in this draft of the budget. Councilmember Heinrich asked why the position is still included if the item did not pass at the Council meeting. Finance Director Lund confirmed that item is up for discussion tonight. Mayor LeTourneau asked the dollar amount for that position. Administrative Services Director Lasher estimated that position had a cost of about $27,000. Councilmember Riley asked if the firetruck purchase could be pushed back one year. Fire Chief Kohner stated that could be an option. He noted that there have been maintenance issues over the past two to three years with a cost of about $15,000 over the past two years. He could not guarantee if there would be more issues of maintenance but confirmed that it was not a safety concern. He stated that if the purchase was pushed out, the truck would be 22 years old at time of replacement. Councilmember Musgrove asked for clarification on whether the entire amount would be pushed back and be allocated next year, or whether the amount would still be broken up over multiple years. Councilmember Riley explained that his suggestion was to push back the two-year financing one year, to begin in 2021 rather than 2020. Councilmember Musgrove stated that she would like to see a portion allocated this year and perhaps split the purchase into three budget cycles. She referenced the contingency funds and asked for information on the history of the totals used and the amounts left each year that are distributed into the four funds. Finance Director Lund explained that the contingency fund is part of the general fund budget and is used for unbudgeted items throughout the year. She explained although it operates separately, it is still a part of the general fund and therefore if funds are unspent at the end of the year, they would transfer between the four identified funds as the policy dictates. City Council Special Work Session /September 3,2019 Page 2 of 17