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exceed $15,000. Funding would consist of a transfer from the General Fund Council Crmtingcncy to the General Fund budget of the newsletter. (ihairpcrson Strommen asked if the $15,000 would cover the development of a plan and development of all newsletters this year. City Administrator Norman stated those details have not yet been worked out. He stated he iadl<cd with Mike Zipko but it is not yet known if City Staff would turn everything over to the c~msultant or whether they supply the City with different formats or articles. He stated the recommended action would allow staff to start working with them and find out what is the coml¥~'t level. Ilo advised that Assistant City Administrator Nelson indicated Golden Valley has ~. communication director position but once you add benefits the cost is higher. He suggested, instead, thc Council consider using a contractor at this point in time. (~(mncihncmber Elvig stated his support to hire a consultant since eventually public relations will help the City in a number of areas. He stated he also supports first working with the newsletter instead of'groundbreakings. Mayor (;ronco stated his support to do this the right way. He distributed information from Golden Valley and advised they have had such a position for five years. Mayor Gamec relayed that ihe mayors of New Itope and Golden Valley both indicated it was a great benefit for their cities, lie noted that the consultant may put the paper together but it still involves staff having to provide the inf'ormation and details. He stated he would like to get more details on hiring a staff pers¢m alld budgeting for it next year. Mayor Gamcc noted the Stanton Report indicates the salary would be about $25 per hour or $45,000 io $65,000 per year because this is a very professional type of position. They also coordinate with cable television. He noted the staff person would then do the writing and create articles instead of' needing staff from each department to do the writing. Mayor Gamec stated he docs not sec an advantage to using a consultant and indicated again that he would prefer to look a~ thc budget and see il' this staff position can be brought on in July or August. (~hairperson Strommen noted that over time the consultant would become familiar with the City and bc able to write the articles without it becoming a heavy burden on City staff. She stated she did previously raise the option of having this position on staff. (',ity Administrator Norman stated staff could have done that research but the majority of the Iqmmce (iommittce directed staff to research the contractor option. £1ouncilmcmber Elvig stated he would like to have a staff person in this capacity but remains concerned with the cost of additional staff. He noted that to start he would support contracting :vi lb a tim] which would also provide multiple creative ideas. (~.hairpcrson Strommen stated that she would support using a consultant to provide professional help tr> redesign the newsletter and provide creative input. She stated that even if a staff person Finance Committee/March 22, 2005 Page 2 of 4