Minutes - Council Work Session - 11/24/2020

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Councilmember Riley acknowledged that the Council asked for a ten-year plan, but then noticed the same police vehicle identified three times within the document as that is the replacement schedule. He commented that it seems that the City is buying a lot of vehicles but is essentially only replacing the same vehicle. He asked if there is a way to remove some of that type of “noise” from the document. Finance Director Lund replied that would be difficult to do. She noted that the items are included because that is the schedule for replacement. She acknowledged that a ten-year document is difficult because it goes so far into the future. Councilmember Riley asked if those could be budgeted for as an expense rather than capital. Finance Director Lund explained the capital expense policy and the reason those purchases must be included in the plan. She noted that those vehicles are identified as replacement. Finance Director Lund noted that this item will appear in the consent agenda for tonight’s regular meeting to call for a public hearing in December. 2.02: Discussion and Update of 2021 Budget/Levy Finance Director Lund reviewed the staff report. Councilmember Kuzma asked for details on the pending employee contract negotiations. City Administrator Ulrich stated that discussion should remain confidential. He stated that there is a base amount included in the budget, but contingency is also included for settlements that may be necessary. He noted that there are things outside of wages that have budget impacts. Administrative Services Director Lasher replied that they are not as close as they hoped on settling the contract negotiations. She noted that the discussions will continue in a closed session on th December 8 with the Council. Councilmember Riley stated that at the last discussion he brought forward a concern related to this late discussion and he was told that the timing was not late. He asked how the budget could be set when the largest expenditure is not certain. City Administrator Ulrich replied that there is an estimate within the proposed budget and settlements cannot exceed what the City is able to pay. He stated that if the negotiation went to arbitration, the budget would identify what the City is able to pay. He stated that there is a contingency within that budget, but the City cannot go above what it is able to pay. Administrative Services Director Lasher stated that it is typical to be in this position at this time but agreed that she would like to be further along at this point. She acknowledged that the election took a lot of staff time. She stated that additional flexibility could be gained by delaying the start date of a new employee. City Council Work Session / November 24, 2020 Page 3 of 6