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Councilmember Musgrove said that a lot of the proposed reductions are coming from the Police <br /> and Fire Departments. She asked if there was anything that was given up in these departments that <br /> they would like to keep in the budget for 2025. She stated she would like to keep some of the <br /> vehicle or the personnel requests in the budget and push out the woodchipper. <br /> Police Chief Katers explained that the cuts that they made from the Police Department requests <br /> were cuts they felt like they could make while still continuing to provide the same level of service. <br /> He said it would be beneficial to have an additional police officer; however, this cut helped them <br /> meet the budget cuts that were requested. He added that the level of service will not be impacted <br /> by not having this role. He noted that they are asking for a lot with union negotiations, and he <br /> would rather have their budget be invested into the people rather than the capital items. He said <br /> that none of their equipment is currently failing. <br /> Councilmember Howell said she would prefer not to cut from the Police and Fire Department <br /> budgets and would rather cut capital equipment for Public Works and Parks. <br /> City Administrator Hagen shared that after the last Work Session, he and the department heads all <br /> sat down and went through the budget and what their true needs are. He explained that they asked <br /> themselves with every item if they would still be able to provide the same level of service if this <br /> item was moved to the 2026 budget. He said this revised plan was a group effort with all of the <br /> department heads. <br /> Councilmember Woestehoff thanked all Staff for working on the budget to get it to this point. He <br /> asked Fire Chief Kohner if the 2013 Tahoe they currently use will be able to survive the whole <br /> year. <br /> Fire Chief Kohner said he hopes the vehicle will last the whole year as he saw this as an item that <br /> they can wait until next year for. He noted that they can make some adjustments to their squads to <br /> survive the year without a new vehicle. <br /> Councilmember Woestehoff noted that there are a lot of capital items and personnel requests to be <br /> pushing off a year which will make this a tough discussion next year. <br /> Councilmember Olson shared his appreciation for the attitude of Police Chief Katers and other <br /> department heads for being willing to give up items that are not needed for this year. <br /> Councilmember Musgrove shared her appreciation for Staff and their hard work on the proposed <br /> cuts. She stated that she thinks it is important to not take away any of the police Staff requests. <br /> Councilmember Woestehoff asked about the firetruck that they are paying for over time and if the <br /> seller will agree to the longer term. <br /> Fire Chief Kohner said they would sign a contract for the price and the term to lock it in. <br /> Councilmember Riley noted that they have had some discussions about refurbishing fire vehicles. <br /> He asked if they had looked into this. <br /> City Council Work Session / August 12, 2024 <br /> Page 3 of 12 <br />