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<br />Work Session Agenda Items <br /> <br />Councilmember Dehen requested a work session topic be scheduled to discuss service contracts <br />and whether the City is receiving the best bang for their buck on various service contracts. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec stated this has been reviewed and cutbacks were made last year when the budget <br />was reviewed. The Finance Committee has reviewed quite a few of the contracts, and they <br />continue to be looked at with the budget. <br /> <br />Councilmember Dehen stated his concern is not so much whether or not there are cutbacks, but <br />that there be accountability with RFP's on some of the service contracts. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec suggested Councilmember Dehen review the contracts and determine if there are <br />certain contracts he would like reviewed. He stated some of the contracts are at the discretion of <br />the City Administrator and it gets to the point of the Council micromanaging. The job of the <br />Council is for policy and direction. <br /> <br />City Attorney Goodrich indicated there is a list of service contracts with several appointments <br />approved at the first Council meeting of the year. <br /> <br />Councilmember Strommen stated she believes the Council's role is a matter of budget; if they <br />think a prudent budget decision is not being made by awarding a contract that should be looked <br />at. It is up to staff to evaluate if they .are getting the desired level of service. As a policy board <br />they want staff to understand they expect things to be within budget and there is a certain level of <br />service with the contractors they use. It is the Council's role to put out that expectation, but staff <br />works with the vendors on a day to day basis. <br /> <br />Interim City Admimstrator Nelson indicated she and Councilmember Dehen discussed this and <br />she perceived it as a policy matter. The City does not have a policy that states they will 100% go <br />out for RFP's for all professional services; they go out for RFP's quite a bit of the time, but there <br />are working relationships formed, such as with the City Attorney and Bond Counsel. She had <br />encouraged Councilmember Dehen to bring this forward to Council for discussion on a policy <br />mandating RFP's for all service contracts. <br /> <br />Councilmember Dehen stated from his perspective he would like to see accountability and the <br />numbers to show that the City is getting the best bang for their buck. He would like to see <br />service contracts go out for RFP. <br /> <br />There was considerable discussion regarding RFP's for service contracts. <br /> <br />Councilmember Jeffrey stated he agrees there are relationships that are built and continuity is <br />established. Changing a service and building that relationship can be costly. He also agrees in <br />ensuring that the City is receiving the best value. He suggested a threshold to determine service <br />contracts that would go out for bid. <br /> <br />City Council / May 22, 2007 <br />Page 21 of24 <br />