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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br />6.Public expenditures for appropriate community and customer outreach and similar <br />activities serve a public purpose when those expenditures are necessary for Elk River to <br />ensure the efficient operation of its programs/services, promote the availability and use of <br />city resources, and promote coordinated, cooperative planning activities among and <br />between the public and the private sectors. <br /> <br />Specific Programs and Expenditures <br />Every City of Elk River expenditure must be valid based upon the public purpose for which it is <br />expended. These line-items are approved annually by the City Council as a part of the overall <br />budget approval process which includes a public hearing on the proposed budget. <br /> <br />The following items are deemed to meet the Council definition of public purpose expenditures. <br /> <br /> <br />Meetings: Food/Meals/Refreshments <br />The City Council recognizes that situations in which city business needs to be discussed can and <br />do occur during meal hours (i.e. luncheon meetings). In addition, there are public and employee <br />meetings and events in which reasonable refreshments may add to the success of the meeting <br />and/or event and create a more productive workforce. Meals are allowed at training or meetings <br />only when they are part of a meeting or training involving official city business and when it is the <br />only practical time to meet. <br /> <br />The following items are deemed to meet the Council’s definition of public purpose expenditures <br />in regards to food/meals/refreshments. <br /> <br /> <br />a.Allowed at city meetings and events that have the purpose of discussing city issues. <br />These meetings would normally have a pre-planned agenda and would involve <br />predominately non-city employees. <br /> <br />b.Allowed when they are part of the structured agenda for an offsite conference, <br />workshop, seminar, training session, or meeting in which the City Administrator or a <br />department director has authorized the employee to attend for training and development <br />purposes. This does not include routine staff meetings. <br /> <br />c.Allowed when they are part of a breakfast/lunch/dinner meeting for official city <br />business when it is the only practical time to meet and when it involves non-city <br />employee participants (i.e. business developers or business representatives). Payment <br />for fees relating to a special event, such as a Chamber of Commerce event, may also be <br />allowed when approved by the City Administrator and when attendance is deemed to <br />meet the public purpose guidelines for community or customer outreach and marketing <br />of the city. <br /> <br />d.Allowed during non-routine, official meetings of the City Council, council committees, <br />advisory boards/commissions, and taskforces. <br /> <br />e.Allowed where employees or volunteers are participating in a City Council <br />sponsored or authorized special event or in an outside event as an official <br />representative of the city. <br /> <br />f.Allowed for department sponsored meetings, conferences or workshops where <br />the majority of invited participants are not city employees. <br /> <br />g.Cookies and coffee allowed for city employees’ monthly safety meetings <br />sponsored by the Safety Committee. <br />Financial Management Policies Page 21 <br /> <br />