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M City Council Minutes August 5, 2019 Page 5 Councilmember Christianson questioned if we can hold off on the $190,000 capital improvement for information technology. Mr. Portner indicated his recommendation is to hold off until the new IT manager is on board to review the system and make recommendations. Councilmember Wagner indicated she would like to see a breakdown of what the tax increase means to the average homeowner. Council consensus was to eliminate the three Fire Department position requests in the budget. Council felt this is a good time for the new fire chief to evaluate the department's needs. Mayor Dietz noted he asked for a complete analysis on the duties of the fire marshal and inspector. Councilmember Wagner explained the Council struggles with the balance between maintaining service levels versus maintaining the tax rate. She stated it comes down to what it will cost the average taxpayer. Councilmember Wagner explained it is easy for the Council to set goals but it would be helpful to know the cost of implementing the goals when setting the goals. She requested Mr. Portner ask the Council next year if they want to maintain service levels or maintain the tax rate during the goal discussion. Councilmember Christianson concurred. Mayor Dietz suggested reducing the sinking fund by $150,000, postponing the hiring of the IT manager until 2021, and postponing the start date of the new investigative assistant until July of 2020. He also suggested transferring $50,000 out of the capital reserve to the General Fund for a total reduction of almost $300,000. Ms. Ziemer indicated liquor transfers to the General Fund could be increased but that would reduce transfers to the Park Improvement Fund. Mayor Dietz would like to see an analysis on these amounts. Councilmember Westgaard indicated he would prefer to look to culture and recreation budgets, including park maintenance, recreation, and senior programing before looking to cut officers. He indicated he would rather look at cutting non- essential services first. He noted the culture and recreation budget increased $120,000 compared to last year. Chief Nierenhausen clarified the investigative assistant position is not a licensed officer and he is comfortable with delaying hiring for six months if that helps the budget. Councilmember Ovall questioned how long the step increases from the recent Compensation Plan adjustments will impact the budget. Mr. Portner indicated the impact may be the highest this year and it should level off. He stated he will get information from finance to the Council this week. PawEBE0 BY NATURE