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City Council Minutes Page 8 <br />June 7, 2021 <br />----------------------------- <br />10.4 2022 Budget <br /> <br />Ms. Ziemer presented the staff report. She stated staff will plan on the same level of <br />services in 2022 as was used in 2021, realizing more amenities have been added with <br />the FTCenter and park amenities, which adds maintenance costs. <br /> <br />Council consensus to hold special council budget meetings on the Monday <br />dates outlined in the staff report. <br /> <br /> Council asked for calendar invites for meetings and events. <br /> <br /> Ms. Ziemer discussed union contracts, wages, and benefits. <br /> <br />Mr. Portner suggested an update to the wage study to make sure we are comparable <br />with peer cities. He stated we are competing with other communities for employees <br />on wages. He noted the study wasn’t completed when implemented four years ago <br />because of intentions to develop a wellness program that didn’t occur, so the city <br />never got to market rate. He stated we should look at internal/external equity and <br />the current market. <br /> <br />Mayor Dietz stated having a $2 million debt levy is too much and he’d like to keep it <br />around $1.4 million because it would be too big of a hit to the tax rate. He stated <br />why not wait until 2023 when the $600,000 debt levy is gone, and this would only <br />add $1.4 million to the tax levy versus $2 million. He said what difference would one <br />more payment be out of existing reserves. <br /> <br />Ms. Ziemer discussed current park improvement funding as noted in the staff report. <br /> <br />Mayor Dietz stated it would help the Parks and Recreation Commission planning <br />process when they know they get a set amount or more each year. <br /> <br />Council consensus to change the Park Improvement Fund as outlined in the <br />staff report. <br /> <br />10.5 Advisory Board Selection Process <br /> <br /> Ms. Allard presented the staff report. <br /> <br />Councilmembers Beyer and Christianson would like more time to make the process <br />more meaningful and spend more time to review and discuss candidates after <br />interviews. <br /> <br />Councilmember Wagner wasn’t sure about term limits and gave examples of long- <br />term members who do a lot for the community. <br /> <br />Councilmember Christianson stated he doesn’t like the idea of lifetime appointments <br />either. He stated it is good to have an accountability component added. <br /> <br />