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City Council Nfinutes <br />April 20, 2022 <br />Page 4 <br />Mr. Portner discussed preparing a policy for the process of hanging decorations on <br />downtown lights maintained by Elk River Municipal Utilities (ERMU). <br />Items hung on light poles would need to have a public purpose. Agreements would be set <br />up with groups looking to hang decorations and funding for decorations would be through <br />the city's Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA). <br />Council discussed the geographic limits of the downtown area. <br />Mayor Dietz asked Councilmember Wagner if she could provide information on what the <br />Downtown Elk River Business Association (DERBA) spends on decorations for the <br />downtown area. <br />Councilmember Westgaard asked for examples of cities who decorated their light posts but <br />did not have a municipal utility. <br />Mr. Portner stated the city will begin to document city events and who pays for what. <br />Mr. Portner asked Council if they would like ERMU to take over the maintenance of the <br />new trail lights along Highway 10. <br />Council felt, from a consistency standpoint, ERMU should maintain the trail lights. These <br />lights would also fall under the new decorating policy. <br />Budget Yucko. ff <br />Mr. Portner asked Council if they had any preliminary thoughts on the 2023 budget. <br />Mr. Portner stated that the city would be implementing a charge back program where each <br />department pays an annual fee and computers are replaced as they break. <br />Mr. Portner will be working on a comparison study of salaries including historical <br />comparison cities and cities that are of a similar population. This discussion will come to a <br />future work session. <br />Council discussed the importance of employee retention. <br />Mayor Dietz stated he was concerned about the budget due to large housing valuation <br />increases. Council asked department directors to only budget for essentials. <br />Mr. Portner stated that, at some point, the city will begin to see funding from Tax <br />Increment Financing (TIF) payments once TIF districts are decertified. <br />Councilmember Christianson expressed concern about the fallout of housing prices in the <br />future. <br />The Council recessed at 4:51 p.m. for dinner. The meeting reconvened at 5:24 p.m. <br />rIIIIII of <br />NATURE <br />