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ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETNG—DECEMBER 12, 2011 6 applied to this plan, in 2010 there was no COLA increase. In 2011 an increase of 1 percent was applied on January 1st and another 1 percent on July 1 st Director of Finance and Administrative Services Sue Iverson stated that annually the City Council evaluates its compensation plan and determines if a COLA is appropriate. During the 2012 budget discussions, the council discussed the 2007 market study and their plan to set the benchmarks for the salary ranges but due to budget constraints at the time, the benchmarks were not set at the point the Council wanted to set them and planned on doing it over a few years. The economic events of 2008 and forward affected this plan. After evaluating the surrounding communities, it was decided to increase the salary scale by 1 percent on July 1, 2011 which provided for a 1.5 percent pay increase to employees in 2011. Council directed staff to prepare the 2012 budget with a 1 percent increase on January 1, 2012 and an additional 1 percent increase on July 1, 2012 which results in a 1.5 percent pay increase to employees for 2012. This, in effect, helps to achieve the goal the City Council set in 2008 to increase the salary scale to the desired benchmark compared to other cities while minimizing the effect on the operating budget. Mayor Grant commented that the City hasn't done a market study since 2007 and questioned how the Council knows how our salaries compare to other cities. He also stated that a salary increase of 1 percent in January and a 1 percent increase in July does not really result in a 1.5 percent increase in the range, but is actually a 2 percent increase in the range. He stated that is the type of clarification he would like to see in the memo. Councilmember Holden asked if this includes a 1 percent increase for the part-time Parks and Recreation staff. Director of Finance and Administrative Services Sue Iverson responded that it does not; there is no increase for Parks and Recreation part-time staff this year nor was there an increase last year. Councilmember Holden proposed that the Council approve a 1 percent increase January 1 but that the Council revisit the 1 percent increase for July 1 at a later time. MOTION: Councilmember Holden moved and Councilmember Holmes seconded the motion to approve the 2012 Employee Compensation Plan for Non-Union Employees effective January 1, 2012 with a 1 percent COLA and the Parks and Recreation 2012 Part-Time Scale as presented. Motion carried unanimously (5-0). C.Approve Ordinance 2011-015 —Revised Utility Ordinance and Approve Publication of the Ordinance Summary Director Iverson explained that at the November 21, 2011, Council Work Session, staff presented changes to the utility ordinance including; making the property owner the responsible party on the utility accounts; certifying of delinquent utilities on a quarterly basis rather than annually, and; billing of utility accounts by calendar quarters rather than rolling billing quarters. At that time, staff suggested billing residential accounts by calendar quarters and continuing to bill commercial accounts monthly. Staff amends this by suggesting that all utility accounts be billed