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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—JUNE 215 2010 5 2.B 2011 Preliminary Budget Discussion (continued) Councilmember Holmes believed the costs should be covered by revenues based on the City's needs. She indicated she would like to work with the department heads' recommendations. She felt the maximum levy limit was so small. However, she was not happy with the Sheriffs Department and felt the City was paying more than its fair share for services. She felt the fees charged should be based on population and not per officer serving the City. Councilmember McClung felt this was a valid point. City Administrator Klaers noted he attended a police meeting last week and of the seven communities involved, the City of Arden Hills does have the smallest projected increase for 2011. Mayor Harpstead agreed the Sheriffs Department needed to attempt to make cuts in their budget, however the City did not have a cheaper alternative to policing services. He stated he would put pressure on the Sheriffs Department during the budget cycle. He suggested the ratios be further evaluated by number of events within each City and by the size each City as well. Finance Director Iverson asked if Council would like to see salaries increased or kept even for 2011. She noted she could also run furlough days again as was done with the 2011 budget. Mayor Harpstead requested staff evaluate the market rate for salaries and provide this information with the budget. Councilmember McClung did not feel step increases or COLA were necessary given the state of the economy. He stated several of the residents on his street have lost their jobs or have been laid off in the past year. City Administrator Klaers stated that if the City did not continue to evaluate the pay scales it would be difficult to attract quality candidates to the City for future employment needs. In addition, if union contracts call for 3% increases, the City would have to comply. Councilmember Holmes stated the recession has not hit the City as hard as others from a revenue perspective. She felt it was important for the City to remain competitive and wanted the employees to be well taken care of. If the furlough kept the salaries comparable to market averages this should be looked at further. She indicated she did not have a problem with the COLA or step increases. Mayor Harpstead agreed with these comments. He felt the City was well run and wanted to compare the current salaries to neighboring communities before finalizing the 2011 budget.