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<br />City Council Study Session - 07/18/05 <br />Minutes - Page 13 <br /> <br />Councilmember Schroeder requested staff provide further <br />detailed breakdown information, specifically in the <br />Administration Budget for Professional Services; Transportation; <br />and Conferences. Staff was so directed. <br /> <br />Finance Director Miller offered to provide whatever level of <br />detail requested by Council. <br /> <br />City Manager Beets reviewed several additional costs anticipated <br />for Elections, the HA V A federal law requiring more <br />opportunities for disabled persons to vote in a private fashion, <br />details for what equipment and who will pay are yet to be <br />determined, pending final appropriation to Ramsey County in the <br />special legislative session recently completed. Mr. Beets <br />anticipated potential appropriation for one special voting <br />machine for each of the City's ten precincts. Mr. Beets noted <br />that Ramsey County and the Secretary of State was working on <br />resolving the issue. Mr. Beets also had included a slight hourly <br />wage increase proportionately for election judges and <br />chairpersons for 2006. <br /> <br />Mr. Beets noted that he had built in a 3% COLA increase under <br />legal and auditor contracted services, in anticipation of receipt of <br />completed Requests for Proposals (RFP's) for these services. <br /> <br />Further discussion included budgeted funds for civil and <br />prosecution legal counsel; with additional litigation items cost- <br />shared among departments as applicable for Professional <br />Services in the line-item budgets. <br /> <br />Considerable discussion ensued regarding the Communication <br />portion of the budget related to cable franchise fees, and funding <br />of a community survey. Mr. Beets advised that staff had looked <br />closely at surveys recently completed in other communities as <br />groundwork and to outline potential questions, pending Council <br />authorization to proceed. <br /> <br />Further discussion included those items included and those not <br />included in tax-generated funding for cable casting, City <br />newsletter, savings for land line phones, with increases in <br />