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<br />Executive Session and Regular City Council- 4/7/03 <br />Page 14 <br /> <br />revamping their hours to accommodate meetings to avoid <br />excessive overtime for officers. <br /> <br />Councilmember Maschka summarized conclusions from a <br />recent Ramsey County League of Local Government <br />(RCLLG) seminar he had attended regarding the state <br />budget crisis which historically appeared every 10 20 <br />years; and recommended that the City try to "muddle" <br />through. Councilmember Maschka expressed his lack of <br />interest in mandatory staff layoffs that would only <br />contribute to the recession already being experienced. <br /> <br />Councilmember Maschka expressed interest in staff <br />pursuit of the voluntary early retirement proposal to <br />determine the size of the impact that would have <br />operation-wide; supported use of reserve funds for 2003 <br />budget shortfalls; and provided a historical perspective for <br />the reserve funds, opining that approximately $20 Million <br />had been allocated to street maintenance and rehabilitation <br />indefinitely, as per agreement with city residents to reduce <br />assessments, and represented a reasonable approach for <br />government to take. <br /> <br />Councilmember Maschka anticipated the federal <br />government intervention in the near future in an effort to <br />boost the economy; and again summarized his preference <br />for using reserves for 2003 budget shortfalls, with more <br />insight being available following the conclusion of this <br />legislative session in Mayor June; and expressed his <br />preference for not laying off employees, and to adopt a <br />more prudent approach, given the state's biennium budget, <br />and unknown future levy availability. <br /> <br />Mr. Miller addressed inflation projections; continuing <br />health care costs; additional operation and maintenance <br />expenses of the new facility as additional considerations. <br />Councilmember Maschka again expressed his interest in <br />staff pursuit of early retirement incentives, even if the <br />program is not implemented. <br /> <br />Councilmember Klausing concurred with the early <br />