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egular City ounci ~~tin Monday, May 21, 2007 Page 19 b. Consider Formal Designation of City Council Audit Committee Kough moved, Ihlan seconded, appointment of two Councilmembers to serve as representatives on the Finance or Audit Committee to meet periodically with the external auditor and staff on various finance- related issues as appropriate; and nominating Councilmembers Ihlan and Pust to serve as the initial appointees. Councilmember Ihlan spoke in support of the motion, and expressed her willingness to serve. Councilmember Ihlan opined that by a sub- committee of Councilmembers meeting with staff and the Auditor on a period basis related to finance policy issues and practices, it would allow the full Council to handle routine matters more efficiently, fol- lowing recommendation by the Committee, by focusing on procedures and necessary policy implementation or revision. Mayor Klausing spoke in opposition to the motion, noting that it was his understanding that it was Council consensus that the entire Coun- cil serve as the Audit Committee; opining that this would provide more transparency and enhance communication among the body, and further opining that this was a core function of the City Council. Councilmember Roe spoke against the motion, opining that he didn't see the benefit of a subcorrimittee, and expressed personal concern with discussions going on that were not in the public realm. Coun- cilmember Roe opined that the public would prefer that all discussions regarding financing, auditing and City policies be discussed in open forum; and that if more details were required, each Councilmember had the option of asking staff or the auditing firm. Public Comment John Kysylyczyn, 3083 N Victoria Street Mr. Kysylyczyn opined that all subcommittees were required to fol- low open meeting laws; that subcorrimittees were quite common, par- ticularly in the legislature and/or larger city governments; and ad~an- tages of a subcommittee in being able to delve more deeply into spe- cific issues and make recommendation to the full body.