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Regular City Council Meeting <br /> Monday, April 15, 2013 <br /> Page 14 <br /> what they could achieve. Mayor Roe advised that this exercise provided staff <br /> with their input into that staff process, and from that perspective had value. <br /> Specific to his rankings, Mayor Roe advised that he took them quite literally, with <br /> "1" not critical or important, but desirable; and noted that he tried as much as pos- <br /> sible to review line items in light of achieving community aspirations. <br /> Councilmember Willmus, in reviewing his approach, advised that it was similar to <br /> that of Councilmember Laliberte, or a hybrid based on his own perspectives be- <br /> yond community aspirations. In his review of City Council results provided by <br /> Finance Director Miller, Councilmember Willmus admitted that he may not have <br /> ranked the Enterprise Funds quite as high, since they tended to be self-sustaining <br /> and generated their own revenue. While recognizing the exercise as an interesting <br /> process, Councilmember Willmus noted that it was not ultimately his focal point <br /> in making determinations, but used as a generalized guide for him, with other fac- <br /> tors taken into consideration that came up over the course of the year. <br /> Mayor Roe noted that the exercise was not intended as an end-all. <br /> As a member of the Finance Committee, and one of the authors of the revised ru- <br /> bric, Councilmember Etten noted that he still struggled with it not reflecting how <br /> individual departments operated and his inability to look at how the budget affect- <br /> ed the reality of staff as part of their daily operations. Councilmember Etten <br /> opined that one of those missing components was his inability to discern whether <br /> new money was required of was fully funded for something he ranked as signifi- <br /> cant. Councilmember Etten opined that the rank didn't help rank Enterprise <br /> Funds or the License Center, since he ranked the License Center as high, but did <br /> not cost the city money. <br /> City Manager Malinen clarified that the License Center was a net revenue source <br /> for the City. <br /> Councilmember Etten concurred; however, he opined that it was not necessary to <br /> the City's day-to-day operations. Councilmember Etten expressed his frustration <br /> with this process that didn't get to the heart of how the City operated. <br /> Mayor Roe asked City Manager Malinen and/or Finance Director Miller to re- <br /> spond as to whether they found this step in the process helpful on funding; ques- <br /> tioning if staff found something would cost more based on the priority ranking, if <br /> Department Heads didn't then review how to weigh it into their respective de- <br /> partment budgets or request an increase in the levy to facilitate that higher rank- <br /> ing. <br /> Councilmember Etten reiterated his concern, in lacking a budget document show- <br /> ing how departments actually operated, and if he chose to initiate a new program <br />