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Regular City Council Meeting Monday,July 8, 2013 Page 27 justed and touched, sometimes at the suggestion of Councilmember Willmus him- self. While not supporting a recurring use of reserves for this type of problem, Councilmember McGehee opined that she could support it as a one-time option when the City found itself in a year with levy limits. Councilmember McGehee questioned how the City could continue to abuse its employees by continuing to have this discussion and yet not do anything about it moving forward while at the same time expecting staff to continue their dedication to the City. Councilmem- ber McGehee spoke in support of establishing a policy, opining that from her un- derstanding, all Department Heads had concurred with this proposal and that should provide sufficient direction for the City Council and eliminate the need for any further discussion of this particular policy issue. Acting City Manager Chris Miller asked to add his comments and observations based on his reflection and participation in these discussions with this and previ- ous City Councils over his eleven (11) year tenure with the City. Mr. Miller ad- vised that staff looked at this as an organizational priority, not just a 2014 priority or situation, but a long-term priority. While staff could appreciate levy limits and other restrictions in 2014 and perhaps even longer, Mr. Miller noted that he had observed that when this City Council became aware of an organizational or ser- vice priority, it took charge; whether that was building a new fire station, infra- structure replacement, CIP needs. Mr. Miller noted that the City Council made a commitment to those top priorities; and suggested that this issue may be just as significant to the organization as those other priorities in providing services and programs the community expected to see. Mr. Miller asked that the City Council look at this long-term for the health of the organization; noting that this particular issue had been an issue for years and continued to be pushed aside for other prior- ities. However, Mr. Miller noted that these internal inequities at 4.6%had been in place for a considerable amount of time, and opined that it would resonate well for the community and staff if the City strove to be average and not fall below while continuing to expect staff to deliver results. Mr. Miller opined that staff had already been delivering those results with the expectation that someday this would be addressed as a City priority. While recognizing that the City Council wanted to have a budget discussion, Mr. Miller noted that the focus of that discussion was on 2014, not 2015, 2016 or beyond; and questioned if it would provide the context being sought or the rationale for not supporting the proposal currently before the City Council. McGehee moved, Roe seconded, approval of a policy and implement as recom- mended by staff in lines 62-77 of the RCA dated July 8, 2013. Roe moved, McGehee seconded, an amendment to the policy to begin imple- mentation effective January 1, 2014; and use the balance allotted for merit pay along with drawing down reserves to fund the policy and implementation to the extent it cannot be funded through other budget decisions made over the next few months and if no other solutions are found during those discussions.