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Regular City Council Meeting Monday,August 19,2013 Page 15 In response to Councilmember McGehee's observation, Mayor Roe noted that while those particular fees were always listed as a revenue source as such, they were not significant. Councilmember Laliberte expressed her surprise in actually seeing proposed in- creases in fees, as she recalled in past meetings having been told that the commu- nity could not handle additional increases in fees. Councilmember Laliberte ex- pressed confusion about what and where those fees were that were being ad- dressed during those past discussions. Regarding the $35,000 savings in merit pay, Councilmember Laliberte questioned why that was not singled out since the $20,000 savings in the Wellness Plan had been listed. Councilmember Laliberte opined that it would have been nice to see those comparables singled out as well. Mayor Roe concurred that this was a reasonable request; and asked that staff bal- ance information contained in one RCA with subsequent RCA's. Mayor Roe asked if staff was using the Municipal Cost Index to determine infla- tion bases for budgets going forward. Mayor Roe observed that even by taking the Consumer Price Index (CPI) into consideration from the taxpayers' perspec- tive for tax impacts for median property compared to the CPI and Prevailing Wage Indices, they all looked backwards. Mr. Miller advised that the same thought process being used by several indices was used to project fees; but projections were often made through contacting sup- pliers and contractors to predict their future costs. Mr. Miller noted that this served to underscore the unique aspect of running government versus private in- dustry; with the indices serving as good benchmarks as well. Councilmember Willmus opined that the CPI was a good index for municipal government, as it trended similarly, while agreeing that they did all look back- wards. Focusing on tonight's City Manager Recommended Budget and City Council preferences for future meetings, Mayor Roe noted that the September 9, 2013 agenda included action on setting a preliminary not-to-exceed 2014 levy. While the City Council could not set a levy any higher after that preliminary action, based on current levy limits put in place by the legislature, Mayor Roe opined that it didn't seem to be an issue of the City Council deciding to exceed that prelimi- nary levy. Mayor Roe suggested that it may be a quick process between now and September 9th unless the City Council wanted more discussion at their August 26 and September 9 meetings. Councilmember McGehee questioned the amount set aside in the Police Budget for the New American program; with Mr. Trudgeon advising that $1,000 was set