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Regular City Council Meeting Monday,August 19,2013 Page 24 Mr. Grefenberg stated that he believed in government; however, he opined that this was not a moral or ethical question, but one of what we could afford. While the City Council needed to make that decision, Mr. Grefenberg opined that the residents had to also be at the table to respond to the question articulated by the City Council. Mr. Grefenberg opined that it was difficult for Roseville citizens to pay more taxes so employees could be paid comparable to the City of Edina. Mr. Grefenberg further opined that the City Council could not be insulated from eco- nomic downturns or societal problems; and it was unfair to ask new residents, • senior citizens, or those with less income from other communities in the state to pay as much as they did. Until tonight's meeting, Mr. Grefenberg advised that he had been unaware that the compensation study included compensation, providing some validity in com- paring public and private sectors. Having been a part of both of those sectors, Mr. Grefenberg opined that the public benefits (e.g. pensions) far outweighed those offered or available to most residents; and urged the City Council to compare those private sector wages and benefits as well, most specifically pension plans. Mr. Grefenberg opined that the public pension plans should provide a very attrac- tive reason to keep employees; and observed that tonight's discussion indicated that there weren't a lot of people leaving employment with the City of Roseville for other jobs. In conclusion, Mr. Grefenberg expressed his concern about a potential conflict of interest, seeking specific information on which six employees would benefit from the compensation study; requesting more transparency for the public. Mr. Gre- fenberg opined that, since this study was instituted by staff and the consultant hired by staff, the study itself should be considered biased. Mr. Grefenberg opined that the entire process and study results needed to be opened up and ques- tioned if the City was actually being considered equitably with peer cities. Mayor Roe clarified and corrected any misperceptions of Mr. Grefenberg of oth- ers the categories for the study, based across the entire city and including exempt and non-exempt employees from every level, and explicitly stated in all reports. Mr. Grefenberg apologized for his inaccuracies and references to the study only addressing "top employees,", but suggested that if non-essential employees want- ed better compensation, they should unionize. Mr. Grefenberg opined that the City needed to better articulate to the public the issue so they were aware of the realities between a levy increase and rationale for the increase. Mayor Roe advised that several employee groups were unionized, noting that they were most at 100% compensation, and that this effort was intended to provide eq- uity for non-union, exempt and non-exempt employees.