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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, December 2, 2013 Page 21 ratively. Mr. Trudgeon suggested a meeting within the next six months, and not- ed that there may be impacts to the 2015 budget to create or reinvent programs and how to make them happen. In addressing this specific budget request, Mr. Trudgeon opined that it was relatively small in the overall budget scheme, but it was $4,000; and he offered to pass on tonight's comments, such as the involve- ment of other communities in funding, opining that they should be receptive to that idea. There was consensus on the council to support the additional $4,000 in funding for the 2014 budget, and to include it as part of the final budget decisions next week. Councilmember Laliberte noted that there were other groups out there, with Mayor Roe referencing the faith community as well, who want to do things for seniors and suggested that they work together to make a bigger impact versus working separately. Fire Relief Association Funding Mr. Miller addressed current contributions and statutory obligations to the Fire Relief Fund, noting that the assumption was the need for $220,000. However, re- cent supplemental funding had been passed at the last legislative session, reducing that obligation further to approximately $20,000 versus $70,000. Mr. Miller pro- vided several options for the City Council to consider, and asked for their direc- tion. 1) Reduce the portion of the tax levy dedicated to funding the Fire Relief Asso- ciation; 2) Provide the Association with more money than statutory requirements dictate; or 3) Leave funding as is providing some contingencies for an additional $48,000 that the City no longer needed from taxpayer funding. As the City Council's representative to the Relief Association Board, Mayor Roe noted that the City is mandated to make up the gap between state funding and ac- tuarial requirements; and in the past the City had been required to add funding over budgeted amounts to cover that funding gap. However, Mayor Roe noted that, with new firefighters going into PERA versus the Fire Relief Association, they were now moving toward 100% funding and no longer requiring that gap funding. At the request of Councilmember Etten, Mr. Miller clarified that if extra funds were put in it could provide a cushion for future years to help those future budg- ets; however, he also noted that there was a potential risk that if investments for the fund did not do well, that additional money may just go by the wayside. From a staff perspective, Mr. Miller recommended that the City continue to fund ac- cording to statutes of the required amount and if additional funding was needed in