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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, December 2, 2013 Page 22 the future, the City re-evaluate long-term funding requirements of the City for the Fire Relief Fund. Councilmember Etten expressed interest in and advocated for using the $48,000 toward the General Levy before using reserves. At the request of Councilmember Laliberte, Mr. Miller confirmed that this sup- plemental funding had been received for 2013, and anticipated for 2014, subject to the State's biennial budget allotment by the state legislature. At the request of Councilmember Laliberte, Mr. Miller noted that this surplus had already been fac- tored into the $50,000 projected surplus; and was also a legally-restricted fund; however, it did save levy money going into it. Mayor Roe opined that his inclination was not to levy those dollars for 2014; and noted that the budget could always be increased; even though he anticipated it would be secure since the funding was part of the state's biennial budget. Merit Pay Status Mr. Miller clarified the $30,000 originally and tentatively earmarked for merit pay, as noted by Mr. Trudgeon that would return to the City Council at a later date for further review and discussion. From the last discussion, Mr. Miller noted that the City Council seemed amenable to a new merit pay program, but left $30,000 in contingency funds, which was still there (page 2 of the RCA). Mr. Miller sought to clarify that the City Council understood that this was not in the budget. Mr. Trudgeon concurred, noting that if and when the merit pay program was ap- proved by the City Council, with staff preparing for that discussion on December 9, 2013, whether or not approved, the appropriations would then be made accord- ingly. Given the timing on the calendar, Mr. Trudgeon wanted to make sure the ongoing discussion had sufficient time for decision-making and comfort levels. Councilmember Etten opined that he continued to advocate for funding that from reserves as a one-time expenditure versus setting aside budget money going for- ward. Councilmembers Laliberte and McGehee concurred that this was a more transpar- ent method. At the request of Mayor Roe, Mr. Trudgeon noted that this showed up in a line item annually; and he didn't' want to give the illusion that it was otherwise, even though funding should be part of the upcoming discussions. Councilmember Laliberte expressed her interest in hearing staff's presentation on this issue, since she had understood from previous discussions that the merit pay system was not favored by staff.