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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, December 2, 2013 Page 4 that staff responses not related to the budget discussion be delayed until after pub- lic comment. Councilmember Willmus requested information from Mr. Miller on the amount of surplus funds from 2011 to 2012, and projections for 2012 to 2013. Mr. Miller advised that he had requested Department Heads to look at their spe- cific department operations, and based on their input and his initial analysis, he projected a small surplus in the General Fund of approximately $50,000. Mr. Miller noted that this amount would have been higher except for the funds in ex- cess of$200,000 spent for storm response and clean-up. While the Parks & Rec- reation Department may have additional surplus funds, Mr. Miller noted that they had deferred some of their smaller capital items at the Skating Center to provide better performance on those financials. From his recollection, Mr. Miller estimat- ed that General Fund surplus funds from 2011 to 2012 were approximately 43% of the operating budget, in accordance with City Council policy to retain 35-45% reserves. Councilmember Willmus asked that Mr. Miller provide an accurate surplus amount from 2011 to 2012 before next week's City Council meeting, which Mr. Miller duly noted. Mayor Roe sought clarification as to which years Coun- cilmember Willmus asked about and which years Mr. Miller answered about. Councilmember Willmus clarified he was asking about 2011 to 2012 and 2012 to 2013, while Mr. Miller noted his answers had been given regarding 2013 to 2014. Mayor Roe noted that this information was also available in the annual certified financial statements from the outside auditors. Councilmember Etten noted the proposed allotment for$80,000 for wage and step increases for employees, and questioned the wage spectrum of new versus longer- term employees, and how that compared to 5-10 years ago. Mr. Miller advised that the current hiring cycle and amount of turnover was com- parable to that of the last few years, with approximately half of the City's em- ployees reaching their maximum pay grade and to still in the step increase pro- cess. For the benefit of the public, Mayor Roe asked that Mr. Miller provide more in- formation to help residents understand the relationship between the levy and their property value and tax base, questioning if it was correct to basically say that the levy approved by the City Council was then divided by Ramsey County among taxable properties proportional to all their values added together. Mr. Miller concurred that it was accurate; and noted that how it got paid was the second piece of the puzzle, since not all properties in Roseville went up or down in value simultaneously. Mr. Miller noted that at this time, residential properties