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Regular City Council Meeting Monday,August 25, 2014 Page 21 gested a discussion with the City Council in the future about that would be helpful for staff. Specific to COLA, and as detailed in the RCA, City Manager Trudgeon reviewed initial projections, and more current information for the two index references to be used per policy in making that determination; with cost savings projected at $35,000 for 2015 based on updated information and twelve-month calculations. Finance Director Miller reviewed the anticipated 2015 tax levy impacts based on the most recent projections and current trending, with the property tax increase reduced to $830,829 from previous recommendations. At the request of Councilmember Willmus, Finance Director Miller responded that depending on the particular application, staff generally used a 2.5% inflation- ary multiplier when factoring in all cost inputs from service suppliers and ven- dors; while some contractual obligations were coming in much higher than that. Mayor Roe asked that, specific to general inflation, staff breakdown supplies from professional services, or what was contractual or not contractual. Finance Director Miller responded that, between now and September 8, staff could provide a better breakdown of contractual and discretionary, as long it was understood it was at the City Council's discretion— what did we use as inflation- ary multiplier on operations and capital whether or not to reduce service levels. At the request of Councilmember Etten, Finance Director Miller addressed per- sonnel-related costs specifically; noting that this early in the process, staff had to make some assumptions, and one of those was what staffing and personnel levels would look like and whether they would change between now and year-end. Mr. Miller noted that one of those significant dynamics was whether or not the fire- fighters decided to form a union and if so, the impact on the budget based on many factors. Therefore, Mr. Miller advised that he thought it prudent to factor those things into the 2015 personnel budget if that union becomes a reality; and if those financial impacts are not mitigated, he recommended a cushion over the course of the year. As part of that assumption, Mr. Miller advised that he also re- served some money from previous COLA and step increases for employees. At the request of Mayor Roe, Finance Director Miller addressed the increase in dispatch services from$100,000 to $150,000 in 2015. At the request of Councilmember Willmus, City Manager Trudgeon advised that at this time, two police officer positions and the Assistant Finance Director posi- tion remained open; and advised that he was unable to predict if any more would become open between now and year-end. Councilmember Willmus asked staff to calculate an approximate dollar value associated with those open positions for the