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Regular City Council Meeting <br /> Monday, September 8, 2014 <br /> Page 6 <br /> Councilmember McGehee questioned Councilmember Willmus' purpose in revis- <br /> ing the language; opining that the City Council isn't currently restricted to ac- <br /> complish the same thing within targeted ranges. <br /> Councilmember Willmus noted the current difference between a high and low <br /> goal of almost $2 million, and opined that if the goal target was an average, it <br /> provided more flexibility for the City Council to reallocate funding to a low fund, <br /> creating an advantage by allowing them more discretion within the policy to re- <br /> appropriate funds within the policy to low funds or those higher than the average. <br /> Mayor Roe suggested the difference in the proposed Willmus revised language <br /> was that it specifically targeted average versus the range as recommended by the <br /> Commission, allowing future City Council's more flexibility. Mayor Roe also <br /> stated that he had several grammatical changes he would like to incorporate in the <br /> draft resolution language, consisting of punctuation so lines 126— 138 read as fol- <br /> lows: <br /> "If aggregate reserves are outside of targeted goals, the Council is advised <br /> to create a plan to get reserves into targeted goal ranges by committing re- <br /> serve funds[,] using aggregate excess reserves to reduce the levy[,) or <br /> make appropriate budget or tax levy adjustments." <br /> Councilmember McGehee opined that she didn't see the advantage in revising the <br /> language, and stated that she was happy with the language recommended by the <br /> Commission. Councilmember McGehee also expressed her disagreement with <br /> the grammatical changes recommended by Mayor Roe, but offered to discuss <br /> those offline. Councilmember McGehee reiterated her preference for retaining <br /> "ranges"versus "averages." <br /> Councilmember Etten expressed his preference for flexibility provided in the Fi- <br /> nance Commission recommendation and their language, recognizing that it was <br /> vague intentionally to allow for advice, not forcing, allowing the City Council <br /> discretion. <br /> Mayor Roe questioned the need to go with the "average" language as suggested <br /> by Councilmember Willmus. <br /> Councilmember Laliberte stated that, in general, she agreed with the whole poli- <br /> cy, and while understanding Councilmember Willmus' desire to get from the <br /> vague language to more specificity, she also recognized the Commission's intent <br /> to allow for flexibility. Councilmember Laliberte stated that her concern with the <br /> policy was related more to how funds would be used, seeking a plan of what <br /> would or would not be allowed; noting that she had her personal opinions on <br /> whether reserves should be used to cover ongoing annual costs or only used for <br /> one-time capital items. Therefore, Councilmember Laliberte requested a broader <br /> discussion to address those issues before adopting the policy, while understanding <br />