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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, September 8, 2014 Page 9 Councilmember Etten opined that Attachment A should be accurate, and he found no reason for the yellow highlighting, which he found more confusion. Coun- cilmember Etten also noted a new line item for the Contingency Fund and asked for an explanation. City Manager Trudgeon advised that the Contingency Fund was created specific to Fire Department personnel costs, and was included in the revised worksheet sent out Friday. Mayor Roe questioned if this was added into increased costs for labor previously established at $69,000 for the reorganization. Mr. Miller clarified that the net cost for the Fire Department reorganization and hiring of 5 to 6 new full-time firefighters would be $69,000, including an offset in reductions for wages in part-time firefighters. However, Mr. Miller advised of the need to set aside money for other potential impacts resulting from possible union- ization of the department, which remained an unknown at this time, but represent- ed a significant cost depending on that direction, with approximately $32,000 set aside for that purpose. Mr. Miller noted that there was no need to park dollars for that purpose, however, staff was making that recommendation in anticipation of the need. At the request of Councilmember Etten, Mr. Miller opined that the $32,000 was most likely included in the COLA adjustment previously, but as the City Council requested additional categories and increased transparency, staff had segregated out some of those specific costs. Mayor Roe opined that it made sense to segregate that, and with the $212,000 re- maining in COLA, it did track; noting that the notes in the document previously referenced would call that out. At the request of Councilmember Willmus, City Manager Trudgeon advised that, if the City Council wanted to provide tax relief this year, it could use some or all of the approximately $453,000 high range in reserves above staff's original rec- ommendation; however, he reiterated staff's desire to make the reserves whole moving forward by refunding the amount used for the 2014 budget, and commit- ment made at that time to replenish those reserves during the 2015 budget cycle. If the City Council chose to scale back reserve payback, City Manage Trudgeon suggested a clear timetable to pay it back, whether over a two or three year peri- od, but providing specifics to do so; and to clearly understand reserves not be used consistently on an annual basis simply to avoid raising taxes, providing for an unsustainable practice.