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Regular City Council Meeting <br /> Monday, December 4, 2017 <br /> Page 6 <br /> ly $650,000 had been proposed to repurpose for the Park Improvement Program <br /> in the original CIP Task Force recommendation. <br /> At the request of Councilmember Etten, Finance Director Miller also addressed <br /> the other$335,000 General Purpose bond issue for the OVAL geothermal project. <br /> Councilmember Willmus stated his appreciation to staff, and to Mayor Roe, for <br /> their projections; but noted that the council needed to remain cognizant that to- <br /> day's numbers provided only a snapshot and were looked at through the lens of <br /> current median value homes, with those values shifting from residential to com- <br /> mercial at will. When discussing sustainability in future years, Councilmember <br /> Willmus again noted the need to be cognizant of real impacts that would be borne <br /> by average homeowners perhaps in the not-too-distant future. Therefore, Coun- <br /> cilmember Willmus opined it was prudent of the city to hold some things constant <br /> rather than requiring significant levy increases. However, when considering re- <br /> purposing debt service on voter approved referenda items, Councilmember <br /> Willmus opined that there should be a broader community discussion prior to do- <br /> ing so, whether by this or future City Councils. Also, if the city is serious about <br /> looking at operational expenses going forward, Councilmember Willmus opined <br /> that serious consideration should be given to the full-time employee (FTE) equiv- <br /> alencies and their projections to be more aware of them and their relationship to <br /> service levels in some areas going forward. <br /> Mayor Roe reviewed public hearing protocol and opened the public hearing at ap- <br /> proximately 7:17 p.m. <br /> Public Comment <br /> Vince Trovato, 2250 Victoria Street <br /> Mr. Trovato opined that it was important for the city to take into consideration <br /> and be sensitive to a lot of residents who were facing huge increases in their prop- <br /> erty taxes to do various school bond referenda. While agreeing that the city's <br /> proposed levy increase appeared reasonable in and of itself, Mr. Trovato asked <br /> that it not be addressed in a vacuum, but in the context of other taxing jurisdic- <br /> tions and their actions, and the actual impacts to residents. <br /> Therefore, Mr. Trovato asked that the city reconsider their 2018 budget expenses <br /> currently under their purview. Along those lines, Mr. Trovato referenced a previ- <br /> ously-displayed park system graph and operational perspectives and their financ- <br /> ing not yet identified, and suggested considering pulling back past plans, particu- <br /> larly with the park system, accordingly. While loving the city's park system that <br /> he used frequently and considered a great community resource, Mr. Trovato noted <br /> that residents could only afford so much, especially in the context of the huge in- <br /> crease coming on line related to school bond referenda. <br /> Regarding operating levy increases or budget increases, Mr. Trovato noted the <br /> proposed three additional firefighters to be added in 2018 and while agreeing that <br />