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<br />staff members will come and go, but the Council and the City carry <br />on. <br /> <br />The Past. Among other things, this means that all of us should <br />have some measure of awareness and respect for what happened in <br />the past. Past Councils and Councilmembers did their best for Rose- <br />ville, just as we try to do. And most of us agree that, as a result, <br />Roseville has a high quality of life and is a good place to live. <br /> <br />We also need to understand the past because, with very few excep- <br />tions, the current Council and the City are bound by contracts and <br />ordinances approved by past Councils. <br /> <br />To be sure, a majority of the Council may change City ordinances. <br />But until an ordinance is changed, that ordinance is the law regard- <br />less of the whether the make-up of the Council has changed since the <br />ordinance was enacted. Moreover, when the Council does change an <br />ordinance that amendment is usually effective as to future situations <br />only. <br /> <br />And contracts bind the City and not just the Council that approved <br />the contract. New Councils do not start with blank slates; they are <br />required to follow existing contracts unless the terms of a particular <br />contract allow them to modify or terminate that contract. <br /> <br />Thus, the Council cannot change the past. But the Council can <br />amend ordinances and enter into new contracts to make a better fu- <br />ture for the City. <br /> <br />The Future. Because the City Council is a <br />continuing body, Councilmembers must always be <br />concerned about the future of the City. What spe- <br />cial threats and opportunities lie ahead for the <br />City? Is the City well positioned to respond to <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />6 <br />