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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, September 08, 2008 Page 5 Roll Call Ayes: Roe; Ihlan; Willmus; Pust; and Klausing. Nays: None. 8. Consider Items Removed from Consent 9. General Ordinances for Adoption 10. Presentations 11. Public Hearings 12. Business Items (Action Items) a. Receive Public Comment on the City Manager- Recommended 2009 Budget and Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) City Manager Malinen noted that two written comments had been distributed to Councilmembers from Randy Neprash (1276 Eldridge Avenue) and Roger Too- good (601 Terrace Court), and made available in Chambers as well, as bench handouts and made part of the record. Dean Maschka, 1965 Millwood Avenue Mr. Maschka offered a generalist view of his observations in working in the fi- nancial field in light of the current economic crisis. Mr. Maschka, even from his usual optimistic frame of mind, opined that the City needed to take certain actions until the markets and economic situation stabilized. 1) Review the quality of debt instruments that the City owns now to determine that those debt instruments are not defaultable, and to ensure that reserve in- vestments remain stable; 2) at some point, have a discussion with City employee unions for possible deci- sion making required among their membership as to whether they prefer to save jobs or reduce pay scales; and 3) not use any reserve funds this year, opining that unless the market stabilizes, the City may need to tap into them next year. Mr. Maschka provided some brief historical financial information, and provided his rationale for making these suggestions to the City Council in preparation for the 2009 Budget and Levy, including addressing the City's aging population; housing stock fluctuations and valuations; and additional constraints with the State legislature placing a cap on cities through levy limitations over the next three years, further complicating policy-making decisions. As a former City Councilmember, Mr. Maschka suggested several specific items the City Council could consider at this time: