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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, February 9, 2009 Page 17 fenberg opined that City staff was remarkably helpful in his understanding of the process; sometimes the interpretation was not readily evident. Mr. Grefenberg spoke in support, as part of public engagement, an Advisory Commission for the Finance Department, chaired by former Councilmember Dean Maschka, with others sharing similar expertise within the community to as- sist staff in developing a process that was understandable and transparent to the public. City Manager Malinen thanked Mr. Grefenberg for his comments; and noted that, as discussed with Councilmembers at the Strategic Planning meeting, this pro- posed conceptual process for budgeting for outcomes very much involved the community. Mr. Malinen noted that the City Council decisions affected the entire community, its quality of life, and level of services currently enjoyed. Staff al- ways envisioned that staff, the City Council, and the community would all be in- volved and would have a prior knowledge before the end of the process, of how they would be impacted. Mr. Malinen strongly encouraged that the City Council encourage outreach and neighborhood-level meetings. At the request of Councilmember Johnson, City Manager Malinen briefly summa- rized the next 10 years as it related to the City's operational and capital improve- ment resources and budget challenges from a revenue and expense perspective. Mr. Malinen noted that, based on various assumptions and current service levels, in order to maintain that level, the City would be required to increase property taxes at a rate of 17% annually over the next ten years, no longer providing that the City was one of the lowest taxed communities in the metropolitan area; but making it mid-range or average. Acting Mayor Roe opined that, from his perspective, early in the process, he would like to see public feedback and reaction to the City's 10 year financial plan, as well as the 10 year capital improvement plan. Acting Mayor Roe asked that people actively seek to engage the City Council, as their decision-makers, as well as staff, throughout this process. Acting Mayor Roe expressed his appreciation in receiving this analysis from staff based on a 10 year perspective for further dis- cussions and prioritization, and in an effort to determine the service levels accept- able to the community as a whole. City Manager Malinen noted that an advantage of long-term projections and plan- ning was to provide the City Council and community sufficient time to make ad- justments and improve various paths to avoid future problems. Councilmember Johnson echoed the need to get as much community involvement and input as possible in providing various perspectives; citizen expectations; and what the community was willing to pay for those services and expectations.