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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, September 14, 2009 Page 19 a. Receive Springsted Report on Budget Program Cost Analysis Finance Director Chris Miller presented the report of Springsted, with staff avail- able for questions or comments. Mr. Miller advised that the Springsted represen- tative was delayed at the International City Manager's Association (ICMA) Con- ference and unable to attend tonight's meeting, but anticipated being available in person at the September 21 or September 28, 2009 regular Council meeting at the City Council's request to address inquiries. Mr. Miller advised that the report was provided at this time to allow the City Council to begin their review of the report and to become familiar with the background methodology and program costs as assigned, specific to those programs partially or fully tax-supported, and exclud- ing those funds that were fee-based or constituted Enterprise Funds. Mr. Miller advised that the report was based, within parameters, on time-spent profiles and calculations of direct cost, for personnel, equipment and vehicles, with 140 distinct functions and programs represented for a first initial look by the community and City Council. Mr. Miller advised that this would provide a 100% BFO process, but would initiate the process; and cautioned that it was meant to be an informational tool, but could not make the decisions for the City Council, staff or community, while representing core programs, their context, and challenges to get back to a sustainable operation. Councilmember Roe asked that staff provide further clarification and detail on each area's common categories to provide more definition. Mr. Miller advised that "organizational management" was a generic category used to identify time spent on internal organizational matters (i.e., personnel issues to develop employee and division work plans; employee evaluations; attending other internal meetings for broader reaching programs) to not give an impression that one staff person spent time on one specific function. Mr. Miller advised that "customer/citizen service" was not specific to one pro- gram, but was a catchall for general inquiries, and could be divided out further if the category appeared too vague. Councilmember Roe, while appreciating the clarification, opined that it would be helpful for him to have everything on the cost input side by side with the service level side to allow easier tracking of individual items. Councilmember Pust sought clarification on the apparent lack of consistency among departments on service level standards and benchmarks; and how this was achieved. Mr. Miller advised that some departments were more evolved and comprehensive than others in tracking levels (i.e., Public Works Department, who has been track- ing specifics for decades based on the nature of their job costs), allowing for some