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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, November 23, 2009 Page 20 Councilmember Ihlan expressed frustration in the way this process was forcing the City Council to bump up one public service against another; and reiterated that if a proper line item budget had been provided, the City Council would be able to determine employee impacts of other programs. Councilmember Ihlan suggested that other temporary ways of saving money be pursued during this dif- ficult economic time, but allowing restoration of outdoor ice rinks, including the City Council forego their salaries; review less training and conference attendance as the private industry was doing unless required by law. Councilmember Ihlan suggested that the City maintain their hiring freezes and not fill vacancies until the economy improved to justify doing so; and suggested that the City Council direct staff to provide various levels of levy, including the 3.5% average of other cities, for further consideration. Councilmember Ihlan further suggested that the City Council get as close to a zero percentage levy increase as possible, given that its senior citizen population would not be receiving any COLA from Social Security in 2010; and unemployment, including that of Rose- ville, continued at a high rate. Councilmember Ihlan opined that, with those al- ternatives in front of them, it would prove valuable for further discussion. Ihlan moved that the City Council direct staff to prepare and present proposed budgets at a 0%, 2%, 3.5% levy increase for further City Council consideration. Councilmember Pust questioned if Councilmember Ihlan was seeking line items for each scenario. Councilmember Ihlan suggested at a minimum based on budget expenditure summary form. Mayor Klausing opined that this was a variation of what Councilmember Ihlan had requested earlier: current budgets with the same information at three different budget levels. Councilmember Ihlan advised that she had previously requested line items that presumably existed for the current proposed budget; and was not asking for a summary on those three levy percentages for a general sense of reserves, or where to cut money to reduce the budget to that amount. The Chair ruled the motion failed for lack of a second. Mayor Klausing opined that the exercise of bumping one service or program against another was the basis of the BFO process, and as unpleasant as it is, the City Council was responsible for making those determinations. Related to foregoing City Council salaries, Mayor Klausing noted that, as previ- ously addressed by the City Attorney, State Statute addressed those salaries and