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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, December 21, 2009 Page 14 the citizens had expressed their appreciation of the current level of service, and appeared to be willing to pay to keep them in place. Councilmember Pust questioned if the City was faced with reducing services or raising taxes, wouldn't raising taxes signal the legislature in their next session, when faced with the state budget deficit, to make further reductions to local government. Councilmember Roe addressed the anticipated 2010 allocations related to Market Value Homestead Credits (MVHC), noting that this appeared to be an annual problem faced by the City; and expressed his frustration with the current situation; however, didn't see a better or more sustainable solution at this time. Councilmember Ihlan noted that there had been no policy discussion to-date on whether to levy back this amount; and expressed her inclination to not do so, but to absorb it in budget cuts; opining that it was not fair to allow state government to force regressive property taxes for local governments rather than obtaining funding through income taxes. Amendment Ihlan moved, Pust seconded, to reduce the 2010 budget and levy by $450,000. Roll Call Ayes: Ihlan and Pust. Nays: Johnson; Roe; and Klausing. Motion failed. Councilmember Pust addressed vehicle replacement funds, and her research of other cit- ies (i.e., Dallas, TX) for replacing squad cars at 100,000 rather than at 75,000 miles; and suggested the City consider this policy. Mr. Miller noted that the ten-year Capital Investment Plan (CIP) previously provided to the City Council and public, indicated an annual need of $900,000; and even if the budget was reduced by adjusting a different replacement schedule, the CIP still would need to take a major step in subsequent budget cycles, and the $450,000 alone wouldn't suffice. Councilmember Pust opined that the City could not continue to increase its levy by 11 annually for the foreseeable future; and if the City Council had other options, she was willing to listen; however, she noted that her job was to make proposals to strike a better balance for people during this economic downturn. Amendment Pust moved, Ihlan seconded, reducing the budget amount, with unknown dollar impact, by the amount saved in replacing vehicles at 100,000 miles rather than the current policy for replacement at 75,000 miles. Councilmember Ihlan spoke in support of the motion, opining that this was a good step in the right direction; but not enough and that a framework needed to be determined on