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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, February 14, 2011 Page 34 that programming should remain, causing more expense to be build on the base with each cycle. Councilmember McGehee advised that she was not going to be excited about the program; but would submit her specific document needs. Mayor Roe sought comments of other Councilmembers on the priority-based budgeting process and whether it was preferred to continue it with further refine- ment, or to scrap it completely. Councilmember Johnson stated that he was prepared to compromise; opining that there were some criteria that would be helpful to him, but that he was not pre- pared to abandon the system completely, when so much time had been spent to- date building it. Councilmember Johnson further opined that it was still a fluid system and could be opened for additional criteria; noting that 81% of the City's budget was personnel-related and while addressed indirectly, it represented a huge item not to be addressed. Councilmember Johnson opined that it required more scrutiny than it had received over the last two years; and offered to put forward his document requests and recommendations supporting the system. Council- member Johnson further opined that the system worked to the degree they wanted it to work, and expressed in adding to the information provided this year. Councilmember Willmus opined that each Councilmember needed to come to the conclusion that, whatever system they worked within, they needed to work within the parameters of State Statute; and that they played a significant role in how to move forward, whether through priority-based or line item budgeting. Council- member Willmus opined that detail would be needed, and while it may not fit the budgeting for priorities mold, staff should be cognizant of the need for that type of level going forward. Mayor Roe noted that part of the priority-based budgeting not used in the past al- lowed for reductions in low priority items; and suggested that the pending review of capital needs and infrastructure replacement costs may accomplish those reduc- tions in the CIP or eliminating lower priority programs, that would also address personnel decisions. Mayor Roe expressed his continued support in pursuing the priority based approach with that additional level of detail as discussed to facili- tate the process moving forward. Mayor Roe advised that he would work with staff to incorporate additional event dates for the second year of the biennial process prior to the February 28, 2011 meeting. Councilmember Pust requested working the CIP report into the schedule as well. Mayor Roe concurred; noting that the capital budget needed to be incorporated throughout the process. Mayor Roe encouraged individual Councilmembers to look at the documents in tonight's budget packet in detail and the document de- scriptions to determine how to move forward on February 28, 2011.