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Regular City Council Meeting Monday,April 11, 2011 Page 17 At the request of Mayor Roe, City Manager Malinen suggested that Council- member Johnson's statement that most FTE's were related to Parks and Recreation was not necessary accurate, while recognizing that the department would be impacted significantly. In an effort to keep things in perspective, Mayor Roe reviewed some of those items identified for elimination that were not related to Parks and Recreation, while recognizing that a number of program listings for elimination were related to Parks. Councilmember Pust noted that Councilmember Johnson's comments pointed out a natural conclusion of the process used for ranking, that no matter how many dif- ferent organizations go through line items, some were at the top, some at the bot- tom, and some in the middle. Councilmember Pust concluded that, based on cur- rent rankings and use of numerical line items, the process didn't allow for a broader discussion on the level of services the community wanted. Council- member Pust noted that it remained her bias, that such a discussion occur without mathematical computations. Mayor Roe opined that part of the process should include looking at higher ranked items if staff advised lower items could not be reduced or eliminated based on contractual obligations or other perspectives;but further opined that mathemat- ical computations allowed for part of that discussion. Councilmember McGehee reviewed her personal identification of line items using 2010 and 2011 budget amounts, and provided several examples or ways to make cuts without eliminating jobs in the current economic environment and job mar- ket. Councilmember McGehee suggested other options for making significant re- ductions with limited impacts to personnel, including furlough days each month for each staff person as a way to "give back" without eliminating jobs; shared ser- vices with other communities and agencies; possibly concentrating the City's Po- lice officers in the retail sector and contracting for police services in residential areas with Ramsey County; and addressing capital or replacement funds that are currently grossly underfunded under established targets, even before recent drastic reductions in interest earnings. Councilmember McGehee noted the consistent spending over the last 5-6 years of approximately $2 million annually over reve- nues. Councilmember McGehee had provided written comments related to ex- amples of budget process of other metropolitan communities, via e-mail dated April 10, 2011, included as a bench handout, attached hereto and made a part hereof At the request of Councilmember Willmus, Mr. Miller confirmed that the City used interest earning projections as a revenue source for budgeting purposes; and that the interest was not part of the $2 million addressed by Councilmember McGehee.