FINANCE COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL

CITY HALL, 100 LOCKVILL ROAD

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2008

EXPENSE SUBCOMMITTEE

1. Finance Committee of Council's Subcommittee to review Expense opened at 7:40 p.m., with Mr. Fix, Mr. Sabatino and Mr. Sauer present. There were no members absent. Others present were Tim Hansley and Stacey Bashore.

Mr. Fix stated that a chairperson needed to be appointed for the subcommittee.

Mr. Sauer moved to appoint Jeff Fix as Chairman and Mike Sabatino as Vice-Chairman; Mr. Sabatino seconded the motion. Mr. Sabatino, Mr. Sauer, and Mr. Fix voted "Aye." Motion carried, 3-0.

Mr. Fix stated that Council had been discussing zero based budgeting and wanted to get input from Mr. Hansley. He stated that he didn't feel comfortable in his understanding on the budget and what alternatives were available. Mr. Sabatino stated that his feeling was in municipal budgeting there can be a tendency to do things the way they have always been done and sometimes that is not always the most cost effective way of doing things. He stated that sometimes there are advantages to having a third party review of what we are trying to accomplish. Mr. Hansley stated that part of the problem is most of the public services are mandated so you have to build those into the budget at the beginning. Mr. Sabatino clarified that we should take a comprehensive look at what we are doing now and how we are doing it and then justify the alternatives. Mr. Hansley stated that it is difficult when we prepare the budget because we may not know what services Council views as optional. He stated it will be helpful to know that at the beginning of the preparation. Mr. Hansley suggested looking at services and whether they are optional. Mr. Fix suggested looking at the different revenue streams for each department and then look at what is required spending versus the optional expenses. He stated that we can then pick areas to dig deeper into. Mr. Sabatino stated that from a business perspective you want to make your activity relative to your expense. Mr. Sauer suggested a layout to quickly visualize where your expenses and revenues are. He stated that we can then look at each department and see which services are mandated and which are discretionary. Mr. Fix stated that the format that the budget is in now makes it difficult to see where the General Fund money is going to subsidize services. He stated he would like to see the 2008 budget in the new format and have the department heads prepared to do that. Mr. Hansley stated that once the optional services are taken out it would be much easier to modify the budget. Mr. Sauer stated that he wasn't looking for details but it would be

nice to see any trends that are increasing. Mr. Sabatino suggested bringing back a list of departments and budget areas that have the major expenses listed by category and whether it has a revenue side. Mr. Fix requested that a draft format be e-mailed prior to the next meeting so everyone is on the same page. He stated that we are looking to minimize expenses in any way that we can and be able to go to the public with a very thorough understanding of how we are spending our money. Mr. Hansley stated he would have several departments ready for the next meeting. Mr. Fix requested that a timeline be put together so the budget isn't being put together as an emergency. The sub-committee agreed to meet twice a month after Rules Committee and after Finance Committee.

There being nothing further, the Expense Subcommittee closed at 8:17 p.m. on Wednesday, March, 19 2008.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

Stacey L. Bashore, Deputy Municipal Clerk